[Movie 2010] I Saw The Devil, 악마를 보았다

[rubie]

Thanks to the cool highlight by 5.mystline at Lee Byung Hun thread

Hi Folks, just thought I'd share actor Shane West, who's notable for TV Series 'Nikita' and the film 'A Walk To Remember' tweeted about  ISTD on 16/9 :-)

Capture from CINE21

[rubie]

September 15, 2011

Revenge served deliciously cold

By Yong Shu Hoong my paper

I SAW THE DEVIL (R21) Thriller/144 minutes

THERE is a scene from new Korean crime thriller I Saw The Devil where the protagonist - special agent Soo Hyun (Lee Byung Hun), who takes the law into his own hands - is reminded that "revenge is for movies".

It's a tongue-in-cheek moment, offering a rare reprieve from an intense storyline that is hell-bent on portraying revenge.

That is the only thing on Soo Hyun's mind after his beautiful fiancee, Ju Yeon (Oh San Ha), was murdered and hacked into pieces by a serial killer.

Armed with files obtained by Ju Yeon's father (Jeon Gook Hwan), a retired police captain, Soo Hyun weeds out various suspects to uncover the real culprit, Kyung Chul (Oldboy's Choi Min Sik).

This film is interesting not so much because of Soo Hyun's hunt for the killer in the name of justice, but rather because a large chunk of it focuses on the diabolical plans that Soo Hyun has in store for Kyung Chul.

Revenge, for Soo Hyun, is about seeing the killer suffer badly, so sudden death would not be an option - at least not yet. Just like Won Bin in The Man From Nowhere (2010), Lee imbues his action-oriented role with steely resolve, which is a cover for the emotional turmoil bubbling just beneath.

As riveting as Lee is, it's fortunate that director Kim Jee Woon gives equal weightage to the killer, who is not merely an obligatory villain to accentuate the heroics of the leading good guy. With Choi competently in control, his character provides an important counterpoint to the "hero".

The audience is left pondering: Is the killer the devil that Soo Hyun has to eradicate, to stop him from haunting his psyche as well as future victims? Or is the devil what the vengeful vigilante is himself fast morphing into?

The battle of wills between Soo Hyun and Kyung Chul holds our attention till the very end, with interesting plot twists along the way. It recalls the confrontation between the cop and the serial killer played so memorably by Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey respectively in David Fincher's Seven (1995).

At first glance, the violence depicted here may seem gratuitous. But it is required not just to add intensity and gloom to the darkness of this revenge flick.

It's only when the almost-pornographic violence is stared at up close that we understand the perverted nature of the killer that Soo Hyun has to confront, as well as the seductive power that is fast eroding his ability to differentiate between right and wrong.

If you're a fan of ultra-violent Japanese and Korean films like Audition (1999), Oldboy (2003) and Outrage (2010), I Saw The Devil is another classic to add to your favourites.

In fact, thanks to the film's violent content, it was given a rating in South Korea that disqualified it from theatrical release there (it was subsequently re-edited into a "domestic version" and released).

Luckily, the version to be screened in Singapore under the R21 rating is the original version that the director had envisioned.

myp@sph.com.sg

Captures from ChCGV 'Power of Movie' (Power of Cinema)

[rubie]

September 20, 2011

ISTD Action Director Joining GI Joe: Retaliation as Action Coordinator

Source: sports.donga.com l Nate

If not mistaken.. roughly the news stated that action and martial arts director Jung Doo Hong will be coordinating the action sequences in the upcoming GI Joe: Retaliation, currently in production. The martial arts Taekwondo expert is now in New Orleans with actor Lee Byung Hun who is filming the sequel of the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster.

If this is truly the case, it's really cool to see the combination on LBH and JDH in the Hollywood movie. Dir. JDH is an established actor himself having acted in various Korean movies and tv series but he's more known as the stunt/action coordinator for Kim Ji Woon movies such as A Bittersweet Life, The Good The Bad The Weird and I Saw the Devil.

I Saw the Devil (2010)

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

A Bittersweet Life (2005)

[K-FILM REVIEWS] 달콤한 인생 (A BITTERSWEET LIFE)

Source: TwitchFilm l EverythingLBH.com

03 STYLE OF A BITTERSWEET LIFE

Jung Doo-Hong introduces the action in the film. He says that while the action scenes in noir film are usually wild and spectacular, since this is a relatively new genre for Korea, they followed the basics. They shot some rehearsal at the fighting school with a handheld camera, showing it to the Director later (a common practice for Jung). He made the kind of action that was most comfortable to shoot, the kind of movements he would make if he was in that situation, stressing the essential. He talks about his three favorite scenes, the best being the last one in the Sky Lounge, which felt like an orchestra playing music to him. He compliments Lee Byung-Heon for his hard work, saying he's a fast learner, with a lot of ambition and will to improve, the right body and athleticism. He also talks about his relationship with Kim Ji-Woon, this being the second time they work together after The Foul King. He says at first he felt uncomfortable, with Kim acting a sort of mother role, letting him do what he wanted, not scolding him when he made mistakes, understanding what Jung wanted to do. But he was really happy working with him in the film, it was one of the best experiences in his career.

[rubie]

Copied from PlanetBH0712

I Saw the Devil Scream Awards Best Horror Film Vote Now!

Source: spike.com

Message 2011. 09. 22.에 Uberbadassguy69님이 올린 동영상 on Youtube

My short message to get more people aware the the 2010 South Korean Horror Film: I Saw the Devil, was nominated for 3 different awards at the 2011 Spike TV Scream Awards 2011. Everyone should seriously go and vote. The links to all three categories it has been nominated for are listed below!

I Saw the Devil - Best Horror Film: Vote here

I Saw the Devil - Best Independent Film: Vote here

Choi Min-sik as Kyung-chul - Best Villain: Vote here

VOTE NOW PLEASE GUYS SPREAD THE SOUTH KOREAN CINEMA LOVE!!!!

-Josh-

[Guest]

I checked the first post but didn't see a complete cast list for this movie...so can anyone tell me the name of the actress who plays the cannibal's girlfriend/wife?

Btw, here is a blog post that details the different scenes in the Korean & International versions. I have only seen the Korean version & therefore, cannot comment on the International version but it appears the International version is a bit gorier & is sans the sex scene between Kyung Chul and the cannibal's gf in the kitchen. I find it interesting that the song in the final shot is also different in both versions. I actually prefer the International version of the outro song.

[rubie]

^

Hi bulgogi88. thanks so much for highlighting the link to read about the difference in the Korean and international version of I Saw the Devil. Fans of the movie would definitely find it interesting to read.

I checked the first post but didn't see a complete cast list for this movie...so can anyone tell me the name of the actress who plays the cannibal's girlfriend/wife?

Sorry about the incomplete first post.. I'll surely try to update the thread with more info. Thanks for checking and letting me know, I really appreciate it.

The name of the actress playing the cannibal's girlfriend is Kim In Seo (source, thanks to taprokh for the info)

[Guest]

^

Hi bulgogi88. thanks so much for highlighting the link to read about the difference in the Korean and international version of I Saw the Devil. Fans of the movie would definitely find it interesting to read.

Sorry about the incomplete first post.. I'll surely try to update the thread with more info. Thanks for checking and letting me know, I really appreciate it.

The name of the actress playing the cannibal's girlfriend is Kim In Seo (source, thanks to taprokh for the info)

Thx rubie for the info about actress, Kim In Seo. I was curious cuz I thought I saw her in another film but it seems she's a relative newcomer to the industry.

yeah, no worries about the first post. You're doing a great job on this thread updating us with news & related info about the movie and its main stars. This is definitely one of the best films to come out of Korea in the thriller/crime/horror genre IMHO. I highly recommended it to anyone who enjoys these type of movies.

[rubie]

September 16, 2011

Sick yet slick slashfest

Source: businesstimes.com.sg

[rubie]

January 11, 2011

Review: I Saw The Devil

IAN LORING eatsleeplivefilm.com

One of the most celebrated of the recent wave of South Korean directors Kim Ji-Woon returns to bring us this tale of how revenge can turn anyone into a monster in I Saw The Devil.

Along with Bong Joon-Ho and Park Chan-Wook, Kim Ji-Woon is a name that gets an awful lot of world cinema fans excited, especially those who move in genre circles. So far responsible for a selection of relatively diverse fare such as A Bittersweet LIfe, A Tale Of Two Sisters and perhaps most notably The Good, The Bad & The Weird, it’s fair to say that he has become one to watch. His latest film was one of the hot tickets of the Toronto International Film Festival back in September and is a film that has been followed with some keen interest by myself, given the title, the outline and the fact that its central stars are Lee Byung-Hun who brought a hell of a lot of cool to his role as The Bad in the aforementioned The Good, The Bad & The Weird and Choi Min-Sik who played perhaps the most widely known character in South Korean film in the last decade, Oh Dae-Su from the almost peerless Oldboy.

When NIS Agent Soo-Hyun (Lee Byung-Hun) finds out that his girlfriend has been murdered, he takes some time off work not to grieve but to go out and track down her killer, who he quickly finds in the form of Kyung-Chul (Choi Min-Sik). Instead of apprehending him or even killing him however, he decides to beat him badly and then set him free again only to then track him down and repeat the whole thing, something that could make Soo-Hyun as much of a monster as Kyung-Chul unless he manages to stop himself somehow.

