In Police Story: Lockdown (read our review), Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan) knows all about sacrifice. He’s always been too busy chasing bad guys to be a father to his daughter Miao (Jing Tian). Tonight, he’s seeing her for the first time in years and meeting her fiance, club owner Wu Jiang (Liu Ye). But Wu knows Zhong. And his plans for the evening include taking Miao, Zhong, and the entire club hostage…
Director: Bong Joon-Ho Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Jang Hye-Jin, Choi Woo-Sik, Park So-Dam, Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Jung Ji-So, Jeong Hyun-Jun, Lee Jung-Eun, Park Seo-Joon Running Time: 131 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The following review for Parasite was originally posted on COF in July of 2019. Because the film took home four Academy Awards at the recent 2020 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Film and Best Original Screenplay), we decided to re-post it.
If there’s any director out there whose work refuses to be categorised into any one genre, it’s Bong Joon-ho. Whether it be a monster rampaging along the Han River in The Host, a constantly moving train hurtling through a frozen Earth in Snowpiercer, or following the journey of a giant pig in Okja, his movies are always much more than what they appear to be on the surface. Usually imbued with a social commentary that incorporates pitch black humor and unexpected consequences, both of these elements come to the fore in the director’s latest production, Parasite.
It’s the first time for Joon-ho to return to a pure Korean production since Mother, made 10 years earlier. In between there’s been flirtations with Hollywood for the Chris Evans starring Snowpiercer, and with Okja he appeared to understand the benefits of making a Netflix movie even more than Netflix itself, leveraging the platform to be given complete creative freedom in a way no other director has. However there’s an undeniable excitement not only to see him back on home soil, but also working once more with leading man Song Kang-ho. This is the fourth time for them to work together, having previously collaborated on Memories of Murder, The Host, and Snowpiercer, with Kang-ho headlining all but the latter.
In Parasite he plays the patriarch of a family living on the bottom rungs of Korean society. The family of four live in a ‘semi-basement’, a dingy dwelling nestled in the corner of a dead-end street, its sole narrow window subject to drunken salary men regularly relieving themselves nearby after a few tipples too many. Despite their circumstances, the family unit is an undeniably cheerful one, their unemployed status temporarily put on hold one evening when a pizza store outsources the folding of its pizza boxes, and the discovery of a wi-fi signal (even if it is next to the toilet) heralding a reason to celebrate with cheap beer.
When the opportunity arises for the son, played by Choi Wooshik (Big Match), to take over privately tutoring a rich families daughter in English, it opens up a world of modernist mansions set in the hillsides of Seoul, complete with live-in housemaids and neurotic housewives. Wooshik proves to be a quick-witted individual, equal parts highly intelligent and opportunistic, and soon finds the trust he builds with the mother (Jo Yeo-jung, The Concubine) as a means to find gainful employment for the rest of the family. This starts with his sister (Park So-dam, Run-off), who enters under the guise of a U.S. educated art major now specialising in art therapy, an approach Yeo-jung believes will benefit their hyper energetic son.
To go into any more detail on the plot of Parasite would no doubt spoil the ride, a fact enforced when director Joon-ho made his own personal appeal in a short clip released in June 2019, requesting for those who have seen it not to give away any spoilers for others. The fact that a director would go on-camera requesting audiences to refrain from spoilers may make it seem like Parasite comes loaded with a twist on the magnitude of The Sixth Sense, however this is far from the case. Rather, the rest of the plot plays out by slowly revealing a number of unexpected truths about the household our thrifty family gradually find themselves a part of, and its these that pack Parasite with its emotional punches.
Joon-ho is a director whose name and movies will always be associated with kick-starting the Korean Wave, and the domestic setting that Parasite unfolds in harks back in some ways to his 2000 debut Barking Dogs Never Bite. Kang-ho’s role also feels like he’s come full circle from the similarly themed The Quiet Family, Kim Jee-woon’s 1998 black comedy, in which he could well be argued to be playing the role that Wooshik has taken on here. Like a pair of dancers that know each other’s strengths inside out, Joon-ho provides Kang-ho with his best role since Thirst. While he rarely puts in a bad performance, most of the roles Kang-ho has played in recent years haven’t exactly stretched his acting muscles, leaving those of us who’ve been waiting for a return to his performance in the likes of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance frequently disappointed.
Like all of the classic movies mentioned, the most challenging aspect for the audience in watching Parasite is that there are no good or bad guys to root for or against. Kang-ho and the rest of the family do what they need to do in order to survive and put bread on the table, and are never driven by sinister motives. Likewise for their ‘host’ family, as the well-off patriarch played by Lee Sun-kyun (A Special Lady), his CEO status may make him slightly aloof and seemingly takes his lifestyle for granted, however neither of these things make him an inherently bad person.
The moral ambiguities that unfold throughout Parasite serve to keep the tension constantly bubbling just underneath the service, and the question of how much where we stand in society is based on circumstance or luck is never far away. Perhaps Parasite’s greatest achievement though, is how much of a fantastic ensemble piece it is. Ensemble acting has always been a key component in many of Joon-ho’s best work, from the family looking to save a loved one in The Host, to the relationship between the various passengers in Snowpiercer, and here Joon-ho’s orchestration of his performers is another prime example of a master at work.
