Exhuma: Feng Shui Horror

Feng Shui is one of those things you can’t help believing in when its bad. At this secluded grave site, it is really, really awful. A shaman, a geomancer, and their crony-partners (walk into a bar and then) rather ill-advisedly disinter the remains, but that will be a profound mistake in director-screenwriter Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma, which opens tomorrow in theaters.

Something is tormenting the latest infant scion if a wealthy Korean-American family. Apparently, it recently finished off the father’s older bother and has moved on to the firstborn of the next generation. At least that is what Hwa-rim sensed. She is the shaman recruited by the Korean wing of the family. It turns out the great-grandfather is the likely supernatural culprit, but she will need the help of a veteran geomancer, like crusty old Kim Sang-deuk, to fight him.

Lately, Kim and his undertaker-sidekick Ko Young-geun have been scraping out a living by selling Feng Shui-vetted grave-sites, but he knows his stuff. According to the boy’s father, the mean old man was buried in an unmarked grave on eerie-looking mountain, on the advice of a dubious Japanese monk. Frankly, Kim never scouted there, because the vibes are so bad. However, Hwa-kim and her assistant/vessel Bong-gil are convinced the  four can perform a cleansing ritual and then whisk the body away for cremation, but, of course, it will not be so easy.

Along with Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing, Exhuma proves Korean Shamanic horror can be as potent as Catholic demonic horror. Exhuma is not quite as unhinged as Na’s film, but it has a quite slow-building eeriness that is distinctive. There are no jump scares, just loads of atmosphere and creepy lore.

Heart Blackened: Korea Remakes Silent Witness

They say money can’t buy love, but it can retain the best legal defense available. Sometimes that is just as important, or more so. For Im Mi-ra, this would be one of those times. The entitled heiress stands accused of murdering her father’s fiancée. Still loyal to his daughter, he makes a somewhat an orthodox choice hiring Choi Hee-jung, but he is a shrewd judge of character. Choi’s integrity is about the only thing we can take for certain in Jung Ji-woo’s Heart Blackened (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Yes, this is indeed a Korean remake of the Aaron Kwok-Sun Honglei-Yu Nan legal thriller, Silent Witness, but Jung has shaken it up a bit. He largely parallels initial set-up of Fei Xing’s film, but he shifts the focus from the prosecutor to the defense attorney. Although he is faithful to the big twist, he makes some alterations to the ending, so viewers who have seen the original still won’t know with 100% certainty where the film is headed.

Given the fame of Yoo-na, an aging but still popular K-pop idol, this murder case is sure to be a media circus. Ordinarily, Im Tae-san’s sharky corporate firm handles all his legal business, but they subcontract Choi for this case. Due to their friendship at school, Mi-ra is more likely to trust the young, independent counsel. In terms of image, she is a good counterbalance to the Ims. Unfortunately, the case looks bad for them. Technically, there is no smoking gun, but the circumstantial evidence is as damning as it gets. However, a stalkerish fan might have video footage of the vehicular murder. A mad scramble ensues to recover that footage, sight unseen, so it is sure to surprise at least one of the interested parties.

Filling Sun Honglei’s shoes is a tall order, but Choi Min-sik is more than sufficiently grizzled and steely. He definitely commands the screen as Im Tae-san, but he also delivers some surprisingly poignant moments down the stretch. Park Shin-hye is terrific in the expanded role of shy but principled Choi Hee-jung. By elevating her to the lead, the film takes on a bit of a Jagged Edge vibe.

Lee Soo-kyung also shows impressive range as Im Mi-ra, who is allowed more room for self-awareness and growth this time around. Lee Honey’s warm but messily human portrayal of Yoo-na makes us sorry to see her murdered, even though it is necessary to get the picture going. However, it is unclear why the film allots so much screen time to slimy super-fan Kim Dong-myung, beyond actor Ryu Jun-yeol’s teen heartthrob popularity.

Heart Blackened is a slickly produced film that deftly turns its surprise reversals of fortune, but it is never too far divorced from the human element. It also features some of Korea’s biggest stars and most reliable character actors, all working at the top of their games. Highly recommended for thriller fans (even those who have already seen Silent Witness), Heart Blackened opens this Friday (11/10) at the Los Angeles and Buena Park CGV Cinemas.

(Photo: CJ Entertainment)

The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale

It is sort of like Life of Pi, but with a massive body count. An old hunter and a legendary one-eyed tiger share a spiritual link, but it is more about their bitter shared experiences than New Age enlightenment. Inevitably, their intertwined fates come down to one last hunt in Park Hoon-jung’s The Tiger (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and BluRay from Well Go USA.

The legendary “Mountain God” has prowled Jirisan for years. He was sort of involved with the death of Chun Man-duk’s wife and the hunter similarly had a hand in the death of the tiger’s mate. Hunting Joseon tigers was once of viable option for the hardscrabble mountain folk, but the local commander of the Japanese occupying force has declared war on the big cats, partly out of misplaced zeal for big game and partly to eradicate the symbol of Joseon nationalism. However, that Mountain God is one elusive beast.

