Something strange is happening in South Korea. While Hollywood is churning out dismal remakes and teen-friendly jump scare franchise films, South Korea, for the past decade or so, has been producing intelligent, highly-original and truly effective horror films – including monster movies, zombie thrillers and nerve-shattering psychological mysteries.
The latest is The Wailing, a scary and sometimes funny supernatural epic that mixes police procedural with terrifying occult horror to devastating effect. The film features a bumbling cop investigating a spate of killings that may or may not be linked to a strange man living in the woods, and is packed with incredible set pieces and shocking twists – cementing South Korea’s growing reputation for world class horror. Here are some more that will turn you into a SoKo horrorphile…
R-Point (2004)
A Vietnam war film featuring a platoon of ghosts, this is a genuinely creepy and atmospheric horror film directed by Kong Su-chang,...
The latest is The Wailing, a scary and sometimes funny supernatural epic that mixes police procedural with terrifying occult horror to devastating effect. The film features a bumbling cop investigating a spate of killings that may or may not be linked to a strange man living in the woods, and is packed with incredible set pieces and shocking twists – cementing South Korea’s growing reputation for world class horror. Here are some more that will turn you into a SoKo horrorphile…
R-Point (2004)
A Vietnam war film featuring a platoon of ghosts, this is a genuinely creepy and atmospheric horror film directed by Kong Su-chang,...
- 1/24/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Child’s Pose
Directed by Calin Peter Netzer
Romania, 2013
Continuing in the tradition of recent dominant cinematic mothers, ranging from Hye-ja Kim in Joon-ho Bong’s Mother to Jacki Weaver in David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom, Luminita Gheorghiu casts an impressively controlling maternal shadow in Calin Peter Netzer’s Child’s Pose as Cornelia Keneres.
When Cornelia’s son Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache) strikes and kills a child with his car, Cornelia sees the tragedy as an opportunity to steer her son’s life in the opposite direction of what she believes to be wayward and away from her.
Child’s Pose has several of the trademarks of the films of Netzer’s Romanian peers, making up what many refer to as a Romanian New Wave: long takes, class and bureaucratic commentary, abrupt cuts from scene to scene. It’s Netzer’s anxious camera, constantly panning, tilting, and zooming, that sets it apart.
Directed by Calin Peter Netzer
Romania, 2013
Continuing in the tradition of recent dominant cinematic mothers, ranging from Hye-ja Kim in Joon-ho Bong’s Mother to Jacki Weaver in David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom, Luminita Gheorghiu casts an impressively controlling maternal shadow in Calin Peter Netzer’s Child’s Pose as Cornelia Keneres.
When Cornelia’s son Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache) strikes and kills a child with his car, Cornelia sees the tragedy as an opportunity to steer her son’s life in the opposite direction of what she believes to be wayward and away from her.
Child’s Pose has several of the trademarks of the films of Netzer’s Romanian peers, making up what many refer to as a Romanian New Wave: long takes, class and bureaucratic commentary, abrupt cuts from scene to scene. It’s Netzer’s anxious camera, constantly panning, tilting, and zooming, that sets it apart.
- 4/12/2014
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor
***
Between November and February of every Oscar season, rarely a day goes by that some sort of precursor award isn’t announced. It can all be pretty maddening, especially for those of us tasked with trying to predict the Academy Awards.
This is the time of year when you pretty much only have to throw a rock in order to hit a critics group announcing their year-end awards. Some years the critics all rally around one film, while other years have the love spread around much more. The thing is, though: Does it actually matter at all in terms of the Oscar race?
To be honest, not all critics groups are created equally. There’s some value to smaller groups like the Boston Society of Film Critics, but the ones that have any true sway are the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle.
Film Contributor
***
Between November and February of every Oscar season, rarely a day goes by that some sort of precursor award isn’t announced. It can all be pretty maddening, especially for those of us tasked with trying to predict the Academy Awards.
