"Pina" 3D - Wim Wenders' latest

4 Potatoes

Last night Wim Wender introduced us the completely "new way" to enjoy 3D.
His latest film "Pina" (2011) a documentary/performing art film about the choreographer
Pina Bausch.

This could be the totally new way of enjoying stage/theater production also. It makes you feel like you are sitting on the front raw of the theater watching the performing art. So real.
Wim Wenders said "...3D was the only way to film dance...". He was so right.

Wim Wenders & Pina

Not only this documentary stunned me by the new discovery, it is also perfect in quality: location choices, music, editing and length of film.

Highly recommended.


Official Site & Trailer: http://www.pina-film.de/en/

More about Pina Bausch: http://www.pina-bausch.de/en/pina_bausch/index.php




USA: In Theater December 23rd, 2011


Germany's Official Submission for the Oscar 2012: Foreign Language Film

"The Brotherhood of War" - Tae Guk Gi

4.5 Potatoes

I just read comments on the post "The Man from Nowhere" (2010) - Ajeossi and promised to post the info on this film "The Brotherhood of War" (2004) - Tae Guk Gi by Je-gyu Kang.

The story is about the 2 brothers who are separated by the Korean War. It shows how people can easily brain washed during the time of misery and anger.

The film stars Bin Won and another Korean star Dong-jun Jang. The director also directed the film "Swiri" (1999) - SHIRI, an amazing spy movie. Both films are MUST-SEE.

Highly Recommended.


Synopsis: Jin-Tae (Dong-gun Jang) shines shoes, hoping to save enough money to send his younger brother, Jin-Seok (Bin Won), to university. Their mother runs a noodle shop and wishes the best for her two sons, even though things have been tough since her husband died. But all bets are off when the Korean Warerupts and Jin-Seok is unwillingly conscripted into the war, which forces Jin-Tae to enlist just so he can save his brother. (NETFLIX)


USA: Available on DVD

"Bestseller"

1.5 Potatoes

I went to the Summer Night in Korea event tonight at the Ford Theater in Hollywood and saw the movie "Bestseller" (2010) - 베스트셀러 (Be-seu-teu-sel-leo) by Lee Jeong-ho.


I was a bit disappointed because it wasn't too scary. There was one surprise plot though everything else was too predictable. The actress Uhm Jung-hwa's performance wasn't too convincing either.
And I think I caught a cold during the outdoor screening tonight too... Oh well...


Synopsis: Hee-soo has been a bestselling author for the past 20 years. But her reputation and fame are all butchered overnight when she is accused of plagiarizing a competition entry that she juried. She falls into despair for 2 years, but with the help of her long-time friend publisher, she dreams of a spectacular comeback. She drives to a remote pension deep in a small town with her daughter Yun-hee. At this quiet and uncanny pension, Yun-hee begins talking to an unidentified figure. Dying for a new source of inspiration, Hee-soo turns the stories that Yun-hee hears from this figure into her new book, which turns into a bestseller. But her regained fame doesn’t last long as she is again accused of plagiarizing a novel that was published 10 years ago. In order to prove her innocence, Hee-soo begins a mysterious journey to expose the truth. (Koreanfilm.or.kr)


USA Release Date Unknown

"The Man from Nowhere"

3.5 Potatoes

To make up the bad movie start this weekend, I quickly went into my DVD-to-Catch-up piles.Tonight's pick was "The Man from Nowhere" (2010) - Ajeossi 아저씨 by Jeong-Beom Lee with Bin Won. I added this movie to my Netflix list because I like Bin Won.

But surprisingly it was a good movie! Typical Korean action thriller and violent as usual, but there was a nice touch of heartfelt feeling to it, if you know what I mean...

Bin Won's true action without body double is HOT.

If you like Korean action movie, it is Highly Recommended.



- Violent and Gritty

"Poetry"

0 Potato, So Wilted and Wasted...

So I went to the theater to see the movie "Poetry" (2010) - Shi by Chang-dong Lee right away as I wanted to see it so badly...

And I was so disappointed!

It was way too long, 138 mins, and very slow for my taste and there were too many plots one movie can hold.
The plots such as heinous family crime, alzheimer, perverted old man and poetry... nothing was valued long enough to link from one scene to another.

What was he thinking???

Weekend: May 6

Here are two movies I want to see this weekend.

"Last Night" (2011) by Massy Tadjedin with Keira Knightley. The story is about a married couple who spends a night apart one day and their relationship and trust get tested...
I simply want to see it because Guillaume Canet is in it... 
Why not?


Synopsis: "The story follows a married couple, apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he's attracted. While he's resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love." (IMDB)

Another movie I want to see is "Poetry" - Shi by Lee Chang-dong which won the Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. He also directed the amazing film "Secret Sunshine" (2007) - Milyang which was nominated for the Palm d'Or and the actress Do-yeon Jeon won the Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2007. I missed it at the AFI last year and I am looking forward to seeing it.


Synopsis: "... On a whim, Mija enrolls in a poetry class at the local cultural centre and begins a personal quest to find the perfect words to describe her feelings. However, she’s plagued by the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and struggles with new vocabulary and the challenges of the creative process. When her world is turned upside down by the discovery of a monstrous crime, it is Mija’s unique and touching poetry that allows her to defy the weight of shame and distance herself from a painful proximity to violence." Read more... (Toronto International Film Festival)

"Last Night" in Theater Now


"Poetry" in Theater Now (US Release May 6, 2011)


"Secret Sunshine" DVD Coming Soon