Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Get Ready for 'Revenge Week' on MKC!


UPDATE: Some unexpected plans have forced me to move REVENGE WEEK on MKC back two weeks. It will now take place July 8-14. Sorry for the delay but this does give everyone more time to contribute! We have already received some great stuff and plenty more is on the way. Please don't be shy and contact us if you would like to take part!

A while back we held a 'Jopok Week' on MKC, focusing on Korea's colorful output of gangster cinema. With reviews, features and guests galore, it was the most fun and engaging week we ever had. It's high time we put on a new event so I'm thrilled to announce that at the end of this month (June 24-30) it'll be 'Revenge Week' here on MKC.

Perhaps more than any other genre, the revenge thriller or drama is ubiquitous with Korean cinema, particularly in the eyes of foreign viewers, many of whom were introduced to the nation's output through classic vengeful fare such Oldboy (2003) and A Bittersweet Life (2005). From Park Chan-wook's highly stylized Vengeance Trilogy and commercial films such as The Man From Nowhere (2010) to independent films such as the austere Bedevilled (2010), there's never been a shortage of revenge-themed films in South Korean cinema.

So why does Korea produce so many revenge narratives? Many theories exist and we hope to explore these during 'Revenge Week' and maybe even throw in a few of our own.

Just like 'Jopok Week' I would like extend an invitation to anyone who would like to contribute a piece on Korean revenge films. Feel free to drop me a line at pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com.


Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema.  For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time).

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

PiFan Preview



Well, PiFan gets underway tomorrow and I've been burning with anticipation for a few weeks now. It'll be my first Korean film festival after landing here 6 weeks ago. The programme looks great and there are many people I'm excited to meet. I'll be at the event for the duration though I won't be able to see as many films as I'd like since I do have a fulltime job that gets in the way of most of the screenings during the weekdays but I've still devised a pretty packed schedule.

Since I won't be able to take in each day from morning to night I won't be publishing daily recaps as I did for this year's Fribourg and Udine Film Festivals but there will still be plenty of reviews, some news and hopefully a few interviews as well. Anything that comes up here will be crossposted on Twitch, where I will be covering the event with James Marsh (@Marshy00) and in addition I will also be participating in daily coverage of the event for Cine21, Korea's no. 1 film magazine.

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Monday, February 13, 2012

The 2012 Korean Cinema Blogathon


The Korean Cinema Blogathon will be back for its much anticipated 2nd edition from March 5-11.  This year the home base for the event will be last year's co-host cineAWESOME! while New Korean Cinema will be mirroring all of the links on its site.

In order to maximize the exposure of the already very popular Blogathon, a few sites have been brought in to the mix to act as hosts to all of the event's links.  Modern Korean Cinema is very proud to count itself among this group, along with Hangul Celluloid, KOFFIA, and VCinema.

Last year's Blogathon was the reason that MKC really got going, so I'm extremely excited to see it roll around again especially as this edition promises to be even better than the first!

Make sure to drop in come March 5th and don't be shy about submitting your own review, top 10, or article, this is what the Korean Cinema Blogathon is all about!  It's a fantastic way to share thoughts, discover great sites, and meet new people.

Check out the original press release after the jump for more information:


Following last years successful Korean Blogathon (thanks to everyone who joined us!) New Korean Cinema and cineAWESOME! will be hosting the event again this year from 5th to the 11th March.

What’s the Korean Blogathon?

It’s a way to try to encourage as many people – including YOU! – to share and discover opinions and ideas about Korean cinema. It’s open to anyone – wherever you are around the world and whichever language you speak.

For one week we try to encourage as many people as possible to get involved writing about Korean cinema. Anything you want. Over the course of the seven days this kicks up some really interesting posts – and, most importantly, people are able to read what you’ve written and discover films and ideas that they’ve never come across before, maybe learn a little about Korean film history, or maybe even discover websites and blogs they were previously unaware of.

