The Phone

Watching this remind me of the Frequency movie (American movie year 2000). The aspects are different, but the main plot is the same. A person try to save a family member by telling them what will happen in the future. The past and present were connected by a weird phenomenon (a wave/magnetic field) enable them to communicate. This is a nice thriller, but lack of the originality. It's a good watch if you want an excitement weekend movie. It's just predictable at the end because there's already a lot of movies doing the same plot. The acting is great. Overall, this movie is nice executed. I wouldn't say that it's a much watch, but it's a decent watch.

First, such an unfair called 'fantasy' movie. This movie looks more like well mixed realistic and surreal. Characters get confused when suspicious things happen. The bad guy's line represents it 'this is nonsense but it make sense'. I think this point of view makes The Phone stronger.

Second, the tricks were fresh. Most of time-reaction plot works were copycat, but the phone gently refuse those mistake. In police station sequence, smart presentation of time-reaction with a single notepad. Brilliant. Decent watch for whole two hours. Screenplay guy and the crew made it well done. Tracing sequence in lantern march was stunning, and the lawyer's house looks beautiful. Fine work. Recommended.

Watched via Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2016.

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.

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 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.