Jul
31
2008
Beautiful (Arumdabda)
Posted by luna6 | 10 Comments
Movie: Beautiful
Release Date: February 14, 2008
Country: South Korea
Director: Jae-heung Jeon
Starring: Su-yeon Cha, Cheon-hee Lee
Runtime: 88 min
Editor Rating: 4.5
Users Rating: 6.62 
(13 votes)
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If it walks like a duk and quacks like a duk, well it’s probably a Duk. In this case, “Beautiful,” is film directed by first time director Jae-heung Jeon, but for all practical purposes it’s still a Ki-duk Kim film. Mr. Kim in fact wrote the original screenplay several years ago and acted as the film’s producer. Perhaps from the backlash Ki-duk Kim received after making critical remarks about Korean movie goers and his subsequent apology, he decided to pass on “Beautiful” to his understudy.
“Beautiful” centers around the stunning Eun-young Kim (Su-yeon Cha). Unfortunately for Eun-young, her beauty becomes more of a curse rather than a blessing. She finds it difficult to make friends, frequently misunderstood and often finds herself wanting to be just left alone. Her world quickly comes tumbling down when a stalker breaks into her apartment and rapes her.
After this traumatic incident, Eun-young attempts various ways to rid herself of her beauty. She first tries to binge eat herself into obesity and when that doesn’t work, she tries to starve herself into an unattractive figure. During this time a police officer (Cheon-hee Lee) finds himself falling for the still beautiful Eun-young Kim. Eventually the police officer finds himself stalking Eun-young in the same manner as Eun-young’s rapist.
The topic of “beauty” isn’t something new in the Ki-duk Kim world. Kim’s 2006 film “Time” dealt with similar subject matter but from a slightly different angle. Problems that arise with “Beautiful” are the same qualities that have marred Kim’s work in the past.
In “Beautiful” all the characters reside in a artificial world of extremes. Similar to some of Ki-duk Kim’s past films, the characters in “Beautiful” never come across as living-breathing people, but rather symbolic figures to express the director’s ideas. As an example all the male characters in the movie are cardboard thin characters, obsessed only with Eun-young Kim’s beauty. Eventually, this world of extremes causes the movie goer to view the characters as shallow artistic symbols rather than real characters. This then leads to the uncomfortable feeling of being spoon fed one man’s artistic vision.
The story itself causes plenty of alarms. Similar to early Ki-duk Kim films, there’s a heavy misogynist feel to “Beautiful.” Police officers sympathizes with rapists, women in general are viewed only as objects, and there’s that deprave sexual act shown in the final sequence for no meaningful reason. There’s also this oppressive feeling of someone wanting something unobtainable and then becoming engulfed with rage that permeates throughout the movie. Enough so that I wondered how often this happened in Ki-duk Kim’s past.
“Beautiful” did have some moments where it showed promise. Su-yeon Cha won’t make you forget Do-yeon Jeon anytime soon, but her performance still makes you want to see more of her. Unfortunately for the movie, the heavy misogynist feel of “Beautiful” felt suffocating to this viewer and the always extreme actions by all the characters screamed out “wannabe art film!”
Cast:
Su-yeon Cha - Eun-young Kim
Cheon-hee Lee - Police Officer Choi
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Time, Breath
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2008 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |
Jul
31
2008
Satoshi Tsumabuki learns Korean for his role in “Boat”
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Don’t be surprised to hear Satoshi Tsumabuki say “An nyeong ha seh yo,” “Ban gap sup nee da” or even “Shibal” in the upcoming Japanese / Korean film “Boat.” As reported here and here, Boat will come out sometime early 2009 and stars Satoshi Tsumabuki, Jung-woo Ha (The Chaser), and Su-yeon Cha (Beautiful).
In a recent Japanese press conference, Satoshi Tsumabuki surprised reporters by speaking fluent Korean. Satoshi revealed that one month prior to filming “Boat,” he underwent intensive 2-3 hours a day lessons on the Korean language. After those 2-3 hours lessons, he then reviewed and prepared for the following day’s lesson. Satoshi Tsumabuki got proficient enough to chat with Jung-woo Ha on a casual basis. This was to prepare for his role in “Boat” which requires Satoshi to speak Korean.
