Top 10 Movies of 2023 (Sort of)

The thought occurred to me when putting together this curated list of Korean movies (which once again I had trouble paring down to ten from the 50 I'd watched throughout the year) that it might be helpful to think in terms of "favorites" instead of "best." Because sometimes I really do like movies that are far from cinematic paragons. Some aren't even "good" in the generally accepted sense. Yet every film on this list merits inclusion. They're all memorable in terms of storylines and casts. More importantly still, they tickled my fancy. And so, with this new framing device in mind, I present to you my recommendations for 2023.

1. Decision to Leave (2022): Enjoying a Greek tragedy doesn't depend on being surprised by every twist and turn. Nor does this ingeniously constructed Park Chan-wook crime pic.
2. Voice of Silence (2020): Director Hong Eui-jeong's thrilling feature debut concerns a mute man-child suddenly in the middle of a botched kidnapping crime gone awry.
3. Love & Leashes (2022): The kinky Korean counterpart to stateside's 50 Shades of Grey is surprisingly nuanced, often humorous, and consistently smart. With gender roles reversed!
4. Exit (2019): Lee Sang-geun's heartpounding rom-com follows two recreational rockclimbers who find unwanted adventure when a poison gas hits downtown Seoul.
5. Midnight Runners (2017): In the eternal fight between good and evil, I expect some hyperbole. In Kim Joo-hwan's police cadet mystery, I relished it.
6. Deranged (2012): Director Park Jeong-woo's timely disaster-disease pic somehow feels as if it were a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Night Journey (1977): This period drama about a dissatisfied bank clerk (Yu Jeong-hie) taking stock of her life is a feminist critique with surreal touches.
8. Kill Boksoon (2023): With all due respect to slick action pics The Killer and Ballerina, Jeon Do-yeon's performance as the title character pushed this one into the lead.
9. Space Monster Wangmagwi (1977): The camp factor runs high in this alien-invasion flick in which a Godzilla is remote-controlled from outerspace.
10. Shark: The Beginning (2021): This underdog story with male bonding between sexy guys in the juvie appears set to kick off a series, given its title. Bring it on!

Space Monster Wangmagwi: UFO SNAFU

On paper (if they use paper on the planet Gamma Castle), the plan looked infallible. Beam a radio-operated monster down to Earth where it'll grow to over 500 times its original size (because of gravitational differences) then go on a murderous rampage thereby destroying the human race and opening the planet for colonization. But the silver-suited Gamma guys haven't factored in Korean tween ingenuity. And so, their extraterrestrial war machine may be able to withstand bullets, rockets, and electric shocks but it can't defeat a young orphan who scales its scaly skin, slices through its ear drums, and unplugs the control sockets located on its back. Sound preposterous? It is.

But Gwon Hyeok-jinn's Space Monster Wangmagwi is also a lot of fun. As its urchin hero, Jeon Sang-cheol sees the intergalactic attack as an elevated form of playground combat. Far from scared, this kid embraces the opportunity to hang on for dear life by giant nose hairs and to take a pee once he's cut his way into the monster's body. A bride-to-be (Kim Seon-kyeong) may be less resourceful — and more self-absorbed — but she's also largely unfazed traveling around in the monster's hand as it smashes buildings and crushes cars. Additional comic relief comes courtesy of two co-workers making bets on the catastrophe's outcome and a man who poops on a page of newspaper when he can't find an office bathroom amidst the melee. The traditional leading man, an airforce pilot (Won Nam-koong) rescues his fiance and a soon-to-be-adopted son by parachute. Unlikely. Unbelievable. Irresistible.