[Movie 2008] The Good, The Bad, The Weird 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈

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November 7, 2008

REVIEW: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD

by KINGOFTHEMODS indiemoviesonline.com

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a riotous, vivid swashbuckler set in the 1930s. The most expensive Korean movie to date, it's a kimchi take on the Western, specifically referencing Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.The film opens with a dynamic steam-train robbery, where three outlaws collide. Like its Sergio Leone predecessor, each outlaw represents one of the title's qualities.

But as the film continues, and we find out more about the characters, distinctions between the three blur. The Weird (Song Kang-Ho) is a gifted thief and oddball, who's there to rob the train and get hold of a treasure map; The Bad (Lee Byung-Hun) is an ice-cold assassin, hired by a local villain to bring the map to him; The Good (Jung Woo-Sung) is an enigmatic bounty hunter on the trail of The Weird. The film progresses through a series of ingenious action set-pieces to a climactic Mexican stand-off.

But there's both more and less to this than your usual Western. The thing about Western Westerns is that they're incredibly po-faced. Not a lot of laughs to be had. Clint grits his teeth over his cheroot. Barns get burned. Women get slashed. The plains stretch bleakly on, relieved only by tumbleweed, burning barns and slashed women. The Good, The Bad, The Weird's take on the Western aesthetic is refreshing. It's super-stylised (Lee Byung-Hun's cool killer will undoubtedly be copied ad infinitum). It's a romp. It's a swashbuckling adventure with larger-than-life characters and moments of slapstick. Oh yes. Slapstick. And why not?

The comedy and action meshes perfectly, the intricate sets are used inventively and there's plenty of Jackie Chan-style bricolage, courtesy of the gifted comic actor Song Kang-Ho. An ambitious chase sequence - when the three outlaws racing across the desert on horseback are joined by a platoon of Japanese soldiers - is jaw-droppingly good. The actors filmed the stunts themselves and it shows: it's a raw and hyper-realistic sequence.

Don't go in expecting layers of meaning or character analysis. Writer/director Ji-woon Kim is beating Hollywood at its own game and has produced an epic escapade that's more than a match for any of Tinseltown's lumbering franchise monsters. This is the kind of film that can change the average man in the street's preconceptions about world cinema being inaccessible or difficult. Grab the popcorn and enjoy.

At the London Film Festival

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March 11, 2011

An A to Z Guide to Korean Cinema – Part 1

Posted by Samson heroic-cinema.com

Since I first discovered the wonderful world of Korean cinema in 1999, I have seen an impressive number of great Korean films. So as I started working on a top 10 list to contribute to this year’s Korean Blogathon, I actually found it incredibly difficult to narrow the number down to ten. Because of this, I have decided to do something a bit different instead – a list of my favourite Korean movies from A to Z.

I hope you will enjoy reading this article, share fond memories of the Korean films that you have seen, and possibly discover something that you may want to check out in the future. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are some of the best:

Attack the Gas Station (1999): Filled with youthful energy, unexpected twists and funny situations, this enjoyable comedy was a big hit in Korea, scoring the second highest number of admissions for a local film in the year it was released. Outside of Korea, it has (sadly) not received a lot of attention, but its DVD shouldn’t be too hard to track down.

Bittersweet Life, A (2005): Directed by Kim Jee-woon, a filmmaker with that special gift of being able to master different genres with ease, this gorgeous-looking ultra-cool gangster film is one of the best examples of the genre to come out of Asia. It stars Lee Byung-heon (GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra), one of Korea’s coolest actors, as the male lead.

Chaser (2008): This gritty serial-killer film builds up suspense to an almost unbearable level and maintains the intensity till the final frame. Anyone after edge-of-the-seat entertainment should really enjoy this movie. The fact that it is the work of first-time director Na Hong-jin makes him someone worth looking out for in the coming years.

Dirty Carnival, A (2006): This is another fine gangster film to come out of Korea in recent years. The script is tightly written, the performances are superb, and the fight scenes are incredibly realistic. All these factors combine to make this one immensely exciting film. There are also a lot of dramatic elements that help set this film apart from other gangster flicks.

Eye for an Eye (2008): This is a more recent film that stars Han Suk-kyu, one of Korea’s great actors who played key roles in many of the films from the ‘Korean New Wave’ (Shiri, Tell Me Something). While it may not qualify as a great film, it is nevertheless a solid and satisfying thriller. Still, this is not director Kwak Kyung-taek’s best work. The next film is.

Friend (2001): Based on Kwak Kyung-taek’s true story of himself and his childhood friends, this is clearly a personal film for the director. It is a tale about friendship, loyalty and growing up. All of the 4 lead actors give wonderful performances. Also deserving a special mention is the cinematography that beautifully captures the city on screen.

Good, the Bad and the Weird, The (2008): Coming from director Kim Jee-woon, this Western offers one huge dose of exhilarating fun. There are plenty of heart-pumping chases and frantic action scenes to be enjoyed. The cast is full of big name actors, including Song Kang-ho (The Foul King, Secret Sunshine), Lee Byung-heon and Jung Woo-sung (Musa).

Host, The (2006): From my favourite Korean director Bong Joon-ho comes this amazing creature feature. The well-designed creature and great performances from the cast make this film totally believable. The Host is multilayered and goes well beyond the basic premise of humans vs creature. In short, it is a monster masterpiece!

Isle, The (2000): One cannot write a best-of-Korean-films list without mentioning any work by director Kim Ki-duk. This strangely mesmerising film may make some people nauseated, but for those who can appreciate its beauty, it is a little gem. Certainly not as accessible as many of Kim’s later films, but this one has left an impression on me for its uniqueness.

Joint Security Area (2000): While director Park Chan-wook may be best known for his revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), his older film Joint Security Area is equally as worthy of film lovers’ attention for its assured direction, skillful story-telling and excellent performances.

King and the Clown (2005): This was the surprise Korean hit of 2005. This period drama without star casting became a phenomenon in Korea upon its release. In retrospect, it is not hard to see why it was so popular. It is touching, it is charming and above all, it is entertaining. After all, entertainment is what we are after when we watch movies, isn’t it?

Next time.. the rest of the list from L to Z!

