Tag: Steven Yeun

Review: Mickey 17

So, you’re Bong Joon-ho. Your film Parasite unanimously wins the Palme d’Or, becomes the highest-grossing South Korean film in history, and pulls off the Guinness World Record feat of scoring Academy Awards for Best Picture, International Feature Film, Original Screenplay, and Director. Naturally, your next move is a sci-fi black comedy romance with Robert Pattinson.

For those only half-watching Bong’s career, this might seem like an odd, left-field pivot into Hollywood. But let’s not forget: Snowpiercer already took him there, and Okja brought the titular genetic super pig to Netflix screens. This is hardly new ground for a filmmaker whose tongue has always been planted firmly in cheek.

Based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, writer/director Bong leans into the same over-the-top satire as Okja, landing somewhere near Starship Troopers. The film follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his childhood friend Timo (Steven Yeun), who flee Earth for the offworld colony of Niflheim after falling into debt over a Macron business.

Without reading the fine print, Mickey signs on as an ‘Expendable’—a human drone sent in for the dangerous work. When he dies (which he has, sixteen times by the time we meet him), he’s simply printed again with his memories intact. Things get complicated when Mickey 17 is mistakenly presumed dead and Mickey 18 takes his place.

There’s very little subtlety to MICKEY 17, which might be one of the most glorious things about it. The expedition is led by failed political candidate turned cult leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), whose followers wear red caps with slogans on them. Yes, it’s that kind of picture. Yet in a film where Pattinson regularly flops out of a printing tube like meat, and Marshall’s wife Ylfa (a wonderfully unhinged Toni Collette) has an unhealthy obsession with sauces, you can’t afford to take half-bites.

One of the joys of the first half of the film is watching Pattinson’s take on the monotony of functional immortality. Between the daily grind and being dispensed in increasingly absurd fashion, Mickey 17 has resigned himself to eke out existence just as it is. A light romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who has remained his girlfriend since his first iteration, adds a sliver of emotional grounding.

With the arrival of Mickey 18—and a wonderfully chaotic dual turn from Pattinson—the film shifts gears. The discovery of giant bugs on Niflheim sets up broad satire on the nature of colonisation, religious fanaticism, and arguably, immigration as well. Here, Ruffalo and Collette deliver their batty best, skewering everything from conservative televangelists to political leaders like, well, you know.

There’s possibly too much happening in the last act of MICKEY 17, particularly during an extended denouement that tries to pull the rug out from under us more than once. Still, Bong’s film remains a sharp and enjoyable sci-fi flick with a brain—one smart enough to know when to be stupid.

2025 | USA, South Korea | DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITERS: Bong Joon-ho | CAST: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 137 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 March 2025 (Australia), 7 March 2025 (USA)

March 5, 2025
Review: Nope

Since his ostensible retirement from on-screen performance, Jordan Peele has continued to solidify his reputation as a filmmaker. Following breakout hit Get Out and his follow-up Us, not to mention producing BlacKkKlansman and Candyman, we now see him switch genres while maintaining his keen eye for social commentary.

So, as NOPE opens with the implication of a horrific chimpanzee incident during the taping of a sitcom, we know that we’re in for something unique. In the present day, ranch owners and Hollywood horse trainers Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) and his son “OJ” (Daniel Kaluuya) are rained upon by ephemera from the sky, killed Otis in the process.

Months later, OJ and his sister Em (Keke Palmer) still try and maintain the struggling business. They’ve sold several horses to Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), a former child star who owns a western themed ranch. Things take a turn when the electricity at Haywood Ranch starts going haywire — and there seems to be a UFO parked in a cloud above their property.

If we’ve learned anything from Peele’s previous work, it’s to not assume we know where any of this is going. He did produce and host a Twilight Zone revival after all. What unfolds is a cross between a giant monster movie and an exploration of long-term trauma. Case in point is the character of Jupe, who has buried the memory of an on-set chimp rampage with showmanship and commercialised bravado.

The genre shift in the last acts feels, just like Peele’s previous films, a gear change too far. It never quite brings together the various pieces in a satisfying way. Here the ideas are bountiful and provoking, but they lack focus. A massive set-piece ending showcases Peele’s ability to orchestrate large-scale action, even if the sequence goes on a beat or so too long.

Mind you, Peele’s cast is terrific. Kaluuya downplays Haywood, the antithesis of Palmer’s boundless energy, so that his deadpan reactions to creepy happenings add levity to the terror. Yeun is equally perfect with Jupe’s unwavering belief that his faith will see him right (although one wonders what dynamic original cast member Jesse Plemons would have brought to the table).

NOPE is stylish as all hell, filled with terrific character building and amazing set design. With this film, Peele begins to make his mark on something outside the horror world, and perhaps pushes sci-fi into smarter thrills in the process.

2022 | USA | DIRECTOR: Jordan Peele | WRITERS: Jordan Peele | CAST: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Wrenn Schmidt, Barbie Ferreira, Keith David | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 131 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 11 August 2022 (AUS), 22 July 2022 (US)

August 10, 2022
Review: Burning

Adaptations of Haruki Murakami’s works have always been a bit problematic. Take Norwegian Wood, for example, which struggled to imbue an emotional flat film with the author’s unique narrative perspective. Lee Chang-dong’s BURNING (버닝) has added task of expanding an 18-page short story into a feature.

