2009 Archive

  • AKA 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...

    Review: Woochi – The Demon Slayer (Choi Dong-hun / 2009)

    AKA 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...

    Continue Reading...

  • Sang-hyeon, a priest who is questioning his faith, volunteers to help in the search for a vaccine for deadly virus by being injected himself. Almost dying, he suddenly makes a miraculous recovery. As he recovers he develops characteristics of vampirism and as he develops a relationship with a young girl...

    Review: Thirst (Park Chan-wook / 2009)

    Sang-hyeon, a priest who is questioning his faith, volunteers to help in the search for a vaccine for deadly virus by being injected himself. Almost dying, he suddenly makes a miraculous recovery. As he recovers he develops characteristics of vampirism and as he develops a relationship with a young girl...

    Continue Reading...

  • Hyun-ah travels with a film director into the countryside to discuss a potential film role. Taking a break at a farm for some fresh chicken soup, the strange owner of the farm suddenly attacks the director and knocks Hyun-ah unconscious – when she awakes to find herself held hostage she...

    Review: Missing (Kim Sung-hong / 2009)

    Hyun-ah travels with a film director into the countryside to discuss a potential film role. Taking a break at a farm for some fresh chicken soup, the strange owner of the farm suddenly attacks the director and knocks Hyun-ah unconscious – when she awakes to find herself held hostage she...

    Continue Reading...

  • Hitman Hyun Jun senses something is not quite right while on a job, only to find that his target is a young woman by the name of Jin young who has paid for her own murder. Sparing her life, but angering and frustrating her in the process, Hyun Jun walks...

    Review: Kiss Me, Kill Me (Yang Jong-hyun / 2009)

    Hitman Hyun Jun senses something is not quite right while on a job, only to find that his target is a young woman by the name of Jin young who has paid for her own murder. Sparing her life, but angering and frustrating her in the process, Hyun Jun walks...

    Continue Reading...

  • Ja Yeong takes a trip to the coast to see the sea before leaving to be married. She meets Moo Myeong, a rough, low class bodyguard who immediately falls in love with her. When Moo Myeong finds out that the person Ja Yeong is to marry is the King himself...

    Review: The Sword With No Name (Kim Yong-gyun / 2009)

    Ja Yeong takes a trip to the coast to see the sea before leaving to be married. She meets Moo Myeong, a rough, low class bodyguard who immediately falls in love with her. When Moo Myeong finds out that the person Ja Yeong is to marry is the King himself...

    Continue Reading...

  • In December 1937 the Japanese army captured the city of Nanjing, early on in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the brutal weeks that followed, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed… Review Written and directed by Lu Chuan, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH (also known as NANKING!...

    Non-Korean Review: City of Life and Death (Lu Chuan / 2009)

    In December 1937 the Japanese army captured the city of Nanjing, early on in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the brutal weeks that followed, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed… Review Written and directed by Lu Chuan, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH (also known as NANKING!...

    Continue Reading...

  • Kaiji Ito is in a dead-end job and finds himself facing a debt collector who tells him that he needs to pay back the money from a bad loan. Unable to repay her, Kaiji agrees to board a boat where a night of gambling will potentially allow him to clear...

    Non-Korean Review: Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (Tôya Satô / 2009)

    Kaiji Ito is in a dead-end job and finds himself facing a debt collector who tells him that he needs to pay back the money from a bad loan. Unable to repay her, Kaiji agrees to board a boat where a night of gambling will potentially allow him to clear...

    Continue Reading...

  • Sang-hoon is a debt collector with an uncontrollable temper and a foul mouth whose daily routine involves beating up anyone who can’t repay the money they owe. A chance incident with a young schoolgirl results in a violent confrontation, but Sang-hoon also finds himself making an unexpected friend… Review An...

    Review: Breathless (2009 / Yang Ik-joon)

    Sang-hoon is a debt collector with an uncontrollable temper and a foul mouth whose daily routine involves beating up anyone who can’t repay the money they owe. A chance incident with a young schoolgirl results in a violent confrontation, but Sang-hoon also finds himself making an unexpected friend… Review An...

    Continue Reading...

  • The ‘Short Cuts’ series of books are introductory texts to different aspects, genres, histories and critical ideas of cinema. In volume 46 of this long running series the South Korean film industry falls under the spotlight as the democratization of the country, the political and the commercial forces which led...

    Book Review: New Korean Cinema: Breaking The Waves (Darcy Paquet / 2009)

    The ‘Short Cuts’ series of books are introductory texts to different aspects, genres, histories and critical ideas of cinema. In volume 46 of this long running series the South Korean film industry falls under the spotlight as the democratization of the country, the political and the commercial forces which led...

    Continue Reading...

  • A peaceful rural village becomes terrorised when the remains of several missing people are found. The local investigators – who are joined by two city policemen in the investigation – think that there is a wild animal on the lose and try to work out how to stop it, something...

    Review: Chaw (Shin Jung-won / 2009)

    A peaceful rural village becomes terrorised when the remains of several missing people are found. The local investigators – who are joined by two city policemen in the investigation – think that there is a wild animal on the lose and try to work out how to stop it, something...

    Continue Reading...