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March 18, 2011

Torturing the Audience? An Interview With Kim Ji-woon

Posted by Ryan Little washingtoncitypaper.com

You may not know his name, but South Korean director Kim Ji-woon has left a lasting mark on Asian cinema. I Saw the Devil is his eighth movie, and it's certainly not his first to gain the attention of a worldwide audience. In 2008, his off-kilter homage to Sergio Leone, The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, won countless awards and critical accolades. Whereas that film was a goofy thrill ride of a Western, his latest offering is as dark and gruesome as they come. I Saw the Devil takes graphic violence and revenge fantasies to a new level, following a special agent whose wife has been brutally murdered. Rather than simply kill the sociopath responsible, agent Soo-Hyun (played by Byung-hun Lee) stalks and tortures the criminal, becoming a monster himself in the process. The film opens today at E Street Cinema. With the aid of a translator, Arts Desk spoke with Kim about the film and the disturbing content therein.

The first thing I was told when I went to the screening was that the film was very violent, and that I should be prepared for that. I think that was a fair warning. Do you think the extreme violence in the film was necessary to tell the story you wanted to tell?

The film starts with the question of “How would I perform my own revenge?” It’s a greater question of what would we do if we were in the same shoes. Many people will think about that question at some point in their lives, and there’s a certain fantasy of hurting someone in the same way we have been hurt. To take that to a greater scale and do it in such an extreme way, centering on the pain and the rage that the person went through, to exact that revenge in the same extreme way is what the question is. This is obviously a controversial issue, but I don’t think it’s specifically because of the action or the violence, but rather to see humanity break down in such a desperate, dark, and extreme way is sort of appalling. Seeing it on the screen this way is shocking, but not just because of the action.

There are several uncomfortably long scenes where one character repeatedly bludgeons another character in the face. Were these types of scenes difficult to film?

Those drawn-out scenes are there to push just a little bit more what we are used to and are comfortable with on film. They’re there to just to drive the point home a little bit stronger, in a more visceral way. The characters in the film were acting on these very extreme, very hurtful emotions—to transfer that into the plot of the film and visually to the audience, when I thought something had happened enough on screen, I drew it out a little bit longer. Shooting such demanding scenes, demanding of the actors performing it, it was very difficult on set. As a director it was difficult to do, but it was important to get that point across to the audience.

In this film, you worked closely with Byung-hun Lee, who was also in your previous films, The Good, The Bad, and The Weird and A Bittersweet Life. Do you find it helpful to work consistently with the same actors, particularly in a film that demands so much of them?

Of course, there have been many famous pairs of actors and directors in history—Scorsese and De Niro before, maybe Scorsese and DiCaprio now—there are many examples of this. Those relationships are built on trust between the director and actor, and maybe they influence the effectiveness of the shoot. I didn’t know I would be working with Lee this time until right before the shoot. He had schedule conflicts, and I didn’t think it would work out, but one of the projects got pushed back and he was able to come on board. I think in working with him again, he was able to show a very cold-hearted character in a very nuanced way, which I am very thankful for. I was glad to work with him again.

As a film, I Saw The Devil touches on horror, but it seems to be more of a thriller in general. Were you consciously referencing any genres or films in particular with I Saw The Devil?

There wasn’t so much things that I was referencing in theme, but as a technical point of view, I was referencing David Fincher’s Zodiac in the look of the film. The colors and the contrast of that film were interesting and capture a certain visual mood of that period and that time frame. Making my film this time around, I also emulated that pulling down of colors and contrast, as opposed to my older films that had a lot of high-color, high-contrast production. I really toned it down for this film, and that gave it a really creepy sense of a grayish-blackish mood, closer to a horror film, but still in line with a thriller. Even though I was intending it to be more of a thriller film, audiences in the theater reacted as if it was a straight up horror film because of the content.

The women in this movie are basically all victims. Do you think protagonists in action films like this one simply need to be men? Or is that just how this film worked out?

I would say that violence is a bit closer to men in general. Serial killers are often driven by sexual desires that are very extreme and very strong. For physical and logistical reasons, it’s a reflection of how society is in reality. We see a lot more of these cases involving men. In that regard, it’s more of a reflection of society as we see it today, and I kept it that way.

After watching such a gruesome film, what do you hope the audience walks away with?

I’m not sure exactly what the audience might have felt, but some questions that came to my mind were, “Why do some people lead such normal lives and we see others lead such horrific and devilish lives? What went wrong in their lives to bring them to that point? What path am I on, and what direction am I taking?” I look back on my life and ask these questions. “What points in my life was I at a dangerous point, and how did I overcome that?” These questions are what I hope some of the audience members will ask because the main character came to a point in his life where he obviously could have gone in a different direction. If the audience can ask that, then I would want nothing more from them. I hope that as they leave the theater, they can really think about and value the peace and the blessings that they have now.

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March 30, 2011

GBW poster parody by cast of drama '49 Days'

Source: news.nate.com 1 l 2 l 3

Clockwise from top: Jo Hyun Jae (The Good: Jung Woo Sung), Bae Soo Bin (The Bad: Lee Byung Hun), Jung Il Woo (The Weird: Song Kang Ho)

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April 23, 2011

Tito’s Film Vault: “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” “Sukiyaki Western Django”

Source: daggerpress.com

The Film Vault is a monthly feature designed to showcase critically-acclaimed films that had limited commercial release and/or success. Each feature highlights films that focus on a specific theme, genre, or technique designed to provide a greater understanding of film as an entertainment and art form.

This month’s selection takes us to Japan and Korea for mash-ups of samurai flicks and old-school westerns. For both featured directors, these films are a bit of a departure from their typical fare. Both are known in the Asian horror circuit as visionary directors, but have not received much recognition stateside even within that genre. These projects fall closer to the subjects of traditional film as opposed to the more supernatural nature of their other works.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (2008)

Director: Kim Jee Woon

Trailer: youtube

Making a play on the title of the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood classic “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” Miike re-envisions the classic film over a 1940’s Japanese backdrop. The resulting combination of soaring visuals, non-stop action, and fantastic acting breathes life back into the Western genre.

