Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Stoker (2013)
Creepiness abounds
When India's father dies, his estranged brother shows up at the funeral and then infiltrates the home she shares with her mother. And then things get creepy. Stoker is a very Hitchcock-ian look into the secrets that lie behind every facade. Matthew Goode is more than good as the creepy brother Charlie. Nicole Kidman (India's mother) is one of two things in this film. She was either 1) great at portraying a really messed up character or 2) her acting was just bad. Having seen her in a number of films, I think it is the former. Directed by one of my favorite directors (Chan-wook Park) of one of my favorite films (Oldboy), Stoker is a great English debut from one of Korea's top directors. Also a great screenwriting debut for Wentworth Miller of Prison Break fame.
Stoker creeps its way to 3 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writer: Wentworth Miller
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Metacritic: 58 out of 100
Friday, November 2, 2012
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Have we met?
Several different stories from different time periods, past, present and are woven together. Each story is bound to the other by common elements - a piece of music, a birthmark. I read the book of the same name by David Mitchell and have been jonesing to see this ever since I heard it was being translated to the big screen. And the filmmakers didn't disappoint. Cloud Atlas could have been really good (which it is) ot not so good. Everything about this film was great - the acting, the sets, the cinematography, the FX, everything. One mark of a truly good film is wanting to see it again. And I lay down to sleep last night, all I could think about was this film and how I wish to see it again.
Cloud Atlas earns its 4 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae (The Host), and Hugh Grant
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 55 out of 100
Several different stories from different time periods, past, present and are woven together. Each story is bound to the other by common elements - a piece of music, a birthmark. I read the book of the same name by David Mitchell and have been jonesing to see this ever since I heard it was being translated to the big screen. And the filmmakers didn't disappoint. Cloud Atlas could have been really good (which it is) ot not so good. Everything about this film was great - the acting, the sets, the cinematography, the FX, everything. One mark of a truly good film is wanting to see it again. And I lay down to sleep last night, all I could think about was this film and how I wish to see it again.
Cloud Atlas earns its 4 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae (The Host), and Hugh Grant
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 55 out of 100
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Man From Nowhere (2010)
Not just a pawn (broker)
Bin Won, seen in Mother, gives another great performance. Cha Tae-sik is known to his neighbors as the local pawn broker, but who is he really? When his young neighbor is kidnapped, Cha Tae-sik shows everyone he's way more than just a pawn broker. But the real show stealer is Sae-ron Kim an 11 year old actress who puts many adult thespians to shame. A great action movie, with great acting and solid fight sequences, especially the knife fight near the end.
Slightly melodramatic at points, but The Man from Nowhere one knocks down 4 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Jeong-beom Lee
Writer: Jeong-beom Lee
Starring: Bin Won, Thanayong Wongtrakul and Sae-ron Kim
Rotten Tomatoes: no score yet
Metacritic: no score yet
Bin Won, seen in Mother, gives another great performance. Cha Tae-sik is known to his neighbors as the local pawn broker, but who is he really? When his young neighbor is kidnapped, Cha Tae-sik shows everyone he's way more than just a pawn broker. But the real show stealer is Sae-ron Kim an 11 year old actress who puts many adult thespians to shame. A great action movie, with great acting and solid fight sequences, especially the knife fight near the end.
Slightly melodramatic at points, but The Man from Nowhere one knocks down 4 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Jeong-beom Lee
Writer: Jeong-beom Lee
Starring: Bin Won, Thanayong Wongtrakul and Sae-ron Kim
Rotten Tomatoes: no score yet
Metacritic: no score yet
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Mother (2009)
That's one mean mother!
When a mentally handicapped man is accused of a crime, his mother comes to his aid. The son played by Bin Won (The Man from Nowhere) and his mother played by Hye-ja Kim give standout performances. Mother asks the question, what lengths will a parent go to for their child? Joon-ho Bong director of The Host brings great visuals, a great plot that twists and turns, and great acting.
This Mother earns her 5 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Writer: Joon-ho Bong, Eun-kyo Park
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won and Ku Jin
Rotten Tomatoes - 95%
Metacritic - 79 out of 100
When a mentally handicapped man is accused of a crime, his mother comes to his aid. The son played by Bin Won (The Man from Nowhere) and his mother played by Hye-ja Kim give standout performances. Mother asks the question, what lengths will a parent go to for their child? Joon-ho Bong director of The Host brings great visuals, a great plot that twists and turns, and great acting.
This Mother earns her 5 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Writer: Joon-ho Bong, Eun-kyo Park
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won and Ku Jin
Rotten Tomatoes - 95%
Metacritic - 79 out of 100
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Natural City (2003)
Very life-like actors in less than life-like roles
Mankind has achieved the ability to create cyborgs with souls. They appear humans, but are more than human. Natural City is billed by some as one of the top foreign (non-American made) sci-fi films. Honestly I fell asleep during this one, just for a few minutes, but still... The rambling plot did not keep my attention. It wasn't a bad film at all - the effects were good, the action was good, albeit confusing at points. But Hollywood has already proven many times over that effects and explosions don't make a good movie.
2 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Byung-chun Min
Writer: Byung-chun Min
Starring: Ji-tae Yu (Oldboy), Jae-un Lee, Rin Seo
Rotten Tomatoes - 67%
Metacritic - not reviewed
Mankind has achieved the ability to create cyborgs with souls. They appear humans, but are more than human. Natural City is billed by some as one of the top foreign (non-American made) sci-fi films. Honestly I fell asleep during this one, just for a few minutes, but still... The rambling plot did not keep my attention. It wasn't a bad film at all - the effects were good, the action was good, albeit confusing at points. But Hollywood has already proven many times over that effects and explosions don't make a good movie.
2 out of 5 Poblanos!
Director: Byung-chun Min
Writer: Byung-chun Min
Starring: Ji-tae Yu (Oldboy), Jae-un Lee, Rin Seo
Rotten Tomatoes - 67%
Metacritic - not reviewed
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