Tag: 2012
PiFan 2013 Review: Muddled RITUAL - A PSYCHOMAGIC STORY Misses The Mark
Heavily influenced by cult surrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, not to mention starring the ageing cineaste in a minor role, Ritual - A Psychomagic Story is a new Italian film from the directing duo Giulia Brazzare and Luca Immesi. A psychological...
Review: Korean Indie KOALA Oozes Charm
Simplicity is in rare supply in Korean cinema these days, so when a film like Koala comes along, it does so as a breath of fresh air. Nary an overwrought emotion, sad backstory nor superfluous tangent can be seen here....
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Review: What GHOST SWEEPERS Lacks in Scares, It Makes Up in Humor and Good Will
Korean cinema has proven on many occasions that it can be quite brazen when it comes to generic codes. It can sometimes seem like a kid has been let loose in a well-stocked kitchen as he begins to mix and...
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Review: PERFECT NUMBER Is a Handsome but Frustrating Adaptation
I originally saw Bang Eun-jin's sophomore film Perfect Number at the Busan International Film Festival last October. I am a big fan of the Japanese book (The Devotion of Suspect X by Higashino Keigo) that it was based on and...
Review: DIRTY BLOOD Serves Up Its Revenge Tale with a Twist
Originally seen during the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) 2012 As a society Korea has been slow to change despite its economic growth. At times it can seem like a gigantic, perpetually simmering pot of discontent that seems dangerously...
Review: Is 26 YEARS the Ultimate Korean Revenge Narrative?
Just like anyone else, I come from a country (Ireland) with historical scars that refuse to completely fade away. These days, the sad fact is that my connection with my home is tenuous at best. Nevertheless, as we approach the...
TTTT: An American Film Geek's Top 10 for 2012
Amid fiscal cliffs and digital revolutions, we are all adrift on a sea of change. Never mind that your boat-mate may be a hungry Bengal tiger, sometimes it's hard enough just to keep your head above water.To date, I've viewed...
For Your Consideration: BATTLESHIP for Best Picture of 2012
We live in a time when winking, snarky, sardonic Cinema has become the norm, when things like subtext and subterfuge gloss over what are more often than not simply action movies gone wrong. We've seen pixels fighting pixels, groups...
Review: Tears and Flames - Christmas Mayhem in THE TOWER
Following the biggest ever year for Korean cinema, it is perhaps fitting that the very last work to be released in 2012 was a spectacle-driven disaster film highlighting the industry's technical proficiency. Likened to previous blockbuster failures such as Sector...
The Best of TV in 2012
There has a been a real abundance of great TV in 2012, perhaps even more so than in other recent years. Here are some of the performers and shows that I believe are deserving of appreciation this year.Best drama: Breaking BadSomehow able...
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BIFF 2012 Review: Jeon Soo-il's Languid EL CONDOR PASA
A regular staple at the Busan Film Festival, Jeon Soo-il is a local filmmaker whose body of work has steadily brought him acclaim and accolades from around the world. He is not as famous as some of the more prominent...
VIFF 2012 Wrap-Up: All Apologies, A Mere Life, and In the Name of Love
Emily Tang's beautiful, smart, and moving Perfect Life is not only one of my favorite VIFF films of 2008, but one of my favorite films period (I don't keep a list, I just know that the memorable ones must...
VIFF 2012 Dispatch: THE CAPSULE, A STORY FOR THE MODLINS, And MORNING OF ST ANTHONY'S DAY
Though Athina Rachel Tsangari's short film The Capsule played third after two others, I'm reviewing it first as it was the title with which the other two were programmed (i.e. you show up to see a showing of The...
VIFF 2012 Dispatch: SLEEPLESS NIGHT and SORRY, I AM SO SORRY
Korean filmmaker Jang Kun-jae (whose Eighteen won the Dragons & Tigers award, VIFF's prize for new Asian directors, in 2009) delivers a heartfelt, sweet, genuine, yet never cloying portrayal of an average married couple in Sleepless Night. Essentially a series...
