VICE founder Shane Smith returns to North Korea, then boards the Trans-Siberian Railway to travel deep into Russia to expose NK secret labor camps that are essentially operating as modern day slave compounds. Check out the rest of the episodes on the Vice website.

I’m a TWI-GUY.  I’m not ashamed.  Although most of my friends say that I should be.  But I just love all the vampire/werewolf dichotomies and Stephenie Meyer’s unique twist of sparkling vampires and the gigantic werewolves is no exception. The Twilight Saga has returned and the events surrounding the Cullen clan are even more intense. Following the wedding of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), things heat up as Bella confirms her supposed impossible pregnancy.  With this news the cinematic struggle begins.  Bella is fighting to keep her child and her new vampire family is trying to protect her.  Edward is torn with the decisions of a questionable dilemma.  And Jacob takes a stand for what he believes by accepting his lineage and embracing his lone wolf. (more…)

Sadly, there are a shortage of Korean films foreigners can catch in Seoul theaters.  Unless you’re fluent in Korean, which as of yet I’m frustratingly not, at most there are one or two with English subtitles and once you’ve seen them then you’re stuck waiting at least a month for the next round to come through.  Thank goodness for DVDs where, most of the time, English subtitles are standard.  So this week I’ve opted to review a film that was hyped in theaters earlier this year and is currently out on DVD.  That film is MY BLACK MINI DRESS – 마이 브랙 미니 드레스. Starring popular drama actress/singer, Yoon Eun-Hye, this film was highly anticipated this past spring before its release but after watching it I feel it fell way short of expectations.

The movie centers around four best friends and their lives after college.  Each one of them lived pampered lives and now they are faced with the realities of the real world.  Yoon Eun-Hye plays Yoo-Min, a writer who struggles to commit to anything in her life other than shopping.  Park Han-Byeol, playing Hye-Ji, is a spoiled rich party girl who never planned to work until she fell into the life of an up and coming Hallyu star. Cha Ye-Ryeon and Yoo In-Na round out the quartet by showing the lives of a struggling actress and a woman dealing with her parent’s recent divorce and a move to the U.S..  All four of them are trying to force themselves to let go of the easy times of the past and current struggles and welcome change and the future.  At least I think that’s what they are trying to do.

The film was directed by Heo In-Moo who, to date, has only three feature films under his belt all of which were written by him. While I haven’t seen his other works I do hope they were better executed than this one.  I know this is a film about four different people and so the stories are going to go in different directions but you would think there would be one thing that glues the different stories together.  Maybe even the black mini dress that only made a brief non-noteworthy appearance.  Nope.  All of the stories go awry and all attempts of culmination lead the film three completely un-linkable endings.  I couldn’t wait for it to be over and when I thought it was I frustratingly realized that it wasn’t.  There were some funny moments but nothing makes up for the film as a whole.  The next time you’re thinking of renting a DVD and you see this on the shelf, take my word for it and pass it by.

I’m not a sports fan.  Never have been. I don’t have the rhythm for it.  Ironically, I love sport films.  The underdog stories of a team overcoming the odds then conquering or learning a great lesson is the joy of movies.  Luckily for viewers MONEYBALL, the new baseball film starring Brad Pitt, has both.

Pitt is Billy Beane, a former pro baseball player turned general manager of the Oakland Athletics.  MONEYBALL tells the story of the phenomenal success of the underfunded Oakland A’s, climaxing with their winning 20 consecutive games.   For this to happen, Billy Beane took on years of tradition and risked his career to prove that finding great players is more than just good looks, decent behavior and talent.  To provide assistance with this way of thinking is Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill.  Brand is a Yale graduate who believes that the statistical numbers of a player don’t lie.  Together they power through the stats of baseball players offering contracts regardless of pitching form, age, or gambling vices. (more…)

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of coming of age stories.  While they can be heart-wrenching, they can also make you laugh and take you back to a time when going through growing pains was anything but a joke.  That’s why it was my pleasure to catch WANDEUKI (완득이) before it left the theater.  This comedic drama, directed by Lee Han, has been a major hit in Korea since it’s October release and, while I don’t understand its staying power, I understand what most of the fuss is about.  Based on the popular novel by Kim Yeo Ryung, WANDEUKI, or PUNCH by its American title, is the story of a high school boy and the struggles he has in his day to day life.  It seems like director Han, who is known for making movies about modern romance, has decided to spread his wings and tackle an adaptation.  A task which, in my opinion, he has successfully completed. (more…)

I understand that we’re in show business.  That Greek mythology is only mythology.  However, I don’t remember the Greek stories being so boring that everything needs to be changed when brought to the big screen. Well, IMMORTALS, the new film from the producers of ‘300’ has brought cinema greatness, but literary shame.

Henry Cavill is Theseus, the mortal man who has been picked by Zeus to lead the fight against King Hyperion, played by the towering actor Mickey Rourke.  In a twisted telling of Greek mythology, Titans are losers of battles, Theseus is the bastard-son of a peasant, and apparently Gods can die.  Anyone with an ounce of mythological passion will tell you the age old truth; read the Greek myth, it is so much better! (more…)

The 2011 Asiana Short Film Festival has come to an end but I was privileged to attend another showcase before the curtain fell.
TRAVELING SHORTS IN JAPAN was an exchange program with the Asiana International Short Film Festival and Short Shorts & Asia that was aimed at exchanging Korean and Japanese visual content.  These shorts were supported by each country’s government to establish an alliance. This was also a rare case where I found all of the films enjoyable. SMILE BUS stars name Korean actors Ryoo Hyoun-Kyoung and Park Geon Hyeoung. It was shot in both Korea and Japan and is a story of a Korean tour guide working in Japan and her ex-boyfriend who flies to Japan to get her love back.  Director Park Sang Joon beautifully set their love and reunion in Japan’s idyllic landscape.  Both characters find that if you run out of fear then you wind up right back where you started.  When they came to the point where they had to face why their relationship fell apart I was quite touched.  Although Director Park doesn’t have a roster of award-winning films under his belt, he knows how to work his resources and bring a vision to fruition. Another gem in this showcase was the comedy SUPER STAR.  Also shot between Korea and Japan this is a story of a Japanese woman who comes to Korea to meet her favorite Korean idol and a driver who accidently accompanies her on her journey.  In this film Japanese director Hagiwara Kentaro tried to show his feelings about Koreans while also trying to be tolerable of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) that has taken over Japan. The driver acts almost like a protector of the woman and in the end the woman sees that real life is better than someone you put on a pedestal.  It was hilarious, sweet and one of my favorites of the festival.
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The passion for film usually starts at a young age. You watch a movie like THE NEVER ENDING STORY and it changes your concept of imagination.  The Asiana International Short Film Festival took me  back to the reason why I love film. With over 2,000 short films in this year’s festival, which took place Nov 2 – 7^th, I was overwhelmed with the quality, creativity and dedication on screen.  Directors provided an enrichment of art through digital film, great acting, and cinematography that made for a superb weekend.

I enjoyed the films that brought a level of humor with their powerful message;  PENTECOST is the story of an altar boy who wishes to play soccer instead of doing spiritual duties, and proves to the church that his love for the sport conquers all when he kicks the thurible at the archbishop.  BEAR features a clever dramatization of a man who wants to surprise his girlfriend with a birthday picnic by dressing up in a very realistic bear costume, only to be shot by a hunter because the costume was so life-like. MOM CAME OVER THE SEA tells the touching story of how one young boy and an elderly woman become friends because of their longing for family.  He misses his mother, she misses her son, and they’re each other’s angel. (more…)