Category Archives: Korean

Smugglers (2023) Review

Director: Ryoo Seung-Wan Cast: Kim Hye-Soo, Yum Jung-Ah, Zo In-Sung, Park Jeong-Min, Kim Jong-Soo, Go Min-Si, Kim Jae-Hwa, Park Jun-Myun, Park Kyung-Hye, Kwak Jin-Seok Running Time: 129 min.  By Paul Bramhall Any discussion on modern Korean action cinema will invariably also be a discussion on director (and sometime actor) Ryoo Seung-wan. An avid Hong Kong action cinema fan when he was growing up, Seung-wan would debut in 2000 with Die … Continue reading

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Officer Black Belt (2024) Review

Director: Kim Joo-hwan Cast: Kim Woo-bin, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Hyun-geol, Lee Joong-Ok, Kang Seung-Ho, Yoon Dae-Yul, Park Ji-Yeol, Jin Mi-Sa, Lee Jung-Gwi, Bang Byung-Hyun Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall The latest in Korea’s steady stream of post-Squid Game Netflix produced movies, Officer Black Belt hit the platform in 2024, offering a look into a rarely seen part of the law enforcement system – the parole officers who monitor … Continue reading

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Land of Happiness, The (2024) Review

Director: Choo Chang-min Cast: Cho Jung-Seok, Lee Sun-Kyun, Yoo Jae-Myung, Woo Hyeon, Lee Won-Jong, Jeon Bae-Su, Song Young-Kyu, Choi Won-Young, Kang Mal-Geum Running Time: 124 min. By Paul Bramhall The 8 months spanning October 1979 to May 1980 are some of the most tumultuous in Korea’s recent history, marked by the assassination of president Park Chung-hee on the 26th October, and culminating in military dictator Chun Doo-hwan ordering the Gwangju … Continue reading

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Man of Reason, A (2023) Review

Director: Jung Woo-sung Cast: Jung Woo-sung, Kim Nam-Gil, Kim Joon-Han, Park Sung-Woong, Park Yoo-Na, Lee Elijah, Ryu Jian, Kim Joo-Hun, Park Yong, Choi Soo-Im Running Time: 98 min.  By Paul Bramhall  One of the most enduring actors in Korean cinema, since making his debut in 1994’s The Fox With Nine Tails Jung Woo-sung has rarely been absent from the screen in the close to 30 years that followed, and in … Continue reading

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Mission: Cross (2024) Review

Director: Lee Myung-Hoon Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Yum Jung-Ah, Jung Man-sik, Lee Ho-chul, Cha Rae-hyung, Jeon Hye-jin, Kim Chan-Hyung, Kim Joo-Hun, Jonathan Yiombi Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall  3 years after the unexpected global success of the Netflix series Squid Game, the streaming giant continues to plough money into Korean content, with the countries K-dramas coming to enjoy the same level of popularity globally as they have within Asia … Continue reading

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Christmas Carol (2022) Review

Director: Kim Seong-soo Cast: Park Jinyoung, Kim Young-min, Heo Dong-won, Song Geon-hee, Kim Dong-Hwi Running Time: 130 min. By Paul Bramhall While the English title of writer and director Kim Seong-soo’s 3rd feature Christmas Carol may sound like another disposable entry in Netflix’s festive movie lineup, thankfully the reality is very different. Taking the classic tale of a revenge seeking protagonist who intentionally gets sent to prison to hunt down … Continue reading

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New Normal (2022) Review

Director: Jung Bum-Sik Cast: Choi Ji-Woo, Lee Yu-Mi, Choi Min-Ho, Pyo Ji-Hoon, Jeong Dong-Won, Lee Moon-Sik Running Time: 112 min. By Paul Bramhall Filmmaker Jong Beom-sik is one of those few director screenwriters in Korea whose name is almost exclusively tied to the horror genre. After making his debut alongside his brother Jeong Sik with 2007’s Epitaph, Beom-sik would go on to helm segments in both 2012’s Horror Stories and … Continue reading

