High-Def Digest’s review of Oldboy

It’s a great flick.  It’s challenging on any number of levels.  It’s visually impactful.  I’m not bothering to post my issues with the review at HDD’s site because they are all video/audiophiles and my issues aren’t with that.

In his review, Kenneth S. Brown writes:

Even “ordinary” scenes contain bizarre and often disturbing imagery, including swarming ants, gouged eyes, stark nudity, a nightmarish hotel room, incest, and the actual consumption of a living octopus.

I agree with almost EVERYTHING in that statement, but one part I don’t.  Consumption of live octopus isn’t anything strange in Korea.  Hell I’ve had it here in the States.  Okay, hey, I get it.  This is the United States.  What is normal to a lot of other places is weird and strange, and I guess disturbing, here.  And the scene in question was played for visual impact.  But visually impactful doesn’t mean disturbing.  And even in the context of the movie, I’d not classify that particular scene as disturbing.  I do admit that how the scene plays out in the movie isn’t the traditional method of eating live octopus.  So maybe that’s the disturbing part.

It’s so tasty though!

from the movie, a behind the scenes: