I recently had a week off from work and spent a fair bit of it going into the dark underworld of Korean cinema. I have been a long time fan of Asian cinema as it gives me things that Hollywood can't. There is a level of realism and emotion that mainstream Hollywood either fails to reach or is too scared to. The three films that I am looking at here shared many things in common all had strong lead characters who are seeking revenge and redemption and who will stop at nothing till they get it. First up is...
The Chaser
The Chaser is a film by director Hong-jin Na which centers around form dirty cop Joong-ho played by Yun-seok Kim. Joong-ho is now a pimp who is having money problems as several of his girls are going missing. He is not a pleasant man who is rude to his employees and shows no compassion towards the girls he represents. One of these girls is Mi-jin Kim played by Yeong-hie Seo who when we meet her is sick at home with her daughter Eun-ji
played by the outstanding young actress Yoo-Jeong Kim. Joong-ho (known as Filth on Mi-jin's phone) makes her take a job and so Eun-ji is left at home alone as her mum goes to work
Mi-Jin & Eun-ji
It is only after Mi-jin is sent out to the job that Joong-ho realises that the two girls who have gone missing were both last booked by the same client who he has sent Mi-jin to. He heads off to track down the client with only a phone number and area of the city to go on.
What follows is a game of cat and mouse between Joong-ho and the client Young-min Jee who is played by Jung-woo Ha. What becomes apparent to us as a viewer very earlier on is that Young-min is not selling the girls but is in fact killing them, a fact that Joong-ho is not aware of. He just thinks this guy is stealing from him and he can't have that.
So the story is split into several threats. There is Mi-jin's story as she struggles to survive and escape the killer, then you have Joong-ho as he tries to track down Young-min and in the background you have the story that although not directly effecting the other story has a major role. You see the mayor was attacked by a protester while out campaigning which ended in him having shit thrown in his face by an a citizen unhappy with the cities sewage system.
This is a key part of the film as the failure of the police to prevent it has put them in the spotlight and so when they are confronted with a possible serial killer they are under pressure to not make any mistakes and lose more face which greatly effects how they go about it.
That is the basics of the plot and again I don't want to go into any more as it is best to discover it for yourself. But I will go into why I really loved this film. First thing is Joong-ho as a central character, he is a brilliant anti hero who develops before your eyes.
Joong-ho
As I said before he is not a nice person who is selfish and rude to everyone he meets but as the film goes on you see different sides to him and you can't help but come to like him. A key to this is his relationship with Eun-ji as they share some wonderfully touching and emotional scenes together. In particular two scenes between the two in a car stand out the second of which uses an absence of sound and relies solely on the two actors to convey the strong emotions involved. Yoo-Jeong Kim was a revelation in this, she is such a key part of the film that it is to her credit that at the tender age of 9 she doesn't seem out of place.
So what our antihero needs is a villain to match him and in Young-min he isn't let down. Young-min has a certain air of Kevin Spacey in Seven about him as he cooly and calmly talks about how he kills his innocent victims. One scene in a police station in particular showed how calculating and sick he really is.
Young-min a calm killer
The two leads share some brilliant scenes together including some impressive chase scenes. These feel realistic and tense as the two run through back alleys as you can see the strain and pain on their faces. These are not Hollywood chases they are not vaulting walls with grace and sliding over cars they are stumbling around corners and tripping over. One fall in particular was not planned but the actors were so into the chase they went with it and the film benefits from this realism.
I felt tired at this point!
The Chaser keeps a perfect pace throughout and the intertwining of the different story threads keeps the tension high with us constantly being reminded of the plight of Mi-jin and the fact the film takes place over only one night I felt keeps you on the edge of your seat. You get no rest bite from the tension which is just constantly building. You feel Yoong-ho's frustration as he tries to get to Young-min while it seems everything is against him.
But the thing that really made this film for me was the end. It was one of the most emotional and effecting pieces of cinema I have ever witnessed and something that has stuck with me ever since. Not many films stick in your head and make you think about them days later but The Chaser has done that to me. I want to watch it again even as I write this and I have told anyone who will listen to watch this film.
So The Chaser has stood out to me in a month where I have watched many of Hollywood's Oscar films such as Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln and The Impossible. It is for this reason that I have to say that Oldboy has been overthrown and that...
Today My Favourite Film Is... The Chaser!
Written by Owen while wanting to watch The Chaser again!
Growing up in USSR we got to see strange collection of foreign films... Mainly Bollywood and old French comedies...
