User: cross_scars Date: 2009-12-16 01:05 Subject: Top 10 Korean Movies of the Decade Security: Public How?: tired What?: none!

(it's late now so forgive my mistakes here)

If Hong Kong cinema was on the slide before the millennium then South Korea's star was just beginning to rise. 1996 saw Hong Sang-soo's first feature, 1997 witnessed the debut of Lee Chang-dong, 1998 saw Christmas in August made (probably my overall favourite Korean movie), and 1999 saw the release of Shiri, a more mainstream offering, that would go on to usurp the box office record held by Titanic. Such were the beginnings of Korean cinema's New Wave (or New Cinema as it is sometimes referred to) which went from strength to strength. The height being the middle of the decade when Old Boy secured the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004 and went on to secure so much fame in the following year during its international release.

Since then though there appears to have been a rather alarming decline. The great directors are still there: Hong Sang-soo, Park Chan-wook, Boon Joon-ho, Hur Jin-ho, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Jee-woon, et al. are all still in South Korea making movies (and good ones at that). So where has it seemingly gone wrong? Why, once again, are so many of the movies on this list made in the first half of this decade?

I wish I had some solid answers. Despite the reverence South Korean cinema has been begun to be held in recently it remains quite hard to find much news on the subject. All I have been able to read are snippets about "reduced profitability," "local audiences beginning to cool on Korean films, exports showing a continued decline." The ever reliable Darcy said of 2006: "People in the film industry were sounding alarm bells by the end of the year. With so many films produced, and with the budgets of many films having grown out of control, a very small number of Korean films from 2006 ended up turning a profit. In contrast to the start of the year, when a huge number of films were in production, by year's end many investors had decided to hold back on funding any new films for a while, and the mood seemed to bode ill for 2007."

Was it something to do with the following decision, again courtesy of Darcy: "The other major issue for the film industry in 2006 was the controversial reduction of Korea's Screen Quota System, which obligates theater owners to screen local films for a certain number of days per year. Formerly set on a sliding scale between 106 and 146 days per year, the government bowed to pressure from the U.S. and reduced the quota to 73 days. Filmmakers responded with lengthy public protests, but were ultimately unsuccessful in trying to get the government to revoke its decision."

The talent is still there in South Korea, it just appears as though there are some structural problems. The picture doesn't look as rosy as it once did but this is no HK style terminal decline. It's a sad dip, but I hope it is only a temporary one. I'm proud to say that I've been following Korean cinema since the New Wave really started to take off back in 2000/1. It has been a great decade, despite current problems, and these are all must watch films.


1. Memories of Murder (2003)

I'll be honest that I didn't really "get" this film first around. My very respected Korean review source, who I almost always agree with, praised Memories of Murder a great deal. When I watched it first I thought the serious parts very well done, but that there was too much comedy which disrupted things. However, aforementioned Korean review source over the years kept maintaining that this was their favourite movie of the decade. Eventually this persuaded me to re-watch MoM and to my surprise it all clicked. Suddenly I noticed how well shot the movie was, how brilliantly music is used, how well the comedy suits events and creates a contrast that makes the movie all the more bleak. A thoroughly all round excellent film that doesn't even need the "based on true events" tag to make it so hard hitting.

2. Git – Feathers in the Wind (2005)

I remember the first time I watched this. I was pretty down on movies, hadn't watched anything that great in a while and wasn't feeling that all interested in the subject. Git completely restored my faith though. It's a fairly simple story but it is so wonderfully handled that I adore it. Everything is wonderful here and it holds a special little place in the movie-vault of my heart.

3. Ad-Lib Night (2006)

The ending slightly spoils this film (making it lose perhaps half a star in the ratings system). The premise of this movie is just intriguing: an old father is about to die so his family have arranged to meet their estranged sister / daughter and bring her to her father so he can meet her one last time and make up. The hook to this being the girl at the arranged meeting place denies being the daughter who hasn't been seen in years. The family persuade her to come along anyway and it's fascinating trying to work out if this is the correct girl and then judging her behaivour accordingly (and what this shows about the family as a whole). Yes, the ending gives away who the girl is and it would have been much better if the answer remained unknown. Regardless, it's a great family drama and very well worth watching.