Ideas for blog posts might include reviews, top tens, opinions on favorite directors / actors / genres, whatever you want – it just needs to be related to Korean cinema in some way. Last year we had fifty blogs participate, generating one hundred and fifty posts!

Check out the links for last years event here. This year the event will be hosted by cineAWESOME! and mirrored at New Korean Cinema.

All you need to do to join us is to write a post – or as many posts as you want over the seven days – on your blog or website during the week of 5th to the 11th of March then send an e-mail to [email protected] with your link to and we’ll post a link to you from the site. You can also post your own links on our Facebook page or we will do it for you, and we’ll Tweet links to your posts throughout the week: the Twitter tag for the week will be #koreablog.

If you want to use one of our ‘Korean Blogathon 2012’ banners they can be downloaded from here

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Monday, December 12, 2011

Jopok Week: Conclusion and Korean Gangster Films on the Horizon

Kang Ji-hwan and So Ji-sub in Rough Cut (2008)

The gangster film has been a staple since the early days of cinema.  It's heady, larger-than-life blend of action, drama, and thriller tropes as well as the myriad of themes it can explore, makes it a natural fit for the silver screen.  Throughout the last century the genre has travelled across the globe, peaking in different places at different times.  For the last 15 years, one of the most prolific producers of gangster pictures has been Korea:  arguably it has been the most successful.  In their home market, Korean gangster films have enjoyed unprecedented and sustained popularity though the genre has changed in the industry over time.  

One of the aspects that was most discussed this week (chiefly by Connor McMorran and Darcy Paquet) was the Korean gangster comedy, which reached an early high in 2001, when six of the top 10 films of the year were mobster themed features.  Much was said about the reasons for their enormous success as well as the inherent flaws within the sub-genre which lead in part to its early demise.  They eventually receded from the marquees near the end of the decade.  While the odd one is still made today, they do not attract near the same audiences as they did.

Kim Yun-seok in The Yellow Sea (2010)

Darker thrillers with gangster tropes may not have had the same dominance as their comedy counterparts had in certain parts of the last decade but their prevalence and popularity has remained constant throughout the resurgence of Korean cinema.  They have been used as a template to explore the changing landscape and society of Korea as it has become a developed nation and also as a means to consider questions regarding the Korean male in modern times.  In her piece, Rowena Santos Aquino gave us a lot to think about regarding masculinity and beauty in 'jopok' films.

A lot of ground has been covered during 'Jopok Week' and I am absolutely thrilled about the positive response that the many reviews, features, and analyses have received.  Including these closing comments, 17 articles have been published as part of Jopok Week, totaling an enormous 22,500 words.

Cha In-pyo in Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise (2003)

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Connor McMorran, Rowena Santos Aquino, Kieran Tully, and Darcy Paquet who contributed such wonderful pieces on various aspects of Korean gangster cinema.  A huge thank you is also in order for every one of you that took part in, or helped promote the features through umpteen tweets, likes, follows, shares, subscribes, or comments on the various social media platforms.  And of course none of this would have been possible without you, the reader, so thank you so much for taking the time to visit!

After the success of this week, I am keen to do a similar feature in the near future.  Perhaps we can take a look at horror or melodrama in Korean cinema next, or even expand on 'Jopok Week' a year down the line.  I hope you will join me when the next feature does get underway and if you any ideas or would like to collaborate on something, do not hesitate to get in touch (pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com)!  

I will leave you with a recap of this week's articles and a taste of what's to come for 'jopok' films in 2012:



(by Kieran Tully)

Features:

Too Many Villains

The debut film from Kim Harry, who was previously an assistant director on Ha Yu's brilliant A Dirty Carnival (2006), will be released next week in Korea and I think it looks fantastic.  In Too Many Villains, Kim Joon-bae plays an ex-gang member trying to gain custody of his daughter.  Kim is a veteran and has been exceptional in a number of small roles including Romantic Heaven (2011) and last year's Moss but judging by the trailer, this may be a big break for him and I hope it will be.  His look, swagger, and especially his voice feel spot on for this type of role.  I have a good feeling about this one and I hope I get a chance to see it early in 2012.  One of my must-sees for next year!




