List Price: $24.99 Our Price: $18.74YOU SAVE $6.25!
Buy it
DVD Oldboy
In the realm of revenge thrillers, you'd be hard pressed to find more ultra-violent vengeance and psycho thrills than in the creepy story of Oldboy. This Korean import made a pop splash at the Cannes Film Festival and during its limited theatrical run thanks to the imprimatur of Quentin Tarantino, who raved about it and its visionary director, Chan-wook Park, to anyone who would listen. It's easy to see why QT fell in love with the grindhouse attitude, fast-paced action, violent imagery, and icy-black humor, but it's a disservice to think of Oldboy as another Tarantino homage or knockoff. The darkly existential undercurrent in the themes that Oldboy traces over its life-long narrative arc is much more complex and deeply disturbing than anything of its kind. The movie's tagline is, "15 years of imprisonment... 5 days of vengeance." The imprisonee is Oh Dae-Su, an ordinary Joe who is snatched off a Seoul street corner and locked away in a dank, windowless fleabag hotel room for the aforementioned 15 years. Just as abruptly he is released, and thus the five days begin. Why did this happen to Oh Dae-Su? Ah, but that would be telling, and in fact we don't know ourselves until the final wrenching scenes.
Oldboy breaks into a classic three-act saga, the first of which details the hallucinatory period of imprisonment in which Oh Dae-Su wades from mild insanity to outright psychosis in the hands of unseen yet attentive captors. Act 2 is the revenge, when an entirely different tone takes over and Oh Dae-Su moves with single-minded purpose and clarity. It's this section that has gained the most notoriety, primarily for the claw-hammer dentistry scene, the one-man-army tracking shot, and the wriggling octopus that Oh Dae-Su consumes in a sushi bar (he's been dead so long he simply needs life back inside him in any way possible). In act 3, answers finally start to emerge and the sinister atmosphere grows even more profound--not without a healthy dose of extra bloodletting, of course. Oldboy is an undeniably poetic masterpiece of tension, fury, and dynamic craft. Ultimately, its epic cycle of tragedy is of the sort that mankind has been inflicting upon itself for all time. Some of the images may be gruesome, but all converge into a kind of beauty. It's in the telling of this lurid tale that these details become one and the memories of pain ultimately heal. --Ted Fry
After being mysteriously locked away for 15 years in a cell, that looked like a cheap motel room, Oh Dae-su wakes up outside in the free world with no clue as to who's responsible for his imprisonment. To make matters worse his wife has been murdered and he's the main suspect. With nothing but revenge on his mind and a claw hammer for a weapon Oh Dae-su sets out to find and kill his tormentors.
I liked this film and thought the cinematography was fresh and the soundtrack was beautiful, but I also think the violence was nowhere near what the hype had me expecting in particular the hallway fight scene. It was fun to watch but many of the punches didn't even look real.
Sorry about the knit picking. OLDBOY is worth watching (Park is a very talented director), but just don't expect The Second Coming of ICHI THE KILLER even though, like ICHI, there was a self-tongue amputation.
Not the compelling human tale usually taunted by others
One of the best edited movies I have seen yet. The story flows and hits all the taboos without skipping a beat. Oldboy is a story about gnawing revenge and disaster-prone love, and tragedy. But it is deep, dark and weird. The story is not for the timid and at times pushed the envelope just a wee bit too much - even for me. However, it marks its director Park as arguably one of the more innovative coming out of Korea.
Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi), is a model of bourgeois perfection: a young married man, complete young daughter and office job. One evening he is mysteriously kidnapped and incarcerated in a hotel with only a television to keep him sane. In this time he is drugged so his captors (who are note revealed) can clean up the room and check on him. Approximately 15 years go by before Oh Dae-su is finally released. Like the Count of Monte Cristo he starts planning his revenge. Before he can even move his enigmatic captor gets in touch with him, prodding Oh Dae-su to discover his identity and the motivation behind the incarceration. Oldboy begins with a spiraling downward through the 15 years that Oh Dae-su is cooped up in the hotel room. We find him undergoing rigorous physical training. We catch Oh Dae-su frantically trying to retain a grip on his sanity. In those 15 years Oh Dae-su learns that someone has killed his wife. He ponders and plots waiting for the day he will be released. This Kafkaesque world of assumed guilt builds up as we see strange yet familiar world.
