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Seom aka The Isle (2000) was the first movie by Kim Ki-duk I experienced and probably still my favourite together with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003). Kim Ki-duk is a loving master when it comes to cinematography and the silence. And fish hooks... Another absolutely fantastic South Korean movie that seems to be kinda little known to the masses is Pasookkoon aka Bleak Night (2010). These words from a review on imdb fits quite well I think: "'Bleak Night' is about despair, guilt and ultimately coming to terms with how one's actions impact others. And in that it achieves nothing short of brilliance." I did not read anything or watched any trailers before I watched it and perhaps that made it even better. Do yourself a favour and seek this movie up.
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Jan 27, 2013 17:37
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Something worth noting about my reviews is that I try to specifically avoid mentioning actual plot details in them for exactly that reason. I think part of the reason why Korean film works so well is that there's such a huge element of surprise, and I'd hate to ruin that. On the flip side, sometimes I wonder whether anyone's actually getting any real information out of them. Like with The Crucible (or, as they call it on Netflix Silenced), the only facts I mention about this movie is that it's about a horrible crime that takes place in a school, and deals principally with the emotional conditions of despair and rationalization. In terms of broader Korean film discussion, I really enjoy how they will directly face social issues head on- and still be a huge hit at the box office. The Crucible was #3 at the 2011 overall box office, only beaten by two big-budget Hollywood movies. This is good since I firmly believe, with no exaggeration, that this is a movie that everyone everywhere needs to watch. Mostly thanks to the preponderance of To Catch A Predator bullshit.
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Jan 28, 2013 03:35
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Had time for another two movies today. The Good, the Bad, the Weird was a very enjoyable ride. Most of it played out like an adventure film though, not a Western. I can't really put my finger on it but it felt kind of like an Indiana Jones movie when it came to action and humor. There were some really funny sequences in there and it was entertaining from start to finish. The ending was pure Western and a bit more grim than the rest, but nothing that threw me off. Thirst was amazing, I think it might be my favorite so far though The Chaser and I Saw the Devil come really close. I am a sucker for vampire movies and this one looked at all the things that make them interesting. No sparkles or superpowers, but guilt, unnatural urges and dealing with what you became. However, it did all of this without turning into an angsty teen's fanfiction and a boring pile of "woe me" crap. I really enjoyed how they set up the characters and then showed which direction they both went instead of selecting one stereotype and sticking with it. BioTech fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Jan 28, 2013 |
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Jan 28, 2013 21:41
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I've seen The Crucible/Silenced pop up on Netflix a few times, I'll be sure to check it out.Some Guy TT posted:Something worth noting about my reviews is that I try to specifically avoid mentioning actual plot details in them for exactly that reason. I think part of the reason why Korean film works so well is that there's such a huge element of surprise, and I'd hate to ruin that. On the flip side, sometimes I wonder whether anyone's actually getting any real information out of them. Some Guy TT posted:Howling is a really good baseline movie for what's typical in Korean drama films. It has an interesting high concept, strong character performances, a focus on realism, explicitly portrays people in power as out for their own self-interest rather than as a higher-calling, and unapologetically brings up social issues. It's not an outstanding film, but it will definitely scratch your itch if that's what you watch Korean movies to get a hit of. It does bring up something I've noticed in similar films; I'm curious as to your take on what I've started calling the casual violence that's shown frequently, at least in most of the movies I've watched. What I mean is, the tendency of superiors to hit/slap their subordinates when they've made a mistake. Obviously it's not in all movies, and when it's someone like a crime boss doing it it fits the character, but it's something that's really jarring to watch when it's done by a high ranking police officer.
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Jan 29, 2013 00:35
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Part of it is mistrust endemic with the police in South Korea, which has already been noted. However, your bringing up how this would not be as weird with a crime boss is more spot-on than you may expect. Before democratization some twenty five years ago corruption in the police force was rampant. Police chiefs and crime bosses were, and to some extent still are, seen as lateral positions. There's a movie that goes into this in a fair amount of (fictional) depth by the title of Nameless Gangster. It was one of the top grossing movies of 2012- but it was released at the beginning of the year and I'm sure it's available in English by now. From a social perspective it's actually really ironic- because of this reputation South Korean police are obsessive about the appearance of impropriety. Police chiefs and officers there commonly resign over scandals or mismanagement that in the United States would result in little more than a press release reading "gently caress you assholes".
