December 5, 2010

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960; Sang-soo Im, 2010)

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960) is one of the oldest films known to have survived South Korea’s evolution from Third-World country to G20 powerhouse. The print shown at Fantasia this year was restored by Martin Scorsese’s World film Restoration Foundation in tandem with the South Korean government and follows The Housemaid (Sang-soo Im, 2010) remake’s stellar performance this year at […]
November 24, 2010

My Fantasia 2010: Preamble

I look forward to Fantasia every year. I am one of those who check the festival’s website daily hoping to make my selection for this year’s festival.
November 26, 2010

Sell Out! (Joon Han Yeo, 2008)

The only showing of the Singapore film, Sell Out, is, oddly enough, sold out. It’s my first Singaporean film, a musical sporting a peculiar premise, so I’m excited about it. A young Singaporean engineer, working for a multinational conglomerate, designs a terrific new product (a tofu processor) but discovers that his invention (and any kind of innovation) isn’t welcomed at […]
November 28, 2010

Accident (Pou-soi Cheang, 2009)

Accident devolves into a too simplistic whodunit, where the director tries to dazzle us with his technical mastery and film knowledge.
November 28, 2010

Bodyguards and Assassins (Teddy Chan, 2009)

In Bodyguards and Assassins, Chinese patriots pledge their lives to safeguard a revolutionary named Dr. Sun as assassins are sent to kill him.