PLEXUS
Korean movies, Hong Kong kung fu, and Japanese anime.
These aren't reviews; they're just self reminders. Otherwise, they all look alike.
Korean Movies - Where guns are illegal and no one knows kung fu.
(Note: You don't have to know Korean to watch these. At least I didn't.)
Attack the Gas Station - Comedy. Four hoodlums rob a gas station (twice in fact) and decide to make money acting as attendants. Except when the customers get upset, they take them as hostages as well. Actually a funny somewhat light-hearted movie. Tells more about the frustrations and failures of trying to grow up in Korean society. Links: 1
Beat - (1997) A popular and powerful movie about the trials of a Korean Generation X. Teen suicide, sex, drugs, gang violence, depression, alchoholic parents, dance clubs, night life, and the mob. Jung plays the heroic / anti-heroic lost soul who gets caught in the middle. A big hit with the youth of Korean. The pretty girl at the Korean store (in the tight T-shirt and blue eyeshadow) said this was her favorite. (Jung Woo Sung, Ko So Young, Yoo Oh Seong). Links: 1, 2, 3
Bichonmoo - All Korean movie that takes place in ancient China, about the last warrior of the Koryo Dynasty (Korean). Awesome kung fu and tae kwon do wire-style action, swordfights, costumes, and Kim Hee Sun! (Kim Hee Sun, Shin Hyeon Jun, Jeong Jin Yeong). Reviews: 1, 2, 3
Channel 69 - (1996) Not porn. Light comedy / drama about three misfits who try to take control of a radio station and broadcast porn-jockey style. Don't get your hopes up though; I've seen more nudity on E!'s show Wild On. Links: 1, 2
Chunhyang - (1998) A beautiful 18th century epic tale about love and class distinctions. Making out with a girl in a hanbok is not easy. (Lee Hyo Jeong, Cho Seung Woo). :Links: 1
Die If Recorded - (2000) A teenage slasher film. A young geek "accidentally" gets "killed" via a prank (mixed up the real knife with the retractable one -- Oops!) and comes back to exact slasher revenge on the teens who filmed it.
Ditto (Dong Gam) - (2000) Two youths find each other through a CB receiver, although they live over two decades apart. A nice love story. (Yoo Ji Tae, Kim Ha Neul). Links: 1
The Foul King (Ban Chik Hwang) - (2000) Comedy/action. A beaten-down salaryman by day. King of Cheap and Dirty Wrestling at night. Endearing, wacky, and hilarious. (Song Gang Ho, Jang Jin Yeong). Links: 1, 2, 3
Friend (Chingu) - (2001) Mega hit, action/drama, 1970s-1990 Korea, about school friends who drop out and become well-dressed rival gang leaders. Interesting to note, guns are illegal in Korea so even suit-clad gangs have to do it old-style -- with knives, clubs, and garrottes. (Yu Oh Sung, Jang Dong Gun, Seo Tae Hwa, Jung Woon Taek, Kim Bo Kyong). Links: 1, 2
Ghost In Love (Ja Gwi Mo) - A fascinating light-hearted drama about ghosts and the afterlife. Great visual effects, and I'm not just talking about Kim Hee Sun (the girl on every other Korean advertisement). Links: 1
Green Fish (Choruk Mulgogi) - (1997) Sort of your typical ganster (or "gangpa" in Korean) at first. Innocent man gets involved in the mob almost by accident and quickly rises in its ranks and descends into darkness. It differs in that the violence is not glamorized nor the focus of any scene. The director meant this film to represent the too-rapid Seoul-ization (modernation) of Korea, showing who gets left behind in the process. (Han Seok Gyu, Shim Hye Jin, Mun Seong Geun). Links: 1, 2, 3
Il Mare (Love Story) - (2000) A love story about two people who lived in the same beach house (named Il Mare) and fall in love via mailed letters, only to learn they exist two years apart real-time. (Jeon Ji Hyeon) Links: 1 , 2
Jakarta - (2000) Three criminals unknowingly decide to rob the same bank at the same time. As the plot is unraveled in reverse order, a complex and interesting plot involving double and triple betrayals is revealed. A bit like Pulp Fiction in style. (Kim Sang-joong, Lim Chang Jung, Yoon Da Hoon, Jin Hee Kyung, and Lee Jae Eun). Links: 1, 2
JSA - (1999) Drama about the fine line between North and South Korea, hate and friendship, and Korean brain-washing. Best selling movie in Korean history (at the time of release). Compelling. (Lee Byung Heon, Song Gang Ho, Lee Young Ae). Links: 1
