I’ll be honest: even after reading official press releases and early (albeit potentially untrustworthy) reactions, part of me still didn’t totally believe that somebody, somewhere, had actually funded a remake of Oldboy with Spike Lee positioned at the helm and Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley, and Elizabeth Olsen installed in the principal roles. Yesterday, though, the first trailer – of the red band persuasion, no less- for the film hit the web, so I can kiss that delusion goodbye and just accept that my favorite all-time film is being repackaged for an American audience and will kick off its theatrical run this fall. Of course, the above is nothing more than…
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Off the Shelf…’Oldboy’
(Note: I’ve never made my love for Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy a secret, and I’ve never actually sat down and reviewed it in full. I’ve written pieces about it before, but only in context with what the movie means to me as a critic and cineaste. In light of my recent rediscovery of my love for Korean film, I’m going to correct that omission, so please enjoy this piece of effusive praise for what remains my all-time favorite movie.) Amidst its graphic violence, stunning visual palette, titanic performances, and vibrant, multi-toned soundtrack, the greatest pleasure of Oldboy lies in its enigmatic complexion. It is a masculine, macho thriller, a tragedy of…