Top Ten Movies of 2020 (Sort of)

This past year, my Korean moviewatching was decidedly not highbrow so plenty of pulpy flicks have made the cut this December. Scanning the picks, I do see some themes tellingly repeating: Revenge, Underdogs, and Prison. Do these three concerns have anything to do with my being cooped up in an apartment and not knowing what to do with the fluctuating anxiety caused by the Coronavirus? Probably. Would I have picked different movies had I been living in a COVID-free world? Um, duh. But these films provided relief. And likewise should be honored.

1. The Shower: It's rarely a bad idea to build a movie around first love. The same could be said about first death. Here, you get both!

2. The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion: The diabolical military program employing twisted genetic engineering backfired but the resultant movie, helmed by Kim Da-mi, is a bona fide hit.

3. #Alive: Perfect for these pandemic times, this film features two housebound lovebirds who must navigate a zombified neighborhood whenever they step outside. Wear a mask!

4. Miss Baek: With her scarred legs, knotted hair, and butchered pinky, this flick's young charge should qualify for seasonal check-ins from the Make-a-Wish foundation.

5. Psychokinesis: The beleagured superhero movie gets a lift when a negligent dad drinks magical spring water shortly after his ex-wife dies.

6. Revenger: After watching this martial arts B-movie, you may ask yourself: Who the hell is Bruce Khan and where has he been all my life?

7. The Prison: This madcap men-behind-bars melee is a deliriously delightful Rube Goldberg machine of crime, cruelty, and power-tripping.

8. The Outlaws: If you want to watch Ma Dong-seok kick butt as a cop for two hours, have I got a blockbuster for you.

9. Ashfall: It seems only right to include a disaster movie in a top ten list for 2020.

10. The Drug King: Proof that Song Kang-ho can carry a messy movie if you supply a great '70s soundtrack and period perfect '70s garb.

Honorable Mentions: The Classified File, The Client, Failan, The Lost Choices, Piagol, and Yeong-ja's Heydays.

Revenger: Bruce Khan, Step This Way

After watching the martial arts B-movie Revenger, you may ask yourself: Who the hell is Bruce Khan and where has he been all my life? An immediately iconic anti-hero of the silent-but-deadly type, the seriously buff, humorlessly serious Khan singlehandedly turns Lee Seung-won's skimpily plotted action flick set on a prison island that pits a crew of alpha dogs against a group of oddballs into an engrossing affair. He's not alone in keeping you engaged: A female archer (Yoo Jin-seo) with unfailing precision, her bratty daughter (Kim Na-yeon), and a goofy gang leader (Kim In-kwon) with a hook for a hand are all chewing up the tropical scenery with abandon as is the movie's main nemesis (Park Hee-soon), a mummy-wrapped madman who's taste for blood is insatiable.

He hasn't got a shot against Khan, though, since the latter is generally speaking untouchable whenever he's engaged in hand-to-hand combat or swordplay, regardless of how many people are encircling him. Why is it so satisfying to see one person take on a ill-advised crowd? Anyway, I'd say his most delectable adversary wasn't the film's ostensible embodiment of evil but his henchman played by the drop-dead beauty Choi Je-heon. When they strip down for the final confrontation, you may be struggling to choose exactly who you want to win: the beautiful bad boy or the righteous ruffian who sometimes wears blood like lipstick. I picked the high ground but you do you.