Wooshik has worked with Joon-ho before in Okja, however he did little else apart from irritate in The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, so his role here feels somewhat redemptive, and he owns the screen whenever on it. Likewise for rising star Park So-dam, who after turns in the supernatural horrors The Priests and Silenced in 2015, here clocks in her most mature role to date, and she owns it. After being a Hong Sang-soo mainstay for many years, I thought we’d be seeing a lot more of Lee Sun-kyun after his frantic turn in 2013’s A Hard Day, but he’s mostly remained a solid player in largely unremarkable productions, so to see him here feels like a role worthy of his talent. Playing his daughter, Hyun Seung-min hasn’t done much since her role in 2015’s The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale, however she’s clearly a talented actress, and based on her performance here I hope we’ll be seeing more from her in the future.
Combined with the cinematography of Hong Kyung-pyo, who apart from also lensing Joon-ho’s Mother and Snowpiercer, was also the man behind the camera for the likes of such classics as Burning, The Wailing, and The Good. The Bad. The Weird, Parasite looks fantastic. The camera isn’t only there to capture the images onscreen, but also serves to add layers of depth to the situations that unfold before us. Stairs pop up frequently in Parasite, an omnipresent feature in any movie shot in Seoul due to the nature of the landscape, but here they’re given an extra layer of meaning by Kyung-pyo’s lensing.
Parasite became the first Korean production to walk away with the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, an accolade which is well deserved. Like the best of Joon-ho’s work, over the course of its 130 minute runtime I found myself laughing, cringing, and every other emotion that’s possible to be wrung out of a human. The level of creativity and boldness that permeated the Korean film industry in the early 2000’s has been lacking in recent years, so for many of us Parasite will serve as a reminder as to why we fell in love with Korean cinema in the first place.
While some may find Joon-ho’s critique of the social classes lacking subtlety, it’s an element that’s always been a part of his work, although admittedly never pushed to the forefront quite like it is here. It’s an approach which will likely divide fans of the auteur, depending on what titles in his filmography resonate the most. One thing that can’t be argued though, is that it’s unmistakably a movie which could only have been made by Joon-ho, and here’s hoping anything he makes after this will also have an opportunity to be shown on the big screen, as that’s where his movies belong.
AKA: Unity of Heroes 2 Director: Marco Mak Cast: Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo, Miya Muqi, Kenya Sawada, Na Wei, Lubing Li, Huanhuan Wei Running Time: 92 min.
By Paul Bramhall
To many kung fu fans in the west the genre may be regarded as dead and buried, but in China streaming channels like Youku and iQiyi have been providing a steady stream of original kung fu flicks for a number of years now. A place for kung fu stars of yesteryear to maintain their workload (Fan Siu Wong is a mainstay), or titles to riff on their more mainstream counterparts (Ip Man and the Four Kings), these flicks rarely travel beyond the streaming platforms they’re made for. Apart from the lack of English subtitles reducing their accessibility to wider audiences, the underlying reason behind their lack of exposure is down to the fact they simply don’t need to travel any further.
In the 1980’s Hong Kong movies needed international distribution. It’s a small population, and with Mainland China still off-limits, securing distribution in nearby neighbours like Korea, Japan, and further afield to western shores, ensured the productions costs would be covered and a profit would be made. Skip forward to 2019, and with a population of 1.4 billion, the Mainland market has no need to hassle itself with finding overseas buyers for their product, when breaking even based purely on domestic viewing figures is practically a given. With that being said, some titles have found their way to western shores, with 2018’s Unity of Heroes being one of them, which saw Vincent Zhao returning to the role of Wong Fei Hung for the first time since the 90’s.
The turnaround time on VOD titles is alarmingly fast in China, and while Unity of Heroes was released in May 2018, before the year was out a follow-up was already good to go in December, this time under the no less bombastic title of Warriors of the Nation. Zhao is back as Wong Fei Hung, in what was ridiculously his 3rd appearance as the character within the year, featuring in Jeff Lau’s Kung Fu League in-between. Gone is newcomer director Lin Zhenzhao, and in his place is Hong Kong stalwart Marco Mak. While Mak’s filmography as a director is hardly awe inspiring, his last time to helm a movie was 2012’s Naked Soldier, what makes him an interesting choice is that he served as the editor on all 6 of the 1990’s Once Upon a Time in China series (as well as the aforementioned Kung Fu League).
I’d hoped having Mak at the helm would add more of that classical Hong Kong flavour that Unity of Heroes was so blatantly striving for, but fell short of the mark, and proceedings start off promisingly enough. Much like Unity of Heroes kicked off with an almost shot-for-shot recreation of Jet Li training his disciples on the beach, so Warriors of the Nation kicks off with some White Lotus Clan shenanigans lifted directly from Once Upon a Time in China II. While the inclusion of the White Lotus Clan is initially a welcome one, it soon becomes clear that this instalment is going to concern itself more with internal corruption and Japanese devils (is there any other type in a recent Chinese flick?), than it is the pulpy super powered zombies of Unity of Heroes.
The shift to a comparatively more grounded storyline runs the risk of making Warriors of the Nation take itself more seriously than it deserves too, but thankfully Mak has the sense to fill the runtime with far more action than his predecessor. However even this is a double edged sword (pun intended). While the action in Unity of Heroes was sporadic, its gimmicky nature made for entertaining viewing, from the no-shadow kick bullet time to x-ray shots of internal impacts. Here the frequency of the fights has increased, however the execution of them never feels anything more than pedestrian.
