The Outlaws: Superheroes Without Capes

Although you'd hardly find The Outlaws listed under fantasy films, Kang Yoon-seong's energetic crime pic has a superhero of sorts at its center despite being based on a true story involving Chinese-Korean gang warfare circa 2007. Detective Ma (Ma Dong-seok) can outmaneuver, outmuscle, and outthink any crook on his beat, and anyone who doubts that is about to get a serious schooling. Small surprise his boss (Choi Gwi-hwa) constantly defers to his judgment while a local busboy pretty much idolizes him. He's got his weaknesses — broads, booze, and bribes — but you get the feeling he's always respectful of the first and generally mindful of the second. As for the money he extorts on the street, in The Outlaws, it's all in good fun. (I know. I know.)

Ma isn't the only character who comes across as a smarter, stronger humanoid from another world. His nemesis Jang Chen, (the fabulously wigged Yoon Kye-sang) is equally next-level — albeit on the evil side which always has a better stylist. As the new bully in town, Jang exudes the inhuman confidence that can accompany being a sadist willing to inflict pain for the pettiest of reasons. His primary backup boys share his cruel streak so when push comes to shove, it often involves sledge hammers or other tools of destruction. My main quibble with this 2017 blockbuster is that the women are basically hookers and hostesses. I count on Korean films to deliver strong female roles. When they don't, I'm sad. Perhaps Kang had Hollywood biases on the brain.

Sunflower: Less Fighting Please

Sheesh, this one was a downer. Sunflower is the pitiful tale of a recently released convict whose life spirals further downwards despite his vow of nonviolence moving forward. So while Kang Seok-beom's heartbreaking drama has plenty of ugly fight scenes, the hero (played as a kind of naif by Kim Rae-won) is generally getting beat up without ever striking back. As human punching bags go, he's the thoroughly bruised poster child. So who's he getting pummeled for? His adoptive mother (Kim Hae-sook), his bratty sister (Heo Yi-jae), and his mechanic boss (Lee Ho-sung)... Truthfully, you feel like he'd take a broken nose for anyone.

And so many people want to slug him: His cowardly childhood buddy (Han Jeong-su), the town's sickeningly evil mobster (Kim Byeong-ok), various thugs with various weapons, various high school students with various haircuts. Plus the world's laziest cop. Speaking of which, Sunflower may have one of the most unflattering portraits of the Korean police force committed to celluloid. The duo of officers who patrol this neighborhood are repeatedly witnesses to violence which they watch without ever lifting a hand to help. Their only concern seems to be to get some more food. When the final confrontation between the Job-like, beautifully-tattooed ex-con and the town's gang of lowlifes takes place, the only ones who escape his rage are the despicable boys in blue. Is this a form of social commentary?

The Lost Choices: She's Not Having It

Ji Eun (Shin Hyon-bin) has one damned ugly life. An orphaned young woman with only one friend (Yim Seo-joo) at the fabric factory where they're bored shitless, she's unable to find a better job as a graphic artist despite her talents because of a severe speech impediment. After witnessing her gal pal (who's also her next-door neighbor) get physically and mentally abused at home and at work almost daily, Ji Eun gets gang raped. Then a shady cop is dismissive of her account despite a fistful of hair she's ripped from the head of one of her attacker. Then one of her rapists returns to rape her again. Who wouldn't want be consumed by anger? Who wouldn't want revenge?

But Ahn Yong-hoon's grimly satisfying The Lost Choices isn't content with reveling in serial killings by a survivor vigilante. This effective drama also does an excellent job at reflecting the patriarchal biases and attitudes that inform this most misogynist of crimes. On the criminal side, the perps are not only oblivious of the harm they've inflicted but also don't remember the face of their victim... and repeatedly cast themselves as victims when the tables take a deadly turn. On the law side, the only one sympathetic to Ji Eun is the sole female cop (Yoon So-yi), who knows a thing or two about the PTSD that accompanies sexual assault. What especially engrossed me about The Lost Choices was how the script charts both the heroine's spree and the lady copy's consciousness expanding. The ending is not what you'd expect!

Derailed: In Praise of Ma Don-seok

There are a few Korean actors who I'll see in anything: Song Kang-ho, Choi Min-sik, and Choi Eun-hie. Add Ma Don-seok to this short list. The hunky actor memorably came to my attention in the peerless zombie thriller Train to Busan in which he played one adorable, indestructible husband whose battles with the undead remain a highlight of the film. Since then I've seen him in Ashfall, Unstoppable, and Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days and this guy always delivers. Impossibly charismatic and appealingly rough, he's a true seducer who manages to balance danger and deliciousness in a marquee-worthy way.