Three Korean gunslingers find themselves in Manchuria circa World War II, including Do-wan, an upright bounty hunter, Chang-yi, a thin-skinned and ruthless killer, and Tae-goo, a train robber with nine lives. Tae-goo finds a map he’s convinced leads to buried treasure, and Chang-yi wants it as well for less clear reasons. Do-wan tracks the map, knowing it will bring him to Chang-yi, Tae-goo, and reward money. Occupying Japanese forces and their Manchurian collaborators also want the map, as does the Ghost Market Gang who hang out at a thieves’ bazaar. These enemies cross paths frequently and dead bodies pile up. Will anyone find the map’s destination and survive to tell the tale? (Written by jhailey@hotmail.com)

In a step away from the usual cerebral musings of the Queue, this film is less interested in introspective character development and more interested in blowing things up—lots and lots of blowing things up, with splashes of comedy throughout. The three main characters are all played by veteran Asian actors (you know Byung-hun Lee—the titular “Bad”—as Storm Shadow from the “G.I. Joe” re-boot) whose expertise shines through the minimal script. The plot is shallow, but when the goal is to pay homage to spaghetti Westerns, you cannot expect anything more.

Most striking is the intensity of the film, which focuses on putting the audience in the action and minimizing the use of CGI. The chase scenes and the gun fights are all masterfully edited together to provide constant action without over indulging and losing the intended effect. The stunt work and choreography are breathtaking, combining the best parts of traditional stunts with modern martial arts fight sequences. Part of paying homage to a genre is to use the techniques that made those films famous, and Clint Eastwood didn’t do much wire work.

Certainly more of a bucket-of-popcorn movie than a serious exploration of the genre, the film delivers on what it promises: action, adventure, and a little comedy.

Acting 3.5

Character 3.75

Structure 3.5

Writing 2.5

OVERALL 3.25

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (2007)

Director: Takashi Miike

Trailer: youtube

Based off the 1966 Italian-made Western “Django,” which held the distinction of being the most violent film of its time, “Sukiyaki Western Django” is one of more than one hundred remakes released since the original. What separates this film from others is the finesse of Miike and the added bonus of Quentin Tarantino narrating the opening and closing sequences.

A gun-slinging stranger crosses paths with two warring factions of rebels who have taken over a mining town in search of hidden treasure. Offering himself to the side that will pay the most, the stranger is convinced to help the townspeople rid themselves of the two clans, whose complex past is unraveled via flashbacks leading up to the final showdown.

The first thing to remember about this film is it is supposed to be ridiculous and somewhat cheesy. Remember the genre we are working in! The major complaint leveled at the film is the confusion stemming from a mash-up of comedic and more serious themes. The overly serious parts are intended to be dripping with melodrama, while the overall arc of the film is one of tongue-in-cheek humor. The script spits out poorly-formed one-liners like a Troma production, but that’s what the film intends. As a word of caution, the opening sequence with Tarantino is somewhat off-putting to the rest of the film. The overtly fake set it is staged on is designed to mimic the original and give a taste for the genre, but it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the film.

In fact, this interpretation has more in common with a Tarantino film than with the traditional Italian Western. Whether that is intentional or not, it should not distract from the film unless you are a hard-core aficionado of the latter genre. If it is a problem, consider this: the Italian Western genre is as good as dead. Anything that breathes life back into it should be welcomed, even if it is modernized.

Visually the film is incredibly striking, with excellent cinematography and well-choreographed action sequences. While the script borrows heavily from many films within the Western genre, the camera work is pure Miike. The characters, even the more minor and weirder players, are varied and surprisingly complex, which help push the story along. However, the storyline takes quite a while to develop and can be confusing during the first half of the film. It wraps up nicely and you will be happy you stuck with it, but it is going to take some willpower to hold all the plot lines together.

Falling into a decidedly darker territory than “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” this film takes a little more time to get used to, but the payoff ultimately is worth it.

Acting 3.25

Character 3.75

Structure 3.0

Writing 2.5

OVERALL 3.00

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August 26, 2010

The Good, The Bad, The Weird Review

by Simone Grant justpressplay.net

You can call it the year's most confusing western, or you can call it one of the year's most entertaining DVD releases. It's up to you. Korean director/writer Kim Jee-woon calls it The Good, The Bad, The Weird. It centers around a chaotic quest for a treasure map that promises riches so alluring it has half of Manchuria up in arms. It stars bounty hunter Park Do-won (Jung Woo-sung), assassin Park Chang-yi (Lee Byung-hun), and thief Yoon Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho),as The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, respectively.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird, despite it's slightly ominous title, is an all-out fun adventure that exploits the given opportunity for unmitigated lawlessness. Those of us familiar with westerns know that it's mostly a genre where one flawed but handsome and brooding hero battles for the home-front, all the while either chasing, or being chased, by his own tragic demons. Jee-woon strays from that formula completely. Instead utilizing the character most similar to this archetype, Park Do-won, as an agent of progression for Yoon Tae-goo. While Do-won fits the handsome, brooding type, the viewer never gets a chance to really explore his background or fully understand his motivation. He remains a superficial enigma, although he proves a fun element throughout.

While Do-won's ambiguity subtracted from the film, Yoon's antics provided shelter where character development failed. His mischievous smile and child-like wonder masked the hard shell of a well-seasoned thief. It's a demeanor that provided the majority of comic relief in this film, while helping him to create the most memorable role.

Captivating but not quite as goofy is Park Chang-yi, the assassin with a serious attitude problem. This raven-haired bully is vain and more short-tempered than a teething baby. It's clear his character is a psychopath, which gives his scenes an instant atmosphere of nervous tension. Chang-yi provides style and aggression, while the other two stars balance comedy and action for the film.

Judging by The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Kim Jee-woon seems to have a penchant for chaos. From the start, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact time period of the plot. Late1890's? Plausible. 1920's? Probable. 1960's? Highly unlikely but still a possibility. The characters, the props and the settings all seemed to exist on their own separate plane. In fact, in one scene a trucker hat was even spotted. Either Jee-woon was utilizing the theory of parallel universes or he chickened out of a Blazing Saddles ending.

In line with the chaos, was the sheer number of characters who seemed to be introduced towards the end. For most of the film we heard rumors about these individual armies, some of which seemed to be tacked on at the last minute as a ploy for drama. However, as entertaining as it was, this extra element only served to further muddle the storyline. It's not the easiest story to understand, simply because it makes itself that way. As a viewer, in order to enjoy this movie, all you need to keep in mind is that there's a map, and everyone wants it. End of story.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird, is highly recommended, but purely for entertainment value only. In this film, Jee-woon created three separate, superficially compelling characters, and by combining them he yielded a synergistic team that is the basis of brilliance for this movie. Aside from that, it's not big on fluidity or coherence, but it's well acted and well choreographed. The fight scenes are entertaining and quite brutal at times, but the comedy is fun, albeit not too witty. In totality, it's an energetic stylish movie full of flaws, but maybe that's part of why it works.

DVD Bonus Features

This DVD features a behind the scenes look at The Good, The Bad, The Weird sans commentary. There is a Making of #1 and Making of #2 that highlights the production hardships of this film. In addition, there's also an entertaining theatrical trailer and a Cannes Highlight Reel. Interviews with the stars and director round out the bonus features.

"The Good, The Bad, The Weird" is on sale August 17, 2010 and is rated R. Action, Adventure, Comedy, Western. Directed by Kim Jee Woon. Written by Kim Jee-woon, Kim Min-suk. Starring Jung Woo Sung, Lee Byung Hun, Song Kang Ho.

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MV by Ayu

Lee Byung Hun ~ THE BAD as cool perfection ~ Youtube

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August 22, 2011

the good the bad the weird

By L contemplatrix.com

You may or may not recall a couple weeks ago we were having a South Korean film fest (in a sense). One of the films we watched but I had yet to recommend was Kim Jee-woon’s “kimchee western”* The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)–a film inspired by Sergio Leone’s 1966 spaghetti western The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Kim Jee-woon’s film is set in desert of 1930s Manchuria. A treasure map boards a train and The Bad (Lee Byung-hun)–bandit/hitman–is hired to steal it, but The Weird (Song Kang-ho)–a thief–gets to it first, as it happened to be with the rest of the loot. The Good Woo-sung Jung )–a bounty hunter–is on the same train and when the train is derailed by The Bad he goes into action. He wants to use The Weird (whose bounty is worth a used piano) as bait to catch The Bad (whose worth much much more). Add the fact that the Chinese bandits and the Japanese Army are after to map, too–an epic manhunt ensues.

The Good the Bad the Weird is a pleasure to watch. An immersive experience, the costuming and the sets are magnificent, the film well cast, with excellent cinematography and editing to capture the it all and keep the momentum going.

One of the really striking aspects to this film are the action sequences. The chases and shoot-outs take on epic proportions–and lengths. Another is the ending. Besides the bizarre game proposed by The Good, the open (?) ending allows for speculation, and a necessary re-view of whether the film is more than just a story about a comedic and action-packed treasure hunt.

***************

asides: The Bad had me thinking Brad Pitt the whole time. The Good (if he didn’t have a double) can really ride a horse! The Weird is very well played.

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September 3, 2011

by Deaditor brutalashell.com

Definitive Directors: Kim Jee-woon by JC De Leon

Here at Brutal as Hell we’re coming to an understanding about the simplistic nature of the label ‘horror.’ That realization is that the word horror can have many different meanings to different people, and we as a site are slowly beginning to expand upon the simplistic notion of films categorized either horror or not. This is the reason I chose to review a film like Rise of the Planet of the Apes recently, because although not a horror film in its own right, it was nonetheless an absolutely terrifying film. Sometimes a film doesn’t have to be scary for us to cover; sometimes brutal and unrelenting violence is what will deem a film worthy of our coverage. Throughout the Definitive Director series here at Brutal as Hell, you’ll read about a lot of great horror directors, and South Korea’s Kim Jee-woon might be the only one who has directed one true ‘horror’ film, but his other films are absolutely and unequivocally brutal in their own regard.

I Saw the Devil

On a snowy night Joo-yeon ventures into the wrong place at the wrong time when her car breaks down and the only one left to offer her assistance is psychopathic rapist and killer Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy). He methodically cuts her body into several pieces and when it’s discovered that she’s gone missing, a search is conducted where her severed head is discovered. Her fiance, a Korean secret agent named Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun) is determined to find her killer, no matter the monster he may become.

I Saw the Devil takes the concept of revenge as we know it and expands upon it. So often in film someone seeking revenge only wants to kill. Kim Jee-woon manages to create a set of characters here who actually kind of complement each other. Soo-hyeon is just as calculating and merciless as Kyung-chul, but of course his purpose is… noble? Sort of? That’s what makes this film so brilliant: throughout the course of his revenge, Soo-hyeon is playing a cat-and-mouse game on screen that we haven’t really seen before, and to play up the insanity of Kyung-chul, he never learns his lesson. In one of his first moments of freedom, from whoever this mystery man is that keeps beating the ever-loving mini cooper out of him, he attempts to rape another woman only to be subjected one of the more brutal beatings in the film.

This was no doubt Jee-woon’s darkest film to date, yet the overall color of it seemed vivid enough when needed. This created one of the more interesting problems in viewing the film. It’s too beautiful to take your eyes off of, yet the violence here is almost too brutal to watch. But you can’t look away, and you certainly can’t turn your ears off as the sound design is absolutely brilliant.

It’s terrifying – the type of punishment that the human mind can come up with inflicting on another human being, and Kim Jee-woon captures it beautifully, if not also brilliantly, in I Saw the Devil.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Kim Jee-woon’s lone ‘true horror’ feature. This supernatural film from Kim Jee-woon is inspired by the ancient Korean folktale “Jangha and Hongryun.” A Tale of Two Sisters is set in an isolated lakeside house where two young girls, Su-mi (Im Su-jung) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong) return home after being hospitalized following the death of their mother. Their father Mu-Hyun (Kim Gab-su), in the meantime, has re-married Eun-joo (Yeom Jeong-ah), who despite her best efforts can’t seem to get in the girls’ good favor. Strange, violent and dark visions begin to disturb Su-mi and she becomes convinced that Eun-joo is keeping a dark secret from the family.