Zhao is given the spotlight to show-off his talents in a variety of scenarios. Be it fighting off bladed rings while balancing on an elevated bamboo pole, pitting a spear against a Guandao, or engaging in a sword duel, fans shouldn’t be left wanting. There’s even a brief skirmish with some sumo wrestlers thrown into the mix. The issue is there’s no real wow moment in any of the fights, and the occasional moments of clunky camerawork betray the obviously tight shooting schedule the crew was working with. The no-shadow kick is portrayed here no less amusingly than it was in Unity of Heroes, with Zhao now able to take off vertically from a standing position, hover for a moment, before flying forward feet first like some kind of kung fu drone. While it was a pleasant diversion to see the inclusion of some actual exchanges within the choreography, the finishing moves still entertain more for the wrongs reasons than the right ones.
Despite Zhao’s presence, the previously stoic figure he cut in Unity of Heroes here seems to be that of someone who’s lost interest, and dare I say phoning it in. There’s no real spark to his character, to the point that I was wishing for a return to the anger he showed at being presented with a western style cake in the previous instalment. The subtle as a hammer patriotic speeches are still there, from mentions of how the Chinese need to fight for every inch of Chinese land (thankfully there was no sighting of the Nine Dash Line in the South China Sea), to a ridiculous pre-closing credits speech about how all Chinese people need to come together to defeat imperialism. As pleasing as these scenes may be to the NRTA, Zhao looks bored reeling them off, making them induce even more eye rolling than normal.
Zhao’s dour demeanour results in the ladies of Warriors of the Nation stealing the show whenever they’re onscreen. Returning cast member Wei Xiaohuan shines in her fight scenes, and despite having little to do apart from occasionally burst into action, she’s the only one who conveys a real sense of power and grace in her movements. Clearly the real deal, here’s hoping she headlines a kung fu flick soon, regardless of if it’s straight to streaming or not. Yoga instructor Miya Muqi, last seen in (ironically enough) Kung Fu Yoga, brings a welcome touch of sexuality to proceedings as the villainess of the piece, and this time around actually gets a fight scene that incorporates her yoga talents. Just ignore the fact that she performs it in modern yoga gear.
Kenya Sawada is also on-board as the Japanese bad guy, a face no doubt familiar to fans of 90’s Hong Kong cinema thanks to his roles in the likes of Thunderbolt and Extreme Crisis. Here Sawada plays a similar role to the one he portrayed in the highly entertaining Hidden Man, released the same year, and gets to face off against Zhao in the finale. It’s the lengthiest duel in the movie, and allows us the opportunity to witness some of Zhao’s wushu prowess, clearly showing that he’s still got it. While some of the movements are obscured due to poorly placed camera angles, it was still enough to make me draw a sigh, and imagine what could have been if he’d never left Special ID. Alas what we do get is a finale which see’s Wong Fei Hung brandishing a sword to face off against his opponent, which I believe may be a first for the finale of a movie featuring the character.
While there’s an undeniable nostalgic pleasure in seeing Zhao back in the role, that nostalgia ultimately doesn’t extend to being able to recommend Warriors of the Nation. The plot fails to engage, and the low budgets rears its head just enough for it to be a distraction, from the 90’s computer game CGI ships, to the extra’s meaninglessly flailing their swords around in the background of certain scenes. In the right hands, the lack of budget on these types of movie should be an enabler that allows the kung fu movie to go back to basics. Bring together performers who can fight, an action director who knows what he’s doing, and all you need after that is a forest, there are plenty of examples from the golden era that fit that exact description and are considered classics. But as long as the budget also dictates the shooting schedule, I don’t expect this latest incarnation of Wong Fei Hung to become more entertaining any time soon.
Martial arts star Scott Adkins (Ip Man 4, Triple Threat) and William Kaufman (Jarhead 3: The Siege, Sinners and Saints) are re-teaming for Vigilante.
The film follows a disgraced soldier (Adkins) who wages war against the city’s most dangerous criminals only to end up endangering the lives of the very same people he initially set out to help protect.
Vigilante also reunites Kaufman with his frequent writer Chad Law (Black Water, Jarhead 3: The Siege) with Josh Ridgway (Howlers) co-writing.
The film is currently in development phase, but we’ll keep you in the loop as we learn more. For now, we leave with the Trailer for Abduction (aka Dangerous Chase):
10 years ago, Ja-yoon escaped from a secret government facility in the midst of an inexplicable incident. An old couple finds her alone near death in the woods and takes her in even though she has no memory of who she is or how she got there. She grows up to be a bright high school student and enters a nationally televised audition program to win the top prize and help her struggling family. But as soon as she appears on TV, strange people start appearing in her life and Ja-yoon falls into turmoil as her seemingly ordinary life turns upside down in a blink of an eye.
Director Christophe Gans (Crying Freeman, Brotherhood of the Wolf) and producer Victor Hadida (Resident Evil film series) are currently working on Live-action adaptations of two video game franchises: Tecmo’s Fatal Frame and an entirely new version of Konami’s Silent Hill (Gans directed the 2006 film of the same name).