This is the time of year when you pretty much only have to throw a rock in order to hit a critics group announcing their year-end awards. Some years the critics all rally around one film, while other years have the love spread around much more. The thing is, though: Does it actually matter at all in terms of the Oscar race?
To be honest, not all critics groups are created equally. There’s some value to smaller groups like the Boston Society of Film Critics, but the ones that have any true sway are the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle.
- 12/19/2012
- by Joey Magidson
- Scott Feinberg
First things first, apologies for the delay with the latest iteration of this article detailing the best of the Korean New Wave. Let’s get back into this Korean article. In which we look at the Korean new wave, from the nastier and more misogynistic movies from Korea’s provocative director Kim Ki-Duk to musicals, Korean musicals are something of a unreal proposition. Now without any further preamble or distractions, here is part two of the look into the work of Joon Ho-Bong.
The Host
Directed by Joon-ho Bong
Written by Joon-Ho Bong, Jun-Won Hah and Chul-Hyun Baek
2006, South Korea
The Monster Movie was a huge icon of the 1950s and 1960s, now not so much. Most movies of this distinction have been distilled into pure horror films, more interested in the violence and the gore in the man vs. nature situation than anything subversive that the lost genre was renowned for.
The Host
Directed by Joon-ho Bong
Written by Joon-Ho Bong, Jun-Won Hah and Chul-Hyun Baek
2006, South Korea
The Monster Movie was a huge icon of the 1950s and 1960s, now not so much. Most movies of this distinction have been distilled into pure horror films, more interested in the violence and the gore in the man vs. nature situation than anything subversive that the lost genre was renowned for.
- 11/14/2012
- by Rob Simpson
- SoundOnSight
Live Flesh This 1997 offering from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar (Volver, All About My Mother) opens with a prostitute played by Penelope Cruz giving birth on a bus to a boy she names Victor. 20 years later, Victor shoots and paralyzes a police officer played by Javier Bardem, who retires from the force and becomes a star wheelchair basketball player. When Victor's 6-year prison sentence is up, he asserts himself as the final angle in a tumultuous pentagon of love and deceit involving all five parties of the shooting.
If that doesn't hook you, then I don't know what will. Bardem's mother, Pilar, is also in the film as the woman helping Cruz deliver her child. And to think that Cruz and Bardem are now married and have a child together. The DVD is out-of-print and very hard to get hold of (a new copy starts at around $40 on Amazon), but Netflix...
If that doesn't hook you, then I don't know what will. Bardem's mother, Pilar, is also in the film as the woman helping Cruz deliver her child. And to think that Cruz and Bardem are now married and have a child together. The DVD is out-of-print and very hard to get hold of (a new copy starts at around $40 on Amazon), but Netflix...
- 4/1/2011
- by Kevin Blumeyer
- Rope of Silicon
Best Movie - Winter’S Bone Buried Treasure – Dogtooth Best Documentary – Marwencol Best Director - Debra Granik for Winter’S Bone Best Actress – Hye-ja Kim for Mother Best Actor – (Tie...
- 3/22/2011
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
Luca Guadagnino's "I Am Love"
I Am Love
Luca Guadagnino’s astonishingly beautiful portrait of a woman torn between love and loyalty. A deep, layered, stylish work of cinema with all the passion and freedom of Italy’s greatest contributions to the medium. If I had numbered this list, “I Am Love” would probably be number one.
Carlos
The epic tale of an egomaniacal playboy terrorist. Édgar Ramírez’s brilliant performance as Venezuelan terrorist, Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, anchors this 330 minute tale of James Bond-style intrigue, murder and mischief. Director Olivier Assayas makes you want to be this asshole, for a little while at least, and then you realize he’s a bigger douche than you possibly could have imagined. Nice work.
The Social Network
David Fincher’s stylish direction, Aaron Sorkin’s quick-witted script, Jesse Eisenberg’s magnetic performance and Trent Reznor’s perfect score make this topical tech-drama...