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Jan 29, 2013 04:49
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Is the whole mistrust-thing also tied to how the police in south korean movies are almost always portrayed as incompetent in one way or another? e: Like, it might just be me overreaching a simple plot to keep it intereseting or whatever, but it just seems like too big of a trend. ulvir fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jan 29, 2013 |
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Jan 29, 2013 22:20
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ulvir posted:Is the whole mistrust-thing also tied to how the police in south korean movies are almost always portrayed as incompetent in one way or another? South Korea was a military dictatorship as recently as the 80's, so you could imagine some artists chafing at the idea of powerful authority figures.
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Jan 29, 2013 22:31
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I just did something stupid and watched Secret Garden and 49 Days in-between playing The Walking Dead. I need something light, possibly a Rom-Com. I've previously seen I'm A Cyborg, 200 Pound Beauty, My Tutor Friend 1/2 and Skip Beat/Extravagant Challenge (even though its Taiwanese). Does anyone have any suggestions on movies/shows I can watch to somewhat restore my faith in humanity?
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Jan 30, 2013 18:27
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Korean rom/coms I like: My Girlfriend is an Agent, You Pet, Love So Divine, Spygirl, Too Beautiful To Lie, Please Teach Me English
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Jan 30, 2013 23:41
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My Sassy Girl and Castaway on the Moon are both really good, Hello Ghost too. Hello Ghost isn't really rom/com, more comedy. Same with Castaway.
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Jan 31, 2013 02:55
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I love checking in on this thread.  You guys just gave me like a month and a half's worth of movie nights.
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Jan 31, 2013 16:21
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Has anyone seen A Better Tomorrow? It's a John Woo remake apparently. I've been on a drought for good Korean gangster flicks and I heard about this one some time ago but it received less than favorable reviews. I am glad I gave it a chance since I quite liked it. To no surprise here, the film was gorgeous to look at. Korean cinema seems to be ahead of the pack in terms of cinematography. If anyone has Netflix, it's on there right now (well, American Netflix).
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Jan 31, 2013 22:06
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Gunna be house sitting for a relative next week and will have nothing to do but watch movies, so I need some recommendations! I feel like I've seen all the really, really good Korean movies, but I'm hoping I missed some. Here's the ones I've seen (also I'll categorize it and definitely recommend pretty much all of them): Some of them are misnumbered, but whatever. Gangster: 1. A Bittersweet Life 2. A Dirty Carnival 3. Rough Cut (also comedy) 4. My Wife is a Gangster 5. Friend 6. Sunflower (also drama) 7. The Show Must Go On 47. Number 3 (also gangster) Crime: 8. Memories of Murder 9. Children 10. The Chaser 11. The Yellow Sea 12. City of Violence 13. World of Silence 44. The President's Last Bang (also part comedy) 45. Bloody Tie Revenge: 14. Mr. Vengeance 15. Oldboy 16. Lady Vengeance 17. I Saw the Devil 18. The Man from Nowhere Comedy: 18.The Foul King (wrestling comedy) 19.My Sassy Girl (also Rom-Com) 20. The Host (monster movie) 21. The Quiet Family (Dark comedy) 22. Welcome to Dongmakgol 23. The King and the Clown (also drama) 24. I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK 25. Guns and Talks 26. Attack the Gas Station 27. Castaway on the Moon 28. The Good, The Bad, The Weird 42. YMCA Baseball 43. Hello Ghost 46. Going By the Book 49. No Mercy for the Rude (loved this one) 50. The Big Bang Drama 29. JSA AKA Joint Security Area: 30. Secret Sunshine 31. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring... 32. Crying Fist (also boxing) 33. Friend (also gangster) 41. Failan (also part gangster) 51. Painted Fire/Strokes of Fire 53. A Moment to Remember (romantic) WAR 34. Silmido 35. Taegukgi OTHER 36. Save the Green Planet: (Mix of pretty much every genre) 37. Secret Reunion (spy/action) 38. Thirst (vampire movie) 39. Fighter in the Wind (like a Korean Ip Man) 40. Musa 48. Art of Fighting 52. Countdown To watch: Mother (shameful, I know), Breathless, The Thieves, Arrow (loving shaky cam) Movies I didn't enjoy: Spring, Fall, etc (just too quiet and boring, I see why others like it though), Secret Sunshine, A Moment to Remember, I'm A Cyborg but That's Okay, My Wife is a Gangster (just really forgettable), and Failan. The others I either really loved or at least liked. I'm not sure how much I'm going to like Kim Ki Duk's movies, from what I've seen/heard so far. So, anyone think of any really obvious great movies that I'm missing? Ones I've got that I'm iffy on watching: Barking Dogs Never Bite, Voice of a Murderer, Who Slept with her Sexy Teacher, Marathon, The Classic, The President's Barber, Masterpiece, Tazza: The High Rollers, Kick the Moon, The Unjust, Puzzle, Public Enemy, Handphone, Low Life (Raging Years), Hi Dharma, Blood Rain, Cold Fish (Japanese), Bad Guy, Champion, Antique, Cyrano Agency, Holiday, Moss. Gringo Heisenberg fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Feb 1, 2013 |
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Feb 1, 2013 01:24
