killahdelfin

Director Joon-Hwan Jang (''Save the Green Planet '') is characterized by two things: Excellent filmmaking and graphic violence. Hway is a drama/thriller , revolving about a boy raised by a gang of kidnappers/thieves/killers-in short: Not the most moral people of society. But it's not so simple- there is no black/white -only shades of grey. This is the cornerstone and what carries the film -complex characters and their relationship between each other. Brutality ,compassion , hate ,love , avengement, an so on. I won't go into detail here-see for yourself. All I can say is that this is korean filmmaking at its best- I almost shed a manly tear-isn't that proof enough-And I remind you: This is not some stereotypical sissy drama. Cinematography , acting , sound , action , plot- no shortcomings at all. Looking forward to more works of such an talented director 8/10 Would watch again

Funny? Comedy? Satire? Please... Whe live in such a morally degraded time that a psychopath cold bloodedly slaughtering his studends is regarded as ''funny''. To all people that aren t morally crippled I want to say that this is not a funny movie-not in the slightest. Miike shows us a portrait of a psychopath and does so in his his best master-filmmaker tradition. Intense , shocking ,gripping , and exiting. A serial killer , the charismatic teacher hunts down his students in a locked down school. You can almost barely sit in your seat rooting for the students to survive-but Miike is unpredictable as always

Acting - excellent , SUPERB cinematography (!) , intense sound and unforseeable plot. ''To be continued?''-can t wait for the sequel!

Shield of Straw probably is Miike's most humane and ''deep''-film. After watching it you will think about it for hours.

Does it place a mirror in front of our politically-correct pseudo-''good mind'' society and say : ''Look how absurd and self-righteous you are!'' Does it show us a true modern hero -Mirari ? One who stayed true to his principles when other were driven by greed and weakness? Does it examine the psychology of ''our money is everything'' mindset? Almost limitless food for thought. And that s what makes a film excellent. Not to mention the good as always story , acting , cinematography , soundtrack , etc. Some say Miike went mainstream with his film- wrong! Sorry for you-better watch Transformers then.

After watching it you will think about it for hours. As always the master filmmaker knows how to grip the viewer and no letting loose. Unique , gripping , provocative...and good. Watching Miike ,known for his bizarre and brutal films, never felt so right. 8/10 Drama Miike-style.

This film taught me a lesson. Trust the rating more than the reviews. After reading all this positive reviews I really looked forward to see it. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. From the beginning to the end I just stared at the screen with an puzzled , disoriented expression on my face that read : What is going on?!

Trying to hard to be all action-ey and fast paced , Berlin Files doesn't bother to introduce the viewer to the story AT ALL. OK , there is apparently some conspiracy plot going on but everything is so rushed that the legitimate question arises , WHAT actually is rushed. Why are the characters dying , why is this happening , why that?! This case is an example of a film can be ruined with trying to hard to be fast paced. All in all it's style without substance. And in this case it's bad. A conspiracy spy-thriller without substance is just an collection of fight scenes , gunplay and chases. Speaking of which , whoever was responsible for the action is a genius. The 5 stars go entirely to them. The action scenes are so well executed and bombastic , Hollywood has to lie down in a fetus position and cry...

Long story short: If you don't mind watching without knowing what is going on and enjoy superb action-watch it. On the other side , if you like conspiracy thrillers with a good plot-don't waste your precious lifetime.

5.8 ?! Are you kidding me ? I bet the ratings were given by women disappointed in the love-line of the story.I in the contrary was superbly entertained : Excellent cinematography , acting , action , sound and a story , which can be labeled as unique in the ocean of a pro-killer falls in love-wants retirement-pisses-his-employers-off-movies. To my great relief the focus wasn't placed on love but on THE company , something I never saw before. A corporation masked as yet another unit of the ,,normal '' business world. Bureaucracy , business meetings and boring office work ? HEll NO! Suits , guns and office women in tight skirts with the ability to kill you under the blink of an eye , coworkers aka. a deadly wolfspack ; ready to turn the back on you if the money is right ? H-E-L-L Y-E-A-H ! ! ! And this exact atmosphere makes this film very enjoyable. But the main highlight is the charismatic Ji-Sub So as the silent killer ,managing to draw compassion in spite being a murderer-for-money.

A Company Man is a neat movie , being able the fulfill its main objective of delivering a good piece of cinema and solid entertainment , but it lacks that little ,, something '' to make it memorable forever.

( But fans of heroic bloodshed can't skip it!)

I don't want to waste words on this masterpiece. I can say you only one thing: I watched a lot of dramas. Some managed to invoke an urge to cry. Just an urge. Some tried hard and failed. One drama made me shed tears. This one. A touching tale about life , death , friendship , love and rebellion. Superbely acted , well written , entertaining and emotionally gripping. Japan , being infamous for its disturbing and morally degenerated productions , genuinely surprised me. If you like the life and death theme and are ready to cry rivers of tears : DO NOT MISS IT!

Bravo! Bravo! BRAVO!

Although offering one of the best action sequences I ever saw

,,Smuggler''quickly looses its fascination at the other half of the film ,crossing the viewer's line of pain tolerance thanks to the unnecessary torture scenes. Having watched ,, Ichi the Killer '' that would not be of a problem if there only wasn't the unsatisfying other half of the plot, ending abruptly and disappointedly mundane. Added the too superficial ,,new'' characters , especially the one played by Hikari the film looses its initial potential. Long story short: Smuggler is a entertaining film ,but you can miss it . The strong first half promises something outstanding , enhancing the viewer's disappointment of the other half. 2 hours lenght , some more character depth ,less torture and this would surely be a ,,9''. Overall I can advice you ; better watch Ishii's Shark Skin Man if you want to see something really outstanding or if you can tolerate extreme violence and disturbance ,,Ichi the Killer '', which has partially the same plot and similar characters.

It is just a portrait of domestic violence , nothing more. Trying hard to appear dramatic , this film couldn't squeeze one single tear from my eye. Not only was the main character a completely asshole (altough the director was trying to convince us otherwise) the the story , by definition , was absent. Oh look the main characters a going on to buy some stuff ! Oh they are eating ! Oh now they are going home! Oh some short dialogue , involving as usually some insult. Oh look another scene of domestic violence. OH look they are going to drink. Oh look now they walk down the street! Oh look they cry! How interesting! Also the relationship of the main characters ,being the center of the story , was completely irrational. Some guy walking down the street and spitting on you then insulting you as slut all the time- I totally would like to befriend him! Definitely one of the most overrated films on IMDb.

Drama , Revenge , Love , Hate , Mercilessness ,Despair , Loneliness , Change ,Hope ,Tragedy ,Sorrow , Remorse ... etc etc etc . Kim Ki-Duk's new masterpiece is epic. Not visually but substantially. Its covering of so many aspect of the human nature I haven't seen before in film . The twisted and tragic plot reminded me of a saga by the ancient Greek and took me on a roller-coaster of emotions. I hadn't such mixed feelings towards the characters for a long time. First hate , then compassion , then pity then this then that. Ki-Duk truly grew as an artist , moreover ,I dare to mention the word ,genius . This film is his most ,, humane '' work ( unjustifiably being accused of ,,mainstreamness''): No graphic cruelty (,,Seom ''), no irrational concepts like expression of love=violence ( ,, Bad Guy '') ,no bizarre scenes ( ,, Hwal ''). Thus I'm not wondering that it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Thank you Kim-Ki-Duk for the most unique film-experience I ever had!