Bad Korea choices

[trevor826]

There are some really dire films from Korea as well as the decent ones, I'll start adding comments on the ones I think are a waste of time. A lot of the films listed here will be ones that have earned the moniker "Copywood" because they are too heavily influenced by Hollywood and have nothing to say especially for the audience they were primarily made for.

Feel free to add your own or disagree with my choices.

Hopefully there won't be too many.

INDEX

Nightmare - 2000

Bloody Beach - 2000

Sex is Zero - 2000

The Humanist - 2001

Doll Master 2004

Cheers Trev

[trevor826]

Gawi (2000) Nightmare

Directed by Byeong-ki Ahn

Starring Gyu-ri Kim, Ji-won Ha

Just a quick note on this one, most horror films are average at best, most of them are pretty straightforward with surprise endings that don’t surprise at all, now and again there may be an outstanding performance or something hits the right note and it is genuinely scary.

Nightmare has nothing outstanding about it, it’s a typical teen slasher movie. The performances are all pretty run of the mill, the twists don’t surprise or shock and the film is just not scary. If you’ve seen a few horror films then this is totally missable and unmemorable.

I can’t recommend this film, it’s not badly made but it’s not good either, distinctly mediocre.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC not rated as yet, probably 15.

[trevor826]

Haebyeoneuro gada (2000) Bloody Beach

Directed by In Soo Kim

Whereas Nightmare is average, Bloody Beach is abysmal. Yet another bunch of teens getting picked off one by one but this is far more likely to bore you to death.

Not recommended at all.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC not rated as yet, probably 15.


Luckily I was lent these 2 films, please don't waste your time or money on them.

[hengcs]

it is so bad that i have NOT even heard of them
ha ha ha

[arsaib4]

Trevor is thoroughly dedicated to east-Asian Cinema, especially Korean, so it's not surprising that he has encountered a few bad apples along the way.

[trevor826]

I think it's slightly unfortunate for the other East Asian countries right now as South Korean films are going through a bit of a boom at the moment.

In my opinion Japan are still top of the list for innovation and Taiwan has been producing an amazing crop of directors and films considering it's a small island, China has had its moments and has a hell of a lot to offer.

South Korean film makers have had a good time of it lately with a lot of government help and a few very talented directors. We are starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel and I have no doubt we'll see a lot more truly awful films coming through, it's just sad that a lot of the good ones still have to be imported as there is no other way of getting to see them.

Cheers Trev

[trevor826]

Saekjeuk shigong (2002) Sex Is Zero

Directed by Je-gyun Yun

Starring Ji-won Ha, Chang Jung Lim, Jae-yeong Jin

If you enjoy gross out comedies such as “American Pie” or “Road Trip” and the many other films of this ilk all the way back to “Porkey’s” then you’ll probably appreciate this.

One of several films that have earned the Copywood title, an extremely tacky infantile comedy with some untimely drama tagged onto it. If the idea of someone eating fried sperm thinking it’s egg white or of course the obligatory shots of girls working out and/or guys jerking off appeals to you then this will probably please you, although the sudden switch to more serious subject like abortion etc may put you off.

One interesting fact though, there is a scene where a girl is drunk and wretches up, after being sick she french kisses a boy. The girl had drunk a large quantity of water and some packet noodles, she made herself vomit and then kissed the guy, all done in a single take, yuck!

Cheers Trev.

[trevor826]

The Humanist (2001)

Directed by Mu-yeong Lee

Starring Jae-mo Ahn


A black comedy/thriller that falls far too short on the humour (as dark as it is) and fails as a thriller. One of the problems is it tries to be too clever, another is the cast, not convincing in any way at all.

This film is about a spoiled brat who while driving with his two retarded friends accidentally kills a policeman. The policeman’s partner sees a way of making a quick buck out of the death and demands a huge amount of cash to keep quiet. The only way he can find to raise the cash is to kidnap his own father and use the ransom to pay off the cop.

Of course, relying on his two buddies everything and anything that can go wrong does which leads to a lot of double crossing leaving nobody unscathed.

This type of film has been done far better with the likes of "Shallow Grave" and to be honest it’s one I’ll never bother with again. Funnily this is one of two really bad Korean films where Chan-wook Park is listed among the writing credits, the other being “A Bizarre Love Triangle.”

So unfortunately one for the scrap heap, it didn’t help that the transfer from Taiseng, a company that distributes in the US and UK was absolutely diabolical and they hadn’t even checked the subtitles which contained innumerable translation faults, some of which made no sense at all.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

Available on R1 ntsc and R2 Pal from Taiseng.

[trevor826]

Doll Master (2004) Inhyeongsa

Directed by Yong-ki Jeong

Starring Yu-mi Kim (Phone), Ji-young Ok (Take Care of My Cat)

Right I won’t waste my time or yours. Very typical horror plot, people invited to mansion, creepy place, one by one people die. Usually one or two survive, end of story.

Now if you want a horror film this fails miserably, predictable, corny and dumbfoundedly stupid!

The only way you’ll get a kick out of this is if you’re a fan or collector of Asian Ball Joint Dolls, apparently there are vast numbers of people all over the world who trade and collect them through the internet. If you are one of these or someone who gets genuinely freaked out by dolls or puppets then you will love this film. If not then don’t waste your time.

The dvd extras will also please fans of Asian BJD’s (as they are known in fan circles), apart from a 45 minute “making of” feature there are interviews with the doll designers who are just as nuts as the fans. They explain how to make the most of your dolls as well as showing the craftsmanship that goes into them.

Great for BJD fans, not so good for everyone else.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

R2 Pal dvd available from Optimum. R3 ntsc available from several suppliers.