Category Archives: Korean

Divine Fury, The (2019) Review

The Divine Fury | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Kim Joo-Hwan Cast: Park Seo-Joon, Ahn Sung-Ki, Woo Do-Hwan, Park Ji-Hyun, Choi Woo-Sik, Jung Ji-Hoon, Lee Seung-Hee, Sim Hee-Seop, Kim Si-Eun, Kim Seon-Min, Kim Bum-Soo Running Time: 129 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s been over 20 years since legendary Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki played a priest battling with possession hungry demons, in 1998’s Soul Guardians. Now a poorly aged showcase for Korea’s burgeoning CGI effects, in 2019 director Kim … Continue reading

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Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage | aka Bad Police (2019) Review

"Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: Bad Lieutenant Director: Lee Jeong-Beom Cast: Lee Sun-Kyun, Jeon So-Nee, Park Hae-Joon, Song Young-Chang, Park Byung-Eun, Kim Min-Jae, Jung Ga-Ram, Lee Yoo-Young, Kwon Han-Sol Running Time: 127 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s been almost 10 years since director Lee Jeong-beom struck gold with his 2010 action thriller The Man from Nowhere. Made at a time when, looking back in retrospect, it was a golden era for Korean thrillers, Jeong-beom’s … Continue reading

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Tik Tok (2016) Review

Director: Li Jun Writer: Xiaoyang Ding Cast: Wallace Chung, Lee Jung-jae, Lang Yueting, Lee Chae-yeong, Fan Yang, Lumeng Cui Running Time: 103 min. By Paul Bramhall There was a brief moment, not too long ago, when The Thieves made it seem like the prospect of future collaborations between Korea and China was an exciting one. But then efforts like The Bounty Hunters, Reset, and Bad Guys Always Die quickly put … Continue reading

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Record of Sweet Murder, A (2014) Review

"A Record of Sweet Murder" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Koji Shiraishi Writer: Koji Shiraishi Cast: Kim Kkobbi, Yeon Je-Wook, Ryotaro Yonemura, Tsukasa Aoi, Yeo Min-Jung, Koji Shiraishi Running Time: 86 min. By Paul Bramhall  Japanese director Koji Shiraishi had, for a long time, carved out a niche for himself as the guy who makes grimy found-footage/docu-horror flicks. The likes of 2005’s Noroi: The Curse, 2009’s Occult, and 2011’s Cho Akunin, all feature some kind of first person perspective … Continue reading

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Extreme Job (2019) Review

"Extreme Job" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Byeong-Hun Cast: Ryoo Seung-Ryong, Lee Ha-Nee, Jin Seon-Kyu, Lee Dong-Hwi, Gong Myung, Shin Ha-Kyun, Oh Jung-Se, Kim Eui-Sung, Yang Hyun-Min Running Time: 111 min. By Martin Sandison In the last few years Korean action comedies have really come into there own, with films such as Confidential Assignment and Unstoppable proving the well-established tropes in the genre can be given a fresh and innovative twist. While more comedic and thrill-a-minute … Continue reading

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Steel Rain (2017) Review

"Steel Rain" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Yang Woo-Seok Cast: Jung Woo-Sung, Kwak Do-Won, Kim Kap-Soo, im Eui-Sung, Lee Kyoung-Young, Jo Woo-Jin, Park Eun-Hye, Ahn Mi-Na, Won Jin-A, Park Sun-Young Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall With improving relations between South and North Korea, the theme of mutual understanding between the divided nation has also begun to be reflected in the South’s cinematic output in recent years. Movies like Confidential Assignment and The Spy Gone … Continue reading

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Witness, The (2018) Review

"The Witness" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Jo Kyu-Jang Cast: Lee Sung-Min, Kim Sang-Ho, Jin Kyung, Kwak Si-Yang, Park Bom, Kim Sung-Kyun, Bae Jung-Hwa, Shin Seung-Hwan, Jung Yoo-Min, Yeon Je-Wook Running Time: 111 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s fair to say that violence is as an integral a part of Korean cinema as kimchi is to its cuisine. Sure, you don’t need it with every dish, but when it’s there, it makes for a distinctly Korean … Continue reading

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Drug King, The (2018) Review