With a unique plot outline like that, how can any fan of thrillers not want to watch? Well indeed, the film opens in such stirring fashion that it is not hard to get quickly wrapped up into the plot. The film does not spend too much time on establishing relationships or characters, it just gets straight down to business as in the opening 20 minutes we see Soo-Hyun’s girlfriend murdered in brutal fashion and our “hero” sets off on his quest to get his vengeance.The sheer physicality of Byung-Hun’s performance lets us know from the very start that this is a dangerous man who knows just how to get what he wants so the film does not even spend too much time on the investigation of who the killer is, it being revealed to the audience in the opening scene regardless. This is a rather original way of telling this kind of story, in 99% of films of this type, we would spend the vast majority of the time on the procedural aspect of the case but within a relatively short period of time, our protagonist and antagonist have already had a showdown and even this is impressive, matching many other films climactic ction sequences in a very well choreographed fight sequence which feels barren of stunt doubles but full of sheer brutality as these men seem to injure each other in all too real ways. It’s a pretty breathless opening hour or so and is some impressive stuff, having a strong pace and a surprising vein of black as night comedy running through it also.

The film as a whole also gains a lot from the overall performance by Choi Min-Sik who gets to have an odd amount of fun with his performance, his character quickly letting go of all semblance of normalcy and instead walking around fuelled on either the need to john tesh or the need to kill. The absolute one-mindedness to his character is something I did not expect, him not trying to dress it up in anything other than what it is, a form of pure undiluted evil which in its free nature is not something we really see on screen all that often. When Min-Sik has to get serious late on in the film, he is also able to pull this off getting a rather chilling monologue and a terrifying look in his eye as if he may actually be the devil made flesh, it’s an at times unsettling but also sometimes disconcertingly funny performance which I remained impressed with throughout.

Something that is becoming very common to say about South Korean films is that they are too long for western sensibilities, that they tend to get a bit waffly and if you are looking for a shining example of this you get that with I Saw The Devil. After the opening act, the film starts to lose its keen sense of pacing and also starts to become rather self-indulgent, especially when the bad guy essentially wanders about just doing whatever he wants for a good 20 minutes of the runtime. Taken on its own, much of what we have here is impressive, a scene involving an attack in a taxi and also an extended scene taking place in one of the strangest households I have seen in a while are real highlights of the whole film, but at the same time when the running time of the film is 142 minutes and the story being told is really rather more simple than you’d expect going in, a sense of boredom does start to creep in and when you realise that if these sequences were taken out then the plot would not be affected one bit, the film starts to smack of self-indulgence. It is difficult though as like I said, the individual content is impressive, the film mining the black comedy throughout (though the whiff of outright misogyny also hangs heavy in the air) and the action is choreographed and shot excellently, its just a shame that it all came in a film which is in the end, far too rambling.

It is worth mentioning also that Lee Byung-Hun acquits himself well in what could have been a disastrous role for someone less skilled. His character does lose his grip on reality from early on in the film and he like our monster here soon starts to just do what he wants, when he wants, running around killing anyone who gets in his way and having an endgame which was unexpected and very mean, feeling perhaps a step too far (considering who seems to witness things). The problem against though is indicative of the film itself, as it is made clear that he is becoming the thing he is chasing but then we are shown this again and again and we are also told multiple times of this. What is being told is really not all that hard to grasp but the film seems to think we have something rather more complex on our hands here.

I Saw The Devil is undoubtedly a disappointment given the parts which went into it. While the performances are impressive and the action is shot very well, the film gets bogged down in large stretches which even when watching the film feel unneeded. If boiled down somewhat this could have been something pretty damn fantastic but as it is, it’s just a bit meh, something I’d never have expected going in.

6/10

[rubie]

October 19, 2011

Festiwal Filmowy Pięć Smaków - 2011 Taste of Korea, 한국영화제, 바르샤바 폴란드

I Saw the Devil at Poland - Taste of Korea Film Festival

Source: Official WEBSITE l 1 l 2 l 3 Nate 1 l 2

Festiwal Filmowy Pięć Smaków - 2011 Taste of Korea / Warszawa on YOUTUBE

[rubie]

June 1, 2011

I Saw the Devil (2010)

by Aiden R. ctcmr.com

VERDICT:

8/10 Karma Kings

Talk about vicious.

I Saw the Devil is about a bonafide psychopath who kills a woman by the side of the road and then dumps her remains in a nearby river. Soon after, the woman’s fiancee (who happens to be detective on the police force) finds the remains, dries his tears and decides to take two weeks off to start hunting down the possible suspects. When he finally gets around to the guy responsible, he beats him senseless and plants him with a tracking device instead of locking him up or snuffing him out. So when the bonafide psychopath wakes up and tries to go back to his normal routine of rape and murder, the detective magically shows up without fail to maim him silly and drop him off in some remote location to go about his business. You’d think one surprise visit would be enough of a cue for him to maybe change his ways, but since this guy is evil personified, he keeps on keepin’ on until he can find a way to turn the tables and satisfy his own thirst for revenge.

So I don’t know why, but I’ve been dodging director Jee-Woon Kim’s movies for ages now. I’ve been bumping The Good, the Bad, the Weird down on my Netflix queue for months now, I still haven’t seen A Bittersweet Life even though my buddy Paul told me a dozen or so times to check it out over the past year, and A Tale of Two Sisters is apparently some pretty crazy mini cooper. Anyway, I Saw the Devil is Kim’s latest effort, and while I’m not really sure why I decided to mark this as my first introduction to the guy, good lord, was this one hell of a place to get acquainted.

For starters, a word of warning: this movie is john teshed up.

I like to think that I’ve got pretty thick skin when it comes to on-screen violence, but every once in a while a movie comes along that puts it all out there and straight-up rattles me to the marrow. The last time that happened was with High Tension, and if you’ve seen High Tension, you’ll understand how serious this movie is. It’s beyond grisly, it leaves nothing to the imagination, and its characters not only bear zero remorse towards the brutality of their actions, but often relish in the pain and anguish that they’re so damn good at dishing out. But while I’m on the subject, the thing that ultimately brought down High Tension was that the story made zero effing sense and in turn made it feel kinda like torture porn. With that being said, the reasons it’s hard to write off I Saw the Devil as being in same ranks as Hostel are that the story doesn’t exist for the sole sake of one-upping the shock value and there’s something strangely believable about everything that happens.

Yeah, this is something that you can’t exactly sit back and enjoy idly, but when all is said and done, the payoff is worth it. Because as much as this is absolutely a horror movie, it’s just as much a character study fueled by vengeance. The villain of our story is played by Min-Sik Choi (aka: Oh Dae-Su from Oldboy), and not only does Choi absolutely blow this thing out of the water, but his character is a whole new breed of evil. He’s ruthless personified, he slaughters for no reason until he’s given one by the detective, and his emotional depth ranges from laughing while he kills you to laughing at your corpse. Seriously, this guy would have gotten along famously with Jeffrey Dahmer before thumping his skull in just for the hell of it, and the worst part is that he doesn’t seem fake, he seems frighteningly real in both actions and demeanor. This is the guy you pray doesn’t exist in real life but you know probably does, and that’s the real kicker.

Then there’s the “protagonist” of our story, the vigilante detective played by Byung-Hun Lee, and not only does he also blow this thing out of the water, but the more his bloodlust grows, the more he gives this serial killer a serious run for his money. Not quite as emotionless, easy to root for, and he sure knows a thing or two about running train without breaking a sweat. And he also wears that kickass jacket the whole time, which is awesome.

But the whole point of their back-and-forth, aside from the revenge thing, is that the more involved they become with one another, the more their “good guy”/”bad guy” roles start to blur. Although even at his worst, it’s hard to ever really compare the desperate detective with a murdered fiancee to the stone cold psycho with a garage full of dead girls and a best friend who’s a cannibal. But nevertheless, the message is there and it comes out loud and clear. This is a movie about how seeking vengeance only serves to foster revenge, how evil begets evil. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel with this one and it’s a harrowing ride all along, but it’s fantastic to see such a dark movie that has the substance to match the style, as horrific as it may be.

And the other thing that saves this from being an exercise in depravity is that it’s just so freakin’ well-made. For a plot that’s pretty straightforward for a while and more or less boils down to one guy whupping another guy’s richard simmons over and over until the other guy starts to wise up to what’s going on, it’s freakin’ nuts how intense this movie gets. Kim’s camerawork bleeds style and precision to a degree that I rarely come across in American-made films and it’s plain to see that the dude knows exactly what he’s doing right from the start. Also great to see fight scenes that are not only original, but are filmed so that we’re not just left with a mess of blurry limbs. Jesus Christ, I need to watch his other movies already.

Folks, I really liked I Saw the Devil and I can’t remember the last time I sat through such a thoroughly heart-stopping revenge movie. I was totally unprepared for it, but if you think you’re up for this nutso ride through the pitch-black depths of the soul, then I say give it a whirl. Either way, you’ll probably know the answer to those questions within the first 15 minutes. As jaw-droppingly extreme and graphic as it is from beginning to end, this is one outrageously well-conceived, well-acted and unforgettable thriller that’s so damn horrifying because, as gnarly as it is, history has unfortunately seen worse.

And what a great title. More than enough to put asses in those seats.

[rubie]

October 27, 2011

I Saw the Devil: Gruesome tale of revenge

By Tim Clarke worcesterstandard.co.uk

Byung-hun Lee stars in the brutal serial killer film I Saw the Devil

THE Splendid Cinema is set to send a chill up the spine this Halloween with its screening of the brutal South Korean serial killer film, I Saw the Devil (cert 18), on Sunday (October 30).

Byung-hun Lee stars as a homicide detective on compassionate leave after the brutal rape and murder of his fiancé at the hands of serial killer Min-sik Choi. Lee is driven to not only punish Choi, but to make him suffer any way he can. As the film’s tag-line reads “He’s not getting even. He’s getting started”.

Far from being a low-budget torture flick, I Saw the Devil stars two of South Korea’s biggest movie stars directed by one of the industry’s top filmmakers, Jee-woon Kim (The Good, the Bad and the Weird, A Tale of Two Sisters). An American remake is already being planned, rumoured to be starring Edward Norton as the detective hunting killer John Cusack.

The New York Times called I Saw the Devil “a droll Nietzschean fable that's fully aware of its lapses into absurdity”, while The Austin Chronicle called it “a spectacle of substantial merit”. But be warned - I Saw the Devil is an exceptionally violent and gruesome film. All Splendid Cinema films are screened at the Worcester Arts Workshop, 21 Sansome Street, Worcester.

The box office opens at 7pm on film nights with screenings beginning at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £5. For more information on any of the cinema's films contact Mikel Koven at splendidcinema@live.co.uk

[Guest moon89]

this movie is not for everyone seriously!.. i only watched this once n never going to watch it again..  

love Lee Byung-hun

[rubie]

May 12, 2011

I Saw the Devil

Posted by Patrick Galloway Asia Shock

Just when you thought Korean revenge flicks couldn't get any more extreme, along comes Kim Ji-woon to raise the bar a dozen rungs. In I Saw the Devil (2010), the director pushes the envelope into psycho killer/torture porn territory, making what has to be the final statement in the genre.

If you thought Choi Min-sik was intense in Oldboy, wait 'til you see him here. As serial killer Jang Gyeong-cheol, he gives Anthony Wong's Bunman a run for his money (something I never thought I'd say about any actor). See Asia Shock for more on the amazing Choi, a stage and screen veteran who is South Korea's answer to Lawrence Olivier, Robert De Niro and Tatsuya Nakadai all rolled into one. Choi plays opposite Lee Byeong-Heon, no slouch in the Korean film star world -- JSA, A Bittersweet Life, Three ... Extremes, The Good, the Bad, the Weird -- you could say he's been around. When these two top-notch performers go head-to-head, it makes for an explosion of violence that leaves no surface unbloodied.

The plot is fairly straightforward: Jang kills a woman who happens to be the fiance of intelligence agent Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee). The latter, crushing his bereavement into a tight ball of monomaniacal rage, is out for revenge. No spoiler, you get that much from the trailer. What really blows you away is the way in which he goes about it and the unpredictable events that result from his unique methodologies. As Jang tells Kim more than once in the film, "You john teshed with the wrong guy." I won't say any more -- the mind-blowing plot twists and OTT gore are best experienced with as little preconceptions as possible.

I've been a fan of Kim Ji-woon since seeing his first film, The Quiet Family (1998), an exquisite black comedy (also featuring Choi Min-sik). Kim went from strength to strength with The Foul King (2000, a wrestling comedy starring Song Kang-ho), A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, a creepy K-horror), A Bittersweet Life (2005, a gangster saga starring Lee Byeong-Heon), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008, a bonkers, Leone-fueled western) and, finally, I Saw the Devil (as well as a few shorts along the way). Moving from genre to genre, Kim seems out to prove he can master them all, and he has yet to put a foot wrong. It's hard to believe the guy's only made half a dozen features -- they're all so good that it feels as if he's made many more.

I Saw the Devil was at the top of my list of films to see in Pusan last year. However, like the other films I wanted to see, they had all played by the time I got there, mid-festival. What could I do? They didn't post screening times online until I'd already booked my flight and hotel. Thanks guys. Oh well, got it on Blu-ray now -- and I'd recommend you do the same.

[rubie]

K O R E A Magazine

November 2011 Vol. 8 No. II (related excerpt only)

Korean cineastes expanding their horizons

by Lee Hyo-won Korea MAgazine

As Korean cinema continues to enjoy growing attention in the international film festival circuit, local directors and actors are expanding their horizons by partaking in various US and Chinese productions and other cross-border collaborations.

director Kim Ji-woon’s ouevre includes I Saw the Devil; from left to right: Bae Doo-na will appear in Cloud Atlas; director Bong Joon-ho; Song Hye-kyo will appear in Wong Karwai’s latest; actor Lee Byung-hun

Cult favorite Park Chan-wook made a name for himself with The Vengeance Trilogy and his international reputation has led to his big Hollywood debut, Stoker. Based on a screenplay by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller, the film made headlines for its star-studded cast. Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) plays a teenage girl who must deal with the sudden arrival of her mysterious uncle (Matthew Goode) while mourning the death of her father. Nicole Kidman appears as the emotionally unstable mother in the psychological thriller. The film, set for release next year, is in production in Nashville, Tennessee.

Meanwhile Park’s Oldboy is being remade into an English-language version by renowned American director Spike Lee. Josh Brolin is set to play the lead male role (originally played by Choi Minsik) opposite actress Rooney Mara (who replaces Kang Hye-jung). In addition, Park is producing Bong Joon-ho’s first English language film, Snow Piercer.

Bong, who directed the highest grossing Korean film in history The Host, further rose to international prominence with the 2009 crime drama Mother. After serving as head of jury for Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or section in May, he has been working on his new film which is based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.

