Humor comes in many forms; light, corny, heavy, and dark.  It’s what makes humanity so interesting, the things we find or don’t find funny.  Nevertheless, Tim Burton has brought the audience a comedy in his new film Dark Shadows that doesn’t seem to break the laugh-o-meter for this film critic. Johnny Depp, in his seventh or eighth Burton film, (I tend to lose count theses days) is Barnabas Collins, an 18^th century aristocrat who is caught in an unwitting love triangle with his bride to be and the evil witch that pines for his love. With his parents’ death via black magic and the witches’ curse that is upon him, Barnabas returns after two centuries to a world and family that he knows nothing of.  And so starts an eerily shrug gable adventure of vampirism, family confrontations, teenage rebellion, and good old fashion greed.

Dark Shadows made me giggle.  That’s it.  There was barely enough story line in its failed attempt to draw in a child let alone a mature audience.  Through my sporadic giggles I found myself bored, regretting the fact that I paid hard earned money for another Burton film.  I sat in the theater and watched the same lighting, cinematography, and under developed dialogue that I don’t enjoy from this famous director. When Burton goes dark, he tends loses me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of his classic, “Edward Scissorhands.”  However, do I still have to witness the same tint of grey, the same rustic black from a film that I saw as a teenager?  Sometimes it just seems like there is no growth.  With the same actors constantly appearing in so many of his films the character delivery tends to remain the same. True, this film did bring an Addams family touch with Michele Pfeiffer and Johnny Lee Miller but that’s exactly where everything Lurch-like ended.

I understand that every director is going to have a style, that a signature to their art form is essential.  But even the human signature isn’t the same 100% of the time.  It changes from contracts, to greeting cards, to letters left to your significant other.  That is the beauty of the signature; some things will always remain the same while others change with the pressure of our hand or the speed of our flow.  Sometimes I really think Burton has forgotten that, forgotten the essence of differences in character delivery.  If he remembered he wouldn’t have to return to the same actors so frequently.  Dark Shadows should have taken a page from its title.  It should have stayed dark and in the shadows.

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Sometimes you just shouldn’t believe the hype.  I was hesitant to go see the psychological thriller HELPLESS (화차) because the ratings I had seen thus far were low.  I guess that’s what I get for looking at American websites.  As much as I hate to say it, a lot of Americans are likely to give a lower rating to a film simply because they don’t understand the language being spoken.  Needless to say, I’m happy that in the end I took the risk.  Honestly, psych-thrillers aren’t really my cup of tea but good acting is and I expect nothing less from lead actors Lee Seon Gyun and Jo Seong Ha. I was also pleasantly blown away by lead actress Kim Min Hee.  Director and writer Byeon Yeong Joo also did his job and managed to take an extremely complicated plot and successfully bring it to the big screen.

This is usually the part where I summarize the plot into what I feel is a lovely little bubble.  I’m having a hard time with this one because the plot is so complex that I’m afraid I won’t get it across properly.  I can tell you that Lee Seon Gyun plays Jang Moon Ho, a successful veterinarian who is happily engaged to Kang Seon Yeong (Kim Min Hee).  While on their way to visit his parents to break news of their engagement Seon Yeong inexplicably disappears.  Her distraught fiance goes to his old friend, former detective Kim Jong Geun (Jo Seong Ha) to help him find her and their search unravels a past that they never could have imagined.  Anything past that I’ll leave for you to discover on your own.

I can usually predict a plot.  At least part of it.  Somehow HELPLESS was able to fool me.  Of course, throughout the movie I guessed and I thought I got it right but, oh, was I wrong.  This movie is based on the best selling book KASHA by Japanese author Miyuki Miyabe and I have to say that woman has quite the imagination. Obviously the most complex character in the story is that of actress Kim Min Hee.  To do this role well you have to have some serious acting chops and I believe I already mentioned that she blew me away. Going into the film you know that she’s the “bad guy” so you kind of expect to hate her but as the movie goes on you just can’t.  And the kicker is that in the end you still want to hate her but you still can’t!  Talk about playing on emotions.  Especially when you see the turmoil she puts her fiance through.  It’s like watching a man slowly go crazy and being along for the ride.  After watching a few duds lately I have to say this movie was a wonderful comeback for me. It’s nearly out of theaters but I recommend catching it before it’s gone for good.