It might sound vaguely familiar to you, and if it does it’s because this film was remade here in America under the name The Uninvited, and you probably watched it, you watcher of Americanized-Asian-film-remakes. If you liked that film you should definitely check out Kim Jee-woon’s version. It’s one of his earlier feature films, and when compared with I Saw the Devil you’ll notice that there is certainly a difference between the two, and most of those differences stem from his growth as a filmmaker. A Tale of Two Sisters is dark most of the time, and when it’s time for scary things to go down, just like the amount of blood and violence in his other films, Kim Jee-woon doesn’t disappoint. It’s got some pacing issues, but that could also be attributed a little to the source material at the heart of the story.

What’s great about Kim Jee-woon is that he’s never stuck to one visual style, and he always makes fantastic use of music in his films. Two of his other films, A Bittersweet Life and The Good, the Bad, and the Weird are equally rewatchable in their own right. Both of those films also star Lee Byung-hun, and if you watch these films enough, he just might become one of your favorite up and coming actors. If you insist on seeing him in American films, he can be seen in 2009’s G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and he can be seen in the upcoming G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation as Storm Shadow.

As for Kim Jee-woon’s next project, you can thank the over-active libido of Arnold Schwarzenegger. When most other film projects failed after his recent scandal, Kim Jee-woon’s next film, Last Stand, offered up a role written specifically for Arnold and he accepted it. It will be Kim Jee-woon’s American debut, courtesy of Lionsgate in 2013, and like the rest of his films should be amazing.

Kim Jee-woon, not exactly a ‘horror’ director, but a director of some damn good and brutal films that we will see plenty of in the future.

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July 29, 2011

iWatched: The Good, The Bad, The Weird

Source: ringmyBelle Diaries

Korean shows are surely hits in the Philippines for such a long time now. We love Meteor Garden. It was a massive hit! Not only that but among other Korean shows as well. Asian loves romantic stories- that is a statement. Hehehehe. So anyway, I completely not attached to it anymore when I moved here in the USA. But my love affair of Korean shows came back previously - thanks to my ever cool husband! He found out this movie The Good The Bad The Weird for us to watch. At first I said to him that is not the original. I saw the famous classic Hollywood movie of Clint Eastwood, The Good The Bad and The Ugly how come the Korean made a copy of it! Yeah.. this is only a parody, hello!! He said. So then we watch.

The verdict? It was funny. So much action. Great cinematography. Great story line. Good movie, and most of all they are Great Actors. Jung Woo-Sung has such a cutie. I like how he fires the gun. Such a cowboy! Clint Eastwood would appreciate that. Lee Byung-Hun is so handsome and a very good actor. No wonder why he's a super star in Asia. I like Rain but I like Lee Byung-Hun more..

This movie can compete in the global market. A la Hollywood. Very awesome.

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Our thanks to the highlight at Forever Lee Byung Hun fan-blog, captures and clips from PlanetBH0712 and CINE21

September 11, 2011

'The Power of Movie' 4-part documentary feature by ChCGV

Trailer 'The Power of Movie' by ChCGV Youtube l Sendspace

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Credits: ChCGV clip streaming and highlight at GBWcafe.daum 6807

The Power of Movie Part 1: Actors

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October 5, 2011

Preparing for the 16th BIFF, capture from innolife (GBW related)

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October 19, 2011

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2010)

by Aiden R. ctcmr.com

VERDICT:

9/10 Kimchi Westerns

If Sergio Leone and Indiana Jones went to Asia, overdosed on speed, and made a movie…

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is about a notorious killer who gets hired by a mob boss to hijack a train and steal a map from a government official on board. As fate would have it, a small-time crook shows up on the train first, mugs the said government official blind, and takes the map with him, clueless as to its value. And wouldn’t you know it, a bounty hunter shows up on the scene with guns blazing and a mind to collect the big fat reward on both of their heads. Before long, the lowly crook wises up to the importance of his “treasure map” when everyone in Manchuria starts chasing him down, and so begins a mad chase across the country to see who can reach the mother lode first.

As you’ve probably guessed, it’s very much an homage to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, but by the same token, this is something else and then some.

So my history with writer/director Kim Jee-woon started ages ago when my friend Paul told me to watch A Bittersweet Life. Godknowshowlong later, I still haven’t given it a shot, but the moment I started realizing what an richard simmons I’d been for dropping the ball was when I saw Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil a few months back. Since I’m still thinking about how good that movie was and how something so straight-up evil could be so brilliant, I put this movie on my Netflix Instant queue and let it collect dust for another few months. Then, in a moment of clarity, I finally decided to give it a shot, and once again, I realized what an richard simmons I’d been.

Folks, I really freaking liked this movie.

I remember going to see Casino Royale with my uncle when it was still in theaters way back when, and while I still think that’s arguably the best Bond movie of all-time, my uncle upped the stakes and immediately gave it a spot on his All-Time Top Ten without thinking twice. His reasoning? It had action, humor, and wow factor to spare, it was over before you knew it, and all he wanted was to see it again. In essence, it had everything you could ask for when you go to see a movie. I didn’t argue the point, but I never quite got that same sensation until now. It’s not in my Top Ten or anything, but sitting through The Good, The Bad, The Weird‘s non-stop, hi-octane, good-old-fashioned-but-brand-spankin’-new whirlwind of a rodeo for two hours and change might have been the best time I’ve had with a movie since Scott Pilgrim vs. the World entered into my life.

The story is simple. A badass cowboy, a crazy bandit, and a ruthless assassin hunt each other down and occasionally work together to settle old scores and shoot their way to the finish line with an unlimited supply of ammo and a serious lucky streak when it comes to dodging bullets. No, the premise isn’t the only thing this movie has in common with Leone, but by the same token, this is something all its own.

