Hostby Anonymous
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January 05, 2008:
THE HOST has one thing going for it, an agile, almost logical, monster... and that's it. When it's on screen, when it's moving, when it's putting the bite on people or snatching the same people up and storing them in its own version of a CRISPER drawer, there is a lot to admire in this import. The monster's first full on screen appearence is a marvel to behold, not only because it takes place during daylight hours (very rare for these types of films), not only because it takes place within a large crowd of people, but everyone and everything involved moves in a logical fashion. From the frist sighting to final snatch and splash, it all looks like something that could very well happen. Wonderfully done. As for the rest... get a pen, get a pad of paper and be prepared to take notes because little next to nothing makes any kind of sense. The central players in THE HOST is a family seemingly put together from a series of other unproduced films. There's the father who looks like a grandfather, two sons - one, a pudgy, bulky, slow witted father himself, the other a miracle of the Korean education and political system. He's a lawyer in training, a corporate raider, a student, a eco/bio protester who's sister just happens to be a Olympic level athelete in the field of archery (taking the Bronze at the beginning of the film). It's almost like a skewed version of the FANTASTIC FOUR, everyone seems to have some kind odd "gift" that sets them apart from the rest. There is also the daughter of the pudgy, bulky slow witted father who seemes to have gotten all her looks and good sense from her mother - which, for a film like this is a good thing. It's her smarts that help her to survive and a mother's strength that allows her to make the ultimate sacrifice. There's an unhappy ending here in THE HOST, but you'll have a hard time either understanding it, or feeling bad about it, because the rest of the film is mired in protest... against the government, against corporations, against posions, against any and everything it can lay its hands on. THE HOST is one busy film. Actually, it's more like six films running at once and that's its main flaw, it doesn't know what it wants to say and instead of putting its focus squarely on a family in peril and a monster on the loose, it tries too hard to sum up Korea's political, social and corporate strife. It's just too much of everything... and because of that THE HOST will go down as a missed oppurtunity to redefine the genre. But, for the short time the monster is the star of the picture, it works... but not enough to earn a place on your shelf.
This review was written about the DVD Wide Screen edition.
Hostby Anonymous
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August 15, 2007:
Before watching this film, I was excited by the reviews and buzz on this movie! I love monster movies, and thought this would be a cool movie to watch. Well.... It is the year 2000, on an American military post in Seoul, South Korea. An American and Korean doctor are pouring old Formaldehyde down the drain, which flows into the Han River. Forward 6 years later to the Han River. A Grandfather, Park Hee-bong, and his son, Gang-du, run a food stand by the river. Gang-du's daughter, Hyun-Seo, comes home, and they both watch Nam-Joo(Gang-du's sister) in the Seoul Olympics participating in archery. A few minutes later, a large, moving mass is observed hanging from the local bridge. It drops to the water and swims over to the shore, which now has a crowd watching the swimming mass. It swims past them, and then in a few moments, appears down the water's edge charging towards them knocking people over. In the next scenes, the director does an interesting job of using present motion and slow motion scenes to show the monster on the rampage. The music is also very good as the monster chases and runs people over. Gang-du, along with an American, attempt to combat the monster, which only provokes it more. In the ensuing chaos, the monster snatches Hyun-Seo, and jumps back into the river. It takes Hyun back to its lair, which becomes a dumping ground for all of its caught prey. The government claims the creature carries a deadly virus that will infect everyone! Gang-du is taken to a hospital, but later escapes with his family, when he receives a phone call from his daughter, who he thought was dead. The rest of the movie is the attempted rescue of Hyun-Seo by the Grandfather and his 3 children. The monster (to me) is an amphibious mutant tadpole. It is interesting how the director starts the monster acting rather tamely. It basically just runs over people or knocks them into the water. However, the more it chases, the more vicious it becomes, especially when it becomes entrapped with people inside a truck. And definitely as the movie progresses, the more hungry and ferocious it becomes. I liked the look of the monster, and the CGI department did a good job of its movement and speed. There are definite scenes of humor in the film. I thought some worked, but most of the time it took away from the building tension in the film. That was my major problem with the film, is it could not decide whether to be a serious movie along the lines of Jaws, or a horror-comedy along the lines of Lake Placid. That is just my take! The film really treats the Korean and American military as sneaky, untrustworthy, uncaring folk and I would throw in the hospital staff also under that category. The military just does not seem interested in ever catching or destroying this monster on the loose, until the very end. And then they do not care if they get rid of the monster, or anyone else standing around for that matter. The DVD does come with a few extras: * There is commentary during the film with Director Bong Joon-HO * Deleted Scenes (most did not add to the movie) * Deleted News Clips (which did add more background to the movie) * Director Bong Joon-Ho's Reflections : where he basically apologizes to everyone who worked on the movie, was in the movie, or was around the filming of the movie. This part is actually pretty humorous. I did enjoy the movie overall, but definite parts of the movie were too slow, and I felt it never could decide what it really...
This review was written about the DVD edition.
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