Project Silence: Dogs of the Future

Anyone who thinks the massive car pileup on the airport bridge is the worst thing that's happening to them in Kim Tae-gon's Project Silence has some bad news coming their way. And it's coming on four furry legs. Because the military has been breeding CGI attack dogs who, through a series of unfortunate events, are now on the loose with a single objective: Kill! Who's in danger of getting chomped? A slimy political operative (Lee Sun-kyun) and his much more caring daughter (Kim Su-an), a professional golfer and her possibly lesbian assistant/lover (Park Hee-von), the long-haired, fire-breathing tow truck driver (Ju Ji-hoon) and his cute little pooch Jodie... Who's going to save them? Not one soldier with an armpad and a taser. And probably not the crazy scientist / mad doctor (Kim Hee-won). That seems clear.

Throw in a rescue chopper that crashes into the bridge's suspension cables, a fire that breaks out on the escape route, and a tanker full of toxic gas, and you've got all the makings of a classic disaster movie. Except the hero is a total asshole. Even when the worst happens, he's still needlessly endangering people, still thinking about how to spin a catastrophe, still pretending he's got the matter under control, even if that means lying, lying, lying. Well, he's made a career out of lying. Why would he stop now? It takes alot of horrible things to get him to reconsider the choices he's made in this life. Does that make the movie more misanthropic or more realistic? Your final assessment may rest on the choices made by one presidential candidate (Kim Tae-woo). Or not.

Unlocked: Personal Hangups

Anyone who has lost their phone knows that such a misfortune can seem like the end the world. In the case of Unlocked's Nami (Chun Woo-hee), such a supposition might not be a gross exaggeration. Because the creep (Yim Si-wan) who has recovered her missing phone is a hyperskilled hacker. And an identity thief. And a serial killer. Soon enough, this triple-threat of death is making our heroine's life a living hell — poisoning her career, kidnapping her dad (Park Ho-san), and alienating her best friend (Kim Ye-won). What's working in her favor is a detective (Kim Hee-won) who quickly surmises who the killer is; what's working against her is this same detective may be the father of the maniacal cyberstalker.

Once she realizes her phone is at the root of all her problems, does she get a new one or at least stop using her cell so often? Not immediately. As a typical member of Generation Z, she's way too invested in Instagram and Instant Messaging to put her device down for more than a Seoul minute. Which makes spying on her so much easier. Especially when the spyware expert she chooses to hire turns out to be ... the serial killer again! Yes, Unlocked has plenty of coincidences. And yes, we're asked to overlook some major narrative holes. Like a second police officer (Jeon Jin-oh) who, despite recognizing what's going on, defers to his partner's faulty judgment over and over again. But Kim Tae-joon's technothriller has such a timely conceit at its center that you'll likely be experiencing anxiety for the full two hours, regardless of its lapses in logic.

The Man From Nowhere: An Action Movie to Answer My Prayers

God, I love a good serious-faced kid actress (Kim Sae-ron) who's got a drug-addicted mom (Kim Hyo-seo) who calls her "garbage" when she's not working as a stripper or getting slapped around by her no-good boyfriend/pimp. And God, I love an emotionally numb but physically sexy assassin (Won Bin) who develops a fondness for little, helpless waifs without ever losing his ability to disarm and maim a whole gang of thugs even if they're equipped with knives, pipes and guns and he's got nothing but his flying fists and feet. I just love him! Especially, when he stands shirtless in front of a mirror and gives himself a stylish haircut with a bare razor blade and a handy electronic clipper that just happened to be lying around. And while I'm at it God, I also love a skinny, effeminate villain (Kim Seong-oh) who gets wigged out when blood unexpectedly splatters on his white Dolce & Gabbana ensemble even as he's torturing someone for his less-pretty-but-just-as-amoral brother (Kim Hee-won) who specializes in donor harvesting. I even love a greedy, guilt-free hag (Baek Soo-ryeon) who kidnaps motherless children then pimps them out to run drug deals or credit card scams. And while I don't necessarily love the assassin's soul mate (Thanayong Wongtrakul) who really just wants to have a fair fight with our hero because his mirror image is so hotly efficient, I can at least get into the homoerotic aspect of their brutal embraces and animalistic sparring. Oh, maybe I do love him, too, God. Maybe I do! And because of that, I definitely love Lee Jeong-beom's The Man From Nowhere. Thanks God! I really appreciate it!