Satoshi Tsumabuki also revealed that he first wrote down Japanese characters under his Korean lines and then practiced his lines, but is now able to read those lines in Korean. Although his Korean isn’t perfect, his pronunciation seems to be quite good and he can have daily conversations in Korean without problems.
Movie News, News |
Jul
31
2008
Bae Du-na to appear in documentary “LOVE”
Posted by luna6 | 2 Comments
If you love Du-na Bae raise your hand. Personally, I fell under the spell of the ever charismatic Du-na Bae in various Korean films like Barking Dogs Never Bite, Take Care of My Cat, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. She hasn’t appeared in many films that last couple of years, so I’m always curious to know what she is up too. Bae Du-na’s next project is a television documentary titled “Love” and will air sometime in September on Korean cable channel tvN.
In “Love” Du-na Bae travels to LeLe, a small village in Kathmandu, Nepal. She travels there on behalf of the Good Neighbors International charity group. In the tiny village of Lele, children often work all day cracking rocks in dusty stone mines. She meets a young girl named Somaya Nagarkoti. Somaya is only 7 years old and except for the times that she attends school, works entirely in the stone mines. For a full day’s work, Somaya receives 40 cents. It just so happens that Somay’s birthday approaches and she has her first every birthday celebration with Du-na Bae.
Du-na Bae travels to Nepal from July 31 - August 5th to film the charity documentary.
Movie News, News |
Jul
31
2008
tokyo
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Etc. |
Jul
29
2008
The Moonlight of Seoul
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Movie: The Moonlight of Seoul
Release Date: April 30, 2008
Country: South Korea
Director: Jong-bin Yun
Starring: Jung-woo Ha, Jin-seo Yun, Gye-sang Yun
Runtime: 123 min
Editor Rating: 7.0
Users Rating: 6.5 (4 votes)
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“The Moonlight of Seoul,” gives you an up close and personal view into the host bar scene. The movie is also bleak, filled with characters always intent on making the wrong choices. Lensing is done without any fancy trimmings often having the look of a documentary. Soundtrack is minimal, occasionally having mood-inducing electronic music, but mostly opting for no music whatsoever. If all these factors doesn’t scare you away, than you should check out “The Moonlight of Seoul.” The movie does offer a not-too-often look into the host bar world and also offers a strong starring cast.
In “The Moonlight of Seoul,” Seung-woo has just started his job as a host at a late night women’s bar. His job is to pour drinks and entertain the female patrons who are paying large amounts money for the drinks and food that are served. His PD (male madame) is Jae-hyun (Jung-woo Ha), an unscrupulous scam artist always looking for an angle. Although Seung-woo came from a once affluent family, the demise of his family’s wealth leads Seung-woo on a downward slope, eventually landing him under the tutelage of Jae-hyun.
Seung-woo then meets Ji-woon (Jin-seo Yun). Ji-woon herself works as a hostess and came with her female friends to Seung-woo’s bar for fun on their off night. Something then clicks between Seung-woo and Ji-woon. Jae-hyun warns Seung-woo not to get involved with customers, but Seung-woo jumps into the relationship anyways.
For those unfamiliar with a host bar, it’s a popular destination for white collar folks looking for an expensive night out. Food and liquor are served, while ladies or men of your choice sit next to you and chat/sing the night away (I host once got stuck with a $700 bill but that’s a story for another day). About the only other recent Asian film I have seen set within this world is the Hong Kong film “Whispers and Moans.” Interesting enough, both films depict some patrons at male host bars as being female hostesses looking for a place to vent their anger on their day off.
