The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Korean director Han-min Kim recounts the 1597 battle of Myeongnyang, in which 13 ships of Korea's Joseon Dynasty under Admiral Yi Sun-shin won an amazing victory over hundreds of invading Japanese ships. It was a feat to rank with, even surpass, Trafalgar and the Spanish Armada—but it's unfamiliar history to most Westerners. Unfortunately, Kim and his co-writer Cheol-Hong Jeon do little to clarify the context or characters involved. The stakes, however, are clear as a bell: the Japanese are coming, there's a whole bunch of them, and only a few Koreans are ready to sail against them. The battle itself takes up nearly half the movie, and there Kim really delivers the goods. It's a spectacular whopper, blazing with blood and thunder, and served up with first-rate editing and terrific special effects.
More Film » Short Reviews
The Identical
The ghost of Elvis Presley haunts this amateurish and cloying film.
Published on 09.11.14
Dolphin Tale 2
Winter does a fine job playing herself in the title role of this sweet, but rather dull, film.
Published on 09.11.14
Magic in the Moonlight
Published on 09.04.14