The Chaser (추격자 / Chugyeogja)

Personally, I feel that Korean cinema is at the forefront of the motion picture business, bringing innovative films that continue to push the boundary even while being well-produced. Unfortunately, The Chaser is one of those that strive to be recognized but falters along the way.

Jung-ho Eom is a fallen detective who now runs a pimping business. Scenes of his office show him ordering a lad around while having a multitude of phones on his desk all being charged. When one of them rings, Jung-ho quickly answers, jotting the customer’s requested time and girl in a childish scribble in an old notebook, desperate for the business. This is how we’re introduced to the situation befalling this man: his girls have been slowly disappearing mysteriously and he can ill afford the loss of business.

Having been a detective once (it’s later revealed that corruption was the cause of his discharge), Jung-ho starts to investigate this “case”, as he suspects foul play from an unruly customer. However, he’s on his own, for his cop friends care little about what happened to some prostitutes. As the culprit is identified and the clock races to rescue the most recent victim, the action and excitement clearly picks up.

However, with all the suspense in the plot and the lead character (played by Yun-seok Kim) doing a decent performance (he is on screen 80% of the time), The Chaser falls short at the halfway mark. The suspect is identified and even apprehended at this point, but frustrating incompetence and implausible coincidences mire the rest of the film, when Jung-ho is forced to run around the city hunting down the suspect by himself.

Jung-ho himself is also a conundrum. During the film, he is clearly an honorable man with a conscience, as he strives tirelessly to rescue his “girl”. But the opinions of his former detective friends say otherwise, as do the opinions of his other girls. They all point to Jung-ho being a despicable character. Later on, Jung-ho takes care of the victim’s daughter, showing the audience his virtuous inner self, but the emotions showed here feel contrived. Finally, Jung-ho’s struggle with the antagonist is a laughable affair, with blood pouring from both men as they continue to strike each other with little effect. What defies explanation is how a scrawny guy can cause a former detective (part of a top-tiered team) so much trouble.

The film does have its merits. It took a risk by telling a story almost entirely through a third-person focus on the main character. This it largely succeeds in, which may warrant the film a watching, but there simply needed to be a stronger plot. The simplicity of just one man chasing another for 2 hours makes the style a simple gimmick, and that will not do in the current competitive climate.

Pros: Interesting style; good character showcase; engaging first half
Cons: Weak story; impossible situations; drags out the second half
Conclusion: A good effort, but casual movie-watchers should take a pass
Score: 3/5

Doomsday

Doomsday seems to be one of those films that has everything you can possibly want in an action flick (explosions, guns, hand-to-hand combat, mobs, eye candy) and yet seem be missing something at its core. The premise is even somewhat plausible. A killer virus has surfaced in Scotland, spreading through skin contact. With no cure in sight, a giant wall is built to quarantine off the entire Scotland area, with residents inside left to fend for themselves. After about 25 years, the virus is found outside of the wall, prompting the desperate UK government to send in a team of experts to find a cure from survivors on the other side of the wall.

This introduction kept me readily engaged but the plausibility ends as soon as the team led by Major Eden Sinclair (played by Rhona Mitra) enters the wall. They encounter a large group of organized punks that seem to do nothing but glorify violence. What defies the realm of possibility is that there are so many survivors who have seemingly no means of sustaining themselves. The excellent premise is further destroyed when this group somehow has vehicles and electricity.

However, Doomsday is an enjoyable adventure. Perhaps it might be more accurate to describe the film as pulling together so many different genres that the experience becomes enjoyable. For instance, the infected mobs act like zombies but in other parts the Major has a solo duel sequence that has a definite Gladiator feel. Sometimes these elements are so over-the-top that the scenes become ludicrously amusing. Throw in crazy car chase sequences, medieval knights, and an amoral politician, then shake them all up in a bag and out comes Doomsday. Best served hot.

Pros: Fascination idea with pretty slick action sequences
Cons: Doesn’t go far enough into seriously exploring the limits of human nature
Conclusion: If you’re familiar with the “suspension of disbelief” concept, then you’re going to have a great time.
Score: 4/5

IMDB

Street Kings

I finally had a chance to catch Street Kings, which I took a pass on originally based mainly on the trailer, but recently a friend has convinced me otherwise. Appearing in theaters just before the arrival of numerous summer blockbusters, Street Kings certainly serves its purpose of bridging the gap between the winter and summer releases.

