i saw the man from nowhere (아저씨) in korea when it was released and didnt think twice about its potential to reach the states. it was just announced that it surpassed 5.7 million viewers and even attracted sixty thousand viewers just between september 17-19. and well, look what we have here, the man from nowhere has arrived to the united states! so if you are in the area, please go and watch it!

9/30: Los Angeles (CGV Cinemas)


10/8: Cerritos (Regal)

10/15: Torrance (AMC Rolling Hills 20), Garden Grove (Regal), Arcadia (AMC Santa Anita 16), Flushing (AMC Bay Terrace 6), Manhattan (AMC Empire 25), New Jersey (AMC Ridgefield Park 12), Maryland (AMC Rios 18), Seattle (Cinemark Century 16 & AMC Alderwood 16), San Jose (AMC Cupertino 16), Atlanta (AMC Discover Mills 18), Chicago (AMC Northbrook 14 & AMC Showplace Niles 12), Dallas (AMC Grapevine Mills 30), Austin (Alamo), Toronto (AMC Younge & Dundas 24)

10/29: Honolulu (Ward)

allkpop.com: In “The Man From Nowhere”, Won Bin stars as Taesik, a mysterious pawnshop owner who has secluded himself from the world after having lost his pregnant wife in a tragic accident. While the socially awkward pawnshop owner tries to live life avoiding as much human contact as possible, he is reluctantly encountered by the troubled little girl-next-door named Somi (played by child actress, Kim Sae Ron). As Somi makes her regular visits to bother Taesik, she becomes the one person in the world that can soften Taesik’s hardened heart.

this film really delivers to all audiences (& i mean 18+). for the girls, we get the irresistible won bin. for the guys, they get the heart-stopping and fast paced action. for everyone else, its the raw emotions and dark themes presented in the film. there isnt a moment of hesitation or boredom to be felt. rather than the story, i was more focused (naturally) on how it was shot. there were many camera techniques that gave it a voyeuristic feeling which lets the audience to wholly experience the action whether it is won bin shooting someone or jumping out of a window, we are all there with him. we are taken on a deeper ride into the story and unexpectedly takes a turn into a dark corner. and what we find there is something strangely haunting and unfamiliar. the camera moves with such fluidity that it is no wonder why we encounter uninhibited and boundless themes in the story. B+

check out the trailer!

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The images alone should make you want to watch the film, never let me go. it unfolded like pure poetry--thoughtful, lengthy, and daunting. unlike other films, the characters already knew the futility in trying to escape their so called "destiny." B+

to be continued...

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While I was in Korea, i fell in love with Miss A and their song Bad Girl, Good Girl. i wanted to create something with my reborn love of kpop and also incorporate time into it. After incessantly hearing and watching Miss A all over the airwaves and on the tube, i wondered what it was like for them to constantly sing and dance the same song and routine so many times that they eventually come to know it backwards and forwards. this is their different points of view...

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firstshowing.net says: Even though we already thought South Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-Woon was planning his first US-set film with high profiles actors like Clive Owen and Sienna Miller (reported last year), apparently that won't be his first US feature after all. Latino Review is reporting that Lionsgate has hired Ji-Woon (of A Bittersweet Life, The Good, The Bad, The Weird and I Saw the Devil) to direct a project called The Last Stand. The script was featured on last year's screenplay Blacklist and is apparently an action thriller about a drug cartel with shades of Gone in 60 Seconds and High Noon. This could be a fairly awesome Hollywood debut for Ji-Woon.

if you didnt know already how obsessed i am about asian things in general, now you will know! to me, kim ji-woon is quickly becoming one of the most talented directors from korea right under park chan-wook and bong joon-ho. i saw 'i saw the devil' and let me tell you, its not for the weak! its intense, thrilling, and down-right unrestricted. it was the first korean film to have the restrictive rating 19+. after reediting it three more times, the korea media rating board finally gave it a 18+. then the production companies edited 7 more scenes in fear of inspiring crimes including kidnapping, murders, and possibly even cannabalism (as hinted in the film!) and even then, it was banned from some theaters. im so glad that this was the first kim ji-woon film ive seen and that i actually even got to see it! so, hopefully it comes to the states because even though it got the most restricted rating in korea, to americans, i think itll be ok. completely enthralled!

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why i havent posted this up already is beyond me. but apparently monsters is the next big thing. (no pun intended) monsters is a british sci-fi film written and directed by gareth edwards. youve probably never even heard of him cause he is usually the special effects guy. (oh, and he doesnt even have his own wiki page, crazy!) but it is his first time writing and directing his own feature film, which is inspired by spielberg's jurassic park. and amazingly, the whole thing was shot with a crew of only two people using prosumer level equipement. he is possibly the most efficient filmmaker out there considering he wrote, directed, shot, and edited his own film.

firstshowing.net says: Monsters is written, produced and directed by Gareth Edwards, a big up-and-coming filmmaker who shot this on a shoestring budget in Mexico and did all of the visual effects on his own computer. The movie stars Scoot McNairy, who I've actually seen in commercials recently, and Whitney Able. Here's the basic concept: "Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border."

and heres their poster!

monsters comes out oct. 29!!

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if youre a fan of haruki murakami like i am, you will very much appreciate this. my friend austin shin gave me the book norwegian wood for my birthday and i havent stopped reading it. (1. my birthdays in may. 2. im a very slow reader) and so to find out that a film will be coming out based on the book was very exciting for me. rinko kikuchi (brothers bloom, babel) will be playing naoko and ken'ichi matsuyama (nana, death note) will be playing toru watanabe. it is unknown at this point when the film will be released in the u.s. but im sure by 2011 it should be available via dvd or internet. but check out the trailer. there are no subtitles but i think its safe to say that the mood created in the trailer translates more than subtitles can ever say.

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DONT WATCH THE EXPENDABLES.

(see how i wrote it in capital letters and bolded it in red, i mean serious business)

Beth accomando from kpbs.org wrote "the expendables is like dating a jock--no sparkling conversation or subtlety but great to have around when you need to blow shit up or kick some ass." well said beth accomando from kpbs. hahahaha fifteen minutes into the film, Sylvester was talking in his usual incoherent slurs and gestures and it got to a point where my friend and i looked at one another and said, "what the hell is going on?!" not only were we suppose to watch steroid injected men fight each other in hopes of recreating their glory years but now we were to sit and listen to these men talk about nonsense. uh no, not happening. thats probably why i fell asleep.

this was a real opportunity for the "greatest" action heroes of all time to come together and truly make a good action flick. but the ball was missed when the executives let stallone himself direct this film. where was the direction? wasnt there a producer holding his hand and guiding him through the process one second at a time? oh well, he blew his chance. now, lesson learned, dont bring action-flick icons together unless you are really going to make a kick-ass film that will throw the audience off their seat. D

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scott pilgrim vs. the world opens exactly how a film should. instead of dullng and distracting our adhd mind by displaying different kinds of animation through the opening credit, it presents the crew front and center while psychedelic swirls are pressed against out eyeballs, already giving a preview of what kind of insanity we're all in for. and boy, were we left satisfied. even if i tried to imagine what great epicness the film was going to present, it did not compare or even parallel to what was experienced.

scott pilgrim is a slacker, a hero, and a bassist for his band 'the sex bom-omb" and basically everything you wouldnt want in a boyfriend. but behold, he falls madly in love with ramona flowers (played wonderfully by mary elizabeth winstead), but must defeat her 7 evil ex-boyfriends.

it is every comic-loving geek's fantasy. it has everything anyone could ever possibly want--hyper-active action. super hot complicated girls. japanese twins with slick gelled hair, nostalgically awesome sound effects from the 90's. it honestly doesnt get better than that. if you havent seen it yet, youre definitely missing out. and if you havent checked out the comic book, scott pilgrim by bryan lee o'malley, youre DEEEEEFINITELY missing out. there is only 6 volumes compared to those japanese manga that has 20+! A

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danny boyle's new film starring james franco called the 127th hour! i really just want to wiki and see what happens to him at the end but i shall wait! it comes out nov. 5!

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1. never let me go (sept. 17)

2. catfish (sept. 17)

3. the social network (oct. 1)

4. let me in (oct. 1)

5. the romantics (sept. 10)

6. 127 hours (nov. 5)

7. harry potter and the death hallows (part 1) (nov. 19)

8. BLACK SWAN (dec. 3)

9. somewhere (dec. 24)

10. blue valentine (dec. 31)

will go into full detail with those later...

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