Genre: Drama

Something of a minor undiscovered gem, it’s not hard to see why ‘I Love Lolanto’ was a box office hit in its day and remains well worth seeking out as a latter-day diversion.

Not even the odd moment of black humour and Kim Jee-Woon’s knack for crafting exhilarating sequences of action and tension can elevate his film beyond pure nihilism.

‘I Wish I Had A Wife’ plods along with the piano score that seems to be indelibly tattooed onto the soundtracks of Korean rom-coms.

By no means a disaster but a frustratingly mixed bag from a usually consistent and exciting filmmaker.

Brilliant. Heart-breaking. Life-affirming. Devastating. These are the first words that came to my mind as the credits rolled.

Unpretentious, well crafted, a great central performance and some excellent action make ‘Ichi’ a hugely enjoyable experience and refreshing take on the samurai genre.

This gentle, emollient romantic drama is further proof of my never-ending mantra that, at their very best, no film-making industry can tap into the softer emotions better than Asian cinema.

‘Illang’ looks fantastic, often thrills, and features some incredible and expertly staged action but suffers from pacing issues and a lukewarm emotional core.

Over its full running time of a modest ninety minutes, ‘In Full Bloom’ runs out of steam and the attempt at deeper layers of introspection become stilted.

Van Damme puts in a very strong leading performance and Lam helps elevate some mediocre material to a much higher status.

A good but not great film, as visually it works beautifully, but the pacing of the direction conflicts with the pace at which the story actually develops.

‘Incredible Kung Fu Mission’ is peppered with a decent mix of humour, sentimentality and superior fight action, creating a solid independent feature.