As movie budgets get larger and box office takings smaller, American studios continue to ponder what it is they’re doing wrong. They’d be wise to take a leaf out of Korean Cinema’s book, where blockbusters manage to be electrifyingly of-the-moment despite adhering to popular genre convention; where tough-as-nails revenge flicks reside comfortably next to teary-eyed melodramas; and where going to the movies is culturally an event, something Hollywood will never fully realise in the digital age unless it restores the average film-goer’s faith in popcorn and big-screen experience. A mere slither of what the Korean film industry churns out, this year’s Korean Film Festival nevertheless provided an at-a-glance spectrum of this exciting Asian wave. Those in attendance certainly have been appreciative of the small-but-considered programme. CALEB STARRENBURG sampled the full gamut in going from the loud and colossal actioner Typhoon, to the curious and involving drama of Hong Sang-soo’s Woman on the Beach. Aside from earlier thoughts on Duelist and The Host (probably the perfect hybrid of event cinema and critical acceptance), TIM WONG also reviewed Woman on the Beach.