Back in 2010, screenwriter director Lee Jeong-beom's “The Man from Nowhere” which starred Won Bin, was the highest grossing film in South Korea. Best known for its amazing and thrilling action sequences, the film had fans longing for more from Lee. Therefore it is not really a surprise that he would follow it up with yet another action thriller that featured even more spectacular action but with a similar theme.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
South Korean screen veteran Jang Dong-gun, best known for “Friends” (2001) and “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” (2004) and one of the country's most recognized and bankable stars plays Gon, a Korean-born but raised in America hitman. As it happens, a Korean company man is selling information to the Russians in the back room of a nightclub. Assigned to retrieve it, Gon calmly shows up and effortlessly takes out everyone there but...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
South Korean screen veteran Jang Dong-gun, best known for “Friends” (2001) and “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” (2004) and one of the country's most recognized and bankable stars plays Gon, a Korean-born but raised in America hitman. As it happens, a Korean company man is selling information to the Russians in the back room of a nightclub. Assigned to retrieve it, Gon calmly shows up and effortlessly takes out everyone there but...
- 8/25/2023
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
The Man From Nowhere ( 2010 ) Korean Movie ReviewAction86%Story84%Acting79%2016-01-3083%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (3 Votes)90% What is it about?
An ex-special agent Tae-sik Cha’s only connection to the rest of the world is a little girl, So-mi, who lives nearby. Her mother, Hyo-jeong smuggles drugs from a drug trafficking organization and entrusts Tae-sik with the product, without letting him know. The traffickers find out about her smuggling and kidnap both Hyo-jeong and So-mi.
The gang promises to release them if Tae-sik makes a delivery for them, however it is actually a larger plot to eliminate a rival drug ring leader. When Hyo-jeong’s disemboweled body is discovered, Tae-sik realizes that So-mi’s life may also be in danger.
Tae-sik becomes enraged at the prospect that So-mi may already be dead and prepares for a battle, putting his own life at risk.
Is it any good?
So in truth there...
An ex-special agent Tae-sik Cha’s only connection to the rest of the world is a little girl, So-mi, who lives nearby. Her mother, Hyo-jeong smuggles drugs from a drug trafficking organization and entrusts Tae-sik with the product, without letting him know. The traffickers find out about her smuggling and kidnap both Hyo-jeong and So-mi.
The gang promises to release them if Tae-sik makes a delivery for them, however it is actually a larger plot to eliminate a rival drug ring leader. When Hyo-jeong’s disemboweled body is discovered, Tae-sik realizes that So-mi’s life may also be in danger.
Tae-sik becomes enraged at the prospect that So-mi may already be dead and prepares for a battle, putting his own life at risk.
Is it any good?
So in truth there...
- 1/30/2016
- by Tiger33
- AsianMoviePulse
Welcome to the article best of Korean cinema, in which we look at the best Korea has to offer since it explosion of quality films and output since 200. We look at everything from emotionally heightened Romances to the uniquely Korean line of comedic thrillers. This time we are looking at the output of Kang Je-Gyu, although we aren’t covering his debut film. Shiri (Swiri) was a personal introduction to the new wave. The films we will be covering are Brotherhood and My Way, two thematic companion pieces looking at personal drama in the Korean world war and World War II.
Brotherhood
Directed by Kang Je-Gyu
Written by Ji-hoon Han, Kang Je-kyu & Sang-don Kim
2004, South Korea
Kang Je-Kyu’s sophomore effort is the first of his war films and this time it is the Korean Civil War that draws attention. Won Bin (Jin-seok Lee) and Jong Dong-gun (Jin-tae Lee) are...
Brotherhood
Directed by Kang Je-Gyu
Written by Ji-hoon Han, Kang Je-kyu & Sang-don Kim
2004, South Korea
Kang Je-Kyu’s sophomore effort is the first of his war films and this time it is the Korean Civil War that draws attention. Won Bin (Jin-seok Lee) and Jong Dong-gun (Jin-tae Lee) are...
- 12/2/2012
- by Rob Simpson
- SoundOnSight
First off: shitty title, awesome looking movie. From the guy who gave us “Shiri” and “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War”, comes “My Way”, director Kang Je-Kyu’s first movie in over 7 years. Maybe he spent all that time making this movie, because from the trailer and exhaustive synopsis, “My Way” clearly is taking that whole “epic” tag seriously. Take a look at the U.S. trailer for the film below. After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets,...
- 3/9/2012
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
Terracotta is London’s premier celebration of the film and culture of the Far East. With a stunning line-up of films hand-picked from the best of the region, encompassing diverse genres from comedy to drama to horror and everything in between, an unbeatable programme of exclusive cast and crew Q&As, intro’s and masterclasses and fabulous public parties the Terracotta Far East Film Festival really does have something for everybody.
