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SMP posted:Not Korean, but are you thinking of Drug War by Johnnie To? No. Again, an absolutely fantastic, clever movie. This looked as dumb as a sack of hammers, and I was looking for a John Woo movie through Korean eyes. One that wasn't A Better Tomorrow, at least.
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May 15, 2014 23:04
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Just watched: New World and that was great, although I was pretty upset that the protagonist didn't fight anyone in the entire movie. I guess my expectations were leaning towards The Man From Nowhere. Plays out like your usual(?) triad movie with great fight scenes and decent acting, though some parts of the plot were a bit contrived. If you liked the game Sleeping Dogs then you'll probably like this movie. 26 Years was okay, the beginning was very Waltz with Bashir-esque and fairly graphic. The whole movie is meant as a thriller/suspense with a historical backdrop but didn't do a great job with pacing or plot. Probably watching Company Man next since my action itch wasn't quite scratched with these two. dangersandwich fucked around with this message at 03:43 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 01:52
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I just watched the Cyrano film and it was okay but the whole time I was thinking the episodic dates they set up were way more interesting then the main drama driving the film. Guess someone agreed with me cause when I googled it it turned out there was a spin-off series about that (I hope). Now to see if that's any good.
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May 19, 2014 23:46
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Just a heads up... Joon-ho Bong will be doing an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit on the 25th of this month. Here's the link: http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/28p046/bong_joonho_ama_dirwrit_of_snowpiercer_mother_the/
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Jun 21, 2014 10:43
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I'm trying to track down a film recommended by one of the podcasts I listen to. From what I remember a woman finds the perfect apartment and decides to kill the other prospective buyers. Glad I found this thread again, guess it's time to finally watch I Saw the Devil.
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Jun 22, 2014 20:51
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Flython posted:I'm trying to track down a film recommended by one of the podcasts I listen to. From what I remember a woman finds the perfect apartment and decides to kill the other prospective buyers. Sounds like the Hong Kong movie "Dream Home" to me.
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Jun 23, 2014 02:26
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Flython posted:I'm trying to track down a film recommended by one of the podcasts I listen to. From what I remember a woman finds the perfect apartment and decides to kill the other prospective buyers. That sounds a lot like Hide and Seek. Unfortunately, it's not very good.
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Jun 23, 2014 02:38
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Flython posted:I'm trying to track down a film recommended by one of the podcasts I listen to. From what I remember a woman finds the perfect apartment and decides to kill the other prospective buyers. Sounds like 숨바꼭질, it was pretty bad. Also Snowpiercer is finally getting released in the States this weekend if you haven't seen it yet!
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Jun 26, 2014 02:14
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AnonSpore posted:Sounds like 숨바꼭질, it was pretty bad.
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Jun 26, 2014 02:30
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RightClickSaveAs posted:I watched the original Snowpiercer not long ago and the Weinsteins are idiots. It's like 90% in English and was a great movie just as it is. The tone is weird in a couple places but that added to the overall experience. I watched the original as well and I agree that it was fine with a few weird spots. I thought in the end it turned out that the US release was gonna be unedited, though?
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Jun 26, 2014 02:33
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RightClickSaveAs posted:I watched the original Snowpiercer not long ago and the Weinsteins are idiots. It's like 90% in English and was a great movie just as it is. The tone is weird in a couple places but that added to the overall experience. A lot of Joon-ho's films have some weird tonal issues, I think that's part of their charm. When I watched Snowpiercer I had in the back of my mind the whole time the idea that the Weinstein's wanted to trim the movie, and I really don't see how they could have cut much without completely butchering it so it didn't make sense anymore.
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Jun 26, 2014 03:12
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zandert33 posted:Sounds like the Hong Kong movie "Dream Home" to me. Bingo. Guess I was off by a country or two. KaptainKrunk posted:That sounds a lot like Hide and Seek. AnonSpore posted:Sounds like 숨바꼭질, it was pretty bad. That's too bad, it's got a pretty good premise. Thanks for the help everyone.
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Jun 26, 2014 17:23
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So has anyone seen the US release of Snowpiercer yet? It doesn't come to Chicago until this weekend but I'm curious if it really is exactly the same cut as the original Korean release.
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Jun 30, 2014 17:23
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Wait, and they're doing a staggered release for it? The movie starring Chris "Captain America" Evans, and about a frozen wasteland, just as the summer heat starts to really kick in? I guess Transformers did come out this weekend so that's a hard thing to open against, but it really should have opened last year anyway so again, the Weinsteins are idiots.
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Jul 1, 2014 01:00
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It came out in NYC and LA opening weekend and opens everywhere else on the 4th. But at least in Chicago it's only showing in an art house/indie theater that I had never even heard of until now which is really stupid.
