Expulsion from Eden: Troll 2 and the Beauty of Almost There

Troll 2 is widely recognized today as the movie with immense promise but lackluster results. Going over the bare bones of the script, we can see how the plethora of ideas became practically pointless with small errors and mistakes. Now audiences watch Troll 2 to see tragedy occurring on screen – to see what it’s like for a plane full of Fulbright Scholars to crash in a fiery blaze. Here are the 8 greatest ingredients that help craft the magic of Troll 2 and why they came up short.

The Best Korean Movies of the Decade: The Final 5

We now start into the finale! Here’s the recap:

25: The Host
24: Searching for the Elephant
23: A Tale of Two Sisters
22: Samaritan Girl
21: Our School
20: 200 Pounds Beauty
19: Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War
18: Forever the Moment
17: Il Mare
16: Sunny
15: Silmido
14: Oldboy
13: My Love
12: Addicted
11: The Chaser
10: Daytime Drinking
9: Welcome to Dongmakgol
8: Voice of a Murderer
7: My Sassy Girl
6: The King and the Clown

The Finale! The top 5 starts after the jump.

The Best Korean Movies of the Decade: The Omissions

I haven't seen every Korean movie made in the last 10 years. I've seen a lot, but great movies have slipped passed. There have been other movies that I've seen that were also good, receiving a lot of attention from critics and audiences around the world, that I simply didn't enjoy. Before I start the top 5, I want to discuss the movies that didn't quite make my list. In no particular order, here are The Omissions:

The Best Korean Movies of the Decade: 20 –> 16

The countdown continues!

A quick recap:
25: The Host
24: Searching for the Elephant
23: A Tale of Two Sisters
22: Samaritan Girl
21: Our School

20) 200 Pounds Beauty (2006)
Directed by Yong-hwa Kim 

The theme is tiresome – an ugly duckling becomes a swan. In 200 Pounds Beauty, the motif is taken a step further by examining how plastic surgery functions in Korea (one of the countries with the highest amounts of plastic surgeries in the world), but the similarities between American and Korean perceptions of female beauty are surprisingly similar.

The 25 Best Korean Movies of the Decade!

The late 1990's ended by starting a Korean Platinum age for film (the Golden Age was taken by films in the 60's). One reason for the long layover was due to intense political repression that censored and almost destroyed the entire Korean movie industry during the 70's and 80’s. It wasn't until the democratic handover of power in 1988 that films were allowed to explore creatively, without the blacklisting fist of political censors. Setting the stage for what should have been the new infancy of film, Korean cinema exploded in the late 90's to usher in one of the best decades in Korean movie history.

I've made my list The Most Artistic, Most Accessible Korean Movies (let's just call it the Best!) of the Decade for a specific reason. First, consider the reverse example. If someone had never seen an American movie and wanted to find the Best(!) American film, what would you suggest? You could follow many of the critics and say Citizen Kane. While that is arguable, you may hold back and offer something less boring -- Star Wars? Godfather? Avatar? For this reason, I want the list to be an introduction. Some of these choices are very accessible -- fun to watch, but no breakthrough in bold directing, fearless acting or production techniques. Others are fascinatingly unique, philosophically explorative, boldly subversive, culturally revealing and intellectually attractive that they simply must be watched to fully appreciate the cinematic experience.

Some movies are available in the U.S. with English subtitles. Some were watched in Korea and may not be available in the U.S. at all. Although I wanted to include as many movies that were available to U.S. audiences as possible, I couldn’t ignore the amazing films that never quite make it to American shores. If I could find it on Amazon, I provide the link.

The list starts after the jump!

The Rise of Korean Film Superiority

In one of my favorite T.V. cartoons, “The Critic”, Jay Sherman sings "I love French films, pretentious, boring French Films. I love French films, two tickets s'il vous plaît!" That was 1994 and Jay Sherman was taking his middle-school aged son and his Cuban girlfriend to the movies. Sherman was a film critic who hated almost every movie he saw, basically only considering foreign movies worth ratings other than "it stinks!"

I connect with Sherman in this regard. In many cases, I would much rather watch a good foreign movie over a good American movie. This isn't to say that simply because the movie touches American hands that it possesses diminished quality, but instead that American film motifs are familiar, overused and boring. Name one recent American movie that doesn't have love somewhere...anywhere...in the whole film. Even the refreshing originals, like Inception, fall back to some of these overused themes.

Among all the world film industries, Korea stands alone as understanding the balance between art and excitement: French movies are very artistic, much like slowly walking through a museum – and American movies are exciting, like riding a rollercoaster. But like a museum trying to make a “fun exhibit!” or a theme park displaying local art, the movies just comes off as all wrong. There are some gems worth the time and money of viewers, but unfortunately the vast majority of American cinema is starting to rot to the point of inedibility.