Kick The Moon - (2001) A Korean comedy, meaning lots of drama, romance, but with more slapstick physical comedy than either of those alone. Two boys grow up, one a punk, the other a nerd, and meet later in life in reversed roles knee deep within the Jopok gang culture (the Korean equivalent of Chinese Triads, or Japanese Yakuza). And they happen to fall in love with a woman who can kick both of their asses. A movie about friendship and gangsters in 1982 Korea. (Lee Sung Jae, Cha Seung Won, Kim Hye Su). Links: 1
Memento Mori (2001) - Horror. Considered the sequel to Whispering Corridors, although only the "high school / ghost" theme is the same. A girl finds the diary of a dead teen who died mysteriously. Eerie, intriguing, and quite funny and sad, like most Korean movies. A commentary on the horrors, both real and imagined, of the Korean high school system, friendship / love, and teen suicide. (Park Ye Jin, Lee Young Jin, Kim Min Sun.) Links: 1, 2, 3
Nowhere to Hide - (1999) Fast-paced action, cops, and bad guys. A very visual and visceral dark side of Seoul experience. Innovative and artful. The characters are fascinating by their actions alone. One of my favorite movies. (Park Jun Hun, Ahn Seong Gi, Jang Dong Geon). Links: 1, 2, 3
Peppermint Candy - (1999) The kind of movie that Koreans don't want non-Koreans to see. A story of a man and his descent into personal corruption told backwards, from his suicide to his first innocent crush. Sort of a Korean Forrest Gump with its interplay of character and significant events in recent Korean history. Although there is nothing funny or goofy about this movie. (Seol Gyeong Gu). Links: 1, 2 , 3, 4
Pure Love -
The Ring Virus - (1999) Horror. Long, suspenseful, nice twist in the end. A remake of a Japanese movie. (Shin Eun Gyeong, Jung Jin Young). Links: 1, 2, 3
Say Yes - Horror.
Scissors (Ka Wi) - Horror. Sort of a Korean "I Know What You Did Last Summer," only more artful with a few twists and a vengeful Korean ghost girl. Pretty girls too. (Yu Ji Tae, Ha Ji Won, Kim Gyu Ri). Links: 1, 2
The Shackle - Soft core porn. Violent. Serial killer. Ugly combination.
Shiri - (1998) Hi-tech action, Hollywood style. A radical North Korean terrorist group sends their most lethal assassin into the South -- one bad ass Korean girl. You'll never see a more unflinchingly savage femme than in the first ten minutes of this movie. One of the highest grossing movies in Korea. (Yu Jung Won, Lim Bong Ju, Myeong-Hyeon, Kim Yun Jin). Links: 1, 2
Spy Lee Chul Jin - (1999) Comedy. A North Korean spy infiltrates the South to steal a genetically superior pig, but gets lost in the process and has to learn to live in modern Seoul. Like many Korean "comedies," don't expect a happy ending. The second recent Korean movie to show North Koreans in a sympathetic but controlled light. (Yoo Ooh Seong, Park In Hwan, Park Jin Hee). Links: 1
Truth Game - (2000) (Ahn Seong Gi, Ha Ji Won, Gweon Yong Wun). Based on a true story, this movie is a mystery/drama about a K-pop singers less-than-innocent fan club and the lengths they will go in their devotion for him. The mystery is about who killed him. Links: 1
Whispering Corridors - (1998) Horror. A ghost story in an all-girl school. A commentary on the Korean education system, teen suicide, and youthful spirit. Korean ghost girls can be pretty hot too. Links: 1, 2
Yellow Hair 2 (Norang Mori 2) - (2001) 18+ rating. Not a porn but a couple sex scenes with nudity. A story about three lost youths and the mean and rough city streets. Featuring Ha Ri Su, a beautiful transgender (in the movie and in real life). She knows how to take care of business. (Ha Ri Su, Sin Ee). Links: 1
The Yupgi Girl (also released as "My Sassy Girl") - (2001) A hilarious and adorable comedy about a college student who falls in love with one dangerous crazy Korean girl. You don't have to understand any Korean to watch some parts of this and burst out laughing (especially the raquet ball scene). The girl is totally ferocious and adorable at the same time, and dreams of writing her own action movie screenplay (as she says, "Kiss? Why? It's an action movie.") I'm her new fan. (Jun Ji Hyun, Cha Tae Hyun). Links: 1, 2
ZZang - (1999) A wonderful film about the painful Korean education system and the irrepressibly endearing bad students within it, and a music teacher who reaches them. Delightful musical and "urban" dance numbers. (Cho Dong Hyuk)
Hong Kong Action - "Master! Teach me Kung Fu!"