So we were all about singing in dancing in Mumbai slums and giggling away on silliness of Louis De Funes. There were a lot of comedies around!
Then again studying French most of my childhood... We Russians love France, everything French really, music, beauty, however most of the time we are terrible at French cooking, that's one aspect of French culture we don't do very well. Epic fail on the cooking French!
Yes, I do know how Brits feel about French, but I happened to love French things, France, yet I have never been... Did you know that Cinema was actually invented in France? By Lumiere brothers in 1895. It's actually quiet amusing, in a geeky way, the lumier actually means light!
So naturally I am pro foreign cinema... I love French cinema! It is always so... so... different.
My all time favorite is Amelie. How can one not love Amelie... it is just so sweet and elegant! Tres Chic!
The of course there was La Vie en Rose about the amazing Edith Piaf with Marion Cottoilard as the late singer. It was a truly remarkable film, do not think I cried so much over anything...
Critics also loved La Vie en Rose, Mademoiselle Cottilard won a lot of award for it, including that shiny man called Oscar.
But French films are not only love and sadness, it is also incredible violence...
Doberman
Film that has violence, explosions, sex, drugs... and Vincent Cassel!
Then there is again one of my favorite Crimson Rivers, Empire of the Wolves after the books of amazing French writer Jean-Christophe Grange, with fabulous Jean Reno.
Again, they showed a lot of things no one really needed to see on the screen. But unlike, killer inside me, I am willing to re-watch these films again and again.. Must be their French charm.
The ultimate love letter to everything french is in my opinion Paris, Je t'aime
Go watch it... enjoy it.
I shall go back to dream about my trip to Paris this year
I wish that local cinemas, looking at you Odeon Bath, showed more foreign and indi films...
Written by Daria while looking for the French Onion soup recipe.
Oh I do like films that after you watch them you think "Well that was fun"...
Few days ago I watched Romancing The Stone. Oh the adventure! It was made over 20 years ago in 1984.
And this film has everything to make it super fun and interesting:
Kidnapping
Scary Colombian villains
Silly Villains (Deny De Vito is a comedy genius)
Treasure map
Long walk throw the jungle
Dead corpse
Cooked snakes
Crocodiles
Amazing Emerald
Hunky leading man, still very very attractive Micheal Douglas
and a love story!
The novelist Joan Wilder is going to Colombia to free her kidnapped sister from the mobster by exchanging her for a map. If the plot of the film was to happened now, our cynical selves would be, really Colombia, isn't it where the drug lords are?! But not in the 80's... This made a fun adventure film. Now read again the list above and say this movie wouldn't be entertaining!
In the benging when she takes the wrong bus and everything goes pare shaped, you think with the morden cynical mind, what sort of mobsters are we dealing with?! But that's how the real adventure begins...
Watch it. Watch it for fun!
I would say that this is definitely one of my favorite films.
I had a rare day when I did not have to work the evening shift at the "Office"... so I went to the cinema . A treat for me myself and I...
Bath doesn't have a Cineworld but an Odeon... and I m not impressed! I already complaint about this in my blog about this.
But back to film... I went to see beautiful creatures...
and I thought it can be either good or bad... Do not think I went with an opened mind. I did hope however that I would not have to walk out in case this thing will turn out be like Twilight. Although lovely people at Empire magazine said not to consider it this way...
I thought it was good... Interesting story, sad in a way, but unlike silly twilight where was no "oh i think about feelings..." it was more "yes, we love each other and we will find a way".
It was nice to see Viola Davis back on the big screen, not for very long but in a different role.
The film is set in North Carolina, so everyone had a cute Southern accent, I'm certain some how it makes everything better. Maybe it is my love for True Blood talking.
I enjoyed that the main boy and girl were referring to books and dream about something better...I think I might watch it couple of more times and might consider read a book, I am actually terrified of young adult fiction. Like super terrified I read 2 twilight books...
I cannot decide who are my most favorite characters in this film are... There is a tie between lovable Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) and scary yet devoted Macon (Jeremy Irons).
Ethan is a dreamer who wants more, and him being a teen... (sorry casting people there is no way any of these actors are 16!!) loves deeply and epic-ly. Can I say epic-ly??
I have never seen him before in anything but yet again lovely people in Empire said he is great and was working with Sophia Coppola. He is very very good. And so lovable as Ethan! So really feel for him... ...snow and then nothing...
Jeremy Irons is a super amazing, so unlikable and horrible but the ultimate sacrifice... and you are forgetting about all the harsh things he ever did to Lena, and I just though about the love the parent have towards child.
