Articles in South Korean Movie Reviews
Little Brother (aka Hello Brother, 2007) Movie Review
Based on true story, “Little Brother” marks the debut feature of Korean director Lim Tae Yong and is another in the ever popular family melodrama genre. This time around the film focuses on the familiar subject of life threatening illness, as a twelve year old boy called Han Byeol (Seo Dae Han) is hospitalised with [...]
August 12th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreMy Son (aka A Day with My Son, 2007) Movie Review
“My Son” sees the return of the ever versatile Korean director Jang Jin, previously noted for genre blending films such as “Guns and Talks” and “Righteous Ties”. This time he turns his attentions to family drama, a well-worn and overly familiar form desperately in need of a fresh take.
The film follows Lee Gang Sik [...]
Meet Mr. Daddy (aka Shiny Day, 2007) Movie Review
“Meet Mr Daddy” is an unashamedly sentimental comedy about a sick young girl who is reunited with her incompetent though wacky criminal father - pretty much the last kind of film to be expected from Korean helmer Park Kwang Su, best known for his politically charged works such as “Chilsoo and Mansoo” and “Black Republic”. [...]
August 12th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreThe Bow (2005) DVD Review
With “The Bow”, now released on UK DVD by Tartan, acclaimed South Korean director Kim Ki-duk continues to explore human nature and transcendence, moving further away from the bitterness and sadism which characterised his earlier work. Although at first the film appears to have much in common with “The Isle”, sharing the same, overtly symbolic [...]
August 5th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreMiracle on 1st Street (2007) Movie Review
“Miracle on 1st Street” sees the return of director Yoon Je Gyun, previously responsible for the two Korean comedy blockbusters “Sex is Zero” and “My Boss, My Hero”. Sticking to what he knows best, he delivers another slice of wackiness, putting a farcical spin on the ever-topical subject of forced land reclamation. Returning to help [...]
July 21st, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreBig Bang (2007) Movie Review
Judging by the DVD cover, “Big Bang” is yet another Korean film which seems to have been mis-advertised as a wacky comedy. This is a real shame, as although it certainly has its fair share of laughs, it is a far more cynical and violent affair than the box art would suggest. Directed by Park [...]
July 14th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreWanderer in Winter (1986) Movie Review
Originally released in 1986, “Wanderer in Winter” was the debut film from noted Korean new wave director Kwak Ji Kyun, who had previously worked as an assistant to the likes of Im Kwon Taek and Bae Chang Ho. The film was actually written by noted scribe Choi In Ho, who also wrote some of Bae’s [...]
June 23rd, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreHighway Star (2007) Movie Review
“Highway Star”, the debut film from directors Kim Hyun Soo and Kim Sang Chan, is based around the unlikely subject of trot singing, which for the uninitiated is a much mocked melodramatic Korean folk music tradition enjoyed mainly by the middle-aged. Although this might not seem like a good idea on paper, there has been [...]
June 15th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreA Devilish Homicide (1965) Movie Review
Although when thinking of Korean horror the most obvious examples which spring to mind are modern efforts such as Park Ki Hyung’s “Whispering Corridors” and Ahn Byeong Ki’s “Phone”, both of which have become known the world over, the country actually has a long and rich history of genre film making. One director who has [...]
May 29th, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read MoreThree Kims (aka Master Kims, 2007) Movie Review
“Three Kims” is a film which attempts to put a comic twist on the time honoured martial arts genre, as well as marking the debut proper of director Park Sung Gyun. Given the usual predilection for first time Korean directors to add to the endless number of painfully earnest gangster thrillers, this brave choice alone [...]
May 23rd, 2007 | James Mudge | 0 Comments | Read More
It looks like a dud. I saw the trailer. Tom is the only person speaking with an American news network ...
nothing they payed fox.... 
OMG!!!! 
