Oldboy - Just watched for first time.

[Studio49]

Since I am effectively disabled and hopped up on pain meds I thought I would catch up on some movie watching.

I just caught Oldboy for the first time. Wow! I don't know if it was the meds, or if it really is a cool movie, but I really enjoyed it. It's like the time I went to the theater to see Dusk Till Dawn high on mary jane. I thought that movie should have oscar written all over it, but later realized it was just o.k. The effects of the chronic vastly improved my enjoyment of that one. I am wondering if the same is happening with Oldboy and pain meds.

Has anyone seen the whole Vengeance trilogy? Is it a good watch? Does it matter if you go in order? Since Oldboy is the middle film, should I rewatch it with the other two in order to get some extra meaning from it?

I also found myself wishing for a Hot Toys figure after that hallway fight scene. There aren't enough good 1/6 scale hammers out there.

 

[plasmid303]

You don't need to watch the Vengeance trilogy in order. There's a reason why Oldboy is the most popular, but I think Lady Vengeance is the more mature and sophisticated work of the trio. It doesn't have a big twist denouement like the one found in Oldboy though.

Out of the three, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is the only one I don't actually own. I didn't like it quite as much as Chan-Wook's later films, but that could be due to the fact that I saw Sympathy last out of the three.

I would like a figure of Choi Min Sik from Oldboy, but I'm absolutely certain HT wouldn't do it.

 

[Studio49]

I notice that the whole trilogy has been released in a Blu-ray bundle. I will have to see if I can convince my brother to buy it so I can borrow it.

I find myself wanting to watch the rest of the trilogy, then taking a break from the director for a while. I think too much of one director at the same time is tiring. But I think Choi Min Sik is my new obsession.

Have you seen any of Choi Min Sik's other movies? Any recommendations?

 

[plasmid303]

I haven't seen much of Choi Min Sik's work outside of his role as Oh Dae-Su in Oldboy. Outside of that film I've only seen him in the Korean war film Brotherhood of War: Tae Guk Gi.

As for director Park Chan Wook, I really like the films he made directly after The Vengeance Trilogy. Thirst is a pretty good horror film and I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay is kind of a weird sci-fi romance story.

I do agree with you that marathoning a director's filmography in a small time frame would be very tiring. But sometimes, it's nice to be late to the party and not have to wait for his next best work.

 

[siren3-4]

Love Oldboy . . . . His face at the end during the hug is haunting . . .

Sympathy was also good . . although:

Spoiler

The voice over at the end was repetitive and unecessary

But I liked it . . . I still need to see Lady V . . .

 

[Cap'n Cook]

 

[plasmid303]

Yeah I've seen that custom, but the likelihood of ever acquiring it is slim to none at this point, so I'd rather not think about it. Makes me sad.

 

[Studio49]

Ha! "I'm a Cyborg" sounds different. Not sure how I would find a copy though. I don't have a Netflix account, and I am not sure it's even available through them. Maybe I will check Amazon On-Demand.

Speaking of late to the party...I am just now watching a majority of the Chaplin films. I am not even going to try to find a place to discuss silent films for fear I might end up on some nursing home message board arguing with great-grandma about the talkies.

As for the Kojun figure, lovely tailoring as always.

 

[siren3-4]

That is amazing . . .

 

[meth head]

Interesting casting.

Spike Lee’s exhausting search for the villain in his Oldboy remake may have finally come to an end. After previously offering the role to Christian Bale, Colin Firth, and Clive Owen—all of who turned the part down—Variety now reports that District 9 star Sharlto Copley has been offered the role and is in early talks to sign on. Josh Brolin is set as the lead and Elizabeth Olsen is onboard in the lead female role of Lee’s take on Park Chan-wook’s classic revenge pic of the same name. For those unfamiliar, Brolin plays a man who is abducted and imprisoned for 15 years, after which he’s inexplicably released and sent on a hunt to track down those responsible for his imprisonment. Many unexpected twists and turns ensue.

 

[Reinhardt]

The entire trilogy is fantastic. I actually enjoyed Lady Vengeance the most of the 3.