NOWHERE TO HIDE and TELL ME SOMETHING: Brief reviews...

Korean cinema got a worldwide shot in the arm a couple years ago with the release of SHIRI, which was a blockbuster of TITANIC sized proportions and deservedly so. The Hong Kong DVD's rock (both region 0 DD5.1 & region 3 DTS). SHIRI pushed many cine buffs, myself included, towards other Korean films and two recent hits worth checking out are NOWHERE TO HIDE and TELL ME SOMETHING.

NTH is a strange Ringo Lam like film about gang fighting and violence. It is funny, strange and entertaining. It's also been picked up by Lions Gate and cut by 20 minutes for U.S. release, so avoid that DVD at all costs.

TMS is a truly insane horror film, filled with buckets of blood and guts, but little suspense, because the storyline is so confusing. It's worth watching, but the story will frustrate you, because even after two viewings, you will fail to understand what happened.

The region 0 Korean DVD's are good, but have a strange flaw. They are encoded 16x9, but with 4:3 non-anamorphic widescreen transfers. So you must set your player to 16x9 anamorphic to properly watch the films, otherwise your player will convert the 1.85:1 frame into a squished looking 2.35:1 picture.

Picture quality is exceptional with both films, ranking among the better 4:3 widescreen transfers I have seen. Black levels are solid, detail is high and artifacts are minimal to none. If these releases had been true 16x9, they would rival the best Columbia & Warner transfers. They are superior to the Edko SHIRI release (though that one wins in the sound department).

The Dolby Digital 5.1 Korean soundtracks are also quite good, with active sound stages and a good surround presence. (There is a 2.0 track on each release for those of you without 5.1 receivers). Just don't expect Hollywood level sound work.

The optional English subtitles have some spelling & grammar errors. Thankfully, nowhere near as bad as most Hong Kong DVDs. Not quite SHIRI level, but still more than acceptable.

Extras include a trailer and music video for each film.

These releases, along with the recent Korean hit, ATTACK THE GAS STATION, can be found at yesasia.com and dvdasian.com for less than $30 each (shipped). They are worth checking out.

"Matt Stevens"