RICEBOY SLEEPS reviewed by GREG KING Director: Anthony Shim Stars: Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Duhyun Noel Hwang, Anthony Shim, Jerina Son, Hunter Dillon, Choi Jong-ryol, Kang In Sung. This semi-autobiographical coming of age drama from Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim explores the immigrant experience, the difficulty of fitting in and adjusting to a new culture and making friends, and it does so with …
ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Ryu Seung-Wan Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Heo Joon-he, Jo In-Sung, Kim So-jin, Koo Kyo-hwan, Jung Man-sik, Kim Jae-hwa, Park Kyung-hye. This fast paced action film from Korea is set in war torn Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, over the 1990/91 Christmas/New Year period. South Korea and North Korea are anxious to join the UN, and are involved in delicate negotiations. They …
THE AGE OF SHADOWS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Kim Jie-woo Stars: Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Um Tae-goo, Shingo Tsurumi, Lee Byung-hun. Korea's official entry into the Best Foreign Language film category for the 2017 Oscars, The Age Of Shadows is a mix of spy thriller and action movie that was inspired by the real life 1923 bombing of Seoul's police head quarters by the resistance movement. The Age Of Shadows is set in …
THE HANDMAIDEN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Park Chan-wook Stars: Kim Min-hee, Ho Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Tae-ri. Not to be confused with The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood's Booker Prize nominated dystopian novel with a strong feminist slant, which was filmed in 1990 with Natasha Richardson and Faye Dunaway. The Handmaiden is a loose adaptation of Sarah Waters' Booker Prize nominated novel Fingersmith, which …
THE WAILING
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Na Hong-jin Stars: Do Won Kwak, Jun Kunimara, Kim Hwan-hee, Jeong-sun Kwang. Korean filmmakers have produced some of the tougher, more brutal horror films of recent years, from Old Boy through to Snowpiercer. One of the rising stars of Korean cinema is director Na Hong-jin, who makes tough thrillers like The Yellow Sea, etc. His latest film is no exception. The Wailing is a …
OLD BOY
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Chan-wook Park Stars: Min-sik Choi, Ji-Tae Yoo, Hye-jung Gang Some of the most exciting cinema is emerging from Asia at the moment. Their stylistic action epics make the majority of big budget Hollywood productions seem tired and lethargic by comparison. A case in point is Korean director Chan-wook Park's thriller Old Boy, a gritty, disturbing, repellent and ultra-violent …