The appealing list of actors featured in the “The Moonlight of Seoul” is a strong drawing card for the movie and they largely deliver. Jung-woo Ha makes his first appearance since his head turning performance in “The Chaser”. This time around, Jung-woo Ha plays a slimy grifter as effortlessly as he does a serial killer in “The Chaser.” Jin-sun Yun follows her impressive performance in “A Good Day to Have an Affair” and her not so impressive performance in “Someone Behind You,” by giving another strong performance as a prostitute with heart. There were a few moments where more histrionics could have been given, but it seems to be Jin-sun Yun’s trademark to give that low keel type of performance. Gye-sang Yun, the lesser known of the three main stars, certainly had no problems holding his own with his more recognizable co-stars. Gye-sang Yun was last seen in this year’s “Lovers of Six Years” and he did come off as a bit generic in that film. This time around, his character has a lot more depth and he is able to deliver because of this.
Main problem with “The Moonlight of Seoul” lies squarely with its script. The movie delivers in the first half, giving a fascinating look into the host-bar world while concentrating on the relationship between the two male protagonists. The movie then shifts focus in the second half to the relationship between Seung-woo and Ji-won. Unfortunately their relationship has an all to familiar feel and nothing unique to make their situation stand out. With this shift of focus, Jung-woo Ha also appears less in the second half and this makes Seung-woo & Ji-won’s dry relationship feel even drier.
When it’s all said and done, your left with mixed feelings with “The Moonlight of Seoul.” There’s some very good performances found in the movie and you’re also treated to a compelling depiction of a part of Seoul that’s not often seen in films. On the flipside, you’re also left with the feeling that the movie should have been even better. The movie seems dragged down by a romantic relationship that lacks any fire and a script that seems headed for loftier planes but settles for average. If you do like adult orientated drama’s than check out “The Moonlight of the Seoul” anyways. At least it stands out from its all too familiar peers.
Cast:
Jung-woo Ha - Jae-hyun
Jin-seo Yun - Ji-won
Gye-sang Yun - Seung-woo Kim
Se-in Kwon - Ji-hoon
Ha-jun Yu - Won-tae
Shin-cheol Kang
Dong-seok Ma - Chang-woo
Seung-min Lee - Han-byul
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Boys of Tomorrow, No Regret
2008 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movies |
Jul
13
2008
A Tale of Legendary Libido
Posted by luna6 | 1 Comment
Movie: A Tale of Legendary Libido
Release Date: April 30, 2008
Country: South Korea
Director: Han-sol Shin
Starring: Tae-gyu Bong
Runtime: 120 min
Editor Rating: 4.0
Users Rating: 5.5 (10 votes)
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“A Tale of Legendary Libido” is based off the explicit 19th century folk song “Byeon Gang-soe Tale” and is preceded by a 1988 South Korean movie pf the same name (Korean title “Garojiki”). In the 2008 version, the man selected to play the super endowed Byeong Gang-so is the talented comedic actor Tae-gyu Bong. He’s already had a nice run of way better than expected Korean comedies with “Two Faces of My Girlfriend” and “How The Lack of Love Affects Two Men.” The question now is can Tae-gyu Bong pull out the hat trick and make his third successful comedy?
The movie is set several centuries back, during the Joseon Era. An elderly widow drinks alcohol by herself and laments about the lack of men in her village. She then tosses her shoe at a wooden statute and knocks off its phallic symbol like wooden nose. When the elderly lady picks up the fallen wooden nose, thunder suddenly erupts, smoke appears and then a throng of well endowed men appear ready to take the women then and there.
The nose gets passed around the village, becoming an increasing nuisance to the villagers. The village wise man then decides to place the wooden nose in a old wine bottle and bury for good in the forest.
Shortly afterwards we are then introduced to Byeon Gang-soe (Tae-gyu Bong), the meek village rice cake seller. Byeon is a morbid fellow, mainly due to his miniature private part which has become the source of many punchlines among the village ladies. Byeon’s life then takes a drastic turn, when the village wise man tries to help Byeon by informing him of the wine buried in the forest. The wise men stresses to Byeon to only take a sip of the potent concoction, but by the time those words come out, Byeon is long gone. After finding the buried wine, Byeon proceeds to gulp down the entire wine bottle. The tale of the Legendary Libido truly begins.
