ryu jun yeol

ALIENOID Review: A Whimsically Thrilling Sci-Fi Fantasy Pot-Pourri

Filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon‘s newest out-of-this-world hodgepodge fantasy sci-fi epic arrives this summer in the form of Alienoid, a film whose narrative, larger-than-life storyline has long since been planned as a two-part saga. It’s a particularly fitting approach in this case, especially from a director who is no stranger to storytelling at runtimes of nearly two-and-a-half hours, and with a film like Alienoid whose inaugural story involves two parallel arcs, split between time periods and a myriad of intertwining characters. The pieces here are all subject to supernatural intrigue and mystery as Alienoid invites you into a universe where extraterrestrials see humans as “aliens” themselves. The humans, in this case, are used as prisons for elusive aliens who are then captured and escorted by intergalactic robotic prison warden Guard and Thunder, an A.I. program in a flying head (both portrayed by Kim Woo-bin w/ voice actor Kim Dae-Myung). We meet the […]

BELIEVER Review: Lee Hae Young’s 2018 HK-Inspired Reimagining Is Preaches A Violent, Well-Crafted Gospel [Reprint/Revisal]

Lee B. Golden III

Most of the time, the narrative among film fans is that remakes suck. I don’t know if that’s the same consensus shared by middle-of-the-road types in audiences of Hollywood or international titles, but generally you will come across folks who don’t favor a lot of remakes and reboots for reasons all their own. Such reasons are justified, compared to a lot of other cases that often get overlooked in which a film, remade or rebooted from its predecessor, stands the test of its duration. Lee Hae-young recently found the odds in his favor for his fourth directorial outing, taken from the filmic mastermind of Johnnie To to provide the niche with a renewed variant of the 2012 thriller, Drug War. Fast forward to 2018, and we now have a contender in Believer to whet our curiousities following its seething trailer delivery. A slightly derivative assortment here builds on what To offered in […]

ALIENOID: PART 1 Teases Exciting Fantasy Action And Spectacle In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Money and The Battle: Roar To Victory star Ryu Jun-yeol is making way this summer for an explosive and spectacular outing from Woochi and Assassination director Choi Dong-hoon with sci-fi fantasy thriller, Alienoid: Part One, to be followed by a sequel later this year. Aliens have been keeping their prisoners locked in the human brain for a very long time. In year 2022, the “Guard” in charge of managing of alien prisoners opens the gate of time to prevent the prisoners from escaping human brains. Meanwhile 600 years ago in the past, the clumsy chi master ‘Muruk’ competes with the ‘The Girl who Shoots Thunder’ in a race to get hold of a Divine Blade with a huge bounty, As he discovers a spaceship stuck in the river, another shocking truth reveals itself… Also starring are Kim Tae-ri, So Ji-sub, Yum Jung-ah, and Kim Woo-bin, the latter who has been […]

ALIEN Teaser Reveals Exciting Time-Jumping Sci-Fi Period Adventure Shenanigans

Lee B. Golden III

Woochi and The Thieves director Choi Dong-hoon’s latest pic looks about as whimsically entertaining as you’d hope. In a word, it’s called Alien and it’s the first of two back-to-back titles arriving this year, starring firstly with Ryu Jun-yeol (Money), Kim Tae-ri (Space Sweepers) and Kim Woo-bin (Master). The door of time opens between the swordsmen who want to seize the legendary divine sword at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty and those who chase after an alien prisoner imprisoned in a human body in 2022.

THE BATTLE: ROAR TO VICTORY: Don’t Miss The International Trailer To Won Shin-Yeon’s Action-Packed Epic

Lee B. Golden III

Won Shin-yeon’s latest thrilling war epic with The Battle: Roar To Victory, is poised for an August 7 release just around the corner. Time will tell if and when we’ll get some acquisition news but we have an international trailer currently making the rounds to help garner some eyes. Based on the Bongo-dong battle in 1920, which remained a great victory within the Korean independence battles In 1920, when Korea is under Japanese rule the Korean Independence Army’s Hae-chul (YOO Hae-jin) and his subordinates are carrying out the operation to deliver funds to the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai. During the operation Hae-chul is reunited with Jang-ha (RYU Jun-yeol), a young squad commander, whose mission is to defend Samdunja. They unite and trap the Japanese soldiers in Samdunja, soundly defeating them. Now they’re chased by Japanese troops and Hae-chul finds out that Jang-ha’s mission isn’t over yet. A crucial yet […]

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Won Shin-Yeon’s THE BATTLE: ROAR TO VICTORY Launches The First Official Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Expect a blaze of period war heroics and spectacle amid high drama as the first footage is arisen from upcoming epic, The Battle: Roar To Victory, opening in August from Showbox. The film joins The Suspect and Memoir Of A Murderer director Won Shin-Yeon with a cast led by Luck-Key and A Taxi Driver actor Yu Hae-Jin, and Ryu Jun-Yeol whose latest corporate thriller, Money, is slated to screen for the New York Asian Film Festival this month. Based on the Bongo-dong battle in 1920, which remained a great victory within the Korean independence battles.. In 1920, when Korea is under Japanese rule the Korean Independence Army’s Hae-chul (Yu) and his subordinates are carrying out the operation to deliver funds to the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai. During the operation Hae-chul is reunited with Jang-ha (Ryu), a young squad commander, whose mission is to defend Samdunja. They unite and trap […]

Review: Lee Hae Young’s BELIEVER Preaches A Violent, Well-Crafted Gospel

Lee B. Golden III

Most of the time, the narrative among film fans is that remakes suck. I don’t know if that’s the same consensus shared by middle-of-the-road types in audiences of Hollywood or international titles but generally you will come across folks who don’t favor a lot of remakes and reboots for reasons all their own. Such reasons are justified, compared to a lot of other cases that often get over looked in which a film, remade or rebooted from its predecessor, stands the test of its duration. Lee Hae-Young recently found the odds in his favor for his fourth directorial outing, taken from the filmic mastermind of Johnnie To to provide the niche with a renewed variant of the 2012 thriller Drug War. Fast forward to 2018 and we now have a contender in Believer to whet our curiousities following its seething trailer delivery. A slightly derivative assortment here builds on what […]

BELIEVER Delivers A Smokin’ New Trailer For Lee Hae-Young’s DRUG WAR Remake

Lee B. Golden III

To say that remakes can’t be done right is a statement that doesn’t exactly stand flawless. Granted, there are plenty that fail to deliver, but the scale weighs differently with each film which is exactly why I’m always willing to give them a shot. That being said, I don’t specifically know if the same skeptic sentiments often shared in Western audiences extend in China and Korea, but director Lee Hae-Young is more than willing to make a worthwhile case. Having found his inspiration in Johnnie To’s hit crime thriller, Drug War, Lee’s fourth film, dubbed Believer, has begun its campaign with a first a official trailer that doesn’t hesitate to get down, dirty and in the thick of things. Detective Won-ho is determined to catch the infamous leader of Asia’s largest drug market, who is known only by the name, ‘Mr. LEE.’ While searching for Mr. LEE, Won-ho apprehends and […]

South Korean DRUG WAR Remake Now Underway

Lee B. Golden III

Director Johnnie To’s 2012 film, Drug War, was a staunch and stark crime thriller with a compelling story, riveting characters and haunting finale. The film won a raft of awards and nominations around the world through 2014 next to its rave reviews at the time, now begging to see if its remake value stands with equal merit. That litmus test is now being applied through the lens of Arahan: Jangpung Daejakjeon (2004) scribe, The Silenced (2015) helmer Lee Hae-young with production underway as his fourth feature film set for next year. Actors Cho Jin-woong (A Hard Day) and Ryu Jun-yeol (The King) will reimagine the respective roles as such, per To’s film, intially centered on a Hong Kong drug enforcement whose lead detective successfully captures a key witness – an elusive, conniving drug lord now forced to work with the police to infiltrate a bigger criminal empire or face the death penalty. Also […]