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:Ones I've got that I'm iffy on watching: Barking Dogs Never Bite, Tazza: The High Rollers, Cold Fish (Japanese) I've seen a good chunk of the ones you've seen, and of the ones you said you're iffy on I've only seen these and would recommend all of them. Incidentally if anyone knows where I can get the soundtrack to Barking Dogs Never Bite for less than 60 bucks I'd be grateful. As for suggestions, it seems you haven't seen Bedeviled. I'd definitely check that out. It's carried by a really, really good central performance and gets pretty tense. It's about a woman dealing with the death of her daughter, but it's not anything like Secret Sunshine if that similarity puts you off at all. If you like period pieces, maybe check out Frozen Flower. It's fairly predictable and loses some steam towards the end but the performances are great and it's not bad, although the sex scenes are probably overkill. It's about an heirless king having the head of his royal guard who is also his lover impregnate the queen, and the ~*drama*~ that ensues. And try Sunny as well. It's a light comedy about a woman remembering her school friends and trying to reunite them as one of them is dying, jumping back and forward between the two time periods. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did, as it's not particularly the sort of thing I usually enjoy but I watched it after some positive word of mouth and I'm glad I did. And just because you mentioned Cold Fish I'm going to throw in a recommendation for Love Exposure by the same director if you haven't seen it, though it's Japanese and not Korean. It's 4 hours long and kind of bananas, it's about a kid who gets involved with upskirt photography as a way of getting his priest father's attention, and then a cult gets involved and a girl falls in love with him thinking he's a lady superhero and it kind of goes off the rails in an amazing way.
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Feb 1, 2013 02:21
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:What I haven't seen. Let's see here: Marathon (drama): Based on a true story about a kid with autism that has an extreme passion for running. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. Voice of a Murderer (crime/thriller): I saw this and quite liked it. It's about a couple that loses their son by a kidnapper and is tormented with phone calls. If you dig crime/thrillers, I recommend you watch it. Seven Days (crime/thriller): Another crime/thriller revolving around a lawyer who has a kidnapped daughter. In order to save her, she must defend a guilty man. I thought that was intriguing enough but when it unravels as to the reason why I was somewhat blown away. No Doubt (drama): This is quite a controversial film. It deals with a sex offender (pedophile) in a small village and a disappearing child. All fingers point to him, but did he have anything to do with it? I found it to be a fascinating watch and how the director handled the script. I don't know anyone else besides myself that has seen it, so I would like someone else to give it a watch and hear their thoughts. Sunny (dramedy): One of the better Korean films of last year. It's like the Korean version of Now & Then but a lot better. It's a coming of age drama that I highly recommend. A Brand New Life (drama): Based on a true story about a little girl (same one from The Man from Nowhere) abandoned by her father and left in an orphanage. Bedevilled (find out for yourself): Have you really not seen this? If not, watch it. Do not look up anything on this movie at all. It's better to know as little as possible before seeing it. I think it's still on Netflix. Speed Scandal (dramedy): A radio DJ in his 30's learns he may be a grandfather after a young girl with a baby claims to be his daughter. It's a drama/comedy but a good one that offers quite a few laughs. 71 Into the Fire (war): Based on a true story about student-soldiers that hold back a brigade of enemies in a vacant school in the Korean war. I'm a sucker for war films and I loved this. Cyrano Agency (rom-com): An agency that helps losers find love. They have steps and guidelines that they talk the people through via an ear piece while on their dates. It's sort of an odd premise, but it makes a good rom-com. Sa-rang (A Love)(crime/drama/romance): Highly underrated gangster flick with a love story interwoven within. Probably one of my favorite Korean films and if you are a sucker for a gangster flick like I am, don't miss out on this. xzoto1 fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Feb 1, 2013 |
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Feb 1, 2013 02:39
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Velocirocktor posted:As for suggestions, it seems you haven't seen Bedeviled. I'd definitely check that out. It's carried by a really, really good central performance and gets pretty tense. It's about a woman dealing with the death of her daughter, but it's not anything like Secret Sunshine if that similarity puts you off at all. Are you interested in horror at all? I mentioned a couple of my favorites earlier on in this thread. I've watched tons of Korean horror movies, and most of them were of the post-Ringu/The Ring remake "ghost girls with long black hair" variety, but a couple more that stood out for me were: Bloody Reunion - The only Korean slasher film I've ever seen. It gets pretty gory and true to form for most Korean horror I've watched, involves a twist. Antarctic Journal - A team of explorers is heading for one of the most remote points in the Antarctic when they run into evidence of a much older exploration team, and start encountering serious trouble. Dabbles into horror a bit but that's not really the focus of the movie. Stars the omnipresent Kang-ho Song!