Opening Film My Way
In recent years, cross-border productions have been flourishing and Terracotta are thrilled to be opening the festival on Thursday 12th April 2012 with one of the most high-profile and ambitious examples to date, the Korean war epic My Way.
From Korean cinema’s box office champion Kang Je-Kyu who also directed ‘Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War’ and ‘Shiri’, My Way tells the story of two marathon runners, one Korean and one Japanese, during Japan’s colonisation of Korea.
Opening Film My Way
In recent years, cross-border productions have been flourishing and Terracotta are thrilled to be opening the festival on Thursday 12th April 2012 with one of the most high-profile and ambitious examples to date, the Korean war epic My Way.
From Korean cinema’s box office champion Kang Je-Kyu who also directed ‘Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War’ and ‘Shiri’, My Way tells the story of two marathon runners, one Korean and one Japanese, during Japan’s colonisation of Korea.
- 2/22/2012
- by admin
- AsianMoviePulse
The Front Line Trailer, Go-Ji-Jeon Trailer. Hun Jang‘s The Front Line / Go-Ji-Jeon (2011) movie trailer stars Ha-kyun Shin, Soo Go, Seung-su Ryu, Chang-Seok Ko, and Je-hoon Lee. The Front Line‘s plot synopsis: “Toward the end of the Korean War, an uneasy ceasefire is ordered, but out on the Eastern front line of the Aerok Hills, in an expanse of land called the Aero.K, fierce fighting continues. A race to capture this strategic point to determine a new border between the two Koreas is the ultimate prize. At the Eastern border stands the “Alligator Company,” known to be the best soldiers on the front line.
They are the only unit to have survived the worst battle of the war at Pohang. When a South Korean bullet is found in the dead body of a company commander, Lieutenant of Defense Security Command Kang Eun-Pyo (Shin Ha-Kyun) is ordered to investigate Alligator Company for the murder.
They are the only unit to have survived the worst battle of the war at Pohang. When a South Korean bullet is found in the dead body of a company commander, Lieutenant of Defense Security Command Kang Eun-Pyo (Shin Ha-Kyun) is ordered to investigate Alligator Company for the murder.
- 1/14/2012
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Unlike the previous trailer for Kang Je-gyu's upcoming WWII blockbuster film My Way, this teaser focus on the chaos of war over the human drama, a strength of the director he demonstrated so powerfully in his last effort in Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War. Obviously, no expense were spare to ensure an epic experience in the large scale battle sequence. As mention before, the Korea/Japan/China co-production has an all-star pan-Asian cast line-up that includes Jang Dong-gun (The Warrior's Way), Joe Odagiri (Air Doll) and Fan Bingbing (Shaolin, Bodyguards and Assassins). The setting is Seoul, in Japan-colonized Korea. Jun-shik, who lives and works in a large Japanese estate--which belongs to Tatsuo's grandfather--and Tatsuo are rivals, both aiming to become competitors in the upcoming marathon....
- 10/26/2011
- Screen Anarchy
We’ve got an exclusive look at the trailer for the forthcoming South Korean thriller, The Man From Nowhere, before it rolls out to other sites next week. If you’re up to date with your cult and world cinema knowledge you’ll know that South Korean films and talent are in shockingly rude health.
The Man From Nowhere has been called “Taken meets Oldboy” – which is intriguing, to say the least. Directed by Jeong-beom Lee (Cruel Winter Blues) it stars Bin Won, who last put in a storming performance in Bong Joon-Ho’s superb Mother (read our review here).
Synopsis:
Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Bin Won) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Sae-ron Kim) and her mother, an...
The Man From Nowhere has been called “Taken meets Oldboy” – which is intriguing, to say the least. Directed by Jeong-beom Lee (Cruel Winter Blues) it stars Bin Won, who last put in a storming performance in Bong Joon-Ho’s superb Mother (read our review here).
Synopsis:
Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Bin Won) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Sae-ron Kim) and her mother, an...
- 3/19/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
A box office smash in Korea, where it became the highest grossing movie of 2010 and swept the board at the Korea Film Awards taking honours for Best Actor, Best New Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Lighting, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing, The Man From Nowhere is coming to UK DVD in April, and we have an early look at the trailer:
Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Bin Won) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Sae-ron Kim) and her mother, an exotic club dancer and drug addict. Neglected by her mother and shunned by the kids at school, So-mi gradually forms a bond of friendship with the loner Tae-shik.
But one day, So-mi and her mother disappear. When it...
Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Bin Won) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Sae-ron Kim) and her mother, an exotic club dancer and drug addict. Neglected by her mother and shunned by the kids at school, So-mi gradually forms a bond of friendship with the loner Tae-shik.
But one day, So-mi and her mother disappear. When it...
- 3/18/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Well Go USA announced today that it has acquired North American DVD and Blu-ray rights to The Man from Nowhere, starring Bin Won (Mother, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War) and new-comer Sae-Ron Kim from Cj Entertainment. Written and directed by Jeong-Beom Lee (Cruel Winter Blues), The Man from Nowhere is the biggest grossing film of 2010 in South Korea with a box office total of $45 million.
- 1/4/2011
- by Anthony T
The news coming out of Korea these days is upsetting so... let's direct our focus on something beautiful from thereabouts: the movies. The 31st annual Blue Dragon Awards were held this weekend in Seoul. Here are the winners and a few comments. [photo and info sources]
Picture: The Secret Reunion
This is an espionage thriller involving North and South Korean spies. It stars the seemingly ubiquitous Song Kang-ho who you've probably seen if you've ever seen a South Korean picture. He previously starred in the monster flick The Host, the disturbing vampire romance Thirst and the drama Secret Sunshine. The Secret Reunion won the top prize over kidnapping thriller The Man From Nowhere, Moss, epic action flick Woochi and the erotic Cannes drama The Housemaid (a remake of a classic). Lee Chang-dong's awesome Poetry (my review) was not nominated. Apparently he has a rough history with this awards body.
Director: Kang Woo-seok (Moss...
Picture: The Secret Reunion
This is an espionage thriller involving North and South Korean spies. It stars the seemingly ubiquitous Song Kang-ho who you've probably seen if you've ever seen a South Korean picture. He previously starred in the monster flick The Host, the disturbing vampire romance Thirst and the drama Secret Sunshine. The Secret Reunion won the top prize over kidnapping thriller The Man From Nowhere, Moss, epic action flick Woochi and the erotic Cannes drama The Housemaid (a remake of a classic). Lee Chang-dong's awesome Poetry (my review) was not nominated. Apparently he has a rough history with this awards body.
Director: Kang Woo-seok (Moss...
- 11/27/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
South Korea is a powerhouse of creative cinema, and as Sean explains, their films frequently display an emotional core as well as action…
While American cinema is currently filled with comic book films, remakes and sequels, things are not the same elsewhere around the world. As worldwide cinema is becoming less dominated by a constant saturation of American movies, I've noticed one country in particular making its mark in the world of film.
South Korea has seen a rise in its cinema over the past decade, producing movies that are both experimental and entertaining at the same time. It's not just pure movie fans that are recognising it, but Hollywood as well, as it's been trying to produce remakes for some of the most well known of the current generation of South Korean films.
South Korea, in case you didn't know, is the country that's on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula.
While American cinema is currently filled with comic book films, remakes and sequels, things are not the same elsewhere around the world. As worldwide cinema is becoming less dominated by a constant saturation of American movies, I've noticed one country in particular making its mark in the world of film.
South Korea has seen a rise in its cinema over the past decade, producing movies that are both experimental and entertaining at the same time. It's not just pure movie fans that are recognising it, but Hollywood as well, as it's been trying to produce remakes for some of the most well known of the current generation of South Korean films.
South Korea, in case you didn't know, is the country that's on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula.
- 7/15/2010
- Den of Geek
Today's birthday list doesn't make me feel celebratory so much as oscarighteously furious. Perhaps I should explain. It's only the four first birthday boys whipping me into a golden frenzy. Then things calm down.
Claude, Ann and Dick
Todays Birthdays 11/10
1889 Claude Rains, never won an Oscar. This despite being a great screen actor, whose filmography reads like a catalogue of Golden Age greatness. He's an actor who made indelible contributions to not 1, not 2 but 7 Best Picture nominees, a number that doesn't even reflect films like Notorious, Now Voyager, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, Mrs. Skeffington or The Greatest Story Ever Told. He didn't even get an honorary statue!
1925 Richard Burton, never won an Oscar. This despite winning exactly as many nominations as Liz Taylor won husbands.
1928 Ennio Moriccone has never won an Oscar. This despite being a world reknowned composer, being worshipped by film fanatics and revolutionizing how people scored Westerns.
Claude, Ann and Dick
Todays Birthdays 11/10
1889 Claude Rains, never won an Oscar. This despite being a great screen actor, whose filmography reads like a catalogue of Golden Age greatness. He's an actor who made indelible contributions to not 1, not 2 but 7 Best Picture nominees, a number that doesn't even reflect films like Notorious, Now Voyager, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, Mrs. Skeffington or The Greatest Story Ever Told. He didn't even get an honorary statue!
