A Dirty Carnival (2006)

Movie: A Dirty Carnival (18)Rating: 4.5/5To be straight and honest: A DIRTY CARNIVAL by director Yoo Ha is a masterpiece of its genre. The film's very well made, and there's a lot more than what you would've expected. Yes, it was a little slow burning in places, but the overall impact made by the film was quite a strong one. Jo In-sung is a terrific actor, and I'll look forward to more of his movies. The screenplay is the real hero of A DIRTY CARNIVAL. Not for a moment does it let go of the grip on the viewer. The film has, apart from this, a lot more things to admire. The director has depicted everything very well. The character development is quite good, and it's quite easy to be connected to the lead character played by the very talented Jo In-sung. He's superb throughout the entire film and he rules alone with his act. Rest of the cast does a great job but he's alone enough to impress the viewers.The action scenes are extremely well choreographed, and quite realistically executed on screen. The cinematography is also very good, and the production values are quite good. The film, however is quite long and doesn't really justify this long duration. It could've been trimmed a little bit, almost close to 10 or 15 minutes for a better experience. But still, the film is a delight to watch. It had me excited to know what would happen in the end. The end was really very astonishing as well as impressive at the same time.A DIRTY CARNIVAL is a well made action drama with a lot of offer as a treat to the viewers. You don't really need to have a very strong heart to watch this film. What all you need...is to watch this film!

Another good korean thriller, although not one of the best ones. This reminded me of those warner gangster movies, and you could easily imagine James Cagney in the lead role. it was a good movie, and kept my interest all the way through. The fight scenes are bloody brutal, and to this untrained eye, quite realistic. The performances are good

Let me say one thing. I give it 10 just for the apt realistic ending it is. It is not what I liked one little bit but then I give it to the director for catching us off-guard but this is a South Korean movie and this is EXACTLY what I expect from them - a twist that knocks everyone out. This is good. This is what I look for in a South Korean movie - something different from the usual "Hollywood Crafted Endings" - which I feel most of the time implanted into the movie. I saw the film yesterday night and it was running in my mind every time I woke up in sleep. I never thought that this would have such an impact on me.About the story - this is a gangster film with lots of great violent fights - I thought initially that those fights reflected the title ...until the ending and then I felt the whole movie was like a gangster carnival.See the movie - this will hit you...

The movie is bittersweet, reminding me of "Blow" and "Casino". I refuse to say that it is the Asian counterpart of the above-mentioned movies because I think that does not do Yoo Ha or In-Seong Cho justice.The cast acted as though each role was made just for them and the accordion laced soundtrack simply added to the irony and hard, cold truth of the subject matter.But most of the kudos have to go to In-Seong Cho, for letting viewers live through his character (Byung-Doo). Whether it's laughing at his karaoke rendition in the car and club.; his intense, awkward yet realistic fighting skills or the boyish charms oozing when he sees the woman he loves ~ if I knew nothing of the actor I would have thought he was cast to play himself. It is extremely well done so just watch it and find out for yourself!