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Combining the crime thriller with horror always sounds like a good idea to attract audiences, although the combination is not exactly easy to pull off. Lee Chul-ha does try to combine the two artfully in “Insane”, resulting in a movie, though, that starts with the latter, only for the former to eventually take over. Let us take things from the beginning though.

“Insane” is available from Echelon Studios

The film begins with Soo-a, a young woman, being taken away against her will in the middle of the city and during the day, and eventually brought to a psychiatric hospital. She is there without knowing why and her questions never receive answers, with the staff in the hospital constantly injecting her with drugs, at least when they are not mishandling her. Eventually, she starts writing what is happening in a diary.

The scene then changes completely, as the center stage is taken up by star-producer Nam-su,...

‘’Kiss me, kill me’’ is a not a conventional romantic movie, since, except romance, it also includes elements of thriller, drama and humor. It’s the first feature film of director and writer Yang Jong-hyeon.

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Yoon Hyeon-joon (Shin Hyeon-joon) is a quiet and lonely contract killer who lives with his alcoholic mother (Kim Hye-ok). Seo Jin-yeong (Kang Hye-jeong) is a depressed, suicidal young woman, dumped by her boyfriend. Fate brings the two of them together when Seo Jin-yeong hires Yoon Hyeon-joon through his agency, to kill her in her sleep, because she wants to ‘go out with a bang’. Yoon Hyeon-joon, unaware of the fact that he is going to kill Seo Jin-yeong, but instead under the impression that he is going to kill an old man in his sleep, he arrives at her house. This meeting changes both of their lives.

Because the film starts with fights and killings,...

Baek Woon-hak's Chronicles of EvilSTORY70%DIRECTION72%ACTING75%VISUALS75%2016-06-2273%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (1 Vote)86%

“Chronicles of Evil” is another skillful thriller that uses the concept of revenge to present an elaborate but unoriginal story.

Detective Squad Chief Choi Chang-sik is a decorated officer who has the respect of both his subordinates and the people above him. As the former are preparing him for a big promotion, the latter throw a party for him that ends up with Choi half-drunk, half-asleep in a taxi. When he wakes up, he realizes that the taxi driver is taking him somewhere else and when the car stops, the guy is revealed to be someone from his past who wants to exact revenge. The two of them fight and Choi ends up killing him. However, in front of the prospect of his promotion, he decides to cover-up the crime. Alas, the next day the...

Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox has bagged six nominations at the 56th Asia-Pacific Film Festival including Best Film and Best Director.

Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui have secured nominations in Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor categories respectively.

Rajeev Ravi has been nominated in Best Cinematography category for Monsoon Shootout.

The awards will be announced on December 15 in Macau. The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (Apff) is an annual event hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific (Fpa).

Best Picture:

“The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

“Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

“The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

“Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

“Ilo Ilo” (Singapore)

“In Bloom” (Tbilisi)

Best Director:

Tsai Ming-liang, “Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

Bong Joon-ho, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Ritesh Batra, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi, “Closed Curtain” (Tehran)

Wong Kar-wai, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

Best Actor:

Irrfan Khan, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Nick Cheung,...

Bloomberg News New York City Comptroller John Liu in 2010

A councilman from Queens, an Asian immigrant who’s traveled the striver’s path to success, rises to New York’s political heights with the support of a multicultural coalition of voters. His reformist zeal and unique ability to unite fragmented factions — blacks, Latinos, Asians and labor — make him a media darling and a serious contender for what some call the second-most powerful office in America: mayor of New York. But...