Gans stated that the Fatal Frame film will be set in Japan. He added that he does not “want to root the movie out of its initial atmosphere: the Japanese haunted house.” Gans also said that the new Silent Hill film “will still be set in that ‘small American town’ atmosphere, where puritanism devastated everything.” (Allociné via ANN)
Another project that Gans has under his belt is Corto Maltese, which will reunite the director with his Crying Freeman and Brotherhood of the Wolf star, Mark Dacascos (Drive).
As always, we’ll fill you in on all these projects as we learn more.
It’s pretty difficult to be an Asian movie fan in the last 25 years, and not love at least one Takashi Miike film. An omnipresence in challenging, genre-shifting vital cinema, the director is irrepressible and much-loved. Even a more recent effort such as the manga adaptation Blade of the Immortal, which polarized opinion, I absolutely adore. Mainly due to its constant OTT action (that I have arguments with two friends over, as I prefer it to the Rurouni Kenshin trilogies intricate but non-impactful choreography) and wry, witty tone. Miike is a genre unto himself, and his new film First Love seems to be at first a return to the style of such classics as Dead or Alive; as things progress of course he takes a left turn and proves yet again to be one of the most visionary directors making films today.
Boxer Reo (Masataka Kubota, Tokyo Ghoul) is down on his luck, with serious health problems. By chance he saves a girl Monica (Sakurako Konishi) from being pursued by Yakuza and they go on the run. Gangster Kase (Shota Sometani, Samurai Marathon) hatches an elaborate plot to double cross his gang, involving a corrupt policeman. There are numerous other subplots and many characters, whose fate will be inexorably linked.
The first 45 minutes of First Love, to be honest, didn’t grab me so much. The muted colours, unexciting aesthetic and complicated plot had me wondering why the film has garnered high praise. As soon as the two lovers began their flight, I was absolutely hooked. One can again rely on Miike to turn a film on its head, and be completely unpredictable. The entire mid-section, to closing in on the end of the film, is one of the most insane action set pieces I’ve seen in recent years, and ranks high in Miike’s best cinematic achievements. Miike throws every conceivable Japanese action style together, with adrenalin pumping so hard it’s like you’ve taken a hit of adrenachrome via Fear and Loathing.
As the opening gunfight/carchase kicks in to crazed gear Kase, having rubbed cocaine in to a bullet wound, exclaims: ‘‘this is fucking wild!’ Within the context of almost all Miike movies, this is the understatement of the century, and may seem a little knowingly self-referential. Here, the placement of it and crazed look on Sometani’s face as he spins around in the car means you can’t help but laugh and love the crazy beauty of Miike’s cinematic ride. As the sequence hots up, an unnamed Yakuza is introduced in a ridiculously cool way: blasting a cop with a shotgun in one hand, dressed like Kyle Reese from Terminator, with an arm missing. Oh yes, Miike. Kyle Reese and the One-Armed Swordsman, now that’s a character combination. The showdown between this character and Gondo (Seiyo Uchino, 13 Assassins) is one of the best action match-ups I’ve seen in recent years. Moving from gunplay to swordplay to open hand, it’s a maelstrom that doesn’t let up. In there I noticed shots and moves that look very much like the end gun battle between Lam Ching Ying and Tung Wai in Pom Pom and Hot Hot; one of the greatest of its kind ever conceived, despite the overall film being a lame comedy. If it’s conscious or unconscious from Miike, I love it. Interestingly the way the combat action is shot reflects a very modern approach in style; the camera is at a mid height most of the time, very close in, conveying the chaos of blows. There is no intricacy here, more a heightened sense of realism, in stark contrast to some of Miike’s work in films such as the magnificent 13 Assassins, and to the other styles of action and the tone of First Love.
The two lovebirds have nice character arcs, in actually a pretty standard way, especially for a Miike film. Reo grows from withdrawn and sullen, to finding meaning thanks to his experience and growing affection for Monica. This is encapsulated in his non-celebration after winning the boxing match at the start of the film to exploding with emotion when he wins another at the end. Monica begins the movie dealing with psychosis as she hallucinates seeing her abusive dead father; she learns to face her fear by the end. As Gondo Uchino is like a latter-day Ken Takakura in his old Yakuza flicks, with a stoic machismo that explodes in to violence. Actress Becky as Julie kicks some serious ass in her fights, and brings a welcome Miike-like hysterical insanity to her role.
My three favourite Miike films are Rainy Dog, Audition and 13 Assassins. The difference in style, tone and approach to all three show how fantastic a film-maker he is, one who makes genre shape-shifting an art form. At the vanguard of Japanese cinema for the last 20 plus years, the cinematic landscape would be arguably very different without his output. His efforts prove as a filmmaker he can be as comfortable making extreme, dream-like horror or traditional, aesthetically reverential and informed Samurai cinema. First Love fits firmly in a style we have seen him in before, but here you can sense how much fun Miike has making movies; this energy spills off the screen, and is so infectious you wish to the stars to be on set with him. Miike’s cinematic technique has always drawn attention to itself; it’s like you can hear him whisper: ‘it’s a movie. Let’s have some fun!’
Signature Entertainment is releasing the film in the UK on February 14, 2020. US fans can obtain a copy from Well Go USA on February 11, 2020.
On April 14th, 2020, Cheezy Flicks Entertainment (via MVD) will be releasing the DVD for the 1974 Shaw Brothers co-production, Amazons vs. Supermen (aka Super Stooges vs. the Wonder Women), an exploitation film from director Alfonso Brescia (Beast in Space).