I Am Love
Luca Guadagnino’s astonishingly beautiful portrait of a woman torn between love and loyalty. A deep, layered, stylish work of cinema with all the passion and freedom of Italy’s greatest contributions to the medium. If I had numbered this list, “I Am Love” would probably be number one.
Carlos
The epic tale of an egomaniacal playboy terrorist. Édgar Ramírez’s brilliant performance as Venezuelan terrorist, Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, anchors this 330 minute tale of James Bond-style intrigue, murder and mischief. Director Olivier Assayas makes you want to be this asshole, for a little while at least, and then you realize he’s a bigger douche than you possibly could have imagined. Nice work.
The Social Network
David Fincher’s stylish direction, Aaron Sorkin’s quick-witted script, Jesse Eisenberg’s magnetic performance and Trent Reznor’s perfect score make this topical tech-drama...
- 1/15/2011
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
Below is my written article (after the jump) on the Best Movies of 2010, listed per film in alphabetical order.
2010 was a great year at the movies. Both Hollywood and independent cinema offered thought-provoking gems that thrilled and entertained us. Because of the over-abundance of quality filmmaking, I decided that this year, I will forego with the annual Top 10 and instead, give you a list of the very Best Movies of 2010 (in alphabetical order):
.127 Hours. . .Slumdog Millionaire. vets, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and co-writer/director Danny Boyle, reteamed to give us a haunting and oddly uplifting film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber trapped under a boulder. James Franco gave one of the most brilliant performances of the year. ("127 Hours" movie review, "127 Hours" interviews with Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle, and James Franco)
.Biutiful. . Alejandro González Iñárritu (.Babel,. .Amores Perros,. .21 Grams.) tells a touching tale of a man in search of redemption.
2010 was a great year at the movies. Both Hollywood and independent cinema offered thought-provoking gems that thrilled and entertained us. Because of the over-abundance of quality filmmaking, I decided that this year, I will forego with the annual Top 10 and instead, give you a list of the very Best Movies of 2010 (in alphabetical order):
.127 Hours. . .Slumdog Millionaire. vets, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and co-writer/director Danny Boyle, reteamed to give us a haunting and oddly uplifting film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber trapped under a boulder. James Franco gave one of the most brilliant performances of the year. ("127 Hours" movie review, "127 Hours" interviews with Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle, and James Franco)
.Biutiful. . Alejandro González Iñárritu (.Babel,. .Amores Perros,. .21 Grams.) tells a touching tale of a man in search of redemption.
- 12/28/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
2010 was a great year at the movies. Both Hollywood and independent cinema offered thought-provoking gems that thrilled and entertained us. Because of the over-abundance of quality filmmaking, I decided that this year, I will forego with the annual Top 10 and instead, give you a list of the very Best Movies of 2010 (in alphabetical order):
.127 Hours. . .Slumdog Millionaire. vets, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and co-writer/director Danny Boyle, reteamed to give us a haunting and oddly uplifting film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber trapped under a boulder. James Franco gave one of the most brilliant performances of the year. ("127 Hours" movie review, "127 Hours" interviews with Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle, and James Franco)
.Biutiful. . Alejandro González Iñárritu (.Babel,. .Amores Perros,. .21 Grams.) tells a touching tale of a man in search of redemption. That man is Javier Bardem, and his quest to achieve liberation will stay with you forever.
.Black Swan. . Director...
.127 Hours. . .Slumdog Millionaire. vets, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and co-writer/director Danny Boyle, reteamed to give us a haunting and oddly uplifting film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber trapped under a boulder. James Franco gave one of the most brilliant performances of the year. ("127 Hours" movie review, "127 Hours" interviews with Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle, and James Franco)
.Biutiful. . Alejandro González Iñárritu (.Babel,. .Amores Perros,. .21 Grams.) tells a touching tale of a man in search of redemption. That man is Javier Bardem, and his quest to achieve liberation will stay with you forever.
.Black Swan. . Director...