The film is about a group of people on a train without a final destination, struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic ice age. Song Kang-ho is the only Korean actor cast in the film. “I’m focusing on this new challenge involving the English language, a 30 billion won-plus budget and high technology,” Bong said during the 16th Busan International Film Festival. The US$34 million sci-fi film is set to go into production in Prague in March.

Bae Doo-na, who had been part of the main cast of Bong’s The Host, is also making her way into Tinseltown. She follows in the footsteps of pop star Rain by taking part in the Wachowski brothers’ latest project Cloud Atlas. The actress, who made her debut in the critically acclaimed Japanese film Air Doll, will co-star with Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and Halle Barry. The film interweaves various anecdotes, with Bae starring as a clone in a plot set in Seoul in the year 2144. The US$140 million project is currently is slated for a fall 2012 release.

Meanwhile, I Saw the Devil helmer Kim Ji-woon is making his US film debut. Kim is also known for the so-called kimchi Western The Good, the Bad, the Weird and is expected to showcase more action in the upcoming project The Last Stand. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his big screen comeback in the film as the sheriff of a sleepy town. He runs up against an escaped drug cartel leader (Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega) heading for the Mexican border. Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare and Zach Gilford co-star in the film, which is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Lionsgate has worldwide distribution rights on The Last Stand, which has started production in New Mexico and is to hit theaters in 2013.

Lee Byung-hun will also be taking part in an action-packed American film. The actor made his Hollywood debut in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and will reprise his role as the villainous Storm Shadow in the second installment of the franchise.

Korean filmmakers are making their way into China, the world’s fastest growing film market. Kwak Jae-yong, best known for directing the international hit romantic comedy My Sassy Girl, was approached by China Film Group chairman Han Sanping for Yang Guifei. The upcoming film is about the eponymous Chinese royal consort known for her legendary beauty. The Korea-China-Japan co-production stars the neighboring Asian country’s top actress Fan Bingbing. It starts production in Korea in November and will wrap in February for a later 2012 release.

Fan has also been making headlines for co-starring with Jang Dong-gun in a panAsian film project. Jang, who has debuted in the US and China, is set to appear in the Korea-China-Japan co-production piece My Way. The film, directed by Taegukgi director Kang Je-gyu, is a World War II drama that will be released next year in Korea, Japan, China and the US.

Meanwhile, Jang will be working with Cecilia Cheung for Hur Jin-ho’s Dangerous Liaisons. The Korea-China joint project takes the 18th-century French novel to 1930s Shanghai, and the love triangle story includes Chinese screen beauty Zhang Ziyi. The film is slated to open in 2012.

Meanwhile, actress Song Hye-kyo will appear in a film by Hong Kong arthouse master director Wong Kar-wai. The Grandmasters is about Bruce Lee’s kung fu master and co-stars top Chinese actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Chang Chen. It is also slated for a 2012 release.

08 | korea | november 2011 © Yonhap News Agency www.korea.net

[rubie]

November 10, 2011

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Source: cinemanila.org / bworldonline.com / joon25.com

November 11, 2011

13 Korean movies in Cinemanila International Filmfest

Source: joon25.com

Don’t forget to catch the 2011 Cinemanila International Film Festival which will be held from Nov. 11 to 17 at Market Market Cinemas, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. There will be 13 Korean movies included in various sections of the film festival’s program. This is the only international film festival held in the Philippines so it is quite impressive that so many Korean movies have been included this year.

악마를 보았다 I Saw The Devil by Kim Jee-Woon (141 minutes)

Nov. 12, 11:00pm Market! Market! Cinema 6

Nov. 15, 4:15pm Market! Market! Cinema 6

The best from around the world

FESTIVAL 13th Cinemanila International Film Festival

Nov. 11-17 Market! Market! Cinemas, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Source:

bworldonline.com

Film buffs are spoiled for choice once more as more than 80 movies from here and around the world will be screened at this year’s Cinemanila International Film Festival.

Now on its 13th year, the country’s largest and longest-running international film festival spearheaded by Filipino filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz returns to the Market! Market! Cinemas in Taguig to showcase the best of Philippine and world cinema -- from the current toasts of the local independent cinema scene to award winners and favorites at the world’s top festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Venice, Sundance, and Busan.

Focus Korea

(related excerpt only)

Another special Cinemanila section this year is “Focus on Korea,” which highlights the movies of acclaimed Korean filmmakers like Boo Ji-Young.

Mr. Aguiluz said Mr. Young will arrive in the country to present his film A Time to Love during the festival. The other Korean movies in this section are: Blind (2011) by Anh Sang-hoon, Breathless (2008) by Yang Ik-Joon; I Saw The Devil (2010) by Kim Jee-woon; Nightfishing (2011) by Park Chan-wook, and The Yellow Sea (2010) by Na Hong-Jin.

There will also be a special section featuring the best movies from the Jeonju International Film Festival: Public by Jia Zhang-Ke (China), Worldly Desires by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand), and No Day Off by Eric Khoo (Singapore).

