2013 Year in a Review: Movies Picks

Basically, yearly reviews are exclusive to dramas. But hey! There aren’t only dramas produced every year; there are also films. Have you ever wondered about this year's highlights of movies? I will introduce you to 3 of my picks from each country.

Favorite genres in films’ industry: Action, Thriller, Martial Arts, Wuxia, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological and Comedy.

Hong Kong/China:
Films seen:11
It’s not a secret that I prefer HKC movies over any other country because they’re the only ones who produce Martial Arts and Wuxia films. And they’re also so good at making remarkable thrillers these years. Hong Kong and China produced some good films in 2013. I mostly liked the Martial Arts and Thriller related movies. Here are my top three picks:






This is one of the top movies of the year for me. It dealt with a Chinese legendary classic: General Yang and his seven sons. For the record, general Yang actually existed in the Song Dynasty (960–1279), and his sons were real; his sixth son was a famous warlord that saved China from many invasions. So 80% of the story is actually accurate; the rest is just a legend that’s been told for generations in China.

Ronny Yu (The producer of Ip Man and the director of Fearless) made a fresh beautifully crafted version of the classic that’s been adapted into too many dramas before. The seven sons of the Yang family embark on a dangerous journey to save their father who was betrayed by his own commander in the battle against the Kitans. The seven Warlords have to fight a big part of the army on their own in order to bring their father back home.

The movie isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but the well-chosen cast, the relationships between characters, the brotherhood, the action, and the cinematography were quite catching. I always loved Chinese war movies based on history, and Saving General Yang is absolutely one of the good ones.

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I know I was supposed to choose only one movie for this spot, but I just couldn’t choose between these two movies that are based on the legend Ip Man’s life.
Ip Man The Final Fight is the last sequel of Ip Man movies where Donnie Yen took the first two and Dennis To was chosen for the prequel Ip Man: The Legend is Born. This time around it’s Anthony Wong’s turn to play Ip Man. This movie dealt with Ip Man's twilight years and the last arc of his life. So Anthony was quite perfect for the role of old Ip Man. This sequel also talked about Ip Man's students and the social conflicts that happened in Hong Kong at the time. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of martial arts, maybe not like the other movies, but there was the right amount of action in there.

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The Grandmaster, on the other hand, is loosely based on Ip Man’s story; Miss Gong Er stole the lights from Ip Man in this movie. Plot wise, the story was heavy and quite long, but we don’t watch Martial Arts films for the plot now do we? If you leave that aside, the cinematography, visual effects, the action and the acting by both Zhang Ziyi and Tony Leung were top-notch. No wonder it won many awards this year.

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A Jonny To, Andy Lau and Sammi Chen combination is always an entertaining watch and a hit in the box office: HKC movies’ industry rule.
I was quite disappointed with Andy’s other film produced this year Switch; it was such a lousy action movie. So I was really scared that this would be the same, but once I knew that Jonny was the director, I was quite delighted. He’s most definitely one of my favorite Asian directors ever.
The movie itself doesn’t embrace the serious dark detective type of story; it’s true that there’s mystery and investigation going on, but there’s also a lot of comedy and even romance. Therefore, one shouldn’t expect a hardcore mystery but a foolish adventure instead. Do not get too focused or you will lose the pleasure of this film; it should be watched for entertainment and the stunning Jonny, Andy, and Sammi combination.

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And because Hong Kong and China produced many other good films; here’s the usual follow up list:
Young Detective Dee: Rise Of the Sea Dragon
Genres: Wuxia, Action, Mystery.
This is absolutely one of the few sequels that almost outclassed the prequel. I liked the previous Detective Dee with Andy, but this one was way more entertaining. And Chao Mark, Feng Shao Feng, Kim Bum and Angela Baby are such great visuals (but that has nothing to do with the rating or the story).
Drug War
Genres: Action, Thriller, Crime, Suspense
This is another Jonny To movie that kind of failed me. It had great action and remarkable suspense, but it also contained some serious plot holes. On the other hand, Louis Koo and Honglei Sun did so well with the acting department. It’s still a nice watch to those who like the genres though.
Christmas Rose
Genres: Thriller, Drama, Psychological, Law
This is a not-so-different courtroom film that deals with a sensitive subject: sexual assault. The film goes in depth with characters to reveal the truth; the ending didn’t surprise me, but I liked the psychological build up. This was, in fact, Charlie Yeung’s debut as a director with a story that she wrote herself.
Badges of Fury
Genres: Action, Thriller, Investigation, Comedy.
This is absolutely not one of Jet Li’s better films. This movie was surely childish and stupid with shallow slapstick, but it wasn’t that horrible. If you go into this without expecting much, then the ride won’t be as unbearable as many people claim it is.

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South Korea:
Films seen:8
I am a huge fan of Korean thrillers; they really make great ones and I consider it their strongest genre when it comes to movies. This year didn’t disappoint me from that side; South Korea produced some memorable films this year. My picks are:


Of course, everyone is familiar with The Godfather and Infernal Affairs (okay, The Departed since it seems to be more famous); mix them up together in the Korean way and you get New World. This is a gangster movie with an amazing screenplay. Usually these types of movies fail to deliver twists and turns, but New World is an obvious exception. But I have to say that the final outcome was quite predictable in my book even if I still loved the way everything ended.
The acting department was high-class; nothing less from veteran actors like Choi Min Sik and Lee Jung Jae. I also loved Hwang Jeong Min and Park Sung Woong’s performances here. Those actors can be huge strong points on their own. What also attracted me about the movie is the well-fitted cinematography.