The first thing that really sets it apart is Jee-woon as both writer and director. Right from the opening train heist that barrels along at maximum velocity and wraps up 15 minutes later with your face glued to the screen and your grin stretched to your ear drums, you’ll know that this baby’s cooking with gas and fumes ain’t runnin’ dry. It’s stunning from a technical standpoint as Jee-woon keeps throwing in the craziest of shots in the craziest of scenes, it’s stunning from a visual standpoint even when it’s just watching a guy ride his horse across the Manchurian desert at sunset, and it’s insane how it never, ever lets up and continually manages to put a fresh spin on each new scene that you think you’ve seen before. I’m usually not a big fan of movies that try to keep things interesting by one-upping itself from one scene to the next because those movies tend to crash and burn, but this is very much an exception to the rule. By the time the Japanese army starts hunting these guys down and the body count reaches the triple digits in the blink of an eye, you’ll know what I mean.

And then there’s the script, and the script is as totally hilarious as it is flat-out enthralling. Well, it’s probably more fair to say that the script is really funny and it’s Song Kang-ho who makes it hilarious. Ever since I realized the greatness that is The Host, Song Kang-ho has generally established himself as the man in everything I’ve see him in. Now, with his turn as “The Weird,” he’s bumped his way into the elite shortlist of The Best Working Actors Out There Today. When you watch Kang-ho, you can’t take your eyes off him, and if he’s ever in a movie, I’ll be there watching it (which is nice because it seems like there’s a law where he has to be in 30 South Korean movies a year). He’s got more natural charisma than most actors can dream of, you can tell he’s having twice as much fun being in a movie than you are watching him in one, and he can play it serious just as well as he can play it dopey, which is saying a lot. The tragedy is that a lot of us Yanks probably haven’t heard of him unless I’m wildly underestimating how many people have their Netflix queues jammed up with the contemporary classics of South Korea, but if there’s an actor out there who can make you forget about the subtitles, Kang-ho’s your man.

Jee-woon regular Lee Byung-hun is also awesome as “The Bad,” Jung Woo-sung is an effortless badass as “The Good,” and even though I’m partial to Kang-ho, they all more than hold their own and bring three outstanding characters to life who more than live up to the Western icons they’re paying tribute to. In short, it’s ridiculous how many fronts this thing destroys on.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is one of those rare movies that’s just so effing good it makes me borderline angry. Angry that it took me so long to give it a chance ’cause I thought it would be way weirder than it actually was, angry that so few people have seen it, angry that I have to convince people to look past the subtitles in order to get them to see it, and angry that Americans just don’t make movies like this. Maybe Tarantino, but that’s it. The ending leaves something to be desired, but aside from that, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun with a movie. I know it might not look like much from the outset, but don’t make the same mistake I did, this one’s too damn good to pass up.

Wild soundtrack, too

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December 23, 2009

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

Posted by Patrick Galloway Asia Shock

Kim Ji-woon does it again. This time out, the genre-hopping Korean director serves up a heapin' helpin' of what I would call "kim chee ramen western." Yes, in an affectionate nod to the Dollars Trilogy of Sergio Leone, Kim delivers a fast-paced, wildly exotic horse opera set in Manchuria in the 1930s filled with gun-slinging Chinese outlaws, opium-smoking prairie prostitutes, marauding Korean bandits, thieves, psychos and revolutionaries ... oh, and the Japanese Imperial Army, all in constant motion via motorcycles, trains, trucks, jeeps and, of course, horses. Lots of horses.

At the center of it all is the irrepressible Song Kang-ho (The Host, The Quiet Family, The Foul King, Thirst, JSA, Secret Sunshine, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Memories of Murder, etc. etc.) as Yoon Tae-goo, The Weird. While robbing a train he comes into possession of a treasure map (which becomes the operative MacGuffin of the piece). He's a two-pistol shooter, greasing, hmm, maybe 100 guys throughout the picture? 200? (The mortality rate in this movie is off the chart.) Then there's Jeong Woo-seong as The Good (a bounty hunter named Park Do-won), doing a slick Korean version of Clint Eastwood. And finally we have Lee Byeong-heon as The (very) Bad Park Chang-yi, channeling a sinister Alain Delon by way of Prince (trust me, it works -- you've just gotta see it). These guys go round and round, winding up in a three-way standoff similar to their original counterparts in the film's namesake. Along the way we get many an homage to the Leone trilogy including a scene involving metal plating used as a bullet-proof vest, as well as a bit where someone's hat is shot off, then continually shot out of reach.

Kim Ji-woon was also influenced by Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). "I wasn't particularly aiming to make the Western genre popular in Asia," he told an interviewer at Cannes last Spring. "It's enough that I can revive the Manchurian Western genre in Korea."

There's so much lead flying through the air in The Good, the Bad, the Weird, it could pass as a weather condition. Some might feel the action sequences go on a bit; that all depends on how you feel about action sequences. Fortunately, Kim's are the best in the business: Inventive, thrilling, outrageous. My advice is don't fight it, just sit back, relax, and let the madness sweep over you. As contemporary Korean westerns go, you really can't do better.

EDIT: I recently purchased this DVD of the film. It's the mini coopers. Terrible, blurry transfer. Clearly somebody downloaded a low-res, compressed version, pressed it on disk and distributed it to vendors who don't bother to check out their foreign titles. DO NOT BUY THIS DISK.

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November 14, 2011

Go See A Midnight Show of ‘The Good, The Bad, The Weird’ This Weekend

by Brent McKnight culturemob.com

Do you live in or around Seattle? Do you like insane Korean genre adventure films? Are you looking for something to do this Friday, November 18, or Saturday, November 19, at around midnight? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then you should find your way to the Egyptian Theater on Capital Hill this weekend for one of the midnight shows of director Kim Ji-woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird.

A frenetic mishmash of genres, The Good, The Bad, The Weird is an ideal candidate for late night viewing, especially if you’ve had a few. Here’s a blurb I wrote about the film for a “best of” list last year:

The Good, The Bad, The Weird tells the story a demented outlaw, a sharp shooting bounty hunter, and a mascara wearing hitman, who are all after the same mysterious treasure map in 1930s Manchuria. Throw in Chinese gangsters, junkyard gangs, and the Japanese government, and you have the bastard child of Sergio Leone and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Directed by Kim Ji-woon (A Bittersweet Life), and featuring three of Korea’s biggest stars (Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, and Jung Woo-sung), this is a perfect combination of frantic action, explosive violence, and grim spaghetti western aesthetics. This is a perfect showcase for Oh Seung-chul’s cinematography, and he vividly captures the sweeping, desolate beauty of the settings, and the frenzied, high-energy battle scenes.