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Feb 1, 2013 02:52
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So, The Berlin File is going to be receiving a limited American release soon. Check out the locations here. It starts running on February 15th. I'm in the US myself right now, so my review won't be out until a week later. Don't really know what to expect, though I feel like I should given how much it's been hyped. Ice Bar is a look at Korean sixties culture that has a lot of affectionate nostalgia appeal for this time period while also directly confronting the dangerous social problems that existed at the time. And all of this is wrapped up in the narrative format of a family film. The whole thing is fascinating to watch because I kept thinking "this is kind of grim for a kid's movie" only to remember that for kids back then this was their actual life.
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Feb 3, 2013 22:35
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'm going to get started on watching a bunch of the recommendations this week. And speaking of limited US releases, a reminder that  Oldboy is playing tomorrow and Tuesday at select Cineplex theaters.
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Feb 3, 2013 22:50
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'm going to get started on watching a bunch of the recommendations this week. Woah! Thanks for the heads-up! The Cineplex here is playing Battle Royale as well. Awesome!
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Feb 4, 2013 07:59
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 This review for 3-Iron, directed by Kim Ki-Duk, is probably my greatest achievement insofar as describing a movie without actually describing the plot. It's the kind of film where, if I tried to tell you what was literally going on on-screen, those words themselves would give impressions and implications that would unfairly shape your perception of what's happening. Even that image is cutting it a little close. Suffice to say, it's something to watch when you're in an introspective mood.
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Feb 10, 2013 18:51
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I just watched Mother last night, and I'm going to watch The Host later tonight. This is what I posted about Mother in another thread. Don't hover of the spoilers if you have not seen it. escape artist posted:I just finished Madeo by Bong Joon-ho and wow. It started off a little slow, but once it picked up, I was hooked. It was beautifully shot, well-acted (Kim Hye-ja was spectacular) and the story was riveting. A Korean neo-noir. You fully expect the mother to exonerate him of his crime, and then ultimately find out he did do the crime in the first place. And she ends up killing a witness to cover it up. Then he's exonerated and the wrong man goes to jail. And at dinner he basically admits to his mother why he placed the body in the position he did. These developments blind-sided me.
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Feb 11, 2013 03:34
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escape artist posted:I just watched Mother last night, and I'm going to watch The Host later tonight. Have you seen Memories of Murder? I still consider that his best film. I feel like Fincher's Zodiac was heavily influenced by it. There's also a lot of political and cultural subtext going on that you'd probably have to read up on after seeing the film, but once I did gave me an even deeper appreciation of what he achieved.
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Feb 11, 2013 03:39
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qbert posted:Have you seen Memories of Murder? I still consider that his best film. I feel like Fincher's Zodiac was heavily influenced by it. There's also a lot of political and cultural subtext going on that you'd probably have to read up on after seeing the film, but once I did gave me an even deeper appreciation of what he achieved. Yeah, that was the first movie of his I saw. It's great (and I know all about the true story behind it), but I thought Mother was even better. I first saw it when I was asking for "good serial killer movies" and someone said I should watch Zodiac and Memories of Murder as companion pieces.
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Feb 11, 2013 03:53
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The Host was so much fun. Funny, thrilling, heart-wrenching. I don't know how I feel about the fact that there's going to be a sequel, though.
