I've been fortunate enough to have been able to go to Cannes for the past four years now, and I'm getting ready for my fifth. And, as I often say when explaining film festivals to people who've never been to one, it's not just an adventure; it's a job. Cannes is a "get-away" the same way running from a burning building is "a tour of the grounds"; there are plenty of movies, plenty of work, and the overall emotional tone of the event is a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration. The heady moments of pure movie magic come fast and furious with the muck-and-money reality of international financing and distribution happening all about you.

Going to Cannes means seeing at least 40, maybe 50 or more movies in 10 days, never mind actually thinking and writing about them; you'd think that that kind of pace would soon turn into a blur, and it does, but it's a glorious one. Here's some of my favorite movie going moments (highly subjective, of course -- I've not included last year's ridiculously strong quartet of Persepolis, No Country for Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, as they're still so fresh in my mind) from the past four years of the Cannes Film Festival; think of these as the rushed recollections of a film critic who knows exactly how lucky he's been.

Some sicko grabs a gun and decides to kill a bunch of people to serve his own deeply disturbed means. As soon as people can pick their jaws back up again, the same old debate begins again -- Is this a result of the media? Of course -- it's all that violence in the news, music, movies and video games. Impressionable minds pop a disc in, and before they can blink, they're maniacal murderers. As we all know, there was a terrible tragedy recently at Virginia Tech, where a South Korean shooter killed two people, went back to his dorm to send NBC some mail and then shot and killed 30 more before taking his own life. The network package included -- 27 video clips, 43 stills with captions, an audio clip and a manifesto.

Some of the images have ignited a fury of speculation about whether the media he saw led him to his heinous acts. The most convincing of the bunch is a picture of Cho wielding a hammer, which is very similar to an image from Oldboy, part of Park Chan-Wook's Vengeance Trilogy. Did he watch the movie and decide to wreak revenge on those he felt alienated by, or, did he take pictures in various poses to try and excuse himself from his plan? It certainly seems that this wasn't an immediate act of desperation. Also, the Oldboy image isn't the only one that has people talking. San Francisco Gate's culture blog says that Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball is using the original image, of Cho wielding two guns, to compare it to The Matrix.

I'm growing tired of this debate. How many people mimic media when committing terrible acts compared to how many people watch the media and go on with their lives? I would imagine it's similar to the chances of getting hit by lightning. I have watched some truly hideous and violent films. I've played Thrill Kill. However, when I get upset or ticked off at people, I don't prepare a flipping media kit for the networks and go out and kill a bunch of people.

When it comes to US remakes of foreign films, there probably isn't much that hasn't already been said -- I imagine, "It wasn't as good as the original" will always remain at the top of the list. But, the grumblings of world cinema fans has never stopped Hollywood from taking a foreign property and molding it in its own image.

Oldboy was a hit on the festival circuit and won the Grand Prix in Cannes in 2004. Supposedly, it made such an impression on Quentin Tarantino that he lobbied (unsuccessfully) for Oldboy to receive the Palme d'Or over Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Justin Lin, director of Better Luck Tomorrow, had been attached to direct the US remake of the South Korean film -- however, Bloody Disgusting reports that, not only is Lin no longer on board, but the film might not happen at all. According to the site, Lin "has a lot of other projects in the works and that the only way he'd make it is if everything 'gelled' together right. He loves the original film and wouldn't want to disrespect it". The film follows a man wrongfully imprisoned who seeks revenge for the lost time. There is way more to the story than that, but it's a complicated and twisted film ... so if you haven't seen it, it's worth taking a look. And don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to catch up since it looks like it could be a while before Hollywood gets their hands on this one.

In a previous post, I detailed my fondness for old school Kung-Fu films like Enter the Dragon and The 36th Chamber or Shaolin; guys beating the crap out of each other -- complete with over-done sound effects and out-of-sync dialog -- and other mayhem of that nature. The point of the previous post -- other than to thrill you with my knowledge of Los Angeles TV history -- was to highlight a great list of the top ten mano-a-mano fight scenes of all time. Well, for those of you who loved the last post (all twelve or so of you judging from the number of comments) you're in luck because I'm back with yet another list. This time around its the top ten fight scenes of all time.

I know this list may sound similar to the last one but bear with me: While the last one dealt with one man against another, this new list deals with larger numbers of people, or groups, engaged in combat. Or, as the rules for the list state over at the site that compiled it: "It has to be individuals or a group fighting in (reasonably) close quarters, so no vehicle combat (Mad Max 2), no space battles (Return of the Jedi) and no epic warfare or sieges (The Return of the King)." Sounds simple enough, right? Fortunately, it is.

Some of the fights highlighted on this list include Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, the corridor fight in Chan wook-Park's Oldboy -- wherein our hero takes out a bunch of baddies all while confined to a narrow corridor -- and one of my personal favorites: the Girl Scout fight in Airplane -- brutal and hilarious at the same time. At the number one spot they put Arnold vs The Predator in Predator. Now, I like Predator but I question putting it at number one. Looking at the list I think I would put the scene from Phantom Menace near or at the top. It's an exciting scene that sets the stage for Obi-Wan's development as a Jedi and a man. On top of that, it showcases some amazing fight choreography and swordplay. It's an outstanding scene in a not-so-great movie that I think deserves to be recognized.

What's your favorite movie fight scene?

One of the keys to the sneaky emotional power of Park Chanwook’s “Revenge Trilogy” (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) is the distance he keeps from his characters. All three films center on characters of complex morality, doing things that are foreign and often shocking to most viewers. Park, however, refuses to either judge or endorse their choices. Instead, he simply records events as they happen, allowing his characters and their actions to speak for themselves.

Such is the case with Lady Vengeance, Park’s follow-up to the showier Oldboy, the film that won him not only the Director’s Prize at Cannes in 2004, but also instant world-wide regard. The film is the story of Lee Geum-ja (Lee Yeong-ae), a lovely young woman who, while still in her teens, was forced by an older man (Oldboy's Choi Min-sik) into confessing to a brutal child-murder she didn’t commit. Through her 13 years in prison, she was revered by her fellow inmates for her kindness, and known to the outside world for her great piety; upon her release, however, Geum-ja coldly begins calling in favors from her former cell-mates, and sets in motion a plan for revenge that has been in the works for all those long years in jail.

In association with the UK's Tartan Films, the Sundance Channel has picked up exclusive television rights to a nice little pile of films that will air in their Asia Extreme block at midnight on Sundays, starting in April. The films included in the package are 2/3 of Chan-wook Park's Revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy), Samaritan Girl, A Tale of Two Sisters, Memento Mori, H, Phone, and A Snake of June.

Yes, seven of the eight films are Korean (A Snake of June is Japanese) - apparently that's what passes for "Asian" these days. China? Hong Kong? Never heard of them. And yes, the whole "Asia Extreme!" marketing gimmick is idiotic and offensive. But the fact is that it's great these movies are going to be on cable, no matter the context. It will be interesting, however, to see if Sundance still cares about airing these films when the current buzz over Korean film expires - that's when such a block will really be appreciated by fans of Asian cinema.

Lady Vengeance (which used to be called Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - apparently she's alienated us already), in case you've forgotten, is the third installment of Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy. Depending on who you ask, the film, which was proceeded by Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, is either disappointing or easily the best of the bunch.

Though it'll be a while yet until until its American release (it opens here on May 5), the UK version of iTunes is promoting the film, which opens in England on Friday, by making available a free, 13 minute clip. If you want to be creeped out on your subway ride this morning, download the sucker, watch it on your video iPod (of course, if you're technologically behind like me, you can also sit at your computer and do so), and find out what the hell everybody is talking about. Additionally, if you've seen the film or its predecessors and have questions for their director, Time Out will be conducting an interview with Park tomorrow, and they want to know what we're curious about. Since there are currently a grand total of two reader submissions, you've probably got a good chance of getting your question asked, assuming it's not something like "Do you like dogs?" or "What's your damn problem, freak?"

Lady Vengeance (formerly know as Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) is South Korean director Park Chan-wook's final installment in his revenge trilogy. The series started with the little-seen Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, which was followed by the wildly successful Oldboy. Though the characters in the films are unrelated, they go through similar ordeals, and are all determined to get revenge for their experiences. Lady Vengeance will be released in the US by Tartan Films in late April, and they're taking an interactive approach to promoting the film: fans are being asked to choose the advertising poster.

Like the rest of the world, Tartan have a MySpace page, and it's there that you can see the seven options, and vote for your favorite. (Me, I love #6 but since it's totally misleading to casual observers, I'd vote for #5.) The only problem is that it looks like you've got to have a MySpace identity to vote - other than that, though, this is a pretty cool idea. Allowing the public to choose creates publicity and a buzz about the film, and the result will ideally be both a poster with which fans are happy, and an advertising campaign over which they have a sense of ownership. All that remains is to see if they show up to see the movie they helped promoted.

[via JoBlo]