"The Drug King" Korean Teaser Poster

Director: Woo Min-Ho Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Cho Jung-Seok, Bae Doo-Na, Kim So-Jin, Kim Dae-Myung, Lee Sung-Min Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall I finished my review of director Woo Min-ho’s last movie, the excellent Inside Men, by stating my hope that “his next movie is at least on par with what he’s pulled off here.” 3 years later and that opportunity is now upon us, and it comes in … Continue reading

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Misbehavior (2017) Review

"Misbehavior" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Tae-Yong Writer: Kim Tae-Yong Cast: Kim Ha-Neul, Yu In-Young, Lee Won-Geun, Lee Hee-Joon, Lee Ki-Woo, Gi Ju-Bong, Jung Suk-Yong, Hong Ahn-Pyo, Lim Hwa-Young, Kwon Soo-Hyun Running Time: 96 min.  By Paul Bramhall There can be no more tried and tested plot device within the world of Korean drama’s than the love triangle. In a way it’s understandable, the kind of relationship dynamic it invokes provides a framework in … Continue reading

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Revenger (2018) Review

"Revenger" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Seung-won Writer: Bruce Khan Cast: Bruce Khan, Park Hee-soon, T.J. Storm, Yoon Jin-seo, Kim In-kwon, Park Chul-min Running Time: 101 min. By Paul Bramhall The Korean martial arts movie can more or less be said to have died out at some point in the 1990’s. Sure there’s been a few attempts to revive it, the likes of 2006’s City of Violence and 2013’s The Suspect were both sold … Continue reading

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Return, The (2018) Review

Director: Malene Choi Writer: Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen Cast: Thomas Hwan, Karoline Sofie Lee Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall Out of all the many characters that frequent Korean cinema, the one which is arguably the most underrepresented is that of the international adoptee. So it came as quite a shock when I watched the recently released Champion, a mainstream production starring Ma Dong-seok as an adoptee raised in the … Continue reading

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Secret Reunion (2010) Review

"Secret Reunion" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Jang Hun Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Gang Dong-Won, Jeon Kuk-Hwan, Park Hyuk-Kwon, Yoon Hee-Seok, Ko Chang-Seok, Lee So-Yun, Jung In-Gi, Bae Yong-Geun, Jo Suk-Hyun, Park Yong-Jin, Kwon Bum-Taek, Choi Jung-Woo Running Time: 116 min. By Z Ravas Secret Reunion opens at a fever pitch most action movies hope to achieve during their climax. Gang Don-won’s character has been living in South Korea as a sleeper agent for the North when … Continue reading

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Psychokinesis (2018) Review

"Psychokinesis" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Yeon Sang-Ho Writer: Yeon Sang-Ho Cast: Ryoo Seung-Ryong, Shim Eun-Kyung, Park Jung-Min, Kim Min-Jae, Jung Yu-Mi Running Time: 101 min.  By Z Ravas Train to Busan must be the most popular Korean film in America since Oldboy. No, I don’t have any hard data to back that up (although the movie did gross close to $100 million worldwide). But anecdotally, here in the States – where Korean cinema is still … Continue reading

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Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018) Review

"Illang: The Wolf Brigade" Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ji-woon Cast: Gang Dong-Won, Han Hyo-Joo, Jung Woo-Sung, Kim Moo-Yul, Han Ye-Ri, Heo Jun-Ho, Minho, Shin Eun-Soo, Kim Pub-Lae, Lee Dong-Ha, Choi Jin-Ho Running Time: 138 min. By Z Ravas A Tale of Two Sisters. A Bittersweet Life. The Good, the Bad, the Weird. I Saw the Devil. Age of Shadows. Over the last 15 years, the work of Kim Jee-woon has come to help define popular Korean … Continue reading

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Unstoppable (2018) Review

Unstoppable | Blu-ray (Well Go USA(

Direcor: Kim Min-ho Writer: Kim Min-Ho Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Song Ji-Hyo, Kim Sung-Oh, Kim Min-Jae, Ji-Hwan, Lee Sung-Woo, Bae Noo-Ri, Park Ji-Hoon, Park Kwang-Jae, Lim Hyung-Joon Running Time: 115 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s fair to say that if The Man from Nowhere was Korea’s Taken, then Unstoppable is Korea’s Taken 2. One had Won Bin tracking down the traffickers who kidnapped his neighbour’s child, while the other has Ma … Continue reading

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