Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bo Peabody]

[deleted]

[periwinkle]

What's the premise?

[Bo Peabody]

[deleted]

[Hollywoodaction]

You might want to see Passolini's "Salo". That should make "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" appear a bit more upbeat for you.

[dogbert]

[Hollywoodaction]

[animalbirdfish]

"Mr. Vengeance" was one of the most violent films I've ever seen, I'll grant you that, and it wasn't too uplifting either. But, in some odd way, it was a beautiful film. The cinematography was gorgeous, I thought. Really well shot. with a patient use of color and scene.

I found the movie a refreshing break from day-to-day Korean society where everything is uri, harmony and wellbeing. Not sure what such sentiments say about me.

[Zyzyfer]

I didn't think it was that violent. But then again, once you've seen the legend of Ricky Oh there's not much else left. The jumping baseball bat swing was my favorite bit of violence, closely followed by the electrocution.

It's a great movie. Definitely not for the squeamish, but it takes the somber side of life and confronts it. It also has an upbeat moral, that being that revenge isn't a good thing.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

I consider the film a profound, multi-layered tragedy. Sure, it's not uplifting, but neither is Romeo & Juliet. That doesn't make either story any less superb.

Sparkles*_*

[keithinkorea]

Some Korean movies are quite good, or at least refreshing after watching too many BS Hollywood pieces of turd where there is almost always a faultless, heroic guy or gal and no shades of gray.

There is this whole 'Han' thing going on in Korean movies that often makes them darkly comical, I find that an interesting and engaging aspect of Korean film.

I recently rented 'The Presidents Barber' and was quite impressed, the characters were developed nicely, it had a dark edge, it was based loosely on historic events and it had a sense of humour.

The scene where the Nork kill Pres. group all crapped themselves was funny, the redemption scene where the main character insults the new Pres. for having no hair and goes home beaten to crap but happy.

I just wish that Korean TV was better. Korean TV is bloody awful.

I liked Taekugi too, Oldboy was OK, every Korean 'comedy' I've watched has been juveneile BS. Koreans can't do comedy very well, it explains a lot that a lot of Korean I know think that Mr Bean is the funniest stuff ever, OK Mr B is a bit funny but to compare it to sophisticated western comedy is silly.

If we're talking comedy and gore it has to be zombie movies and all that great *beep* by romero and others. Watched the new dawn of the dead the other day and that's a funny film. There is just something inherently funny about zombies. 'Celebrity squares' is a hilarious scene in that film, for its darkness, desperation and how people can joke about stuff that isn't funny.

I think some of us folks into film should start a club or something. Anyone up for it can pm me. If there is already one then hook me up people!

[Bulsajo]

So Bad Guy
has hit the 'new release' shelf (yes they're off by a few years) of the local Rogers video (Blockbuster clone).
Not many Korean movies come through Rogers, os fo course I'm going to rent it eventually, but-
Q: Should I rent it now and shell out $5 or should I wait until it hits the 7-day rental shelves, which are cheaper (and I have coupon for a free 7 day rental anyway)?

In other words, how good is it?

[stvwrd]

Oh, I hated Bad Guy.

Like the OP, I've watched a lot of sick stuff. Love Tarantino movies, and all that stuff, but Bad Guy was my limit. And it wasn't even graphic in terms of blood and guts or anything.

I can't really express why I hated it so much without giving away spoilers. I read that it was a pretty dark movie and thought it sounded interesting.

I guess I would say my problem is with the 'filter' the story is shown through. Going by the music and cinematography, you'd think you were watching some grand romantic movie when you're really watching a lot of depravity. I'm not kidding: I had a sick feeling in my stomach through most of the movie, and non of the 'violence' was of the blood-and-gore kind. Mostly resulting from the sugar-coating the director seems to be putting on the events.

As I write this, though, I'm having second thoughts. I'm sure the movie reflects an aspect of human nature that is rarely thought about (and for good reason). In that aspect, maybe it was a pretty good movie for making me think about the frailty of our lives, and the dark sides of human nature.

I would say the key to watching the movie would be what kind of mood you're in and how open minded you are. Don't rush out to go see it, but if you're feeling in a place where it sounds palatable, then go ahead and get it no matter if it's a little more expensive. This is one of those movies that mood probably influences a GREAT deal on how you respond to it.

All that being said..... I guess I would still recommend it. You should see and judge for yourself, and then start a thread here on Dave's so we can talk about it. I'd be really interested in a detailed, friendly, discussion on the finer points of the film.

[Bulsajo]

Wow, that's quite a detailed response, thanks. Hmmm, I realize now that I should have put it in a different context- if my wife and I are looking to pick a movie to watch together, is she going to kill me for choosing it?
She thought Old Boy, Spring Summer Winter Fall, and 3 Iron were 'okay'. She's okay with horror and artsy films but this one sounds like it has "You're sleeping on the couch tonight if you expect me to watch that" written all over it...

And anyway it now looks like we're going to go out and check out Steve Carrell's first starring role as the 40 yr old virgin.

[babtangee]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]