No Mercy - Korea

          Director:  Hyeong-Joon Kim

          Year:  2010

          Plot:  "When a beautiful young woman is found butchered into six parts by a river, with an arm missing, Kang a forensic pathologist is beckoned for one last job. "

          I have seen a few movies like this one.  The base of this story and others is that someone is kidnapped and instead of going to the less than useful police, they handle it themselves.  This one happened to be more than what I was expecting.  I am very glad I didn't let the seemingly normal Korean thriller plot to stop me from watching.  Based on this, I know I shouldn't be put off by the 'overdone' plot, like some people are.  The last three movies I have seen with this same basic plot (the kidnapping and all) have turned out to be great movies.
          On IMDb, this is listed as a thriller/horror, but I don't see even a little bit of horror in this.  Thus, I chose to put this movie's review on this blog rather than my horror one.  Now, back to the movie.  Like I said, it starts off like a few of the other Korean thrillers I have watched, but it has some differences.  One of the things that really stands out, is that though most of the police force are worthless, there is one detective that seems to know how to actually do her job.
          The other big difference in this movie is the ending.  I was expecting an ending much like some of the others I have seen, but this was completely different.  I absolutely did not see some of that ending coming; okay, I didn't see most of that ending coming.  On another site, someone said they found it to be too much like Oldboy.  I do see a small similarity, but nothing that would really seem like they are copying an idea in anyway.

          I would definitely suggest watching this movie.  I am pretty sure you won't see the ending coming and will enjoy it, even if it does seem to slow down a bit.  I did question a bit whether I should rate this 4 or 5 stars, because some scenes were a little drawn out.  It is the ending though that made me rate it the way I did.

Seven Days - Korea

          Director:  Shin-yeon Won
          Year:  2007
          Plot:  "A successful lawyer who, in order to save her daughter, is pressured into defending the innocence of a man slated to receive the death penalty."

          This movie has been on my "To Watch" list since March.  That isn't as long as some of the movies I want to give a shot, but I decided to watch this before the others.  The thing is, I am not sure how I feel about this movie exactly.  There were parts I loved, and others that I didn't, and others I am just not sure what happened.
          First off, I really loved the ending.  I didn't see it coming, for many reasons, but what happened in the end was pretty great.  It wasn't as great as the ending of Midnight FM, but this movie did have a very effective ending.  This ending though might have been even better if other parts of the movie didn't have some issues.
          While I was watching this movie, I was knitting, but I have absolutely no problem knitting and reading subtitles.  I mention this because I am not one to be distracted by the things I do when watching a movie, so it isn't the reason for the issues I found with this movie.  I have to say this movie had me completely confused, and not in a good way.  There was simply too many suspects that were claimed to be the killers, or covered up the truth.
          I love to be unable to pin down the real murderer, or bad guy, as it makes for a great movie.  This one though made it really confusing.  I get who the killer was, and the kidnapper now that the movie is over, because it was clearly stated at the end.  The issue I have is that some of other suspects kind of blended together.  I am actually not sure what their stories were now that the movie is over and the focus has shifted to the murderer and kidnapper.

          I don't think I would necessarily suggest this movie.  It was decent enough for a watch, and the ending with the kidnapper was great.  For a night where a great movie is called for, this is not one I would watch.  Boring nights are the time for something like this, because it will use your time well enough with some decent scenes.  I just suggest not expecting much, otherwise you are likely to be disappointed.

Kaiji 2: Jinsei dakkai gemu - Japan

          Director:  Toya Sato
          Year:  2011
          Plot:  "Soon after having his debt cleared, Kaiji Ito is soon in debt again, and as is sent back underground. He earns the chance to return above ground for 2 weeks, he takes up the challenge of earning the 200,000,000 yen he needs to help his friends who are relying on him.  To make the money he finds a new game to play, one that is once again set against him."

          It's been over a year since I seen the first one, so I had to go back and look at my post for it.  While watching this movie I really did remember a lot of the first one, but nothing about what I wrote in my review. Time has sure flown by it seems, but I guess movies have a habit of leaving major impressions on me.
          In the second installment of Kaiji, the game has changed.  Instead of playing different strategy games and facing death defying challenges, Kaiji is up against a pachinko machine.  This may not seem like that big of a deal and on the simplest level, it probably wouldn't be much of a big deal.  Factor in that the machines payout would be a little over 1 billion and the fact that the game is likely rigged, and the story line starts to get a boost.
          I am not sure what it is about Kaiji, but these are the only movies involving gambling that I am genuinely nervous for the characters.  I don't know how many times my hands were clenched while watching this.  I think it might have a little something to do with the characters.  Kaiji himself is really sweet and tries to always help everyone, even when he himself is in trouble.  The pressure on him in this movie is even more intense because he not only has his own debt on his shoulders, but that of 20 or so men in the underground that are counting on him.  This isn't enough for Kaiji though and he soon takes on even more charity cases.
           I really don't think either Kaiji movie would have been so good to me if the character wasn't the way he is.  Sure, many consider Tatsuya to be an over-actor, but it has seemed to work really well with the character of Kaiji.  I just couldn't imagine him in any other way.  He is dramatic, but I like the character that way.  n.n

          As with the first movie, I highly recommend this.  Of course, the first one is probably necessary to get a feel for the characters as a few come from that one.  If you don't care for the characters and what is happening to them, neither movie will probably be all that enjoyable.  The thing is, that is the same with every movie, so you have to watch them for yourself to see if you will love the character and the movie.

          Check out my review of Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler!