Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” is not a good film, but it’s watchable because its star is Ma Dong-seok. The burly actor stars as a mob boss whose street credibility takes a beating when he is nearly killed by a floppy-haired serial killer (Kim Sung-kyu) — whose modus operandi is rear-ending drivers and then savagely stabbing them to death.
One reason for the popularity of “Doctor Prisoner” may be that it has incorporated some real-life news into its story arcs, similar to how American shows such as “Law & Order” draw ideas from sensational headlines.
“The Dude In Me” is a 2019 Korean fantasy film that centers on a high-ranking gangster and a high school student. When the latter accidentally falls from his school roof, he lands on the mobster. While neither dies, the mishap somehow switches the pair’s bodies and minds. Now, wiseguy Pan-soo is trapped in the body of chubby and bullied teenager Dong-hyun, while Dong-hyun is stuck in Pan-soo’s comatose body.
In 2008, South Korea held its first ever trial by jury in Dageu. In that trial, jurors deliberated for two hours before deciding that the 27-year-old man accused of robbing and assaulting a 70-year-old woman in her home was guilty. “Juror 8” is not a fictionalized version of those events. Rather, it’s a story about a man who plead guilty to murdering his mother and the first Korean jury that will determine his sentence.
Set in the 1990s, “Tune in for Love” is a beautiful slice-of-life film focused on a young couple who meet as teenagers, lose touch, and reunite on and off throughout their twenties.
Lee Jung-Jae and Shin Min-A star as a political dream team working for opposing candidates. He is a former police officer, whose goal it is to become an assemblyman. She was an attorney and on-air journalist before becoming an assemblywoman.
I’m so used to seeing Jo Jung-Suk play the good guy (“Hospital Playlist,” “Oh My Ghost”) that it was fun to watch him chew up the scenery as a bad-boy rich guy who is brutal, immoral and nasty.
The action sequences in “Vagabond” are thrilling and the plot is fast-paced and engaging. But the ending seems rushed, incomplete and utterly unsatisfying.
The serial killer element of “Abyss” is intriguing and holds your interest, even though it’s clear from the get-go who the murderer is. There is an accomplice. While you won’t be 100 percent sure who that might be, your first guess is probably correct.
“Parasite” has already made history for South Korea as the country’s first film to win a Best Picture Academy Award. There are some moments I can’t wrap my head around though, and one of them was the inclusion of Illinois State into the dialogue.