Going by the name of Martin and based in the deepest darkest corner of dark, dark Norfolk in the UK, I’m a big fan of Korean Cinema (um, obviously…) Hong Kong cinema, very bad horror films, egg-custard pies and a nice long hot bath.
Before setting up this site I was a member of the writing team on the once mighty but sadly now defunct Kung Fu Cult Cinema website, and have written bits n pieces online for the likes of LoveAsianFilm and NR1, as well as the magazines Jade Screen, Screen Power and the Norwich-based Spiked.
Please note that a handful of these reviews appeared elsewhere before their publication on this site – for example I have transfered my reviews from Kung Fu Cult Cinema as that website sadly no longer exists. All of these reviews were originally written by me and have been revised or updated where necessary. Where the original review has been kept unchanged I have stated this.
You can contact me at martin[at]newkoreancinema.com (just replace the [at] with the usual @ sign)
Disclaimer…
New Korean Cinema is a fan site which is run for informational purposes. All images used on the site are copyrighted to their respective owners, my use of them is for promotional purposes only. I accept no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any content provided. I will also accept no legal responsibility for any problems that may occur when using the links provided for external websites including online stores, please direct any complaints directly to the owners of the relevant website.
Please don’t try to sue me, I have enough trouble sleeping as it is…
Great website, great article, I will be coming here regularly for the latest news.
thanx
Not to forget that Park said that he wanted to make a film that his “daughter could watch”… er… maybe without the gunfire?
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I loved this film! What a fantastically original thriller. Alternately expertly between slow-burning suspense, horror, and drama, Na Hong-jin has my attention! I’m excitedly looking for to his next, The Murderer, which sadly doesn’t have a lot of information I can find on it. Thanks for the great review!
I decided to give this movie a go based purely on Shin Ha-kyun being the lead, as I loved him in JSA, Thirst, and the Vengeance films. Like yourself, given the zany poster I believed this to be a wacky, fun comedy. I was misled and couldn’t have been more pleased to find a film that exceeds and expectations the viewer could have about what they’re getting into. Another great review, thank you!
Thanks for the comments!
There’s not alot of info around on Na Hong-jin’s follow up ‘Murderer’, but here’s what I’ve seen:
The film will be co-produced with 20th Century Fox and enters principle photography early 2010. Murderer will be directed by Na Hong-jin and is based on his own script. Interestingly he has already cast the two stars from The Chaser – Ha Jung-woo and Kim Yun-seok – in this. The plot details which have been revealed are that ‘Murderer’ is the story of man from the Korean autonomous prefecture of Yanbian, who sets sail for South Korea for a hit – i.e. to assassinate someone. He is paid only $500 in advance and told nothing about his target. Of course, things don’t quite go the way he is hoping…
Should be good!
I watched Haeundae on R2 DVD the other day. I came to it with an open mind, and found it to be a huge disappointment. Maybe it was the international edit, but it all seemed a bit disjointed. I loved it when it started raining containers from that big container ship though!
That’s a view held by lots of people, I found that I took it the other way (and in the vein that all of these disaster films are put together) and found alot to like. In fact, I thought the containers scene was very funny but a little out of tone with the second half of the film. It definitely seems to be a film which divides its viewers!