The Phone

The Hitchcockian thriller, having being ditched by Hollywood in favour of comic- book blockbusters, is alive and well in South Korean cinema. This incredibly suspenseful film by first- time filmmaker Kim Bong-Joo continues in the tradition of frustrating audiences with cracker-jack suspense, as he skillfully unveils the tale of how a politician (Son Hyun-Joo, very nuanced here), haunted by the loss of his wife (Uhm Ji-Won), gets a mysterious call from her a year to the date she passed. Without haste, he immediately tries to avert her death by informing her of future events, but both find out something's amiss when a particularly nasty villain comes into play. It's neo- noir by way of the Twilight Zone.

If you think this admittedly ludicrous plot sounds familiar, it does: it's similar to 2000's "Frequency" starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, with a father-son focus, and an old radio instead of a husband-wife focus and phone, respectively. That American film had a much stronger dramatic dynamic that allowed the audience to invest better in the characters' plights, making their conflicts all the more intense. This film falters on that front, ironically succumbing to Hollywood's popcorn-minded temptations without rising above the genre, especially in the final third. There is a strong sense of urgency, yes, but the film needed a bit more fleshed-out characters for us to make us truly feel for every character's predicament.

No matter, Hollywood can rest easy knowing the genre is in capable hands. Better to play it safe than having it sink further below.

Not a bad movie. Concept is simple enough. In 2014, a husband returns home after a long night of drinking with colleagues to discover that his wife have been murdered. A year goes by without the investigation making any progress. Due to a miraculous cellphone disruption caused by a solar flare, the wife from 2014 calls the husband in 2015 hours before she is to be killed. To save his wife they will have to work together to keep her alive.

I thought this had a decent plot, acting, action and suspense. It moved a steady pace and held my interest. The story is put together well aside from a couple plot holes that I'm willing to over look. A little more character development would have been beneficial. However, I wouldn't mind suggesting it.

The Phone is a perfectly decent watch. Son Hyun-Joo is the businessman who by going on a drinking session with his work colleagues is unable to stop the brutal murder of his wife. It also happens to be a day when there is extremely unusual solar activity which interferes with mobile phone communication. Fast forward 12 months and Hyun-Joo is beginning to put the pieces of his life back together and return to his job as a lawyer for the first time since his wife's death. Again there is unusual solar activity and on his way to work he apparently receives a phone call from his dead wife; dismissive at first he comes to realise that he is actually speaking to his wife on the day of her death. Hyun-Joo then desperately tries to convince his wife that her life is in danger in the hope of changing the course of events. This also has an impact on events in the present as history is constantly rewritten to take account of every change in the past. It is now not only his wife who is in danger; her killer is also aware that history is in danger of changing. The film moves along at a pace and certainly kept my attention; there are some similarities to the Dennis Quaid / Jim Caviezel film Frequency; not just the explanation for the ability to communicate across time, but also in the way that current events literally change before ones eyes as the past is rewritten. It is a stylish film which i hope gets a chance for some attention outside of Korea. Well worth a watch.

It's good. Similar to FREQUENCY, not as good of course. Not so overdramatic as you might expect, there is a "down to earth" approach here that it works, even though its plot it's not realistic at all. Acting is good, it's kinda intense and enjoyable. The only problem here was the running time, it should have been shorter. At some point, it dragged. Some scenes were not needed, it became too complicated without reason. However, it finds its rhythm and the ending is satisfying. Likeable characters, viewer roots for them and the villain was menacing enough, without being a caricature. Overall, i enjoyed it. Lower your expectations and if you like movies like FREQUENCY (2000), you will like it too. Still, not a MUST WATCH movie.

Interesting concept, but nevertheless very confusing, no matter how well they try to explain it. The film plays in two time periods at once, so you have to pay attention to not get confused. Unfortunately, I just didn't find it believable enough, as with films of this genre. 'The Lake House' is probably the best example, which I didn't enjoy.

'The Phone', however, is much more entertaining than 'The Lake House' and certainly much better. There are a few good action scenes and the suspense is well set-up, together with very good acting. Ji-won Uhm won the Best Actress award.

Is it a film I'd watch again, though? I doubt it.