Tagged: 2008moviereviews

Movie: My Girlfriend is an Agent Release Date: April 23, 2009 Country: South Korea Director: Tae-ra Shin Starring: Ha-Neul Kim , Ji-hwan Kang Runtime: 112 min. Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Holy Time warp! For awhile there, I thought well done goofy comedies like "My Wife is a Gangster" and "Too Beautiful to Lie" were a thing of the past. Thankfully, the new film [...]

Movie: Insadong Scandal Release Date: April 30, 2009 Country: South Korea Director: Hee-kon Park Starring: Rae-won Kim , Jeong-hwa Eom Runtime: 111 min. Editor Rating: 4.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Perhaps part of a trend or not, but we have seen a crop of commercial Korean films centered in the thriller genre but set within a unique niche. "Marine Boy" told an entertaining tale of an [...]

Movie: K-20: The Fiend With Twenty Faces Release Date: December 20, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Shimako Sato Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro , Takako Matsu Runtime: 137 min. Editor Rating: 8.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. I've had " K-20: The Fiend With Twenty Faces " (known in Japan as "K-20: The Legend of the Mask") on my pile of to watch movies for awhile now but for one reason or another [...]

Movie: GS Wonderland Release Date: November 15, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Ryuichi Honda Starring: Chiaki Kuriyama , Takuya Ishida , Hiro Mizushima Runtime: 100 min. Editor Rating: 6.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Never knew until watching the movie "GS Wonderland" that Japan even had a "Group Sound" period with Japanese bands copping the sounds and style of bands like the Beatles or the Monkees. In [...]

Movie: The Two in Tracksuits Release Date: July 19, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura Starring: Masato Sakai , Makoto Ayukawa Runtime: 93 min. Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. "The Two in Tracksuits" starts off with a 54 year old father (played by Makoto Ayukawa) and his 32 year old son (played Masato Sakai) escaping from the blistering Tokyo summer heat to enjoy [...]

Movie: Ikigami Release Date: September 27, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Tomoyuki Takimoto Starring: Shota Matsuda , Riko Narumi , Takayuki Yamada Runtime: 133 min. Editor Rating: 5.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Geez talk about your uneven movie! "Ikigami," based on a manga by Motoro Mase, is set sometime in the future with an oppressive big brother like government randomly killing off citizens in the name [...]

Movie: One Million Yen and the Nigamushi Woman Release Date: July 19, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Yuki Tanada Starring: Yu Aoi , Mirai Moriyama Runtime: 121 min. Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. There's a lot of coming-of-age road films out there, but there's not many that features Yu Aoi in the lead role. That in itself should pique your interest in Yuki Tanada's " [...]

Movie: Scandal Makers / Speed Scandal Release Date: December 4, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Hyeong-cheol Kang Starring: Tae-hyun Cha , Bo-yeong Park , Seok-hyeon Wang Runtime: 108 min. Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Somewhat like "200 Pounds Beauty," last year's "Scandal Makers" turned into a huge sleeper hit that would go on to become South Korea's top box office draw of 2008. [...]

Movie: Tokyo! Release Date: August 16, 2008 Country: Japan, France Director: Joon-ho Bong , Leos Carax, Michel Gondry Starring: Ayako Fujitani , Ryo Kase , Denis Lavant, Jean-François Balmer, Teruyuki Kagawa , Yu Aoi Runtime: 110 min Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Tokyo! " is a three part anthology film centered around the city of Tokyo and interpreted through the vantage [...]

Movie: Paco and the Magical Picture Book Release Date: September 13, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Starring: Koji Yakusho , Ayaka Wilson Runtime: 105 min. Editor Rating: 6.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Tetsuya Nakashima certainly made a splash with his 2006 film "Memories of Matsuko." That movie delivered a sensory experience like so few others have before and packed an emotional punch that [...]

Movie: The Equation of Love & Death Release Date: September 18, 2008 Country: China Director: Baoping Cao Starring: Xun Zhou , Chao Deng , Hanyu Zhang Runtime: 96 min. Editor Rating: 8.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. It's always a blast walking into a movie without knowing anything about the film and then finding yourself completely immersed in an unpredictable story. "The Equation of [...]

Movie: A Frozen Flower Release Date: December 30, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Ha Yu Starring: In-seong Jo , Jin-mo Ju Runtime: 133 min. Editor Rating: 5.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. After the runaway success of the homo-erotic period film "The King & The Clown," it was bound to happen that someone would attempt to make a similar film. Fast forward three years [...]

Movie: Cafe Isobe Release Date: July 5, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Keisuke Yoshida Starring: Hiroyuki Miyasako , Riisa Naka , Kumiko Aso Runtime: 113 min. Editor Rating: 8.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Come on in, sit down, and relax. Pop in the film " Cafe Isobe " and enjoy 90 minutes of light hearted moments and goofy comedy. That's what I expected from [...]

Movie: Hello Schoolgirl Release Date: November 27, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Jang-ha Ryu Starring: Ji-tae Yu , Yeon-hee Lee Runtime: 113 min. Editor Rating: 7.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Hello Schoolgirl " is a surprisingly effective romantic-comedy that lightly broaches the subject of relationships between people of different age generations. Now don't think your going to find something along the lines of Vladimir [...]

Movie: Ichi Release Date: October 25, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Fumihiko Sori Starring: Haruka Ayase , Takao Osawa Runtime: 120 min. Editor Rating: 5.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Ichi " is another Japanese film that reprises the old (Edo era Japan), but adds a new twist or two. The film doesn't make as wide of a departure as say "Azumi" or "Sakuran" [...]

Movie: Romantic Island Release Date: December 24, 2008 Country: South Korea Director: Cheol-woo Kang Starring: Seon-gyun Lee , Su-kyeong Lee , Min-gi Lee , Eugene , Mun-shik Lee , Il-hwa Lee Runtime: 100 min. Editor Rating: 6.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. Having watched a lot of heavy films lately, I did have a craving for something lightweight and fun. The South Korean movie " [...]

Movie: Don't Laugh at My Romance Release Date: January 19, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Nami Iguchi Starring: Hiromi Nagasaku , Ken'ichi Matsuyama , Yu Aoi Runtime: 137 min. Editor Rating: 5.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Don't Laugh at My Romance " sure seems to have all the pieces for a great film. There's Japanese heartthrob Ken'ichi Matsuyama making a return to his [...]

Movie: Departures Release Date: September 27, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Yojiro Takita Starring: Masahiro Motoki , Ryoko Hirosue Runtime: 130 min. Editor Rating: 8.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Departures " is the rare film that successfully combines aspects of a commercial film, art house film, light comedy & heavy drama (pertaining to family & death). The film recently received a surprise boost in recognition [...]

Movie: Gou Gou, The Cat Release Date: September 6, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Isshin Inudo Starring: Kyoko Koizumi , Juri Ueno Runtime: 116 min. Editor Rating: 7.5 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. " Gou Gou, The Cat ," based on Yumiko Oshima's autobiographical manga "Gū-gū datte Neko de aru," is the latest film from Japanese director Isshin Inudo. Isshin Inudo is the director of such [...]

Movie: Tokyo Sonata Release Date: September 27, 2008 Country: Japan Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Starring: Teruyuki Kagawa , Kyoko Koizumi Runtime: 119 min. Editor Rating: 9.0 Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. There's only a handful of films that I have seen that compares to " Tokyo Sonata ." Sam Mendez's "American Beauty" and Toshiaki Toyoda's "Hanging Garden" quickly comes to mind as they are both wonderful [...]