Coining the new term 'action noir' in Korea, director Kim Ji-woon follows up his extraordinary features A Quiet Family and A Tale Of Two Sisters with this blackly comic thriller. Lee Byeong-heon stars as sartorially elegant Sun-woo, a unique character with a curious lifestyle - he's not only the proprietor of a hotel bar but also the right-hand man to the powerful gang leader, Mr Kang. When Kang suspects that his beautiful young mistress Hee-soo might be messing around with another man, he enlis
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AGITATOR (2004)
Certification18 Our Rating
An epic tale of violence from cult director Takashi Miike follows the bloody spiral of three Yakuza gangs as they position for dominance. The careful machinations of the bosses are thrown off course by the vengeful path embarked upon by one unhinged but fiercely loyal lieutenant when his guvner is killed in the escalating gunplay. Brutal, stylish and at times darkly comic The Agitator is one of Miike's most episodic tales, despite its relatively short time scale.
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ELECTION (2005)
Certification18 Our Rating
The chairmanship of the ancient, powerful Wu Sing Society, a Triad alliance is up for 'election', a process by which the 'uncles', a group of ageing Mafiosi sit in a smoke filled room and vote. The trouble is that two characters of vastly different style, relaxed family man Lok and volatile Big D, are rivals for the post and a violent battle ensues for the future of the clan.
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FULL METAL YAKUZA (1997)
Certification18 Our Rating
when a rather inept gangster is murdered by the Yakuza, he finds himself resurrected by a mad professor and now more robot than man he sets about retribution. Another crazy, brutal, blood splattered offering from the relentless Takashi Miike.
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GOODFELLAS (1991)
Certification18 Our Rating
Irish Sicilian Henry Hill always wanted to be a gangster and from running errands as a small boy, he graduates to becoming a trusted member of the "family". A stunning, violent and essential portrait of the Mafia's intimate details. An award winning film, superbly crafted by Scorsese.
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GOZU (2004)
Certification12 Our Rating
Minami, a member of the Azamawari crew, highly respects his Aniki (brother) Ozaki who has saved his life in the past. Lately, however, Ozaki's eccentricities (like claiming that a Chihuahua he sees is a 'Yakuza attack dog') have been making everyone wonder about his sanity. Chairman Azamawari is unsympathetic to Ozaki's little outbursts and secretly orders Minami to take Ozaki to a disposal facility in the city of Nagoya. There, the fate of these two follows a twisted path filled with violence,
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OLD BOY (2004)
Certification18 Our Rating
A young married man with a baby girl is inexplicably relieved of his freedom one drunken night. Just as inexplicably released fifteen years later he is given some money and a mobile. His family now gone his only contact is the nameless, faceless voice on the other end of the phone that sets him the task of discovering the reason for his incarceration. Taken in by a young woman, love blossoms almost immediately for the two, but as he draws closer to the truth her life becomes increasingly threate
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RAINY DOG (2007)
Certification15 Our Rating
Poetic hitman film noir (it'll make sense when you see it) from controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike.
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SHINJUKU TRIAD SOCIETY (1995)
Certification18 Our Rating
The first of three films, linked by theme rather than by character or story, which form Takashi Miike's acclaimed Triad Society trilogy (followed by 'Rainy Dog' and 'Ley Lines'), 'Shinjuku Triad Society' charts the bloody gangland battle for control over Tokyo's seedy Sinjuku district. When the Dragon's Claw gang from Taiwan attempts a take-over of the dope, extortion and gay prostitution rackets run by the ruling Japanese Yakuza, a lone cop predicts carnage. A slick, bloody and stylish thriller
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