Category: Entertainment Files

Sony’s “The Interview” is Released and Critics are Not Impressed

| December 27, 2014

The highly controversial movie “The Interview” was released yesterday despite threats from North Korean sponsored hackers and that means more reviews of the movie are in.  Like some of the initial screening reviews I read these reviews are not good either:

The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy calls it “an intensely sophomoric and rampantly uneven comic takedown of an easy but worrisomely unpredictable target, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In the relatively sparse annals of irreverent major studio comedies that pissed off foreign nations, for big laughs this one doesn’t rate anywhere near Borat or Team America: World Police. … As political satire goes, The Interview has the comic batting average of a mediocre-to-average Saturday Night Live sketch, with a few potent laughs erupting from an overall mash of sex, drugs and TV broadcasting jokes that feel rooted in a sense of humor primarily characterized by a frat-boy/altered state/prolonged adolescence mind-set.”

Additionally, “if you set up as provocative a premise as do the makers of The Interview, you ultimately have to deal with all its implications; let’s just say that what concludes the film is rote action, simplistic wish-fulfillment stuff that feels cheap and naive and more concerned with looking coolly kick-ass than with any real-world consequences. Even if one part of the film is sincere in wanting to highlight North Korea’s negatives (famine, ideological orthodoxy, cult of personality, militarism, nuclear brinkmanship, et al.), the larger part is devoted to very Western-style sexual grossness, deterministic outrageousness, self-satisfied obliviousness and contended immaturity.” Alongside Franco and Rogen, “Park brings great energy and enthusiasm to his tricky job of portraying the world’s least known big-deal ruler — there are even scenes of him getting the famous Kim haircut and selecting a suit from a closet full of identical ones.”  [The Hollywood Reporter]

You can read more reviews at the link, but this movie appears to be pretty horrible.  I think I will pass on watching it even if it is supposed to be my patriotic duty now to do so.  Has any ROK Heads seen this film and can verify how bad it is?

BIFF to Implement New Dress Code

| October 1, 2014

This is horrible news because this was the best part of the Busan International Film Festival:

BIFF Image

Organizers of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) have decided to act as fashion police to deter actresses from “over-exposing” themselves. The fete will kick off its 10-day run tomorrow.

BIFF, the nation’s biggest international film fete, has drawn the media’s attention for the daring display of a skimpy wardrobe by female actresses, some of whom have become overnight celebrities.

“We’ve decided to switch the atmosphere in order to shift the spotlight to the directors, actors and actresses instead of some female celebrities who are new and receive more attention because of their revealing dresses,” BIFF public relations manager Kim Jung-yoon said.

To enforce this rebalancing act, the organizers have called off the troublesome “Blue Carpet” affair, the venue for photo-ops under the sponsorship of talent agencies, which are suspected of doing what it may take to promote their proteges.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but Oh In-hye has my vote for favorite BIFF dress.

ROK Drop Korean Movie Review: Champion (챔피언)

| February 27, 2012

I had heard of the Korean boxer Kim Duk-koo (1959-1982) before simply because he was one of the few boxers who was actually killed while in the ring.  Besides that I didn’t know anything about the guy until I watched the Korean movie Champion that was in my Netflix que.  This movie was released in 2002 and is directed by Kyung-Taek Kwak who I hadn’t heard of before.  However, the lead actor playing Kim Duk-koo was Oh-seong Yu who I have always liked as an actor.  Considering the number of tough guy roles he has played in the past I figure he would do a good job portraying a boxer which in this movie he did.

For those unfamiliar with Kim Duk-koo’s story this movie is a good way to get introduced to one of Korea’s most famous athletes.  Like many famous people in Korea’s modern history Kim is a rags to riches story.  He was a poor boy that worked hard to scrape by while growing up in Goseong, Gangwon-do.  In 1976 he got into boxing and eventually became good enough to where he was able to make some additional money with the sport.  As an amateur he compiled a 29-4 record before becoming a professional fighter in 1978.  Four years later in 1982 he won a major Oriental lightweight boxing title, which left him with a 17-1-1 record and the pride of Korea at the time.

His success was able to land him a premier WBA lightweight title fight against the famous American boxer Ray Mancini.  Kim was thought to be an easy bout for Mancini especially considering that Kim had to travel all the way to Las Vegas for the match which was also his first time in the US.  The fight proved to be anything but easy for Mancini who found himself in a brawl of a match against Kim.  The match would end up going to 14 rounds where in the later rounds Mancini was able to start to control the match and land some big punches.  After Kim received another big punch the referee stopped the matched and named Mancini the winner with a TKO.  However, Kim ended up collapsing in the ring and going into a coma.  Doctors would try to do emergency brain surgery, but it was too late and Kim died.  Kim left behind his grieving pregnant wife and mother.  The developing love affair between Kim and his wife is a major part of the movie.  Sadly a few months after Kim’s death both his mom and the referee of the match would commit suicide.  All around it is a pretty sad tale but Kim’s story is one that many Koreans can relate to which was make him so revered.  He was a guy that worked hard and never quit despite the odds, which is the story of South Korea itself.

Real life photo of the boxing match between Ray Mancini and Kim Duk-koo.

The movie didn’t really get into this, but Kim’s death did lead to major changes in boxing.  Basically both Kim and Mancini were two fighters that had no quit in them, which caused the match to go on to the point that someone was at risk of getting killed and that is what ended up happening.  After Kim’s death referees were trained to end matches quicker by using the standing eight count and the number of rounds was reduced to 12.  Something else the movie did not mention was how the death of Kim impacted Mancini.  He was devastated by Kim’s death and was never the same boxer afterwards.  Considering how Kim’s mom and the referee committed suicide, the death of Kim is indeed very tragic, but I thought this movie did a good job of not dwelling on the tragic and instead bringing out the inspiring story of Kim Duk-koo in a way that both Korean and foreign audiences will likely enjoy.

The World's Biggest and Smallest People Meet

| July 22, 2007

You would think this picture was Photoshopped if it wasn’t for the fact it is true:

The world’s tallest man has met one of the world’s smallest in China.  Bao Xishun, a 56 year-old herdsman from Inner Mongolia, is the world’s tallest man and measures 7′ 9" tall.

Meanwhile, He Pingping is applying to be entered in the Guinness World Record as the world’s shortest adult, standing at a mere 2′ 4".  According to the organiser of the meeting, it was He’s long-cherished dream to meet Bao.

Really amazing.  HT: AsianOffbeat