Host, The (2006) (2nd viewing) d. Bong, Joon-ho South Korea 119min
When an arrogant US scientist/bureaucrat orders his Korean counterpart to dump gallons of chemicals down the drain – and into the Han River – merely because the bottles are dusty, the results are one of the best giant monster movies to come along in ages. The CGI creature, an ingenious mix of amphibious ooginess, hasn’t aged terribly well in this age of SyFy but it’s far from distracting. But the best news is that the “in-between-monster-attack” scenes, rather than a fine time to scoot out to the refreshment stand, are just as entertaining, thanks to a zippy script and the game cast. We’ve got social commentary to spare, and the dysfunctional family in Little Miss Sunshine has nothing on the Park brood, with its slacker father, spunky daughter, activist uncle, archery champ aunt and wise, weary patriarch, all of whom are given their due moments of failure and heroism. An unqualified triumph.
