Chaser and What's Eating Gilbert Grape

There's no doubt that South Korea is in the midst of a film renaissance. That film industry puts Hollywood to shame. I've consistently seen fantastic South Korean films even when I've essentially picked them randomly out of a hat. In fact, Na Hong-jin's 2008 directorial debut, "Chaser," was selected without much foresight, and it is definitely not an exception to the rule that South Korean films kick ass right now. It was beyond a pleasant surprise. The film was inspired by a real South Korean serial killer. Eom Joong-ho is an ex-dectective pimp. He looses two women and when the third is lost he finally realizes that before all three went missing they were all assigned the same customer. He decides to go hunt for his missing woman. We follow Eom Joong-ho mostly as he reveals the truth with or without his detective skills, but also we see glimpses of the horror the third woman, Mi-jin, is facing (e.g., attempts of piercing her skull with hammer and chisel). It's quite gut-wrenching stuff and not recommended for all. But it's not all blood and guts. The film succeeds so well because of (1) the Hitchcockean suspense, (2) the chase sequences in the city of Seoul, and, most importantly, (3) the fact that it's essentially a story about accidental redemption on the part of the Eom Joong-ho character. Kim Yoon-seok as Eom Joong-ho and Ha Jung-woo as the serial killer are both really fantastic and real. Kim is perfect in his role as the former good detective who has become a withered shell of that former self. Ha as the serial killer works because of his ability to show that emotional flatness we've all learned to associate with psychopaths. Finally, similarly to Bong Joon-ho's "Memories of Murder" and "Mother," there's an underlying critique of South Korean police work. Apparently, you must let a killer go for lack of evidence despite confession! It's a really fun film that shouldn't be missed. It's on Netflix Instant!

Remember when Johnny Depp was a good actor in good films? Lasse Hallstrom's 1993 ensemble "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Juliette Lewis will help you jog your memory. In a small town in Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Depp) and his two sisters care for their obese mother and mentally challenged brother, Arnie (DiCaprio). While the family prepares for Arnie's upcoming 18th birthday a young woman, Becky (Lewis), and her grandmother arrive in town. Gilbert tries to balance his responsibilities at home while becoming increasingly involved with Becky. The film is a great study of the battle between individual happiness and group (in this case, familial) responsibilities. Though Lewis and others provides some much needed comic relief (the best dramas always have some light aspects for relief; otherwise the dramatic aspects become trying), Depp conveys all with his eyes instead of acting like a bat shit crazy man as he is wont to do these days, and Hallstrom takes care not to let the film devolve into sentimental garbage or melodrama but allows it to hit you in all your soft parts just the same, DiCaprio as Arnie is the best part. I mean, WOW! He was a fantastic actor before he was the fantastic actor everyone knows him as now. Dude has range. The voice and mannerisms are spot-on. His childlike innocence really comes out in a way that I've never seen before. Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" comes close, but I always feel like Hoffman is underneath the character. With DiCaprio I was lost in the character of Arnie. Be sure to check out this pleasant if sometimes emotionally difficult film on Netflix Instant!