“Train To Busan” aka “부산행:” (2016) – Korean Zombie Apocalypse Horror/ Action – “Zombies On The Rampage!!” – February/ March 2017 Zombie Film Festival

Sigh…. I know. Our “Zombies On The Rampage!!” Film Festival got a wee bit… errr… ummmm… “derailed”… if you will, first by my recent illness, then by work, and then just when I thought I had a grip on things plain ol’ laziness and winter doldrums snuck up and whacked me on the back of the head and took me prisoner. But… I’m struggling to get “back on track” and so here we go with our look at 2016’s South Korean Blockbuster Horror/ Disaster mashup. (Pardon all the “train” puns… This wee lady’s feeling a bit goofy today… 😉 )

Our synopsis? OK… here goes: “When a countrywide zombie-viral outbreak flares up in South Korea, a group of terrified passengers try to fight off the infected hordes while desperately trying to make their way to safety, all trapped aboard a suspicion-filled, blood-drenched bullet train ride to Busan, a southern resort city that has managed to hold off the ravenous crazed zombie hordes – or so everyone hopes.”

Hehehe… we get a real “two-for-one” with this film. An old-school disaster epic on a runaway train and a grisly Zombie Apocalypse story at the same time. How can it go wrong? One way to find out and that’s to come along for the ride… 🙂

“Memories of the Sword” aka “협녀: 칼의 기억” (2015) – Korean Swordplay/ Drama/ Martial Arts – ‘Martial Arts Mayhem: Fighting Femmes Festival – 2016″

Whoooo!! Boy… The snow and ice sure are blowin’ hard outside my window today, but your Favorite Catgirl is still at it with yet another entry in February’s “Martial Arts Mayhem: Fighting Femmes Festival – 2016”. This time out, we’re off to Korea for a look at 2015’s swordplay film “Memories of the Sword”.

The synopsis reads as follows: “During Korea’s Goryeo dynasty, a trio of heroic peasant warriors is betrayed by one of their own during a violent uprising against a corrupt governor’s tyranny that leaves the greatest fighter among them and his beloved wife dead at the hand of a traitor. Over the next eighteen years, one of them, now a blind swords woman, trains the fallen soldier’s daughter in the art of the sword so she may finally avenge his death.”

After being so darned disappointed by “The Assassin”, I was definitely looking for a good old fashioned Martial Art film with some “girl power” to raise my spirits and help me battle the winter blues… luckily for me, Korea is always willing to answer a goofy Catgirl’s wishes. 🙂 Wanna hear all the nifty details? Then you know what you gotta do, o’ Gentle Visitors…

“Manhole” aka “맨홀” (Maenhol) (2014) – Korean Suspense/ Horror

2015 has finally faded into 2016 and although I had another week with little to no ambition to speak of,  your Favorite Catgirl is finally back at things again here at the ol’ Litterbox. So I thought we might try to start this whole brand spankin’ new year off with a review of a DVD that’s been sitting in my ‘To Watch” pile for quite a while now. 2014’s Korean Suspense/ thriller “Manhole” aka “Maenhol”.

Our synopsis rolls like this: “Su-cheol is a serial killer who uses the city sewers down a manhole as his secret hideout. Late one night, a young deaf girl witnesses one of Su-cheol’s murders and he abducts her. Later, her older sister, Yeon-seo, determined to find her dear lost sister, discovers the manhole and goes down to find her. As Su-cheol’s blazing madness explodes due to the uninvited guests in his manhole, the two sisters stand against him in desperate attempts to escape out. “

Ummm? A crazy Serial Killer roaming the sewers of Seoul, popping up randomly and abducting and killing young women? Yeah…. just the sort of movie that normally your Favorite Catgirl finds tooooo darn close to reality for comfort. Definitely explains why this 2014 film’s been languishing in my “To Watch” pile for all this time. It might probably still be there if my sweet Carolyn hadn’t decided we needed to bring “some of your foreign movies for the family to watch” over our Holiday visit to Sandra’s. She volunteered to pick them out this year… which sorta surprised me since most of them aren’t in slipcases with any English words on them and Carolyn usually finds that terribly daunting. What they do always have is a plethora of vividly scary pictures plastered all over them and so, with one look at the cover of this one, it went right into our overnight bag.

