2009: Lost Memories (2002)

People are voting emotionally.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Well, no actually I wasn't. Cutting room floor. I was teaching English in Korea at the time and somehow a group of us foreign teachers were asked if we wanted to be extras in a movie, so we said what the heck. We were driven out to the set which was on the same studio lot that the fake Panmunjom set from "JSA" was on. They put us in tuxedo's and we were in the art gallery where the commando's came down through the skylight and machine gunned everybody. Then later in the day they came up to me and said "your scene is now". I was like "huh?" Basically what they had me do was admire a large necklace hanging in a display case and say "it's very beautiful, what is it?" Kinda dumb, I know, but I was just doing what I was told. Then after they filmed it a few times (using a camera on a track which looked through the case from the rear), they told me they needed to get the audio so they could dub it over my lips so to speak. I repeated it several times into the Mic but they kept getting me to do it again and again because the pacing was off. And I guess in the end it just didn't fit, or else was one of those superfluous little scenes that they filmed several of and then decide which ones suit the flow of the scene. My movie career died before it began. :)

1st watched 3/26/2009 – 7 out of 10 (Dir=Si-Myung Lee): Well done political fantasy thriller from Korea that creates a scenario where Korea in the year 2009 is part of Japan. This happened because a Japanese ambassador wasn't killed in 1909 and the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Germany instead of Japan, who in this film they were allies with in World War II. This made-up history is presented just as the movie begins and then we are introduced to two friends in the Japanse Bureau of Investigations(JBI for short) who are hunting down a terrorist group who basically want Korea to be it's own nation. Initially, we think this group is "all" bad --- but the main star played by Toru Nakamura starts uncovering things that bother the JBI. A group that they work closely with houses an artifact that looks kind of like what's on the Korean flag that appears to be the focus of the terrorist group instead of just the "terror." He is taken off the assignment because of what he's uncovering and he also starts realizing some things about his own past that link him to this group. The story gets more complicated and bizarre when we find out the artifact has the ability to allow people to time travel. Now, I'm not going to tell a lot more because it will ruin the story for those who want to watch it. Despite the movie's length of almost 3 hours it keeps your interest even if you can't speak Korean(as long as you can read the subtitles). The end does take awhile and this is really the only downfall of this otherwise well-done and well-played action thriller that also is played out very well. For those interested in good foreign films don't miss this one!!

An hour and a half of practically dead air kill an interesting concept in this Korean action-drama. By the last 30 minutes I was looking for a hard surface to bash my head against while yelling at the actors to DO SOMETHING! *SPOILERS*Other than that, I laughed quite a bit throughout the film. It wasn't made to be a comedy, but it turned out that way. Even the WTF plot twist earned a chuckle from me. So this Japanese controlled Korea wasn't an alternate universe, but the work of an evil Japanese family/ corporation and some seemingly inept archaeologists? I don't know why the Koreans hated being under Japanese rule so much, it didn't seem any worse than having to worry about Kim Jong Il and communism. Whatever Korea.I really liked the two main characters police partners/ life partners dynamic (until the fem partner turned into an EVIL Japanese PIG, of course). Oh, and I can't forget the girl/boy/chimp (what was it?!). It was fun to watch everyone mow down everything with guns, but pause during the mayhem so the heroes could stop and grieve, or take a nap, or... just... stand... there... And the end. What? Why did...?Oh, never mind, this movie is just a jumbled mess of WTF moments, sheer hilarity and ZZZ's. Big fans of foreign films or B- Scifi's might enjoy it... but, I doubt it. Rent it to laugh your head off.

I thought the first few minutes in 2009 had potential but very soon the story turns in to a cliché filled, below average b-movie. The details that annoys me in this film are so many that i can't count them all. I'll try to give you hints to what kind of film it is without giving away the story.1: How's this for an alternative time-line... the Germans had the main character of this story on the beach of Normandie with a submachine-gun and one clip... 2: Why would a Japanese national agency have an English name (JBI.. my god..) and a graphic interface on their computers that makes the HUD in any computer-game look like the first version of donkey kong.. (not a big thing but it's just an example... )3: When you hear violin music in a gunfight it's OK to stop running and shooting... 4: "OK guys: If someone is about to make an important kill everyone stop shooting so we can hear the empty shell bounce.."I could continue on and on but i think you get the picture.. It is impressive though that they singled out a credible event that could have changed history.. it seemed like a good movie for a few minutes but...... Could have been an OK movie in an alternative time-line.. where pathetic predictable crap isn't allowed.