Category Archives: Korean

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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Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, The (2018) Review

The Witch: Subversion | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Park Hoon-Jung Cast: Kim Da-Mi, Jo Min-Soo, Choi Woo-Sik, Go Min-Si, Park Hee-Soon, Da-Eun, Choi Jung-Woo, Oh Mi-Hee, Kim Byung-Ok, Lee Joo-Won, Kim Ha-Na Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall As 2018 draws close to an end, the appetite for female driven action movies doesn’t seem to be waning in the West or the East. Warner Brothers appear to know this, so for their latest foray into the … Continue reading

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Negotiation, The (2018) Review

"The Negotiation" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Jong-Suk Writer: Choi Sung-Hyun Cast: Son Ye-Jin, Hyun-Bin, Kim Sang-Ho, Jang Young-Nam, Jang Gwang, Lee Moon-Sik Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall In the Korean film industry, Son Ye-jin is known as the Queen of Melodrama, and Hyun Bin the Rom-Com King. However the movie that’s brought them both together is (perhaps mercifully) neither a melodrama nor a romantic comedy, with The Negotiation instead being a thriller … Continue reading

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Rampant (2018) Review

Rampant | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Kim Sung-Hoon Writer: Won Shin-yun Cast: Hyun-Bin, Jang Dong-Gun, Jo Woo-Jin, Kim Eui-Sung, Jeong Man-Sik, Lee Sun-Bin Running Time: 129 min. By Paul Bramhall Less than 3 years ago Korea spawned one of its most unlikely breakout hits, with the zombie action thriller Train to Busan. While personally I didn’t find the concept of zombies on a train to be executed as entertainingly as it could have been, there’s no … Continue reading

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Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (2003) Review

"Resurrection of the Little Match Girl" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Jang Sun-Woo Cast: Lim Eun-Kyung, Kim Hyun-Sung, Kim Jin-Pyo, Myung Gye-Nam, Myung Gye-Nam, Jung Doo-Hong, Kang Ta, Lee Chung-Ah, Seo Jae-Kyung, Park Sung-Woong Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall There are some movies out there that seem destined to only be appreciated in retrospect, such could be the case for Resurrection of the Little Match Girl. It was a title that I avoided since its release, as I … Continue reading

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Trap: Lethal Temptation (2015) Review

Director: Bong Man-Dae Writer: Lee Chang-Yeol, Bong Man-Dae Cast: Yu Ha-Jun, Jung Min-Gyul, Na Sang-Gyu, Kang Yong-Gyu, Jo Soo-Jung, Lee Sang-Hwa Running Time: 107 min. By Paul Bramhall In Korea director Bong Man-dae is something of an anomaly. Even today he remains the only director to successfully transition from the world of erotic B-movies to mainstream cinema. After cranking out 12 titles in the 3 years spanning 1999 – 2002, … Continue reading

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Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) Review

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Jung Bum-Sik Cast: Wi Ha-Joon, Park Ji-Hyun, Oh Ah-Yeon, Moon Ye-Won, Park Sung-Hoon, Lee Seung-Wook Running Time: 94 min. By Paul Bramhall The found footage horror film could be said to have started with Italian filmmaker Ruggero Deodato’s notorious 1980 jungle nightmare Cannibal Holocaust, but for many viewers it will arguably be a movie that came almost 20 years later, in the form of The Blair Witch Project, that … Continue reading

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Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) Review

"Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days" Teaser Poster

Director: Kim Yong-Hwa Writer: Kim Yong-Hwa Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Ju Ji-Hoon, Kim Hyang-Gi, Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Dong-Wook, Lee Jung-Jae, Jo Han-Chul, Kim Myung-Gon, Il-woo Nam Running Time: 141 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s been less than a year since Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds hit cinema screens, and already the second part of the consecutively filmed pair is upon us with Along With the Gods: The Last 49 … Continue reading

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Heart Blackened (2017) Review

"Heart Blackened" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Jeong Ji-woo Cast: Choi Min-Sik, Park Shin-Hye, Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Lee Honey, Park Hae-Joon, Lee Soo-Kyung Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall The current trend of Asian movies being remade within the region shows no signs of slowing down, with most recently China remaking the Korean movie A Hard Day into Peace Breaker, and Korea returning the favour by remaking Drug War into Believer. In Believer, Korean actor Choi … Continue reading

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