Recommended Korean movies?

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:17 pm

I'm going through another brief obsessive phase. This time it's Korean movies. I've only watched a handful in the last few days, but on the lookout for any other recommendations, mainstream in any genre or erotica are fine.

Here are what I watched so far:

Summertime - blah... ridiculous, but the crude dialogue was a bit entertaining.
Green Chair - Not bad, I could really sense characters' relationship and ze secks was passionate. But the ending was wacked out. WTH.
My Sassy Girl - Don't see what the fuss is about. It's OK but I didn't think it was all that. And it was really long.
Jeni, Juno - Rather awful. I didn't like it at all. Damn kids.
Wet Dreams 2 - I enjoyed it, fun for some crude humour but not particularly thought-provoking.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring - Wonderful and beautiful movie, I loved it, and will surely watch it again.

And what's on my queue:

The Classic
Oldboy
A Tale of Two Sisters
3 Iron

I ended up watching a few bad ones as I just sort of picked randomly, so are there any other top picks I should look into? Spring, Summer... was excellent so I'd like to find something along those lines, but again any genre is OK.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:25 am

The only ones I think I've seen are Park's Vengeance trilogy, of which you already have the best entry queued up (Oldboy). Lady Vengeance is also good, but give Sympathy for Mr Vengeance a miss.

Bootaaay · Post by **Bootaaay** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:39 am

I'd highly reccomend Musa, an exceptional martial arts epic staring Zhang Ziyi - it plods a bit in the middle, but the action is well directed and the cinematography is just beautiful.

Post by **nZero** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:50 am

I bought Momento Mori at Wal-Mart while I was drunk and it made no damn sense whatsoever

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:54 am

Attack The Gas Station is great. I also heard that City Of Violence was good.

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:54 am

You should try Gwoemul (The Host) and also Park Chan-wooks Joint Security Area.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:02 am

theevilfunkster wrote:You should try Gwoemul (The Host) and also Park Chan-wooks Joint Security Area.

Yeah the Host was awesome. I'd also like to recommend the Park Vengeance trilogy and Park's film Cut.

LSU · Post by **LSU** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:07 am

Oldboy is, of course, simply the best by far... one of my all-time favourites and easily that director's best movie to date.

I'd also recommend:
A Tale of Two Sisters (Subtle, psychological, visually beautiful and very occasionally shocking.)
R-Point (Solid war ghost story, great ending.)
Arang (Detective ghost horror, I like this one a lot despite some cliched sequences.)
H (The cover says 'Se7en meets Silence of the Lambs' and that's a pretty fair description - and although it's not as good as either, it's not bad at all and definitely worth a viewing.)

I'm mainly into horror and thrillers, so this list obviously reflects that.

seattlexc · Post by **seattlexc** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:40 am

I've only seen a few Korean movies, but I've absolutely loved everyone I've seen (Two sisters, Oldboy). I'm shocked no one has mentioned the suburb Korean film 'Save the Green Planet'. This is easily one of my all time favorite movies, I love everything about this film. It's a great blend of very dark comedy, drama, and romance.

Like I said, I think STGP is the best thing since Donpachi, but no one I've ever watched it with has enjoyed it. Maybe I have horrible taste in movies or something. It's a pretty weird movie, which is maybe why I like it, but I really can't recommend it enough.

Actually, there is one bad thing about this movie. After watching it I have a really hard time watching soulless/cookie cutter Hollywood crap. Seriously, after watching a movie with so many creative ideas and personality, it's hard to watch another 'Pirates' or 'Spiderman' movie.

ReKleSS · Post by **ReKleSS** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:29 am

Bootaaay wrote:I'd highly reccomend Musa, an exceptional martial arts epic staring Zhang Ziyi - it plods a bit in the middle, but the action is well directed and the cinematography is just beautiful.

Seconded. It's a Korean version of Kurosawa's 7 Samurai.

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:56 am

JSA wasn't bad. It was by the guy who did Oldboy

s/m

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:28 am

Very cool, thanks a lot for the suggestions, I will add them to my queue.

It will be very slow going from here... because I'm a thieving bastard as far as movies go and Bittorrent is slow for me.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:28 am

D-wars

Octopod · Post by **Octopod** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:02 pm

Yongary: Monster from the deep.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:01 pm

give Sympathy for Mr Vengeance a miss.

Eh? IMO it was the best of the trilogy in terms of plot and character development; it just lacked the visual lushness of the other two.

Anyway, Natural City is a good if somewhat cliche science fiction film, sometimes described as the 'Korean Blade Runner'. Recommended.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:42 pm

Please Take Care of my Cat is very girly, but sweet and fun nontheless. If you fancy a break from all the gore then check it out.

But yeah, Cut is easily Park wook chan's most interesting film, and can be found along with the equally interesting Box and Dumplings on the 'Three Extremes' portmantau feature.

MathU · Post by **MathU** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:49 am

What's that movie about two brothers joining opposing sides in the Korean war? That was pretty good.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:11 pm

but give Sympathy for Mr Vengeance a miss.

You're on crack, it's terrific.

R-Point (Solid war ghost story, great ending.)

You're on even more crack. R-Point? More like Arse Point. Don't touch that stinker with a bargepole.

What's that movie about two brothers joining opposing sides in the Korean war? That was pretty good.

