Rough Cut (2008)

Punch! This movie is like a punch. Weird description, I know.

There were a lot of clever, artsy, indy details built into this movie that I got a real kick out of:

1) They played up the fact that this is a movie with a movie in a very obvious and clever way.

2) So Ji Sub's name is Kang Pae (gangster) and Kang Ji Hwan's name is Su Ta (star).

3) The scripts for the "movie" in the shooting scenes were the actual script for the movie.

4) And the ending...

I loved the intensity of both Ji Sub and Ji Hwan, their acting and characters. I loved that Ji Sub always wore black and Ji Hwan wore white. I loved the spoiled angry child in Su Ta and the way he got in over his head so deeply. Kang Ji Hwan always impresses me..Always.

I loved So Ji Sub's anger...his pure rage. His character's desperation and desperate grab for something more in his life, something he wanted, to make a change. The frustration of his inability to understand what to do with it once he'd grabbed on. And how his past, his personality and his lot in life were like a greased palm that made it impossible for him to keep hold. And then the terrible acceptance...He doesn't have to say much. That is the beauty of his acting. (sorry fangirl)

Watch it for the punch...beginning, middle and end.

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The other reviews for this movie are very well written, cleverly and in-depth. But, still I would like to share my views.

Rough Cut - can't say this as an action movie, neither a gangster movie. This movie is neither The Man from Nowhere type nor A Dirty Carnival, but you will see the mixture of both, with a completely different storyline.
An Actor who behaves more like a Gangster and a gangster who loves to watch movies (have more passion for movies). What happens when their life intersects at one point, forms the rest of the story.
The main plot deals with 'making of a movie'. The Director was meticulous in differentiating the 'real life' scenes and the 'movie' scenes when the film goes around. 'A movie within a movie' concept sets a complex screenplay to handle, but the Director must be credited well enough to coin each frame of the movie to fit in a great way. The character development in Korean movies are always very good. This film is no exception. The main leads wishes to live a contrasting life, and when it happens, things goes wrong, unable to get a hold to that life from there.
I felt shades of Kim Ki duk style of movie making in some of the scenes, later I came to know that he is the original script writer for this movie. The script was edited once again by the Director Jang Hoon to make it more polished. His other 2 works namely, 'Secret Reunion' is a class movie and 'The Front Line' is in my watch list.
Both the leads (So Ji-sub, Kang Ji-hwan) played their role exceptionally well, either it may be a fight scene or acting scene. More or less, they both played the role of protagonist as well as antagonist, which is a quite rare phenomenon in a multi-starrer movie. So, the viewers can see the four different faces of the two hot leads.
The brutal stunt scene between them in the climax was very well choreographed. The Co stars performance was very good too. The movie length of 1 hour 50 minutes removes the necessity for any filler scenes. This movie sets a Benchmark for the future Korean Gangster movies. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wish to see a perfect blend of Action-Gangster genre.

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After watching So Ji-sub's impressive action thriller A COMPANY MAN, I decided to watch more of his action films, and while browsing I came across this. The synopsis seemed extremely different, and this is what made me watch this film. After watching it, I can say it's a unique masterpiece from South Korea.

ROUGH CUT is a highly entertaining movie, thanks to its highly impressive action sequences, new story and the lead actors: So Ji-sub and Kang Ji-hwan. They hold the film together very well, and deliver enough of entertainment to make you remain hooked to it completely. Even emotionally, the film manages to engage you. There are certain scenes which are highly commendable.

I was seriously impressed with the film's storyline: I have never heard a story or seen a film like this before. Without adding much, I would just say that ROUGH CUT is an effective and highly impressive action film which you'll love for its originality and uniqueness apart from everything else it has.

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I watched this movie under the recommendation of Zhaoul's Weekend Movies, because it sounded like a pretty sick movie. And in all honesty it was pretty awesome.

Firstly, I liked the actors, I've seen the main leads in a few other movies but not many. I agree with Jeaniessi, in that I loved the intensity that both Ji Sub and Ji Hwan put into their acting and characters. I liked that even to the end his character didn't completely throw away the gangster life, but yet still showed enough character development that the audience could notice him caring. My only complaint would be the ending.. I loved that he stayed gangster but.. it was a bit strange. I kind of wanted it to carry on and show what happened after the movie but it kind of just ends. It keeps Ji Subs character as a cold-hearted asshole, but still, it left me a little bit dissapointed; dragging my overall score from a 9 to an 8.
The other thing I didn't like about this movie was that there wasn't really a message. Instead of gaining something from this like a normal movie, it gave of more just the feeling of 'this happened deal with it', due to the minimal changes in a few characters. I suppose you could delve deeper and say that it is a movie showing how two separate people can be similar and still hold contrasting ideals. Or that the pain of betrayal leads men in different directions. I don't know. It's mainly just the fact that the film finished so abruptly that I just sat there and said "Huh?". I waited for the credits to end as I was convinced that there would be a short after story or something, but there was none.

Now don't get me wrong, this is a pretty bad ass movie. If you like fight scenes, violence or sassy gangsters then this is the movie for you. And in a few places it made me laugh, or at the very least smirk.
The actual presentation of the film was ingenious. The play on contrasting characters, with the black vs white clothing. The way the authors repeated pieces of monologue in the film within the actual film that the characters were involved in. The way they showed that Kang Pae wasn't completely heartless and then proceeded to tear down that any joy you might of felt for him. The fact that So Ji Sub's name is Kang Pae, which means gangster, and Kang Ji Hwan's name is Su Ta, which means star. It's those tiny pieces of detailed which really perfected this film and makes it so good.

I did really enjoy watching this film, despite the abrupt ending. If you're looking for something exciting to watch at the weekend this is a very good recommendation. From reading reviews and comments I feel that it's a film you should interpret on your own, because like most indie-like films there a variety of opinions speculated around it. Watch it because it's not half bad :3

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Epoustouflant ce film !

Ce film est vraiment intense ! J'ai adoré le concept : un gangster est engagé pour le tournage d'un film afin de remplacer un acteur ayant été blessé. Ce qui est interressant, c'est que ce gangster lui, ne joue pas, il agit comme dans la vraie vie. Il doit partager son temps entre le tournage des scènes et ses affaires personnelles à régler (avec son gang).

Tout le film est très prenant, on ne s'ennuie pas un instant. A la fin, le gangster montre encore qu'il ne joue pas.
Pour de l'action, il y a de l'action ! Les acteurs sont très bons, le script du film et celui dans le film sont bons aussi ; bref, c'est un super film, original et très bien fait ; je le recommande.

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Original mezcla de comedia y cine negro.

"Rough Cut" es una curiosa película con guion de Kim Ki-duk pero cuyo estilo es bastante diferente al de este añorado y recordado director, sobre todo gracias a la labor de Hun Jang, un buen realizador que se consagró años más tarde con la excelente "A Taxi Driver".

Se trata de una cinta de acción con tintes de comedia y cine negro que nos narra una original historia de un gánster reconvertido a actor que presenta muchos momentos divertidos, pero a la que le falta ese puntito de brillantez que la haría situarse entre las grandes del Nuevo Cine Coreano.

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