bumfromkorea Reviews

She's on Duty (2005)

Personally loved it because of Kim Sun Ah, but the movie itself is not good

[5/10 · 6 September 2006]

Personally, I enjoyed this movie immensely because Kim Sun Ah (main actress) plays a character very similar to the character she recently played in an outstanding TV Drama/Comedy "My Name is Kim Sam Soon". I watched this movie about two weeks after the series MNIKSS had ended, and personally, the movie was very special.

The movie itself, however, is full of clichés from both Korean and American action comedy films. The storyline is too weak, some parts of the movie had definitive plot holes, and... there really wasn't anything impressive about it.

Kim Sun Ah once again manages to portray a very unique and lovable character (though how she pulled that off is still a mystery to me, considering the average~weak script that she was given), and Nam Sang Mi also plays her role very well. Kong Yu I was not convinced, and to put it simply, there were way too many actors/actresses playing comical, cartoon-like characters (the bullies, the gang boss, the gang members, Jae-In's friends, the teacher, the detective (Jae-In's partner) and, at times, even Jae-In (Kim Sun Ah's character) herself) This is a good movie to burn time on, because it is certainly funny. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on a movie that only wants to be a laugh-off action comedy. It achieves what it wants to achieve, and in that respect, She's On Duty is a great film. But using a more generalized criteria...

5/10

Suicide Club (2001)

An intriguing commentary on modern Japanese society ruined, once again, by poor execution, directing, acting, and writing.

[4/10 · 22 August 2006]

Jisatsu Saakuru is my 9th film in my endeavor to experience Japanese film and culture (I'm Korean fyi, so those who know a little bit about how us Koreans feel about the Japanese would know that this is a pretty daunting step), and I feel that I am beginning to develop a general sense of what Japanese movies are and what they can be (but fails to become).

The concept of Jisatsu Saakuru is extremely sophisticated and intriguing. It combines a Foucault/Lyotard sense of 'biopower'/'conformity terror' with its own flavor of philosophy. Throughout the film, we are given everything that is horrifying and terrible about the modern Japanese society, and it is not the string of suicides (which is extremely frequent within Japanese society) that we witness; it is the disconnection, amorality (as opposed to immorality; amorality means complete lack of morals - an amoral being does not have the sense of right and wrong), and bio-standardization propagated by pop/consumerist culture. The first horrific act of suicide we see is accompanied by a cheerful, innocent music - while it serves to criticize the soulless nature of the popular culture, it also leaves a strong marks on the true horror of conformity (understandable after watching the prequel "Noriko's Dinner Table").

Whether the movie is criticizing the lax view of suicides within the Japanese culture, I cannot tell. While it is obvious that the suicides are horrific in its process, I felt that the movie somehow glorified it near the end of the movie. But it is the method of glorification (the 'leaders' and their shocking amorality) that makes me question the true motive of the director/writer.

The concept is extremely well developed and intriguing. It is in the process of delivering this message that the movie, in my opinion, has failed. The central theme of the film, 'connection with oneself', becomes blurred and inaccessible to the audience in the flurry of gore and incomprehensible scenes. It has taken a viewing of its prequel to comprehend the totality of Jisatsu Saakuru, which as a movie should never ever happen. Though it is a compelling method of storytelling, it seems that the director/writer has taken a rather arrogant attitude of 'I really don't care if you don't understand'. And judging from some of the responses on this page, this inaccessibility has influenced the viewer's experience negatively.

Like almost all the Japanese films I have watched (Battle Royale chief amongst them), Jisatsu Saakuru suffers from unnecessary violence. I would like to make it clear that I have no qualm with the violence itself (For example, one of the problems I had with Ichi the Killer was not the extremities of violence, but what the violence was used for). Rather, the director, much like the director of Battle Royale, loses himself and the movie during the portrayal of violence.

For example, the mother in the kitchen doing what she did with the knife while smiling had a purpose. Aside from the surrealism (and scientific error, but that's never important), this scene is the most potent example of how a person can become so disconnected with oneself.

However, the high school kids at the high school was a needless violence. Though one can argue that the purpose was to criticize the 'fad'-ism plaguing the modern society, the central plot could have handled it without this scene.

Another criticism to be made is the actors themselves. I was not convinced by any of the cast of the characters they portrayed. The closest I can give is Kuroda, but even he fails to project his character until the very near end.

Final criticism is a small foible in my opinion but may be important to others; the blood, for the most part, was very unconvincing. They could've used watered down ketchup (time-honored method, in a manner of speaking) and could have been more realistic. Though I'm not the one to be unsettled by it, many people out there are.

At the end of the movie, while the Dessart start singing their final song, the audience gets a very fractured story with inaccessible themes and messages. While the themes and messages themselves are incredibly brilliant and interesting, the rest of the movie failed to achieve what it could have achieved. In short, the film has betrayed its own message. However, this movie is by far superior to most, if not all, movies that Hollywood has churned out in recent years, a growing trend in comparisons to rising cinema powers of both Korea and Japan.

