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Big Stu
Reviews
Gwoemul (2006)
A "misfunctional" family story....
Bong Joon-ho, in introducing this movie at the Adelaide Film Festival, pointed out that he didn't think of this as a "Monster" movie, but one about families.
And he's right, if your family's "The Simpsons".
If you liked those old Godzilla movies from the 70's, then "The Host" is for you.
It all starts with a U.S. Army morgue dumping formaldehyde into the Han river.
Fast forward six years, and we're introduced to the Park family, who are, to quote Bong Joon-ho, "misfunctional".
When a horrible creature leaps out of the Han, and kidnaps Hyun-seo Park, the whole family goes looking for her.
Dodging crazed U.S. disease experts, who are chasing a SARS like virus, the Parks crawl through Seoul's sewers.
This is a bloody funny flick, which plays down the usual horror associated with "Monster" films.
The special effects are slick, and don't detract from the live action elements - a tribute to "The Orphanage" in San Fransico who did the CGI work.
"The Host" is set for wide release in Australia through Madman's Eastern Eye arm, and I suggest you whip along and see it - even if it's just to see the great acting of Kang-ho Song (who I last saw in JSA: Joint Security Area).
The Home Song Stories (2007)
Tony Ayres Has Done A Brilliant Job.
I went to the Australian premiere of "The Home Song Stories" last night, and I'm damn glad I did.
It's a great film.
Tony Ayres has done a magic job of bringing his life story to the big screen, and he's picked a great cast to do it with.
Newcomers John Lok and Irene Chen are fantastic as the young Tony and his older sister, Mei.
Joan Chen's finally found a great role, after a string of awful ones.
She shines as Tony's mother, a former Hong Kong nightclub singer who moves to Australia in 1971 with her two children, after marrying an Australian sailor... who she promptly shoots through on.
I don't really want to tell you too much about the movie, because I'd rather you went and saw it yourself.
All I can say is that it's a great study of immigrant life in the 70's, and a snapshot of Australia at the time.
I'm not sure how wide a release "The Home Song Stories" will get, but if it turns up in your local cinema, go see it.
I haven't enjoyed a film this much in a long time.
To hear an interview with Tony, go to
http://rastous.podomatic.com/entry/2007-02-25T18_39_35-08_00