Mother

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 01 July 2022 Blu-ray

Not to be confused with the movie of the same name by Darren Oronofsky … this 2009 drama is by Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, Oscar winner of Parasite fame. This tells the story of over-protective ‘Mother’ who goes out of her way to prove her simple-minded son’s innocence after he’s accused of murder.

This surprised me. I had picked up the Bong Joon-ho collection a while back after loving Parasite and had been slowly working my way through the movies. This hadn’t exactly caught my eye but I thought I’d give it a go. With a demanding and enjoyable lead performance from actress Kim Hye-ja this proved an intriguing mystery. Joon-On’s direction is creative, subtlety stylish and often gorgeous. The movie delivers several twists and turns in the plot and I was kept transfixed throughout. It’s not exactly a thriller, but more a quirky drama with smatterings of sex & violence along with a great deal of personality.

Support from Won Bin as the simple-minded son is also very good as is much of the rest of the cast. The ending did perhaps deliver a twist too far, leaving me slightly scratching my head but overall I’d say this is up there with the best of Korean cinema. Well worth checking out.

Verdict: Recommended

The Host

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Craig M

Viewed – 20 April 2021 Blu-ray

I’ve been a fan of Korean cinema for a while and when Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite swept the Oscars I felt proud to see an industry I love get the recognition it deserves. This 2006 movie from the same Director, follows a dim-witted man who’s daughter gets taken by a mutated sea creature following an incident where dangerous chemicals are dumped into the local river.

Veteran Korean actor Kang-Ho Song (Parasite, Sympathy For Mr Vengeance) is again great, supported by a very capable cast. Joon-ho’s movie is part creature feature, part family drama, part black comedy, all delivered with the director’s eye for slick visuals. The editing is especially well done, with Joon-ho playing with the viewer’s expectations as situation switches to situation, which kept me glued and eventually caring about each character. The CGI for the monster is effective if not perfect, but with how the movie is shot, still proves (mostly) convincing.

It can drag its feet in places, and some of the humour felt a bit out of place at times … but overall, this was well made, quality entertainment. One to watch.

The Blu-ray, part of the recently released ‘Bong Joon-ho collection’ box set from Curzon Artificial Eye, has the movie presented in a choice of soundtracks, including Korean 5.1 in uncompressed PCM as well as DTS and Dolby Digital. The soundtrack is also available in English dubbed. Extras are plentiful with cast interviews, special effects featurettes, behind the scenes making of, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a trailer. The movie is in great condition too, with a particularly crisp image that really shows off the often vivid colour pallet and eye-catching cinematography. Not too shabby.

Verdict:

(the movie) Recommended

(the Blu-ray) Good

A-Z Challenge – update 3

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Craig M

Well, this is becoming quite the challenge for me personally. I’ve now reached letter S having ploughed through 7 more movies. Revisiting La La Land for L was surprising in how much I enjoyed it and appreciated the story second time around, and would now rate it higher than my existing review. For M, Mission Impossible Fallout was an easy pick as I’d brought it on Blu-ray awhile back and not got around to watching it. Yes just as good if not better on second viewing.

Reaching N … I chose another Alfred Hitchcock classic, North By Northwest … an exciting man-in-the-wrong-place mystery thriller with Cary Grant that was a lot of fun. O was one my most disappointing movie of last year, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and although I enjoyed it a little bit more, it overall didn’t work for me and I stand by my initial review.

I recently reviewed Parasite, my letter P and was overall impressed with it, despite a somewhat far-fetched ending. Q was the mostly reviled Bond outing Quantum of Solace, a movie I still think is ok but the story is weak and unengaging even though Daniel Craig is still good and some of the action is great. Then we came to R and I chose the Spanish found-footage horror [REC] a movie I really like even if subsequent viewings do dilute the experience for me.

Now will I get the remaining 8 movies watched by June 30th? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The Age of Shadows

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Craig M

Viewed – 05 May 2018 Blu-ray

I’m certainly a fan of Korean cinema. Over the years I’ve discovered some real gems and found myself liking certain directors and actors the more I see their movies. This critically acclaimed thriller follows Police captain Lee Jung‑Chool (Kang Ho-song) who infiltrates a group of resistance fighters who are reportedly planning a series of bombings on Japanese establishments during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1920s. As a Korean born man, Lee Jung finds himself questioning his allegiance when a charismatic resistance fighter befriends him and lets him in on their plans.

This tale of loyalty, double crosses and war time espionage is shot with no end of style and class. The set design and photography here is simply breath-taking and further cements director Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil) as one of the best the country has to offer. Although at times overly-complicated, this was at times gripping with some brilliantly executed set-pieces including a tense sequence aboard a train and an exhilarating finally set to the music of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. Add to this two strong turns from Kang-Ho Song (Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, The Host) and Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) and even though occasional shoot-outs got a tad repetitive … it was the battle of wits at the centre of the story that came across strongest.

Not one of those Korean movies I’d leap to recommend over so many others, but if you’re a fan of well-made world cinema, this is still worth your time.

Verdict: 3.5 /5

The Villainess

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Craig M

Viewed – 18 February 2018 online-rental

I was first exposed to the wonders of Korean cinema quite like many were I presume with Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy. From that starting point firstly, that director became a firm favourite, and I also was treated to some real gems; including last year’s personal top ten entry Train to Busan. So we come to this somewhat under-hyped action thriller. Sook-hee has been trained from a young girl to become a deadly, highly skilled assassin. However upon the death of her mentor, she vows revenge which ultimately lands her in the custody of a government organisation that would like to put her skills to work.

This starts brilliantly with a no-holds-barred visceral action sequence filmed mostly in first person that well, has to be seen to be believed. This immediately hooked me, and once again it seems I was in for a top level Korean movie that I’d be recommending to anyone willing to listen. There’s clear echoes of French classic La Femme Nikita here, as well as Lady Vengeance. Also the direction, with rapid-fire editing and impossible camera work certainly makes this an experience. It’s sad to report then, that this is all held together with a rather generic and muddled plot with a myriad of flashbacks that only help to confuse matters. Performances are largely decent, especially from Kim Ok-bin as Sook-hee and there’s some fun characters and interesting twists. It also doesn’t take any prisoners and is at times very bloody and violent. I also found myself caring for the central protagonist’s plight and affected by the shitty things that happen to her … but with a villain who’s motives seem simply ‘because I’m evil’ this ended up not being the full package.

See it for it’s action and impeccable style. Not so much for it’s plot.

Verdict: 3 /5