Naturally, Chun will soon have ever greater reasons to resume his grudge against the Mountain God, but he finds the unsportsmanlike hunt distasteful and is disinclined to do the occupiers’ bidding. Goo-gyeong is probably the second most skilled hunter on the mountain and he holds no such reservations. Unfortunately, his gambit to lure Chun to the hunt will yield bitter fruit.

When crack Japanese troops reinforce the hunt, Chun’s tiger arguably become the fiercest freedom fighter in Korean history. Frankly, Park’s film is a little slow out of the blocks, but when the Mountain God gets ticked off, it becomes a ripping (most literally) good time. The ironic parallels between Chun and the tiger are also strong enough to give the film significant heft, but are not excessively heavy-handed in a way that would mire the film in self-importance.

Nobody can top Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, New World, Nameless Gangster) for stone cold steeliness, which he brings in spades once again as Chun. Yet, this time around, Jeong Man-sik’s Goo-gyeong might be an even badder cat. While Kim Sang-ho has had his somewhat shticky supporting turns, he is refreshingly gritty as Goo-gyeong’s hunting mate, Chil-goo. He still might be a tad high-strung, but he’s entitled.

There are glaring CGI moments in The Tiger, but most of the action scenes are quite well realized. Altogether, it is quite a potent mixture of blood, guts, tragedy, and mysticism. It also effectively scores environmental points through an appeal to nationalism (ironically, the Korean-Siberian tiger population has reportedly rebounded on the peninsula, in the DMZ of all places). Recommended for fans who enjoy outdoors survival tales (with an emphasis on action), The Tiger is now available for home viewing, from Well Go USA.

The Admiral: Roaring Currents

During the late 1500s, naval warfare was a tough business, almost entirely powered by galley oars. Like most forms of warfighting at the time, it usually boiled down to a numbers game. Yet, Admiral Yi Sun-shin will try to hold off 330 invading Japanese vessels with a mere twelve ships (if that), largely through his force of will. Of course, he also has home field advantage, including the treacherous strait the Japanese will try to navigate in Kim Han-min’s smash Korean box office hit The Admiral: Roaring Currents (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Admiral Yi has often defeated the noble-born Japanese General Wakizaka, but he was lucky to escape their last confrontation with his life. Still ailing from his torture and imprisonment, the freshly released and pardoned Admiral Yi assumes command of the Joseon fleet, all twelve ships. Frankly, none of the king’s generals believe he can do anything with his ragtag remnant except let the army absorb them. In contrast, Admiral Yi understands they must slow the Japanese advance or his unappreciative king will surely be lost.

Needless to say, not everyone sees things his way, forcing the Admiral to deal with insurrection at the senior officer level. However, the Japanese leadership is even more deeply divided. While Wakizaka is still nominally in charge, de facto command has been assumed by Kurushima, the ruthless former brigand. He has no interest in winning hearts and minds, but his contempt and overconfidence might be his undoing.

Yes, Roaring is a Joseon St. Crispin’s day on the Myeong-Nyang Sea. Evidently, director Han is waging one man war against Shogunate Japan, following up his action driven War of the Arrows with Yi’s heroic story. While Roaring is not as breakneck and adrenaline charged as Arrows, it features some massive cannonball-and-grappling hook spectacle, churned to butter on the Myeong-Nyang’s roiling waves. Seriously, this probably not the film for viewers prone to sea-sickness.

It is also jolly good fun to hear the Japanese generals cursing Yi, like Seinfeld hissing “Newman.” Appropriately, the legendary Admiral is played with haggard gravitas by Choi Min-sik, currently one of the world’s biggest movie stars, given his turns in Oldboy, Nameless Gangster, New World, and Luc Besson’s Lucy. Although his Yi is considerably more reserved than his celebrated gangster performances, he fully brings out the Admiral’s tragically heroic dimensions.

Arguably, Choi’s most important co-stars are the warships and the angry sea, much as it was in The Perfect Storm. However, Ryu Seong-ryong’s Kurushima still makes a highly hissable villain, even if he does not quite generate the same malevolent charisma he brought to bear as Qing the Japanese man-hunter in Arrows. Although her screen time is brief, Juvenile Offender’s Lee Jung-hyun also adds a memorable note of pathos as the traumatized Lady Jung.

There is no question Han puts a lot of movie up on the screen with The Admiral. It is the sort of military epic Mel Gibson used to make before his implosion, which is meant as a compliment. Recommended for fans of patriotic Korean cinema and big picture historicals, The Admiral: Roaring Currents opens this Friday (8/15) in New York at the AMC Empire and the AMC Bay Terrace in Flushing.

The Original Oldboy, Beware of Cheap Knock-offs

As president of the jury at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino lobbied hard on behalf of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, but his fellow jurors were dead set on giving the Palme d’Or to Fahrenheit 9/11.  You have to wonder how well that politically motivated decision sits with Kathleen Turner and Tilda Swinton, in retrospect.  In contrast, Tarantino’s judgment looks sound as a pound, particularly in light of a once prominent director’s decision to remake Oldboy in a desperate attempt to maintain his relevancy.  Viewers should accept no substitutes when Park’s original Oldboy (trailer here) returns to New York theaters tomorrow.