This Chinese/Italian production stars Aldo Canti (The Ten Gladiators), Marc Hannibal (Ironside), Malisa Longo (Way of the Dragon), Aldo Bufi Landi (Four Flies on Grey Velvet), Genie Woods (The Amazons), Yueh Hua (Vengeance is a Golden Blade, 12 Gold Medallions) and Karen Yeh (14 Amazons).
We’re expecting a bare-bones DVD release, but let’s hope Cheezy Flicks Entertainment proves us wrong.
Solid Metal Nightmares – The Films of Tsukamoto | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020
On April 28th, 2020, Arrow Video is releasing the Blu-ray collection for Solid Metal Nightmares – The Films of Tsukamoto, a collection of films from Shinya Tsukamoto (Killing, Tokyo Fist), featuring eight feature-length films and two shorts.
Read the official details below:
One of the most distinctive and celebrated names in modern Japanese cinema, there’s no other filmmaker quite like Shinya Tsukamoto. Since his early days as a teenager making Super 8 shorts, he has remained steadfastly independent, garnering widespread acclaim while honing his own unique and instantly recognizable aesthetic on the margins of the industry. Frequently exploring themes of urban alienation, physical transformation and psychosexual obsession, his films cross genre boundaries, defying straightforward classification. This exclusive collection gathers together eight feature-length films and two shorts from Tsukamoto’s diverse filmography, including his most recent offering – his samurai drama Killing, making its home video premiere.
Limited Edition contents include:
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of all ten films
Optional lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Bullet Ballet
Optional English subtitles for all films
Audio commentaries by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes on all ten films, including brand new commentaries on Tetsuo, Tetsuo II, Tokyo Fist, A Snake of June, Kotoko, Killing, The Adventure of Denchu-kozo and Haze
Brand new career-spanning interview with Shinya Tsukamoto
An Assault on the Senses, a brand new visual essay on the films and style of Shinya Tsukamoto by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
Multiple archival interviews with Shinya Tsukamoto, covering every film in the collection
Shooting A Snake of June, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette on the film’s production
Archival The Making of Vital featurette
Archival behind-the-scenes featurette on Vital’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival
Archival featurette on Vital’s special effects
The Making of Haze, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette on the film’s production
Kaori Fuji at the Locarno Film Festival, an archival featurette focusing on Haze’s lead actress
Archival Background to The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo featurette
Limited edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx, Gary Pullin, Ian MacEwan, Chris Malbon, Jacob Phillips, Tommy Pocket, Peter Strain and Tony Stella
Double-sided fold-out poster
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger, Jasper Sharp and Mark Schilling
Zombie Fight Club, move over! On May 12th, 2020, Dread Central is releasing the Blu-ray for Redcon-1, an action/horror film from director Chee Keong Cheung (Bodyguard: A New Beginning) that’s been described as a mashup of The Raid and 28 Weeks Later (via SBM).
After a deadly viral outbreak, an elite squad of special forces soldiers must infiltrate a quarantine zone to rescue a scientist who holds the only cure to save mankind. In a last attempt to contain the mutated virus, they launch a final strike against the infected, risking all of humanity in the process.
The film stars Oris Erhuero (The Adventures of Sinbad TV series), Carlos Gallardo (Grindhouse), Mark Strange (Avengement, Ip Man 4), Katarina Leigh Waters (The Temptress in Women of Wrestling TV series), Martyn Ford (Fast & Furious 9) and Akira Koieyama (Samurai Marathon 1855).
Van Damme plays a dual role as Alex and Chad, twins separated at the death of their parents. Chad is raised by a family retainer in Paris, Alex becomes a petty crook in Hong Kong. Together, they join forced to find their parent’s killer. This 1991 production most likely gave Jackie Chan the inspiration for Twin Dragons (1992).
Director: Kwak Kyung-Taek Co-director: Kim Tae-Hoon Cast: Kim Myung-Min, Minho, Kim Sung-Cheol, Kim In-Kwon, Kwak Si-Yang, Megan Fox, Jang Ji-Gun, Lee Ho-Jung, Lee Jae-Wook, Dong Bang-Woo, Kim Mi-Hwa Running Time: 104 min.
By Paul Bramhall
With the thawing in relations between North and South Korea in recent years, movies about the Korean War have taken a back seat, and noticeably been replaced by more action-centric productions which partner agents from the North and South for the greater good. However, 2019 saw the relationship between the divided peninsula return to business as usual, with the North throwing plenty of threats in the South’s direction, as well as its American ally. In terms of the South Korean film industry, this roughly translates to the Korean War being back on the cards as a setting for its productions, with the concern of offending its sensitive northern neighbour no longer a priority.
So it is we have The Battle of Jangsari, a co-directed feature (which is rare for Korea) from Kwak Gyeong-taek and Kim Tae-hoon. Gyeong-taek remains the single most frustrating director working in Korea. That perspective may be a personal one, but as the man who made his directorial debut with 2001’s semi-autobiographical Friend, a classic of the Korean Wave, I didn’t think it too unreasonable to expect he had a bright career ahead. 18 years later, he’s repeatedly proved me wrong, so perhaps it’s time to call it a day and admit that Friend was a wonderful fluke. Gyeong-taek has become the master of the bland and uninspired, with his most recent effort, the 2017 Christian production RV: Resurrected Victims, marking a low point in his filmography.