- 12/24/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
It's gonna be a pretty savage competition for this year's Oscars, and pretty much everyone is well deserving of a nomination, so why bother picking who deserves it by talent? Instead, as I love so much to do, I've decided to figure out who would win if the Oscars were based on gladiatorial combat. Because that's how most contests should be decided. By Spartacus levels of nudity and violence in monster truck arena presided over by wild-bearded Joaquin Phoenix.
Part II -- Best Actress In A Leading Role
Hilary Swank, Conviction
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Carey Mulligan, Never Let Me Go
Hye-Ja Kim, Mother
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Sally Hawkins, Made in Dagenham
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
This is gonna be like an I Ching reading with all these bony bitches battling it out. Sally Hawkins and Carey Mulligan are adorable. Which is...
Part II -- Best Actress In A Leading Role
Hilary Swank, Conviction
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Carey Mulligan, Never Let Me Go
Hye-Ja Kim, Mother
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Sally Hawkins, Made in Dagenham
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
This is gonna be like an I Ching reading with all these bony bitches battling it out. Sally Hawkins and Carey Mulligan are adorable. Which is...
- 12/14/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Bong Joon-ho’s 2009 film Mother has rightly been lauded across the globe, and the filmmaker who came to the attention of many people with his 2006 monster movie The Host has created another stirring piece of cinema with one of the finest central performances for many years.
The direction is deceptively simple, the powerful presence of Kim Hye-ja carries the film through its moments of tension and surprise, and Bong Joon-ho’s greatest triumph is making us believe we are watching a mystery unraveling when all the time another is being wound around us. It’s breathtaking.
Ostensibly the story of the murder of a young girl and the arrest, perfunctory investigation and conviction of a young boy Do-Joon, this film is all about the effect of this crime and punishment on the title character, Do-Joon’s Mother. Her unwillingness to believe her son capable of murder leads her to immerse...
The direction is deceptively simple, the powerful presence of Kim Hye-ja carries the film through its moments of tension and surprise, and Bong Joon-ho’s greatest triumph is making us believe we are watching a mystery unraveling when all the time another is being wound around us. It’s breathtaking.
Ostensibly the story of the murder of a young girl and the arrest, perfunctory investigation and conviction of a young boy Do-Joon, this film is all about the effect of this crime and punishment on the title character, Do-Joon’s Mother. Her unwillingness to believe her son capable of murder leads her to immerse...
- 9/20/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Hye-ja Kim plays Mother. She is in her fifties and apart from scraping a living selling herbs and providing acupuncture to the local customers, she spends her days mollycoddling her mentally disabled 27-year-old son Do-Joon (Bin Won).
After being released from an assault charge, he goes out on a drinking binge vowing to have sex with a girl but he gets so plastered that he is thrown out of a bar. As he stumbles home he comes across a young schoolgirl who he propositions.
The next morning the police find the very same girl dead and the evidence points to only one suspect. Do-Joon is arrested for murder and now this overprotective Mother will do anything to clear his name and prove him innocent. After all her son is only a harmless slow-witted fool isn’t he?
As the plot thickens and unravels we uncover extra details and complications that...
After being released from an assault charge, he goes out on a drinking binge vowing to have sex with a girl but he gets so plastered that he is thrown out of a bar. As he stumbles home he comes across a young schoolgirl who he propositions.
The next morning the police find the very same girl dead and the evidence points to only one suspect. Do-Joon is arrested for murder and now this overprotective Mother will do anything to clear his name and prove him innocent. After all her son is only a harmless slow-witted fool isn’t he?
As the plot thickens and unravels we uncover extra details and complications that...
- 9/20/2010
- by FilmShaft Staff
- FilmShaft.com
Bong Joon-ho's follow up to Host (2006) is an enthralling, tragic, mystery thriller which owes much to Hitchcock but ploughs its own distinct route to your emotions, as it explores just how powerful the bond between mother and son is.