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Jul 2, 2014 16:07
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wow a lot of under appreciation for "Bad Guy" in this thread I think it's one of Ki-duk Kim Best films. I recommend Bad Guy heavily and think it's one of the most important south Korean films ever. Example in this interview. VH: What was it that you tried to find out about the world through Bad Guy? KKD: The question that I was trying to ask is, why is it that though everyone is born the same, with equal rights and equal qualities, we are divided and categorized as we grow older. Why are we judged according to our looks and appearances? Why does it become important if we are good looking or ugly, if we have money or not? According to these standards, which are imposed after we are born and grown up, we become divided into ranks and social classes that don’t get along with each other. I wanted to ask if it’s really impossible for these classes to get along and for their worlds to merge. It emphasizes South korea so much it becomes educational and something more.
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Jul 13, 2014 11:45
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I've made a little project out of going through and watching as many films that won the Golden Lion as I can, ever since stumbling across Jia Zhangke and noticing Still Life won it. The most recent on the list was Pieta, and  . I have never winced so hard at a movie that didn't have any gore or really any kind of graphic content at all. I seriously almost turned this poo poo off like 3 different times, but managed to make it through by glancing at my phone awkwardly and waiting it out. Glad I did, because once everything wraps together, it all makes sense. Well, most of it at least. Christ almighty. The main character really pulled off that impossibly brutal/tortured soul role really well, and definitely left me with the impression that I wanted really bad things to happen to him, which sort of changed as the movie went along and he grew as a person.While some of the cultural aspects of his interactions with his mother are a bit much to take in for someone who's never been to Asia (what is it with people getting slapped like 6 times in Asian movies and turning their head right back to get slapped again?!), there was a real human element to all the characters near the end that made the whole story seem like I could relate with it. Especially in the last bit when he was being reunited with everyone and looking at them in a different light. Some of these Golden Lion winners have been hit or miss, with Faust being the main one that just made me scream get this poo poo out of my face, but this one was an interesting watch. Now I want to watch it with some unsuspecting person and watch them get shocked and appalled while I'm just like  .What are some other films of Ki-duk Kim's that are considered among his best work? I might check out that Bad Guy movie spotix mentioned next.
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Jul 21, 2014 09:12
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Just want to say that A Hard Day is a really fun film. Everyone should go see it as soon as they can.
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Aug 10, 2014 05:45
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I really enjoyed Snow Piercer.
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Aug 10, 2014 07:23
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Korean Film Festival in Australia is a thing which is happening soon. http://koffia.com.au/tickets/screen-schedule-2014/ Wondering if anyone has any recommendations that I can't miss from this list?
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Aug 11, 2014 09:02
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2MqGo98R_M Just came back from a screening of The Admiral: Roaring Currents. It's breaking box-office records in Korea and is currently the most-watched film in their history? It's practically a Korean naval equivalent of 300; melodrama, slow motion, made-up BS to make the action more exciting, etc. The true story that it's based on is pretty impressive already: Korean admiral fends off 300 Japanese boats using only 12 ships. Also if you're an anime nerd, his story seems to be the inspiration for Yang Wenli from Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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Aug 17, 2014 06:35
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Hilarious comparison note- The Admiral was released almost exactly a year after Snowpiercer. There were no plans to distribute it internationally because no one knew how successful it would be until after the film had actually come out. CJ managed to throw all this together in maybe a week, and I still have to remind myself that you guys only got Snowpiercer two months ago, and it was initially released with a fourth the screens The Admiral got. If there's a moral to be taken this...well, it's probably just "gently caress the Weinsteins" but still, interesting.Steve Yun posted:It's practically a Korean naval equivalent of 300; melodrama, slow motion, made-up BS to make the action more exciting, etc. The true story that it's based on is pretty impressive already: Korean admiral fends off 300 Japanese boats using only 12 ships. I take mild umbrage at this, because the melodrama in The Admiral is mainly aimed at establishing that it's more important to have a good strategy than to be a swaggering confident rear end in a top hat. That's a pretty awesome message. By contrast 300 is either about how fascism is awesome/terrible. I can never remember which. That's a terrible message mostly because it provokes stupid arguments. BSam posted:Korean Film Festival in Australia is a thing which is happening soon. Well, shoot, too late for you Syndey/Canberra folks. But given that I've seen nearly every movie on this list and never post anymore I suppose I can give the rest of you Australia goons some quick hits. If you want something more in-depth go to HanCinema and type the full name in to get my full review. Cold Eyes Decent detective thriller, but I disliked it because it has one of those mystery constructions that only really works from the screenwriter's angle. If you try to apply any lateral thinking to the process at all the whole thing falls apart. Commitment Eh...the movie's all right. It's about a North Korean spy who does covert stuff in South Korea to try and save his sister. It almost turns into a bizarro Secretly and Greatly, where the focus is on the ineffectual self-interestedness of Korean culture, but that