Oh Dae-sul is completely awful at being a husband, father, and businessman.  Generally, he is an all around despicable human being, but he will pay.  After a drunken bender, Oh wakes up confined to a seedy hotel room, which is actually a cell in an underground prison.  For the next fifteen years, he will remain secretly confined there, while his nemesis frames him for the murder of his wife.

For no apparent reason, Oh is suddenly released, but it quickly becomes clear the shadowy mastermind has simply moved on to the next phase of his scheme.  With his daughter adopted by foreign parents, the solitary pariah crashes with Mi-do, the young sushi chef in the restaurant he passed out in.  As Oh pursues vengeance and answers, the question becomes “why” rather than “who.” Of course, he will be returning to that prison and he’s bringing a hammer (nope, Spike didn’t come up with that bit).

Arguably, Oldboy is the perfect film for Thanksgiving because it features one of the most memorable celebratory meals ever filmed.  You’ll know it when you see it.  Yes, it has its share of graphic violence and shocking subject matter that would be spoilery to reveal.  However, the psychological torment is far more unsettling than the physical beatdowns.  By the time it reaches its climax, Oldboy absolutely strips Oh emotionally bare—and he is not the only one to have his psyche ripped open in the process.

Starting with Oldboy and continuing with Nameless Gangster and New World, Choi Min-sik has staked a claim as one of the world’s preeminent screen actors, doing the sort of work Robert De Niro should have done instead of slumming in dozens of Meet the Parents sequels.  Choi has that sort of magnetic presence and visceral physicality. Thanks to his powerhouse turn, Oldboy rises to the level of classical tragedy.  He is nicely abetted by the ethereal Kang Hye-jung as the disarmingly waifish Mi-do.

Part noir and part fairy tale, Oldboy is defiantly ambiguous at times, but never nihilistic.  It has an indescribable vibe light years removed from most filmmakers’ comfort zones.  Remaking (or re-conceiving or whatever term they might want to use) it is a highly questionable proposition, doomed to failure whenever hipper audiences compare it to the original.  Avoid shoddy counterfeits and check out Park Chan-wook’s Old Boy.  Highly recommended for the adventurous, it opens tomorrow (11/29) in New York at the Quad Cinemas and streams (now with subtitles) on Netflix.

New World: Park Hoon-jung’s Gangster Election

These candidates will not debate, but there will be plenty of dirty campaigning.  Yes, we have seen organized crime “elections” before, classic ones in fact.  However, in this case, a crafty old copper plans to be the secret hanging chad.  He will play a high stakes game in hopes of influencing the Goldmoon syndicate’s succession in Park Hoon-jung’s New World (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

We know Choi Min-sik is a serious hardnose, because he was in Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, and Nameless Gangster.  Indeed, we can tell his Detective Kang does not have a lot of qualms about cutting corners right from the start, but he will soon raise Machiavellian ruthlessness to an art form.  Years ago, Kang placed Lee Ja-sung, a green police recruit, super-deep undercover with Goldmoon.  Since then, the corporate alliance of criminal clans has become so powerful the police only hope to contain it.  The untimely rubbing out of their chairman presents a golden opportunity.  The strategically placed Lee will influence the ensuing leadership struggle to benefit Kang’s favored contender, but only Kang and his easily manipulated superior know the details of Operation New World.

Even Lee is not privy to the identity of Kang’s candidate, but he generally assumes it will be Jung Chung, the violently erratic head of his clan.  Lee chafes under Jung Chung, openly resenting his immaturity and condescension.  Nonetheless, since they are both ethnic Chinese, the prospective chairman completely trusts his lieutenant—at least for now.

Together with last year’s Nameless Gangster, Choi delivers a heck of a gangster epic one-two punch.  He again commands the screen with his rumpled middle-aged intensity.  While his work as Kang is somewhat understated compared to his turn in Devil (also written by Park), he still brings a sinister charisma that makes the movie.  By the same token, Lee Jung-jae matches him step for step as Lee, tapping into all kinds of angry, paranoid inner turmoil.  Yet, neither is as disconcerting as Hwang Jun-min’s nearly feral Jung Chung.

It is possible some viewers might guess New World’s big twist, but the circuitous route it takes to get there is devilishly clever and grimly logical.  Park keeps the tension cranked up and when it is time for a big gangster brawl he pulls out all the stops.  The elevator scene alone is worth the price of admission. 

Sometimes you see an Asian crime film so wickedly entertaining, you know Hollywood will not be able to resist producing an inferior remake.  That is the kind of badness we are talking about here.  For fans of the gangster genre, New World is this year’s must see.  Recommended for patrons of smart mob dramas who are not afraid of a spot of violence, New World opens this Friday (3/22) in New York at the AMC Empire.