The titular Mother is a single parent working as a herbalist and unlicensed acupuncturist, in debt and a state of long-term poverty. She has an extremely (some would say, unhealthily) close relationship to her son, Yoon Do-joon, with whom she shares a bed. 27 year-old Do-joon has learning difficulties and spends his days getting into trouble with his friend Jin-tae, he latter often being the instigator of various close shaves and mishaps. Gentle, friendly but prone to unreliability and easily influenced by others Do-joon has his fair share of problems. One night, heading home drunk after Jin-tae stands him up, he comes across a young girl he tries to talk to - without much success.
The titular Mother is a single parent working as a herbalist and unlicensed acupuncturist, in debt and a state of long-term poverty. She has an extremely (some would say, unhealthily) close relationship to her son, Yoon Do-joon, with whom she shares a bed. 27 year-old Do-joon has learning difficulties and spends his days getting into trouble with his friend Jin-tae, he latter often being the instigator of various close shaves and mishaps. Gentle, friendly but prone to unreliability and easily influenced by others Do-joon has his fair share of problems. One night, heading home drunk after Jin-tae stands him up, he comes across a young girl he tries to talk to - without much success.
- 9/19/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Bong Joon-ho’s superb murder mystery is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on 20th September (we’ll be reviewing it shortly) and while a change of pace and style from his creature feature The Host, Mother is a wildly inventive suspense thriller with a very dark heart.
Featuring superb central performances from South Korean icons Hye-ja Kim and Bin Won and exquisite cinematography, Mother is easily one of the films of the year. Hence our championing of it.
South Korean cinema is definitely getting noticed for its invention and strong auteur-led hits. Check out the trailer here and why not read our cinema release review here
Synopsis:
A mother (Hye-ja Kim) lives with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do-joon (Bin Won) and spends her days working as a herbalist and offering acupuncture. One night, a school girl is raped and murdered, then Do-joon is charged with the killing. His mother sets off...
Featuring superb central performances from South Korean icons Hye-ja Kim and Bin Won and exquisite cinematography, Mother is easily one of the films of the year. Hence our championing of it.
South Korean cinema is definitely getting noticed for its invention and strong auteur-led hits. Check out the trailer here and why not read our cinema release review here
Synopsis:
A mother (Hye-ja Kim) lives with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do-joon (Bin Won) and spends her days working as a herbalist and offering acupuncture. One night, a school girl is raped and murdered, then Do-joon is charged with the killing. His mother sets off...
- 9/14/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
A Lynch-like nightmare in rural Korea...
After several films which garnered global acclaim and cult status, Joon-ho Bong has created his masterpiece in Mother. It continues the director’s fascination with offbeat characters and the dark underbelly of society.
At the film’s core is a powerful performance by Hye-Ja Kim as the vulnerable mother of the title. She lives in a quiet town with her 27-year-old son Do-Joon, a mentally unstable young man who is prone to bouts of amnesia. After Do-Joon is charged with the murder of a schoolgirl his mother takes it into her own hands to clear his name. In the process the film spirals from a seemingly innocent love story between a mother and her fragile son into a whole other monster. The same can be said of Hye-Ja Kim’s Mother whose protective nature descends into a wild eyed ruthlessness as she strives to clear her son’s name.
After several films which garnered global acclaim and cult status, Joon-ho Bong has created his masterpiece in Mother. It continues the director’s fascination with offbeat characters and the dark underbelly of society.
At the film’s core is a powerful performance by Hye-Ja Kim as the vulnerable mother of the title. She lives in a quiet town with her 27-year-old son Do-Joon, a mentally unstable young man who is prone to bouts of amnesia. After Do-Joon is charged with the murder of a schoolgirl his mother takes it into her own hands to clear his name. In the process the film spirals from a seemingly innocent love story between a mother and her fragile son into a whole other monster. The same can be said of Hye-Ja Kim’s Mother whose protective nature descends into a wild eyed ruthlessness as she strives to clear her son’s name.
