What the future has in store we will never know, nor should we.   The mystery of what is to come is part of life’s journey.  With lead economists speaking of another depression, what this world could be years from now is mind boggling. LionsGate studios have brought the audience a gut-wrenching portrayal of that future.  And help us all if we become as ruthless as THE HUNGER GAMES.

Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen, a young teen surviving in a post-apocalyptic society.  With a deceased father and a frail mother, Katniss is the only true guardian for her younger sister.  This may sound like the typical story but then the annual event known as The Hunger Games begins.  In their 74^th chronicle, the 12 districts of civilization must draw the names of two people between the ages of 12 and 18.  24 adolescents…12 boys…12 girls, know as Tributes, pitted together in a holographic jungle to survive, evade and fight to the death. Weapons are provided for them to encourage slaughter. The rich are sponsors of food and medicine. And the Capitol city, that runs the event, will remind you of the Romans as they would massacre slaves in ancient blood-stained coliseums.  Katniss nobly volunteers for such an event to save the life of her sister whose name was chosen. (more…)

If you’re a Korean film enthusiast such as myself then I think it’s very likely that you’re a fan of Song Kang Ho.  I think the man is so talented that he brings magic to almost any film he’s in.  Almost.  Case in point HINDSIGHT (푸른 소금).  Also known as BLUE SALT this film seemed to possess all of the right elements on paper.  A star lead, who’s actually talented, a beautiful ingenue and a thrilling plot.  It’s funny how things on paper have a hard time succeeding when they come to fruition.

Directed by Lee Hyeon Seung, HINDSIGHT is the story of a retired mob boss’ inability to escape his past.  Do Heon (Song Kang Ho) is trying to start his life anew by taking a cooking class in hopes of someday opening his own restaurant.  In the class he meets Se Bin, Shin Se Kyeong, a quirky young woman who’s intense appearance and knack for cooking draw him in.  Unbeknownst to him, Se Bin, owes a huge debt to his former gang and in lieu of payment they have ordered her to spy on him and eventually kill him.  As you can expect a bond is formed between the two that makes her orders increasingly hard for her to follow.

In the midst of the main plot, which should be interesting but we’ll get to that, there are various intrigues and relationships that try to draw sympathy for the characters.  Sadly, it just made things more convoluted.  Se Bin has a best friend who occasionally comes across as a lesbian lover and the constant references to salt, as in the seasoning, just seemed like a strained attempt to pay homage to the title.  The relationship between the two main characters was a mixture of father/daughter and boyfriend/girlfriend which I’m sure you can imagine made for some awkward tension. And not awkward in a good way.  In the end it just seemed like a lot of ideas, which could’ve have been good, were just poorly thrown together.  It was disappointing because I was really interested in the story.  Now, don’t misunderstand me and think the entire film was terrible.  There were some thrilling fight scenes and the acting was solid.  But, even Song Kang Ho couldn’t save HINDSIGHT as a whole.

I believe in second chances, that every person, company, or entity has the right to redeem themselves. However, such redemption is missed with Warner Bro’s second installment of their Titans series.

Sam Worthington returns as Perseus, the demi-god who so bravely defeated the Kraken ten years earlier, but has decided to live a quieter existence as a fisherman while raising his son.  This dream becomes null and void when he is confronted by his father Zeus and warned that mankind is in danger.  The gods are losing their power due to the lack of human prayers and soon Kronos will be set free upon earth.  So begins a story that involves gods, mortal men, one eyed giants and two-headed beast.  Perseus begins a journey to defeat the mighty Kronos with the help of a Greek queen, a criminal cousin and a fallen god.
Sound exciting?  Then you will be twice fooled as I was.  Although the action of the film was better than the first, this sequel still lacked the necessary roughness to grasp my attention.   It seemed to be missing the required grit that’s the foundation of all Greek mythology.  The graphics were superb and the fight sequences between Perseus and the Titans were well executed.  Nonetheless, I left the theater wanting so much more and yet I received even less.