While the first half of “A Tale of Legendary of Libido” promises a fun sex-filled comedy (think Forbidden Quest meets Sex is Zero), once the premise behind the movie is revealed, the movie quickly falls apart. Whatever excitement the movie has built up in the first half, whithers away in the tiring second half. A continual dose of repetitious jokes centered around the same idea: little guy with no endurance suddenly gets his mojo times 10x, is virtually all that is offered for a plot. In theory this singular idea could offer fun, but in reality, the movie turns out a bit like the Gong Show minus any amusing performances.
Tae-gu Bong plays his character strictly in a sullen manner, which works in the first half, but with the lame second half script, becomes a further drag on an dry movie. Veteran actor Oh Dal-su is also (mis)cast as the rugged macho brother of Byeon. About the only performer able to muster any interest would be Su-kyeong Jeon as the always lustful bar owner (she at least belted a cool song on more than one occasion). Costume looked OK when done in a straightforward manner, but often looked ludicrous when tailored to arouse. Script feels like a complete hack job, running with the same joke for most of its runtime and then suddenly introducing a love triangle angle for no real good reason.
I’m sure there’s going to be another funny sex-comedy coming out of Korea soon and Tae-gyu Bong will make another funny comedy, but “A Tale of Legendary of Libido” just isn’t that movie. A lame script, repetitious jokes, and uninspiring acting is about all that “A Tale of Legendary of Libido” has to offer. There is more skin shown than your average commercial Korean comedy, but nothing to get excited about (it could probably squeak out a PG-13 rating in the U.S.). It turns out that the latest tale of the legendary libido is in actuality just a limp comedy needing to get itself up.
Cast:
Tae-gyu Bong - Gang-soe Byun
Shin-a Kim - Dal-kaeng
Dal-su Oh - Kang-mok
Yeo-Jong Yun - Hal-meom
Su-kyeong Jeon - Ju-mo
Seo-yeong - Dan-bi
Jae-ho Song - No-seong
Sa Kang
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Two Faces of My Girlfriend, How The Lack of Love Affects Two Men
2008 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |
Jul
8
2008
20th Century Boys set to open in Japan August 30th
Posted by luna6 | 1 Comment
Coming this August 30th to Japan, then opening up in Korea in September, is the big budget Sci-Fi/Mystery film “20th Century Boys.” The film is directed by well known television and movie director Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Happily Ever After/The Bandage Club/The Sword of Alexander). “20th Century Boys” is adapted from the popular Naoki Urasawa’s comic of the same name. Naoki Urasawa also worked on the film as its screenwriter. A song that provided inspiration for the original comic “20th Century Boys” by T-Rex is also featured in the movie.
“20th Century Boys” will come out as a three part trilogy and cost a reported $60 million to make. The film stars Toshiaki Karasawa, Toyokawa, Etsushi, Takako Tokiwa. The film also features a large cast of supporting actors that will total over 300 by the conclusion of the trilogy.
The movie itself deals with a doomsday scenario, with a group of men battling the devil himself to prevent the end of the world. More specifically, a group of boys in the 1960’s wrote the “Book of Prophecy,” envisioning a doomsday scenario with the boys fighting evil forces to save the world. Years later, their predictions start to come to fruition and those boys, who are now adults, band together to fight the mysterious cult figure known as “Friend.” The movie takes place over a 40 year period and has been filmed in many locations throughout the world.
Movie News, News |
Jul
7
2008
Yong-ha Park, Min-jung Kim, & Hie-sun Park stars in “Jak Jeon” (Operation)
Posted by luna6 | 2 Comments
Yong-ha Park, Min-jung Kim, & Hie-sun Park have been casted in a new South Korean film titled “Jak Jeon” (literal translation Operation). The new film will be financed by production house Vidangil, the company responsible for “The Chaser.”
Yong-ha Park last appeared in the 2002 film “Again” (Miwodo dashi hanbeon) and the 1998 film “If It Snows on Christmas,” but recently came back into the spotlight with his performance in the hit Korean television series “On Air.” Min-jun Kim is probably best known for her starring performance in the film “Forbidden Quest” and also appeared in the stellar indie film “Bus Stop.” Hie-sun Park got a lot of attention with his supporting role in “Seven Days” and is also slated to appear in the upcoming Romantic-Comedy “Why did you come to our house?” with Hye-jeong Kang.