Another unexpected thing was Emma Thompson with Southern accent... Like oh my god! She was unbelievable so super evil!
Also the costumes... Oh the costumes!!
It was also so delightfully Butron-esque... just like big fish with skeleton key thrown in for extra Southern deliciousness.
It is however still very emo and coming of age. But it is also about love, what somehow conquers all, you just need to see it. I would day for love of southern flare, love and magic go and see Beautiful Creatures....
Also surprisingly all the actors are pretty but not beautiful... and all of them are top class!
Written by Daria while still thinking if it was that good or not really...
The start of any year is always dominated here in the UK by the 'Oscars' films. But now that I have seen said films and enjoyed many of them I thought that I should start looking to the year ahead and pick out a few films that could very well make their way to the top of my Favourite Film Today list.
Some I have put in here due to word of mouth or a knowledge of the source material while others are simply due to the people involved. Most I will be unable to give many details regarding the plot as I try to avoid plot details when possible. Some no doubt will end up letting me down but I do think that at least a few will turn out to be outstanding. So here are my 13 films to watch in 2013...
Ryan Reynold has some ground to make up with comic book fans after the disaster that was Green Lantern! But he appears to not be shying away from it and has two comic book movies in production one is Deadpool and the other is this. Based on a graphic novel published by Dark Horse and written by Peter M. Lenkov.
Reynolds plays a cop who is killed and joins up with the Rest In Peace Department where he and fellow undead cops Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon hunt his killer. It is the cast that really catches my eye here with anything Jeff 'The Dude' Bridges does always being on my radar and I always find Mary-Louise Parker a charming screen presence.
It feels like a while since I saw a horror in the cinema that really worked however this one has several things that make me think that this could be a winner. Firstly it has the Del Toro link which I know is only a 'Presented By' and not as director but still I do trust that if he is willing to put his name to it then he must be confident in it which in turn makes me confident. The main draw perhaps is the cast of Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who I both rate highly. In particular Chastain who has be outstanding in everything I have seen here in from 'Tree of Life' to 'Zero Dark Thirty' and I am interested to see what she can bring to this role.
Chastain plays Annabel who with her boyfriend played by Coster-Waldau, takes care of his two nieces who were left in the forest for 5 years. Of cause nothing is going to go smoothly and soon it would appear that the girls may not have been as alone in the forest as everyone thinks. I hope to get a horror that does not rely on blood and gore but is more in the vein of A Tale of Two Sisters ' where sound (or indeed lack of) and disturbing images are used to produce the horror. As this is the first film on this list to come out I guess I will see soon enough if I get what I want.
Danny Boyle is one of those directors that I trust. Its that simple. So any news of a new film from him gets my interest and if you then tell me that Cassel is a part of it and I'm pretty much sold. James McAvoy plays an art auctioneer who has become mixed up with a group of criminals and needs to enlist Dawson's hypnotist to help him recover a missing painting. Though I enjoyed
Slumdog Millionaire and lovedSunshine
I am pleased to see Boyle back doing what appears to be a slick dialog led drama back in the UK.
This is a film that again I know very little about other than the fact that it is by Alfonso Cuaron thedirector of thebrilliant Children of Menand
Y Tu Mamá También. In fact 2006's Children of Men was his last major film and so he has kept his fans waiting 7 years so I hope that it will not let us down.
The film follows two astronauts as they attempt to return to earth after debris crashes into their space shuttle, leaving them drifting alone in space. George Clooney plays one of the astronauts which again fills me with confidence that the film will deliver. Clooney has proven himself time and again to be at the top of his game and under Cuarons direction I expect big things.
If I was to guess who would be directing this adaptation of F Scott Fitzgeralds classic novel I don't think I would have guessed Baz Luhmann but when I think about it works. Luhrmann has always had a wonderful visual style and a great use of costumes and sets to transport you to another world (Fith Element) or time (Moulin Rouge) and so I'm looking forward to him taking me to 1920's New York.
It is a strong cast and with DiCaprio and Mulligan in the leads you know that you are in save hands. The character of Gatsby is not something that I would trust with many actors but DiCaprio is one. It has the potential to be a true cinematic 'event' this summer.
Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II are a true horror classics with Bruce Campbell's performance as Ash one of the greatest in the genres history. So when I first heard that they were remaking it my first thought was that it just wouldn't work without Campbell. Though it was violent and full of gore and shocks it was the humor that he brought to the role that made it stand out. But then I saw the trailer below and have since actually started looking forward to this.
