No Tears for the Dead Stars: Dong-Gun Jang, Min-hee Kim, Brian Tee Rated R for Strong Violence, Language Throughout and Brief Drug UseThe story is about a hit-man named Gon who is traumatized by accidentally killing a girl and is given the job to kill her mother months later as he fights for his life while trying to save her. As usual, Korean films tend to be very good or entertaining and this is no exception. This film is very entertaining and some very memorable action scenes. The film has very strong opening scene which sets up the story very well and is very memorable, however the film does take a downhill. The middle part of the film could have had some more gun-play and it ended up being a bit boring, however we reach the third and final part of the film. The action scenes are extremely well-choreographed, brutal, bloody and explosive, the apartment shootout in particular. The ending for this film was quite depressing, but was enjoyable nonetheless. Overall, 'No Tears for the Dead' is an extremely entertaining film with amazing action scenes and some memorable dramatic moments Score:8/10
... View MoreAs more and more action movies come out these days, there seems to be a trend of the writers and directors asking themselves "Why not?" "why not have our hero be indestructible?" "Why not bend the laws of physics to make for a cool looking scene?" or "if it doesn't make sense, then why not force it to?"When what they should have been asking all along is simply "why?" "Why is this scene going to make sense?" "Why is it that they are out for blood?" and "If we're going to force the script into something that it's not, just to make this one scene work, then why are we putting it in at all?"This movie asks itself all of the right questions when setting you up for the next scene. You are never lost so that you have time to try and figure out what's going to happen next. And by following a simple two step process, this movie never loses itself in it's amazing practical blood and gritty action.1:Therefore 2:But No matter what happens throughout the movie, you can see that it follows these two steps. Which is becoming more and more rare these days. "The money has gone missing" Therefore "The bad guys try and find it using blackmail" but "he fights back" and so on and so forth. My point being is that this movie is larger than life and is a heart breaker, and at the same time it's eye candy. I could not recommend this movie enough because it's patient with itself but it never forgets what it's there to do, entertain and strike emotion into your heart.
... View MoreHoly Smokes I just finished watching this movie and I absolutely loved it. I'm a huge fan of Korean films and they are my favorite films off all time. I will say that I haven't seen a ton of them but I'm working on it. I loved the setting and also the story plot while unoriginal kept the plot moving forward. The actors and actresses all did an Amazing job especially the main protagonist "Gon" played by Jang Dong-gun which was the first Korean movie I have seen him in and what a tremendous actor. I will move forward with the action and Man O Man was it Insane. The one thing Korean films do better then any other films from around the world are to choreograph wonderful firefight scenes and jaw dropping Brutal fight scenes. I have seen a ton of movies in my 25 years of existence lol and being from America I will also say that these films put to shame what America comes out with in terms of action. Well anyways this is a must watch movie and you will not regret it I guarantee you that and you will want to watch more Korean films afterwards but understand that if you can't or are to lazy to read subtitles you might not enjoy it as much but the action scenes might just alleviate that feeling.
... View MoreIf you enjoyed "The Man From Nowhere", you will most likely enjoy this as well. It's not nearly as flawless as "The Man From Nowhere" which I will explain shortly. The reason I bring up the "The Man From Nowhere" is that "No Tears For the Dead" (or "Crying Man" in Korean) is a very similar movie but shot on an entirely different canvas. What I mean is you have the typical protagonist or anti-hero with a vague background that gets slowly revealed and starts developing a conscience after botching his last assignment when he accidentally kills an innocent child. He is then hired to go after the child's mother but can't bring himself to do it after he starts developing feelings for her and races to save her from his and her employers. "No Tears For the Dead" is in no way original and the story is almost forgettable since it's been done to death but the action sequences are what makes it stand apart. The bloody and brutal fight/shooting scenes gets your adrenaline going throughout the movie. The night shots of Los Angeles are especially gorgeous which reminded me of Michael Mann's signature visual shots of Los Angeles in his flawless crime thrillers, "Heat" and "Collateral". The lack of character development in "No Tears For the Dead" is what makes "The Man From Nowhere" so much better. In "The Man From Nowhere", you actually cared about the characters and what the protagonist goes through to save his neighbor's child. Here, it is almost nonexistent since the action sequences leave no time for them to get acquainted. However, both use the exact same format of revealing the protagonists' past that made them become who they were and it is also effectively done in "No Tears For the Dead". I came to care about the protagonist but there should've been more between the killer and mother.The ending was also disappointing since it wasn't clear what really happens to everyone. But the final scene was a good way to end the movie on a tragic note which pretty much explains the title of the movie. Overall, it's not as good as "The Man From Nowhere" in terms of plot and character development, but "No Tears for the Dead" is nevertheless another enjoyable entry from its director.
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