Loud, bright, and out of control, the screen can barely contain The Good, The Bad, The Weird. This film is a definite departure for Kim, who is most known for dark crime and horror films like I Saw the Devil and A Tale of Two Sisters, which are incredible movies in their own right, but this is easily his most fun film to date. He is currently filming his English-language debut, Last Stand, a crime actioner that stars a little dude I like to call Arnold Schwarzenegger—I hear he used to be in politics.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird plays at midnight Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19, at the Egyptian Theater. Go here for more info.

The Egyptian Theater

801 East Pine

Seattle, WA 98122

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January 14, 2012

Asian spaghetti-western fun

by Johan Galea timesofmalta.com l image from shinhwa.biz

The Asian spaghetti-western is set in the 1930s, when the Korean peninsula has been invaded by the Japanese.

The wild expanses of Manchuria has welcomed many of those who have escaped and taken up a life of banditry. Here we meet (the Weird) Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho) who is robbing a train full of Japanese military officials.

This sparks off a fierce gunfight where Tae-goo is intent on escaping with a secret map that shows him the way to a hidden treasure in Manchuria dating back to the Qing Dynasty. However, Tae-goo is not the only one looking for the map. Expert hitman Chang-yi (The Bad) (Lee Byung-hun) has also set his sights on the map.

That is when Tae-goo is saved by a mystery gunfighter, Do-won (The Good) (Jung Woo-sung). What Tae-goo does not know is that Do-won is a bounty hunter that had been hunting him for the reward that is on his head. The three will soon discover they are not the only ones looking for the hidden treasure as bandits. The Japanese military and the Korean resistance all want to get their hands on this secret stash.

This South Korean film is obviously inspired by the spaghetti-westerns of Sergio Leone. To its advantage, the production not only hints or nods at, but revels in its inspirations. The film has earned more than $40 million, making it the second highest-grossing Korean film.

Just like its inspiration, this film is all about style. As with the classic Leone movies, the plot is a bit thin on the ground but it is graced with a speed that has break-neck intensity. The mingling together of martial arts, Western and adventure genres at hyper speed, with a good dose of charm, works wonders.

At the same time, director Kim Ji-woon has delivered a film that is impeccable in its comic timing as he also surmounts the difficult task of creating a comedy Western.

Mr Kim knows his Sergio Leone; while paying tribute to his films, however, he adds his own infusion of comedy which bring to the fore a very different kind movie, one where everything is possible. The humour is a mix of dark and over the top, but always very cinematic and broad in its taste.

Another aspect of the film is that it is visually spot on; wonderful settings and set pieces, excellent costumes and vibrant stunt work. The editing keeps the film on a tight rein and delivers action sequences impeccably.

To the production’s merit, while the film is very self aware of its influences, it never resorts to simply copying or cloning. The production is giving an altogether different take on the subject material.

This is a film where everything that could possibly work is thrown into it. The setting and overall look is full of swagger and very much in line with the film’s spirit. This film has all the makings of a cult movie.

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February 25, 2012

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

Author: nasen75

Totally not a familiar sight from a Sergio Leone film.

The destinies of The Good (Jung Woo-Sung), The Bad (Lee Byung-Hun), and The Weird (Song Kang-ho) converge during a train raid in 1930s Manchuria. The Weird stumbles upon a map that is rumored to lead to a massive treasure buried by the Qing Dynasty. Soon, he finds himself in a chase involving gangsters and the Imperial Japanese Army, among others, while he pursues the treasure.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈, Joheun nom nabbeun nom isanghan nom) is a South Korean western directed by Kim Ji-woon. As if the title didn’t already give it away, this movie very much intended to be a parody of Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966).

And parody it did. The Good, The Bad, The Weird is filled with references to Leone’s Dollars Trilogy (see For A Few Dollars More) from the scene where Monco shot Douglas Mortimer’s hat in For A Few Dollars More to the famous standoff at the end of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird had a production philosophy that obviously favored style over substance. It was a very funny movie, and the action scenes were easily some of the most stylish ones I have seen in a modern action movie. My favorite scene, by and far, was the climactic chase that featured every one of the major characters of the movie, plus the Japanese Army.

That said, the writing in the movie was nothing particularly memorable. There barely was any plot in The Good, The Bad, The Weird, with the only major twist happening within the last 5 minutes of the movie. Nonetheless, I thought the best acting came from Sang Kang-ho. Though to be fair, he had the most substantial amount of screentime out of everyone in the main cast.

I would say The Good, The Bad, The Weird is good lighthearted fun, and is an especially good watch when you’re with friends and you have some alcohol to go around. Other than that, don’t expect to have your mind blown away with rich character studies or anything of the sort.

Score: 3/4

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March 5, 2012

The Good The Bad The Weird [Review]

Brad cineawesome.com

“Life is about chasing and being chased.” –Kang-ho Song, The Weird

To even mention that The Good The Bad The Weird (Jee-Woon Kim, 2008) is a “Kimchee Western” spin on the quintessential Spaghetti Western, The Good The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1967) is obvious and boring. So let’s just skip those comparisons and move on. Jee-Woon Kim spent more than two years in production with GBW and with budget estimates ranging from $10,000,000 to $17,000,000 it ranks as one of the most expensive films in Korean history (although word is spreading that The Fast and The Furious director Rob Cohen has plans for a U.S./South Korea coproduction costing well north of $100,000,000—take that world cinema!). It’s an Epic worthy of its moniker, and delivers on the thrills in an entertaining fashion where most contemporary American Westerns seem more interested in engaging you with gloomy morality plays.