Unlike the first horror on this list Mama what I want from this film is blood and gore and if I go by the trailer below I don't think that it will disappoint on that front. This is a film that could let me down but for now I hold out hope.
Alan Partridge has been a hero of mine for many years, his wise words have helped me through many hard times. So when I heard that he was making a movie you can imagine my excitement! It is in the capable hands of Declan Lowney of Father Ted fame and with Coogan writing I can't see how I won't like this.
I enjoyed Abrams 2009 reboot of Star Trek but I think that this follow up has something that will set it apart. That is simply Benedict Cumberbatch as the main villain. I'm hoping for a darker film in the vein of Nolan Dark Knight trilogy and think that Pine and Cumberbatch could have a rivalry to match that of Batman and Joker.
Abrams has proven that he knows what he is doing when it comes to handling blockbusters and if he can take the Star Trek universe and add that dark edge then this could be the blockbuster this summer.
The reason that this is on my list is simple. The last time that Refn and Gosling worked together they gave us Drive and that's enough for me to put this in my top 5. All I know of the plot is this...A Bangkok police lieutenant and a gangster settle their differences in a Thai-boxing match...and that's all I need to know...23rd May I know where I'll be.
Whereas with many of the films on this list I know little of the plot that is not the case with Kick-Ass 2 as I have read the graphic novel that it is based on. I am interested to see what from the novel makes it into the film as it does cover some very dark themes. The fact that Matthew Vaughn is not back to direct is a disappointment and a slight concern as I felt that he nailed the feel of the original Kick-Ass. But the cast is all back and I am looking forward to Moretz reprising her role as Hit Girl and intrigued to see what Jim Carrey brings to the role of Captain Stars & Stripes. I expect more over the top violence mixed with humor and knowing nods to the comic book fans. It is a shame that Mark Strong is not able to be in it as he was superb in the original as he always is. I just hope that Mintz-Plasse can fill the role of the main villian (The Mother F**cker) and then again there is also Mother Russia if he needs help on the bad guy front. 3. Anchorman: The Legend Continues
The original Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a film that I can watch time and time again and it will still make me laugh. It is just full of brilliant characters. The fact that this will be more of the same characters is why this is in my Top 3 as I have faith that all involved are going to deliver and the fact that it has been 9 years since the original only strengthens my faith.
They could have rushed out a sequel to capitalise on the originals popularity but instead they waited and all the cast have gone off to become stars in their own right with Paul Rudd being a prime example of this. It feels like they are a group of friends who are getting back together to have some fun, the product of which will be a new film.
I know again that this does have the potential to disappoint me as when you go and see a comedy there is the very real possability that it just won't be funny. But with the people involved and the time between the films give me confidence that this will be a highlight this Xmas.
This is the final part in Wright, Pegg & Frosts corneto trilogy with Shaun of the Dead
and
Hot Fuzz
the other two parts. Going on these films alone should tell you why I have this at No.2 on my list. I also have complete faith in Edgar Wright with
Spaced
and
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
making up the body of his work I can say that I love everything the man has done. I also think that Pegg and Frost do their best work when under his direction. When you add to the mix Freeman, Considine and Marsan I really can't see how this will let me down.
The plot is that the above group of friends are reuniting 20 years after failing an epic pub crawl, determined to finish it. It just so happens that on this crawl they may be needed to save the world. That's all I know and it's also all I need to know. Wright and Pegg have both gone to great lengths to try and shroud the plot in secrecy and I respect that decision as the less I know the more I will enjoy it.
So my most anticipated film for this year is only a few weeks away and it is another that I know very little about the actual plot. The thing that I know which puts it at the top of the list is that it is Chan-Wook Parks first English language film! Anyone who has read my earlier review of the outstanding Oldboy will know why this excites me so much.
The fact that Wasikowska is the lead only heightens my excitement as I think that she is an incredible talent who is impressing me more every time I see her. The trailer below is all that I have seen and it seems to have the dark edge to it that I expect from a Park film. I actually want to give praise to the trailer itself as it does something that I wish every trailer could do and that's get my attention without giving away the entire plot in the process. I saw it before a film and I immediately wanted to walk out of the film that was I about to watch and go watch Stoker instead. But I must wait till March....2 weeks it's only 2 weeks....is it possible for humans to hibernate!?!
Written by Owen while waiting for it to be March 1st
So do I like musicals? Well I wouldn't say that I am a fan of the traditional musicals and have never seen a live perforamce of any of the 'Classics' or indeed a film adaptation. When I see Les Mis it will be my first experience of it and who knows I may love it.