Emergency Act 19 (2002)

Suffers from the fact that people who made this movie didn't think before shooting the movie

[2/10 · 22 August 2006]

I was actually intrigued by the premise of the movie before watching it because it was an obvious two-tier satire (one on the oppressive and ridiculous government South Koreans had to endure for a while prior to the film coming out, and the other on the censorship controversy with the singers). The movie had potential, and some talented Korean directors in the future should seriously consider making a remake. The film suffers from ridiculous acting, horrible script (never heard the word "Sshibal" so frequently in any movies... while it is understood as a protest to the censorship, it is horribly executed), no plot, and disappointing performance from one of my top 10 actresses, Gong Hyo Jin.

So unless you are extremely familiar with the Korean pop culture and know who the singers are in the movie, you'll be completely lost. And even when you know who they are, the only good part of the movie would be to see them try to act, which is kinda funny to see as a fan.

Battle Royale (2000)

Intriguing Social Commentary Tainted By Awkward Execution and Plot Elements

[5/10 · 29 July 2006]

Battle Royale... When I watched this film, it was right before I was planning to go to sleep. Bad choice, I realized, at the end.

Battle Royale starts off quite vividly, albeit rather awkwardly. The little girl ('winner' of this year's Battle Royale) smiles, and right there is one of the most haunting scenes I've seen in movies. It starts off very strong (though I say awkward because the movie goes straight to the island without properly introducing to the audience of the dystopian future), and keeps that strong tone to the scene where they are briefed. The 'instructional' video seems to be a strong commentary on the modern Japanese culture (talking about killing each other as if it's a game)...

The brutal killings among students are simultaneously the movie's strongest and weakest point. The first official death among students (crossbow through the neck) comes as a systemic shock, and works very well to demonstrate the absurdity and the horror of the situation.

This is where I will stop my praise and start my criticism.

Perhaps its because the movie uses many young actors, but every single death scene in the movie seems almost comical in its awkwardness. The cliché 'gasp-and-die' acting is constantly repeated, and most wounds inflicted on each other are pretty unconvincing (especially the wounds inflicted by the SMG).

In addition, the movie fails to keep its tone consistently by inserting unnecessary romance. The relationship between Shu and Nakagawa is understandable, and even serves a meaningful purpose. However, the auxiliary characters' romantic scenes seems awkward, out of place, and serves absolutely no purpose in the story.

The single greatest fault I find in this movie is the purpose each death serves. In this movie, deaths are violent and horrific NOT for the sake of the main message of the film, but for the sake of shocking the audience. At the end of the movie, most deaths that occur seem almost pointless - an orgy-like death-fest similar to that of the torture scenes in Hostel. This is further proved (at least to me) by the fact that the ending on the boat seems completely fragmented from the rest of the movie. We feel no desperation, no sense that we have just witnessed the death of 40+ people in the most brutal manner - and this is not reflected on either Shu or Nakagawa either.

In the end, Battle Royale is destroyed by what could have made it a great film. Instead of being a sharp social commentary on modern society using horrific situations, it becomes a repetitive sequence of terror scenes that forgets its purpose and collapses on itself. Not for the faint of heart.

5/10

Zinda (2006)

Product of a questionably loose Indian Copyright laws

[1/10 · 4 July 2006]

Many have said this before, but I'm afraid I have to repeat the opinion on the account that a surprising many have decided that Zinda is worth of anything more than 1 star in IMDb. Zinda is a unscrupulous photocopy of the masterpiece Oldboy, and should be avoided, if not boycotted.

Some will claim that Zinda is a 'tribute' or a 'remake' of the Oldboy. To them I ask one question: "What kind of filmmakers make remakes of a movie when the original came out two years ago and has been selling DVDs very well internationally?" It seems that this particular brand of Indian cinema has decided that it is quite content making money off of other people idea for free. And though it is impossible for the original filmmakers to sue the filmmakers of Zinda (on the account that Indian copyright laws does not allow for such suit), Zinda should be remembered as a true stain on the development of Indian Cinema.

Because it has photocopied a great movie, Zinda avoids being an absolute terror of a movie. However, this does not excuse Sanjay Gupta and the section of 'Bollywood' that has involved itself in Zinda's production. Because of the blatant plagiarism, and the Zinda's makers absolutely refusing to apologize and reimburse the original filmmakers, I must say Zinda deserves 1 star, if not 0.

Oldboy (2003)

A great exploration of the nature of vengeance

[10/10 · 9 June 2006]

Make no mistake; this isn't just a simple cheap revenge thriller. This is one of those movies where if you don't pay attention and focus, you'll think the movie is pointless and weak. In fact, in one of the interviews, the director makes it clear that he was not making this movie to have the audience relax; he suggests a day at a spa for such purposes.

This movie asks many important and intriguing questions: "What is the nature of vengeance?" "Can our sorrows be erased through revenge?" and "Does revenge help us against our enemies, or does it lead us to our destruction?". Using many unusual plot twists (including some taboo subjects) and visually unique style, the director ends up making a movie that is both peculiar and significant.

This is, once again, not a very common movie. Script is very well written with many black comedies and well-coordinated fight scenes. In addition, the classy but somewhat melancholy soundtrack (mostly orchestral music) is placed and performed perfectly. I would compare it to David Fincher's Fight Club, although Oldboy is much darker in plot,theme, and mood.