KCCUK – 2012: The Year of the 12 Directors
KCO Sydney: Cinema On The Park 2
Korean Blogathon 2011
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What’s Korean Cinema? Podcast
Reviews Archive
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Review: Treeless Mountain (Kim So-yong, 2008)
Posted on July 20, 2011 | 1 CommentAn elementary school in Seoul, the present. Six-year-old Jin spends her penultimate day at elementary school learning about time and playing with friends. Later that evening, she is chastised by her mother for failing to take Bin, her four–year-old sister, off the neighbours’ hands when she was supposed to. While... -
![[New York Asian Film Festival 2011 Review] A mystical and magical concoction, much like the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) dish that it revolves around, Lee Seo-goon’s second feature The Recipe hinges on a brilliant bit of narrative misdirection. Choi Yu-jin (Ryoo Seung-ryong), the producer/host of a sensationalistic TV expose...](http://newkoreancinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/the-recipe-1-115x115.jpg "Review: The Recipe (Lee Seo-goon, 2010)")
Review: The Recipe (Lee Seo-goon, 2010)
Posted on June 30, 2011 | No Comments[New York Asian Film Festival 2011 Review] A mystical and magical concoction, much like the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) dish that it revolves around, Lee Seo-goon’s second feature The Recipe hinges on a brilliant bit of narrative misdirection. Choi Yu-jin (Ryoo Seung-ryong), the producer/host of a sensationalistic TV expose... -
Review: Forever With You (Yoo Hyeon-mok, 1958)
Posted on June 26, 2011 | No CommentsThe night before he is released from prison Gwang-pil tells a fellow inmate the story behind his ten year incarceration. As a young boy Gwang-pil ran the streets with his friends Dal-soo and Sang-moon, picking pockets and stealing to make their money. During a failed attempt to rob a warehouse... -
Review: Some (Jang Yoon-hyeon, 2004)
Posted on May 29, 2011 | No CommentsJang Yoon-hyeon’s previous film – the popular Tell Me Something (1999) – played out, in many ways, like a ‘greatest hits’ thriller with horror elements in its generous lifting of ideas from the likes of Se7en (David Fincher, 1995), Kiss The Girls (Gary Fleder, 1997) and Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven,... -
Review: Breath (Kim Ki-duk, 2007)
Posted on May 25, 2011 | No CommentsThe 14th feature from Kim Ki-duk, better known in the West for his “extreme” psycho-sexual dramas, The Isle (2000) and Bad Guy (2002) is a remarkably restrained affair. The story centres on a love triangle between a disaffected housewife Yeon (Park Zi-a), her adulterous husband (Ha Jung-woo) and a death... -
Review: Woochi – The Demon Slayer (Choi Dong-hun, 2009)
Posted on April 23, 2011 | No CommentsAKA Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard The world comes close to being thrown into complete chaos when the ‘Pipe of the Prophecy’ is lost by a group of Taoist monks who manage to accidentally free a group of demons who can only be restrained by the instrument. Trickster, schemer... -
Blu-ray Review: I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK (Park Chan-wook / 2006)
Posted on April 3, 2011 | No CommentsFollowing his massively successful Vengeance Trilogy, director Park Chan-wook opted for a change in tone with his romantic comedy I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK (2006) – shortened for international release to I’m A Cyborg. Received with a mixed response, the film was a disappointment for many – especially those... -
Blu-ray Review: A Tale of Two Sisters (Kim Jee-woon, 2003)
Posted on April 3, 2011 | No CommentsIn the eight years since its original release Kim Jee-woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) has established its status as a classic of Korean cinema. It’s been remade by Hollywood as The Uninivited (Charles Guard, Thomas Guard, USA: 2009) and its director has consistently delivered crowd-pleasing projects within various... -
Non-Korean Review: Death Notice – Ikigami (Tomoyuki Takimoto, 2008)
Posted on March 28, 2011 | No CommentsIn the near future, the government of Japan enforces an injection in preschoolers that randomly causes death in the minority of them upon reaching adult hood (anytime between the ages of 18-25) in an effort to boost good citizenship and force a meaningful life. Messengers appointed by the government deliver... -
DVD Review: The Man From Nowhere (Lee Jeong-beom, 2010)
Posted on March 23, 2011 | 1 CommentIt was last years blockbuster smash in Korea, won a stack of awards at the Korea Film Awards and opened last years London Korean Film Festival, The Man From Nowhere is now getting it’s UK DVD release. Reviewed twice on the site, with one rating the film as fun but...