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Love comes in all forms. There’s romantic, friendly, familial and even those you love to hate. The film IN LOVE AND WAR (적과의 동침) tells the constant story of love, in all forms, when it’s faced with war. Many people around the world are familiar with the Korean War. The nasty battle between North and South Korea always left me thinking that the hatred left a clear cut line between the two countries. This movie tells the true story of how that was not the case.
While the film is based on actual accounts it’s situated around the fictional love story of North Korean soldier Kim Jeong Wong (Kim Joo Hyeok) and farm girl Park Seol Hee (Jeong Ryeo Won). The pair crossed paths during a tragic childhood event. When they reunite years later Jeong Wong is now a high ranking Korean soldier and Seol Hee is a strong willed villager who is strongly opposed to the army presence in her town. The North Koreans come south during a time of prosperity in the north and poverty in the south. The soldiers go to a small town near the border under the guise of teaching the villagers how to support themselves during the tough time. In reality, the people in charge don’t care about the villagers well being and their initial arrival seems more like an invasion. Everyone is wary of their presence and unsure of whether to go forward with them or fight against them. After weighing the odds they opt to welcome the soldiers and in the end the two sides form a sweet familial bond.
When I decided to watch IN LOVE AND WAR I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The story had a good balance of highs and lows and halfway in I settled down for a light hearted dramatic comedy. Then it hit a wall. About 75% of this movie was very touching, witty and heartwarming. The other 25% belonged in a film solely about the tragic side of the Korean War. I hate when this happens. When you have a cast that includes Kim Joo Hyeok, Yoo Hae Jin, Kim Sang Ho and others along the same scale you know the caliber of the acting has a huge chance to knock the movie out of the park. The problem was since the movie took such a drastic turn they wound up knocking two movies out of the park and the second movie left me feeling side swiped. There was no flow connecting the two sections and whether it was a problem with editing or directing it left me with a bad impression overall. Having said that, don’t write this movie off. It more than makes up for that hiccup so I definitely recommend watching it. Just take my advice and keep a box of tissue handy.

At some point I think movie history is going to be similar to war history.  We will be able to look back on the great achievements & misfortunes and know what path to take to be successful. Nevertheless, Disney’s JOHN CARTER ON MARS did not have this advantage and it showed. Taylor Kitsch plays John Carter, a civil war veteran in search for the oldest treasure…gold.  Although a decorated soldier in the Confederate army, Carter is asked by a Union captain to assist in the Apache slaughters that are occurring within the area.  As Carter declines the offer and escapes from his Union “captors” he comes across these ancient markingS that he believes will lead him to his riches.  However, what he was led to was not the adventure of red proportions.

I love being an audience member; it took $250 million to make the film but took me $8 to figure out it won’t even align with Planet Hollywood. The superb creativity, solid computer graphics and costume design will only be remembered for birthing new projects in the industry. John Carter’s pristine backdrop made for great entertainment, yet in the end, I was more concerned with what movies I could have created with such a great graphic artist. Well, so much for the out-of-this world blockbuster. (more…)

I seem to be having a string of bad luck in the realm of film.  If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews you’ll notice the last few films haven’t been at the top of my list.  With DANCING QUEEN I can’t say my losing streak necessarily continues but it is a little worse for the wear.  This comedy starring singer/actress Uhm Jung Hwa and MOBY DICK actor Hwang Jeong Min looked quite promising.  Director Lee Seok Hoon’s efforts weren’t a total loss but if I had looked at other reviews instead of box office numbers I would have saved myself the cost of the ticket.

DANCING QUEEN tells the story of a husband and wife whose marriage and family have forced them to let their dreams go astray.  Jeong Min is an accidental political activist turned down-on-his-luck lawyer and his wife, Jung Hwa, was a local dancing legend who is now an aerobics instructor trying to make up for her husband’s financial shortcomings.  Their lives shift when they are both offered opportunities to return them to their former glory.  Jung Hwa is approached to join a girl group that is in need of a replacement for their rapidly approaching debut and Jeong Min decides to run for mayor.  These changes force them to re-evaluate their lives at the moment and their lives with each other.

I found this movie to be very awkward.  I was hoping to have a good laugh but I just wound up with slight giggles and a partial cry.  It was an odd mix of comedy and drama and the poor editing quickly jumped you from one scene to another, making it impossible for you to settle into any type of feeling about the story.  The two plots of politician and dancer didn’t mesh well together and any attempts to make them fit were underwhelming.  The leads did a decent job with their characters which I found to be the film’s only saving grace. Sadly, the characters weren’t enough to make DANCING QUEEN anything other than forgettable.

The 2012 Korean Cinema Blogathon began today and continues until the end of the week. You can follow at the Modern Korean Cinema site here. Lots of must reads for fans of Korean film.

The comic-movie era has been with us for some time.  Marvel and DC films are a mixture of great special effects, good acting, and at times superb directing.  However, the same can’t be said for Nicholas Cage’s new film GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE. Cage once again dons the veil of fire as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, the supernatural bounty hunter, who was cursed with the power of hellfire.  In this non-sequential installment Blaze is a reclusive hero who is offered an opportunity by an agent of the church, played by Idris Elba, to assist in locating a young boy targeted by the demon who cursed Blaze.  If he accomplishes the mission his curse is lifted.  With a great cast the film has moments of action, red-hot special effects and a warm emotional pull.  Nonetheless, it’s a brush fire that should have been controlled. (more…)