After a rocky start with Netflix, I’m now coming round to it. I started subscribing to the online service in order to watch Okja, the Netflix-only feature film by director Bong Joon-ho. Although that particular experience was a big disappointment, I continued the subscription in case I was tempted by any of the other movies … [Read More]
People: Ryu Seung-ryong
Seven Years of Night (7년의밤, 2018) review: guilt, inherited sin and uneasy revenge
As a hard-hitting, brutal revenge thriller balanced with emotion and pathos detailing guilt and regret, Seven Years of Night stands up well to scrutiny. However director Choo Chang-min’s decision to repeatedly leave supposedly supernatural elements open to question brings with it a feeling of missed opportunities. [Read More]
Psychokinesis (염력, 2018) review: superpowers, family and the shadow of Yongsan
While Psychokinesis initially appears to be a whimsical entry into the superhero genre, director Yeon Sang-ho is equally interested in telling a dramatic tale about family and the struggle of powerless individuals against corporate Korea. However, the film being inspired by the real-life Yongsan tragedy raises the question of where the balance between humour and drama should really lie [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Masquerade deserved all the awards it got
It swept the board at the recent Grand Bell awards – best film, best director and best leading actor among them. And for all-round entertainment, the closing film of the London Korean Film Festival 2012 deserved all those awards. Was a uniquely reformist tax policy set by a pantomime performer who was pretending to be … [Read More]
Choo Chang-min and Ryoo Seung-ryong interview: Masquerade – history with a modern voice
Director Choo Chang-min and actor Ryoo Seung-ryong discuss their involvement in Masquerade, exploring the appeal of period drama, the story’s modern relevance, casting well-known and emerging actors, artistic freedom, and the different challenges posed by physically demanding versus more restrained roles. [Read More]
Festival Film Review: All about my wife – a perfect date movie
Part of the K-comedy stream of the 2012 LKFF. Im Soo-jeong plays a shrewish wife driving her husband (Lee Seon-gyoon) crazy, causing him to hire a Casanova (Ryu Seung-ryong) to woo her to give him an excuse for divorce. This is a perfect date movie: entertaining, never too demanding but still making you think about … [Read More]
‘War of the Arrows’ – Causing Death and Saving Lives
The opening gala of the London Korean Film Festival was a more rambunctious affair than I remember even last year’s being, due in no small part to the sudden and unexpected entrance of SHINee (I was lucky enough to be two rows behind them, but many who had specially booked seats I gather were incandescent … [Read More]
Why I walked out of Possessed half way through
Maybe it’s because I was tired. Maybe it’s because I’m reading a particularly good book at the moment. Or maybe it’s because I arrived too late to get my favourite spot in the Spartan seating arrangements in the multi-purpose hall at the KCC (1). But as I sat through the first half of Possessed (2) … [Read More]
Event news: Possessed screens at the KCC
Leading up to Halloween, the films at the KCC this month aim to scare. First up, Possessed, aka Living Death (불신지옥). Possessed (불신지옥) Director: Lee Yong-ju (2009, 100mins) Screening Date: 7pm, October 06, 2011 Number of Seats: 125 Theatre: Multi-purpose Hall Synopsis: A young girl named So-jin survives a terrible car accident which left her … [Read More]