- 9/13/2010
- by admin@shadowlocked.com (Saqib Shah)
- Shadowlocked
The Korean film-maker Bong Joon-ho is known here for two very different films: Memories of Murder, a fictionalised account of the investigation of Korea's first serial killer by an inept rural police force, and The Host, an amusing, scary horror movie in which an amphibious mutant monster terrorises Seoul. His accomplished new film, a psychological thriller, resembles its predecessors both in being overlong and in mocking pompous, ineffectual coppers, but has some excellent and highly satisfying twists. In a provincial town, a single mother, who runs a herbal store and practises as an unlicensed acupuncturist, is deeply attached to her simple-minded son, a 27-year-old with a mental age of six or seven, who suffers from bouts of amnesia (a recurrent noir condition) and keeps bad company. Arrested for the murder of a high school girl, he's railroaded into a confession by inexperienced detectives. But the mother is convinced of his innocence,...
- 8/21/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The rhythms of life for meek Hye-ja (Hye-ja Kim) are simple: chopping leaves for the herbal medicines she sells in her little shop, making tea in the afternoons, worrying about her mildly retarded adult son, Do-joon (Bin Won), and extricating him from whatever minor disaster he’s got himself into this time. The horror of South Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong’s (The Host) bleakly comic film begins with how it’s barely a blip in her routine when Do-joon is accused of murdering a teenaged schoolgirl and Hye-ja must doggedly go to work to find the real killer (the police being hapless and hopeless in this regard). Bong dredges up dread from the mousy determination of Hye-ja’s Miss Marple-like detective work -- her meekness hides an astonishing fortitude -- and from the increasingly desperate and extreme actions she takes in the course of it.
- 8/18/2010
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Movie mothers can be angels, saints, sirens, seductresses, psychopaths and monsters. But for John Patterson, there's only one that counts …
As Bong Joon-ho's Mother shows, some mothers will go to absurd lengths to protect their children, no matter how malformed, moronic or miscreant said issue may be. Hye-ja Kim's nameless single parent almost drives herself insane trying to prove her slow-witted son is innocent of murder, although it turns out that insanity may well have kicked in a long time before the story starts.
Not all movie mothers are this devoted. There's Carrie's mom, there's Mommie Dearest, there are inappropriately intimate, quasi-incestuous moms (Jessica Tandy in The Birds), and evil, manipulative and incestuous moms (Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate). Throw in monster moms (Throw Momma From The Train), sexualised older moms (The Mother), and dead-eyed, hateful moms (Precious), and you have quite the teeming oedipal bestiary to haunt your dreams.
As Bong Joon-ho's Mother shows, some mothers will go to absurd lengths to protect their children, no matter how malformed, moronic or miscreant said issue may be. Hye-ja Kim's nameless single parent almost drives herself insane trying to prove her slow-witted son is innocent of murder, although it turns out that insanity may well have kicked in a long time before the story starts.
Not all movie mothers are this devoted. There's Carrie's mom, there's Mommie Dearest, there are inappropriately intimate, quasi-incestuous moms (Jessica Tandy in The Birds), and evil, manipulative and incestuous moms (Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate). Throw in monster moms (Throw Momma From The Train), sexualised older moms (The Mother), and dead-eyed, hateful moms (Precious), and you have quite the teeming oedipal bestiary to haunt your dreams.
- 8/13/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Hey there 2010. You'd best step it up. Time's a wastin'.
The talk of the 'net right now is Inception but that's not open yet, nor have I seen it. In Contention's Kris Tapley has written a lengthy piece about its Oscar prospects that I'm sure you'll want to read/have already read. You'll recall that I gave Inception a major vote of prediction approval back in April and I shan't be altering that much when I update the rest of the Oscar predictions, since my suspicion was correct that people would love it. Nevertheless, I am confused by some of the buzz for its actors. No matter how good DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard may well be, effects pictures only very very rarely lead to acting nominations (Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Bridges and Ian McKellen are rarities, not the norm) so I haven't suddenly pretended it will move into the Acting categories.
