My Favorite Movies

A little rough on the edges for a clever watch.



Directors Charles Guard and Thomas Guard (The Guard Brothers) mark their debut film with an exceptional plot twist starring Elizabeth Banks (Slither), Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2), David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Emily Browning (Ghost Ship) playing the roles of a Korean classic without overshadowing the original.



Synopsis: Anna Rydell (Browning) returns home to her father (Strathairn) and best friend of a sister name Alex (Kebbel) only to deal with a cruel stepmother (Banks) and a lingering ghost that wonders threw the house.



This film was short of an instant classic if given a little more effort from some of its cast and perhaps a bigger budget to support the scares. However, it did have something that could give fans of the Korean version a look at something psychologically innovative.



Like Ji-woon Kim and his remarkable tale, The Guard Brothers counteract with a unique twist poles apart from its predecessor making the ending worth the sitting. Emily Browning does what was needed for her role as [Anna] and Arielle Kebbel does [Alex] vast with her part. The score was absolutely satisfying and the cinematography seems like it was specially made specifically for Emily Browning whom looked lovable threw out the film.



A tale of two sisters i.e. the Korean version, is possibly the best psychological horror film ever made and having The Uninvited standing next to it - like Ringu to The Ring - can be more cheering then most remakes.

A beautiful horror film that sensitively demonstrates the sixth sense better than any other.



Director Jee-woon Kim (The good, the bad, the weird) creates an indistinct masterpiece that illuminates a dark tale of treachery, torment and tribulation starring Kim Gab-su (She's on Duty) Jeong-Ah yeom (H, Sad Movie) Moon Geun-yeong (Love me not, Innocent Steps) and Lim Su-jung (Come rain, come shine, I'm a Cyborg, but that's ok) in a horror classic that is as everlasting as The Exorcist.



Synopsis: Su-mi (Su-jung) comes home having been released from the hospital with her sister Su-yeon (Geun-yeong) then come into contact with their evil stepmother who has plotted an idea to get rid of them both.



There is quite a lot of chatter about Rose & Lotus (Janghwa, Hongryeon) which makes it as eternal as it has been on most message boards. Whether the film is scary or not, it doesn't take away from the artistry the film makers applied into this work of art. From the beautifully eerie house and the haunting unsettling score, to the quelling cinematography and a cast of acting brilliance, this film gives it all that you want from a horror point of view.



Never really knowing what truly happened in this Korean folktale, you'll have a lot of discussions trying to figure out what exactly happened. However, the idea is that there is a basic concept within the story, but with many twists and turns that keep you guessing at every moment's time.



This cannot be considered the best horror film ever made, but merely the best film ever made of its kind; a psychological film that will never be forgotten.

In the 80's women like Yukari Oshima, Cynthia Rothrock and Moon Lee had dominated the female fighting protagonist during the Bruce Lee & Jackie Chan era. With the girl-fight practically extinct in cinema, one man seems to be determined to bring it all back.



Director Prachya Pinkaew (Ong Bak) brings a new female by the name of Yanin Vismitananda (Jeeja for short) in a hardcore martial arts extravaganza that'll leave you wondering how she did it all without any wires.



One of the best things about this film is that the director takes you into a world of a person living everyday with an Autistic condition - from the beginning of infancy to childhood and teenage to adulthood - shot wonderfully by Prachya Pinkaew. The character development is a long yet interesting stretch leading up to Zen (Jeeja) combating with her mothers past rivals.



The fighting's real as you will see clips of live footage at the end of the film, but keep in mind that this one isn't just all brawls. It carries many dramatic scenes with little dialogue and some comedy elements making it indeed a fun film to view.

Riveting! A coup filled with love and death told marvelously darkened.



Director Alex Proyas (Knowing, Paradise Lost) puts together a tragic love story wonderfully shadowy with the son of Bruce Lee leading the cast to a classic that would generate more dead man walking films to come.



