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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

I am hearing great things about this movie.

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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Don't watch that trailer above. Too many spoilers in it. Go into the movie fresh.

Watched this with the wife tonight via Vudu (It's also on Apple, MS, PS, and Google. Amazon has it too, but for purchase only.). I have been anticipating this movie for a while, and had those expectations amped up listening to the Flickering Myth podcast where one of the hosts named it his best movie of the year.

It currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes at 96% with critics and 88% viewers.

We both loved it.

If Joss Whedon challenged horror filmmakers to freshen up the genre, then Sang-ho Yeon answered. There's not really anything new here that you haven't seen before. There's a slight change in how the zombies move, which is very cool and off putting. There's also a new dimension added to how they navigate. I don't want to get into it more than that so it doesn't spoil things, but it sets up some pretty cool moments and will make more tactical minded people enjoy the ending that much more. (Hint: The military here aren't the bad guys and they aren't stupid.)

Despite the lack of anything "new", the movie is perfectly paced, written, directed, acted, and polished.

Did I say written? Yeah. This is not a mindless zombie film. There's a story. There's character development. You will experience feels. There's even about two legit chuckle moments via dialogue that are perfectly timed to alleviate tension. So many little bits of social commentary sprinkled throughout that give these characters depth. When a movie has my wife cursing about a character, it's legit.

Hell, I wouldn't even classify it as horror. It's more like an action movie that takes place in a zombie apocalypse with central characters from a drama. The subject matter isn't taken as a joke, and it really shows.

It's only real weakness, imho, is there are some inconsistencies in this universe's rules to fit certain scenes. Not a ton, but enough that you'll notice it. They don't break their rules, but them bend them a bit. I didn't give a shit though because I was so engaged with the story. Oh, and the blood is also a bit weak. It's not a gory movie, and I'm guessing they're not as good with fake blood in South Korea as they are here.

There is an English language version coming. Not sure if they'll remake it or just dub it, but I'm betting on a remake. However, you shouldn't wait. See this now. Some of the performances are fantastic and worthy of your time. Dong-Seok Ma is great and has pretty solid chemistry and a good story with Yu-Mi Jung, but Soo-an Kim is amazing. One of the best child performances I've ever seen. She starts slow, but she gets better as the film progresses.

Is it the best zombie movie ever made? I don't know, but it's at the top of my list.
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GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

Maybe it will appear on a Plex server near you.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

If Joss Whedon challenged horror filmmakers to freshen up the genre, then Sang-ho Yeon answered.
Your premise seems false to begin with. I assume you were trying to write "mentally challenged filmmaker Joss Whedon."

I also find it funny that Japan and South Korea have been putting out more interesting things than the US since at least ten years ago.
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Post by GORDON »

Leisher wrote: When a movie has my wife cursing about a character, it's legit.

...

One of the best child performances I've ever seen. She starts slow, but she gets better as the film progresses.

My wife said, "If this guy lives, tell Leisher he is a fucking asshole for recommending this movie."

On the bluray there is an English dubbed version.... the person... a grown woman pretending to be a child, maybe? who overdubbed the little girl.... not great. So if you're saying the little girl was a great performance, I'm guessing you watched it in the original Korean.
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Post by GORDON »

Also my kid says, "Wasn't Snowpiercer a Korean movie, too? What is it with them and trains?"
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Yeah, I watched the original Korean with subtitles. I was still completely immersed. I hate dubbed movies. The voices always suck and they always destroy my experience.
My wife said, "If this guy lives, tell Leisher he is a fucking asshole for recommending this movie."
That is awesome. My wife had the same level of anger late in the film for the exact same reason.
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Post by GORDON »

But overall, she said it was a good flick.

I will watch it someday in the original Korean.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

It's the movie of the week in the iTunes Store. 99 cents
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote:
It's only real weakness, imho, is there are some inconsistencies in this universe's rules to fit certain scenes. Not a ton, but enough that you'll notice it. They don't break their rules, but them bend them a bit. I didn't give a shit though because I was so engaged with the story

More than some.

Yawn.

If this was a good zombie movie, I'd hate to see a bad one. Soooo predictable. Seriously, every damned piece of the movie in 5 minutes.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
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