The film is based on Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” which appears in the collection The Elephant Vanishes. While out on delivery, Jongsu (Yoo Ah-in) encounters Haemi (Jong-seo Jun), who reminds him they were neighbours in the past. After a brief sexual encounter, Haemi heads to Africa for a trip, leaving Jongsu in charge of feeding a possibly fictional cat. When she returns with the rich boyfriend Ben (Steven Yeun), the dynamic changes for a confused Jongsu.

Much of the first half of the film is about creating mood. Backed by the atmospheric score from South Korean composer Mowg, who collaborated with Kim Jee-woon on I Saw the Devil and The Age of Shadows, we bear witness to lots of lingering shots of Jongsu popping over to Haemi’s empty apartment to have a melancholy wank. With the introduction of Ben, and an alarming confession, the focus shifts to creating a sinister field around the rich stranger.

As an odd relationship forms between the couple and perpetual third-wheel Jungsu, Lee Chang-Dong and Oh Jung-Mi’s script also pads out Murakami’s slender story with superfluous backstory. Jongsu’s father, for example, is on trial for a violent crime. It might telegraph a darker side to Jongsu’s DNA lurking just under the surface, but it’s one of several garden paths that don’t stand up to fridge logic.

It is held together by some captivating performances. Although a bit of a lonely doormat for much of the first act, Yoo Ah-in is a likeable enough lead. All of the attention will no doubt be on The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun, who’s creepy smiles and rich boy indifference lean in the direction of Patrick Bateman. Yet it’s the captivating Jong-seo Jun who makes the most impact, even if the not so subtle commentary on gender fails to pay off before her sudden departure.

The haunting photography of Hong Kyung-pyo (Snowpiercer, Haemoo) is superb as well. The cool-tinted lenses often portray the characters in a half-light, a visual indicator of their ambiguity. There’s shots of Jongsu jogging through a blue mist that evokes not only his isolation, but a deeper mystery that will never be resolved satisfactorily.

As the bloated back half turns into a mystery, with the disappearance of Haemi, it simply follows the more traditional conventions of a psycho thriller. It’s here Lee Chang-Dong’s BURNING goes off-book and straight into mediocrity. As the audience and Jongsu alike begins to question everything they have ever known, the film holds your hand and makes sure that you notice all those dots sitting really close together. So after the slow-burning fire culminates in a ‘surprise’ ending, we’re left with nothing more than an ashen frame.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | South Korea | DIR: Lee Chang-Dong | WRITER: Lee Chang-Don, Oh Jung-Mi | CAST: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo | DISTRIBUTOR: Palace Films, Sydney Film Festival (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 148 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 June 2018 (SFF) [/stextbox]

June 17, 2018
‘Burning’: Lee Chang-dong Cannes hit sells to Palace Films in Australia, NZ

Lee Chang-dong’s BURNING(버닝), which won the FIPRESCI Competition at the Cannes International Film Festival this year, has been picked up by Palace Films for distribution in Australia and New Zealand.

THR reports that the South Korean film also just sold to Time-in-Portrait Entertainment in China, and Thunderbird Releasing for the U.K., in addition to the dozens of distributors that have already purchased it around the world.

An adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” written by Haruki Murakami, it concerns an incident that has occurred between Jong-Soo (Yoo Ah-In), Hae-Mi (Jeon Song-Seo) and Ben (Steven Yeun, The Walking Dead, Okja).

READ MORE: Full trailer and poster for BURNING

This is Lee Chang-Dong’s first feature since Poetry (2010), which won the best screenplay award at Cannes that year. So it’s understandable that there’s a fair bit of buzz around this one.

Not dates have been announced for the release yet, but the Australian festival season is far from over. If history is a guide, we may see this at the Sydney Film Festival before it is over, or more likely at the Cannes-friendly Melbourne International Film Festival line-up.

Stay tuned for more details.

May 23, 2018
Full trailer and poster for Lee Chang-Dong’s ‘Burning’ ahead of Cannes

One of the most highly anticipated Korean films of the year, Lee Chang-Dong’s BURNING (버닝) has just unveiled a full trailer and promotional poster ahead of its Cannes debut in May.

An adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” written by Haruki Murakami, the new trailer doesn’t give much more away than the teaser, although the lack of subtitles probably has something to do with that. An incident has occurred between Jong-Soo (Yoo Ah-In), Ben and Hae-Mi (Jeon Song-Seo). Also starring Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja).

The text on the poster mirrors the final line of the original teaser: “Now tell the truth.”

This is Lee Chang-Dong’s first feature since Poetry (2010), which won the best screenplay award at Cannes that year.

April 23, 2018
First trailer for Lee Chang-Dong’s ‘Burning’ starring Steven Yeun

CGV Arthouse has released the first trailer for BURNING (버닝), the new film from the award-winning Lee Chang-Dong. Hotly tipped for a Cannes 2018 debut, it is due to hit South Korea cinemas in May 2018. You can check out the trailer below.

An adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” written by Haruki Murakami, the mysterious trailer doesn’t give much away, as we only know that an incident has occurred between Jong-Soo (Yoo Ah-In), Ben and Hae-Mi (Jeon Song-Seo). Also starring Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja), the only line of dialogue uttered in the trailer is in Korean, as a woman’s voice utters “Now tell the truth.”

Lee Chang-Dong won the Silver Lion at Venice in 2002 for Oasis. is best known for his films Secret Sunshine (2007) and Poetry (2010), which won the best screenplay award at Cannes that year. BURNING marks the filmmaker’s first feature in 8 years.

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April 4, 2018
Review: Okja

“This is a film about a pig,” said Bong Joon-ho at the Closing Night of the Sydney Film Festival. The reductive statement is typical of the director, only telling us part of the story. Of course, the method of release for OKJA has been the bigger story over the last few months, with producers Netflix receiving ‘boos’ at Cannes and sparking a debate as to the streaming giant’s place in the cinema world.

The titular ‘super pig’ is a creation of the Mirando Corporation, with eccentric CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) promoting the pigs as a new sustainable food source. Ten years later, Okja has been raised to enormous size by Mija (An Seo-hyun) in the mountains of Korea. When Dr. Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal) claims back Okja for the corporation, Mija heads to Seoul to retrieve her friend. Joined by the Animal Liberation Front (including Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Devok Bostik, and Australia’s Daniel Henshall), her fight to win back Okja exposes the real activities of Mirando.

OKJA might seem like a departure from Bong’s earlier work, especially if you view him through the lens of Memories of Murder or Mother. Yet this is the sibling of inventive monster movie The Host, and a thematic stablemate to survivalist social commentary in Snowpiercer. The closest comparison would be the Steven Spielberg/Amblin films of the 1970s and 1980s, where a child is thrust out of their protected environment into a world of unfathomably mercenary adults.

This is reflected in the delightfully over-the-top performances of a massive cast of antagonists, representing the antithesis of Mija’s wholesomeness. The irrepressible Swinton re-teams with Bong as another egocentric nutjob, a shameless self-promoter, whose braced teeth beam through her marketing spin. Gyllenhaal’s end-of-the-tether celebrity vet is equally unhinged, perhaps only matched by Dano’s violent eruptions, thinly veiled by an animal-friendly eco credo.

Yet the focus of the film is a girl and her pig. An is already known to Korean audiences from Im Sang-soo’s The Housemaid and serials such as The Village: Achiara’s Secret, the young actor gives a breakout performance for English-language audiences. Okja herself is an entirely CG creation, with animated characteristics that make her part pig, hippo, and puppy. Moments between the duo are heartwarmingly priceless, and it is unsurprising that Bong started this project back in 2010 with the face of the animal in mind.

As the most expensive Korean language film ever made, every drop is on screen. There’s an chase sequence through a city tunnel has blockbuster appeal with a high-concept MacGuffin. Later, a trip to the slaughterhouse uses a variety of effects to push the film into some darker commentary on the mass food manufacture and GMO. While not necessarily Bong’s intention, there may be a few more vegetarians by the time the credits roll.

As the film leaves audiences with this somber undercurrent, and capitalism is shown to be the only currency that talks, OKJA nevertheless remains a memorable and high-spirited outing. As for Netflix’s place on the cinema landscape, we have to wonder if there is any other studio that would give US $50 million to a Korean director to make a primarily subtitled film about a giant pig. If this kind of daring stand is the future of cinema, we say bring it on.

OKJA screened at the Sydney Film Festival 2017. It releases in the US and Australia in August.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US, South Korea | DIR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITER: Bong Joon-ho, Jon Ronson | CAST: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Yoon Je-moon, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Choi Woo-shik, Giancarlo Esposito, Jake Gyllenhaal | DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix| RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 19 June 2017 (SFF), 28 June (Netflix) [/stextbox]

June 19, 2017
Trailer for Bong Joon Ho’s Netflix Original ‘Okja’ is visually stunning

Netflix have been going from strength to strength with their original content this year, especially with the acquisition of David Ayer’s Bright and Martin Scorsese’s next film. Bong Joon Ho, the South Korean filmmaker behind Snowpiercer, will also be dropping his new film OKJA on the streaming service on 28 June. The trailer is a little bit awesome.

The film follows the epic journey of Mija, a young girl who must risk everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named ‘Okja‘. Following her across continents, the coming-of-age comedy drama sees Mija’s horizons expand in a way one never would want for one’s children, coming up against the harsh realities of genetically modified food experimentation, globalization, eco-terrorism, and humanity’s obsession with image, brand and self-promotion. The Netflix Original Film stars Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Giancarlo Esposito, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins and newcomer Seo Hyun An.

OKJA was listed as one of our Most Anticipated Films of 2017, and the trailer embedded below only heightens our anticipation. It also solidifies our opinion that Tilda Swinton belongs in every role of every film.

March 1, 2017