Nameless Gangster

Yoon Jong-bin's third film (he's still only 32) is a gangster tale set in the early 90s starring Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, 2003; I Saw the Devil, 2010) and Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser, 2008; The Yellow Sea, 2010).  Nameless Gangster has a great look and feel to it and Choi, a consummate actor, seems to have completely immersed himself in the role.  There have been a number of great stills relying on the evocative force of the production design and costumes, which works for me.  Comedy looks to be part of the mix but this is a far cry from the gangster comedies we've been discussing this week.  The trailer looks promising and this is one the films I'm most curious about in 2012. 

The Thieves

Kim Hye-soo, Lee Jeong-jae, Oh Dal-su, and Jeon Ji-hyeon in The Thieves

Choi Dong-hoon's fourth feature has blockbuster written all over it.  The big cast features Kim Yun-seok, Kim Hye-soo, Jeon Ji-hyeon (aka Gianna Jun), Lee Jeong-jae, and Oh Dal-su, and the production was pan-asian and included shoots in Macau.  The Thieves (formerly known as The Professionals) is Choi's third film dealing with professional thieves/gamblers and while no trailers or posters have been revealed yet, the pedigree looks strong.  Kim Yun-seok is on such a roll that it's hard to imagine that he won't bring it home again here.

Kim Yun-seok in The Thieves


That's it for 'Jopok Week', hope you've enjoyed it and thanks again!


Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema.  For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday, August 12, 2011

Weekly Review Round-Up (08/06-08/12, 2011)

A variety of films reviewed this week including another pair of broadsheet commentaries for Poetry as it continues to screen across the world.


NEW KOREAN RELEASES

(hancinema.net, August 6, 2011)

(Seongyeong's Private Place, August 6, 2011)


RECENT RELEASES

(Variety, August 9, 2011)

(Beyond Hollywood, August 9, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, August 6, 2011)

(koreanfilm.org, August 8, 2011)

(indieWIRE, August 9, 2011)

(Hangul Celluloid, August 7, 2011)

(The Reel Bits, August 6, 2006)

Poetry

(Beyond Hollywood, August 10, 2011)

(koreanfilm.org, August 8, 2011)

(PopMatters, August 11, 2011)

(pulpcurry.com, August 10, 2011) also cross-posted on VCinema


PAST FILMS

(Modern Korean Cinema, August 7, 2011)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday, August 5, 2011

Weekly Review Round-Up (07/30-08/05, 2011)

This is a brand new feature I am dabbling with which aims to round up all of the reviews published within the week on Korean films. I categorize them as: NEW KOREAN RELEASES, movies that have just or are about to be released in Korea; CURRENT WORLDWIDE RELEASES, new films that are making the rounds at film festivals or being released in foreign territories; and PAST FILMS, reviews for films that are no longer current.

The reviews will come from print sources, major websites, and blogs. If you know of reviews that are current but are not listed below please let me know via twitter or email. The formatting is for the moment very simple and I will likely change it in subsequent editions. I may or may not create a directory of reviews which I will maintain on a weekly basis with his update. Any suggestions or comments are most welcome!


NEW KOREAN RELEASES

(The Korea Times, August 4, 2011)

(Film Business Asia, August 4, 2011)

(Film Business Asia, July 30, 2011)

(The Korea Times, July 28, 2011)


CURRENT WORLDWIDE RELEASES

(Montreal Gazette, August 1, 2011)

(The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy, August 1, 2011)

(Rockstar Weekly, August 4, 2011)


(Sounds Like Cinema, August 5, 2011)

(Sounds Like Cinema, August 5, 2011)


PAST FILMS

(New Korean Cinema, August 3, 2011)

Ghost Theatre, 2006 
(Hangul Celluloid, August 1, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, August, 2, 2011)

The Restless, 2006 
(Modern Korean Cinema, August 3, 2011)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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