Perhaps that explains why he’s been paired with Tae-hoon, a director whose only previous experience was directing a few episodes of the IRIS TV-drama follow-ups, 2010’s ATHENA and 2013’s IRIS 2. The duo are working from a script written by Lee Man-hee, who’s worth a mention because he also scripted the other Korean War movies, 2009’s 71 – Into the Fire, and 2016’s Operation Chromite. In many ways The Battle of Jangsari can be considered a companion piece to Operation Chromite, as they both take place within the same timeframe. While the latter focused on preparations for General MacArthur’s (memorably played by Liam Neeson) Incheon Landing, which played a pivotal part in turning the war to the South’s favour, The Battle of Jangsari was a smaller conflict that was largely dependent on Operation Chromite being a success.
While director John H. Lee may have secured the talents of Liam Neeson for some Hollywood flair in Operation Chromite, expectedly Gyeong-taek and Tae-hoon haven’t been able to secure a big overseas name for their production. So instead, we get 2 smaller ones. First up is Megan Fox. Yes, as in Megan Fox from The Transformers movies (and of course, who can forget her work on the 2018 mini-series Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox!?). Fox plays the real American journalist Marguerite Higgins, who famously covered the Korean War directly from Korea, as she did also for Vietnam. Unfortunately the character here is treated more like a plot device, there to spout increasingly unsubtle lines about the inhumanity of war and how no solider should be left behind. I’m sure if Higgins ever imagined herself being portrayed onscreen, it wasn’t like this.
Fox’s sparring partner comes in the form of an American General played by George Eads, most recognizable as Nick Stokes from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, who he played from 2000 – 2015. Eads is there to do what he has to do, relating both to his characters actions and his performance. With the main requirement to maintain a stern face and constantly repeat variations on the “I’m doing all that I can” line, Eads does a decent enough job of reacting to the often eye-roll inducing lines that Fox is lumbered with. Both are of course ultimately supporting players to the main cast, who are led by Kim Myung-min (Deranged) as the Captain of a unit of inexperienced teen soldiers, sent to Jangsari in an attempt to capture a coastal town currently held by the North. Their victory would help to clear a path for the larger Incheon Landing, however many considered it a suicide mission against a more well equipped Northern army.
The opening of The Battle of Jangsari is an indicator of what can be expected from the rest of it. We meet Myung-min as the Captain, already on the ship heading towards Jangsari with his unit, encompassing a handful of the teens who we’ll be spending the next 100 minutes with. There’s the brash and over-confident one, played by Kim Sung-cheol (Too Hot to Die), the cool and collected one that looks like they have the world on their shoulders, played by K-pop boyband member Choi Min-ho (Derailed), and a few other stereotypes. Before long, we’re into Saving Private Ryan territory, as the beach assault begins and we begin to check the boxes – the vomiting from sea sickness (check), the shocking sight of a decapitated soldier (check!), the solider who’s briefly deafened after a grenade goes off next to him (check) – there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before.
With that said, the scene is still a powerful one, and to Gyeong-taek and Tae-hoon’s credit, they do elaborate on the much used template for depicting war that Speilberg established over 20 years ago. Once they’re up close and personal with the enemy, there’s a handheld shot that moves through the trenches, as soldiers from both sides hack, stab, and bludgeon each other to bloody death with their rifles. It’s a short scene, but the immediacy and uniqueness of it made it stand out more than the bullet riddled beach assault that we’ve now seen many times before. The intensity of this scene was refreshing, but is almost immediately offset by the overly cheerful victory celebration, which in many ways marks the beginning of the tone The Battle of Jangsari takes on for its duration.
Much like 2004’s Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War, soon proceedings become more increasingly melodramatic. Unlike Taegukgi though, Man-hee’s script comes across as contrived. In one scene we’re introduced to the female twin sister of one of the characters, who’s disguised herself as a man to be a part of the unit. She doesn’t appear in any other scene or have any kind of development, but it becomes clear at the end that the only reason she was introduced, is so she can have a melodramatic death scene. First rule of screenwriting – if you want the audience to care about a characters death, they first of all need to know them. In another scene Choi Min-ho stumbles across a village being used by the North Korean army. We’re told early on that Min-ho’s family was originally from the north, and upon being seen by some of the North Korean soldiers, one of them turns out to be his cousin. What are the chances? Let’s go with slim.
The performances offer little assistance to back-up the implausibility of such events. Myung-min is a reliable performer, but as a lead he never leaves much of an impression, and his role here as the conflicted Captain isn’t going to change anyone’s opinion. The K-pop star to actor transition has suited some more than others, and Choi Min-ho falls somewhere in the middle. While his performances in the likes of Derailed and Ilang: The Wolf Brigade were passable, here he’s decidedly one note, conveying his inner-torment for the most part by wearing an expression of boredom. Out of the leads it’s only Kim Sung-cheol who registers as a brash and cocky member of the unit, before even he falls foul of over-emoting when the inevitable scene calls for it. On the bright side, all of this means that Megan Fox doesn’t look so bad.
While the events of The Battle of Jangsari deserve attention and their place in history, adapting them for the screen has resulted in a decidedly cookie-cutter war flick, one that will seem familiar to anyone who’s seen even a couple of war movies. If you’re a diehard fan of the war genre, then you may derive some enjoyment out of its punchy 100 minute runtime, for everyone else, stick with the classics.