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I love motorcycles.  The word just wreaks of danger and evokes images of long crazy rides with the wind blowing in someone’s hair.  Preferably yours.  No?  Well, it does for me.  Probably because I just checked out last summer’s action packed flick QUICK (퀵).  The rhyming was unintentional but what I’m about to say about this movie is straight from the heart.  It’s a non stop ride full of explosions, crazy madmen, rekindled romances and hilarious comedy. Director Jo Beom Goo got it right, and I’m grateful.

Han Gi Soo, played by Lee Min Gi, is a bad boy motorcycle gang leader turned delivery boy.  While out for a routine pick up he finds he has to deliver his former, now famous flame, Ah Rom (Kang Ye Won), to perform with her popular girl group.   After a minor argument about who gets to wear the helmet, which Ah Rom wins, she unknowingly straps a bomb to her head.  Together the pair get caught up in a plan by an anonymous mastermind to bomb various buildings throughout the city.  The plan’s evil twist is that they have a certain amount of time to get the bombs to each location or else the bomb on her head will blow up.  As you can guess this makes for a lot of frantic action and, I’m pleased to say amazing stunts.  The addition of seasoned character actors Kim In Kwon, Ko Chang Seok and Joo Jin Mo doesn’t hurt matters either.

This movie made my heart race as much as I wanted to and made me laugh a lot more than I thought it would.  The stunts had that kind of dangerous amazing quality that was almost refreshing for me.  Let’s face it, these days action movies rarely leave you saying, “Wow”, because we’ve kind of seen it all before.  That is not the case here.  Also, the one thing I found missing from the trailer, probably because I’m not fluent in Korean, was the humor.  From an actor’s stand point there were some shining moments where the actors fed off of one another perfectly.  Some of the more serious moments bordered a little too much on cheesy for my taste but they are a minor point. If you’re up for a thrilling ride, check out QUICK tonight.

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I read a lot of comic books growing up.  I watched an obscene amount of television while learning of Marvel.  Animated cartoons like “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends”, renowned TV series like “The Incredible Hulk” with the late Bill Bixby (moment of silence please) still resonate in my memory.  But nothing, from past knowledge to wishful thinking, could have prepared me for THE AVENGERS.

Marvel has perfectly claimed their finest hour.  The comic book heroes of old have come, not only to the big screen, but together in one historic event for world cinema.  Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, The Black Widow and Hawkeye have been assembled together to save the world from destruction.  Loki, the god of mischief, has assembled an army and earth’s mightiest heroes must find their way to stop him.

This film was a balanced viewing of screen time, computer graphics, acting, and humor.  Some films fall short by favoring one character over the other but truly this was not the case.  Each of the heroes was systematically placed throughout the film with supreme precision,  giving THE AVENGERS the perfect proportion of action, witty collaboration, and character fulfillment. I think what amazed me the most were the old clichés that were put in the film that came across as fresh tactics: the veteran leader in such of hope, the forgotten soldier seeking a new mission, the legendary god finding his way to humility.  I love that!  To me that is great directing entwined with great acting, when you can take an old adage and generate a novel emotional response.

To say the least I was brought to my theatrical knees. The Avengers made me nostalgic of buying comics as a child and from start to finish renewed that boyhood excitement.  Here is a film that is doing something we haven’t seen done effectively for some time…crossovers; the strategic ability to take characters from other films and put them together to work as a cohesive unit.  So, now what do I get?  The arrogance of Tony Stark/Iron Man, the inner turmoil of Bruce Banner/Hulk, the humanity of Natasha Romanov/Black Widow and much more that shouldn’t be experienced through words but witnessed on the big screen.