Acclaimed Korean movies from the Jeonju film fest will also be screened: Influenza by Bong Joon-Ho, Magician by Song Il-Gon, Lost in the Mountains by Hong Sang-Soo, Daytime Drinking by Noh Young-Seok, A Broom Becomes a Goldfish by Dong-joo Kim, and The Color of Pain by Kanghyun Lee.

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November 11, 2011

A heartwarming tweet by LBH's co-star in GI Joe.. Mr. Ray Park@Snake Eyes..

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November 29, 2011

The First! Crix Awards And (Yawn) Indie Spirit Nominations

By Kim Voynar voynar@moviecitynews.com

Related ISTD mention from moviecitynews.com

As for the acting noms, well. Very glad to see Lauren Ambrose in there for Think of Me, Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Adepero Oduye for Pariah. Nothing at all against Michelle Williams, but I’d rather have seen her in there for Meek’s Cutoff or Take This Waltz for the Spirits. I’d have loved to have seen Joslyn Jensen in there for her breakout performance in Without. And Felicity Jones for Like Crazy. And Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia. And perhaps even Juno Temple (both for Dirty Girl and Kaboom. On the guy side of things,

I’d really have liked to see some recognition for both Min-sik Choi and Byung-hun Lee for I Saw the Devil

, for Ewan McGregor for Beginners, Anton Yelchin for Like Crazy.

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December 12, 2011

TOH! Top Tens of 2011

Source: blogs.indiewire.com

Anne Thompson's Top Ten of 2011 While I shared my top ten on Oscar Talk Friday, here's the actual list, plus an assemblage of ten bests from the TOH! gang of regulars. Like most ten-best listmakers, we range from well-reviewed smart indie fare to mainstream studio pictures to the arcane. The year was strong for docs and foreign films, so I include my top five of both; in a rare departure, no animated film made my ten best this year.

Anne Thompson:

1. "Pina" - Wim Wenders

A master filmmaker returns to form by getting out of his own way with a controlled yet delirious use of spatially inventive 3-D cinematography, in studio and on location, in the service of honoring the memory of great modern dancer Pina Bausch via her surviving dance troupe. You have never seen anything like this dramatic and vibrant combo of technology, music, dance, documentary, and eulogy.

2. "Weekend" - Andrew Haigh

British writer-director Haigh's perfectly swell gay romance is about a closeted gay man (Tom Cullen) passing for straight who picks up a man in a bar (Chris New) and takes him home. This deceptively simple love story is stripped-bare honest, exquisitely written and directed in a naturalistic, hand-held style on a shoestring. It's heartbreaking.

3. "Melancholia" - Lars von Trier

One of the Danish filmmaker's best films, "Melancholia" is up there with "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark." Visually sumptuous and witty, accessible and atmospheric, the movie opens with yet another stunning surrealistic prologue, accompanied by Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde," and moves on to Kirsten Dunst's wacky castle wedding, a mesmerizing dose of severe depression and the coming apocalypse. The movie was looking good to win the Cannes Palme d'Or-- until Trier capsized himself.

4. "The Descendants" - Alexander Payne

This funny-sad movie is harder to pull off than it looks. Payne often opts for restraint when others would overplay a big moment by hitting it on the head. Yet he still earns real emotion, thanks in great part to George Clooney, with his strongest performance to date, leading a well-cast ensemble. You care for this Hawaiian family, who get to say great lines like “paradise can go john tesh itself.”

5. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" - Rupert Wyatt

This is not another cynical cookie-cutter sequel or remake. Married producer-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver's emotional family drama reinvents the origin myth of the "Planet of the Ape" movies that came before. Made smarter by "Avatar"'s Weta performance capture DNA, Wyatt's prequel knocks all the other versions out of the water--without 3-D. You've never seen anything like these sentient apes--and Andy Serkis deserves a supporting actor nod as the film's charismatic, moving anti-hero, Caesar.

6. "I Saw the Devil" - Kim Jee-Woon

Kim is a smart visually canny Korean filmmaker with a sharp sense of humor who adeptly plays with genres, from his sixth film, the wacky Oriental western hit "The Good, The Bad, and the Weird" to the serial killer thriller "I Saw the Devil," which also features "Good Bad Weird" star Lee Byung-hun. He plays a homicide detective on the hunt for an insane serial killer who wacked his pregnant wife-- in an unforgettable opening sequence. Kim takes violence about as far as anyone ever has--but he's working out ideas; this vengeance plot, with all its evil and gore, is in the service of art.

7. "A Dangerous Method" - David Cronenberg

In this provocative period biopic, Cronenberg and writer Christopher Hampton conduct a brainy examination of the intense relationships between the pioneers of psychoanalysis, elder Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and younger acolyte Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and two well-educated but neurotic patients (Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassell) who challenge their ideas about sexuality and societal constraints. Only Cronenberg delivers talk cinema this kinky.

