Part 22 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of South Korean origin as per its listing on imdb.

I recorded this off of the world movies channel nearly a year ago because it sounded interesting but clearly not interesting enough to actually watch. It took Berken's great challenge to get me to actually press play.

Turns out it's a great example of the South Korean revenge flick with more than a touch of The Man With No Name trope and I should have seen this sooner.

What sets The Man From Nowhere above the also rans is not gratuitous violence or a protagonist of super human…

This film is a masterpiece in the revenge genre if you ask me. Anytime a film can evoke raw emotion in me I'll probably love it, and that is surely the case here. It's a revenge film so you get some of the typical elements within that type of film, but the filmmakers do such a great job of getting you invested in the characters you come to care deeply for them. The action sequences which are not as frequent in this film as a lot of other revenge flicks are absolutely brilliant. The acting is all spot on, especially Bin Won and Sae-ron Kim who is amazing considering her young age.

The thing that sent this film over the…

Recommended to me on my Lend me your Heart list (which can be found here)

It does not happen often that when I watch a film that follows all the genre tropes diligently and does just about everything I've already seen before, it still manages to reach the level that this film does. This film succeeds in that because of one simple thing that is difficult to achieve in this genre: emotional involvement.

The idea of the mysterious stranger as a hero has been done to death before and here it is no different. Heck, his backstory is as predictable as it is melodramatic. But I simply could not care less. The way he is portrayed and the way the…

"The ones who live for tomorrow get fucked by the ones living for today."

I'd like to personally thank AdamMcA for recommending me this film. I dug the hell out of it. Loved it. I liked how the action was so great and well done, but it's still clear the story and characters come first. The story may be predictable and worn out to some; in fact many compare this to films like Taken and Leon: The Professional and while the comparision is pretty accurate, it didn't stop me from enjoying it. The characters were compelling and had depth to them thanks to some great performances. I cared about them. I cared about the hitman (played excellently by Bin Won)…

Part 22 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of South Korean origin as per its listing on imdb.

I recorded this off of the world movies channel nearly a year ago because it sounded interesting but clearly not interesting enough to actually watch. It took Berken's great challenge to get me to actually press play.

Turns out it's a great example of the South Korean revenge flick with more than a touch of The Man With No Name trope and I should have seen this sooner.

What sets The Man From Nowhere above the also rans is not gratuitous violence or a protagonist of super human…

In an unusual move, here comes a revenge drama from South Korea...

I don't what they put in the water down there but it seems like someone will hatch a operatically convuluted payback against you if you cut them up at a traffic light. However, I'm not going to complain about the proliferation when they all seem to be good to excellent in the quality stakes; and The Man From Nowhere is no exception.

The clever part of Lee Jeong-beom's movie is keeping its main protagonist as a bit of an enigma for most of the film. Harking back to classics like Kurosawa's Yojimbo and of course, Sergio Leone's Dollars... trilogy, Cha Tae-sik's (Won Bin) past is revealed to us…

Hey Hollywood, I'm glad you could make it. We really need to talk.

You see, I honestly think we've had some great times. We were scared, cried and laughed a lot. But recently it seems to me you've changed. You just don't try anymore. Do you take me for granted? Sometimes I think you're just after my money. I guess it's my fault too. I've changed and I'm not as easily seduced as I was when I was younger. Our relationship isn't even considered adult anymore, but I really need some grown up stuff too! I'm sorry, it's over.

I have to be honest, I've met someone new. Her name is South Korea and every moment I spend with her…