On Demand Weekly

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE - Now Here On DemandMarch 09, 2011

Gravitas Ventures

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (Gravitas On Demand).

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE - Now Here On Demand
By Chris Claro

Sure, it’ s a little derivative and unsurprising, but THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is also a stylish action thriller that makes up for its lack of originality with a overload of adrenaline and action. Writer/director Jeong-beom Lee’s story of an inscrutable ex-special agent up against drug dealers and organ traffickers thrums along with an insistent rhythm, rocketing from one set piece to the next.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is one of those films that, by virtue of its exotic South Korean location, earns a pass on having a shopworn plot: Tae-Sik, former special agent and, naturally, a lone wolf haunted by some long ago incident, finds himself fighting for right as he pursues the bad guys and tracks down his adorable nine-year-old neighbor.

It’s a little bit TAKEN, a dash of THE PROFESSIONAL, and even a soupcon of TAXI DRIVER thrown into a broth and stirred up with ladles full of Hong Kong-style fisticuffs.. But despite the prominence of the tropes of western cinema, director Lee makes THE MAN FROM NOWHERE a refreshingly singular experience.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (Gravitas)

Set in a part of the world where it is seemingly always either overcast or nighttime, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is a feast for fans of tightly choreographed, crisply edited action. Lee’s camera roams go-go clubs, meth labs, and noodle shops, in a graphic and literally visceral journey through the darkness. And the action that punctuates that journey is teeth rattlingly bloody.

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On Demand Weekly’s Top 10 Movies On Demand 2011 - Part IIDecember 29, 2011

FilmBuff

So many movies and so many movie lists of 2011. How could you watch or read them all and yet so many are so similar. Do you need affirmation of the films you may have seen in the theaters already? How about learning about the best films of 2011 you may have missed?

On Demand Weekly's Cynthia Kane and Chris Claro offer their Top 10 Movies On Demand of 2011. Tell us what you think of the their lists or what your #1 movie of 2010 is HERE.

Part I - Cynthia's is HERE.
Part II - Chris's is below.

10. SHUT UP, LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO ADVENTURE
Matthew Bate’s hilarious and poignant film about unwanted fame and the subculture of pre-Internet tape trading was an entertaining and effective documentary.

9. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE
The violent and kinetic thrill ride from Korean director Jeong –beom Lee was stuffed with dynamic action set-pieces and an amazing performance from child actor Sae-ron Kim

8. BLACKTHORN
The last real man, Sam Shepard, took on the legend of the last real outlaw, Butch Cassidy, in an elegiac film about the final days of cowboys and Indians.

7. THE BIG UNEASY
Humorist Harry Shearer’s fascinating and heartbreaking document of the post-Katrina cover-up by the Army Corps of Engineers. Thoroughly sourced, sincerely conveyed, and absolutely fascinating.

6. BRIGHTON ROCK
Helen Mirren and John Hurt classed up this retelling of Graham Greene’s novel about a killer and the girl he entrances. Set against the birth of the mods/rockers conflict, Rowan Joffe’s film also boasted an intense performance by Sam Riley.

5. CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP
Behind the scenes with the talk show host on his post-Tonight concert tour, director Rodman Flender’s film was painful, funny, and painfully funny.

4. TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL
Horror clichés were turned on their ear in Eli Craig’s debut film. Stars Taylor Labine and Alan Tudyk were a joy as the harmless hillbillies mistaken for psychos.