80 Best Movies From United States of America On Korea South (Page 6)

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If this South Korean cult favorite relies a little too much on jump scares and twisty plot developments, its relatively emotionally distant story is nevertheless given a welcome boost in character thanks to an impressive overall look and feel. Shadowy and foreboding from beginning to end, A Tale of Two Sisters seems to be designed for group viewings where friends can spook each other out without losing track of the film's momentum. But it's far from shallow: patient horror fans should enjoy unpacking the movie's densely layered character dynamics, which become all the more disturbing and sorrowful after learning all of the film's secrets.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery

Actor: Kim Gap-soo, Kim Kap-soo, Lee Dae-yeon, Lee Seung-bi, Lim Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Park Mi-hyun, Seung-bi Lee, Woo Ki-hong, Yum Jung-ah

Director: Kim Jee-woon

Rating: R

Richard Wershe, Jr. was arrested for carrying eight kilos of cocaine in 1988, when he was just 17. He went on to become one of Michigan’s longest-serving non-violent juvenile drug offenders, dubbed by the press as White Boy Rick. His fate was sealed by Michigan law that had just been passed, which stated that anyone found with more than 650 grams of drugs had to be sentenced to mandatory life. 

Featuring interviews with drug lords, journalists, as well as Rick’s mother and attorney, this documentary — along with the follow-up Hollywood biopic, White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey— provides an insightful account into his tragic story. 

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Chris Hansen, Richard Wershe Jr., Scott M. Burnstein, Shawn Rech

Director: Christopher S. Rech, Shawn Rech

Rating: N/A

As the value of ivory appreciated by the Chinese middle-class, the demand for it has skyrocketed. This brought elephants to a dire outlook: extinction in as early as the next 15 years. “Traders in ivory actually want extension in elephants, the less elephants there are the more the price rises” as one of the commentators in the film says. To bring awareness to this threat, filmmakers went undercover for 16 months and followed the ivory from where it was stolen to where it hits the shelves of Hong Kong. The result is a genuine thriller, far more gripping than you’d expect from a documentary. It portrays the brave and hopeful men and women trying to combat these atrocities, the battle they may be losing, and all the obstacles they face. An extremely important watch.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Andrea Crosta, Ian Stevenson, Kief Davidson, Prince William, Richard Ladkani

Director: Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley, and Jesse Plemons star in this mind-bending drama from Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich.

The Young Woman, as she is known in the movie, takes a day trip with her boyfriend to his family’s secluded farm in Oklahoma. On the way, she thinks about breaking up with him.

But once there, she meets her boyfriend’s unusual mom (Colette) and everything gets progressively weirder for The Young Woman. The dialogue of the movie is complex and so reference-heavy that it begs either a second viewing or a handful of explanation articles online.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Abby Quinn, Anthony Grasso, Ashlyn Alessi, Colby Minifie, David Thewlis, Dj Nino Carta, Gus Birney, Guy Boyd, Hadley Robinson, Jason Ralph, Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Oliver Platt, Teddy Coluca, Thomas Hatz, Toni Collette, Unity Phelan

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Rating: PG, R

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively star in this crime-comedy as two opposite mom personalities: one a stay-at-home food vlogger, and the other an upper-class businesswoman.

Kendrick’s character (Stephanie, the vlogger mom) agrees to pick up her new friend’s kid from school. However, the kid’s mom disappears, leaving Stephanie to lead an investigation on her own into what happened.

This is a funny no-brainer carried by the two leads’ unlikely but genuine chemistry.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Andrew Moodie, Andrew Rannells, Anna Kendrick, Aparna Nancherla, Bashir Salahuddin, Blake Lively, Chris Owens, Corinne Conley, Danielle Bourgon, Dustin Milligan, Eric Johnson, Gia Sandhu, Glenda Braganza, Henry Golding, Howard Hoover, Ian Ho, Jamie Jones, Jean Smart, Jiah Mavji, Joshua Satine, Jung-Yul Kim, Katherine Cullen, Kelly McCormack, Lauren Peters, Lesleh Donaldson, Lila Yee, Linda Cardellini, Melissa O'Neil, Melody Johnson, Nicole Peters, Noorin Gulamgaus, Olivia Sandoval, Patti Harrison, Paul Feig, Roger Dunn, Ronnie Rowe, Rosanna Scotto, Rupert Friend, Sarah Baker, Stacey Coke, Sugenja Sri, Umed Amin, Zach Smadu

Director: Paul Feig

Rating: R