Arnold Schwarzenegger always promised that he’d be back and
ten years since his last leading role he is, in Kim Ji-woon’s Action movie The Last Stand. For Arnie in front of
the screen, little has changed. He may have lost some bulk in certain areas and
gained some in others but his strengths and weaknesses remain constant. He
remains a compelling screen presence and can still kick ass with the best of
them but his acting hasn’t improved. I had no intention of seeing The Last Stand until I found to my
surprise that its Director was one of my favourites, Kim Ji-woon, the highly
accomplished Korean Director of the Asian-Western The Good, the Bad and the Weird and the grisly I Saw the Devil amongst many others. So, I got up at 8:30am on a
Saturday and with my girlfriend away for the weekend, braved the snow and took
a bus to our local multiplex. It’s safe to say that Schwarzenegger isn’t the
box office draw he once was and there were 329 empty seats in the auditorium.
How do I know that? Because I counted them during a first half which is full of
needless exposition, crummy dialogue and weak characterisation. Things liven up
in the second half but I’d been better off staying in bed.
Showing posts with label Kim Ji-woon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kim Ji-woon. Show all posts
Saturday 26 January 2013
Monday 9 April 2012
A Tale of Two Sisters
Kim Ji-woon (The Good, the Bad, the Weird & I Saw the Devil) directs this tale of two sisters who are put in a mental institution
after the death of their mother. When the sisters are bought back home by their
father, they not only have to deal with their difficult new stepmother but also
strange goings on inside the house.
The film confused the hell out of me and despite just
watching it and then reading the plot synopsis online; I’m not entirely
convinced I’ve fully understood it! I think it is a film that would benefit
from a second viewing. You are never really sure what is real, what is imagined
and what is misdirection and it takes a lot of effort to stay with what’s going
on. The confusion isn’t aided by a fairly drawn out and slow first act in which
very little happens. The third act more than makes up for the slow and dull
beginning however. It is frantic and edgy and had my head spinning.
The horror element is more psychological than jumpy and
there are very few visual scares. The film uses sound to good effect though to
help raise and maintain tension. Kim Ji-woon’s directorial style is plastered
all over the place. The film is incredibly stylish and uses some wonderfully
beautiful and technically brilliant camera angles and sweeps. It is worth
watching just for Kim’s technical ability behind the camera.
Another reason I’d recommend the film is because of the
fantastic performances. In particular those of Im Su-Jeong (I’m a Cyborg…) as one of the sisters and
Yeom Jeong-ah as the mother in law. Both performances are excellent and helped
to keep me gripped while I was struggling with the plot.
Unsurprisingly, as with so many other Asian horror movies of
its time, the film was remade in America with the title The Uninvited. That film lacks the gore
and horror of the original and currently holds a 4.5/10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
When will Hollywood
learn?
This film is by no means a masterpiece but features a
confusing story which should keep you gripped. The acting is great and the
direction, superb.
6/10
Labels:
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Saturday 10 March 2012
I Saw the Devil
Some countries seem to excel in particular genres. For Korea it is thrillers,
and particularly thrillers with a strong psychological edge and with revenge as
the predominant theme. Of the top twenty rated Korean films on IMDb since 2000,
half are explicitly themed around revenge. I Saw
the Devil is another example of Korea ’s excellence in this genre.
It is also one of the most brutally violent films I’ve ever watched. The fact
that it was even censored in Korea
should give you some indication as to the level of violence.
The police are on the hunt for a serial killer played by
Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) but when Choi’s
character Kyung-chul brutally murders the pregnant fiancé of Intelligence Agent
Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun – The Good, the Bad, the Weird) he ends up with another man on his tail, a man who will
stop at nothing for vengeance. Soo-hyun tracks down Kyung-chul and beats him
senseless, but instead of killing him or handing him over to the authorities,
Soo-hyun plants a tracking device inside the murderer so he can keep track of
his every move and continue to enact his violent revenge over and over again.
