A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation 小倩- 1997 Hong Kong

Holiday time is always a very busy time, but we have several movie reviews up our sleeve that we are ready to share with you!

Today, we bring you a review on the 1997 Hong Kong animation film, A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation (小倩).  Written and produced by Tsui Hark, best known for A Better Tomorrow, The Banquet, and Once Upon a Time in China series, A Chinese Ghost Story follows in the footsteps of Hark’s popular work on three live-action adaptions of the same name.

Debuting at the Toronto Film Festival, A Chinese Ghost Story went on to win the Best Animated Film Award in 1997 at the Golden Horse Film Festival and in 1998 at the Asia Pacific Film Festival and the Merit Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.  The film di fairly well in Hong Kong and China, and Viz Media even bought the rights to distribute it in the States, though if asked if they were successful in doing so, I would have to say no. (I have never met anyone who knows of this animation)

The Handmaiden 아가씨- 2016 South Korea

In a weeks time, Park Chan Wook, well known for his 2005 film OldBoy, will deliver his latest revenge film, The Handmaiden (아가씨) to US audiences.  Released earlier this year in South Korea, this film has been creating a stir. Not only is the film’s topics graphic and dark but it is also extremely different from what typically comes from Asian cinema. This film reached success at  the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Park Chan Wook was nominated for a Palme d’Or and the film was eligible for the Queer Palm Award.

Based off the 2002 historical crime novel, Fingersmith, written by Sarah Waters, Director Wook moved the setting from Victorian Era Britain to 1930s Korea under Japanese colonial ruling.  The story focuses on two con artists, Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung Woo) and a young pick pocketer, Sook Hee (Kim Tae Ri) who plot to steal the fortune of heiress, Lady Hideko (Kim Min Hee). However, if you have ever seen a Park Chan Wook film, you know that this is not the only story, and with any film, this plot is twisted and changed until you reach the end of the film with an expression of WTF on your face.  

Like this ^^

2016 Asian Horror films you MUST see! (Halloween Edition)

Happy (Almost) Halloween everyone! 

With this exciting and spooky holiday upon us, we have decided to compile a list of a few of the scary, the strange and the creepiest Asian horror films to have been released this year so far! Grab your friends and check out some of our haunted favorites below!

Is Lost in the Moonlight (달빛궁궐) a rip off of Spirited Away?!

Today, Light's Camera, Asia brings you a look into a new animation film from South Korea that has been getting some heat for potentially ripping off the beloved 2001 Studio Ghibli classic, Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し).

We give you, Lost in the Moonlight (달빛궁궐), a new Korean animation film that was released in theatres at the beginning of this month. 

Uncontrollably Fond 함부로 애틋하게 2016- Korea EP. 5 Review

"I just want to say, I like you, I love you"  Kim Woo Bin, Do you know

Uncontrollably Fond Ep 5

This episode solidified my feelings for this drama. I was on the fence the last episode but I finally made a decision. Want to know what I think? Is this drama worthy to binge watch? See below:

Summary:

Episode 5 begins with the last scene of Episode 4 - Shin Joon asking No Eul to date him for 3 months and No Eul looking shocked. The producer tries to brush it off as Shin Joon is joking but Shin Joon says he isn’t. No Eul just stares before finally saying that she’d be crazy if she didn’t want to date him. That they can announce it on social media - I sense a lot of sarcasm here.shin Joon smiles and shakes his head.

Cut to No Eul with her face in a bowl and Ji Tae coming in. She says she caused trouble and will probably get fired. BEcause she treated what he said seriously as a joke. No Eul yells at the restaurant lady who hits her with a spoon. Ji Tae dabs her face which is covered in water. He tells her it’s for the best and to go back into investigative reporting, that he’ll help her find a job. To which No Eul says how as he is unemployed as well. She says it would be better to work for him and why can’t she fill the place of his wife.

Uncontrollably Fond 함부로 애틋하게 2016- Korea EP. 4 Review

Let’s say I’ll really die in three months and have a really passionate romance for those three months.

Review:

Episode 4 begins where we left off with Shin Joon looking for No Eul on the bridge. Apparently there was a couple taking pictures under the bridge and that is why she was leaning over. They are a movie star couple.

Shin Joon agrees to do the documentary.

Flashback to No Eu’s heart stopping. They get it beating again. The Doctor comes out and says she’s stable and is not going to die as Shin Joon begins to cry. Shin Joon is at his advisers office dropping out of school. He says if he were to become a prosecutor there would be no hope for this country.