Armour of God part 2 - see Operation Condor. Same movie.
Black Mask - Jet Li again. Lawful poetry.
The Bride with White Hair - Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia and Leslie Cheung. Lethal hair, razor whips, and evil Siamese twins. Plus one really angry Asian girl. Stylish and breath-taking.
The Buddhist Fist - Directed by Yuen Woo Ping. Good fast-action slappy kung fu.
Comet, Butterfly, and Sword - Michelle Yeoh and Joey Wong. More of that crazy wire fu. Ultraviolence, romance, and goofiness. Human arrows flying through people. The Claw. The Beach Ball. And Joey Wong. Michelle Yeoh is okay too.
Chinese Ghost Story, Vol.1 - Anime as live action. A supernatural comedic action romance with lots of monsters (and their tongues), Swordmaster Yen, and the cutest ghost girl ever, Joey Wong!
Chinese Ghost Story, Vol.2 - Joey Wong. Leslie Cheung. Asian sorcerers and super swordsmen. Wild crazy over-the-top action and magic effects. And the best part ... Joey Wong.
Chinese Ghost Story, Vol.3 - As charming and devilish as the first movie. Ghost girl Joey Wong tries to seduce another innocent monk and all Hell breaks loose again. A very cute and hilarious movie -- I wish there were more of these.
City Hunter - Jackie Chan. Joey Wong. A deliberately campy movie with a script and plot straight from the anime of the same name (including the infamous Street Fighter 2 video game sequence). Silly and entertaining, and wildly unbelievable (Jackie Chan as a playboy secret agent).
Dance of Death - Angela Mao. Any movie with the first kung fu femme is a good one. She tries to look like a boy in this one. Nice try.
Dragons Forever (1988) - Chan. Sammo Hung. Yuen Biao. All three musketeers. Plus that short scary bad guy from Grosse Pointe Blank (Benny Urquidez). The first half tries for romance (Jackie likes a Korean girl), while the second half kicks ass. Either way, everyone wants a piece of ass.
Drunken Master 1 - A young and cocky Jackie Chan. It's neat to see how his crazy antics began.
Drunken Master 2 - It may be Jackie Chan's best movie ever. Funny. Heroic. Cool villains. Awesome fighting. One of my all-time favorite of favorites.
Enter the Fat Dragon - A young Sammo Hung strives to be another Bruce Lee.
The Executioners - Michelle Chang, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung. Sequel to Heroic Trio (below), but not as fun as the first.
The Five Fingers of Death - Lo Lieh. An classic Shaw brothers film. Interesting characters and plot. Very violent -- gouging eyeballs, ew!
Fist of Legend - Jet Li. Action-packed with beautiful fight scenes. This and Drunken Master 2 (Chan) are the best of Chan and Li I've seen so far.
The Five Deadly Venoms - Old school kung fu by Sir Run Run Shaw. Neat concept -- five deadly fighters: Centipede, Toad, Scorpion, Snake, and Lizard. Awesomely detailed costumes and sets. Great story. Very old fashioned style. Probably just for hardcore kung fu fans.
Gen X Cops - A more modern action movie with some Asian boy band fu. Meet the Hong Kong Mod Squad.
Gorgeous - Jackie Chan, Hsu Chi. A romantic comedy with some martial arts scenes. Many Chan fans do not like this one, since Jackie plays an aging gone-soft martial arts star who gets his ass kicked hard by some young upstart. He comes back harder than Rocky in a bulldozer in the rematch though. Of course.
Heroic Trio - Three good women (Invisible Girl, Wonder Woman, and Thief Catcher). Lots of action. Maggie (Miss Hong Kong) Cheung is my favorite.
Iron Monkey - (1993 version). Yu Rong-Guang (also in Shanghai Noon, the lead imperial guard). Prequel to the Once Upon A Time In China series. Iron Palm. Flash Kick. Doctor (haha) by day. Ninja by night. I had to watch it three times.
Jackie Chan Drunken Fist Boxing - The only Jackie Chan in this movie is from direct clips from Drunken Master 1 (below). There's no drunken boxing in this either.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu - A Shaw Brothers production. A classic and old-fashioned kung fu movie. Neat "monkey style" but otherwise "too old-fashioned" in my opinion.
Master Killer - One of Gordon Liu's best. The original bald-headed monk. Some serious kung fu training going on.
Mystery of Chess Boxing - Patty cake martial arts.
Once Upon A Time in China, part 1 - Jet Li, Yuen Biao. Cinematically beautiful. "Kung fu can't beat guns." Pity, that.