4. Old Boy (2003)

My feelings regarding Old Boy have changed over the years. The first time I saw it I was blown away, then when I rewatched it a year later I was a little disappointed, but when I came back to it again it rose back up in my estimation. Perhaps that's tied into the fact that Sympathy For Mr Vengeance has gone down a little in my rankings. For all it's sparse, gritty charm (in contrast to Old Boy) SFMV has one or two moments when its narrative seems a little weak. Old Boy, based off a manga, is a lot more out there but its sheer style really does push it far ahead of the pack - the corridor scene remains legendary. Usually I'm loathe to support obvious choices like this one but actually I think this probably is Park Chan-wook's best film.

5. Breathless (2009)

Does this movie get such a high position simply because it's the most recent film on the list? Perhaps, but it's undeniably the best movie I have seen all year and certainly the most recent "great" South Korean film I have watched. I had read that Breathless was a very good movie that could perhaps be 15 minutes shorter. Yet I was really quite blown away by how very good the movie turned out to be (and how wrong the criticism of its running time was). The film is brutal throughout and its conclusion a real sucker punch. That the director directed, wrote the script and played the lead role is quite miraculous too. Comparable to Memories of Murder is the film's fantastically effective use of music. An all round excellent film, a stunning debut, and one that, if it holds up on repeat views, will cement its place high on this list.

6. Kick The Moon (2001)

Comic entry number one. Attack The Gas Station is thought of very highly in terms of the Korean New Wave's comedic output. I thought that movie absolutely sucked but Kick The Moon is made by the same people and is actually very good. Its great strength is the role reversals that take place. The delinquent at the start becomes a teacher, while the nerd grows up into a gangster; roles then swap again as the ruthless gangster ends up looking the good guy and the teacher the villain. Its handled well and its humour is unusually smart (compared to the vast majority of Asian comedies).

7. Chaser (2008)

Already secured for a Hollywood remake! I've watched Chaser three times already and its appeal hasn't diminished after these repeats. It's a taught, suspenseful film, very well made with a conclusion that I wonder if Hollywood will dare mimic. Not the most original film on the list - essentially it's a catch-a-serial-killer movie - but it's done with the same verve and audacity that led to the coining of the term "Asian Extreme" (a terribly narrow lable for the Korean New Wave but one that does at least apply with some meaning to the likes of Chaser and Old Boy).

8. One Fine Spring Day (2001)

I have to be honest that I haven't watched this film in... at least seven years? Possibly eight? It is one of the earliest Korean films I watched and I remember liking it a great deal. Unusually it focuses on the end of a relationship, as opposed to the start, and deals with this matter in a very truthful and realistic way. I keep meaning to re-watch it, in order to see if it still merits a high place in my affections, but until then I can't really comment much! Given how much I like the director's other films I'm sure it is still as good a I remember.

9. Someone Special (2004)

Rather like My Name is Fame from my Hong Kong list this is probably a little personal favourite. That's not to say it isn't a great film and that it didn't receive glowing reviews ("Someone Special is line-for-line more charismatic than even the most successful of formula films") but it's probably not serious enough to make any official "Best of" lists. I love Jeong Jae-young in this film (no-one does a moody, incredulous type character better) and the film's ironic take on many standard rom-com and Korean melodrama formulas are not only very funny, but really help it stand out from the crowd. One of my personal gems.

10. No Blood, No Tears (2002)

I had a slightly tough time filling this last spot but in the end I plumped for this work. Jeong Jae-young is here again in a great role as a nasty gangster (but one who's so charismatic that I can't help but route for him). There's a pretty noir feel to this and it has a very nice "all coming together" type of plot that frequently makes me feel like taking it off the shelf and popping it in the DVD player again. Stylishly made, brutal when it needs to be, and leavened so well, like many Asian films, with a nice dark comic side too.

User: cross_scars Date: 2009-12-14 23:11 Subject: Top 10 Hong Kong Movies of the Decade Security: Public How?: accomplished What?: Jeremy Enigk - Late of Camera Tags: movies

(I was putting this list together for another website (just a fan-poll thing in case you were in danger of wildly overestimating me). Just thought I'd share it here.)

I think a decline in the Hong Kong movie industry was in evidence before the turn of the millennium. Since the mid 90s the situation had been on a mild downward slop. Then came the 97 Hand Over, followed immediately by the Asian Financial Crisis, and then in 2002 the debilitating SARS pandemic. Those events hit the film industry particularly hard. A lot of talent left Hong Kong prior to the handover and then their finances were hit hard too.

That probably doesn't completely explain why HK cinema nosedived the way it did from its golden age peak in the mid to late 80s, but it goes a long way. The situation hasn't improved at all. Of this list only three films were made after 2005. That's a sad indictment of the way the HK movie industry is at the moment (it's still better than the British film industry though). South Korea - which I'll deal with in another entry - has become the new Asian cinematic powerhouse, pioneering a New Wave (which may have already peaked as well). Yet there is still the odd film worth watching from Hong Kong every year. HK cinema isn't what it used to be, but it hasn't been for a while. Regardless, being the Asiaphile I am I will continue to keep my eye on it, and here are my top ten Hong Kong films of the last decade.

1. SPL (2005)

I, and many, were convinced that Hong Kong didn't make movies like this any more. There's nothing too original about this film: it's basically just a gritty 80s style heroic bloodshed movie made in 2005. But those mid 80s to early 90s triad / cop films were fucking great and this film is too. A real sort of nostalgia trip this film. Might treat myself and watch it again this Christmas.

2. Infernal Affairs (2002)

Hong Kong's last great international hit? Now days all the big stuff is centred around the mainland (Red Cliffs, Hero, etc) and I don't think there has been an HK film since Infernal Affairs that has crossed over. Remade as the Oscar winning, The Departed, there's not much to say about this film except its all round excellence. Again, the plot isn't anything new - plenty of HK films focused on the inside agent losing his identity (just look at Hard Boiled) - but this film had a real professionalism not always associated with HK films and a conclusion that didn't cop out (no pun intended there).

3. Exodus (2007)

I still maintain that this film has perhaps the most memorable opening sequence. It's quite brilliant when you see it first time, but when you realise it actually relates to the story you gain a newfound appreciation of it. Exodus just takes a simple idea - what if there was some female conspiracy against men - and stretches it to very dark, comic lengths. Simon Yam, one of those HK staples, is particularly good in this outing.

4. My Name is Fame (2006)

In my very Asian-centric movieland Lau Ching-wan is probably my favourite actor. Just... all round great and never puts in a poor performance. It helps that he has starred in many an excellent film. He really shines in this movie which is a lovely paean to the HK movie industry itself (all the more touching given its past glory and current state, and filled with many nice cameos). This is just a really nice film that made me feel happy watching it. The main relationship is interesting between the star who's no longer young and the pretty young thing trying to get a break; but, crucially, the film never pushes this relationship too hard, straining its credibility. A real gem.

5. In The Mood For Love (2000)

Who'd have thought this would be Wong Kar Wai's highpoint? 2046 took four years to make and received rather mixed reviews. Then came the move to Hollywood which impressed no-one. True, his Eros short was very nice but that has been about it. ITMFL then! Oddly, this is the only WKW film I really liked straight away; yet the more I've watched it the less appeal I think it has. While WKW's other films grow with repeated viewings this one diminishes, perhaps because it relies on such a straightforward narrative where the outcome is important (unlike his earlier films). It's still a very good move, wonderfully shot by Christopher Doyle, but I think its accessibility comes at a price.

6. Election (2005)

This list could easily be dominated by Johnnie To, the director of this film (despite the fact that his output was more consistently better in the late 90s). He and Milkway Image have been the HK movie industry's guiding light this decade and have allowed it maintain some international dignity. His output is tremendous and the first Johnnie To retrospectives can't be far off and they'll be well worth attending when they start. Exiled and Running on Karma seem to be the top To films of this decade by general consensus, but, of course, I have to buck that trend and think that they're actually among his poorest offerings. So Election is my number one To film of the last ten years. Without reading any sort of metaphor into this film and what it might say about HK and its "democracy" this is just a very good film. This is an original film for the genre and everything To does is top notch. It's a shame that the sequel was so awful.

7. PTU (2003)

Okay, we're actually on a bit of To run here. What's always impressive about his films is how exciting he makes gangster films with such limited use of action or violence. This is a pretty slow moving film, set over one night, but it's instilled with a real sense of tension, as the police go looking for this missing gun, that keeps the viewer interested until the action does finally erupt during the climax. A really well made film that, unsurprisingly, spawned a host of lesser sequels.

