A hard Day

A hard day indeed as the international title of the movie goes. One of the best movies I had the pleasure to watch in 2014. If you like you dark humor that is not afraid to go places and a story that twists and turns and gives the viewer (and the main character) new challenges to deal with every other 5 minutes, you're in for a treat.

You may be able to spot a couple of things, but in general this is really a refreshing experience with many action sequences combining "horror" and comedy (that's everyday horror, as in what can go wrong and so forth). A great mixture that allows for set pieces that are original and a genuine funny viewing experience for the audience. I can highly recommend this

A great Entertaining South Korean film that is full of drama & thrills. Especially the portion of the film in which the hero tries to hide victim's dead body inside his mother's coffin.

The background score and the cinematography adds to the plot. There were some thrilling and tense moments that will put you at the edge of your seat.

With all the twists and surprises it is engaging throughout to watch. Excellent direction by 'Seong-hoon Kim'. The actor Sun-kyun Lee played the role of troubled cop superbly and with emotion.

The story is easy to follow but the mood is not serious or heavy because every now and then there is always something funny that make you chuckle/surprise or awe. Overall worth-seeing film. Thumbs Up!!!

Director Kim Seong-hoon's sophomore film A Hard Day arrives 8 years after his directorial debut, How The Lack Of Love Affects Two Men was released back in 2006.

Now, this film is a nerve racking roller-coaster ride, so the less you know going in the better. I shall attempt to introduce this film in one sentence: A comedy-action-thriller about the chaos that ensues after a detective is involved in a hit and run.

The film smoothly and skillfully balances the dark comedy, action and thriller elements, giving us ingenious set pieces (a particularly memorable one involving a toy soldier...) and also well-paced and effective suspense. The film does not waste a shot, let alone a scene to make audiences laugh, squirm and be intrigued through it's twists and turns. It's tightly-wound from beginning to end and will surely be one of the best times you'll have in the cinema (or in your home) this year.

Lee Seon-gyun (who you may recognize from Hong Sang-soo's films such as Nobody's Daughter Haewon) plays the lead role of detective Ko, a divorced father of a little girl who may not be the most ethical of cops. Lee carries the film, delivering a charismatic and humorous performance that makes us root for his character when he is faced with tough situations and pitted against Cho Jin-Woong's formidable protagonist. Kudos to Cho for interestingly pulling off a role that could have easily been bland.

This film was also filmed beautifully. It's gorgeous to look at, thanks to cinematographer Kim Tae-Sung, who gives us dynamic and impressive shots (one that immediately comes to mind is an overhead shot during a chase).

It's refreshing to see a South Korean film that's playful and never stops being fun, after the recent slew of superb but disturbing, dark thrillers such as I Saw The Devil, New World and The Man From Nowhere. Don't be fooled, this film has its dark moments. Most importantly, it holds one of the quintessential elements of movies: taking audiences on a ride that endlessly intrigues and keep them wanting more, having no clue where the next moment will take them.

I usually do not like Korean movies – it is either too violent or too sensational with scripts that generally lacks originality - but this one is quite good: very interesting plot with lots of twists and suspense and humor.

The movie centers around a divorced cop, Go Geon-soo (Lee Sun Gyun), on the day of his mom's funeral when he accidentally kills a pedestrian. Since he is in a hurry, he decides to put the corpse into her coffin and deal with it later. Strange calls starts to come into the police station and Go is threatened by a man who claims to be a witness of the accident. Meanwhile, Go is assigned to investigate this accident where pedestrian seems to be an important person in the police's wanted list.

Just the packed elements within the case are interesting to follow. Then with all the twists and surprises it is engaging throughout to watch. Excellent directing with a brisk tempo which leads you deep the puzzle. The story is easy to follow but the mood is not serious or heavy because every now and then there is always something funny that make you chuckle/surprise or awe.

I like the camera-work too which always leads the audience to see from a different angle. The framing is artistically pleasant, including a lengthened aerial shot of a chase scene up a flight of stairs and across traffic. I literally held my breath to watch that one.

Corrupted police are everywhere but how the script presents the story is very interesting and it is kind of fun to put all the coincidences together to make a coherent story with some clever types of black humor.

The actors are quite good too. The only complaint I have is perhaps too much violence in certain scene – though it is probably mild compared to other violent Korean movies I have seen.

If you like witty laugh and suspense you would not be disappointed.

A HARD DAY is another electric thriller from those top film-makers in South Korea, who know how to pack more laughs, action, and genuine suspense-filled set-pieces into their films than many a Hollywood rival. A HARD DAY tells a small-scale story about a cop on the edge; investigated by Internal Affairs for corruption, he accidentally hits and kills a pedestrian while out driving one night and must cover up the crime before he's discovered.

This premise is just the set-up for a film that comes off as a string of sometimes awesome set-pieces. The long sequence in the room with the coffin is a masterwork of tension, and if the rest of the movie can't quite equal that high, then it does a very good job nonetheless. A HARD DAY has everything you'd want from a thriller: dark laughs, shock scenes, violence, and some plot twists you definitely won't see coming. I particularly enjoyed the endless climax, which keeps you on the edge of your seat and leaves you breathless afterwards. Check it out!