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Feb 11, 2013 11:48
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Can this be a catch-all thread for Asian films? I'm living in china right now so I'm trying to see a movie once in a while if there are English subs. I saw Jackie chan's Zodiac 12 last month and it had some cool action scenes, but was pretty preachy about anti-looting of relics (as if that's a major issue these days). I know the gov't gives extra money or makes less red tape or something if you're preachy, but this seemed to drag out a while. Maybe it just seemed bad because I was still really hung over and kept having to puke every 30 mins. Speak of movies in china, Skyfall was just as pretty as the 3 times I saw it in the states, and the only scene cut was the assassin killing 2 security guards. I heard the Chinese subs didn't mention torture or prostitution though. Cloud Atlas was butchered though, with 25% cut for no good reason. Jack Reacher comes out here in few days, I wonder what they'll cut. Same with Hobbit, it comes a week later.
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Feb 13, 2013 13:13
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I feel like you should make another thread for films from China and Hong Kong, and another thread for films from Japan. Just my opinion. I feel like SK films are distinct from other Asian films, and there are plenty of them for us to discuss for a long, long time.
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Feb 13, 2013 14:57
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It would be better to just have one thread for all so it remains active not like the previous SK only thread.
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Feb 13, 2013 18:32
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Yeah I don't think there's really enough discussion to warrant three separate threads.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:45
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Just saw Peppermint Candy. If ever there were a film that totally sums up the state-of-mind of the Korean people, this is it. The film opens with the protagonist committing suicide, and the film travels back in time to several huge events in both South Korea and the protagonists life (the Seoul Spring and student massacres, for instance). The film is incredibly bleak and acts as a sort of outline of the failures of the South Korean government - it's also amazingly insightful, emotional and superbly put-together. I believe it's a criterion film, and for good reason.
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Feb 17, 2013 01:32
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I dunno, I don't see what's wrong with a slow-moving thread as long as it's not dead. Part 2 of the SK megathread looks to have gone to 15 pages, so there's got to be some interest kicking around.  I'm really just a CD lurker, but I've enjoyed having this thread to work through. I've been on a SK movie kick ever since blowing through The Host, A Tale of Two Sisters, and Old Boy on Netflix. I agree with escape artist's sentiment: South Korean films are distinctly so, and it seems sort of rough to just lump them in with the entirety of Asian cinema. Insanite fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Feb 17, 2013 |
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Feb 17, 2013 22:16
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I watched The Yellow Sea a few days ago and was left underwhelmed, but it caused me to come back and revisit The Chaser. That movie is a still a real drat good thriller, cant wait to see what the director does next.
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Feb 18, 2013 09:16
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Would you guys reccomend I watch The Yellow Sea before Chaser, then?
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Feb 18, 2013 13:34
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tofes posted:I watched The Yellow Sea a few days ago and was left underwhelmed, but it caused me to come back and revisit The Chaser. That movie is a still a real drat good thriller, cant wait to see what the director does next. I feel the same way. ^ I don't regret watching The Chaser first, and you could go either way really. Watch Yellow Sea first so your hopes aren't super high for it after watching The Chaser, or watch The Chaser first so it's your first introduction to the director & cast. Also I watched Breathless last night and it was really bleak. It's about the cycle of abuse/domestic violence where a miserable rear end in a top hat debt collector befriends a highschool girl. I've never really been bothered by violence, but there were some pretty drat uncomfortable/depressing scenes in this movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsh07veWqmU e: Anyone seen No Blood, No Tears? Gringo Heisenberg fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 18, 2013 19:58
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I always try and see at least one South Korean movie at the Melbourne International Film Festival and did get to meet Park Chan-Wook in 2004 when the movie of the festival was Oldboy http://timchuma.com/miff2004/parkchanwook_QA.htm, he said the director of "Save the Green Planet!" was a genius. I did enjoy Volcano High so much that I went back to see it another time at the film festival in a late night screening. I also saw Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine in Daehakno at the same festival. Seeing the Chaser and Thirst back to back at the festival was interesting. I also saw The Unjust and the Yellow Sea in adjacent screenings, which was like being smacked around. I did get to see the Korean Film Festival in Australia last year and saw War of the Arrows and the Frontline on two different nights. Welcome to Dongmakgol was pretty good I thought, but did not get much publicity when it came out. Some movies I bought together knowing nothing about and had nothing but Korean on the DVD cover. I had to go looking online to find out what they were called after the fact. The Fox Family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XguPacI5EE0 Midnight Ballad for the Ghost Theatre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtUG_Ppm4pw Highway Star https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oniAAqMVTVM Dasepo Naughty Girls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MYZpNaN5qE You have to be in the right mood to watch these though, if you want action go elsewhere. City of Violence was a bit tiresome, but the B-Boy fight and take off of the Furies from the Warriors were interesting. Tim Chuma fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Feb 20, 2013 |