8. "Jane Eyre" - Cary Fukunaga

Cary Fukunaga's subtly elegant period drama is the best of a long line of adaptations of Charlotte Bronte's romantic classic (adapted here by Moira Buffini). Mia Wasikowska is pitch-perfect as the clear-eyed, lonely, self-reliant orphan governess who falls in love with mercurial employer Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender in yet another masterful 2011 performance). She saves him, is the point.

9. "Win Win" - Tom McCarthy

This serious family drama is that rare bird: an R-rated original script backed by a studio (Fox Searchlight) about everyday people in suburbia. McCarthy pulled superb performances from an ensemble led by Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan as a New Jersey couple trying to cope with financial stress and the arrival of a teenager on their doorstep (star wrestler Alex Shaffer) whose mom (Melanie Lynskey) eventually turns up fresh out of drug rehab. It would be a pity if this Sundance launch got buried by all the year-end noise.

10. "Take Shelter" - Jeff Nichols

At Cannes, this movie hit me harder than "The Tree of Life," which felt inflated, overwrought and ambitious, as though Terrence Malick was trying too hard to make a Big Movie. Writer-director Nichols, working on a much smaller canvas, shows a man (Michael Shannon) and his wife (Jessica Chastain) facing the anxiety and uncertainty of an approaching storm that threatens their sanity and future. It captures the global zeitgeist better than any other film this year.

More must-sees just off the bottom of that list: "Moneyball," "The Artist," "Coriolanus," "Contagion,""Drive," "Hugo," "Meek's Cutoff," "Rampart," "Warrior," "Margin Call," "Beginners," "We Need to Talk About Kevin,""The Guard," 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Attack the Block," "The Tree of Life," "J. Edgar," "Tyrannosaur," "The Future," and "The Myth of the American Sleepover."

Best Foreign Films

1. "I Saw the Devil" - Kim Jee Woon

2. "A Separation" - Asghar Farhadi

3. "Kid with a Bike" - The Dardennes

4. "Le Havre" - Aki Kaurismaki

5. "Declaration of War" - Valerie Donzelli

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December 14, 2011

Houston Film Critics Society chooses best of 2011

By LANA BERKOWITZ, STAFF WRITER chron.com

And the Houston Film Critics Society's award for best film of 2011 goes to (pencils on your desktop drumroll) The Descendants. Alexander Payne's film starring George Clooney also picked up awards for best supporting actress, Shailene Woodley, and best screenplay for the novel adaptation by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

Best director honors go to Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive, the thriller starring Ryan Gosling. Gosling's co-star Albert Brooks was named best supporting actor. Other winners include Michael Fassbender as best actor for Shame and Tilda Swinton as best actress for We Need to Talk About Kevin.

As announced earlier, Oscar winner Jeff Bridges will receive the lifetime achievement during the HFCS's awards gala Jan. 7 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Brown Auditorium. Local philanthropist Joanne King Herring will be given the humanitarian of the year award for her work in Afghanistan, as noted in the film Charlie Wilson's War She was played by Julia Roberts in the 2007 movie.

During the ceremony, the winner of HFCS's inaugural best Texas independent film for a work mostly financed and filmed in Texas will be announced. The nominees are: Deadbeat TV Vol. 2 (Invisible Studios), The Great American Moon Rock Caper (Flock of Film Productions), Jacob (Odyssee Pictures), Puncture (Millennium Entertainment) and Stick 'Em Up (Shoot Edit Sleep).

HFCS also honored Rango as best animated film; Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life, best cinematography; Project Nim, best documentary; I Saw the Devil, best foreign film; Ludovic Bource, The Artist, best original score; Life's a Happy Song from The Muppets, music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie, best original song; and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, technical achievement.

Hunter Todd, WorldFest founder, and Mary Lampe, the Southwest Alternative Media Project founder, earn outstanding achievement honors. And HFCS recommends skipping Your Highness, with Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman, which the group voted as worst picture of the year.

Founded in 2007, the Houston Film Critics Society is a not-for-profit organization of 26 print, broadcast and Internet film critics based in the Greater Metropolitan Houston area.

The Houston Film Critics Society complete list of 2011 winners

Source: insidemovies.ew.com

The Houston Film Critics Society complete list of 2011 winners:

Best Picture — The Descendants

Best Director – Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive)

Best Actor – Michael Fassbender (Shame)

Best Actress – Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)

Best Supporting Actor – Albert Brooks (Drive)

Best Supporting Actress – Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

Best Screenplay – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash (The Descendants)

Best Animated Film – Rango

Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life)

Best Documentary – Project Nim

Best Foreign Film – I Saw the Devil

Best Original Score – Ludovic Bource (The Artist)

Best Original Song — “Life’s A Happy Song” from The Muppets, music & lyrics by Bret McKenzie

Technical Achievement — Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Worst Film of the Year — Your Highness

Humanitarian of the Year Award — Joanne King Herring

Lifetime Achievement Award — Jeff Bridges

Outstanding Achievement — Hunter Todd

Outstanding Achievement — Mary Lampe

Also refer houstonpress.com