But I can say that there are several musical films that I love! Such as....
They're on a mission from God!
The reason I love Blues Brothers is that it's not a 'Musical' so much as it is an amazing film that happens to have singing in it. The cast being made up of some of the true legends of music with Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin who's scene is possibly my favourite scene in the movie.Everyone should experience the storyof Jake and Elwood Blues!
A mental mind fuck can be nice.
You can't help but love this serreal tribute to the Sci-Fi and B Movie horror films of the 50's and 60's. With Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon spending the night at Tim Currys Dr. Frank-N-Furter castle. Now Frank is a tranvestite who has built his own 'Man' and loves to do the 'Time Warp' whats not to like. Oh and did I mention Meat Loaf is in it!
Then there is the first musical I ever saw and I remember as a young lad watching it again and again. It was a gangster movie but everyone was a kid and they had cream pie guns! what was not to like as a young lad. It was another example of Jodie Fosters talent at a young age and the final singalong scenes at the end is one of my favourite scenes ever. It just looks so fun and can't help but make you smile.I'm talking about...
We could have been anything that we wanted to be
I also love Moulin Rouge it is a visual treat that uses songs that I love to tell its classic tale of love and loss. You have Bowie, The Police, Nirvana and Ewan McGregor's effortless charm and cheeky smile.The whole film is like you are on absenth. Jim Broadbent is quite brilliant in it too.
My last two are both animated and the first one is from Disney but it's not Beauty and the Beast and there are no talking animals in it. It's better than all them because it came from the mind of Tim Burton. It is of cause...
'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams
My final musical is probably as far as you can get from Disney but it's songs are just so catchy and the story of four young boys saving the world is timeless. It is also a film that has a song in it that made my mate Mark and myself cry with laughter. It is a moment I will always remember and upon leaving the cinema that day I was truly happy. The song was 'Uncle Fucker' and the film was South Park Bigger, Longer and Uncut!
EPIC!
So they aren't Singin' In The Rain or The Sound of Music but to me these are the greatest Musicals to be committed to film.
Written by
Owen while watching Gareth Bale being a legend for Wales
Well I have mixed feeling about them... I love them in Theater but films not so much. Well I loved Chicago on strange but I really hated the film.
I don't know what it was really, I guess it was too much dancing and singing. And too my of Catherine Zeta-Jones, or that Renee Zellweger was a bit kind of wrong. Or maybe I just liked the theatrical version so much, that I would not accept anything else.
But talking about Rob Marshall works, I do love Memoirs of Geisha (even if I think the ending should have been better since it feels a bit mixed together and kind of rushed), and I did enjoy Nine with all its singing and dancing. Perhaps it's Italian chic and sixties feel made it better. But I don't just love 60's alone I love 20's era too... Why don't I like Chicago?
Maybe because it was more fun, sexy and with more colour to it. However Chicago is mainly back and white not only for the feel of the 20's but then for the prison and once again, I did not mind this in the musical... Why don't I like it?!
Yet, it is very unlikely that I would see any of these two musicals again... But I do watch Memoirs of Geisha very regularly.
Last night we watched Rock Of Ages... Oh I thought it was a bit cheesy, but it was very funny and with great tunes! Another thing that impressed me a lot in it it was costumes... I know it might seem weird but think about the costumes in Hairspray how very stiff and costume like they were. Well I guess it was the idea of it being stiff as if glued togther by hairspray... I actually want to have a good rummage throw costume closet of Rock Of Ages and steal lots of them!
The super fun performance by Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise and Russel Brand made it more fun to watch.
And the music... Oh music..
I am actually glad that not all musicals can be turned into film, like Shoes... Oh how I loved this! Not for everyone but it was side splitting!
Yet again I did not think Shrek can be a musical... I was wrong.
When I have started writing this post I did the search for musical films, I totally forgot about super sad and super beautiful Moulin Rouge with liters and liters of absenth...
I completely forgot about Grease!! Summer loving, Tell me more tell me more....
A lot of old classic films are with song and dance, like Meet me in St Louis or Mary Poppins. I haven't seen them yet, but I'm working on it.
But out of the musical films I saw lately have to say the Rock Of Ages is my very favorite at this very moment. Perhaps it is because of Tom Cruise being so very funny when touching everyone's breasts, or maybe it was Catherine Zeta-Jones who was super sexy in leather, or maybe it was just rock and fun with my kind of music.
Rock of Ages is my favorite musical.
Well you might agree of disagree but musicals are fun! Just as they are...
Written by Daria while thinking what to wear to Download festival
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