Thought Leaders' Corner: Remakes of Korean films

This months edition of the Thought Leader's Corner concerns remakes of Korean films. An increasing trend as Korean cinema emerges on the world stage, there are some varying opinions on how this could benefit or negatively effect the local Korean industry. Read on below to read my thoughts on this trend. You can read the full April thoughts here from a variety of Korean film experts worldwide.

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: April 2013

How do you feel about remakes of Korean films?

Thought Leaders' Corner: Trends in Korean film

The dialogue around Korean cinema continues to grow worldwide, and I was happy to participate in another edition of Modern Korean Cinema's Though Leaders' Corner. This months edition concerned emerging trends from the industry, and garnered a range of responses from experts around the world. 

This was probably the most interesting entry as it brought to the attention many trends that different people have noticed about the Korean film industry of late, from the style of the films to new forms of marketing, to cultural adjustments and emerging stars. Read on below and thanks again to Pierce Conran at MKR for coordinating it. You can read the full March thoughts here, or my personal mumbling are following the image below.

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: March 2013

Are you noticing any tends in Korean films these days?

Thought Leaders' Corner: The value of Stars

Another month, another thought leaders corner thanks to the team over at Modern Korean Cinema. The contributors has expanded this month which is great to see, having so many people involved in a discussion around Korean film. 

You can read the full February thoughts here, or my personal mumbling are following the image below. Once again  I invite anyone that has an opinion on the question posed to contribute in the comments section. This also marks the 50th blog post on Tully's Recall, so thanks for reading and I will try and keep the content coming. 

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: February 2013

How valuable are stars in the Korean film industry?

Thought Leader's Corner: Streamlined Productions

I recently took part in a new initiative set up by Pierce Conran over at Modern Korean Cinema. It's a great monthly piece that asks those in the know about Korean film some thought provoking questions that cover trends, developments or concerns facing the industry today. 

I was very happy to be included as one of the thought leaders, who trace their origins from all around the world to give a well rounded opinion. I think they are all worth a read, and you can see the full January entry here. Below I have posted my personal response to the question that was posed. Hope you find it interesting and if you have any thoughts of your own feel free to reply in the comments section!

 MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: January 2013

Given the enormous success of Korean cinema in 2012, is there any cause for concern over a rise in streamlined productions as quality gives way to financial interests?

2012 Year in Review: My Top 10

And now as is the annual tradition, here is my Top 10 Films of 2012. While a number of my favourite films of the year weren't actually new releases, I've gone along with the tradition of only including films released in 2012. 

Some films that I was really looking forward to that were solid but just missed the cut included Kim So-young's For Ellen, Chung Ji-young's National Security and Pen-ek's Headshot. I also saw a good number of excellent docos (as you can see by the top 10), some of my favs included Planet of Snail, The Reason Why I Step, Arirang and Buck. A few surprises that impressed me were Kim Ki-duk's Amen, the Canadian comedy Starbuck, the Korean indie hit Dangerously Excited, the Andy Lau starring A Simple Life and the quasi-doco The Imposter. My guilty pleasure of the year has to go to Spy Kids 4.

My favourite performances of the year have to go to Choi Min-sik in Nameless Gangster. Yoo Jun-sang in In Another Country and Ryoo Seung-ryong in All About My Wife, while I developed big crushes on Choi Yoon-yeong (As One), Kim Byul (Dangerously Excited) and Kang Soo-yeon (Hanji).

My biggest disappointment of the year has to go to The Thieves, not because of the hype but because I thought all the amazing cast were completely wasted. I also thought Yoo Ji-tae's foray into directing was an absolute disaster with the horrible Mai Ratima, a huge disappointment as I love any film about Korea-Thai relations. Maybe I just couldn't get over the fact he cast a Korean as the Thai immigrant. Other honorable mentions for being terrible films include Perfect Number, Miss Conspirator and Prometheus (may as well chuck it in too).

Read on below for mini reviews of my top 10. Agree, Disagree, comment below.

2012 Year in Review: Film Log

Other Articles
2010 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10 
2011 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10
2012 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: Korean Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

Every film (that I can remember) that I watched in 2012 is listed below in the order that I watched them. It totals 184 features films, which is about 150% of the total number I watched in 2011, and 121 short films. The percentage of films I saw in the theatre dropped, as I didn't manage to make it to MIFF and a few other festivals this year.

My Top 10 of 2012 will be up shortly, though below is a good guide to what I enjoyed. This list includes films seen in the theatre or at festivals which are Bolded, or those seen on screeners or any other method. Red highlights are for films of ratings of 8 or higher out of 10 and are my highlights of the year, and don't forget to look out for some great "short films" also. Enjoy!

2010 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125
Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)
Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 27 ( 22%)

2011 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125

Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 14 (11%)

2012 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 184

Films seen in the theatre - 54 (29%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 19 (10%)

The 120 Korean Films I Watched in 2012

Other Articles
2010 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10 

2011 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

2012 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: Korean Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

Below is a list of all the Korean films I watched in 2012, some new, some old. Films here refers to feature films only, and while I did manage to see a good amount of shorts I haven't included them here. 

This year I managed to balance work with watching films like I used to a few years ago, so I managed to get in a few more films this year. I will be doing a list of my top 10 shortly, so stay tuned for that. I already have a huge stack of Korean films to watch in the New Year, so here's to more Korean film in 2013! 

Yearly Film Stats
2012: 184 films watched, 120 of which were Korean films (representing 65%)
2011: 125 films watched, 73 of which were Korean films (representing 58%)
2010: 125 films watched, 22 of which were Korean films (representing 18%)

The 120 Korean Feature Films I Watched in 2012