“Me and Me” Theatrical Poster

Director: Jung Jin-Young
Cast: Cho Jin-Woong, Bae Soo-Bin, Cha Soo-Yeon, Jung Hae-Kyun, Jang Won-Young, No Kang-Min
Running Time: 105 min.

By Paul Bramhall

It’s always interesting when an actor decides to try their hand at directing, and in the Korean film industry there’s been no shortage of examples. From Ha Jung-woo’s Airplane! styled comedy Fasten Your Seatbelt in 2013, to Cho Jae-hyun’s rather Hong Sang-soo-esque take on the folly of man in 2015’s A Break Alone, such productions serve to give an insight into what makes their creators tick. In both of these movies, notably Jung-woo and Jae-hyun not only directed but also wrote the scripts, and that trend continues in 2020’s Me and Me, in which veteran actor Jung Jin-young steps behind the camera and into the director’s chair.

Jin-young is one of those actors who, if you’ve even seen just a handful of Korean movies, you’ll have likely come across him at least once. From early appearances as the detective in Korea’s take on the Ring with The Ring Virus, to playing the king in the acclaimed The King and The Clown, to more recent efforts like Svaha: The Sixth Finger, he’s an actor who never dials in a performance. For his directorial debut he steps behind the camera completely, for a tale which offers up one of the more unique cinematic Continue reading →

“The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful” Theatrical Poster

Director: Khan Lee
Cast: Kwon Sang-Woo, Kim Hee-Won, Kim Sung-Kyun, Heo Sung-Tae, Woo Do-Hwan, Won Hyun-Joon, Park Sang-Hoon, Jung In-Gyeom, Stephanie Lee
Running Time: 106 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Since Korean cinema started to gain international recognition in the late 90’s and early 00’s, sequels have never really been a part of the industries repertoire, and when they have, they’ve mostly felt unneeded. It’s safe to say nobody was really clamouring for follow-ups to the likes of Attack the Gas Station, Friend, and Tazza, and their arrival was greeted by a muted response combined with low box office returns. 2014’s The Divine Move also feels like it fits into this category, and while it came long after Korean cinema had asserted itself as a force to be reckoned with, like the Korean Wave classics mentioned, nobody was expecting a sequel to it.

5 years later though, and that’s what we have with The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful, although technically it’s billed as a prequel. The prequel billing only relates to the late 90’s era its set in, offering up a new set of characters, with only the fact that the story revolves around the game of Go connecting it to the original. The opening introduces us to a villainous master Go player played by Jung In-gyeom (The Negotiation, Assassination), who has an unhealthy fondness for the underage girl he’s been giving pocket money too for cleaning his house. After In-gyeom forces himself on her which leads to tragedy, her younger brother challenges him to a game of Go, but he crumbles under the pressure Continue reading →