Lee Byung-hun Movies
Director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) adapts the beloved Hasbro G.I. Joe toy line with this Paramount Pictures production that pits the Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity against the evil forces of the organization known as Cobra. Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum star as General Hawk and Duke Hauser, respectively, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marlon Wayans leading the rest of the cast, including Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Asian film star Lee Byung-hun. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, (more)
- 2008
As the Koran peninsula falls into the hands of Japanese imperialists and countless Koreans seek refuge in the vast wilderness of Manchuria, a determined thief, a cold-blooded hit-man, and a mysterious bounty hunter all vie for an elusive map that could lead them to a buried treasure from the Qing Dynasty. Tae-gu is "The Weird," a thief who comes into possession of the sought-after map while boldly robbing a train of Japanese military officers. But at the very same time Tae-gu attacks the train, relentless assassin Chang-yi and his violent gang of bandits beset the locomotive as well. Chang-yi is "The Bad," and he'll kill anyone who tries to come between him and the untold treasures of the Qing Dynasty. Just as the cloud of gunpowder begins to clear, a shadowy stranger suddenly appears and rescues Tae-gu from certain death. That stranger is Do-won, "The Good." Do-won has been chasing Tae-gu in hopes that he can capture him and collect the reward money. Now, as these three resolute strangers converge in a sprawling landscape that none of them can truly call home, they quickly discover that Korean resistance fighters, resilient mountain bandits, and the Japanese army also covert the prized map. The fight on the train was only the beginning too, because when the stakes are this high the action is bound to get bloody. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, (more)
Three Asian directors, from Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, join forces to create an omnibus horror film, Three...Extremes. In Fruit Chan's "Dumplings," shot by Christopher Doyle, Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung), a thirtysomething former actress with a philandering husband (Tony Leung) goes to visit Aunt Mei (Bai Ling), who sells the most expensive dumplings in Hong Kong. Mrs. Li knows about their rejuvenating powers, and she also knows about their unpleasant main ingredient, but after some initial nausea, she digs right in. In Oldboy writer/director Park Chan-wook's "Cut," a successful filmmaker (Lee Byung-hun of Joint Security Area) arrives home to find that a disgruntled extra (Lim Won-hee) has taken over his home, and fastened his pianist wife (Kang Hye-jun of Oldboy) to the grand piano. The madman threatens to cut off the wife's fingers, one by one, unless the director strangles the helpless child he's tied to the couch. Takashi Miike directs the last segment, "Box," about a young author and former circus performer, Kyoko (Kyoko Hasegawa) seemingly haunted by the ghost of her twin sister, who died a mysterious and horrible death while practicing their act. Adding to Kyoko's trauma, her editor (Atsuro Watabe) is a dead ringer for her old stepfather/ringmaster, who may have perished in the same "accident" that took her sister's life. Three...Extremes was shown at Subway Cinema's New York Asian Film Festival in 2005. For the American release of Three... Extremes, the order in which the films are presented was altered from the original "Box," "Dumplings," and "Cut" to "Dumplings," "Cut," and "Box." This film was actually preceded by another omnibus film, Three, that was nevertheless retitled Three... Extremes II for the English-language market and issued after this one. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bai Ling, Miriam Yeung, (more)
A battered woman finds her soul mate in a most unusual manner in this drama from Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-Duk. Tae-suk (Jae Hee Song) is a young drifter who appears to be homeless by inclination as much as necessity; he squats in the homes of strangers while they're away, carefully seeing to it that no damage is done to the property and sometimes performing small household chores as a display of gratitude. One day, Tae-suk sneaks into a house where a number of photos of a beautiful model adorn the walls. After eating, washing up, and doing some minor repairs, Tae-suk discovers he's being watched by the woman of the house, Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon), and he soon recognizes her as the model in the photos. However, Tae-suk sees that Sun-hwa has been badly bruised, and suspects she's been the victim of domestic violence. When Tae-suk returns to the home later that evening, his suspicions are confirmed as he sees Sun-hwa being slapped around by her husband, Min-kyo (Gweon Hyeok-ho). Tae-suk impulsively bursts into the house, grabs a golf club, and attacks Min-kyo with it; moments later, Tae-suk and Sun-hwa ride away together on his scooter, and she silently joins him in his existence as a squatter, which slowly blossoms into a love affair. Bin-Jip (aka 3-Iron) received its North American premiere at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Seung-yeon, Jae Hee Song, (more)
My Beautiful Girl Mari concerns a lonely boy who must contend with a mother who constantly spends time with her boyfriend, a deceased father, his sick grandmother, and a cat who often goes missing. In response he becomes deeply involved in a fantasy world that features the title character. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2001
This critically-acclaimed supernatural love story from Korea beings with In-woo (Byung-hun Lee) and Tae-Hee [Eun-ju Lee), a pair of college students, meeting and falling in love in 1983. After following the development of their relationship, the plot jumps ahead seven years In-woo is now a high school teacher, married to a different woman, and still displaying the emotional scars of whatever happened between him and his former lover. The remainder of the film fills in the blanks in his life, and resolves his heartbreak in a truly surprising way. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Byung-hun, Lee Eun-ju, (more)
Riding the trend of Korean action blockbusters after the phenomenally popular Swiri, Park Chan Wook directs this murder mystery thriller about death on the DMZ. The film opens with a shooting along the heavy militarized border between North and South Korea, which leaves a North Korean soldier (Shin Ha- Kyun) dead and a South Korean soldier injured. Hoping to reduce the potentially explosive political fallout by solving the crime quickly, both countries agree to an investigator of Korean-Swiss descent named Sophie Jean (Lee Yeong-Ae). As she methodically sifts through the evidence, Sophie learns that the testimony of two other soldiers -- North Korean Oh Kyeong Pil (Song Kang-Ho) and South Korean Lee Soo Hyeok (Lee Byung-Hun) -- are completely contradictory. Another witness (Kim Tae-Woo) tries to commit suicide rather than divulge information. Sophie soon concludes that a group of guards from the North and South, after years of eyeing each other, started meeting in the North Korean guard house to chat, fawn over porn, and to play cards. Why this informal détente dissolved into bloodshed is a thornier question. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Song Kang-ho
Set in 1963, Nae Maeumeui Pungguem/The Harmonium in My Memory tells the tale of Kang Su-ha (Lee Byung-heon), a 21-year-old novice schoolteacher who lands a job in the very small town of Sanri, mostly populated by illiterate families stuck in poverty, and with little interest in education. Add to this the fact that Kang is very nervous and clumsy in the extreme, and it's no wonder he has a hard time keeping his class in order. Kang makes the acquaintance of Yang Eun-hee (Lee Mi-yeon), a lovely young woman who is also on the school's faculty, and, though it takes a while, Kang eventually works up the courage to actually talk to her. However, Kang has an unexpected obstacle in this potential romance. One of his students, 17-year-old Yun Hong-yeon (Jeon Do-yeon), has a furious crush on Kang, and she isn't about to make it easy for him to him to pursue the woman of his dreams. The film was cited in the press for the fine performances of the three leads and the accurate recreation of Korea on the cusp of modernization. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, (more)