The first words from the film shouted at the audience are “PAY ATTENTION!” as a presumably nefarious official hires Byung-hun Lee’s The Bad to steal a treasure map from a Japanese envoy traveling by train across Manchuria. Yes, it signifies that you can’t just sit back and cook pasta from the kitchen while The Good The Bad The Weird plays in the background; since there’s an abundance of plot and character to sift through in those first thirty minutes, but you should not fret about this being a dense period melodrama. Just as you’ve hit fifteen minutes of dialog or character construction, the movie hits you with some serious squibby shoot outs with characters swinging from scaffoldings guns’ a blazing. And as much as I love how Jee-Woon Kim’s camera knows how to rest, it also knows when to spin frantically about the set-pieces, ducking and weaving with the fireworks. Again, The Good The Bad The Weird is the type of kinetic action film you just don’t see from this genre anymore in the States…the last admirable attempts were Young Guns (Christopher Cain, 1988) or the 3:10 To Yuma remake (James Mangold, 2007)—and yes, the less said about American Outlaws (Les Mayfield, 2001) the better.

The three archetypes are introduced in action aboard the Manchurian train. The Weird, played by Kang-ho Song, marches down the aisle pretending to sell rice cakes before gunning down a stunned collection of Japanese soldiers. He steals a treasure map from The Official just before The Bad and his gang drive the train from its rails. Materializing via a close-up of his double-barreled shotgun pressed against the temple of a train-robbing thug, Woo-sung Jung’s The Good is dressed in proper heroic style, his duster and bandana not nearly as intimidating as the scattershot propelling nameless villains through train walls. It’s a rousing, claustrophobic action sequence that sets up the basic find-the-gold plot, and as the 2 hour runtime ticks by you’ll get more info on the Free Korea movement, the Ghost Market turf war, and something about a serial killer known as “The Finger Chopper.” But the details don’t really matter. This film is all about the bullets and the three triggermen.

My favorite character in the whole flick is easily Kang-ho Song’s The Weird, and he’s not as weird as you’re probably expecting or maybe even hoping. Having consumed other popular puddle jumpers, The Host (Joon-ho Bong, 2006) and Thirst (Chan-wook Park, 2009), I’m used to a somber, doomed-expression Song. But The Weird is a jittery quick-draw chatterer who begins the film as comic relief, but eventually finds most of the plot and subplot resting on his shoulders. His goldlust tells him that the map will lead to Qing Dynasty buried treasure and his ease on the trigger is tied to a desire to raise his bounty to something more expensive than a piano. But as mysteries and origins are explored, roles get expanded and reversed. The film’s namesake demands that Mexican Standoff climax, and his side of the triangle concludes with the most narrative depth.

And Song is not the only one who gets the chance to chew the scenery. Byung-hun Lee’s The Bad is all about jet-black anime hair and the stinging, seriously evil eyes of Storm Shadow (and this time, hopefully, he’ll get a real chance at villainy in Justin Lin Jon M.Chu’s upcoming GI Joe: Retaliation). It’s a cinematic fact that bad guys have the most fun on screen, and there’s a serious hoot to be had in reveling at The Bad’s cold executions of stray civilians and merciless torture of The Weird’s Ghost Market compadre. Lee spits his curses with contempt, completes his kills with a gleaming, quiet smile, and is rewarded with lurking character complexities.

But If I had one serious complaint about the film it’s that Woo-sung Jung’s The Good is a frustratingly underplayed/underwhelming character. He’s the badass and sometimes badasses get the short end of the character development stick. Sure, he’s got plenty of tough guy one-liners, and he’s got Eastwood’s cheroots but after he’s blasted half the Japanese Army across the deserts of Manchuria you’re left with very little to hang your hat on. At the end he’s just too much of an archetype. He’s a cog to get The Bad and The Weird to that standoff where their developments ignite revelations for the audience; The Good just stays cool…and simple.

However, as complaints go, that’s a fairly lame one. The Good The Bad The Weird is one of the best of the neo-Westerns. Not only does it deserve a place at the head of that table, it belongs alongside your favorite action entertainers. Yes, I’m talking about those Leone flicks, but I’m also talking about Rio Grande (John Ford, 1950), The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, 1960), The Professionals (Richard Brooks, 1966). Movies that knew how to have popcorn fun with the genre before Peckinpah and Eastwood brooded it all up in the 1970s.

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March 8, 2012

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

Posted by NickChuck greetingsfrommoviecity.com

Some films are meant to be watched and not thought. Jee-woon Kim's The Good, the Bad, The Weird is one of them. But still people exist who mistake a trampoline for a painted canvas... The one they call Abrams says this movie is "a cacaphonous exercise in futility." Why Mr. Abe, some of the greatest pleasures in life are futile exercises... unless you're one of those "no coitus without conception" cats. He continues:

"The film is about the insignificance of history in what was once strictly considered to be a period-based genre, a conceptually fascinating ideological foundation to be sure, but also one that's practically worthless."

Talk about yer ever-lovin' cacophony! As a practical matter, I assure you GBW is worth exactly the price of admission... in any currency. Conceptually, I don't know enough about ideological foundations to be fascinated by them, let alone "be sure" about it. Go back to lepidoptery school, Mr. Abrahms, where people will appreciate you pinning beautiful things down with latin.

But I digress. It's sometimes hard for me to express pure affection. I was never praised as a child... when something like GBW comes along, I can only mock its detractors. What we have here is a high-concept film--Jee-woo Kim plays one of Sergio Leone's cowboy operettas on a 1930's Manchurian turntable, cranked to 78 RPM--in which the concept is pure MacGuffin. Leone's masterpiece is footprints on the floor, this is Jee-woo's dance: The Good (Woo-sung Jung) is better, the Bad (Byung-hun Lee) is drunker, and the Ugly turned Weird (Kang-ho Song) and once again steals the show. All three of them (and the Japanese Army and an army of bandits) are after some treasure and the map that leads to it.... so there's a touch of that movie my uncle likes so well in there too.

Jae-woo's action scenes are faster and more dynamic than the Big Leone's, but the spaghettis had a certain seriousness to them. You wont find any ponderous shots of dying soldiers in GBW. You will find plenty of Leone's trademark wit, which measures among the greatest to ever point the camera at sombrero (or anything else). Wit happens when economy meets novelty; it's the new best way to say something. Strange to speak of economy in a movie so packed to the hilt as The Good/Bad/Weird, but Jae-woo doesn't mince shots or waste them either; everything is purposeful and delivered with charm... which is what makes this film wonderful instead of tedious. Wit without charm is a facial tic.