Rsyu Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Since they're not really well known on here I've decided to introduce some well received Korean films from time to time on here. I'll write up a short summary and post a link to it back to this post. Feel free to do a write up for a film that you enjoyed or think other people will enjoy and I'll link those too List of films Man from Nowhere (2010) Punch (2011) The Good, The Bad, The Weird Edited March 8, 2015 by Rsyu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Film Review: The Man from Nowhere (2010) Cast Won Bin (as Cha Tae-sik) Kim Saeron (as Jeong so-mi) Rating Rotten Tomatoes: 100% IMDb: 7.9/10 Naver: 9.21/10.0 Box office Gross: $42.48M (47.9B KRW) Admissions : 6,282,774 Review Those who are familiar with Luc Besson’s Leon’s The Professional will find similar elements in The man from nowhere. The story revolves around Cha Tae-Sik, a former Black-ops agent for the Korean government who retired to work as a quiet pawn shop owner after his wife was killed in a assassination directed at him. He suffers from a guilty conscience as a result with frequent flashbacks to the fateful day. Looking bedraggled and his face half covered from long hair, he keeps mostly to himself, shunning the people who live close to him the majority of which are drug addicts and petty criminals . He has however, a soft spot for a young girl (So-mi) who takes to calling him Ajeossi (the Korean title of the film, means mister). So-mi considers Tae-sik to be her only ally in a cruel world in which she is bullied and abused by everyone including her own drug addict mother. After So-mi is kidnapped along with her mother by a criminal organization over some stolen drugs Tae-sik goes on a bloody rampage to rescue her during the course of which he uses the full extent of his martial arts and gun/knife fighting ability to dismantle the entire organization from top to bottom. Won bin gives a characteristically charismatic performance as the guilt stricken former black-ops agent Tae-sik in the film. His dark and dangerous air is contrasted by the innocence of So-mi. He's just the guy next door with no obligation to help her but he does and goes the whole 9 yards while doing so. Nobody else in the film understands his motivations either but it could be that he wants to believe that something that innocent can still exist in the world after his wife was brutally murdered before his own eyes. This is not at all dissimilar to the way John in John Wick goes berserk after they kill his dog, the symbol of his wife's love for him. There is also the iconic shot in which he poses in front of the mirror while shaving his long hair. The weakest part of the film is no doubt the unoriginal plot of the movie. While it was well executed, we already had a similar film in Leon: The professional and countless other revenge driven crime films before that. So while it is very good at what it does, it's nothing new. Well worth the watch though for fans of the genre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Tuesday Box Office (February 3) -Admissions (Total Adm) Daily% Gross (weekly%) [sC] <Title> 1. 46,280 (12,816,860) -9.24% $305K (-35.2%) [542] <Ode to my father> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. 44,982 (1,865,003) -11.8% $314K (-51.9%) [620] <Gangnam Blues> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. 42,445 (1,823,955) +1.66% $295K (-44.0%) [587] <Big Hero 6> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. 22,485 (319,450) -3.68% $142K (--) [398] <Shoot me in the heart> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. 14,899 (1,833,199) -9.53% $101K (-61.6%) [360] <Love Forecast> Total admissions: 232,405 Total Gross: $1,570,406 February Total: $9,113,529 Cumulative gross Ode to my father: $91.84 million Big Hero 6: $13.20 million Gangnam Blues: $13.67 million Current presales (Midnight) 01. 18.9% (21,700) C'est si bon 02. 15.9% (18,211) Big Hero 6 03. 13.5% (15,480) Jupiter Ascending 04. 8.6% (9,868) Ode to My Father 05. 5.4% (6,239) Gangnam Blues 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olive Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I love The Man from Nowhere, very entertaining movie.Won Bin is also one of my favorite Korean star. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catlover Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I love The Man from Nowhere, very entertaining movie.Won Bin is also one of my favorite Korean star. You took the words right out of my mouth. I was about to say the exact same thing . But I'm wondering why Won Bin doesn't appear in more movies. The Man from Nowhere was his latest one and it was 5 years ago. If I'm not mistaken, he only has 4 movies since 2004! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) You took the words right out of my mouth. I was about to say the exact same thing . But I'm wondering why Won Bin doesn't appear in more movies. The Man from Nowhere was his latest one and it was 5 years ago. If I'm not mistaken, he only has 4 movies since 2004! It's not from lack of trying. After The man from nowhere, he was planning to debut in hollywood but talks went awry at the last minute. There were a couple of other films that were cancelled at the final minute or where they couldn't come to terms, prolonging his absence from the film biz. There are news reports that he's considering various roles right now so we may see him in a film in the near future Edited February 4, 2015 by Rsyu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catlover Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) It's not from lack of trying. After The man from nowhere, he was planning to debut in hollywood but talks went awry at the last minute. There were a couple of other films that were cancelled at the final minute or where they couldn't come to terms, prolonging his absence from the film industry. There are news reports that he's considering various roles right now so we may see him in a film in the near future Ah I see. Good to know that. I really like him. Btw yesterday I just saw the trailer of Ode to My Father in the theater. Looked pretty epic. I love these kind of movies. Definitely gonna see it when it's released here. Edited February 4, 2015 by catlover 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) Wednesday Box Office (February 4) -Admissions (Total Adm) Daily% Gross (weekly%) [sC] <Title> 1. 41,185 (1,907,071) -10.2% $293K (-57.6%) [613] <Gangnam Blues> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. 41,030 (1,865,547) -4.16% $293K (-46.2%) [590] <Big Hero 6> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. 39,901 (12,857,199) -14.6% $269K (-45.9%) [543] <Ode to my father> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. 19,261 (338,927) -15.2% $125K (-68.1%) [392] <Shoot me in the heart> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. 13,928 (1,847,279) -7.46% $98K (-53.9%) [357] <Love Forecast> Total admissions: 213,299 Total Gross: $1,473,157 February Total: $10,586,686 Cumulative gross Ode to my father: $92.11 million Big Hero 6: $13.50 million Gangnam Blues: $13.96 million Current presales (Midnight) 01. 24.8% (40,157) C'est si bon 02. 16.1% (26,086) Jupiter Ascending 03. 15.8% (25,619) Big Hero 6 04. 7.5% (12,138) Ode to My Father 05. 6.1% (9,864) Spirited away Edited February 4, 2015 by Rsyu 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Ah I see. Good to know that. I really like him. Btw yesterday I just saw the trailer of Ode to My Father in the theater. Looked pretty epic. I love these kind of movies. Definitely gonna see it when it's released here. I think it's worth watching although some of the elements that resonated hugely among the Korean audience (particularly the elderly who lived through the period of history depicted in the film) such as the Korean civil war and the economic hardships that followed probably won't move non-Koreans in the same way. Just saying you shouldn't expect a masterpiece in storytelling or anything like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasmmi Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Quite surprised to see Spirited Away in the presales list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Quite surprised to see Spirited Away in the presales list Re-release. They already did HMC late last year so I can't say I'm surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catlover Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I think it's worth watching although some of the elements that resonated hugely among the Korean audience (particularly the elderly who lived through the period of history depicted in the film) such as the Korean civil war and the economic hardships that followed probably won't move non-Koreans in the same way. Just saying you shouldn't expect a masterpiece in storytelling or anything like that Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoguy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Will the new Cinderella movie be released in South Korea? Also how well would the movie do there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Will the new Cinderella movie be released in South Korea? Also how well would the movie do there? No fixed released day but sometime during march probably. Going by maleficent's box office performance I don't think we should expect much for Cinderella here although there seems to be a lot of excitement on various online communities over Frozen Fever so who knows. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullbuster Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Will the new Cinderella movie be released in South Korea? Also how well would the movie do there? It's not China, it's South Korea, there is no reason for the movie not to be released there 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonfink Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 It's not China, it's South Korea, there is no reason for the movie not to be released there Well actually there are so many movies which ain't to be released. For example, PTA's Inherent Vice isn't gonna theater release in Korea. And even though Korean audiences love Transformers series, but Michael Bay's Pain And Gain was never released. Such a weird market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Well actually there are so many movies which ain't to be released. For example, PTA's Inherent Vice isn't gonna theater release in Korea. And even though Korean audiences love Transformers series, but Michael Bay's Pain And Gain was never released. Such a weird market. You could say the same thing about every market I think. There are always films that don't get released because of censorship issues or because they think it will bomb. Most big budget blockbusters get a release here though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsyu Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Thursday Box Office (February 5) -Admissions (Total Adm) Daily% Gross (weekly%) [sC] <Title> 1. 95,303 (106,750) -- $689K (--) [754] <c'est ci bon> NEW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. 43,763 (44,534) -- $341K (--) [543] <Jupiter Ascending> NEW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. 36,396 (12,893,837) -9.35% $242K (-55.1%) [426] <Ode to my father> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. 32,089 (1,897,590) -21.7% $214K (-52.9%) [458] <Big Hero 6> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. 26,284 (1,934,287) -37.3% $186K (-65.2%) [415] <Gangnam blues> Total admissions: 292,092 Total Gross: $2,011,446 February Total: $12,598,132 Cumulative gross Ode to my father: $92.35 million Big Hero 6: $13.72 million Gangnam Blues: $14.15 million Current presales (Midnight) 01. 22.9% (47,590) C'est si bon 02. 19.5% (40,588) Big Hero 6 03. 12.8% (26,516) Jupiter Ascending 04. 8.1% (16,871) Ode to My Father 05. 6.3% (13,185) Miniforce 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasmmi Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) You could say the same thing about every market I think. There are always films that don't get released because of censorship issues or because they think it will bomb. Most big budget blockbusters get a release here though. I also believe they haven't removed the quota yet am I right? It's just a very generous quota these days that is pretty pointless exisitng. Edited February 5, 2015 by chasmmi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Thursday Box Office (February 5) -Admissions (Total Adm) Daily% Gross (weekly%) [sC] <Title> 1. 95,303 (106,750) -- $689K (--) [754] <c'est ci bon> NEW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. 43,763 (44,534) -- $341K (--) [543] <Jupiter Ascending> NEW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. 36,396 (12,893,837) -9.35% $242K (-55.1%) [426] <Ode to my father> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. 32,089 (1,897,590) -21.7% $214K (-52.9%) [458] <Big Hero 6> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. 26,284 (1,934,287) -37.3% $186K (-65.2%) [415] <Gangnam blues> Total admissions: 292,092 Total Gross: $2,011,446 February Total: $12,598,132 Cumulative gross Ode to my father: $92.35 million Big Hero 6: $13.72 million Gangnam Blues: $14.15 million Current presales (Midnight) 01. 22.9% (47,590) C'est si bon 02. 19.5% (40,588) Big Hero 6 03. 12.8% (26,516) Jupiter Ascending 04. 8.1% (16,871) Ode to My Father 05. 6.3% (13,185) Miniforce That is just bad for JA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