thread totally falls apart in the second half. Rough Play This one's pretty bonkers. It's about an actor that's aggressive, impulsive, and probably totally insane. He gets a film career based on these qualities. The script was by Kim Ki-duk, but it's really more of a film from his kind of creative school than it is a proper Kim Ki-duk film. Hot Young Bloods This one's a lot of fun. It's about a high school in eighties Korea where everything is violent and rad because it's the eighties and that's what everybody thought was cool back then. Great period music, too. The Terror, Live If you've read the thread you know I love this movie. It's a terrorist thriller from the PR angle. Don't worry, there's plenty of explosions, but the gimmick is excellently done. Secretly and Greatly It's weird, none of the other critics like this one except me. Probably because the main character is played by an idol...anyway, he's an elite North Korean spy who goes into South Korea disguised as a retard. Action comedy thriller, with the central emotional question being is it better to be a super-cool action warlord in the kingdom of hell, or a retard in the kingdom of heaven? Also has the same director that did Bedevilled, if that's important to you. The Suspect Do you hate shaky cam? Then in the name of all that's decent don't watch this movie. It will give you a horrific headache. It's another spy thriller but I'll be darned if I have any idea what it was actually about. Hope Extremely sad but very uplifting. Kind of like the concept of hope. It's about emotional trauma and recovery with a distinct lack of emphasis on hatred and vengeance, even though that's almost always how film treats this subject matter. Highly recommended. Hide and Seek Eh...interesting for awhile but squanders its potential by turning into a standard horror thriller. Obvious sense of class consciousness in the proceedings, which deal with revenge against those who lied their way to traditional success. Top Star A movie about film actors and the power of friendship. Kind of the exact opposite of Rough Play. Bad stuff happens, but the characters learn from it and even if they don't really move on it's nice to see a movie that portrays film actors as people rather than demigods or totally amoral scumbags. New World This thread's already talked the movie up plenty I think...still, if you haven't watched it, you should. Gangster melodrama. The melodrama actually manages to improve the gangster aspect of the film substantially, which is not something I would have thought possible before actually seeing it. The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow All right, you know how some people love to overanalyze the heck out of animated cartoons that were obviously intended for children? This cartoon is obviously intended for children, yet it's subject matter is so insanely scatalogical and weird it practically demands adult viewers to interpret it somehow. A summary of all the storyline events that happens in this movie would be several paragraphs long and sound like something out of an insane acid trip. Personally I think it was a metaphor for growing up, but your mileage may vary. Thread of Lies Anatomy of a suicide, from the perspective of the surviving family members left to pick up the pieces. Extremely sad, and the ending will probably induce tears. Also probably the best analysis I've ever seen of the reasons for why teens commit suicide on the personal level- there's no outrageous screenwriting here. Miss Granny Comedy about a cranky old woman who through magic is turned into a younger woman for awhile. Most of the power here stems from the excellent performance of the lad actress, who convincingly behaves like an old woman in a young woman's body. Great fusion music too, even if the narrative isn't all that great. Some Guy TT fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 02:58
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Some Guy TT posted:
I'm with you! I loved 은미하게 위대하게/Secretly Greatly, and I don't particularly love idols or action movies.
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Aug 20, 2014 16:13
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Some Guy TT posted:I take mild umbrage at this, because the melodrama in The Admiral is mainly aimed at establishing that it's more important to have a good strategy than to be a swaggering confident rear end in a top hat. That's a pretty awesome message. By contrast 300 is either about how fascism is awesome/terrible. I can never remember which. That's a terrible message mostly because it provokes stupid arguments. The best thing about this though is that now I'm aware of who Yi Sun-sin is and his goddamn amazing life story.
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Aug 20, 2014 16:18
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I haven't seen it but I'm absolutely astounded if "Korea making GBS threads all over Japan: The Movie" can't be read in fairly similar ways to 300.
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Aug 20, 2014 16:22
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The thing is, that isn't really a theme of the movie. It's much more focused on the admiral himself, and the primary theme is how a person of character behaves in desperate circumstances, and how that can inspire courage in others. The Japanese are necessarily the villains, but their evilness is mostly important to provide a real threat and instill a sense of hopelessness among the Koreans. That said, they aren't treated exactly even-handedly -- being ahistorically poor at on-ship fighting is to be expected, though, as it adds dramatic tension. It is distracting that 'Japanese'= 'Korean actor with really bad eye makeup'. I think if you have to force a comparison thematically, The Patriot works better, although the cultural context can't be denied -- there isn't any real animosity in the US towards the British these days. And even though the stated similarities to 300 are there, I didn't really think of any of these films while watching it; it's pretty well done in its own right. I do think that you end up wishing the director had a few more tricks to pull aside from slow-motion shots and swelling music, because that does eventually get old. Kangra fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Aug 30, 2014 |
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Aug 30, 2014 02:50
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Just finished watching 'Secretly, Greatly'. I enjoyed it. It could have been better sure, but I didn't find myself wanting to flick through my phone while watching it. I'd recommend watching it.
