Cinderella (2006) Movie Review

The modern Asian ghost bandwagon rolls ever onward, with film makers reluctant to abandon the cinematic cash cow of the long haired female spectre. “Cinderella” is one of the most recent examples of the genre, the second feature from Korean director Bong Man Dae, marking somewhat of a departure...

October 16th, 2006 | Read More

Dasepo Naughty Girls (2006) Movie Review

Although “Dasepo Naughty Girls”, based upon a sexually explicit online comic called “Multi-Cell Girl”, to an extent marks a surprising change of direction for Korean helmer Lee Jae Yong, best known for dramas such as “Asako in Ruby Shoes” and “The Affair”,...

October 13th, 2006 | Read More

To Sir With Love (2006) Movie Review

The release of the Korean Summer horror blockbusters on DVD continues with “To Sir with Love” from director Im Dae Woong. Unsurprisingly, the film has nothing whatsoever to do with the 1967 Sidney Poitier classic of the same name, but is in fact a wonderfully vicious and twisted slice of...

October 12th, 2006 | Read More

Les Formidables (2006) Movie Review

It’s hard to imagine anyone getting overly enthusiastic about the Korean film “Les Formidables” after seeing the horribly generic DVD cover, which features two macho but pained looking men handcuffed together, one of whom is most likely a corrupt cop, and the other a strangely moral...

September 16th, 2006 | Read More

A Bloody Aria (2006) Movie Review

“A Bloody Aria” is the latest film from Korean director Won Shin Yeon, who recently made his debut with the painfully earnest haunted thatch ghost film “The Wig”. His sophomore effort is a different prospect entirely, being a stripped down, brutal slice of tension, shot through...

September 15th, 2006 | Read More

Arang (2006) Movie Review

“Arang” is the first of the 2006 wave of Korean Summer horror blockbusters to be released on DVD. The film marks the debut of director Ahn Sang Hoon, who apparently spent several years preparing the production, which previously went under the title of “Line”. The film begins in...

September 7th, 2006 | Read More

Over the Border (2006) Movie Review

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...

August 24th, 2006 | Read More

Bloody Tie (2006) Movie Review

In recent years, the amoral policeman has become almost as common a motif in Korean cinema as the long haired female ghost. Despite this, many film makers seem to be harbouring the illusion that there is something original in satirising the establishment through depicting corrupt officials and drawing...

August 20th, 2006 | Read More

Daisy (2006) Movie Review

On paper, “Daisy” sounds like an Asian film fan’s dream come true, directed by “Infernal Affairs” co-helmer Andrew Lau and starring everybody’s favourite sassy girl, popular Korean actress Jeon Ji Hyun. Unfortunately, despite the talent involved, and the fact that...

August 17th, 2006 | Read More

APT aka Apartment (2006) Movie Review

There isn’t really a whole lot of reasons to watch Byeong-ki Ahn’s “APT”, as the director has made the exact same movie at least 3 times now, counting among them “Nightmare”, “Phone”, and “Bunshinsaba” — all films about vengeful female...

August 15th, 2006 | Read More

Hanbando (2006) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Eric Choi) I had my doubts about “Hanbando” from the very beginning. It was clearly a nationalistic film, the sort of patriotic movie that exploits a very current situation in order to grab an audience. In this case, the issue is the continuing confrontation between South...

August 13th, 2006 | Read More

The Host (2006) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Eric Choi) Finally, a movie that is so refreshingly entertaining that it puts most blockbusters to shame. “The Host” is the new film by director Bong Joon-Ho (“Memories of Murder”), and besides being one of the best films I’ve seen all year, it deserves...

August 11th, 2006 | Read More

Gagman (1989) Movie Review

“Gagman” was the debut feature by Korean director Lee Myung Se, best known for “Nowhere to Hide” and “Duelist”, now finally released on DVD. Lee’s works have a tendency to divide critics, as many are arguably exercises of style over substance, being more concerned...

July 28th, 2006 | Read More

Typhoon (2005) Movie Review

“Typhoon”, the latest effort from “Friend” director Kwak Gyeong Taek, was very much a flagship release for the domestic South Korean market, having the highest budget in the nation’s history and having been shot on various locations, including Pusan, Thailand, and Russia...

July 12th, 2006 | Read More

Vampire Cop Ricky (2006) Movie Review

Every once in a while, a film comes along with a premise that is simply astounding in its brilliance. The Korean “Vampire Cop Ricky”, which follows a useless, corrupt policeman who turns into a vampire whenever he gets an erection, is one such film. Amazingly, director Lee Si Myung (also...

May 23rd, 2006 | Read More

Holiday (2006) Movie Review

“Holiday ” is based upon an actual incident whose roots lie in the Korean government’s preparations for the 1988 Olympics, which saw them destroy countless neighbourhoods to make way for new developments in order to impress foreign visitors. In most cases, these neighbourhoods were...

May 16th, 2006 | Read More

Shadowless Sword (2005) Movie Review

In 2000, director Kim Young-jun wowed and befuddled viewers and critics alike with “Bichunmoo”, a swordplay movie with a ton of action but an undecipherable storyline. Kim’s follow-up, 2005’s “Shadowless Sword”, fairs much better in the screenplay department, in that...

April 17th, 2006 | Read More

Running Wild (2006) Movie Review

“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...

April 13th, 2006 | Read More

The Unforgiven (2005) Movie Review

“The Unforgiven” marks the debut of Korean director Yoon Jong-bin in impressive fashion, having won several awards at the 2005 Pusan Film Festival, including the FIPRESCI and NETPAC prizes. What is most remarkable about this feat is the fact that the film is actually the director’s...

February 27th, 2006 | Read More

Never to Lose (2004) Movie Review

There have been a lot of films done in the “Lethal Weapon” style of moviemaking, many of them by imitators right here in the United States , but Americans rarely get the chance to see how it’s done in the rest of the world. Thanks to import video merchants, American viewers can...

February 18th, 2006 | Read More