Movie Review: Commitment (2013; Showbox/Well Go USA)

...Youth Pre-empted. Interrupted. Innocence, abruptly thrust into maturity. Whether by design, by accident, by choice or by way of necessity...for better or for worse, a hiccup in life, that's quite literally life-changing. For some of us, such a revelation is quite relatable (...for this viewer, here's a hand raised, having had 'youth interrupted', at least in part, by way of an early and lengthy stint in the military). A misfit-flavored sort of loneliness...sometimes, a blurring confusion of identity. In that respect, possibly given way to conditioning and adapting, one is forcibly expected to perform in a mature manner, dealing with serious issues and situations...all while forced to suppress that sense of youth, wanting ever so much to break free (...once again, hand raised over here, in that the military tethered and restricted my youthfully driven creative side). In films, this personal aspect has been examined many times, and in most cases and varied scenarios, has been found quite compelling and intriguing...the sudden thrust into an adult world...how one performs in such a situation...the lonely, misfit feeling of surrendering one's self in a mature role...trying to fit in a coat that's several sizes too big, and forced to shelve one's youth...and the resulting knowledge incorporated, should that sense of lost youth, be recovered. Such is the dilemma of Myung-Hon Ri, a labor-camp youth, turned assassin, and assigned a most unusual, yet ideal undercover...as a high school student, in inaugural director Park Hong-Soo's compelling examination of unconventional espionage, family loyalty, and the struggle to maintain identity...2013's "Commitment"...

Movie Review: Doomsday Book (2012)

Korea has given us some interesting films in the past few years. Most notably, I Saw the Devil, which was brilliantly directed by Jee-woon Kim. Kim returns in this interesting anthology for the segment entitled "The Heavenly Creature." In this segment, we are asked whether or not a robot can reach full enlightenment and become Buddha. Interesting ideas like this and other what-ifs propel the three futuristic stories in Doomsday Book.

The other stories center around a possible cause for a zombie outbreak and an internet shopping venture gone wrong. These are all compelling concepts, but I'm not sure how to feel about the movie as a whole. I guess it would be best to take on each segment individually.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #81 - Past, Present and Future

Kevin flies solo this week, and he talks about movies from different eras. He starts with his review of the Korean anthology Doomsday Book, veers into Mike Birbiglia's autobiographical Sleepwalk With Me and closes out with the classic Brian's Song.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

Support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment by clicking the links on our Sponsors page!

This episode is sponsored by the following:

  Looking for a chiropractor in the Grand Rapids, MI area?
Contact Dr. Alan Szagesh (616) 974-9922

Movie Review: Bedevilled (2011, Blu-ray)

Korea has really been putting out some amazing horror films over the past decade. In my opinion the most sterling example has to be Jee-woon Kim’s I Saw the Devil but that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be any other films to knock it off the Korean horror mantle. Well Go USA always seems to have the pulse of Asian genre films so it’s no surprise to see them pick up Chool-soo Jang’s Bedevilled for a home video release.

Hae-Won (Seong-wan Ji) is a Seoul-based business woman who has fallen on hard times at her workplace. After making the not so bright decision of slapping a co-worker in front of the boss she gets a “vacation”. Over the past few weeks Hae-Won was receiving letters from her childhood friend, Kim Bok-nam (Yeong –hi Seo) urging her to come back to the island of Moodoo where she grew up with her grandfather. Instead of a real vacation she chooses to visit her friend to get away.

Movie Review: Heartbeat (2010)

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Directed by Yoon Jae-geun

Yeon-Hee (Kim Yunjin) is the wealthy, widowed director of an English Language Institute. Her sickly eight-year-old daughter Ye-Eun (Park Ha-young) is the apple of her eye, and is willing to do almost anything to procure her a suitable organ for a heart transplant. Meeting with the sleazy head of a black market organ racketeer, Yeon-Hee discovers that the organ will be coming from a living illegal immigrant who needs the cash for his family. She declines, saying she is not that desperate … yet. In the meantime, Lee Hee-Do (Park Hae-il) a failed young entrepreneur gets a large sum of money from his estranged mother (Kim Min-Kyung), who tells him that she is moving to America and to never contact her again.

"Bedevilled" Coming To Blu-ray and DVD From Well Go Usa!

BEDEVILLED

The Award-Winning, International Hit Revenge Horror Film

Debuts on Blu-ray®, DVD and Digital October 9^th

PLANO, TEXAS.  (August 27, 2012) – Yeong-hie Seo (The Chaser) and Seong-won Ji (Harmony) star in Director Chul-soo Jang chilling first feature BEDEVILLED, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital October 9^th from Well Go USA Entertainment.  When her pleas for help are ignored and cause her daughter's death, a woman seeks revenge on the person she blames.  BEDEVILLED won the Audience Award for “Best Film” and Seo Yeong-hee was named “Best Actress” at Austin’s 2010 Fantastic Fest. In addition, the film was awarded the Grand Prize as Best Film at the 2011 Gérardmer Film Festival and Yeong-hie Seo won “Best Actress” at the 2011 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Synopsis:

A gorgeous woman takes a forced vacation to a strange, beautiful island. She befriends a pretty girl shocked to find out she is treated like a slave by locals and has attempted to escape the island. Can they both get off the island alive?

Bonus Features Include:

§  Behind the Scenes

§  Trailer

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #56 - We're Mad as Hell, and We're Not Gonna Take it Anymore!

Kevin and Dave share their disgust for the news media and the lack of tact involved in sensationalizing violence and tragedies. Kevin shares a story of his daughter's defiance and how it led to him watching one of his titles for the show.

They review the Korean monster movie The Host, the Monopoly documentary Under the Boardwalk and the DVD release of No Holds Barred.

Kevin talks about the beginning of the final season of Breaking Bad and the issues between AMC and Dish Network, and he and Dave wonder when cable channels will finally be available a la carte.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com.

Click on any of the links above to purchase at Amazon.com or click the link to our sponsors below and support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment!

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #24 - Jeffy Goes to Hollywood

Jeff takes a different turn this week and heads into some mainstream comedies. He talks about Super, The Change-Up and Our Idiot Brother.

Kevin digs straight into horror with Insidious, Peeping Blog and Bite Marks.

The duo professes their love for Magnet Releasing and dives into the Korean revenge film I Saw the Devil.

Jeff's Blue Cheese segment involves the classic parody The Texas Dildo Masquerade. A slight technical malfunction then disrupts his look at the latest release of Tinto Brass' Monamour and Kick the Cock.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

Click on any of the links above to purchase at Amazon.com and support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment!