Silmido (2003) (Korean)

April 10, 2007 by Leave a Comment

In 1968, a group of North-Korean commandos composed of 31 men cross the border in an attempt to assassinate South-Korea president Park Chung-hee. The South-Korea military intercept the commandos before they successfully accomplished their mission. This scandalous attempt outrages the South-Korea Central Intelligence Agency, and therefore decide replicate the North-Korean attempt by sending their own group of 31 men behind the Northern border to kill Kim Il-sung, the North-Korea leader.

Release Date:24 December 2003
Director:Woo-Suk Kang
Writer:Hie-jae Kim
Genre:Action / Drama
Runtime:135 min
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Subtitles: Hardsubbed English.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387596/


(7.1 rating out of 10)

Filed Under: Action, Drama, Korean Movies

Kung Fu Hustle (Hong Kong | China) 2004

April 8, 2007 by Leave a Comment

It is 1940′s China, and gangs rule the city. The most notorious of them all is the axe gang, lead by the insane Brother Sum. A slum called Pig Sty Alley is the only area safe from the Axes because the people there are so poor. Soon, wannabe gangster Sing and his pal Bone attempt to extort money out of a barber and fail, drawing the real Axe Gang to Pig Sty. However, it turns out that there are several kung fu masters living in the slum, and soon the two sides are enemies. As the plot thickens, Sing must decide- should he become a mobster, or save the day?

Release Date:24 June 2005
Director:Stephen Chow
Writers:Stephen Chow
Genre:Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy more
Cast: Stephen Chow, Xiaogang Feng, Wah Yuen, Zhi Hua Dong, Kwok-Kwan Chan, Chi Chung Lam, Siu-Lung Leung
Also Known As:Gong fu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Kung Fu Hustle (International: English title)
Runtime:95 min / Philippines:99 min
Country:China / Hong Kong
Language:Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitles: Hardsubbed English.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373074/


(7.8 rating out of 10)

Filed Under: Action, Chinese Movies, Comedy, Hong Kong Movies

Crying Fist (Jumeogi Unda) (2005) (Korean)

April 8, 2007 by Leave a Comment

After the success of the modern-day comic martial arts epic Arahan, writer/director Ryu Seung-wan changed gears and again teamed up with his brother, actor Ryu Seung-beom, to produce Crying Fist, a much more serious boxing drama. Actor Ryu plays Yu Sang-hwan, a street thug who rejects the life of his hard-working, struggling father for a life of petty crime and run-ins with the law. He winds up in a juvenile detention center, where he responds to some bullying by flying at the bully, Roc (Kim Su-hyeon), and biting his ear off. Yu is then taken under the wing of the prison’s boxing trainer, and he learns a bit of self-discipline through boxing, gradually recognizing his own strengths, and eventually acknowledging the support of his caring family. Meanwhile, 40-year-old Kang Tae-shik (Choi Min-sik of Oldboy), is a washed up former champion whose home and professional life have completely fallen apart. His wife leaves him, taking their young son. Besieged by creditors, Kang earns a meager living by charging people on the street for the privilege of punching him out. In danger of losing his son forever, his own health deteriorating rapidly, Kang decides to enter one last boxing competition, the same one which the equally desperate Yu has chosen to show his mettle. Crying Fist won a FIPRESCI Award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, and had its North American premiere at Subway Cinema’s 2005 New York Asian Film Festival, with director Ryu in attendance. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Director:Seung-wan Ryoo
Writer:Seung-wan Ryoo
Release Date:9 December 2005 (UK) more
Genre:Drama / Sport more
Cast: Min-sik Choi, Seung-beom Ryu, Hie-bong Byeon, Mun-hee Na, Hye-rin Seo, Dal-su Oh
Also Known As:Jumeogi unda
Runtime:134 min
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Subtitles: English sub files.

IMDb link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457007/
(7.5 rating out of 10)

Filed Under: Drama, Korean Movies

Tenshi (2006) (Japanese)

April 6, 2007 by 2 Comments

Romantic fantasy film starring Kyoko Fukada and based off of the best selling series of written works by Erika Sakurazawa. In a corner of Tokyo various hopeless romantics are reminded of the love, friendship, and familial love in the world. A convenience store clerk named Kato wants nothing more than to find a girlfriend . . . however things never go as he plans. Meanwhile, single father Yoshikawa (Masatoshi Nagase) treasures nothing more in this world than is daughter. He’d like to remarry to help her, but his love Kazumi confesses that she just doesn’t like children. On the other hand, junior high school student Mizuho has become the object of bullying after a slight missunderstanding. Then one day an angel (Kyoko Fukada) came down to visit them . . .

Cast: Kyoko Fukada, Hiromi Nagasaku, Masatoshi Nagase, Megumi Sato, Naomi Nishida
Directed: Mayumi Miyasaka
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Runtime: 117mins
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English/Chinese (VobSub) & English (srt)
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0828120/

Filed Under: Japanese Movies, Romance

Casshern (2004) (Japanese)

April 6, 2007 by 1 Comment

In a world with an alternate history, a great war finally comes to an end leaving the earth diseased and polluted. The geneticist Dr. Azuma vies for support from the government for his neo-cell treatment that he claims can rejuvenate the body and regenerate humankind. The government leaders, guarding their own deeply entrenched powers, turn down the professor. Driven to complete his work, Dr. Azuma accepts a secret offer from a sinister faction of the powerful military. After an incident occurs in Dr. Azuma’s lab, a race of mutant humans known as the Shinzo Ningen are unleashed upon the world. Now only the warrior known as Casshern, reincarnated with an invincible body, stands between the Shinzo Ningen and a world on the brink of annihilation.

Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Genre:Sci-Fi
Cast: Yusuke Iseya Kumiko AsoToshiaki Karasawa Akira Terao Kanako Higuchi Fumiyo Kohinata Mayumi SadaJun Kaname
Runtime: 2:20:32
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Subtitles: hardsubbedEnglish
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405821/

(6.3 out of 10 rating)

Filed Under: Action, Japanese Movies, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002) (Korean)

April 6, 2007 by Leave a Comment

This is the story of Ryu, a deaf man, and his sister, who requires a kidney transplant. Ryu’s boss, Park, has just laid him off, and in order to afford the transplant, Ryu and his girlfriend develop a plan to kidnap Park’s daughter. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

Directed: Chan-wook Park
Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Du-na Bae, Ji-Eun Lim, Bo-bae Han, Se-dong Kim, Dae-yeon Lee
Runtime: 129 min
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310775/


(7.8 out of 10 rating)

Filed Under: Drama, Korean Movies, Thriller