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Review by dean crawford KOREAN DVD CORNER THE SMALL SCREEN 63 The Berlin File (베를린) Directed by ryu seung-wan One way to guarantee big box office returns is to cast well-known actors and put them in exotic locations, which is exactly what direc- tor Ryu Seung-wan did with “The Berlin File” (2013). Ha Jung-woo (“The Chaser,” 2008; “The Yellow Sea,” 2010) and Jeon Ji-hyeon (“The Thieves,” 2012; “My Sassy Girl,” 2001) team up in this international tale of espionage set in Germany. “The Berlin File” opens with an unnamed man running through the streets of Berlin. He’s bat- tered and bruised and eventually has to treat himself via a hidden set of medical supplies. What happened? Rewind three hours and we see that this character is Pyo Jong-seong (Ha), a secret agent working for the North Korean government attempting to sell arms. After a tense standoff, the deal is scuppered when the Israeli army intervenes. But the Israelis aren’t the only government spying on the deal, as the South Koreans, led by merciless agent Jeong Jin-soo (Han Seok-kyu), also attempt to stop the exchange. This event leads the heads of the North Kore- an government to question the loyalty of Jong- seong and his interpreter wife, Ryeon Jeong- hee (Jeon). Double crossings, misinformation and may- hem ensue as the North Koreans send in ruth- less up-and-coming soldier Dong Myeong-soo (Ryu Seung-beom) to find out who the traitor is inside North Korea’s Berlin office. “The Berlin File” feels like the love child of “Mission: Impossible” (1996) and “The Bourne Identity” (2002). Cell phones self-destruct af- ter encoded messages have been read and the fight scenes are frenetic, with the majority of them focusing on hand-to-hand combat. In this respect, the film is pretty successful. How- ever, the plot has so many twists and turns that aren’t fully explained that I came away feeling slightly baffled about what had just taken place. “The Berlin File” is well acted and well choreo- graphed, but also, well, confusing. PG 13 Action / Drama / Thriller 120 minutes The Terror Live (더 테러 라이브) Directed by kim byeong-woo According to box office revenue tracker box- officemojo.com, 2013 was a very good year for Ha Jung-woo. The actor had not one, but two films in the list of the top 10 grossing mov- ies of the year, the first being “The Berlin File” (No. 6) and the second being “The Terror Live” (No. 8). If you were like me, however, and thought the second title suggested that you might be in for a horror movie filmed in real-time, you were sadly mistaken. There was more than one per- son who thought that, right? Former news anchor and now-disgraced radio host Yoon Yeong-hwa (Ha) takes a call from an agitated listener who threatens to blow up a bridge. Thinking it’s a prank, Yeong-hwa dismisses the caller but is given the shock of his life when the Mapo Bridge is destroyed. Rather than immediately inform the police, he senses that he has a huge scoop on his hands and decides to call his own police contact. In exchange for his intel, he wants his rein- statement as a news anchor and the oppor- tunity to be the first person to report the sto- ry live. Once Yeong-hwa is back on TV, the terrorist proves to be a smart adversary with bombs located not only around Seoul, but also in Yeong-hwa’s earpiece, threatening to kill Yeong-hwa live on the air if he doesn’t follow his instructions. “The Terror Live” has a lot in common with Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth” (2002), which instantly begs the question “How do you make a film set inside one room exciting?” The answer is to use lots of close-ups and pumping music try to increase the tension, and for the most part the film succeeds. The plot unfolds nicely with betrayals, twists and reveals that are more than enough to keep you interested until the end. It isn’t the great- est film, but it’s another excellent vehicle for Ha to demonstrate his range and is a must- see for his fans. PG 13 Action / Crime / Thriller 97 minutes
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63page