2020 is already looking great with Yuen Biao returning in front of the camera for Heroes Return and Sammo Hung sitting back in the director’s chair with The Medal of the Dawn (via Alejandro Torres), an upcoming action film starring Janice Man (The Brink), Ashton Chen Xiaolong (Shaolin Popey), Nick Cheung (The Trough) and Oho Ou (The Captain).
Not much is known of the plot, but if its preliminary poster and press conference is any indication, expect military-type action (and possibly some air combat?). In fact, The Medal of the Dawn marks Hung’s first film of this type since he directed the brilliantly militant Eastern Condors in 1987.
We’ll keep you updated on Medal of the Dawn as we learn more. For now, check out the film’s New Teaser Poster (via AFS).
Why San Diego Is a Paradise for Today’s Gig Worker
Imagine a world where you didn’t have a boss breathing down your neck. A world where toxic coworkers don’t exist. This is the gig economy, and you could be a part of it.
One of the biggest perks about gig careers is that you can work from almost anywhere in the world. Thus, it’s no surprise that picture-perfect San Diego is one of the hottest destinations for gig workers. You could be writing articles on the beach, designing logos on a boardwalk, or driving passengers to beautiful La Jolla.
Discover even more reasons why San Diego is the best location for a gig worker.
An Airbnb Paradise
Do you own property in San Diego? You’re sitting on a gig goldmine. Airbnb hosting is one of the most popular side hustles.
There are more than 150 Airbnb users worldwide, and over 260 people have booked Airbnb stays. This is a fantastic opportunity to cash in on San Diego’s most popular event, Comic-Con! Comic-Con attracts more than 135,000 attendees every year, generating almost $150,000 in revenue for the city.
If you live near the convention area, you could charge up to $200 a night. The average Airbnb during Comic-Con is $164, which will attract interest in no time. Hotels charge up to $700 during Comic-Con!
Beachfront property is another Airbnb goldmine. If you have extra room in Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, or any of San Diego’s gorgeous beaches, you could set up a steady stream of passive income. If you don’t have an Airbnb property yet, research San Diego real estate that would attract the most bookings.
Score Fun Convention Gigs
Comic-Con isn’t just an opportunity for Airbnb hosts. This event is packed with gig opportunities. Comic-Con needs promo models, brand ambassadors, sample servers, sign spinners, pedicab drivers, and more.
San Diego hosts a lot of expos, conventions, and events throughout the year. The best way to find event gigs is to check Craigslist regularly. Bookmark the event’s job page and stay updated on social media.
No Weather Disruptions
San Diego is known worldwide for its ideal weather. Gig workers don’t have to worry about major weather events, like hurricanes, snowstorms, and tornadoes. The city’s rainstorms leave little damage behind.
In San Diego, you don’t have to worry about your power going out during a hurricane or blizzard. The city is hardly impacted by wildfires, unlike its Southern California neighbors. You don’t have to deal with as many disruptions working from home.
Good Vibes
San Diego is known as a friendly place, which is great for gig workers who love to network. A warm and friendly atmosphere makes gig life a lot easier, especially when you’re working for yourself. It’s nice to live in a place where you can strike up a friendly conversation on the street.
Live the Gig Worker Life in San Diego
Who says you can’t be your own boss in one of the most beautiful cities in the country?
Break out of the cubicle and build a career on your terms. Follow these tips to discover the benefits of being a gig worker in sunny San Diego!
Check out the blog for more ideas and inspiration for your city life.
Director: Kim Ki-Duk Cast: Jang Keun-Suk, Ryoo Seung-Bum, Ahn Sung-Ki, Mina Fujii, Lee Sung-Jae, Joe Odagiri, Tae Hang-Ho, Park Se-in, Sung Ki-Yoon, Kim Dong-chan Running Time: 122 min.
By Paul Bramhall
If ever there was an example of a movie destined to seal the fate of its creator, then it could very well be Human, Space, Time and Human, controversial Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk’s latest (and most likely last) movie. Still unreleased in Korea thanks to the accusations of rape and assault made against the embattled director, made when the #metoo movement swept across the Korean entertainment industry in 2017, Ki-duk’s latest does him no favors. Featuring the gang rape of two women, and subsequent repeated individual rape of one of them (by different men), if that isn’t enough to put you off, then bear in mind that at this point we’re not even half an hour in.
Where did it all go wrong for Ki-duk? It’s hard to say, as almost all of his work has been accused of being misognistic in some way, however in his most acclaimed works the cruelty and violence felt like part of a bigger picture that somehow justified it. From his 1996 debut with Crocodile, for the next 10 years Ki-duk was always confronting, but felt like he always had something to say. Movies like The Isle, 3-Iron, and of course his classic Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…And Spring (of which his latest riffs on the title) belong in any conversation on modern Korean cinema, but that’s not the case for his latest. Human, Space, Time and Human feels like Ki-duk has gone too deep into the abyss, creating a piece of work that feels repulsive and shallow, with little other ambition than to shock the audience watching it.
