What makes a killer and what defines them as good or evil? One could argue that anyone can be a killer and that the taking of a life immediately diminishes one’s purity, but there is goodness is absorbing the malignant… Read More ›
Korea
Begin your karmic journey with the re-issued Blu-ray of “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds.”
In 2017, director Kim Yong-hwa (The Moon) released the first of two (currently) films in the Along with the Gods series, The Two Worlds. Adapted from a webtoon by author Joo Ho-min, The Two Worlds borrows from the Buddhist belief… Read More ›
Kim Soo-yong’s psychological thriller “Splendid Outing” gets preserved on a 4K HD Blu-ray release thanks to Radiance Films.
When people say that art should be political, what they really mean is that they don’t want to ingest films that might challenge their political views. They want to be entertained, not preached to. This is a childish perspective because… Read More ›
Don Lee’s 2018 dramatic thriller “The Villagers” comes available on digital via Well Go USA.
Since 2004, actor Don Lee (also known as Ma Dong-seok) has worked his way up from small supporting player (The Good, The Bad, The Weird) to scene-stealing supporting player (Train to Busan) to MCU hero (Eternals) to monster cop (Crime… Read More ›
Kimchi western “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” gets a first-time 4K UHD release via Arrow Video.
The western is primarily an American genre with its focus on remote areas with unfriendly individuals, typically involving conflict between those enforcing and those outside the law. Though rooted in the period of expansion west in the United States and… Read More ›
Confidence crime thriller “Yadang: The Snitch” comes to home video, inspiring you to question who you trust the whole way.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are several party sequences and instances involving the press wherein lights either flash or strobe. Be advised. Everyone has a favorite type of story. For some, it’s romances; others, comedies; and, others still, horror. In my top… Read More ›
“Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy” is an ambitious fantasy adventure exploring the limitations of humanity. [Fantasia]
A world invaded by monsters. Celestial observers meddling with humanity. Humans given the ability to upgrade their physical form by completing scenarios and defeating monsters, including acquiring specialty weapons. If this sounds like the 2016 web novel series Solo Leveling… Read More ›
Kang Hyungchul’s superhero action thriller “Hi-Five” brings the laughs and the pain.
“With great power, comes great responsibility.” – Stan Lee, 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15 Despite it now being more than 17 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man (2008), superhero stories remain in high demand from audiences in… Read More ›
The hard-hits within “Holy Night: Demon Hunters” partially make up for the as-expected elements of a supernatural thriller.
There are some who will tell you that horror is having a resurgence right now, and they’d be misinformed at best, misunderstood at worst. Horror films have been a steady part of storytelling since before the advent of moving pictures… Read More ›
Missed the Don Lee-led action thriller “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” back in 2019? Now’s your chance with this home edition re-release.
True crime stories are nothing new in terms of being a source for adaptive works. Law & Order consistently takes their inspiration from real crime tales, as do a variety of films. The four-film deep Crime City series led by… Read More ›
You could bring the horror of possession tale “Devils Stay” home or ….. not.
A staple of cinema is the horror story: possession, corruption, soul-trading. You name it and horror is going to give it to you. For his first feature film, writer/director Hyun Moon-seop utilizes the well-worn path of demon possession in his… Read More ›
“Exhuma (파묘)” Blu-ray Giveaway
As with any year, there’s a large selection of horror films, domestic and international, released in U.S. cinemas, but director Jang Jae-Hyun’s horror thriller Exhuma (파묘) made an impression on the audiences, critical and general, who saw it. Now, several… Read More ›
Crime anthology “The Killers” exudes undeniable collective charm. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Anthology stories come in all shapes and sizes. They can be horror-based, like Satanic Hispanics (2022) or Tiny Cinema (2022); offer a western twang, like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018); or they can be mission-oriented, like Give Me an… Read More ›
With a physical release, fans of Choi Dong-hoon’s “Alienoid” films can delight in the action-packed conclusion, “Return to the Future,” as often as they wish.
August 2022 saw the U.S. release of writer/director Choi Dong-hoon’s cinematic hybrid Alienoid (외계+인 1부) into theaters. A mixture of martial arts, comedy, drama, and science fiction that takes place in 2022 Korea *and* the Goryeo Dynasty, Choi’s work may… Read More ›
“Mash Ville” takes on many meanings in a confluence of stories around a moonshine business. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Having never seen Hwang Wook’s previous movies (Dog Eat Dog; Live Hard), I did not know what to expect when watching the latest, Mash Ville, and what was delivered was a combination of some of the zaniest wackiest things ever… Read More ›
Director Park Jin-pyo’s “Brave Citizen” delivers satisfying vigilante justice in this web comic adaptation. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
“If you do nothing, nothing will happen.” This quote is spoken by the character So Si-Min, portrayed by Shin Hye-sun (See You in My 19th Life), as part of a class on ethics. It’s one of several concepts that particular… Read More ›
“Alienoid: Return to the Future” Blu-ray Giveaway
Choi Dong-hoon’s Alienoid (2022) kicked off a time-travel sci-fi adventure in which the present is saved by going to the past. However, in Return to the Future, released in U.S. theaters in January 2024, in order to keep things safe, they had… Read More ›
“Noryang: Deadly Sea” Blu-ray Giveaway
In 2014, director Kim Han-Min began his epic three-film tale documenting Korean naval history with The Admiral: Roaring Currents, following it up in 2022 with Hansan: Rising Dragon. At the end of 2023, the story concluded with Noryang: Deadly Sea, a… Read More ›
The fourth entry in the “Crime City” series, “The Roundup: Punishment” demonstrates no signs of slacking, even with a new director and writer behind the scenes.
Since 2017’s The Outlaws, actor Ma Dong-seok (a.k.a. and credited here as Don Lee) has led what would become the Crime City series, an action crime series that borrows from Korean headlines for the foundation of each film. Each film… Read More ›
“The Roundup: No Way Out” on home video is the only way you want Det. Ma paying you a visit.
2023 provided a proper glut of delicious action flicks. In addition to the obvious theatrical blockbusters like John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, we also got Sisu,… Read More ›