The talk of the 'net right now is Inception but that's not open yet, nor have I seen it. In Contention's Kris Tapley has written a lengthy piece about its Oscar prospects that I'm sure you'll want to read/have already read. You'll recall that I gave Inception a major vote of prediction approval back in April and I shan't be altering that much when I update the rest of the Oscar predictions, since my suspicion was correct that people would love it. Nevertheless, I am confused by some of the buzz for its actors. No matter how good DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard may well be, effects pictures only very very rarely lead to acting nominations (Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Bridges and Ian McKellen are rarities, not the norm) so I haven't suddenly pretended it will move into the Acting categories.
- 7/7/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The masterfully-composed frames of Joon-ho Bong's latest always succeeds in drawing the eye - but just as often this unconventional thriller fails at drawing in the viewer's emotions. Centering on a mother's attempts to protect her mentally challenged son after he's accused of murder, superlative acting and direction can't redeem what feels like an underwritten story.
Hye-ja Kim plays the title role, an herbalist and unlicensed acupuncturist who finds herself up against a lazy, uninterested police force and a generally unsympathetic community after a teenage girl is murdered. Her son, Do-joon (Bin Won) becomes the prime suspect after being seen following the victim and leaving a piece of evidence with his name on it near the scene.
The story is in many ways the other side of Bong's brilliant Memories of Murder which showed rural police ineptitude attempting to right itself in the face of a series of heinous crimes.
Hye-ja Kim plays the title role, an herbalist and unlicensed acupuncturist who finds herself up against a lazy, uninterested police force and a generally unsympathetic community after a teenage girl is murdered. Her son, Do-joon (Bin Won) becomes the prime suspect after being seen following the victim and leaving a piece of evidence with his name on it near the scene.
The story is in many ways the other side of Bong's brilliant Memories of Murder which showed rural police ineptitude attempting to right itself in the face of a series of heinous crimes.
- 4/29/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Korean film-making has been a hotbed for interesting horror films, but none had the instantaneous impact of Joon-ho Bong's The Host. Making Cloverfield look like a Mystery Science Theater punching bag waiting to happen, the director settled in to make a disturbing murder mystery in the vein of Hitchcock with Mother (Madeo). The titular character sets out to prove the innocence of her only son, the mentally simple Yoon Do-joon, after the authorities have locked him away after coercing a confession out of him. Do-joon's mother wanders the countryside, seeking answers wherever she can find them, begging on her hands and knees, sacrificing any length to free her darling boy. The complexity of the story is phenomenal -- even elements that seem cookie-cutter are given extra depth and luridness. Instead of relying on some sort of clever twist or flaring showdown, the film quietly plods along to its conclusion.
- 4/13/2010
- by Brian Prisco
Nominated for 6 Asian Film Awards and for Best Foreign Language Film at the Independent Spirit Awards. Many critics felt Hye-ja Kim delivered one of the best performances of the year.
- 3/27/2010
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
Korean director Joon-ho Bong may have created the ultimate image of matriarchal generosity for his new movie, Mother. Determined to prove her mentally challenged son innocent of murder, the woman (played indelibly by Hye-ja Kim) will do anything to rescue him from incarceration. If that means crossing a few moral boundaries in the process, so be it. Not all mothers are so selfless, though. Some, in fact, are downright hellacious. And while watching parental sacrifice can be an uplifting and occasionally thought-provoking experience, the sight of a mom warping filial devotion to her own ends -- with the kids sometimes getting their own back in return -- can be downright fun. So it was no trouble for us to come up with a list of Top 10 Toxic Movie Moms. ...
- 3/12/2010
- by Dan Persons
- Huffington Post
Chicago – In our latest murder mystery edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Mother” from the award-winning director of “The Host”!
“Mother” stars Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin, Yoon Jae-Moon, Mi-sun Jun, Young-Suck Lee, Sae-Beauk Song, Mun-hee Na, Woo-hee Chun and Byoung-Soon Kim from writer and director Joon-ho Bong. The film opens in Chicago on March 19, 2010.
To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Mother” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 7 p.m. in Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Mother” from the award-winning director of “The Host”.