Uncontrollably Fond 함부로 애틋하게 2016- Korea EP. 3 Review

Seeing you again will be as painful as being stabbed to death but let’s give it a shot anyway, and see what happens

Summary:

We start episode 3 where episode 2 left off with No Eul collapsing on the ground and Shin Joon running after her. He pulls her into his arms and tries to wake her up.

No Eul wakes up in a hospital with an IV. Some guy is standing over her, it’s Shin Joon’s manager. Shin Joon called him to watch her while Shin Joon goes to a birthday party for Kim Yoo Na and delivers flowers. He sings her a beauty song while playing the piano. Are these two dating? He keeps thinking about No Eul, slams his hands on the piano and leaves. Kim Yoo Na follows him outside – she likes him but he likes No Eul.

Train to Busan 부산행 2016- South Korea

Premiering in May at the 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival, Train to Busan (부산행) by director Yeong Sang-Ho, was a surprising hit with festival goers. As the film broke multiple South Korean box office records with its release a few weeks back, it comes as no surprise the film was quickly purchased by Well Go USA entertainment for US limited releases. If you want to see if it is playing near you, check it out HERE.

This zombie breakout, thriller film is quite a surprise coming from the Korean entertainment market, seeing as Korean zombie movies can be counted on one hand. However, with Train to Busan, Director Yeong took a different approach by isolating most of the breakout to  the small confines of the Korean speed train, KTX. The film is also suppose to take place a day after Director Yeong's animation film Seoul Station (서울역) which was released earlier in April.  

Uncontrollably Fond 함부로 애틋하게 2016- Korea EP. 2 Review

This definitely isn't MY No Eul. - Uncontrollably Fond - Ep. 2

Summary (Spoilers if you haven’t seen it):

Uncontrollably Fond Episode 2 starts off with No Eul running down the street, confused? This is a flashback dear friends to the year 2006. She stops to help an old lad push a giant cart up a hill and gives her a hat and scarf to stay warm. Taking the cart from the lady she tells her to go on a date J Awe such an innocent and sweet No Eul.

Stopping at a stall, she tells a little boy that he does not need to pay for food. The stall-man gets angry and tells her that they are living and debt. Is this No Eul’s appa (Dad)? A girl runs up to No Eul as her dad’s complaining about all the money she has given away by not letting people pay and that he could be living better etc etc. Apparently her friend is getting beat up by some boys behind the school. What kind of man beats up a girl?

Hard Boiled (辣手神探) 1992- Hong Kong

The Most Action-Packed Film of All-Time.

More exciting than a dozen DIE HARDS.

HARD BOILED (辣手神探)(1992) marks the fifth collaboration from actor Yun-Fat Chow and director John Woo in this action-packed story about a tough-as-nails cop who goes undercover to take down two opposing gangs smuggling guns into Hong Kong. 

Uncontrollably Fond 함부로 애틋하게 2016- Korea EP. 1 Review

I do know who you are, you son of a bitch - Uncontrollably Fond - EP. 1 

  

The final lines of Uncontrollably Fond Episode 1 definitely leave you with many questions. Like what happened? Why is he a son of a bitch? What happened between Shin Joon and his mother? Why is No Eul in so much debt? But I am getting ahead of myself.

Summary (Spoilers if you haven’t seen it):

The first episode starts off a little confusing. In the first scene, Shin Joon is getting married (foreshadowing anyone?) but it’s all part of a drama within the drama (talk about inception).  Shin Joon is an actor and he is in the middle of filming one of his scenes when he stops saying that he doesn’t want to die after some pretty hard core fighting scenes. We think he is referring to the movie plot but it turns out….he’s dying in real life! Le gasp. Apparently he has a disease that’s hard to cure and he doesn’t even have a year left to live.

KCON NYC 2016 Highlight

KCON NY took over the Prudential Center a few weeks back, and we are still recuperating from the excitement of the Korean festival that celebrates KPOP, KBeauty and Korean Culture. Lights, Camera, Asia's Whitney was there on the second day of the madness and is here to highlight the fun that ensued. 

Even though the sun was beating down on the ever growing crowd surrounding the event, that didn't stop festival goers from breaking out in dance when their favorite KPOP song came on (a crowd favorite: BTS-Fire)

Will We See YOU There?

Are you attending KCON this year? Let us know in the comments below :)
Event Highlight to Follow

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Seoul Searching NYC Premiere

We are back on Lights, Camera, Asia and will hopefully start back to our regular posting schedule. We are so sorry we have been absent momentarily, but today we bring you an exciting post on the New York City Premiere of the heart-warming, comedy Seoul Searching (2015) directed by Benson Lee. If you have been following our site, you may have seen a previous review on this film, however, if not, check it out HERE! 

Lights, Camera, Asia's Whitney was lucky enough to be able to not only attend the premiere and after party, but also be able to help out with the event itself this past Friday, June 17, 2016. The event was held in the dead center of Time Square at AMC 25. With it's limited release, the film was only showing for a week, however, it did so well opening weekend that it has been extended to the end of June. So if you are a local of NYC, go check it out! 

SO LET'S START

The Beauty Inside 뷰티 인사이드 2015 - South Korea

The Beauty Inside (뷰티 인사이드) is a 2015 South Korean romance film from first time film director, Baek Jong Yul. As a director whose career only spanned commercial advertisements previous to this film, I am extremely impressed with his ability to direct and create such a wonderful film to watch. The Beauty Inside is actually based off of a 2012 American "social film" released by Intel and Toshiba that included interactive storytelling for viewers. Upon the release of the South Korean film, it had already pre-sold its distribution rights to 11 other Asian countries. I absolutely loved this film...lets see why!

The Ring リング 1998- Japan I BOOK VS. MOVIE

Welcome to one of Lights, Camera, Asia's newest content! Having been mentioned through out our site, today we bring you our FIRST movie vs. book review! If this review receives a lot of positive feedback, we will try to do these more often! So sit back and enjoy our review on the 1998 Japanese horror flick The Ring (リング ) versus the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki. 

Quick Update!!

We are so sorry for the lack of updates lately! We have been working behind the scenes in hopes of bring some exciting new content and ideas to the site :) 

In the meantime, please let us know what you want to see on Lights, Camera, Asia! Do you want to see more movie reviews, drama reviews, book vs. movie reviews or something totally different?? LET US KNOW! 

Check back next week for new content!

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Woochi: The Demon Slayer 전우치 2009- South Korea

Woochi: The Demon Slayer (전우치) is the 2009 fantasy, adventure film written and directed by Choi Dong-Hoon. Director Choi is very well known for the popular films Tazza and The Big Swindle. Based upon a Korean folktale,Woochi, with its big budget and special effects, became very successful in the South Korean market, becoming the 3rd best selling film of the year. In 2012, a spin off drama series was released. 

Woochi begins as a tale set during the Joseon Dynasty. A magical flute has fallen into the hands of evil and monsters have begun to wreak havoc on cities. We are introduced to Woochi, played by Kang Dong-Won (A Violent Prosecutor) , a Taoist wizard, and his sidekick Chorangyi (Yoo Hae-jin) are prosecuted for a crime they did not commit. They are both sealed away in an ancient scroll by three taoist wizards and a man named Hwadam (Kim Yoon-Seok).

To Live 活著 1994- China

To Live (活著) is the 1994 novel adaption by director Zhang Yimou. If you have yet to do so check out our review on his other great film, Raise the Red Lantern. Due to this films portrayal of various policies and campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party, To Live was banned in China, and Zhang Yimou also was banned from filmmaking for 2 years following. Once again, this did not stop Yimou's film from reaching success. To Live is the first Chinese film to have its foreign distribution rights pre-sold, was screened at the New York Film Festival and won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Similar to our latest review, Farewell My Concubine, both directors were part of the Fifth Generation film directors, who faced many issues with the release of their films. 

Farewell My Concubine 霸王別姬 1993- China

Today, we explore the 1993 Chinese film Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬) directed by Chen Kaige. Based upon the novel by Lilian Lee, the film adaption was extremely popular, as it was one of the most well known works in the Fifth Generation films in Chinese cinema. The Fifth Generation Movement was a group of Chinese filmmakers who were known for boosting the popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. It is no surprise then, that Farewell My Concubine went on to the Academy Awards and received 3 foreign language film nominations, and is still also the only Chinese language film to be awarded the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Farewell My Concubine follows the lives of 2 men over a span of 53 years. It explores the beginning of their friendship, their breakthrough in the Beijing Opera, the Japanese Invasion in the 1930s and the Communist Party takeover in the late 1940s.