Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
When his wife is murdered, Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun) takes it upon himself to hunt down and torture the killer, Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik).
I'm still reeling from the experience of this film, probably Kim Jee-woon's best since A Tale of Two Sisters, in part because of its strange tone. It's hardly new for revenge films to celebrate violence perpetrated by "the good guy", but it's also part black comedy, with several scenes seemingly played for ghastly comic effect.
Most of the time it feels like an exploitation film with elevated production values, but in total it feels more like a shock and awe assault on the audience. Despite having relatively little in common, it reminds me most of Gaspar Noe's Irreversible, only without quite the same commitment to alienate viewers, and it does suffer from that comparison: more style and less substance.