The most obvious talking point regarding this film is its
traumatic violence. Although it generally comes in short, sharp bursts, it is
frequent and excruciating to witness. I’m not a fan of the Saw films and haven’t seen Hostel
but along with Kill List this is
probably the most violent film I’ve ever seen and I had to turn away from the
screen on a couple of occasions. This is not a film for those who are easily
put off by gore, brutality and violence. Although I think that the level of
violence in warranted in the story, I thought that at times it did slightly
detract from the telling of it. It did however show the lengths that Soo-hyun
would go to in order to get revenge.
The film is directed skilfully by Kim Ji-woon, a man known
for expert camera work and beautifully stylized films. Beautiful cinematography
along with vengeance is another trademark of Korean cinema and is apparent here.
Kim gets wonderful performances from his actors and both leads do a marvellous job.
I cannot think of a more unsettling or memorable screen villain from recent
times as Choi Min-sik’s Kyung-chul. He is a total monster without any redeeming
features. Lee Byung-hun’s Soo-hyun is more complicated. He shows great
emotional depth at times but as the film progresses he becomes more of a
monster himself and the line between good and evil is not only crossed but
trounced upon. In amongst the repugnant violence that both central characters exhibit,
there is an undercurrent of real emotion and despite the overbearing brutality,
this does come through on the screen. Both performances are incredibly
powerful. The minor cast feature little but there are good performances from a cannibal
and his partner who are met along the way.
Though violent, this scene is also darkly comic |
I Saw the Devil is
a film that is going to stay with me for a long time. This is in part down to
the violence but I think more so because it is a well made and acted film with
a strong central theme and a terrific and jaw dropping ending. It is dark and frenzied
and although I wouldn’t say it is enjoyable, it is a fine film that sits
rightly amongst the likes of Oldboy and
Confessions.
8/10
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Friday 9 March 2012
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
Set in 1930s
The film features everything you’d want from a Western with
great scenery, stand-offs, a train robbery and great action throughout. The
fact that it is set in Asia makes little
difference as it is a true Western. The directorial style of Kim Ji-woon is
visually appealing and reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino. There is plenty of
detailed stylization but it is not overdone and it helps to immerse the
audience in the film. You feel very much as though you are part of the action
thanks to the skill of Kim. The film features the odd twist and a mixture of
serious Western dialogue and more funny dialogue from The Weird. The
cinematography is wonderful with plenty of panoramic vistas, fast cut editing
and unique camera movements. The costume design is also excellent. The Bad
wears a modern, dark suit which together with his straight, dark hair and
piercing eyes help him to seem nastier. The Good wears a traditional Western
gunslingers outfit but The Weird, given his name, wears flying hat and goggles,
paper gloves and traditional Korean dress. Each costume matches the character
well.
The film is at its best during the more action packed
sequences. They are without exception very well choreographed and acted and the
film’s main set piece in a thieves market is superb and reminded me of a more
light hearted 13 Assassins. It is not
so successful in the more quiet moments but I think that is more of a testament
to the action rather than a criticism of the less action packed scenes. While
the film doesn’t have anywhere near the level of tension as Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on which
it’s loosely based, the final Mexican Standoff was excellent and bought the
film to a satisfying close. On the downside, the story is noticeably lacking
and back story mostly non existent but had the plot been thicker I doubt the
film would have been improved much as it is the action that draws the audience
in.
The acting is outstanding, especially from the main cast.
Jung’s Good and Lee’s Bad are similar in many ways and both actors bring a
quiet, determined and cold-hearted feeling to their characters but the Bad is
much more unsympathetic. Lee performs the role of the villain superbly. Song is
excellent as The Weird, a man who seems unfit for the life he leads but somehow
gets through every scrape unhurt. He brings a lot of humour to the role but is
no slouch when the action starts. Though the acting is great, this is
definitely director Kim Ji-woon’s film. He stamps his mark all over the
proceedings and delivers an action packed and funny Western to rival anything
from Hollywood .
8/10
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