Sometimes a movie pulls you in different directions and you can’t form a solid opinion about it.  This can happen for various reasons.  Maybe it had good performances but overall it was a bad film.  Maybe the visuals were great but the acting was terrible.  Or something about it tugged at you a bit but the movie as a whole could’ve been better.  Incidentally, none of these reasons are why I feel the way I do about SIU (특수본), but we’ll get into that.  This movie was one of the most hyped action films of 2011 and, while it’s box office showing was decent but not stellar, it still looked like something worth checking out.  So I did.  I can say that, despite the typical cop movie cliches, director Hwang Byeong Gook started off the film well. But past that is another story.

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War is the most brutal of all conflicts.   Within this entity, loved ones, friends and neighbors are lost in a sea of turmoil.  South Africa has witnessed such adversity and the new film, THE BANG BANG CLUB, brings a perspective that’s a harsh reality. Ryan Phillipe stars as Greg Marinovich, a photographer, trying to make a career in 1994 apartheid-era South Africa.  Marinovich is part of a four man team that endanger their lives daily for the ultimate portrait.  Their job is to show the world what is developing within the racial war zone.  They constantly shoot into the angered face of an assailant, the life-drained eyes of a victim, and along the blood-stained edge of a machete.

If a picture is worth a thousands words, then these are worth the last thousand you’ll ever speak.  I’ve never experienced a film that brought the imagery of racism to the forefront as powerfully.  My eyes were visually violated as I saw pain, hate, anger and cries for mercy…all with a still shot.  Repeatedly I asked the questions: “Why can such brutality exist within humanity?”  “What is it that brings us to this dark place?” I’ve never known the power of a photographer until now. They’re the person you always want in your corner.  The impression they can convey to situations can ignite or defuse a flame.  What’s most perplexing for me is how pictures can be the blueprints of a story and the foundation history.  For it’s within these portraits that we see the absolute truth.  THE BANG BANG CLUB gave us a riveting portrayal of how war can illuminate our notions of right or wrong, good or bad, unlawful or unethical.

Director Stephen Silver brought artistic marvel in making the audience experience the impartiality of photographers.  Were the members of The Bang Bang Club making profit off the deaths of Africans?  Should they have done more to help the South African people? Questions like these will pull at your ethical being and gnaw at your moral code while watching this film.  Greg Marinovich and Kevin Carter, played by Taylor Kitsch, both received Pulitzer prizes for their pictures.  Their horrid canvases opened the eyes of the world to the perspective of South Africans.  Nonetheless, where should the line be drawn between candid portraits and profited fame? THE BANG BANG CLUB is a hidden jewel, only being shown at a few theaters across Seoul, but definitely a film that will make you think…feel….hurt.  It is always great to be entertained but sometimes we need a film that stirs great emotion.  The camera is the truest of all hunters because it takes the shot without pause, consequence or prejudice.  Unlike the human eye a camera has no blind spot.  It’s ironic that a photographer can see the picture they are taking, but it’s not until it’s developed that the picture taken is truly seen.

The 2011 Busan International Film Festival had a lot of gems in it’s line-up. One of the top picks at the festival was Kim Han-Min’s ARROW, THE ULTIMATE WEAPON (최종병기 활).  Also, known as WAR OF THE ARROWS, this film was highly praised and almost impossible to get into.  Since I missed it at the festival, I was very happy when it was released on DVD.  Of course, I’d heard what the premise of the film was but I was still unclear on what to expect.  In case you’re in the same boat, let me fill you in.

ARROW, THE ULTIMATE WEAPON is set during the Choseon Dynasty and begins as the story of a boy and his sister.  Their father is accused of being a traitor to the throne during the King Injo Revolt and is subsequently executed.  Before his execution he makes his teenaged son, Na-Mi, promise to always protect his younger sister, Ja-In , from harm.  It’s a promise the boy takes to heart and after escaping death themselves the two children go to an ally of their father’s and are raised in hiding.  During this time Na-Mi (Park Hae-Il) grows and is seen as a person who is constantly begrudging his past and who has no real goals or future.  Unbeknownst to everyone he has secretly taught himself to become a master of the bow and arrow.  He’s never had to use the skill past hunting but, on his sister’s wedding day, their village is attacked by the Chung Dynasty of China.  His sister (Moon Chae-Won) and her new husband (Kim Moo-yeol) are both taken captive by soldiers and Na-Mi arrives to late to stop them.  Sticking to his promise to protect her Na-Mi uses his bow and arrow to bring down the enemy and find her before it’s too late.

Sometimes when watching action films I feel that they stray from the point.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the action that the actual story can get put on the back burner.  That was not the case with ARROW, THE ULTIMATE WEAPON.  While watching this movie I feel it had all of the elements you would expect from an action drama, but the reasons driving the protagonists were always strong and clear.  I was even expecting fancy martial arts sequences and wire work but they were absent.  It really all came down to the man’s strength being his promise and his arrow.  He was strong but he wasn’t invincible and he showed his fear as much as his courage.  Also, the female lead wasn’t left as just a damsel in distress.  Yes, she was in trouble, but she defended herself and held her own to the best of her abilities, which was quite a refreshing thing to see.  While I  felt the suspense and the pain of the characters, on the other hand, I also felt that without these some parts of the movie could’ve fallen a bit flat.  Some scenes went on a bit long and, in my opinion, one or two could have been edited out completely.  These are minor points and overall, it’s a solid, good film that I definitely recommend renting.

Films are highly anticipated for different reasons. Sometimes for the story and sometimes for the actors. In the case of YOU PET (너는 펫) I feel it was completely both. If you’re a fan of most popular contemporary Korean actors then you can’t beat the combination of self proclaimed Asia prince Jang Geun Seok and comedy queen Kim Ha-Neul. On top of that the story is about a man who agrees to be a house pet to a lonely older woman in exchange for free room and board, something that I was definitely curious to see pan out on screen. I recently watched this movie with all of those expectations in tow and so after watching I have a few things to say but first let me give you a little more background. (more…)

For me there are three types of films. The class ‘A’ executive film, class ‘B’ managerial film and the class ‘C’ administrative film. Each is categorized according to their intent. That intent could be to generate blockbuster income, putting a high cheek-boned-twenty-something with a known veteran or see if an up & coming cast can hold their own as the main stars. Well director Chris Gorak’s new film, THE DARKEST HOUR, definitely falls in the class ‘C’ category while getting a solid ‘A’ for effort.

Emile Hirsh plays Sean, a young software executive who is traveling to Moscow to present a new Smartphone application. However, after being undermined by a trusted partner, he and his co-creator/best friend, played by Max Minghella, decide to indulge in some liquid consultation and blow off steam. The night progressed with pep talks, confrontations, and girl hunting. And who better to aim your sights than the Hepburn-like poise of Olivia Thirlby or the hypnotic grace of Rachael Taylor. But no time was wasted on boyish charms and girly flattery because the aliens came raining down…literally! (more…)

For the past few years I have started to contribute my Best of the Year list and article, something I never used to do because (a) I didn’t write about current cinema and (b) I never saw enough new films from a given year to make a worthwhile list. That has been changing, and this year I’ve already seen well over fifty films and seasons of television. There are two reasons for this. One is the two major festivals that I attend here in Korea, one in May in Jeonju and the other in October in Busan. The other is the greater availability of media in digital form. Of my favorites of the year, most were seen at festivals, and a few of the others through downloads. The regular multiplex is becoming an increasingly rare place to see great cinema, with only one such example for me this year. Of course, I still haven’t seen all of the major releases as they are unavailable here, but overall I think my list is strong, with some films that are otherwise ignored by mainstream critics in North America. With that said, here is the year in film/TV from a Canadian ex-pat in Korea.

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Starting next Thursday, Jan. 12th and continuing until the end of February is one of the best events of the year for Seoul cinephiles: The Cinematheque Friends Film Festival. Every year, numerous Korean directors, actors and other supporters of the institute select a film to screen, and usually arrange a day in which to discuss the film as well. Unfortunately, most of this is in Korean and without translators, but it is still a great chance to see a wide and eclectic selection from cinema history. This year’s festival includes 33 films, many of which are in English or with subtitles. The full list is below, in my order of anticipation, with links and screening dates/times. The link to the cinematheque website is here.

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Coming of age films were a huge part of the Korean breakout hits of 2011.  These dark horses have not only won film critics’ praise for months but have had audiences talking too.  One of the main ones among all the buzz was SUNNY (써니).  SUNNY is officially one of the highest grossing films of 2011 in Korea.  The funny thing is no matter how much I heard about the film’s popularity I could never quite get an idea of what the movie was about.  Some people said it was a musical, some said a comedy and some said a drama.  After seeing it, I would say it’s a mixture of all three but still not the best film as a whole.  I’ll get into that later but now lets talk about the people behind the movie.

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