LouHomey From my favorite movies..

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Leofwine_draca TELL ME SOMETHING is a South Korean serial killer thriller, as dark and depraved as you've expect from the genre following on from the success of Fincher's SE7EN in the mid 1990s. The movie charts the adventures of a detective on the hunt for a seriously warped psychopath who leaves bin bags full of body parts lying around in various parts of the city; in an outlandishly gory set-piece early on, one of the bin bags explodes in a lift full of commuters, scattering limbs, a head and a great deal of blood everywhere.It sounds mean and nasty and it is, with the grubby atmosphere working just fine. But as the story goes on, TELL ME SOMETHING commits a cardinal sin for this genre: there's little to no detective work going on. Characters meet and leads are followed through contrivance or coincidence rather than the painstaking putting-together of clues, and as a result the narrative drops down to a snail's pace. The movie subsequently follows the route of having the detective meeting a mysterious femme fatale linked to all the murders and from that point in it's a whodunit as the viewer strives to work out who the killer is.The film is an odd mix of effective scenes and boring scenes. There's a lack of narrative drive to the storyline which saps away a lot of the entertainment value it should have built up, but on the other hand the grisly scenes do stick in the mind. The cast don't really make much of an impact, the characters are never fully explored and of them all, only Eun-ha Shim's sinister leading lady sticks in the mind, recalling in some ways the villainess of Takashi Miike's outrageous AUDITION. In the end it feels overlong and a twist ending is predictable rather than surprising. Try THE CHASER if you want to see the Koreans do this kind of thing perfectly.

LouE15 I must be the last to realise that Korean cinema is simply the freshest, most exciting and challenging cinema being made anywhere today. "Tell Me Something" illustrates beautifully some of the ways in which this is true. Starting with the time-honoured police thriller format, the way in which the drama plays out couldn't be more different from your average excellent but formulaic episode of "The Closer" or "Without a Trace"; as in much Korean cinema, the presumption of intelligence in the viewer means that far from being walked through every plot point, you tread the lonely road of clues and suspicion by yourself. Doubtless other viewers will predict the plot points with superhuman speed...still, I enjoy the spectacle even when I'm mystified.It feels as though the director has gorged himself on the full gamut of cinema, taking in not only his own cinema but glossy but predictable Hollywood and glorious, violent Japanese cinema. There's nothing more refreshing than to see a structure you recognise, used to portray a world you don't. It gives new life to any old, tired story or scenario – better still when it's harsh and good-looking and violent and surprising, like this. Here's a very brief run-down: an artist's daughter, some lovers, some murders, dismemberment. Your guide through this murky world is Detective Cho (Suk-kyu Han), who stumbles along the policeman's dirty path, labouring under suspicion and dishonour. You learn that his impassive taciturnity conceals more complex emotions, and you accompany him as he unpicks a messy, bloody and tangled knot of relationships and lies, seeking redemption along the way.It's romantic at heart. Detective Cho reminds me of Dana Andrews' terse, detached detective McPherson, in Otto Preminger's haunting "Laura" of 1944. That tough character finds himself lifted by the aura created by the eponymous central character of Laura into an unfamiliar realm, falling in love with her as he begins to know her. The comparison ends there – "Tell Me Something" has a finale that suits very modern tastes. I'm knee deep in Dashiell Hammett at the moment, but this is really more James Ellroy territory. It's a bit gory for my taste, but not strictly speaking gratuitous, I think. Even if it were, it would still be engrossing and disturbing, crafted with care and with a fantastic soundtrack.For more Korean excellence try gripping thriller "Memories of Murder" or the exquisitely turned "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring". For other non-US excellence go for French TV policier "Engrenages" and Takeshi Kitano's unique Japanese gangster flick "Sonatine".

Daniel Vazquez This film is quite interesting. Most of what I would like to say has already been said. It certainly isn't one of the best Korean movies I've seen.My main complaint is that the motivation of the murderer is never made clear. Perhaps this is my fault and I missed at the hints, but I kept on wondering why the murderer would kill these people and rip up their bodies. Still, it soon seemed quite obvious who the murderer would be (my wife guessed after about 20 minutes). And this was the largest problem with the film: the film is beautifully shot, well acted, well told, but you still can't work out the murderer's motivation or empathise with her.

HumanoidOfFlesh "Tell Me Something" was a big hit in South Korea and it's not a big surprise for me.Lieutant Cho,while under investigation for corruption,is suddenly thrust into a higher priority serial killer case.A mysterious killer is leaving garbage bags full off dismembered corpses around Seoul.With the amputated arms and legs mismatched,the victims are nearly impossible to identify.Some of the body parts found are soon linked to a beautiful woman played by Shim Eun-ha."Tell Me Something" is a grisly and eerily dark thriller heavily influenced by Italian giallos of the 1970's.The film features a deranged killer,a captivating mystery with plenty of red herrings and even a piece of art that figures prominently in the climax.It's stylish and offers a few very gruesome death scenes.The gore effects are fairly convincing and the film is filled with darkness and creeping dread.So if you are a fan of Italian giallos or disturbing Asian horror give this masterpiece a look.Highly recommended.