Film Review: I’M A CYBORG, BUT THAT’S OK (2006)

Original Title: Ssaibogeujiman gwaenchanha

Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Chan-wook Park, Seo-Gyeong Jeong
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 4^th April 2008

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 31^st January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I had never heard of this South Korean film before and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I found it very charming with some great subtle use of CGI to illustrate the inner thoughts of the main characters. I know there are a few out there that fear the subtitle and for those I’m afraid your worst fears may be realised… It does have subtitles. For me, not usually a problem, but I did struggle to follow the plot at the beginning, it soon settled down though and easy reading from then on. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

Young woman, Cha Young-goon has been sent to a mental institution. Her grandmother had been sent into care sometime earlier and, it seems, this had tipped her over the edge. She keeps it a secret, but she believes she is a Cyborg and she has to rescue her grandmother. In order to do that though, she must relieve herself of all thoughtfulness, sympathy…etc. She is befriended by Park Il-sun, another patient who has a habit of stealing things. The staff becomes worried about Young-goon when she refuses to eat. They lock her away but Il-sun has fallen in love with her and may be able to help her. I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be fitting cybernetic implants to me (again).

I love the subtle use of CGI in this film, you can tell a lot of hard work and imagination has been applied to make it look so good. It’s a film full of interesting characters and great performances, but the two that stood out were Su-jeong Lim as Cha Young-goon and Rain as Park Il-sun. Both were really excellent, particularly Su-jeong Lim, her performance was quite stunning.

This is a very engaging and charming film with lots of subtle plot twists that keep the audience guessing. It is essentially a love story, but one with a difference and one that (I hope) others will enjoy as much as I did. Great acting, great direction and great production, although it’s not altogether perfect; I’ve already mentioned the slightly confusing beginning; I still enjoyed it very much though. It’s another of a growing number of South Korean films I am discovering and long may it continue… Recommended.

My score: 7.7/10

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 8,808 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0497137/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 90/100 (based on 10 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 80/100 (based on 11,824 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/im_a_cyborg_but_thats_ok/#

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Park Il-sun: Psycho.
Cha Young-goon: I'm not a psy-cho. I'm a cy-borg.

Cha Young-goon: Mom, I think I'm a cyborg.
Young-goon's mother: ...What is that?
Cha Young-goon: I think it's kind of... like a robot?
Young-goon's mother: ...Have you missed your period? Because you're a 'sy-bor'?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: NINJA ASSASSIN (2009)

Director: James McTeigue
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Action/Adventure/Martial Arts
UK release date 22nd January 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 31st January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I do like a good martial arts film; I remember the Bruce Lee classics with great affection. Of the more recent crop, I’m not sure I like any of them, but I live in hope, and so I came to Ninja Assassin. It’s certainly not in the class of the Bruce Lee films and there is far too much CGI gore for my liking, but I’ll tell you more of my thoughts later. Here’s a brief summary first (summary haters please conceal yourselves in the shadows while I write the next paragraph).

We are told the story of Raizo, who, from a young boy, was brought up to be a Ninja. In his youth he formed a friendship that could not last and, thanks to his Ninja clan it ended tragically. Having grown into a lethal assassin, Raizo escapes the clan but they are always just one step behind him. Meanwhile, researcher, Mika Coretti is working on a series of mysterious deaths that she puts down to the work of a Ninja clan. Her boss, Ryan Maslow is sceptical but allows her to continue. As she digs deeper her life becomes threatened and a member of the clan is sent to kill her. Saved by Raizo, who has been watching her, the pair is now on the run… I won’t say any more as I don’t want to give too much away.

The plot, on the face of it, isn’t too bad; unfortunately the way it has been filmed has made it all a bit on the bloodbath side of gory. Gratuitous use of CGI has taken so much of the skill of the artists and stunt guys that it all looks a bit too fake for my liking. Performance wise; Rain as Raizo, Naomie Harris as Mika Coretti and Ben Miles as Ryan Maslow are all adequate without being stretched.

I guess if you like a lot of violence and blood and don’t mind that it’s mostly achieved by the use of CGI then this is the film for you. For me, because the plot does hold a little water and, bloodbath scenes excluded, it did have a little entertainment value, I’ll let it squeak over the 5/10 barrier. Over all, not recommended unless you’re into extreme violence and lots and lots of blood.

My score: 5.6/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1186367/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1198524-ninja_assassin/
Official Site: http://ninja-assassin-movie.warnerbros.com/dvd/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2358117401/