The plot is equal parts baffling and painfully obvious in its intentions. Proceedings open with a ragtag group of travllers onboard a rusted old warship out at sea. Where it’s bound for, and why they’re on it, is never implicitly stated. Amongst them there’s an up and coming politiican (Lee Sung-jae) and his son (Jang Keun-suk), a newly married couple (Mina Fujii and Joe Odagiri), a group of gangsters (led by Ryoo Sung-beom), and a mysterious old man who goes around collecting dust (Ahn Sung-ki). The irony isn’t lost on me that, despite the unpleasant nature of HSTAH (as I’ll refer to it from here on), Ki-duk has assembled an impressivley all-star cast.
Ryoo Seung-beom (who starred in Ki-duk’s 2016 production The Net) is here reunitied with the legendary Ahn Sung-ki (The Divine Fury) for the first time since appearing together in 2003’s Arahan. Mina Fujii is a Japanese actress fluent in Korean, and is well known on Korean shores thanks to her role in 2015’s My New Sassy Girl (less so for 2014’s Monsterz, the insipid Japanese remake of Haunters). Here she speaks Japanese, and is paired with Joe Odagiri (The World of Kanako), himself no stranger to working with Ki-duk after starring in 2008’s Dream. Much like that movie, here language plays no part in the characters understanding of each other, with Fujii and Odagiri able to speak Japanese to Koreans and vice versa. Although on the surface this seems like a quirk, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced Ki-duk likely couldn’t find a Korean actress willing to accept a part which involves so much physical assault.
In the lead-up to the multiple rapes, Sung-beom and his cronies align themselves with Sung-jae’s ambitious politician, offering to act as enforcers while he positions himself as the leader of the ship, much to son Keun-suk’s disgruntlement. As night passes, when everyone wakes up they find the ship is no longer on the sea, but instead is floating through the sky, the earth far below. With a limited food supply, the allegiances that began to form when the ship was on a more earthly realm begin to take on more sinister purposes. Sung-jae becomes increasingly greedy, and backed by Sung-beom and his thugs, they start to ration the other passengers food so that they can dine in luxury. Fujii realises she’s preganant, but has no idea who the father is, and is only comforted by the confliced Keun-suk (who wasn’t conflicted enough to not rape her, so the baby could also be his). Oh, and just what is the seeminly mute Sung-ki doing with all that dust?
What may contain an element of mystery on paper, unfolds in a heavy handed and plodding manner onscreen, making controversial scenes from Ki-duk’s earlier work seem nuanced in comparison. The only characters with credited names are that of Keun-suk and Fujii, billed as Adam and Eve respectively, making the intention of HSTAH apparent. Ki-duk has shown an interest in both Buddhism and Christianity throughout his career, with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring being the most obvious example of the former, and more recent efforts like Amen and Pieta focusing on the later. Here the origins of humanity are clumsily transferred to the floating warship, and it’s this element which serves to show just how misguided Ki-duk’s intentions have become.
When asked about the depictions of rape in HSTAH, Ki-duk seemed to believe he’d made a piece advocating pro-life, explaining that Fujii’s character should be seen as the mother of the Earth and saviour of humanity, since so many men impregnated her. It’s a somewhat sad and repungent viewpoint to justify the uncomfortable gang rape, and not only makes it a morally bankrupt experience to watch, but also tarnishes the viewing of his well regarded earlier works. There’s always a question of if an audience should seperate the art from the artist. However with Ki-duk, based on the allegations and his work on HSTAH, as a viewer I found myself questioning if all the naysayers of his previous work may have been right the entire time. Ki-duk’s movies have never been popular in Korea, instead enjoying considerable success overseas (particulrly in Europe), however maybe his native audience always knew what the deal was.
Ironically all of this is wrapped up in the longest running time of any of his movies to date, clocking in at just over 2 hours. It’s a long time to watch something as unsubtle and blatant in its message, and in the latter half the focus shifts to ugly violence. With Sung-jae’s politician consumed by greed, the inevtiable food shortage eventually leads to the passengers having to eat each other. At one point we even get a scene recycled from Pieta, in which Fujii resorts to slicing off a piece of her own flesh in order to feed Keun-suk. Sub-plots are thrown in which add nothing to the plot, such as the capatain and his crew finding a box of grenades, which they intend to use against Sung-jae and Sung-beom. The bickering between a trio of prostitutes proves to be equally meaningless, only adding to the bloated duration.
You may be wondering where exactly Ahn Sung-ki fits into all of this, one of the most respected actors in Korea for over a half a century. The good news is, he’s neither a part of the rape or scenes of violence, instead taking on the role of a mute horticulturist, seemingly focused on growing plants and flowers from what little is available. I admit it was painful to see 2 of my favorite Korean actors, the other being Ryoo Sung-beom, appear in a production such as this. While Sung-beom has worked with Ki-duk before as the lead in 2016’s The Net, that was arguably a very different production to HSTAH. While here he gets to chew up the scenery in his own inimtable way, the nature of his character sucks the fun out of it, only adding to the relentless cruel streak rather than offering a reprieve from it.
In the final scene Ki-duk deviates from his religious allegory, and instead desires to make a point that men and their sexual appetites will ultimately always be forced upon women, regardless of what the relationship is between them. A view of the world that indicates the male population as the hunters, and the female population as the hunted, it’s a stomach churning close to an unpleasant 120 minutes. Much like the rotting flesh of a corpse that one character eats, Human, Space, Time and Human leaves a bad taste, and it doesn’t feel like one that can be washed down easily.
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