Park runs a compelling first half where Oh Dae-su starts his investigation into the location of his "prison" and to find out who was behind this - much less to figure out the motivation for the same. His methods of investigation are neatly contrasted, using his feel for the dumplings fed to him. Understandably, Oh Dae-su trusts no one. He slowly (and dangerously) attaches himself emotionally and physically to Mi-Do. The first hour concludes with a barrage of violent scenes that are characteristic of a new and chic style of cinema called "Asian Extreme." One wonders about the why, much less than pondering the how (cinematography). It's in the latter part of Oldboy, Park moves into more distressing territory. Oh Dae-su's tormentor shows himself to be Woo-jin Lee (Ji-tae Yu). Woo-jin Lee is a former schoolmate who blames Oh Dae-su for a series of past events. The imprisonment, we soon discover, was part of Woo-jin Lee's elaborate plants to extract revenge. It is a twisted tale, no doubt. However, Park brings amazing range and sensitivity to Oldboy. The thing is, we don't to the end, predictably, until we witness yet more violence. No spoilers allowed, so I won't go into it here... you need to see the movie yourself to figure it all out. Oldboy is not the compelling human tale usually taunted by other reviewers. That it is well written is beyond a doubt. Les Miserables it is not. It is a powerful story and no doubt will be the standard of its genre for a long time.
Miguel Llora
What a shocker, a masterpiece!
I don't even want to analyze or write anything about the plot since I see a whole lot of helpful reviews already on this site that makes most major reviewers to same. Thanks for the great reviews!
But I want to say that "Oldboy" is one of the best shocking films I've ever seen, and I watch a lot of movies. Trust me when everyone writes about 'what a great ending' one must be curious of the ending and maybe for that reason one should buy or rent this movie to atleast experience the buzz. This movie could be watched many times and each time the viewer will discover new clues and messages and foreshadowing. This isn't the type of movie an American viewer should wait for the Hollywood to remake, because this isn't the type of movie hollywood will ever have the guts to make or remake. So watch this Asian movie (Asian movies are good people and subtitles aren't a taboo) and the dvd also have english language dubbed. I really don't see the fuss about the movie being short for American release because it did read 120 minutes as the original is supposed to run, so don't buy into those comments that this is a cut version (because I'm surprised they even got a R-rating and they haven't cut anything or I wouldn't be surprised, right).
Two young sisters recovering from an unnamed trauma must face a mysterious past in this excellent South Korean shocker. A worldwide hit upon its release and based on an old Korean fairy tale; two sisters (wonderfully played by Su-jeong Lim and Geun-yeong Mun) come to live with their cold and distant father and turn-on-a-dime stepmother in a house where nothing is as it seems. A wonderfully haunting score, starkly beautiful imagery, and a labyrinthine plot that twists and turns at every dark corner all set the stage for a riveting and often terrifying guessing game of a movie. Equal parts drama, mystery, and ghost story, A Tale of Two Sisters is a richly complex and challenging cinematic treat that may very well demand repeat viewings. --Matt WoldMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Ji-woon Kim DVD Release Date: Released the 29 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $24.99 Your Price: $19.99YOU SAVE $5!
Buy it
Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail. Years later, he has a chance to save her again.
More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 16 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.99 Your Price: $14.99YOU SAVE $5!
Buy it
No computer graphic can ever surpass what a real human body can do--and what the body can do is on spectacular display in Ong-Bak, a Thai action movie starring the lithe and flexible Tony Jaa. When the head is stolen from a holy statue in Jaa's rural village, he goes to Bangkok to get it back. Of course, it just so happens that the thief is connected to a bar where criminal big shots gamble over bare-knuckle brawls, and Jaa is--despite his virtuous efforts--drawn into the game. But that's only the beginning; a chase through the city streets rivals the ingenious acrobatics of Jackie Chan, with Jaa leaping between panes of glass, over a bicycle in motion, and through a wreath of barbed wire. Jaa's fighting prowess has been compared to Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and just about every other... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tony Jaa - Petchtai Wongkamlao Director(s): Prachya Pinkaew DVD Release Date: Released the 30 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $27.98 Your Price: $20.99YOU SAVE $6.99!
Buy it
As its title suggests, Layer Cake is a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (rumored at the time of this film's release to be on the short list for consideration as the next James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Matthew Vaughn DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.94 Your Price: $10.47YOU SAVE $9.47!
Buy it
Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Co-written by the team of David S.... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Christopher Nolan DVD Release Date: Released the 18 October 2005 This item is currently not available.
List Price: $30.98 Your Price: YOU SAVE $30.98!
Buy it
