Director : Kim Jee-Woon
Cast : Kim Kab-Su, Yeom Jung-Ah, Im Soo-Jung, Moon Geun-Young

Synopsis
The two sisters Su-Mi and Su-Yeon arrive home after a time away for treatment of an illness. The two girls appear to be happy as they explore their house and garden, and it is clear that the two girls are very close. At the arrival of their stepmother it becomes clear that the family has some problems – the girls do not like her and their father seems to ignore the problem. The grand old house in which the family live seems to be very comfortable. But then strange things start to happen to this small family, which may or may not be of their own making.

Review
by Martin Cleary

Firstly, let me start off by saying that I had no idea what to expect from this film as I had no idea what it was about. I’d heard a few people mention it, but decided not to read any reviews as it’s sometimes better to see a film without knowing anything about it. Also, the films poster had me hooked anyway, with its macabre ‘family portrait’ image. A Tale Of Two Sisters was, for me a pleasant surprise – if you can say that about a horror film. If you like slow paced character horror, then don’t both reading this review – just go see it – as the less you know, the better it is. As I’ve just mentioned, the film is paced very slowly.

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Director : Si-Myung Lee
Writer : Si-Myung Lee
Cast : Toru Nakamura, Dong-Gun Jang, Ken Mitsuishi, Jin-Ho Seo, Gu Shin and Kil-gang Ahn.

Synopsis
What if Japan allied with the United States during World War II? What if the atom bombs were dropped on Berlin instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What if the sovereign nation of Korea never existed? To J.B.I Agent Masayuki Sakamoto these questions are not the subject of speculation-they’re history. However, during a routine investigation of a terrorist attack upon a museum displaying ancient cultural artifacts, Sakamoto uncovers a web of intrigue which leads him to an underground band of freedom fighters willing to risk everything to acquire an ancient relic known as the “Lunar Soul.” As Sakamoto unravels the mystery, everything he ever knew about the world he lives in will be turned inside out.

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Director : Shin Han-so
Cast : Baek Yoon-sik, Jae Hee

Synopsis
Teenager Byeung-tae is constantly picked on and bullied at school. Unable to find a
way to defend himself, he one day spies an old man by the name of Pan-su who appears to have amazing fighting skills. Byeung-tae starts to hassle the strange Pan-su, asking him to teach him how to fight. At first the old man refuses, but over time he starts to change his mind. He agrees to teach him. Unfortunately, it is not exactly what Byeung-tae was expecting…

Review
by Martin Cleary

A striking directorial debut from Shin Han-so, The Art of Fighting is not the ‘balls-to-the-wall’ action film that the title would suggest, nor is it a ‘wacky comedy’ as some of the promotional material would seem to make out. The Art of Fighting is, in fact, a surprisingly sensitive coming of age drama – with plenty of black comedy thrown in for good luck.

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Director : Kim Jin-sung

Cast : Kim Dae-won, Kim Jin-myung, Kwon Min-ki, Seong Hong-il

Synopsis
A martial arts website hosts discussions on different aspects of fighting styles and techniques. Through the website a mysterious and legendary fighter called Geochilmaru invites eight martial arts masters to meet him for a competition. No-one has ever met Geochilmaru or even seen him before. The group drive up into a secluded mountain together where they are told that only one of them will face Geochilmaru and they must decide between them who this one person will be. They all agree that the best way to decide is to fight each other. The winner of each fight will takes the loser’s necklace and only the person who holds all of the eight necklaces will finally get to meet the mysterious host of the competition…

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Director: Lee Jong-Hyuk
Producer: Oh Jeong-Wan
Cast : Ji Jin-Hee, Yum Jung-Ah, Jo Seung-Wu, Seong Ji-Ru, Lee Eol

Synopsis
The gruesome murders of three pregnant women bear a resemblance to murders committed by killer Shin Hyun. The only problem for the police is that at the time of the killings Shin was locked up in prison and so they fear that a copy-cat killer is loose. Detectives Kim and Kang are partnered up to solve the case. Due to a lack of evidence, the detectives have no choice but to go to the prison and talk to Shin to see what he knows about the killings….

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Director : KIM Tae-yong
Producer : BAE Yong-kook
Exec.Producer : KIM Kwang-seop
Cast : MOON So-ri (Mira), UHM Tae-woong (Hyung-chul), GOH Doo-shim (Mu-shin),KONG Hyo-jin (Sun-kyung)

Synopsis :
Mi-ra, who runs a small snack food restaurant, has a trouble-maker brother, Hyung-chul. After being discharged from the military, he goes missing. After five years Hyung-chul suddenly comes back home accompanied by a middle-aged woman, Mu-sin. He gives a bunch of flowers to Mi-ra and introduces Mu-sin as his wife, even though they have not had a wedding ceremony. Mu-sin looks at least 20 years older than Hyung-chul. From that moment, an eccentric family is born.

Review
by Edmund Yeo

I know nothing about Family Ties (but then, I’m usually oblivious to most Korean films unless they’ve made a huge splash internationally), but was spurred to watch it due to many positive reviews. While it is called Family Ties in English, I believe its more literal translation is The Birth Of A Family, a title which seems initially meaningless until I gradually realized what was this ensemble film about, and it’s really cleverly constructed, but I’ll try to keep things spoiler-free.

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