What is known so far about the premise in “Jak Jeon” is that the film will revolve around the manipulation of the stock market. Filming dates have yet to be announced.
Movie News, News |
Jul
5
2008
Closed Note
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Movie: Closed Note
Release Date: January 31, 2008
Country: Japan
Director: Isao Yukisada
Starring: Erika Sawajiri, Yusuke Iseya, Yuko Takeuchi
Runtime: 138 min
Editor Rating: 5.0
Users Rating: 6.32 (19 votes)
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Isao Yukisada, the man behind that quintessential ju’nai pic “Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World,” returns with his latest sentimental pic “Closed Note.” While the movie is likely to elicit more yawns than anything else, the movie did have that controversial press opening, where main actresses Erika Sawajiri giving her infamous pouting snub to the Japanese media. That event did land Sawajiri a one year banishment from the film industry and in retrospect I can now better understand her lack of enthusiasm for “Closed Note.”
In Isao Yukisada’s “Closed Note,” Kae Horii (Erika Sawajiri) moves into her new flat in an undisclosed area of Kyoto. While unpacking her belongings, she discovers a hidden compartment behind a inconspicuous mirror. In that compartment, Kae finds a notebook, that turns out to be a diary belonging to the previous tenant. Later that evening Kae starts to read the diary.
The writer of the diary is Ibuki Mano (Yuko Takeuchi), a young lady about to embark on her first year as an elementary school teacher. Ibuki is also in love with a man named Takashi, who may or may not hold similar feelings for Ibuki.
The diary immediately resonates with Kae, as she plans to become an elementary school teacher herself. Ibuki’s experiences also works as an inspirational instructional guide for Kae’s own personal life. Kae is also in love with an aloof illustrator/artist (Yusuke Iseya), who may or may not hold similar feelings for Kae.
Problems with “Closed Note” are found in many areas. Take your pick between a storyline that’s all too familiar, an impressive list of actors who never mesh into their roles, and (probably the biggest fault of the movie) the just too damn slow pacing of the movie. The pacing was so slow that it caused this reviewer to drift off into lalaland on two separate occasions. I believe Isao Yukisada’s intentions were to create a world similar to a living, breathing “I Love You” card, but the end result was more of an unbelievably sweet world where characters were incapable of jaywalking or cutting a fart (sorry had to say it). The slowness is most pronounced in the first half, while the second half picked up steam marginally.
The choice of actors initially appeared as a strong point for the movie, but after watching “Closed Note” I can confidently say that pool of talent was completely wasted. Whether it was Hiromi Nagasaku relegated to smiling throughout her screentime or Yusuke Iseya cast as a shy artist (didn’t believe it for one minute) or the lack of chemistry between all the main characters, the word “underwhelming” would have been the perfect tagline for “Closed Note.” There’s also poor choices in the editing realm, with sub-plots (girlfriend goes to London, boyfriend loves Sawajiri) that exists for no real good reasons and is forgotten by the second half of the film.
About the only positive thing that can be said about “Closed Note” is that film isn’t terrible in any particular area. But with it’s mediocre storyline, underwhelming performances, odd editing choices, and pacing that is slow as molasses, well you got a movie that works remarkably well when you need take a nap. And that’s about it.
Cast:
Erika Sawajiri - Kae Horii
Yusuke Iseya - Ryu Ishitobi
Yuko Takeuchi - Ibuki Mano
Yuka Itaya - Hoshi Yamazaki
Hiromi Nagasaku - Kanako
Katsuo Nakamura - Kiichirou
Saeko - Hana Ikeuchi
Eisuke Sasai - Segawa
Tetsushi Tanaka - Kashima
Urara Awata - Kimiyo’s mother
Ai Yamaguchi - Kimiyo Mizuhara
Renji Ishibashi - Masamichi Nakazawa
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Heavenly Forest
2007 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |
Jul
2
2008
“Boys Over Flowers: Final” opened this past weekend in Japan on over 400 screens. The movie topped the Japanese box office charts, bringing in an impressive total of 805,350 movie goers over the weekend. Not so surprisingly, “Boys Over Flowers: Final” did exceptionally well with younger women and teens. 25% of the audience consisted of movie goers between the ages of 16 through 19.
