CASCADING FILMS DOT COM

In dramas, the characters portrayed possess one or more extreme characteristics that help justify their actions throughout the progression of their narrative. To make this obvious manipulation less apparent, these characters are placed in extreme situations, requiring their stronger characteristics to emerge on screen. In the end, the quality of this balancing act determines how well the characters are developed.

It's very difficult for me to list anything top 10, mostly because I am a very indecisive person and it's difficult to make valued judgments on movies. But that would only make my indecisiveness worse, and it would only make me a more introverted person; unable to announce what I like in fear of changing my mind in the future. I have to start learning that when it comes to preferences, there is no right or wrong, especially when they're certain to change with time.

I've recently read a collection of interviews from a Korean movie portal site, CINE21. They interviewed some of the best screenplay writers currently working in the South Korean film industry. It was a very interesting read for me, since writing scripts is the most practical thing an 'aspiring' film maker can do that doesn't involve budgeting nor a crew of more than three. Don't remember which of the writers gave this advice, but he/she suggested that keeping a journal/diary can be helpful to writers.

The blind date started at 7:20pm and ended around at 10:00pm. I think we had a good talk, although I wouldn't know what she thought of our conversations.

I remember watching Event Horizon in the theater at the last showing. My brother and I walked to his car talking about how horrible we felt after watching the film. The next day, I think I remember telling my friends to go catch it while it's still playing in theaters. Guess we all want to share that bad, terrible, horrific feeling with the others.

There’s a moment in our life, while staring at distant moons, when we think about what we truly want in our life. But not unlike the cold, empty craters revealed upon the sun’s reflection, we have scars that exist in hiding, deep beneath our subconscious, which prevents us from attaining our life's goals.

Finally! We won't have to wait for year 2019 to be able to own a descent, affordable, domestic copy of the cult, sci-fi classic Blade Runner! This will be the biggest and the single most awaited DVD release worldwide. Or should I say, releases.

Known for his disturbing, sometimes experimental and consistently prolific filmography, Kim Ki-duk at times is unable to communicate to his audience like his last film, The Bow. But regardless of the fact that The Bow had close to no ticket sales in Korea, which was foreseeable considering its limited and private distribution method, it is saddening to know that his 13th and new film, Time, will not be released in Korea.

The latest film from director Bong Joon-ho of Memories of Murder had its world premiere at Cannes International Film Festival. With most of the film selections in competition being rather lukewarm to disappointing, audiences that caught the two screenings of The Host (괴물) found themselves enjoying a rather unique breed of monster film. It is said to be darkly comic, genuinely horrific, thrilling, and comes with a social commentary relevant to the Korean society. It's too bad for the programmers at Cannes for choosing to put the film out of competition.

Ryu Seung-wan is famous amongst Korean film lovers for his unique action films ranging from raw independent feature debut Die Bad (죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나) to commercial action-fantasy Arahan (아라한). With his last film, Crying Fist (주먹이 운다), showing his maturity as a director capable of handling human drama and packing quite an emotional punch at that, Ryu had clearly moved on from his 'action kid' days. But despite this change that even Ryu himself admits in several interviews, fans and critics alike kept asking for something similar to that of Die Bad, as if Ryu has to stick with that same genre forever. Ryu grew tired of this.

Here's a link to one of the first Korean remakes to make it out to the marketing stage: The Lake House.

I've been a student at the University of Houston for well over eight years, now, give or take one or two semesters. It's done, although I still need to make sure the beast is completely down (waiting for my grades from this semester).

THE PROMISE Opens 5/5

Recently, I've grown more and more tired of genre films, even the good ones. This is frustrating since film is what I am really passionate about. It doesn't help that I don’t get to watch as many movies as I used to, either. But I doubt that the sheer number of films has much to do with my lack of enthusiasm about films in general.

MOUNTAIN PATROL Opens 5/12