Blog Archives

Scent Of Love (2003)

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Posted on March 5, 2006 by Christian

“Scent of Love”

Serves 1-2

  • 1 grain (optional) character back-story
  • 60g script, preferably used
  • ½ cup of girl walking in slow-motion with musical crescendo
  • 1 clove My Sassy Girl, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon love triangle
  • pinch of unexplained event
  • 2 mins of musical interlude
  • 125g tragic event
  • 1 scene involving rain
  • splash of happy times, followed by inevitable bad stuff

1. Combine ingredients in pan and simmer. It’s important that cooking takes place straightaway. Characters should have minimal backstory so … (read more)

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Legend of Gingko (2000)

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Posted on February 26, 2006 by James

By no means a direct sequel to The Gingko Bed but loosely connected in terms of its generic origins in supernatural horror, Legend of Gingko is a modestly entertaining romp that tries very hard to be accepted as a spectacularly epic fantasy-adventure movie. Unfortunately, small problems concerning the plot and the relationships of the characters accumulate and lend a farcical dimension to this otherwise robust sword and sorcery tale.

The heterosexual love square at the centre of the plot is … (read more)

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…ing (2003)

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Posted on February 25, 2006 by Christian

On paper, a film mixing a terminally-ill main character with “first love, coming-of-age drama” might conjure all manner of images involving you reaching for a box of tissues. However, this proves to not be the case at all for …ing — a solid directorial debut for Lee Eon-hee, writer of Take Care of My Cat. While the film is certainly equipped with some emotional big guns, it chooses not to focus on any one aspect, balancing the serious tones … (read more)

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Nowhere to Hide (1999)

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Posted on February 19, 2006 by Alison

I sat down to this one with Mark’s comments ringing in my ears (or at least on my retinas, said comments being encapsulated in an email). And you know how it is when somebody waxes lyrical about a film: first you get excited, then you get dubious, and finally you get a bit blase. So there I was, curling up with a highly-recommended Korean actioner and two cats ( my film review colleagues) preparing to be disappointed.

And man, it … (read more)

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The Gingko Bed (1996)

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Posted on February 19, 2006 by James

Before renewing their association quite emphatically with the hit blockbuster Shiri, director Kang Je-gyu and actor Han Seok-kyu made The Gingko Bed together, a special-effects driven fantasy-horror movie that made a splash at the local box office and a healthy contribution to Korea’s emerging commercial cinema. Since 1996 both Kang (Taegukgi) and Han (The President’s Last Bang) have become superstars of their professions, marking The Gingko Bed as a film of high interest to their … (read more)

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Welcome To Dongmakgol (2005)

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Posted on January 29, 2006 by Alison

Welcome To Dongmakgol is a nice film. An extremely nice film. It couldn’t possibly be nicer even if you put the whole crew on morphine for the duration. And unlike so many of its genre colleagues, it’s a very well-made nice movie.

The odd thing is, though, that it’s a nice movie about the insanity of war. Let me clarify what I mean here. It’s not a movie about the pain and suffering of war, and how it traumatises people, … (read more)

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Shiri (1999)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

The reunification of the two Koreas is obviously something of great concern in South Korea, and Shiri drives this fact home. But don’t mistake me: this is not a dry political drama, or a slice of propaganda. This one is a compelling actioner that will have you clenching every muscle you possess, and maybe some of those on the person sitting next to you.

The plot is a simple one, dealing with double agents from North Korea and a dastardly … (read more)

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Volcano High (2001)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Mark Morrison

I still haven’t got my breath back from the first Melbourne International Film Festival screening of the Korean High School fu flick Volcano High, but am already well and truly prepared to announce it as the coolest film for 2002.

Volcano High is just about ordinary high school stuff — liking a girl, hating your teachers, joining a sports club, fighting the bully — but everyone is actually a secret kung fu master of some kind. The plot is … (read more)

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