If you’re not familiar with “Boys Over Flowers: Final,” the movie is based off the top selling manga “Hana Yori Dango” written by Kamio Yoko. Yoko’s “Hana Yori Dango” went on to sell 5.8 million copies. That comic book was then turned into the super popular television drama “Boys Over Flowers” in 2005 and then a second season “Boys Over Flowers 2” appeared in 2007. There’s also an anime version of the comic, a prior Japanese live action television drama, and a Taiwanese drama (Meteor Garden) based off the comic and its spin-off F4.
The story itself in “Hanna Yori Dango” (Boys Over Flowers) is a Cinderella like story centered around the elite high school, Eitoku Academy. All of the students at Eitoku Academy come from super rich families, except one student named Tsukushi Makino. The school is ruled by four students known as the F4 (Flower Four). One day, Tsukushi Makino stands up to the F4 in defense of her friend and then becomes the target of the F4. But, Tsukushi Makino also secretly harbors a crush on one of the F4 members, while the group’s leader suddenly falls for the defiant Tsukushi as well.
In “Boys Over Flowers: Final” the movie is set 4 years later, when these students are about to graduate from their university. The movie was also filmed in various locations like Las Vegas, Nevada and in Hong Kong. The film features popular Japanese actors Mao Inoue (Makino Tsukushi), Jun Matsumoto (Doumyouji Tsukasa), Shun Oguri (Hanazawa Rui), Shota Matsuda (Soujiroh Nishikado), and Tsuyoshi Abe (Akira Mimasaka).
Movie News, News |
Jul
2
2008
Young-hoon Lee & Yu-jin So stars in new indie film “Tal Gu”
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Good news for indie Asian film fans. The next film for Korean director Hee-il Leesong titled “Tal Gu” (literal translation “Break Out”) has started filming. Hee-il Leesong’s first film “No Regret” dealt with the topic of homosexuality in Korea and impressed many viewers including myself. Even more good news for fans of that movie, Leesong’s “Tal Gu” will also star Young-hoon Lee who played the main character in “No Regret.” Other performers lined up to appear in “Tal Gu” are Yu-jin So and Lee-han Jin.
“Tal Gu” deals with 6 soldiers and the reasons why they went AWOL from the military. Yu-jin So plays So-yeong, a lady that helps Jae-hoon (Young-hoon Lee) run away from the military. Lee-han Jin plays Min-jae, a soldier as well.
“Tal Gu” started filming June 8th. Expect the movie to be released late 2008 / early 2009.
Movie News, News |
Jul
1
2008
Ki-duk Kim’s “Dream” invited to San Sebastian Film Festival
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More good news concerning Ki-duk Kim’s next picture “Dream” (Bi-mong). The San Sebastian Film Festival has formally invited “Dream” to screen at their upcoming 56th Annual Film Festival in the competition section (Golden Shell). So far Kim’s “Dream” is the only Asian pic selected for the competition area and the others announced are Daniel Burman, Christophe Honoré, and Jaime Rosales. As mentioned in our prior article, Ki-duk Kim’s “Dream” screened for movie investors at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and went on to sell distribution rights to 8 countries including France, Russia, and Japan.
Similar to Kim’s previous film “Breath,” “Dream” will star a non-Korean actor, Joe Odagiri, in the title role along with Korean actress, Na-yeong Lee. The film deals with dreams and how it connects two characters “Joe” (Joe Odagiri) and “Ran” (Na-yeong Lee). Joe dreams of a car accident and decides to go to the place of his dream the next day. A car accident then occurs exactly like his dream and involves a lady named Ran. Joe then becomes convinced there is an unexplainable connection between the two of them.
No word on exact opening date for “Dream” in Korea, but it is schedule to open sometime this fall. The San Sebastian Film Festival runs from September 18-27.