Reviews

Bromantic thriller involving sleeper agents tasked with silencing North Korean defectors. Well-made but mostly by the numbers plot enlivened by Korean favorite Song Kang-Ho (The Host, Memories of Murder) acting among weaker supporting characters. Some nice action scenes with co-lead Kang Dong-won keep things moving at a brisk enough pace. Story doesn't aim very high and wraps with a finish that's a little too tidy, despite the two hour runtime.

Forgettable but ultimately fun, probably for Korean thriller fans only. Jang Hoon also directed the similarly competent Korean War drama The Front Line (2011).

Disturbing and well-crafted portrait of a broken family dealing with their agony and desperation by inflicting it upon others, as well as themselves. Japanese stalwart Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins, Kairo) leads as the vicious, alcoholic father on the hunt for his missing daughter, whose pain is more complicated than her absent parents know. Multilayered narrative and hyper-kinetic editing style reveal tortured emotions behind the graphic violence, although director Tatsuya Nakashima (Confessions, Kamikaze Girls) still has problems drawing uniformly strong performances from a young cast and spends too much time with a secondary character infatuated with Kanako. Utilizing animation, musical montage, and nearly every possible cinematic tool, the film drains the audience until we are as resigned to Kanako's fate as she is. Easily Nakashima's best film, although still flawed. Fans of Japanese aesthetics may love it.

Black comedy with a corrupt detective attempting to cover up his tracks after an accidental vehicular homicide on the way to his mother's funeral. Of course, events get complicated in an amusing fashion, at times reaching an almost Weekend at Bernie's level of silliness. Film rides a fine line between gangster comedy and violent criminal drama, and manages to strike an even tone between. Charismatic and soothingly baritone voiced lead Lee Sun-Kyun's climactic showdown with a menacing rival cop is brutal and almost as much fun as the ride to get there. Sun- Kyun is a talented leading man who, in a better world, would be acting in major Hollywood films.

A Hard Day ends up occupying the same mix of action and humor that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or the more recent Nice Guys do so well. The film is writer/director Seong-hoon Kim's second since 2006; hopefully the next will arrive quicker.

Eager to please big budget action in the vein of the Bourne or Mission Impossible franchises. A North Korean double agent evades a South Korean triple agent while searching for the true killer of an important government official, who is also responsible for the murder of our hero's family. There's also a secret chemical weapons formula being chased by both sides.

None of this matters, of course, because the story is an excuse for lots of spectacular fight scenes and even more spectacular chase scenes; a quite satisfying amount of cars are damaged in one lengthy chase. Characters speak mostly in exposition as they stare at computer monitors or hold phone conversations. Our hero is somewhat dull and uncomplicated, and one wishes the story was actually focused on the two primary antagonists -- who could easily carry their own movie.

Overall solid entertainment in the style of Hollywood action blockbusters.

Over the top thriller with a detective duo on the heels of a serial killer, one a legendary sleuth and the other, a hot blooded rule breaker. Bizarre and gruesome murders high in a glacial mountain community uncover a eugenics conspiracy with a late twist reveal that doesn't feel earned, but typical for the genre. Understated performances by Reno and a handsome Vincent Cassel. Mention must be made of the out of left field fight scene between Cassel and some skinheads, which plays out like a video game complete with ridiculous sound effects. Stakes never feel as high as they should be, but otherwise it's an enjoyable way to pass the time.

Slow burning horror with the venerable Song Kang-ho (Thirst, Memories of Murder) as the leader of an expedition to the farthest inland point of the Antarctic. As the weeks of marching across the harsh floes begin to take their psychological toll on the explorers, they start to have doubts about their journey when they find the remains of long dead Norwegian adventurer. In spite of the sameness of the exteriors, shots are framed artfully and establish a creeping dread and isolation that builds to a terrifying, eldritch conclusion. Reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's 2002 desert trek Gerry, by way of Lovecraft.

Director Yim Pil-Sung went on to make an unconventional folk horror film in 2007's Hansel and Gretel, also worth seeing.