1925 Richard Burton, never won an Oscar. This despite winning exactly as many nominations as Liz Taylor won husbands.
1928 Ennio Moriccone has never won an Oscar. This despite being a world reknowned composer, being worshipped by film fanatics and revolutionizing how people scored Westerns.
- 11/11/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Feng honors 'forgotten' dead in war film
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang, whose Assembly will play to more than 5,000 people at the Thursday opening of the 12th annual Pusan International Film Festival, said he hopes the film will remind the audience of the real terror of war.
Feng, who served in China's army from 1978-84 during a period of conflict with Vietnam, said he was inspired by the rawness of Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gate and the Korean Taeguki, (Brotherhood), whose crew helped him shoot battle scenes near China's border with North Korea last winter.
"In the past, Chinese war film heroes were unafraid," Feng said, sitting under a tree, chain smoking under the brim of his trademark baseball cap. "This film should remind the world of the horrors of the regular soldier. No sacrifice should be forgotten, no matter what side you're on."
The film, about the struggle of a communist captain (Zhang Hanyu) to commemorate his fallen colleagues after a series of bloody battles in 1948-49, was drawn from a Yang Jingyuan short story and co-produced by Huayi Brothers Pictures of Beijing, Media Asia Films of Hong Kong and MK Pictures of Seoul.
Feng, who served in China's army from 1978-84 during a period of conflict with Vietnam, said he was inspired by the rawness of Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gate and the Korean Taeguki, (Brotherhood), whose crew helped him shoot battle scenes near China's border with North Korea last winter.
"In the past, Chinese war film heroes were unafraid," Feng said, sitting under a tree, chain smoking under the brim of his trademark baseball cap. "This film should remind the world of the horrors of the regular soldier. No sacrifice should be forgotten, no matter what side you're on."
The film, about the struggle of a communist captain (Zhang Hanyu) to commemorate his fallen colleagues after a series of bloody battles in 1948-49, was drawn from a Yang Jingyuan short story and co-produced by Huayi Brothers Pictures of Beijing, Media Asia Films of Hong Kong and MK Pictures of Seoul.
- 10/4/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dialogue: Jeong Tae-sung of Korea's Showbox
Since producing the critically praised "Spring in My Hometown" and helping to found the Pusan International Film Festival's marketplace, the Pusan Promotion Plan, in the 1990s, Jeong Tae-sung has served as chief operating officer at Showbox, one of South Korea's biggest movie companies. At Showbox, a Mediaplex affiliate, Jeong has been involved in many of the biggest blockbusters in Korean history, including "The Host" and "Taegukgi". Just ahead of the Aug. 1 Showbox release of "D-War", the most expensive Korean movie ever made, Jeong chatted with The Hollywood Reporter's Korea correspondent, Mark Russell.
THR: Is everything on track for "D-War"?
Jeong: Yes, we just had the first screening of the finished film anywhere in Los Angeles last week. It opens in Korea on Aug. 1, on over 500 screens. Then, it opens in the United States in mid-September on around 1,500 screens.
We are targeting both young people and families in Korea, along with people in their 30s who might fondly remember director Shim Hyung-rae's children's movies of the 1980s and '90s. In fact, this time we are focusing our marketing on Shim, because everyone in Korea knows him and his films.
Even though his last film (the 1999 monster movie "Yonggari") did not do well, he did not give up.
THR: Is everything on track for "D-War"?
Jeong: Yes, we just had the first screening of the finished film anywhere in Los Angeles last week. It opens in Korea on Aug. 1, on over 500 screens. Then, it opens in the United States in mid-September on around 1,500 screens.
We are targeting both young people and families in Korea, along with people in their 30s who might fondly remember director Shim Hyung-rae's children's movies of the 1980s and '90s. In fact, this time we are focusing our marketing on Shim, because everyone in Korea knows him and his films.
Even though his last film (the 1999 monster movie "Yonggari") did not do well, he did not give up.
- 7/24/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Korea boxoffice starts '04 strong
SEOUL, South Korea -- Buoyed by two mammoth hits, the Korean movie industry kicked off the year with its strongest January and February ever. In a report released Wednesday, local production company IM Pictures, which also compiles boxoffice data, announced that in the first two months of the year, Seoul-area movie theaters sold 9.63 million tickets, up 24% from last year's record-setting pace. Of that number, just more than 7 million, or 73%, went to locally made films, thanks to the hits Silmido and Taegukgi. Silmido, which was released Dec. 24, has sold a record-smashing 10.8 million tickets nationwide (3.1 million in Seoul) and is still playing. Taegukgi opened Feb. 5 and is the No. 1 film in Korea, having pulled in 9.4 million admissions so far, including 2.4 million in Seoul.
- 3/12/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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