It's called 'Brotherhood'. It's worth watching if you like Korean movies, although its inherently flawed. There's enough melodrama to put Spielberg to shame, as well as being overlong with a ridiculously OTT series of events that comprise the films closing chapters.
Some standout war scenes though and a big budget mean its worth a watch if that's your thing.

Oldboy is fantastic, but often held in too high a regard against Park's other films. Many overlook the films stuttering flow, gaping holes and plot continuity difficulties for the slick visuals, masterful music score, and high impact violence (which is truly something to behold.)
Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is a much more even tempered film, which has the viewer guessing all the way through, but then takes twists and turns you'd never expect. It's a shocker - a little difficult to comprehend at the end (some may not sit well with the finale) but its an excellently crafted piece of cinema.
JSA is also excellent. Lady Vengeance lacks the uniqueness of its predecessors, but is still a very well made movie.

Plasmo · Post by **Plasmo** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:25 pm

Yongary: Monster from the deep.

Seconded. Great movie, best korean one i know.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:30 pm

I had watched Brotherhood / Taegukgi a few years ago when it was showing in Asia. I enjoyed it for the most part but I thought it was a bit unbelievable the circumstances which caused the brothers to end up fighting on different sides...

I watched A Tale of Two Sisters last night. I guess horror is not really my thing. I might be more of a sissy because I watched The Classic on Saturday and I am in love with it. Sounds like Take Care of My Cat will be up my alley.

Now I'm hearing conflicting opinions about Vengeance... I guess I will watch them all in order, after I get through STGP :)

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:18 pm

seattlexc wrote:I'm shocked no one has mentioned the suburb Korean film 'Save the Green Planet'. It's a great blend of very dark comedy, drama, and romance.

Yeah, Save The Green Planet is a quality film. I bought it from a review I read in Empire which described it as one of the weirdest mixes of genres you'll ever see, but I was still shocked how horrific ,funny and moving a film could be in just 2 hours.

greg · Post by **greg** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:55 pm

The Classic is a great romance movie. I didn't know that South Korean troops were deployed in Vietnam for a short stint. The plot twists are a bit too convenient, but it's made to be a "classic" romance movie, so it works. I cried. I always cry during emotional movies, but my wife never cries in movies. I have a suspicion that she's a robot sent from the future to kill me. It's called "Love Story" in Japanese, which is a stupid movie title. We first got this movie as a Japanese DVD, and I later got a Chinese boot for the English subtitles (but crappy picture quality).

I recently picked up Tae Guk Gi for about $10 at a supermarket, but I haven't watched it yet. Looks like a war movie.

seattlexc · Post by **seattlexc** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:01 am

freddiebamboo wrote:
Yeah, Save The Green Planet is a quality film. I bought it from a review I read in Empire which described it as one of the weirdest mixes of genres you'll ever see, but I was still shocked how horrific ,funny and moving a film could be in just 2 hours.

I'm glad someone else has seen this epic movie. I agree with you that it's impressive how many different genres are packed into one film.

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:16 am

Imperial household (goong)

Full House (k drama)

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:29 pm

well thanks to this thread I have discovered

- The Host, just another action/monster movie but it was still entertaining to see due to how differently it's made compared to the usual hollywood action/monster movies.
- Two Sisters, which I didn't like that much but was okay, I usually dislike horror movies anyway.
- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring which was beautiful.
- Save The Green Planet which is a really nice blend of genres done in a unique way.
- And Oldboy which I think is quite a masterpiece.

thank you~!

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:00 am

anything by chan wook park

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:33 am

the thing i liked the most about the host is how the beast moves. so monstrous, and yet quite vulnerable.

mild spoiler - slipping around all the time, and whatnot. like its still getting use to its own weight and anatomy

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:25 am

A Bittersweet Life is my favourite Korean movie so far, but I've only seen a few.

I have Oldboy, The Brotherhood, R-Point and a beautifully pakaged 2 disc Arahan.

I will now check Yongary and finally get round to The Host.

Anyone seen Once Upon a Time in Korea yet?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:15 pm

MX7 wrote:Please Take Care of my Cat is very girly, but sweet and fun nontheless. If you fancy a break from all the gore then check it out.

But yeah, Cut is easily Park wook chan's most interesting film, and can be found along with the equally interesting Box and Dumplings on the 'Three Extremes' portmantau feature.

Yeah, that "Three Extremes" three-short horror-genre film anthology is very interesting, indeed, with such lavish cinematic shots of food being prepared in the "Box & Dumplings". I checked it out on IFC but it was only shown once. Am glad to have recorded it to DVD-R for posterity.

After watching the such strange and twisty "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (also shown on the IFC a few times), it does get underneath your skin... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:48 pm

it290 wrote: Anyway, Natural City is a good if somewhat cliche science fiction film, sometimes described as the 'Korean Blade Runner'. Recommended.

If good has recently been redefined as bad, then I totally agree.

Allow me to summarize: Unoriginal, boring and overly long with shallow characters that lack personality, awful dialogue, lots of nonsensical plot elements (including ridiculous behaviour of the protagonist that goes completely unpunished), ridiculous overuse of slowmo, awful music, awful ending. The visuals are great- what a waste. Doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Blade Runner, of which this is a blatant rip-off.