Once Upon a Time in China, part 2 - Jet Li. More of a movie with martial arts, as opposed to a martial arts movie.
Operation Condor - Chan. Originally known as Armor of God part 2 in Hong Kong. A decent Chan as Raiders of the Lost Ark martial arts film. Strangely, Armour of God part 1 was re-released as Operation Condor 2 here.
Police Story 2 - Jackie Chan with Maggie Cheung. Good, but not intense.Project A - Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung (pretty fast for a fat guy). Pirates? Silly sailor uniforms (not Sailor Moon uniforms)? The last half is fantastic and makes up for the ridiculousness of it all. Darker than Chan's usual Nobody-Actually-Dies movies.
Ran (1986) - Kurosawa. What if the devil had three sons and decided to retire. Plus he happened to be a samurai lord. Something like that. Beautiful and complex. Samurai classic.
Romeo Must Die (2000) - Jet Li, Russell Wong (the watermelon molester in Joy Luck Club), and Aaliyah. A Hollywood production with good but brief (comparatively) kung fu, and lots of hi-tech stylish action. Pretty sexy casting.
Royal Tramp - I loved this one! Beautiful costumes, terrific fight scenes, lovely women, *actually* funny dialogue, and fun characters. A great samurai and sorcerer fantasy movie.
The Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa. Not a martial arts film but a samurai classic. The DVD version with historical commentary is a must - makes the 5 or 6 hours go by very quickly. A great movie.
Shanghai Noon (2000) - An American made East-meets-West (true Asians roll their eyes when they hear that stupid cliche') western with Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and Yu Rong Guang (Iron Monkey, above). The round-eyed cowboy was endearingly amusing also. A wonderful and fun movie.
Shaolin Drunken Monk - Gordon Liu. Drunken-style and one-arm fighters.
Shaolin versus Ninja - I'm not going to rent crappy old-style kung fu anymore. I only got this since City Hunter (with Jackie Chan and Joey Wong) was out. Really bad, mis-matched subtitles. The worst so far.
Slave of the Sword - Pauline Chan, Max Mok. Sword play or foreplay? A different kind of "action" movie. A different kind of "sword." Never trust a eunuch.
Tai Chi - I don't know what kind of Tai Chi this is, but sign me up. Non-stop amazing action.
Tiger Claws 2 - Cynthia Rothrock, Bolo Yeung. Martial arts' smallest versus martial arts' largest; the two never actually fight each other though. Most of the movie is taken up by some European blow-hard *yawn*. Second half is better, as usual. A nice demonstrations of various styles. Bolo rules.
Twin Warriors - Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Another truly awesome Jet Li flick.
What Price Survival - A modern day samurai movie. Reminded me of an Asian Godfather movie with samurai swords instead of guns. Actually has an engaging plot too.
Wheels on Meals - Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Benny "The Jet" Urquidez (the goon in "Grosse Pointe Blank"). Interesting cast, but only the last 10 minutes of fight scenes are worth watching.
Who Am I - Jackie Chan. Wow! A great modern action flick. Pretty entertaining from start to finish. Great stunts and fight scenes (a long one at the end). It may be his best film of the '90s in my opinion.
Zu - Warriors of the Magic Mountain - Lots of colorful special effects and the femme clan (with Brigette Lin) is cool, but it fell a bit flat for me.
Japanimation - "There are worse things than getting beaten by a nude anime girl ...."
Akira - No women, but still soooo cool.
Cutey Honey vol.1 - The bad guys seem to like getting beat by her. Never the same babe twice.Demon City - Freaky monsters. Tentacles too ... of course.
Dominion: Tank Police - The Puma Sisters and huge battlecop tanks. The rest is good too.
Ghost in the Shell - My all-time favorite. She's naked (YAY!) but invisible (boo).
Kekko Kamen, part 1 - Kekko Kamen must mean "naked ninja girl in a silly hat."
Lain - "Everyone is connected." Real world to cyber world. Uploading now.
Ninja Resurrection - Scores of chopped up suckas. Very violent. But where are the babes?
Ninja Scroll - This one rocked. The seven or so villains / demons were incredibly unique and fascinating.
Perfect Blue - "Explain it to me in English," she said. From pop idol to "filthy" actress. Beautiful animation and engaging plot.
Princess Mononoke - Awesome! I thought it would be all story and no action, but how wrong I was!
The Shadow Queen - Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but in anime, a tentacle is never just a tentacle.
If you can recommend any other good kung fu or anime movies, I'd love to hear it. Send email to scott_to_trot@msn.com.
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