So…. Was it a hidden gem that yours truly had been letting slip away? Or a lame excuse for “torture porn” at it’s worst that my “Magical Kitten’s Secret Intuition” had been warning me about all along? Guess the only way to find out, o’ Gentle Visitor, is for you to “Read On” and find out. 😉

“The Huntresses” aka “조선미녀 삼총사” (2014) – Korean Martial Art Action/ Comedy

Seems that I’m still on a Martial Arts kick here at the ol’ Litterbox… so this time out it’s a look at the 2014 Korean “Charlie’s Angles” inspired period Action/ Comedy, “The Huntresses”. Fierce, pretty, and totally spunky ladies playing at Martial Arts and bounty hunting in Josean Korea? Yeah… I’m definitely up for some of that. My assumption is that there are probably a lot of you regular Gentle Visitors who might just agree…. 😉

Our synopsis goes like this here: “Three intelligent and talented beauties, the amazing swords-woman Jin-ok, housewife and deadly fighter Hong-dan, and the rebellious young tomboy Ga-bi, are the 17th century Joseon dynasty’s top bounty hunters, and they never fail to capture a target, no matter the criminal or the crime. Together, they set out on a secret mission commissioned by the king of Korea to search for the stauroscope, and in doing so, prevent a dastardly group from gaining absolute power and overturning the royal family on behalf of the evil minions of the Qing Emperor of China.”

OK then… sounds pretty straightforward. Warrior Princess Neko is always up for almost any movie featuring plucky Martial Art heroines whupping the snot out of slimy villainous bad guys and saving the day for Truth, Justice and Love so it’s fairly certain from the Trailer that I’m probably exactly the audience they were shooting for with this one. 😉 So… hey… without any further adieu, Gentle Visitors, let’s frolic off to 17th century Korea and check out all the fun.

“The Tower” (“타워”) (2012) – Korean Action/ Disaster Blockbuster

Time for yet another review… and with the help of our fellow Asian movie blogging friend Stephen, aka Elpeevio, of “Things Fall Apart”, this time out we’re taking a look at Korea’s 2012 homage to the big budget disaster film “The Tower”.

I have to say, I was both excited and nervous about this one. I know Koreans have the technical savvy to pull off large scale disaster movies, as despite some faults, I really enjoyed “Haeundae”. But the real nervousness came from the disappointment which was the Director’s previous effort “Sector 7”.

Quick synopsis time! So here goes.. “On Christmas Eve, at the luxurious newly built “Tower Sky” twin skyscrapers in central Seoul, residents and staff members busy themselves with preparation for the Christmas gala party to celebrate the building’s opening .Despite warnings of dangerous winds,helicopters are hired to circle and spray the building with man made snow during the Christmas party. The wealthy residents gathered for the event are amazed by the spectacle, but soon their amazement turns into terror as a helicopter loses control and crashes into the building, exploding into an inferno that sets off a chain off events threatening not just the lives of all the residents, but all the city around them.”

Another Korean movie? Stephen and I most certainly have a theme going don’t we… 😉 Not really certain why, but I’m thinking it’s just that the Koreans really know how to make some of the cream of the crop of Asian cinema… and if we’re going to do it “tag team” style, we might as well have the best movies around to watch and review. 🙂

Yeah, have to agree in terms of the technical side of things, nothing beats the Koreans. But next time, let us go even more out of my comfort zone. I like the idea of Bollywood, I might even put up with some singing and dancing!

Anyway…. looks like we’ll have plenty of big screen action and some serious CGI eye-candy on hand to try to wow us both. Think you might like to watch it too? Then just “Read On” and let us give you our opinions on the big-budget thrills and excitement to be had… 😉

“Miss Conspirator” aka “미쓰 GO” (2012) – Korean Action/ Comedy/ Romance

Whew!! Well… November is gone and it slipped right by yours truly without me really getting much of anything done. And…. there’s a sizable list of things this wee lady should have accomplished last month… Like this oft promised… and waaaay, waaay overdue… collaborative review with our fellow Korean film fan Stephen (aka Elpeevio) of “Things Fall Apart”. But… just when things look lost, I finally worked up the gumption to buckle down and finish this one. No, really!! 😉

Well, I am not going to let you take all the blame here Miyuki, I have been pretty rubbish myself at getting my side of things sorted as well, but seems as if we have finally made it. So as our Korean friends would say, “Fighting!”. And thank-you for inviting me again.