8. A Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002)

There are moments these days when I think I'd rather re-watch this WKW produced film than I would ITMFL. It's a charming film, largely as a result of reuniting Faye Wong and Tony Leung from Chungking Express, who are so wonderful together. It's also very funny. The films of Stephen Chow, most notably Shaolin Soccer and Kung-Fu Hustle, get the plaudits for being the best HK comedies, but that's a type of comedy I fail to grasp. I think that is too local. The humour here is much more accessible and there are plenty of WKW in-jokes, for the geeks like me, that are highly amusing.

9. My Lucky Star (2003)

Another HK comedy film making this list!? And Tony Leung's forth? The guy really is a star (didn't win Best Actor at Cannes for ITMFL for nothing). For all his serious talent he can do the comedy really well. He's his usual charming self here, opposite an never more adorable Miriam Yeung. Two very good leads then, a completely wacky plot revolving around curses, Feng-shui and Numerology, with everything done over the top makes this a surprisingly good Chinese New Year film.

10. Flash Point (2007)

How the mighty have fallen! Only one kung-fu film makes my top ten! True, SPL has Donnie Yen kicking ass, like he does in this, but that's hardly a martial arts film. The "Three Brothers" consisting of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao last worked on a movie together in 1988. Jackie did fine during the 90s but his injuries and age caught up with him by the millenium (what happened to the other two in the 90s?). Donnie Yen, who has been around a while too, has really taken centre stage now and upholds HK's martial arts tradition well. 2008's Ip Man could easily have taken this place but I give the nod to Flash Point. No matter how well made Ip Man is it's soooo terribly inaccurate, and Flash Point shows a more interesting, modern kind of fighting - Donnie's more MMA focused style. It's a lean film this but the action is great, the story solid (for a change) and it moves along at a good pace. It's true that Tony Jaa and Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong have set new standards and rather stolen HK's thunder in the martial arts genre this decade, but Flash Point is a very solid film and if HK made more movies like this then the film industry would be in better shape.

User: cross_scars Date: 2009-12-13 21:04 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public How?: pleased What?: Codeseven - Pathetic Justice

Mix #51 ~ The Best of 2009

01. Brand New - Bought A Bride [Daisy]
02. Thrice - The Weight [Beggars]
03. Future of the Left - Chin Music [Travels With Myself and Other]
04. MeWithoutYou- The Fox, The Crow, and The Cookie [It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream It's Alright]
05. Thursday - Friends in the Armed Forces [Common Existence]
06. Pianos Become The Teeth - Quit Benefit [Old Pride]
07. Canterbury - Take Me Out of The Wall [Thank You]
08. Emery - Churches and Serial Killers [... In Shallow Seas We Sail]
09. Say Anything - Do Better [Say Anything]
10. Jack's Mannequin - Dear Jack [Dear Jack EP]
11. Moneen - The Way [The World I Want To Leave Behind]
12. Set Your Goals - This Will Be The Death of Us [This Will Be The Death of Us]
13. Alexisonfire - Emerald Street [Old Crows / Young Cardinals]
14. A Wilhelm Scream - Skid Rock [A Wilhelm Scream EP]
15. Taking Back Sunday - Lonely, Lonely [New Again]
16. Manchester Orchestra - Everything To Nothing [Mean Everything To Nothing]
17. Four Year Strong - Ironic [Explains It All]
18. Broadway Calls - Midnight Hour [Good Views, Bad News]
19. The Almost - Souls On Ten [Monster Monster]
20. Death In The Park - Sway [Death In The Park EP]
21. Saosin - What Were We Made For? [In Search of Solid Ground]
22. Polar Bear Club - Take Me To The Town [Chasing Hamburg]
23. The Lawrence Arms - The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City [Buttsweat and Tears EP]
24. Strike Anywhere - Omega Footprint [Iron Front]
25. Small Brown Bike - When We Run [Composite - Volume One 7"]
26. Pulley - Ghost In My Skin [Time-Insensitive Material EP]
27. Banner Pilot - Farewell To Iron Bastards [Collapser]
28. The Swellers - Fire Away [Ups and Downsizing]
29. The Flatliners - Filthy Habits [Cynics 7"]
30. The Menzingers - Sunday Morning [Hold On, Dodge EP]

Not quite exhaustive, as I kind of hurriedly put this together yesterday so that I could listen to it on my way to and from work today. Still, it's a stop-gap solution until I do an actual "Best Albums of 2009" list (and whatever happened to my retrospective on the decade?). A couple of the more punky songs, which obviously come grouped together at the end, aren't great quality, but that's what you get with all these darn vinyl releases. Enjoy (all two of you)!