I, the Executioner is the follow-up to Seung-wan’s Veteran. I hadn’t seen it, and I loved this one. So don’t let that hold you back from checking this one out. South Korean action films and police thrillers are always engaging, and they aren’t afraid to get dark. Veteran cop, Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) works in the…
Tag: south korea
TIFF ’23: Smugglers
With Smugglers, which is having its North American premiere at TIFF, Director Ryoo Seung-wan gives his audience a smart, playful, 70s-drenched crime thriller set in a quiet seaside South Korean fishing town. Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah) and Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) work as haenyeo, free divers who collect shellfish and other seafood, alongside a crew of other…
TIFF ’23: Concrete Utopia
Concrete Utopia from South Korea has its North American premiere here at TIFF, and this one is definitely a must-see. While arguably a little heavy-handed in its messaging, the film is a captivating two-hour exploration of the human condition, our faults, and our hopes. An apocalyptic event has struck Seoul, and it seems the only…
TIFF ’22: Hunt
South Korean action star Lee Jung-jae makes his directorial debut with the brilliant action thriller, Hunt. Set in the 1980s when tensions were heightened between North and South Korea, the film is a white knuckle ride that sees two government rivals, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park (Lee) and Domestic Unit head Kim (Jung Woo-sung) working…
Peninsula (2020) – Sang-ho Yeon
I remember seeing Train to Busan back in 2016, at my fave film fest, Toronto After Dark, and was excited to see it just from the buzz around it at the festival. I was completely wowed,and have since recommended it constantly. I loved what Yeon did with the film, the way the story played out,…
Oldboy (2003) – Chan-wook Park
The intense South Korean thriller, Oldboy is the next movie recommendation from DK Canada’s highly enjoyable The Movie Book. Brutal, intense, and wow that reveal, this one floored me when I first saw it back in 2003, so I was eager to settle in and watch it again to see if it still had the…
Toronto After Dark 2017: The Villainess – Byung-gil Jung
The hyper-kinetic assassin thriller The Villainess, has it’s Toronto premiere this evening at Toronto After Dark, screening exclusively at Scotiabank Theatre. This South Korean film is nothing short of a high-octane thriller that recalls Besson’s La Femme Nikita with overtones of Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Ok-bin Kim stars as Sook-hee, a violent woman with a violent…
The Host (2006) – Joon-ho Bong
The 101 Sci-Fi Movies is coming to an end, and it was a lot of fun revisiting this highly enjoyable film from South Korea. The Host is a monster movie that balances thrills and laughs, and some great moments. Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) is a little slow, loves a nap, and can’t really be…
Audition (1999) – Takashi Miike
“Didn’t you see Fatal Attraction?” “You wouldn’t let me!” “Well I saw it and it scared the shit out of me! It scared the shit out of every man in America!” That exchange from Sleepless In Seattle was all I could think of while I was watching Audition, the next film brought to me on…
Planet of Snail – Seung-Jin Yi, South Korea, Japan, Finland
Planet of Snail, a South Korean/Japanese/Finnish co-production, directed by Seung-Jun Yi, is a gentle, slice-of-life style documentary. It lets us into the lives of two extraordinary people, the deaf-blind Korean poet and writer Young-Chan, who’s enclosed existence allows him to live without the entrapments of ego, but allows for a wonderful, singular love story. He…
The Mind Reels 