Our synopsis? How’s this: “Ever since a near drowning accident when she was a child, Soo Ro (Ko Hyun-Jung) has suffered from an severe anxiety disorder, and often has panic attacks when she’s around people. Thrown into yet another one when her beloved sister goes away on a trip, a kindly yet mysterious nun helps her out. Soo Ro agrees to make a somewhat suspicious delivery for the nun in return for her kindness, but when she gets to the hotel room of the recipient – she walks right into a murder scene! It turns out that this nun is actually the notorious criminal go-between known as “Miss Go”, and Soo Ro just gets herself mixed up in a drug dealing operation. She manages to get out of the hotel alive, but now both the cops and the mob are on her tail all mistaking her for the real “Miss Go”!

Yep… not a ghost, alien, monster, or ninja in sight this time out, just what I’m hoping would be a suitably wacky comedy romance caper for a nice lil’ change of pace. Was that what I actually got? Not to mention… did I like it? Well… guess you’ll want to “Read On” and find out just what your Favorite Catgirl…. and “Special Guest Star Reviewer” Stephen thought of this one. 😉

Haha, Guest star indeed.  This one is a bit of a change of pace for both of us really.  I haven’t looked at a wacky comedy romance caper for an absolute age.

“Don’t Click” aka “미확인 동영상: 절대클릭금지” (2012) – Korean Ghost/ Horror

Yep, I know it’s been a while, but your Favorite Catgirl’s back at it again, this time with a look at the latest creepy Korean ghost story to find it’s way to my mailbox, 2012’s haunted video thriller “Don’t Click”. Filled with all the expected creepy ghost story elements, I just knew this one would be up my alley. 😉

Our synopsis? How about this: “A young girl, Jung Mi (Kang Byul), eager to seize fame as the latest Internet video sensation discovers a notorious forbidden Internet video featuring a creepy ritual video starring a high school girl who has committed suicide. Soon after watching it, Se Hee begins to experience strange incidents that put her life in danger. Now, her older sister Se Hee (Park Bo Young) may be the only who can save her… if she can avoid becoming another victim of the curse herself!!”

With elements of “The Ring” and the plethora of other cursed video stories in Asian horror cinema, it certainly sounds like we’re not going to stray too far outside some very familiar territory, but then…. that’s never stopped this wee lady before, so why let it now?

Neko knows my regular visitors are certainly not going to let a little thing like that slow them down either, so without any further adieu lets all take a peek and see what it’s all about, shall we?

“Fighter In The Wind” aka “바람의 파이터” (2004) – Korean Martial Art/ Drama

September has arrived… along with all those chilly nights that promise Autumn is here at last and Summer fades to become just a warmly remembered memory. Sigh….

I know I’ve been absent for a couple weeks, but seeing as I seriously fell behind and just sort of left off in the middle of our “Martial Arts Mayhem” movie review festival, I though I might let the Masters of the fine art of butt-kicking stay around for a little while longer and do a few more slices of action film goodness here at the ol’ Litterbox. This time out… the Korean Karate biopic “Fighter In The Wind”.

Our synopsis reads: “Fighter In The Wind” is the fictionalized story of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui who went to Japan during World War II to become a fighter pilot but instead found himself set upon a very different path. Finding Japan a difficult place for a Korean man to survive the hatred and prejudices of the time, he retreats to the mountains where, living in his karate gi, he trains day and night; running in the mountains, lifting tree trunks and using makeshift training equipment to harden his body and fighting spirit through austerity. Eventually he changed his name to Masutatsu Oyamai and traveled across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin.”

Yep… it’s time for the Koreans to take a stab at things. Wanna know all the poop on this one? Well then, o’ Gentle Visitors, by all means follow this wee Catgirl and let’s “Read On”, shall we? 😉

“War of the Arrows” aka “최종병기 활” (2011) – Korean Martial Art/ Action

It’s been a looooong dry spell here at the Litterbox, as Life seems to be conspiring to keep lil’ ol’ me busy lately, but finally I’m back at it, with a look at Korea’s 2011 Martial Arts action epic adventure “War of the Arrows”…. and a special “guest star” appearance by our friend Elpeevio of “Things Fall Apart” to join in the fun.

Oh how exciting, I have never been a “guest star” before, I’ll be doing my best to add to the experience of this review. How about the Catgirl gets us started with a little synopsis of what this one is all about?

