woo-sung jung Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Under no circumstances is Ji-woon Kim's The Good, the Bad, the Weird a great movie, but I found myself genuinely impressed with it. The pitch – "Korean comic spaghetti western" – sounded like the sort of ultra-hip, insubstantial, self-consciously campy Asian actioner I've grown tired of; I kept flashing back to Riyuhei Kitamura's much-hyped but totally useless Versus, an acquired taste I haven't acquired. I needn't have worried. Though Kim's western pastiche may be insubstantial, it's anything but a drag. It's masterfully directed, legitimately funny, and legitimately fun, thoroughly enjoyable even at an excessive 129 minutes.

Though you may think you're here to see how Kim (whom you may remember from his terrific horror entry A Tale of Two Sisters) plays with the western genre, you're really here for the action sequences. There are two spectacular ones: the rollicking train robbery that opens the film, and a later all-stops-out chase scene involving several gangs of bandits and the Japanese army. These aren't the sort of scenes that bring you to the edge of your seat, but rather the sort that put a steady, delighted grin on your face. Unapologetically goofy, absurdly attenuated, brilliantly paced, and backed by a rousing musical score, they alone make the film worth sitting through.

The other day, I posted about David Strathairn getting added to the cast of A Tale of Two Sisters, the remake of Ji-woon Kim's Korean thriller. While some of the director's old work gets the North American treatment, things are being shaken up a little with his latest project. Currently in production, his epic Korean western, The Good, The Bad, The Weird (Well, that sounds familiar!) is getting a new distributor. Showbox, which was distributing and investing in the film, has pulled out and is about to be replaced by a rival studio -- CJ Entertainment. Buzz is now going around that this could be an issue of financing, since the picture has an almost $11 million budget.

The film stars Woo-sung Jung, who was most recently in The Restless, as The Good, Byung-hun Lee of Joint Security Area as The Bad and the slacker son/father/brother from The Host, Kang-ho Song, aptly cast as The Weird. According to this site, the film is set in the 1930's, and the world is in chaos. After the Korean peninsula is taken by Japanese imperialists, some have escaped to Manchuria and become bandits. The Weird is a thief who finds a treasure map, The Bad is a hitman who also wants the map and The Good is a bounty hunter who has been chasing The Weird. You can also check out a strange video here, that's got a poster mixed in with western images. It sounds like it could be a fun flick, even if it is coming with a quite high price tag. Frankly, I'd probably be intrigued by anything Kang-ho or the other Host alum act in, since that film was so great. If I come across more as production continues and wraps, I'll let you know!