CHRONICLES OF EVIL (****1/2)

(2015) A highly-respected and honored detective due for promotion, Chief Choi celebrates his success with his squad one night and is into a taxi home after a night of drinking ... when the taxi driver suddenly changes course, driving to an isolated location, where he informs the Choi that he has to kill him in order to live himself.  When it's the cab driver who is killed in the ensuing fight, Chief Choi flees the scene after cleaning up any evidence of his being there - but the next day, when the cabbie's corpse is found hanging from some scaffolding at a construction site near his precinct, it's the start of what Choi realizes is someone's determination to see him dead.  As police discover the original crime scene and Choi - overseeing the case - nervously watches them gather evidence, ready to try and divert any possible leanings toward him, he also finds himself in a race to find who it is that wants him dead, even as the killer comes closer and closer and Choi's reputation grows more tarnished as his fellow officers get nearer to the truth.  Chronicles of Evil is a real adrenaline rush, nail-biting suspense as you sympathize with Choi's trying to uncover the truth, even as you wonder just how tainted this "perfect" cop might really be.  A strong, tense thriller from South Korea, complete with a twist at the end that also lends great poignancy to all that went on before.  I loved it.  (not rated)

CHRONICLES OF EVIL trailer

MONSTER (****)

(2014) When the sister of Bok-soon - a young special needs girl with a hot temper, who runs a food stall among neighbors who think she's either nuts or downright dangerous - is killed by psychotic Tae-soo after seeing too much, the death of her beloved sibling (and lack of police action when no body can be found) unleashes Bok-soon's rage and she becomes determined to get revenge on her sister's killer.  Teaming up with a little girl, the only other survivor of Tae-soo's murderous impulses, they follow a trail that leads to one of the most tense, suspenseful cat-and-mouse thrillers - laced with a quirky humor that somehow works - that I've seen in some time.  Violent and bloody, Tae-soo's determination to tie up loose ends by killing Bok-soon and her young companion seems just as strong as Bok-soon's raging mission to avenge her sister - and when the two finally come face to face, what happens next sure as hell makes it worth the wait.  Over-the-top crazy, and occasionally Bok-soon's actions seem almost too goofy, but this is a genuine thriller in the truest sense of the word.  (not rated)

MONSTER trailer

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR (**1/2)

(2016) Kristen Stewart - possibly the most annoying part of Snow White and the Huntsman - isn't around for the sequel, and while the film is better for it The Huntsman: Winter's War suffers itself from an incredible amount of predictability.  When the openhearted, loving Queen Freya (Emily Bunt), sister to the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), falls in love and gives birth to a baby girl, tragedy strikes when Freya's lover murders the baby, unleashing such grief and hatred in Frey that her considerable powers to create ice and snow from her fingertips come frighteningly to life.  Heart forever turned dark, Freya moves north and creates her own ice kingdom, stealing all the children of local villagers to turn into her ever-growing army, as well as school them in the stupidity of believing in love or even mercy.  Two of these children grow up and fall in love, and when the queen learns of their "weakness" she sees that Sara (Jessica Chastain) is murdered, while Eric (Chris Hemsworth) is left for dead in a freezing river.  But Eric survives, and years later when he learns Queen Snow White herself is ill and Ravenna's magic mirror is missing, he sets out with a pair of dwarfs to find it, even as Freya sets her army to the same task.  Good visuals and okay acting just don't make up that much for a weak script where you can see what's to come long before it happens - including the ending.  (rated PG-13)

9 MUSES OF STAR EMPIRE (****)

Spreading across the planet faster than the zombie apocalypse in "The Walking Dead", K-pop - Korean pop music - has, in recent years, become arguably the biggest phenomenon in music worldwide.  9 Muses of Star Empire, a documentary depicting a year in the life of burgeoning K-pop girl group 9 Muses, gives a fairly startling behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to try and put together a hit pop group in South Korea.  With various degrees of dedication - some members of the 9-girl group are wholly devoted to music, while others have little interest in it beyond seeing it as a stepping stone to modeling or acting - for those not dedicated, the grueling rehearsals and perfection demanded by their music company (Star Empire) result in tears, injury, illness, and depression for some.  Not to say the film is depressing, what it IS is revealing; you get a real feel for the pressure on these young people to make it to the top - and develop true compassion for those who fall down along the way, their ambition simply not strong enough to survive the struggle.  (not rated)

MONSTER HUNT (***)

(2015) In this depiction of ancient China, monsters have taken over the planet and co-exist with humans who stick to their own turf in a tense truce.  That is, until a movement breaks out to destroy all monsters and the pregnant monster queen becomes a target.  Her loyal subjects helping her, the queen tries an escape, and to save her child ends up implanting the baby into the body of a simple village man who - along with a female bounty hunter out for making a buck off the baby - goes on the run, in a fantasy film with both plenty of action and humor.  Monster Hunt has some great moments, and a REALLY cool finale (and quite funny; love the grandma!) of a battle, but overall (with the exception of the baby) I just didn't find the CGI monsters all that engaging, and the film felt a bit long to me.  Overall, yes, the monsters are really cool and/or cute, but if you're looking for some kind of E.T. or WALL-E emotional connection here, it just didn't happen for me.  Definitely worth a watch, though!  (not rated)

MONSTER HUNT trailer

PRIDE + PREJUDICE + ZOMBIES (***1/2)

(2016) May as well get this out first: I actually kind of liked this movie.  Having not read the book, or even seen any of the filmed versions of Jane Austen's classic ... either because of (or in spite of) that point, I simply watched this film seeking to be entertained with the insanity of it all - and yep, I was.  In this version, the five Bennet sisters are mercilessly trained zombie hunters, protecting home and loved ones from a growing zombie population that slowly seems to be taking over England.  When Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) meets intrepid zombie hunter Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley), the attraction is mutual even as she loathes him for his petulance and seeming lack of heart, while he sees her initially as a boastful female pretending to be tough but in need of protecting.  But even as Mrs Bennet is determined to marry off her daughters to wealthy and entitled men like Darcy, the more pressing problem of the growing hoard or the undead will force everyone involved toward a final, grisly battle.  Fun, goofy, and never taking itself seriously, while not the prefect film I think this will grow to become one of  my "guilty pleasures" I visit again and again. (rated PG-13)

SPECIAL FORCES (**)

(2014) Listed as 3rd World Cops on Netflix, this comedy from Chile stars two of that country's best-known TV comedy stars, here playing a couple of bumbling cops who make every wrong turn possible when trying to both solve crime and get ahead in law enforcement.  Corporal Salinas (Rodrigo Salinas), who accidentally got his partner killed years ago, is now living with his dead partner's mother, treating her like his own mom while clueless to the fact that she most obviously has the hots for him.  When the chubby Corporal Freire (Sergio Freire) comes aboard as his equally inept new partner, the two find themselves competing with the federal police crime to become super cops themselves.  The film has some cute moments but the lead characters are so incredibly clueless, their actions often come off much more annoying than endearing.  Or even funny.  (not rated)  

(Sorry, could not find a trailer either dubbed or subbed in English!)