Our synopsis goes as follows: “Set in 1636, during the second Manchurian invasion of  Chosun Korea, young Nam-Yi’s entire family have been branded as traitors by the Crown, but he also happens to be the best archer in the Joseon Dynasty. Living his life in hiding within the household of his father’s one remaining friend, Nam-Yi’s only desire in life is to keep his sister, Ja-In safe from any harm. However, on the day of his sister’s wedding, the villages of Joseon Korea are attacked by the Qing Dynasty of China. The border village in which Nam-Yi and Ja-In live is directly in the path of invasion and Ja-In gets kidnapped by the elite troop of Qing to be taken back north as a slave. In order to rescue his sister from the raiders, he departs from his demolished village with only the bow that his father had bequeathed upon him before dying. Disrupting his mission to save his sister is Jyu Shin-Ta, a fierce Qing warrior who leads the elite troop. They are relentless in their chase to bring down Nam-Yi, who has but one day to save his sister from slavery. As Nam-Yi finally gets a hold of his sister, Jyu Shin-Ta comes between them and a fierce battle between two of the finest warriors unfolds.”

Crazy lil’ me likes a good swashbuckling Martial Art film almost as much as my Ghost Stories….. It’s probably that “Warrior Princess” deep inside me aching for some heroic action, so naturally when this one slipped onto my radar a while back I just knew I’d have to give it a look see. I mean…. “Rambo” crossed with “Robin Hood” and seasoned with more than a little “Crouching Tiger” meets “Musa the Warrior”…. I can honestly say it’s certainly got this wee Catgirl plenty interested. So then… does it indeed have the goods? Will it live up to the hype and suitably sate my need for extravagantly gorgeous period action and adventure? And…. most importantly of all… will my sweetie like it too, subtitles and all?

I have grown to love the Martial Arts genre too over the last few years, and the Korean take on things is always a little different to that you find in Chinese and Hong Kong films.  I think the film initially intrigued me by the use of Bows and Arrows rather than the normal swordplay, and I am a total sucker for Joseon-era stories with the amazing outfits and the strict Confucian society.  This really was a massive hit in its homeland, and I was rather surprised to see it got a limited North American Cinema outing.  We also have it on DVD and Blu-ray here in England too, which is nice.

So… really only one way to find out what we all thought of it, o’ Gentle Visitors, and that’s to “Read On”…

“Ghastly” (기생령) aka “Gisaeng Spirit” (2011) – Korean Ghost/ Horror

Now that I’m feeling a bit more frisky after last week’s bout with the stomach flu, it’s finally time for another review, and this time out it’s 2011’s Korean Ghost story, “Ghastly”, recently released on the Korean Region 3 disc. Originally listed most places as being without subtitles… **GASP!!**… I was lucky enough to find out this was wrong. It does indeed come with the usual perfect English subtitles I expect with a Korean release. Yay!! The rest? Well… Neko’s not gonna miss herself an Asian Ghost story…. no way.

Our synopsis? Try this out: “Ghastly” begins when Ka-hee (Hwang Ji-hyeon), an emotionally and psychologically damaged woman, finds a spirit medium to help her address her troubles. Her inability to give birth to a child had long tortured her, and now she will do anything to cheat that fate.

She ends up burying an orphan in a large traditional pot used to bury kimchi underground during the winter and killing him. What she gains for this merciless act is a child of her own. Ka-hee eventually gives birth to a son she names Bin, but Ka-hee soon meets a brutal death at the hands of the vengeful spirit of the murdered child.

Soon after the tragedy, Bin’s aunt Seo-Ni (Han Eun-jeong) and her husband Jang-hwan (Park Seong-min) come to live with the now orphaned Bin in his home, which is haunted and where the pot still is. Bin also starts to reveal his violent side. Is he the innocent child he seems? Or is he merely the vessel for a supernatural Grudge that lasts beyond death itself?”

Ghosts are always scary… and you know this wee Catgirl likes her Ghost stories. I do…. I really, really do!! So, with my lil’ fingers crossed for luck, I’m hoping the Koreans score well here and give me all the chills I’ve been wanting in a ghost story but somehow haven’t quite been able to find lately. Think maybe it might be the sort of eerie story you might like? Why then just “Read On” and we’ll find out together, shall we? 🙂