The year 2016 was probably the best year South Korean cinema had this decade in terms of quality, with a plethora of productions leaving their mark on the industry, both locally and internationally. One of the biggest events was Park Chan-wook’s return to his country after his “trip” to Hollywood, with “The Handmaiden” being one […]
Author: Panos Kotzathanasis
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7 Reasons Why “The Wailing” Is The Best Horror Movie You Have Not Seen This Year
Na Hong-jin is one of those rare cases in South Korean cinema, where a filmmaker, despite having enormous success with his films, is not exactly eager to follow up with new work. In that fashion, he has shot just three films in eight years, with the previous one (“The Yellow Sea”) screening six years earlier. […]
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The 10 Best Japanese Films of 2016
This was a very interesting year for Japanese cinema, for a number of reasons. In commercial terms, two were the most important productions of 2016: Toho’s reboot of the Godzilla franchise, for the third time in the kaiju’s history, and the release of the “Your Name” anime. The first one, titled “Godzilla Resurgence”, is one […]
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10 Reasons Why “Train to Busan” Is The Best Zombie Movie of The 21st Century (So Far)
The sequel to the animated film “Seoul Station”, also by Yeon Sang-ho, “Train to Busan” is the film with the most admissions in South Korea for 2016, with more than 11.5 million. This number places it in the 11th position of the all-time list with admissions in the country, despite the fact that it is […]
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9 Reasons Why “The Handmaiden” is Park Chan-wook’s Best Film Since “Oldboy”
Park Chan-wook’s return to S. Korea from Hollywood, where he directed “Stoker”, also signaled his return to masterpieces, with “The Handmaiden” reaching the standards of his best films, like “Oldboy”. His passage from Hollywood did not have the same success his previous works had; however, Park seems to have implemented the aesthetics usually associated with […]
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The 20 Best Japanese Films of The 1980s
The decline of the major studios that had started in the previous decade continued in the 80s, with Toho, Toei, Nikkatsu, and Shochiku barely hanging on. The lack of funds started a new trend, the direct-to-video productions, that drew many new artists due to the creative freedom it offered. Akira Kurosawa continued shooting masterpieces, while […]