Image credit: Magnolia Pictures
Here is the “Mother” plot description:
The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho...
“Mother” stars Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin, Yoon Jae-Moon, Mi-sun Jun, Young-Suck Lee, Sae-Beauk Song, Mun-hee Na, Woo-hee Chun and Byoung-Soon Kim from writer and director Joon-ho Bong. The film opens in Chicago on March 19, 2010.
To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Mother” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 7 p.m. in Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Mother” from the award-winning director of “The Host”.
Image credit: Magnolia Pictures
Here is the “Mother” plot description:
The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho...
- 3/12/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Korean director Joon-ho Bong may have created the ultimate image of matriarchal generosity for his new movie, Mother. Determined to prove her mentally challenged son innocent of murder, the woman (played indelibly by Hye-ja Kim) will do anything to rescue him from incarceration. If that means crossing a few moral boundaries in the process, so be it.
Not all mothers are so selfless, though. Some, in fact, are downright hellacious. And while watching parental sacrifice can be an uplifting and occasionally thought-provoking experience, the sight of a mom warping filial devotion to her own ends — with the kids sometimes getting their own back in return — can be downright fun. So it was no trouble for us to come up with a list of Top 10 Toxic Movie Moms.
Next Showing:
Mother - Trailer
Bin Won, Ku Jin, and Hye-ja Kim star
Link | Posted 3/12/2010 by reelz
Mother | Throw Momma From the Train...
Not all mothers are so selfless, though. Some, in fact, are downright hellacious. And while watching parental sacrifice can be an uplifting and occasionally thought-provoking experience, the sight of a mom warping filial devotion to her own ends — with the kids sometimes getting their own back in return — can be downright fun. So it was no trouble for us to come up with a list of Top 10 Toxic Movie Moms.
Next Showing:
Mother - Trailer
Bin Won, Ku Jin, and Hye-ja Kim star
Link | Posted 3/12/2010 by reelz
Mother | Throw Momma From the Train...
- 3/12/2010
- by reelz reelz
- Reelzchannel.com
Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is known for crafting first-rate genre films like the crime thriller Memories of Murder and his record-breaking creature feature The Host, a critically acclaimed hit that's spawned an upcoming Korean sequel and an English-language remake. (Read his thoughts on sequels and remakes below.) His latest film, Mother, is, on the surface, a tale about a poor widow (Hye-ja Kim) who goes sleuthing to clear her son's name, but it quickly turns into a suspense-filled murder mystery with deep, dark ramifications. I spoke with Bong Joon-ho this weekend about psychotic mothers, his instinct for genre filmmaking, his love of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, and his next genre project Snow Piercer....
- 3/9/2010
- FEARnet
The Last Airbender
Opens: July 2nd 2010
Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Summary: A live-action film based on the Nickelodeon animated TV series. In a fantastic world where civilisation exists as four great empires, a reluctant young child sets out on a perilous journey to restore balance to a world torn apart by war.
Analysis: Its been quite the decade for M. Night Shyamalan who started it as a household name with labels of a moodern-day Hitchcock thanks to the likes of "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs". Today he's considered more of a one-trick pony and in some cases a punchline due to rampant stories of egomania run wild and a series of much derided onscreen flops like "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening".
Thus 'Airbender' marks a potential return to form for the helmer. An adaptation of the hit cartoon series...
Opens: July 2nd 2010
Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Summary: A live-action film based on the Nickelodeon animated TV series. In a fantastic world where civilisation exists as four great empires, a reluctant young child sets out on a perilous journey to restore balance to a world torn apart by war.
Analysis: Its been quite the decade for M. Night Shyamalan who started it as a household name with labels of a moodern-day Hitchcock thanks to the likes of "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs". Today he's considered more of a one-trick pony and in some cases a punchline due to rampant stories of egomania run wild and a series of much derided onscreen flops like "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening".
Thus 'Airbender' marks a potential return to form for the helmer. An adaptation of the hit cartoon series...
- 12/27/2009
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
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