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This is a perfect example of a well-made chase film. You just need to be prepared for a roller coaster ride with no chance of a dull moment.
An elite surveillance unit in the police department has to catch a group of “unstoppable” thieves led by the perfectionist tactical James. The two teams are quite intelligent so they couldn’t outclass each other easily which makes things even more thrilling and exciting.
This is without doubt one of the best surveillance Korean movies where little details are the keys to any hints. The acting was also great. Sol Kyung Gu and Han Hyo Joo were good as a team while Jung Woo did an incredible job with the villain character.

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This film is about a North Korean Spy in Germany. I always loved South Korean productions that dealt with North Korean issues. This is a great example of it.
The Ryu brothers are usually a great watch for me; I am so glad that they made a movie together in 2013. The Berlin File is an action thriller about a North Korean elite spy who has to save himself and his wife after he’s being framed for betrayal by one of the North Korean generals and his son who want to wipe him and the ambassador from Germany. There’s also the South Korean agent who gets entangled in the whole story.
The action was quite great but not perfect. Han Seok Kyu, Jun Ji Hyun and Ryoo Seung Bum did a stunning job with acting while Ha Jeong Woo has officially become one of my favorite Korean actors after this film.

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And here’s the small follow-up list:
Montage
Genres:Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Investigation
This is one of those calm thrillers that is definitely not the kind of film that would keep you at the edge of your seat. Those who were expecting a roller coaster ride will be awfully disappointed. Unlike many Korean thrillers that contain stupid detectives, this time around we had a pretty smart one who knows how to link things together even if it took him 15 years to do so.
The Gifted Hands
Genres:Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery
Although this movie was good, it’s quite overrated for real! I mean, how can this be the rage instead of New World, Cold Eyes, and The Berlin File? Are you implying that Kim Bum is actually a better actor than the veterans Choi Min Sik, Lee Jung Jae and Ha Jeong Woo? *shaking my head in frustration* As a matter of fact, I liked Kim Kang Woo’s acting better than Kim Bum. The story was good, and the detective was also smarter than most dumb Korean detectives, but that’s about it. 
How to Use Guys with Secret Tips
Genres: Romance, Comedy
You didn’t read that wrong; I did watch a rom-com earlier this year and guess what? I really enjoyed it. The movie was seriously hilarious and quite entertaining, so I had to mention it in my follow up list.

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Japan:
Films seen:6
I haven’t watched many Japanese movies produced this year either because they’re not available or because half of them didn’t raise my interest. Thus, picking three Jmovies was way easier than selecting 3 HKC or Kmovies. My choices are:


Well, Japanese thrillers are, in fact, quite rare and what’s even rarer is finding a thriller that doesn’t contain lots of disturbingly gory scenes. I am actually a fan of super violent and gory films, but I know that many people’s ratings can drop drastically because of violent content. So just a warning, this movie has violence, but it wouldn’t ruin the watch.
I would give spoilers if I talked about the characters or the plot, so I will just mention that the story is pretty unique and interesting. It will leave you with many questions about justice and “who’s wrong and who’s right?”. You will manage to answer them basing on your personal preferences and your individual definition of justice.
Ikuta Toma did a wonderful job with his character while Matsuyuki Yasuko and Eguchi Yosuke also led great performances.

Trailer:



This is apparently Takahashi Miike’s most human story if you exclude the remake  Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. This movie was quite good and suspenseful, but it did have its own problems.
The movie tells the story of a wanted man, Kiyomaru Kunihide, who raped and killed the 8 year old granddaughter of a powerful politician in Japan. The latter set an award of one billion yen for whoever kills Kiyomaru; even an attempt of murder will be awarded. Therefore, Kiyomaru turns himself in, and the police send elite security agents to escort the criminal to Tokyo. But they’re confronted by all of Japan and some greedy police officers who want the award. The problem: why would elite police security agents risk their lives for a despicable criminal that deserves to die? That’s the question that Miike tries to answer through this movie.
This may sound like SWAT, and to some extent, it resembles it. But Straw Shield has its own sense of justice with a different type of action and suspense.
The combination of Fujiwara Tatsuya, Osawa Takao and Matsushima Nanako actually worked. I have no complaints about the acting in this movie.

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First of all: you need to know that this is a movie about DNA and those types of things, and it’s also set in 2017. Second of all: no, I didn’t watch this because of Ninomiya Kazunari; I actually saw it because of the genres and the veteran Toyokawa Etsushi. That being said, I have to say that Ninomiya was pretty great in this.
The film is quite good if you like sci-fi thrillers. Too many suspenseful moments took place, but many twists were quite predictable in my book. However, I still liked the concept and enjoyed the movie from the beginning until the end.

Trailer:


Tokyo Family
Genres: Family, Drama.
The remake of the classic, Tokyo Story, is actually quite good and even different. The film is a heartwarming take about a normal Japanese family with a great set of cast. It’s really slow sailing; if you don’t appreciate these types of movies then you will end up bored.
Ore, Ore
Genres: Comedy, Suspense
Can I add the genre “utterly weird” too? This film is certainly a hit or a miss like many other Satoshi Miki films, but at least this one got some attention because the pretty face, Kamenashi Kazuya, is the male lead. Absolutely a bizarre movie like many Japanese movies but this time, it’s not actually silly. It’s just weird and a little dark, so you have to be quite open with those types of films in order to like this. On an acting note, Kazuya is in no way a good actor in my book, but this must be his best performance ever.

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