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Phantom (2023) Review

Director: Lee Hae-Young Cast: Sol Kyung-Gu, Lee Ha-Nee, Park So-Dam, Park Hae-Soo, Seo Hyun-Woo, Kim Jong-Soo, Bibi, Esom, Lee Joo-Young, Kim Dong-Hee, Kim Joong-Hee Running Time: 133 min. By Paul Bramhall If someone asked if I could recall the name of that Korean movie which was set in 1933, and involves a group of independence fighters whose mission is to assassinate an official in the occupying Japanese government, chances are … Continue reading

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Handsome Guys (2024) Review

Director: Nam Dong-hyub Cast: Lee Sung-min, Lee Hee-jun, Park Ji-hwan, Lee Kyu-hyung, Gong Seung-yeon, Woo Hyeon Running Time: 100 min.  By Paul Bramhall The comedy genre has always been one which feels reluctant to be tackled head on in Korea, with even productions that bill themselves as comedies often making sharp U-turns into melodrama for their final reels. The likes of 2002’s Sex is Zero and 2017’s I Can Speak … Continue reading

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Escape (2024) Review

Director: Lee Jong-pil Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Hong Xa-bin, Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Dong Hyeon, Esom, Lee Ho Jung Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall When the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953 the anti-communist film became a mainstay in the South Korean film industry, going through a golden era during the remainder of the decade, and one which continued well into the 1960’s (so much so that, in … Continue reading

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Tastes of Horror (2023) Review

Director #1: Ahn Sang-hoon Director #2: Yoon Eun-kyung Director #3: Chae Yoo-joon Director #4: Kim Yong-gyun Director #5: Im Dae-woong Cast: Lee Zoo-young, Kim Joo-ryoung, Shin Eun-soo, Kim Tae-hoon, Park Jin-a, Choi Soo-im Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall The horror anthology is a production that’s been around for years, and in Asia there have been several takes on the format in the 21st century. The early 2000’s gave … Continue reading

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Hopeless (2023) Review

Director: Kim Chang-hoon Cast: Hong Xa-bin, Kim Hyung-seo (Bibi), Song Joong-ki, Kim Jong-soo, Park Bo-Kyung  Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall In Korean cinema it almost feels like a rite of passage for debut writer and directors to tackle the gritty social drama, usually focusing on those who live on the bottom rungs of Korean society, and with 2023’s Hopeless Kim Chang-hoon proves he’s not going to be one … Continue reading

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Don’t Go Too Far (2021) Review

Director: Park Hyun-yong Cast: Son Jin-hwan, Son Byung-ho, Choi Jae-sup, Lee Sun-hee, Park Myung-shin, Lee Kyung-sung, Lee Do Yup, Ji Dae Han, Kang Tae Young Running Time: 77 min. By Paul Bramhall  While it’s not uncommon for movies to be based off stage plays, what is uncommon is for the actual theatre setting itself to be integrated into a production intended for the screen rather than the stage. Part of … Continue reading

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Thunderbird (2022) Review

Director: Lee Jae-Won Cast: Seo Hyun-Woo, Lee Myeong-Ro, Lee Seol, Kim Kyu-baek, Park Seung-tae, Choi Euna Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to being a fan of the “having a bad day” sub-genre, the kind which places a character (or characters) in an unenviable situation over the course of a short timeframe, and come with a narrative that’s usually built around the mantra of everything that can … Continue reading

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Roundup: Punishment, The (2024) Review

Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Moo-Yul, Lee Dong-Hwi, Park Ji-Hwan, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Ji-Hoon, Lee Joo-Bin, Park Bo-kyung, Derek Chouinard Running Time: 109 min.  By Paul Bramhall In a world where it’s perfectly normal to wait a couple of years for a sequel to land, The Roundup rebranded follow-ups to 2017’s The Outlaws have looked to buck the trend. Audiences only had to wait 11 months … Continue reading

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