One area Street Kings certainly impresses is its cast list. With Keanu Reeves taking the charge as Detective Tom Ludlow, Street Kings provides a tale of violence and gore entirely from the police perspective. Rather than a cop-and-robber story, Street Kings focuses mainly on the rivalry between police members. Reeves come as close as the dictionary definition of vigilante, with the twist that no one has any oversight. What ensues is almost constant action, as Reeves goes from one gunfight to the next, with each one being equally brutal. There’s no romanticizing of killing and death here - there simply is a lot of it. Although the plot flows smoothly enough, offering just a tad more than the minimum to avoid feelings of manufactured action sequences, the story is certainly a rehash of previous titles. No surprises found here.

Other characters stand well enough on their own, with the most notable being Forest Whitaker as Captain Jack Wander, Ludlow’s boss. Unfortunately, everyone else is easily forgettable and hardly developed. In fact, the other three members in Ludlow’s squad are basically identical. Ludlow’s girlfriend falls in the same line as those three guys - forgettable.

Even with its shortfalls, I am reluctant to criticize Street Kings too much. It makes no excuse for what it’s about, offering plenty of mindless action, perfect for those days when you and some buddies just want to watch some solid gunfights without thinking too much.

Pros: Guns and realism
Cons: Not going to be make you question cops and duty
Conclusion: Don’t expect too much and the respectable cast should win you over.
Score: 3/5

IMDB

Apologies

There is simply no excuse for the lack of updates. The reason is certainly not due to my decrease in consumption of media entertainment, so I will attempt to rectify that with more timely posts (and perhaps some back-reviewing of notable titles). For future updates, I will continue to use the 5 point system, but for now I will attempt to do without the half-point increments. After reading thru some of my past reviews, I realize that I am still disinclined to use the top 5/5 rating, settling rather on the 4.5 level. Another change is that I will include links to the appropriate page on IMDB (The Internet Movie Database) whenever possible for easy access to complete actor/actress/production/release information.

Finally, to reiterate the purpose of this blog, I wish only to jot down some initial reactions to some things I have watched to hopefully provide some alternative options to the much-hyped productions. A lot of good media slips through the cracks, if simply due to a lack of funds for advertisements and billboards. Thus, tripe-A movies such as those from Pixar or Marvel will never show up here. I also keep my mind open regarding foreign films, in particular with an emphasis on those coming out of Asia, so those will also receive plenty of coverage here.

Sunshine

From the start, Sunshine looks like another disaster movie, in particular Armageddon. So if you're looking for a feel-good movie about how the ingenuity of humans can save the human race, you are in the wrong place.

Sunshine starts off while a team of eight astronauts are already on their way toward the sun and lets you pick up the background story as the film progresses. Basically, 50 years from now, the sun is dying and a team has been sent to re-ignite the sun by guiding a huge chunk of fissionable matter into the sun's core. Sunshine is at heart a science fiction film and so has many conventions of that genre, such as techno jargon, space suits, and a talking computer system. The grim setting, as well as that of the mission, is conveyed very well, and the gravity of the mission starts to set in as the crew send back video clips to those they left behind on Earth. What starts out as a simple plot begins to grow in complexity as life onboard the space vessel begins to be fleshed out. A notable device used here is the inclusion of a ship psychologist, who acts as a partial narrator during the first half of the film to tell of the state of mind of the crew.

As the reality of traveling in space for several years begins to take a toll on the crew's enthusiasm, the unexpected begins to occur. The conflict in the film seems to stem from the cruelty of outer space and the fight of the crew to stay alive amidst this harsh environment. But almost at once, the producers appear to have taken liberal licenses in drawing out a plausible future event. This detracts from the immersion the film provides so well and really requires a suspension of disbelief for the movie to be enjoyable. For example, with constant communication with headquarters back on Earth, why is the crew so easily disheartened? Another question may be, since the ship practically runs itself, what have the crew done with several years of their time in space? This latter point sticks out near the end when there's a discussion of the different roles each member plays and so who are the more vital members. But with so much time on their hands, it would be expected that all of them should be equally knowledgable about the spacecraft.

Halfway through the film, the tone suddenly changes. It is as if two different directors shot the two sections and mashed them together. The second half is horrendously bad! Not only do the plethora of bad sci-fi film cliches appear simultaneously, but the film suddenly switches into a thriller genre. I don't get into the specifics of how that occurs, but trust me when I say that the plot device used for the switch is pretty ludicrous. With the two contrasting tones comes two separate views of humankind, one where man is good and human will will always triumph and one where man's basic nature is inherently brutal primitive. Which is the correct view? The film seems to suggest both camps, but in proposing the second, negative view, some of the characters starts to "go nuts." But I ask this: if the fate of mankind is at stake, would the crew not give up all personal desires to complete the mission? Or more likely, would each member of the crew not have been tested to ensure maximum compatibility with each other before the mission launched? The producers surely didn't read over the scripts before production and the end product is a lot of potential that led nowhere.

Pros: Good premise; some likeable characters; good buildup of environment
Cons: The plot; the unrealistic aspects of the film; the entire second half
Conclusion: Watch the movie late at night so when the bad part comes on you're already too tired to care...
Score: 3/5

The Book of Three Han - The Chapter of Jumong/ 주몽 (Joo-Mong)

If you wondered why this space has not received an update in a while, Jumong is the reason. Spanning an epic 81 episodes (60 originally, but extended due to its popularity) of over an hour each, finishing Jumong is no small feat! But aside from a few quibbles, this is a series that drama lovers should not miss.

Set in about 50 BCE, the writers took great artistic license in transforming the many myths surrounding the Goguryeo kingdom's founder Jumong into a semi-plausible plotline that's both intricate and entertaining. Starting off from Jumong's father, the story takes us to a time when Korea was divided into small nations and utterly under the influence of the nearby Han dynasty of China, who are depicted as the villains of the time. As Jumong grows up to take on his father's mission to drive out the Han and unite Korea, he meets many perculiar individuals who swears their allegiance to him. This grand story about the founding of a nation is done with style. With twists and turns all over the place, I always felt like I had to watch just one more scene. Saying anything more would probably give something away, so let's leave it at that and proclaim the plot a "plus".

Next up are the characters, which often times make or break a series. Fortunately, there were no bad actors, which would stick out like a sore thumb in the series' environment of high caliber acting. The many characters, as well as the important support characters, were all filled by awesome actors/actresses that knew what they were doing. In historical dramas such as Jumong, talking's a large part of what's on screen, leaving the characters to fend for themselves, with no special effects or crazy camera-work to save them. Thus, it is great to see that Jumong got it right. In fact, the only complaint about characters is that the actor playing Jumong isn't expressive enough. Sometimes I felt like being told what he's feeling rather than inferring it from his expression. Character development took on logical routes, and needless to say, the villains in Jumong were exceptionally good and appropriate.

The only real complaint I have is that there were not enough extras. After watching some historical dramas from China, it's hard to go back to seeing a hundred or so soldiers and pretending that it's an army of thousands. This problem didn't occur in much of the series since Jumong employed mostly guerilla tactics, but the few times massive battles took place it was hard on the eyes.

The use of music cues and signature moments (such as Jumong doing this impressive rapid-fire shooting technique) always kept the excitement up. Suspenseful moments tended to be resolved quickly, and almost as a defiance to popular Korean romantic dramas, Jumong kept romance to a bare minimum. There were some moments where the audience may feel like two people should be together, but Jumong is a tale of brotherhood and manlihood, and there usually isn't much time for romance after all the strategizing and fighting.

With Jumong, Korea has shown that it is at the forefront of television drama production. This is definitely one point in favor of the current Korean culture invasion and I can only say, "well earned, Jumong".

Pros: Captivating plotline; good acting; believable characters; good sound mixing
Cons: Bland fighting; questionable pseudo-realism; little basis in history; little emotional attachment
Conclusion: Everyone has something to gain from here, so make time and watch Jumong!
Score: 4/5

Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain /雪山飛狐

Another year, another Jin Yong novel adaptation. This time around, the story is about Hu Fei, who father was killed when he was a child. As he grows up in the martial arts world, he sets out to seek revenge. But who is his true enemy? Of course, the story would not be complete without an ancient treasure thrown into the mix. I can't say I've read the original books, but based on this TV series, the plot's fairly generic.

So what keeps me coming back? The cast themselves. Some of the acting is fairly good (mostly veterans Alex Fong and Anthony Wong), but it's fun to have some recognizable faces such as Gillian Chung of Twins fame. The one big problem with the setting being in ancient times is that bad acting is immediately visible, and these moments do occur. Another potent problem is that the story gets repetitive when the same characters are on-screen scene after scene. Good guy, bad guy, rinse and repeat. This was especially problematic near the end, and I feel that the series would have benefited from a tighter editing. Forty episodes of this quality is simply too much to bear.

Another huge complaint I have is the conclusion of the series. I understand that the original novels ended in a climatic battle, and the scriptwriters have decided to fill in the gaps here. It was a good intention badly executed. The later chunks are so vastly different from earlier portions that I seriously wonder whether the later scripts were hashed out by the TV studio executives.

Despite all these problems, Fox Volant is not a bad series. It took some liberties with an established story and took a few wrong turns. But the core of the source material is still here, and the final product is an enjoyable series. Just don't pay too much attention while watching it.

Pros: Wuxia; good emphasis on the martial arts styles; swordplay
Cons: Repetitive; young, untested actors; hacked-on ending; not memorable
Conclusion: Fun series to watch if you have the time.
Score: 3/5