Synopsis: Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) is brutally murdered by a group of men for eviction circumstance. He is then brought back into the earthly world with the help of a black bird in taking revenge to those that did wrong doings.



I had the privilege to watch this film in theaters when it released in 1994 and it was an amazing experience to watch a film display with such sentiment and affection I could feel the hatred and sorrow with contentment closing in towards the ending credits.



Brandon Lee brings out the Raven in Draven with a performance that would have catapulted him to stardom with ease. The action is superb and the cast couldn't have gotten any better for the roles that needed to be played in this vengeful tale of despair. The cinematography could have been a bit more subtle, but the work they put washing out the colors made for a much darker film to view.



Had Iggy Pop played the role of T-Bird, the film would have possibly become a Masterpiece. For reasons unknown, he was unable to do so and would appear in the follow up title "The Crow: City of Angels".



Nevertheless, it's still a classic of its kind and will never be forgotten.

Sono puts it all together extraordinarily and elusively inexplicable where viewing it again would become a more appreciative watch.


Director Shion Sono (Noriko's Dinner Table) writes and directs a piece of bleeding art starring Ryo Ishibashi (The Grudge, Audition) about an inner war that plagues today's youth into committing unprecedented suicides.


Synopsis: Detective Toshiharu Kuroda (Ishibashi) is on a wild goose chase attempting to find who or what is making young teens commit suicide for no apparent reason. When he receives multiple anonymous phone calls pertaining to the self-inflicted deaths, he recognizes that what was more important is what he should have been giving extra attention to in the first place.

One of the most talked about parts in this movie is the unforgettable train scene that "Final Destination 3" wishes it could have surpassed. Just moments before the movie begins, a group of girls line up and throw themselves into the empty tracks of an oncoming train; you can't even imagine the outcome before it's displayed on screen, and might I add, done sickly well.


Now after the best scene in the film is cleared, the rest of it becomes something of an enigma. Nothing psychological, but horribly ethical in a way that society throws us off wondering who we are and what our place is in this world they only control. You'll find yourself questioning the reasons behind the self-inflicted deaths which I must say every suicide scene was a deadly delight and well choreographed by Yoshihiro Nishimura who is well known in Japan in that gory department for his work in "The Machine Girl", "Tokyo Gore Police" and whatever bloody idea's he has up his sleeve for his upcoming "Mutant Girls Squad".


The performances from the cast including Ryo Ishibashi are just as natural as in any fairly acted movie, but Rolly Teranishi (a Japanese musician and music producer who played Muneo "Genesis" Suzuki) played his role provocatively appealing and could benefit from ones attention.

Unlike the wishing well, you won't need to spend much money to get a rise out of this mythological ghost story.


Director Jae-yeon Yun makes his directorial debut with his urban legendary tale titled Wishing Stairs starring Ji-hyo Song (Some) and Han-byeol Park along with An Jo whom went on to make additional films like "Spin Kick" "Holliday" and more.


Synopsis: Yun Ji-seong (Ji-hyo Song) plays a jealous teenager who wants to have the same attention in ballet as her best friend Kim so-hie (Han-byeol Park) gets from her supporters. As her envy conveys, she plots a way to end So-hie's career that ends up in dismay. Eom Hye-ju (An Jo) finds out about the mess and attempts to fix everything by walking up a mystical stairway that haves her believing it can grant her a wish.


First off let me just say that I am a big fan of cinematography and this movie surely delivers that by Jeong-min Seo who also did work for "Open City", good stuff. The film is worth watching if your into the quality of the look of a film. The premise is easy to follow as the third quarter of the film is chock-full of ghostly haunting and scares until the ending which may or may not be a shock, but a lightly one if that.


This is the third installment to the all girl high school ghost stories making Wishing Stairs almost certainly the best in the series, but don't quote me on that. The majority agree it was Memento Mori which is believed to be the one that started the Asian boom. If you know the series, then you'd know that Whispering Corridors was just a prelude and Voice might have been an ending of an era. Let us pray there can be another one that can surpass them all an then keep it closed.