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ChuckJorris
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Hoi-sa-won (2012)
Korean John Woo
Movies like this one are the reason, why i nowadays watch korean thriller and action movies instead of the usual Hollywood productions (Fast & Furious, Transformers, sequel after Sequel, remake after remake...).
The plot of this movie isn´t new or original. A professional killer falls in love with a woman and gets a conscience. He wants to stop killing people, wants to quit his "job" and gets him and his sweetheart in big trouble...
What IS new and original is the realisation of this plot. The killer is neither a lone wolf like "Leon" nor the stereotypical psychopath. He is played by Ji-seob So as an average, hard working employee, who goes to work everyday like everybody else. The difference between Ji and other employees is that his workplace is just a sham company, behind a secret door the protagonist and his colleagues meet the boss to plan their discrete and deadly assignments.
Killing people is just a job for Ji. He kills some people at work, after work he irons his shirt for the next day, he lifes a quiet life and is looking forward to his next promotion. One of the great aspects of the movie is to show the callous routine of the young protagonist and his colleagues, going to work everyday, killing people everyday... It´s just business.
Mi-yeon Lee plays an middle aged woman, who was a famous singer and the crush of Ji, when he was a kid. As they meet again, Ji falls in love with her again and wants to leave the company to start a new life. But he fails to protect her and her family from the company. She gets killed by company man after a shootout. Her death in front of her children is tragic and could not be more "anti-Hollywood".
Ji avenges her death in a fantastic gunfight, that i want to compare to the Hongkong action flicks from directors John Woo or Tsui Hark (Time and Tide). But every action sequence in this movie is excellent choreographed, especially the amazing scene, where Ji fights two company colleagues in a car...
Hannibal (2013)
Hannibal would consider some of the bad reviews here to be very rude...
People write bad reviews and give it 1/10 after seeing 1 or 2 episodes. Come on, at least watch the first season before you critique the show.
Some of the reviewers criticize the frequent visions/dreams of the black stag and that Will Graham isn´t able to see, who Hannibal really is. Those reviewers didn´t get it at all. The black stag IS Hannibal, Will Grahams subconscious constantly confronts him with these visions to remind him, that there is something wrong in his environment. Hannibals psychiatric methods and his distinguished mask prevent Will from uncovering the truth.
The show is incredibly well produced, the dialogue between Hannibal and his potential victims are well written. Mads Mikkelsen is a fantastic actor. His cold, analytical look, when his Patient Franklin puts a used tissue on his designer table gives me the chills every time. You can see in his eyes and his subtle facial expression, that he plans to put Franklin on his menu because he despises Franklins thoughtless action...
The other actors are great as well, especially Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford, Caroline Dhavernas as vulnerable psychiatrist Alana Bloom and Gillian Anderson in a guest role as Hannibals involuntary psychiatrist. Hugh Dancy tries his best to express the mental problems and internal conflicts of Will Graham.
Some people may find the series boring, but in my opinion it is finest psychological horror. The music and sound effects of Brian Reitzell are perfect for the series, generating a constant uncomfortable feeling. In rare moments Will can find a peaceful place in his mind, which is underlined by a beautiful piano melody from Reitzell.
The directors, cinematographers and visual effects are creating equally haunting and beautiful images, the scenes in Hannibals office are prime examples for excellent set design and lighting.
There is much gore and violence in this series, but these scenes don´t overshadow the subtle psychological horror. In one Scene (season 2) Hannibal drugs Mason Verger and manipulates him to cut of parts of his face and feed them to Wills Dogs, which is equally visually and psychologically disturbing. Various scenes showing Hannibal preparing gourmet meals using human organs, while listening to classical music capture the essence of Hannibals hedonistic, narcistic personality.
In my opinion Hannibal is a successful reinvention and way better than every Lecter movie, that came out after The Silence of the lambs. Hopkins Hannibal is an imprisoned Psychopath without regrets for his deeds or any regards for other humans. Watching Mikkelsen as respected psychiatrist, who constantly manipulates everyone around him is not less frightening.
AND NOW I´D LIKE YOU TO DRAW A CLOCK...