Those two contrasting qualities play out in a strange way in Lee Seong-tae's savage crime pic Derailed since his character here is an uneasy mix of the likeable and the despicable. On the good side, he's a doting father, a flirtatious husband, a righteous fighter who recognizes integrity; on the bad, he's a pimp, a swindler, a bully, and a dumbkoff. Do you root for him when he's pitted against a young car thief (Choi Min-ho) trying to rescue his runaway girlfriend (Jung Da-eun) from "the life" and a recently released, psycho ex-con (Kim Jae-young) who has some justifiable grudges? I couldn't decide. Derailed is one of those movies in which no one looks like a potential friend. Ever. It's also a very violent film where people are punched, pummeled, kicked, and baseball-batted only to recover impossibly quickly. There's blood and bruises aplenty but no swelling. Perhaps there are myriad ice-packs off-screen?

Montage: Start All Over Again

Fairly quickly, you realize something strange is happening in Montage: After young Detective Cha (Oh Dae-hwan) informs still-grieving mother Ha-kyung (Uhm Junghwa) that the statute of limitations around the murder of her child is slated to run out in five days, instead of sequeing into a suspenseful countdown, the movie leaps forward to "nine hours left." Given that this jump happens well before the halfway point, we're relatively assured that something else is afoot besides the solving of a 15-year-old homicide. What is it? A second crime, dear reader. A second crime that mirrors the first! So is the original killer back for more mayhem or has a copycat (perhaps within the police force) emerged to take his place. And what does this all have to do with grandpa (Song Young-chang)?

The force's retired cynic (Kim Sang-kyung) would like to find out more than anyone else but since he's no longer paired with his initial sidekick (Oh), Montage loses some really great opening chemistry. In its place, we're left with an echo chamber of screaming. Screams of grief, screams of anger, screams of frustration, screams of rebellion, screams of justice unfulfilled, and screams of indignation. Strangely, Bom (Heo Jung-eun), the kidnapped girl at the center of this story, doesn't scream that much. In Montage, the screaming is left to the adults. You may scream too at how this movie resolves itself. Unless you turn the screams into a drinking game, in which case you may think this film is a scream.

The March of Fools: Undergraduates Underachieving

How any discerning filmgoer can rank Ha Gil-jong's lighthearted (and lightweight) college romp The March of Fools right up there with Kim Ki-young's giddily perverse The Housemaid or Yoo Hyun-mok's neorealist Stray Bullet utterly baffles me! And it's not like I have a bias against comedies. I loved the culinary craziness of Le Grand Chef and the rebellious slapstick of Attack the Gas Station 2. Maybe it's simply that director Ha's 1975 social satire hasn't aged that well, especially in regards to its leading lady Yeong-ja (Lee Yeong-ok) — a ditzy, vivacious major in French literature who uses her looks to get free beers, Camus essays, and bit parts on the stage. (While I appreciated her self-defense moves to fend off unwanted sexual advances, her eternally sunshiny disposition somewhat tired me.)

So be it because ultimately The March of Fools is about the men: particularly, the carefree academic Byeong-tae (Yoon Moon-seop) and the test-failing cyclist Yeong-cheol (Ha Jae-young), two longtime friends who go on a series of adventures including blind dates, billiard games, streaking (with clothes), military screenings, tub soaking, beer-guzzling, and an extended escape from the police. Both actors are incredibly charismatic and you really do wish the best for them. So what is the best? Winning a drinking contest, getting kissed by a girl, scoring some money from dad... Yeong-cheol dreams of whale-hunting and inventing an umbrella for cigarettes. Byeong-tae dreams of getting married. Anyone who believes dreams like this might come true has another thing coming. I'd add, these men know better too. How can they not? They're philosophy students.

The takeaway: "Eheu fugaces labuntur anni!" ("Alas, the fleeting years slip by!")

10 Classic Korean Films to Stream for Free

I've been a watching and writing about South Korean cinema for well over a decade. So while I rejoiced to see Parasite win those four well-deserved Oscars, I was also aware that Bong Joon-ho's latest masterpiece is no anomaly. South Korea's been making great movies since the beginning of the 20th century! Below is proof: 10 movies that are at least 50 years old and are currently streaming for free via YouTube's Korean Film Archives — akin to a Turner Classic Movies outpost for the international set. (Please note: My blog is more a record of what I watch than a traditional review site. Because of that, spoilers abound in the linked reviews.)