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Aug 30, 2014 10:01
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Did Netflix streaming service just get an influx of Korean films it hasn't had before? And Asian films in general? Maybe I haven't been checking enough but it looks like I suddenly see a bunch of new ones.
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Sep 9, 2014 00:39
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Saw that The Pirates (it has some subtitle about Sea Bandits I think) was out here in the US this week. Looks like a standard sea adventure, but I wonder if it's worth seeing. Or is this actually some older film being released to cash in along with The Admiral?
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Sep 20, 2014 07:10
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So I noticed My Way on iTunes and was wondering, is it good?
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Sep 21, 2014 01:06
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i liked it a lot. it's a bit slow at times and the ending is dumb but overall it's worth watching. its also somewhat based on real events which makes it, for me at least, more fun to watch
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Sep 21, 2014 01:14
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Kangra posted:Saw that The Pirates (it has some subtitle about Sea Bandits I think) was out here in the US this week. Looks like a standard sea adventure, but I wonder if it's worth seeing. Or is this actually some older film being released to cash in along with The Admiral? No, it's a modern movie that went into production last year. That both movies involve the ocean is just a random coincidence. A very frustrating coincidence, because everybody talks about the domestic success of Pirates and The Admiral in terms of Sewol, and I have absolutely no idea where this train of thought is coming from aside from all these things involving both Korea and the ocean. If you really want to talk shop The Admiral succeeded probably for the same reason that Miss Granny did earlier this year- appeal to old people. They have money and almost no one ever markets to them. Unfortunately Pirates isn't really worth seeing. The story is way more complicated than it needs to be, and very little of that actually has anything to do with the movie's main interesting conceit- pirates and mountain bandits chasing the whale that ate the MacGuffin. I'd go into more detail but then I'd just be rehasing my review. By the way, where are you getting showtimes for Pirates? The only theater chain I've known to regularly screen Korean films stateside is AMC.
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Sep 21, 2014 09:15
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wdarkk posted:So I noticed My Way on iTunes and was wondering, is it good? I thought it was pretty horrible.
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Sep 21, 2014 09:54
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Some Guy TT posted:By the way, where are you getting showtimes for Pirates? The only theater chain I've known to regularly screen Korean films stateside is AMC. I'm in San Jose, and I'm pretty sure the theater that's showing it is Cupertino Square, which is AMC and seems to have a pretty regular selection of East Asian movies. I think there are places in Berkeley and Oakland that show Korean movies now and then, and they probably aren't AMC but I don't know how regularly they screen them. Camera cinemas (in SJ and Campbell) has had them but they're more likely to be the ones with more indie appeal (e.g. I saw Treeless Mountain there). Semi-related to Korean cinema, I saw the poster for The Interview (not the Korean Dogme 95 film, but a Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy that's presumably about North Korea). Does the writing on the poster mean anything interesting? Kangra fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Sep 21, 2014 |
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Sep 21, 2014 15:16
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Kangra posted:Semi-related to Korean cinema, I saw the poster for The Interview (not the Korean Dogme 95 film, but a Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy that's presumably about North Korea). Does the writing on the poster mean anything interesting? "이무식한 미국놈들을 믿지 마십시오" just means "Do not listen to the Americans."
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Sep 23, 2014 03:51
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I don't think it's South Korean, but has anyone seen The World of Kanako and could give a recommendation for it?
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Sep 24, 2014 23:31
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About to start watching Hot Young Bloods. Will report back. edit: Worth watching. I love the hair, watch it just for the hair. EvilElmo fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Sep 29, 2014 |
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Sep 28, 2014 07:37
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Just rewatched Memories of Murder and yup, still an excellent loving movie. Are there any other movies similar to it out there worth a watch? Primarily talking about quality thrillers/crime procedurals here.
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Oct 11, 2014 22:25
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EvilElmo posted:About to start watching Hot Young Bloods. I like all three of the leads in it so I really wanted to like it but I felt like it fell apart in the last third or so. Before that it was great though. 
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Oct 11, 2014 23:04
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Stare-Out posted:Just rewatched Memories of Murder and yup, still an excellent loving movie. Are there any other movies similar to it out there worth a watch? Primarily talking about quality thrillers/crime procedurals here. It's not strictly a crime procedural, but from the same director you have [b]Mother[/u] which is also a murder mystery.
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Oct 11, 2014 23:26
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