Category Archives: Korean

Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016) Review

Director: Lee Joon-Ik Writer: Shin Youn-Shick Cast: Kang Ha-Neul, Park Jung-Min, Kim In-Woo, Choi Hong-Il, Choi Hee-Seo, Shin Yoon-Joo, Min Jin-Woong Running Time: 110 min. By Martin Sandison The Glasgow, Scotland leg of the 16th London Korean Film Festival appealed much more to the arthouse community, with three films being shown. Dong-Ju: Portrait of a Poet was easily the most interesting. A biopic of one of Korea’s most enduring poets, … Continue reading

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Bounty Hunters (2016) Review

Director: Shin Tae-Ra Producer: Raymond Wong Cast: Lee Min-ho, Wallace Chung, Tiffany Tang, Jeremy Xu, Karena Ng, Fan Siu-Wong, Yang Mi Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall In 2016 China continued its mission to create a watchable Hollywood style action blockbuster, and this time they’ve called in some help to back them up. Bounty Hunters is produced by Hong Kong based Raymond Wong, and perhaps sensing that leaving such a … Continue reading

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Insane (2015) Review

"Insane" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Chul-Ha Cast: Gang Ye-Won, Lee Sang-Yoon, Choi Jin-Ho, Ji Dae-Han, Chun Min-Hee, Lee Hak-Joo, Choi Yoon-So, Jo Jae-Yun, Kim Jong-Soo, Jang Tae-Seong Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall Mainstream Korean horror has always been a tricky beast, dating back to when the new wave really put Korean cinema on the map in the early 2000’s, the one constant seemed to be over promise and under deliver. Posters … Continue reading

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Evil Hits Evil | aka Three Dark Spirits (1983) Review

"Evil Hits Evil" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang Cast: Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, Doris Lung, Alan Lau, Peng Kang, Yeung Hung, Cheung Ching Fung, Gam Wing Cheung, Kim Yu-Haeng Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall If you’re going to watch a horror movie, then one which credits its director as Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang is as good a place to start as any. In what appears to be his first and last time in … Continue reading

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Net, The (2016) Review

"The Net" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk Producer: Kim Soon-Mo Cast: Ryoo Seung-bum, Young-Min Kim, Lee Won-Geun, Choi Gwi-Hwa, Jo Jae-Ryong, Ahn Ji-Hye Running Time: 114 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Filmography of Kim Ki-Duk could be the subject of many theories and endless discussions. Personally, I see it divided into two major phases: pre and post-Arirang one. Arirang had that something I’ve been missing the whole time, and it had me admiring the … Continue reading

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Blood of Dragon Peril (1979) Review

"Blood of Dragon Peril" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: A Man with Seven Faces Director: Kim Seon-gyeong Writer: Yoon Sam-yook Cast: Chang Il-do, Choi Min-kyu, Kwon Il-soo, Robby Ban, Edie Wang, Judy Suh, Edwin Lau Running Time: 94 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to having a soft-spot for kung fu movies that have grammatically challenged titles, and Blood of Dragon Peril is definitely up there with the best of them. “Blood of what?” you may ask, well, Dragon … Continue reading

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Phone, The (2015) Revew

"The Phone" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Bong-Joo Cast: Son Hyun-Joo, Uhm Ji-Won, Bae Sung-Woo, Hwang Bo-Ra, Roh Jeong-Eui, Jang In-Sub, Jo Dal-Hwan, Lee Sheol-Min, Park Ji-So, Hwang Suk-Jung Running Time: 114 min. By Paul Bramhall The Phone joins the ranks of that great Korean tradition – the movie which contains something about a phone in its title. Alongside the 2002 horror movie, which went for the simplistic Phone, and the 2009 thriller, which decided … Continue reading

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Train to Busan (2016) Review

"Train to Busan" Theatrical Poster

Director: Yeon Sang-Ho Writer: Park Joo-suk Cast: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-Mi, Choi Woo-Sik, Ahn So-Hee, Kim Soo-Ahn Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall Korea’s film industry is one which is rarely associated with the medium of animation, however one name that may change all that is director Yeon Sang-ho, who’s been successfully carving out a name for himself within the animated arena. His hard hitting features like … Continue reading

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Deadly Kick, The | aka Dragon King (1976) Review

"The Deadly Kick" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Rival Director: Go Yeong-nam Co-director: Lo Lieh Cast: Lo Lieh, Bobby Kim, Pearl Lin Yin Zhu, Han Mi-ja, Im Eun-ju, Kim Ki-ju, Jin Bong-jin, Gam Kei Chu, Bruce Cheung Mong, Chan Feng Chen, Chiu Chun Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall In 1972 the Shaw Brothers production King Boxer was released in the US, under the title of Five Fingers of Death, and is largely considered to … Continue reading

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Inside Men: The Original (2015) Review

"Inside Men: The Original" Theatrical Poster

Director: Woo Min-Ho Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Cho Seung-Woo, Baek Yoon-Sik, Lee Kyoung-Young, Kim Hong-Fa, Jo Jae-Yun, Bae Sung-Woo, Kim Dae-Myung, Jo Woo-Jin, Yoo Jae-Myung Running Time: 180 min. By Paul Bramhall Based on a web-comic by Yoon Tae-ho, who was also responsible for the web-comic behind the excellent Moss, when Inside Men hit Korean cinema screens in 2015, its tale of political corruption strongly resonated with audiences, making it one … Continue reading

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Wailing, The (2016) Review

"The Wailing" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Na Hong-jin Writer: Na Hong-jin Cast: Kwak Do-Won, Hwang Jeong-Min, Jun Kunimura, Chun Woo-Hee, Kim Hwan-Hee, Jang So-Yeon, Heo Jin, Jo Han-Chul, Son Kang-Kuk, Kim Do-Yoon Running Time: 115 min. By Jeff Bona Na Hong-jin, the fierce South Korean filmmaker behind Chaser (2008) and The Yellow Sea (2010), is once again unleashing hell with The Wailing – and let me tell you  – I’ve never been happier seeing a … Continue reading

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Coin Locker Girl | aka Chinatown (2014) Review

"Coin Locker Girl" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Han Jun-Hee Cast: Kim Hye-Soo, Kim Go-Eun, Um Tae-Goo, Park Bo-Gum, Ko Gyung-Pyo, Lee Soo-Kyung, Cho Hyun-Chul, Jo Bok-Rae, Lee Dae-Yeon, Ki Joo-Bong Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall As anyone who’s seen any number of Korean gangster movies will know, rarely are they complete without a scene in a basement carpark, a setting which never fails to lend itself to knife wielding figures of the underworld partaking … Continue reading

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Office (2014) Review

"Office" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Hong Won-Chan Cast: Ko Ah-Sung, Park Sung-Woong, Bae Sung-Woo, Kim Eui-Sung, Ryoo Hyoun-Kyoung, Lee Chae-Eun, Son Soo-Hyun, Park Jung-Min, Oh Dae-Hwan Running Time: 111 min. By Paul Bramhall The English language poster created for Office when it was invited to Cannes came with the slogan – ‘He murdered his family, and then came back to work.’ The line effectively sets up expectations for a straight forward worker-pushed-over-the-edge slasher movie, … Continue reading

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Emperor of the Underworld (1994) Review

"An Emperor of the Underworld" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Hwang Jang Lee Writer: Im Seung-su Cast: Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Hwang Jang Lee, Lee Jin Young, Kim Mi Young, Hyeon Kil Su Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall If there was ever a genre that could be described as having little to no exposure outside of its native country, then it’s the 90’s Korean action movie. Compared to the likes of Hong Kong and Japan’s own action cinema … Continue reading

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Friend 2 | aka Chingoo 2 (2013) Review

"Friend 2" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kwak Kyung-Taek Cast: Yoo Oh-Sung, Kim Woo-Bin, Joo Jin-Mo, Jung Ho-Bin, Lee Cheol-Min, Jang Young-Nam, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Gi Ju-Bong, Bae Sung-Jong, Jung Soo-Kyo Running Time: 124 min. By Kelly Warner Kwak Kyung-taek’s 2001 gangster drama Friend is widely considered to be a modern classic in South Korean cinema. I like the movie but you could probably say that I’m not one of Friend’s biggest fans. I rewatched it recently … Continue reading

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