1. Stray Bullet (1960): The Koreans have a rep for making kick-ass gangster films but Yu Hyun-mok's thrilling neo-realist tragedy shows that they've been masters of other forms for a long time too. (Read review) (Watch movie)

2. A Flower in Hell (1958): Forgive me for putting two bleak pics back-to-back at the top but once you've seen Shin Sang-ok's ultimate bad girl pic, you'll understand why I'm such a Choi Eun-hie fanatic. (Read review) (Watch movie)

3. Transgression (1974): Though best known for The Housemaid and its psychosexual offspring, director Kim Ki-young's equally nutso tale of three initiates in the running to helm a monastery remains my all-time favorite by this offbeat auteur. (Read review) (Watch movie)

4. Hometown in Heart (1949): Who doesn't relish a coming-of-age story with a talented young actor (Min Yu) as the lead? If you like The 400 Blows and Lady Bird then this is the one for you. (Read review) (Watch movie)

5. Yangsan Province (1955): As styles go, "folk" is probably the hardest to manifest on the silver screen but Kim Ki-young's first flick manages to shun naturalism while telling timeless truths. (Read review) (Watch movie)

6. Madame White Snake (1960): As a gay man, I feel obliged to put something unapologetically camp on this list. This fantasy involving a seductress who's also a snake who's also a witch should suffice. (Read review) (Watch movie)

7. The Sea Knows (1961): Sections of this war pic are sadistic. Other parts are preposterous. But the ending blew me away, proving that a great end can justify the label "necessary viewing." (Read review) (Watch movie)

8. The Widow (1955): The first Korean film directed by a woman was stiffed by distributors. Let's remedy that: Park Nam-ok's drama prominently featuring male eye candy deserves a bigger audience despite some missing footage! (Read review) (Watch movie)

9. Empty Dream (1965): In a way, you could say this is what would happen if you crossed the original Little Shop of Horrors with L'Age d'Or. I know that doesn't make sense. Neither does the movie but oh my... (Read review) (Watch movie)

10. The Night Before Independence Day (1948): Early Korean cinema was known for its byeonsas, narrators employed by the theater to act out the story. This seedy portrait of society's underbelly is a fascinating example. Admittedly not for everyone but definitely for me. (Read review) (Watch movie)

Deja Vu: Flashback to What?

At some point during Ko Kyung-min's frightful fright flick Deja Vu, I stopped trying to figure out what was going on. I stop being worried whether the Elvis impersonator Do-sik (Jo Han-sun) was a multiple personality for real estate developer Choi Hyun-suk (Jung Kyung-ho), whether the camera-blurry-equals-hallucinations experienced by Ji-min (Nam Gyu-ri) were caused by her medication or helped by it, and even whether the missing Je-yi (Jeong Eun-Seong) was a dead deer or a dead girl. Free of those concerns, I wasn't particularly scared by office irregularities like flickering lights or an inexplicably activated copy machine; nor was I especially curious when an apartment's walls were smeared with blood. Who cares if a leading character has recently been knifed or not?! Deja Vu is a horror movie that creates a certain distancing effect that allows you to observe camera angles, sound choices, and plot points disinterestedly. Nothing matters. I suppose there's something terrifying about that.

And now for some questions: Can taking a psychotropic pills simulate symptoms in the fiancee akin to those experienced by the patient? Are all Korean professions tainted by bribes involving fat fistfuls of bills? Does every policeman (Lee Cheon-hee) secretly want to be a vigilante and have unlimited funds that would allow him to rent an extra apartment and trick it out with all sorts of surveillance equipment? Would anyone wearing high heels jump up and down on a hard drive as a way to destroy it? I agree that hit-and-run drivers should be punished but did any of the producers believe that this movie would do that particular cause justice? I'm awaiting some answers here.

The Mimic: Do Not Adopt This Child

What would you do if you chanced upon a lost, bedraggled little girl in the woods outside your new house? How about if it were right after a pair of neighbor kids had a terrifyingly supernatural experience nearby? Would you invite her into your home and unquestioningly welcome her into your open arms as she assumes the name and vocal cadences of your young daughter then drives your senile mother insane? Or would you get her over to the local Children's Services? For reasons that eventually work against her, mom Hee-yeon (Yum Jung-ah) takes the first approach in Huh Jung's creepy ghost story The Mimic. But like us, husband Min-ho (Park Hyuk-kwon) badly wishes she'd take the second option. He knows what it's like to lose a child since the couple lost their own son five years ago at a mall. Wouldn't the smart thing to do be to get this lost young girl (Shin Rin-ah) to the cops so they can track down men missing parents? Or considering the bruises all over her back, one might also get her into some proper foster care? When grandma (Heo Jin) pulls a knife on their unofficial adoptee, is anyone doing anyone else a favor by providing this young orphan a home?

Obviously, I was not consulted. And while I do have some advice for this movie's central couple, I don't know how much of it would have been useful when the tiger spirit emerged in the little girl's birth father, a shaman who'd clearly gone off the deep end, too. If this all sounds amusing, it's actually not. The Mimic is kind of scary. Not keep you up so you can't sleep at night scary. More like, you think you're not that scared but then you end up having a nightmare anyway. That kind of scary. Proceed at your own risk.