Face (2004) - 페이스

'Bloody Reunion' [DVD Review] A competent slasher pic that could have been nastier

2008/01/20 | Source | Permalink |

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

Six twenty-something characters are invited for a party by their elementary school classmate Mi-ja (Seo Young-hee, the neurotic landlady from "Jealousy is My Middle Name"), who has been caring for her former teacher Ms. Park (Oh Mi-hee), now infirm and wheelchair-bound. The guests turn out to be a motley crew of losers and basket cases, however.

Worse, each of them bears a serious grudge against Ms. Park. Sun-hee (Lee Ji-hyeon, Yeo Gyoon-dong's "La Belle"), traumatized by the teacher's public taunting of her baby fat, has become addicted to plastic surgery and suffers from bulimia. Park Hyo-joon ("A Dirty Carnival") ruined his leg while being punished by Ms. Park and had to fold his childhood dream of becoming an ace baseball player. Se-ho (Yeo Hyeon-soo, "Holiday") and Eun-young (Yoo Seol-ah), now a couple, is still struggling against the memories of insults and put-downs regarding their childhood poverty.

Even Myung-ho (Lee Dong-gyoo, Kim Eung-su's "D...| More

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Classic horror theme and martial arts collaboration

2006/11/21 | Source | Permalink |

"Arang" uses a classic theme of the horror genre ― a serial murder.
So-young (Song Yoon-Ah), a female detective who has just returned from a suspension, teams up with Hyun-gi (Lee Dong-wook) for a multiple homicide investigation.


"Arang" 97 minutes Directed by Ahn Sang-hoon Starring Song Yoon-ah, Lee Dong-wook Horror

The two find that all the murder victims had known a girl who went missing 10 years earlier from a seaside village. When So-young visits the village, she hears a bizarre rumor of a female ghost that appears in a salt store in the village.
The murders continue and So-young suffers nightmares.
"Arang" is the debut film by director Ahn Sang-hoon yet it shows the essence of a classic horror flick.
Song's performance as the film's female lead, following her bitter horror debut in "Face", for which she earned bad reviews, has progressed noticeably in the role of the female detective. Lee's film debut is also moderately successful.
The DVD's special features, w...| More

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i think it'll be very interesting to watch it! yery_yang 2007-02-28 22:14:07

Shadowless Sword Dulled

2006/11/01 | Source | Permalink |

A middling period actioner under the shadow of yesteryear's Hong Kong cinema

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

With financial successes of the politically muddled but pretty-to-look-at "Hero" and the exquisitely spiritual "Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon" in North America, Hollywood studios have perked up their antennae trying to locate the next East Asian chop-socky flick that can make bucketloads of money for them. Following the footsteps of Miramax and Sony Classics, New Line Cinema has ventured into the martial arts territory by co-producing "Shadowless Sword" with Taewon Entertainment.

uestion that popped into my mind, as the clipped-film logo of New Line flashed by as the movie opened, was whether the American producers had had a chance to see "Bichunmoo (2000)", the debut film of director Kim Yeong-joon. Director Kim, armed with a thoroughly trite, culturally featureless love triangle backstory, created what appears to be a blatant pastiche of a '90s Hong Kong period piece, c...| More

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'Cello' Horror Best Tuned Out

2006/09/10 | Source | Permalink |

[DVD Review] Listless spook show is a typical post-'Ring' Asian horror flick

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

"Cello" is a typical example of the lugubriously underwhelming horror films flooding Korean theaters every summer season. The first decade of 21st century has seen an out-and-out flourishing of Korean horror films, once a vilified and ignored genre. A few among them, like "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "Memento Mori", beautiful, mysterious and emotionally engaging, have attained the status of minor classics. Others, including "Into the Mirror", "The Uninvited", "R-Point" and "Voice" ("Voice Letter") have experimented with a mixture of genres, refinement in techniques and style, or infusion of art-house sensibilities, winning praise among critics and support among more patient viewers. And then there are the rest: the hopelessly cliched and listlessly non-frightening, which still constitute, unfortunately, the numerical majority.

There are many reasons for this state of affairs. Si...| More

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Song Yoon-ah Gets First Billing at Last

2006/08/14 | Source | Permalink |

The actress Song Yoon-ah is as frank and open as her smile. "Do you remember that my name was always billed after my male partners in my previous films? They said Shin Hyeon-joon and Song Yoon-ah in 'Face', Seol Kyeong-gu and Song Yoon-ah in 'Lost In Love' and Park Joong-hoon and Song Yoon-ah in 'A Masterpiece in My Life', something like that". But her latest horror movie "Arang", which was recently released, gives her first billing for the first time. She plays a detective opposite the younger actor Lee Dong-wook in the movie. "I felt responsible for my name for the first time", Song says.

On MBC's new drama "My Beloved Sister", which started airing Saturday, she plays the title role, a 26-year-old art student growing up in a rich family who must suddenly take on the responsibility of head of the family and take care of her brothers after their father goes bankrupt and then missing.

"I was burned out and wanted to take a rest after filming two movies and drama back to back from ...| More

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I like Song Yoona very much and hope to see her next series. Love you!! Always... lily 2007-02-26 04:07:34