FILM

Alamo Drafthouse  West Oaks presents Only At The Alamo: East Meets West Oaks - OLDBOY. There are a lot of badass action movies coming from Asia right now. In fact, the pure, unrelenting awesomeness found in modern Asian cinema is enough to make American action films look like that creepy dude in the trenchcoat and sports shorts you cross the street to avoid when walking down the street. Unfortunately, many American audiences have had to discover today's best Asian films via dubbed DVDs, imported Blu-rays or (worst of all) illegal downloads from the Internet! We here at the Alamo Drafthouse want to offer an alternative.

Introducing EAST MEETS WEST OAKS, a new monthly series where we'll spotlight some of the best Asian action films to hit the silver screen in the last decade - in 35mm! From the classics to the newer hits, you'll get a taste of some of the best Asian action films ever imported to our shores and you'll get them the way they were meant to be seen: on the big screen.

January: OLDBOY (2003)

Director Chan-wook Park
Year 2003
Starring Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu and Hye-jeong Kang
Rating R
Run Time 130min

Here's the truth. You don't want to see OLDBOY. Every sense of preservation your soul has will beg of you to stop watching as the film marches towards its inevitable conclusion. The little spark of human decency that you have nestled in your core (the part of you that wants to pet kittens and pinch babies' cheeks) will scream in pain and frustration as you sit, unable to look away from the screen. You don't want to see OLDBOY--but you don't have any other choice. It's that good of a movie.

Before Spike Lee and Josh Brolin team-up for their upcoming American remake, you MUST watch the original Park Chan-wook classic on the big screen. Based on the Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, this South Korean thriller is the second part of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy.

Choi Min-sik stars as Oh Dae-su, a man imprisoned for close to 15 years without any explanation or chance of escape. When he's finally set free (also without any explanation), he embarks on a journey of discovery and learns that the torment planned by his captor has just begun.

This action-packed thriller features beautifully stylish direction and one of the most memorable fight scenes you'll ever see featuring a single hammer, a dozen thugs and a long hallway. This is a dark, unrelenting film that takes audiences on a bullet train to a place that most would rather not go. But, for those with an iron stomach and a taste for perverse justice, this trip to the dark side is very much worth the hours of gooseflesh that will follow. Steady your nerves, son. You're about to see OLDBOY. (Robert Saucedo)