When you watch a film with multiple protagonists you already know that the team will win.  Watching a movie of this genre is not about the ending but more about the journey. This journey was a ride you will never soon forget.  But what is more impressive is everything that this movie represents. We now have the amazing opportunity to bring many Marvel characters under the umbrella of one title.  This opportunity is two-fold; it illuminates us with a great show and gives rise to more business as additional characters from the Marvel universe are involved.  And a great show + great business = Show Business.  Yeah…Marvel at that.

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The 2012 Jeonju International Film Festival begins this Thursday, April 26th, with screenings continuing for over a week until the following Friday, May 4th. This is always my favorite festival every year, partly because of the smart and cinephile friendly programming, and partly because of the experience of Jeonju in the Spring. And while I’m sure Jeonju will be as beautiful and fun as always, the program this year is not as exciting as in previous years. The main omission is the Master Class section, in which filmmakers or film critics would give a lecture along with a screening of a related film. Such important filmmakers as Bong Joon-ho, Claire Denis and Pedro Costa have participated, as well as major critics and academics like Adrian Martin, Raymond Bellour, and Noel Burch. Its absence will make the festival less unique. Also, the lineup of films isn’t quite on par with past years. That said, there are still many films worth seeing, and I trust that the Jeonju programmers have found some hidden gems. The following is a preview of some of the films and programs I’m most anticipating.

First on my list is WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN (1973), a film made by Hollywood maverick Nicolas Ray after he left commercial filmmaking and began teaching at Harpur College in Binghamton, NY. The film was made in collaboration with students, and is both experimental and politically radical in a way Ray was never allowed to fully express in Hollywood (although he slipped in lots of subversion). Also screening is the 2011 companion documentary on the making of the film, DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH.

I’m also looking forward to a small retrospective on the films of Lee Jang-ho, often considered one of the forerunners of the Korean New Wave of the late 1980s/early 1990s. In particular, A FINE WINDY DAY (1980) and THE MAN WITH THREE COFFINS (1987) are films that I have read about extensively but have not yet been able to see. Both are screening in 35mm prints and are important viewings to those interested in Korean cinema history.

The program that looks most intriguing is “Ruptures: Cinema in Breakdown”, curated by film critic Chris Fujiwara. It is a selection of nine films made between the years 1962-1973, when world cinema was transitioning from the classical to the modern era. The films were chosen by Fujiwara to “reflect the breakdown of the distinctions between the art film and the commercial film, between the personal film and the studio film, and between the classical and post-classical film.” Among the films I’m most excited about seeing are Frank Tashin’s THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY (1964), Claude Chabrol’s LA RUPTURE (1970), and Youssef Chahine’s THE CHOICE (1970).

The filmmaker retrospectives are on directors who I am unfamiliar with, but hopefully I will catch up with at the festival: Uchida Tomu from Japan, Albert Serra from Spain, and Edgardo Cozarinsky from France. One of the short programs features many of the experimental works of Austrian Martin Arnold, including his acclaimed 1998 deconstruction of 1930s Andy Hardy features ALONE. LIFE WASTES ANDY HARDY. A great review of that film by Jonathan Rosenbaum can be found here.

Most of the rest of the festival features little known directors and films without a great deal of prior notices, so it is difficult to put together recommendations. A couple of exceptions would be the new Guy Maddin film KEYHOLE and Azazel Jacobs’ TERRI. But more than any other year, one should explore this year’s lineup, taking in the Korean and International Competition films and hopefully finding some surprises along the way. While this is not the way I personally approach a festival, it can at times lead to rich rewards (and, truth to told, some disappointments). And once you arrive at any festival, you tend to get some word-of-mouth buzz. I’m sure this year’s festival will be no exception.

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