Film Reviews by WA

First off I'm a massive fan of Souht Korean cinema and Kim Jee-woon movies. But this one just leaves me cold. I've watched it twice now, and the second viewing even knowing what's coming still baffles me with how events turn out. Technically a masterpiece, but terribly slow and ponderous, guess I'm just not smart enough to appreciate the plot twists. Consequently, I can't recommend this for anything other than amazing camera angles and impressive production and direction.

Enjoyable movie, typical Korean in that it takes a genre that appears to be done to death and revitalises it. Reminded me a bit of Train to Busan and Shin Godzilla with the political angles and the USA "assistance". Good production values, good acting and direction, my only provisos are 1) the mother being such a self-centred individual and 2) the fact that her daughter keeps wandering off despite being told firmly to stay put. Definitely worth a watch on a long winter's evening.

I have always been a fan of Jackie Chan but his 21st century cinematic offerings have gone from mediocre to downright terrible, and this one is in the terrible category. Poor old JC is really showing his age these days and the stunts, fights, and humour that were so effective in his 20th century film gallery are just not there in any way any more. This nonsense is just not worth wasting your time watching it grieves me to say, but sadly time has caught up with Jackie and he should really pack his bags and head off into the sunset.

A nice idea, but I found the incessant close up and following of Ms Lawrence as she walks around, goes upstairs, comes back down, goes to the basement, comes back up, shouts at people, on and on and on.....in the end I watched the last third on double speed just to get through it. As I say, interesting concept, but 2 hours of my life I won't get back (unlike Mr Bardem) lol.

2 stars as John T actually physically resembles the character he is playing. But that's it. I'm a fan of "underworld" movies: Godfather etc. sadly Gotti comes across as a mess of a story: just a series of apparently unrelated set pieces with little or no character development, left me sitting looking at my watch wondering how much longer I had to endure. Not recommended.

This came across as a made for TV movie with a cast of unknowns but featuring Al Pacino. If Karl Urban is Mr Pacino's sidekick, he needs to go back to drama school. Terrible acting. And as for the female interest, just a meaningless character adding nothing to the already pretty ropey story. The plot itself has so many holes and is so banal, I wonder how I managed to watch it through to the end. But I did, and won't be getting that time back sadly. Do yourself a favour and avoid this at all costs.

Good movie, interesting plot-line with the interspersing of different stages of chronology which provides the background for the denouement. Cinematography is impressive with the ice-patterns in the river of particular note, capturing the bitter environment in which the film plays out. Well worth a watch despite John Malkovich's presence (which is not overly intrusive).

Peculiar low-budget film which swings between black comedy and torture porn with a hefty dose of melodrama in-between. The movie made me smile a few times, and the twist at the end is a nice touch, but ultimately I found the movie rather unfulfilling. I wondered if the humour employed is an Israeli thing, kind of like the Koreans with their odd humour in the midst of all kinds of mayhem and blood-letting. Its difficult to make a constructive review without giving the game away, but had I had the opportunity to understand what I was going to see frankly I wouldn't have bothered - but maybe that's part of the charm of the film.

Can't rate this movie highly enough. The chaser was an emotional roller-coaster, yellow sea is just bleak bleak bleak. Classic noir, one of the best from Korea. Visceral, emotional, ultimately fatalistic, what's not to love? Definitely highly recommend this film.

Very much enjoyed this film. Two cops taking on a gang of bad guys with a some excellent set pieces and a typically gallic twist at the end to elevate this movie above the commercial norm. If you're looking for an action thriller and don't mind subtitles then I'd strongly recommend this movie.