A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of Korean-language films I find significant or interesting.
Kim Ji-hoon, “Ta-weo / The Tower” (2012) Maybe its similarities to the World Trade Center twin tower building collapses are too much in the way of…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Korean Films
Alex Apollonov and Aleksa Vulovic, “The Haircut” (2017) Two Sydney undergraduate students’ desire to travel to North Korea to see if they can get hipster-style haircuts…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, Korean Films
Yoichi Shimatsu, “US Missile Base Upsets the Morning Calm (Lens.tv Report: THAAD Deployment in South Korea)” (2017) Structured as a news report rather than as a…
Choo Chang-min “Gwanghae: Wang-i Doen Namja / Masquerade” (2012) Korean actor Lee Byung-hun may be better known for his gunslinger roles in flicks like “The Good, the…
Kim Kiduk, “Pieta” (2012) This tale of dark revenge centres around a class of people at the bottom-feeding end of the capitalist social hierarchy pyramid, those…
Chanwook Park, “Oldboy” (2003) When I saw this film the first time over a decade ago, I was impressed with its style and colour and the…
Korean Films, North American Films
Joon-ho Bong, “Snowpiercer / Seolgugyeolcha” (2013) Joon-ho Bong’s first outing in the English language is an enjoyably silly ride into the post-apocalyptic dystopian SF genre. Concerns…
Park Chan-kyong, Park Chan-wook, “Night Fishing / Paranmanjang” (2011) Filmed using an Apple iPhone4, this fantasy-horror film delves into the little understood world of Korean shamanism…
Pansu Kim, “Sleep Tight My Baby” (2001) Very devastating film about a teenage girl trapped with a baby and quarrelling parents filmed in one continuous take; much…
Kang Woosuk, “Silmido” (2003) Apparently based on actual incidents, this epic film ought to have been just a straightforward “Dirty Dozen” action film with a sketchy…