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Feb 20, 2013 06:38
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I think a miscellaneous international film thread would be good for discussing movies or industries not-quite-important enough to warrant enough discussion for a whole thread. Obviously, I think the Korean film industry has enough discussion for its own thread or I wouldn't have started it up again. Like this bit of weirdness- Even though The Berlin File was supposed to dominate the Korean box office in the first quarter this year, Miracle in Cell No. 7 has been the breakout hit. After last weekend's box office tallies came in it now sits at #8 on the all-time list and would have ranked #3 overall if it had been released last year. And it's still playing strong in theaters so it'll probably at least break ten million. So, what's it about? A mentally retarded man who's railroaded by an unsympathetic justice system and the relationship he has with his young daughter. Also how they change the people they meet in prison for the better. It's a comedy. Mostly. Sort of like Life Is Beautiful except that there aren't any villains and people actually die. I wouldn't really call it avant-garde, but the tonal mix is easily the most intriguingly bizarre I've ever seen pretty much anywhere.
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Feb 20, 2013 08:52
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Saw the Yellow Sea yesterday and agree with what most people here are seeing. The Chaser was amazing, the Yellow Sea kind of average. It was a real letdown because I expected so much. There were some very nice scenes, but it takes too long to get going and the whole build-up has a pay-off that just isn't worth the wait. Afterwards I kept thinking about the great parts such as the axefight/chase through the ship, but it is easy to remember that and forget the rest.
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Feb 20, 2013 09:06
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Just saw The Chaser and I've got to say I found myself really underwhelmed by the film. It might have been because it's been so praised in this thread, though. The film had some interested scenes and engaging bookends, but for such a large chunk of the film it feels like there's no development, in plot or character. So much of the movie is people sitting around in the police station or characters just trying to figure out what the audience already knows in kind of played out ways. So much of The Chaser just felt like both the characters and myself were just waiting.
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Feb 20, 2013 20:19
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 The Berlin File is playing in American theaters right now. It's an action-packed spy versus spy investigation. It doesn't do anything especially innovative with the genre, but it's everything I could reasonably want from two hours in a movie theater. I don't think it will have too much staying power in the years to come, but it's an absolute blast watched inside the movie theater environment. A lot of the movie is in spoken English, and even the spoken English is subtitled. Cool beans for the hard of hearing. As a side note, the Rotten Tomatoes page has this at 30%, and the only really consistent complaint is "too much like The Bourne Identity", I guess because they're both action movies that take place in Berlin. The actual plot has a lot more in common with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with an emphasis on international political intrigue, double-crosses and intelligence gathering. Also, most of the action is in straight-up fights, not escape sequences. Take from that what you will.
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Feb 23, 2013 17:14
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Put me down in the "must see" column for Memories of Murder. I just reactivated the disc portion of my Netflix membership just so I could get a hold of this and watch it, and I'm not sorry I did. I'd read a description of the final scene, but the way it came across watching it was different and better than what I expected. What a gut punch. One that will haunt you. I do agree that it seems likely this had a significant influence on Zodiac. I don't know if there's a name for cinematography techniques or styles of the new crop of strong S. Korean directors, but the nighttime city scenes in films like The Chaser are really wonderful to look at, so crisp and precise. Next up: Mother and Thirst on the old Netflix streaming queue, with Brotherhood of War and non-dubbed Oldboy to come as discs!
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Feb 24, 2013 04:29
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Just popping in for 1 more quick China post. Couldn't find articles about censorship of these movies: Saw Jack Reacher last week and didn't notice any censorship, but I didn't see it in America to compare. Good movie, looked nice on a big screen. Saw The Hobbit twice this week, again didn't notice any censorship, but nothing to compare. We have Les Mis and Dredd coming out this week, and I did see Dredd in the states so if I notice any censorship I'll edit this post. Anyone know of any Chinese movies with English subs out now/soon? got any sevens fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Feb 28, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2013 00:34
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