“Thirsty, Thirsty” is a Korean independent production which marks the directorial debut of Hong Hyun Ki, who had previously worked as an assistant to Lee Chang Dong on the superb “Oasis” and “Peppermint Candy”. Balancing humour, humanity and bittersweet realism, the film earns extra points...

Having been scripted by Tetsuya Nakashima, the award winning writer director of the excellent “Kamikaze Girls” and “Memories of Matsuko”, it comes as no surprise that “Lala Pipo” is another slice of colourful Japanese pop culture craziness. Marking the directorial debut of Nakashima’s assistant...

“Love Connected” is the latest outing from Hong Kong director Patrick Kong, who previously enjoyed commercial success with the likes of “Nobody’s Perfect”, “Marriage with a Fool” and “Love is Not All Around”. Although 2008 did see him dabble in the horror genre with “Forgive and Forget”,...

PARASOMNIA is one of this year’s most exciting horror films. It’s directed by William Malone, whose previous credits have not fully prepared us for this fine and original little horror. His THE CREATURE (aka THE TITAN FIND) was a watchable, but derivative rip-off of ALIEN starring two exciting...

“The Good, the Bad, the Weird”, the latest film from Korean master director Kim Ji Woon sees him delving into yet another genre, having tried his hand at horror with “A Tale of Two Sisters” and gangster melodrama with “A Bittersweet Life”. As can probably be gleamed from the title, the film...

Bittersweet slice of life comedy “Delivering Love” marks the debut of Korean director Cho Nam Ho, and features the reunion of actresses Kim and Shim Hye Jin from the hit television sitcom “Hello Francheska”. Although the film’s premise sounds familiar enough, focusing on three women of different...

“M” is the latest effort from critically acclaimed Korean director Lee Myung Se, who has won praise both at home and abroad for his highly stylised works that tend to overflow with cinematic flair. With this, his eighth film he seems to be in reflective mood, combing the themes of bittersweet...

Jason Reitman, the talented young director behind the critically lauded, and well deserved, Thank You For Smoking has crafted another Oscar worthy piece with Juno. Using a rather simple premise writer Diablo Cody (the pen name for the now famous stripper from Minneapolis turned writer/blogger, Brook...

Although though he is not as well known internationally as the likes of Park Chan Wook and Bong Joon Ho, director Kwak Kyung Taek is one of the biggest and most successful film makers in Korea, having been responsible for such blockbusters as “Friend”, “Mutt Boy”, and “Typhoon”....

Against all the odds, with the genre having long been lingering in the cinematic doldrums, 2007 turned out to be a bumper year for Korean horror, largely thanks to the willingness of directors to innovate and to try something a little different than the usual simple tales of vengeful long haired spirits...

Speaking of intriguing casting announcements. It’s been confirmed by IESB that South Korean movie star Byung-Hun Lee (”A Bittersweet Life” and the upcoming Josh Hartnett movie “I Come with the Rain”) will be playing none other than the ninja Storm Shadow in the upcoming...

Modern relationships come under scrutiny again in Korean director Jung Yoon Soo’s “Love Now” (also known by the equally appropriate title “Changing Partners”), a romantic comedy which revolves around life, love and infidelity. Boasting a top cast and promising a realistic...

The Korea Pop Wars blog has landed your first look the posters for writer/director Ji-woon Kim’s upcoming Korean Spaghetti Western “The Good, The Bad, and The Weird”. They look pretty good, although for a moment I though the Byung-hun Lee one was from his movie “A Bittersweet...

Joining fellow well-known Korean Rain, “A Bittersweet Life” star Byung-hun Lee has reportedly been cast in the upcoming Hollywood movie (ironically enough titled) “I come with the Rain”. The Asia-set film stars Josh Harnett as a private detective who, haunted by a past encounter...

You gotta love the idea of the Koreans doing their take on the classic Spaghetti Western ala Sergio Leone and the Man Without a Name. And the fact that it’s being helmed by Ji-woon Kim, whose last movie “A Bittersweet Life” was one of the most refreshing crime actioners to come out...

Only Morgan Freeman could make a grown man going ga-ga over the prices on a T-shirt at Target worth watching. Then again, only Morgan Freeman could redefine what it means to provide voiceover narration for a movie. The man is a living legend, and if you can’t appreciate what Morgan Freeman brings...

In a blurb I wrote in my ‘Best of 2005′ list, I declared “A Bittersweet Life” to be “one of the slickest pieces of stone-cold machismo to slide across the silver screen since ‘Scarface.”‘ Well, I think we have a strong challenger for that title in Zach...

“Traces of Love” is the latest work from Kim Dae Seung, arguably one of the more interesting directors working in modern Korean cinema, who was previously responsible for the unconventional “Bungee Jumping of Their Own” and the gritty thriller “Blood Rain”. With this,...

With DVD box art depicting its characters either staring longingly or howling with misery, “Over the Border” certainly sets expectations for glumness of the highest order. However, the film itself surprises by being a fairly frothy, though pleasingly human melodrama, that uses the Korean...

“Running Wild” marks the debut of Korean director Kim Sung Soo, apparently the prot’g’ of ‘Mr. Vengeance’ himself, Park Chan Wook (director of “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” and “Old Boy”). Thankfully “Running Wild” is not simply...