A Tale of Two Sisters (장화,홍련)

• Title: 장화,홍련
• English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters
• Language: Korean
• Trailer: Here

Plot: When two sisters, Soo-mi and Soo-yeon, return home after spending time in a mental institution, they are coldly greeted by their stepmother and all but dismissed by their father. Strange things begin happening in the house, and Soo-mi begins to suspect the stepmother is abusing Soo-yeon. When Soo-mi confronts the stepmother, she is reminded of a previous meeting between them, and her reality begins to fall apart.

After I watched this movie, I was very surprised to find out that this movie was remade into The Uninvited, an American turd attempting to be as glamorous as its Asian counterpart.

A Tale of Two Sisters is a psychological horror masterpiece that kept me guessing all the way to the end. I had an idea of what was going on, but the final reveal was more than I was expecting. It’s not about ghosts and grudges; It’s about how the past can haunt you, and how trying to forget can make things worse.

If you have a chance to see this movie, I highly recommend that you do. And, by all means, avoid seeing the remake.

It’s not a matter of bandwidth, it’s a matter of necessity. I’ve had less than ten combined views of the trailers I have posted, so it doesn’t make sense to add them. They are not necessary.

A Man Who Was Superman
(슈퍼맨이었던 사나이)

• Title: 슈퍼맨이었던 사나이
• English Title: A Man Who Was Superman
• Language: Korean
• Trailer: Here

Plot: When a small-time producer for human interest stories is saved by a man claiming to be Superman, she decides to follow him and produce Superman Saves the World. Unfortunately, Superman has lost his powers because “the bald man” placed kryptonite in his brain. So he doesn’t forget who he is, Superman performs his acts of heroism without powers, in the hopes that one day the kryptonite will come out and he will be able to fly again.

As a comedic drama, most of the movie spends it’s time on the comedy side of the line. When it comes to saving the world from CO₂ emissions, finding lost puppies, and catching purse snatchers, he does everything just as Superman would do it – if Superman did not have powers. When it’s time for the dramatic, the comedy steps aside, however, and the story plays out like a drama should. The reporter uncovers what makes Superman so special, and discovers what it really means to be human.

I really enjoyed watching this movie and I would recommend anyone looking for a comedic drama to give this movie a chance.

Chocolate (ช็อคโกแลต)

• Title: ช็อคโกแลต
• English Title: Chocolate
• Language: Thai
• Trailer: Here

Plot: When an autistic girl’s mother can’t afford the cancer medication she needs, the girl uses her unexplainable martial arts skills to collect the debts owed to her mother.

Ong-bak mastermind Prachya Pinkaew turns his attention from Tony Jaa to Yanin Vismistananda to create this fantastic action movie. The choreography of the martial arts scenes was astounding, and the outtakes during the credits showed that it’s not all fun and games on a movie set.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes martial arts movies in the flavor of Ong-bak with a touch of humor. After all, there’s nothing funnier than a chocolate munching kid kicking the crap out of shifty debtors.

I love watching movies. If I didn’t love watching movies, I don’t think I would be any good at my job. The problem with working at a movie theatre, though, is that you tend to see more and more of the same movies over and over again: the same story, the same actors, the same direction. It gets old.

Fortunately for me, I also love watching foreign and independent films. When we got digital cable, I was really excited about getting IFC and Sundance again. My exposure to foreign films has also been expanded by the internet. I have several sources for watching full-length feature films from other countries, and I use them more than I use my television.

With my expanding collection of foreign movies, it only make sense for me to share some of my thoughts. So, starting today, I am going to pick through the +20 movies I have not yet watched and watch them and review them. I’m also going to make a point of adding a new movie to my collection every week, and actually watching it that same week.

Up until now, I have focused more on the Asian catalogues. I have several movies from Thailand, India, China, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia, but I’d like to expand my directory to include European films. I would also like to extend my collection of films from Australia and New Zealand. If anyone has a suggestion on where to go to get my hands on some of the films from these countries, please leave a comment and let me know. If you have suggestions on a great movie that you have seen, then definitely leave a comment. I’m open to watching just about anything.