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      West 32nd

      2007 1h 26m Crime Drama List
      Reviews 60% 250+ Ratings Audience Score When an ambitious young lawyer takes on a pro bono case to exonerate a 14-year-old boy from a first-degree murder charge, he finds a world he never knew existed in the underbelly of Manhattan -- the Korean underworld. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member After a murder, a lawyer and criminals mingle in NYC's Koreatown. A dark and cynical look at the underworld and the "justice" system. I'm a fan of Cho and Grace, but this feels very made-for-TV. Human trafficking for karaoke rooms? Of course! "A well-made, street-stylish drama that defies stock Hollywood storytelling conceits with its complex themes and grey-area approach to its subject matter." -Brian Linder, IGN Movies Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I did see this movie and it was horrible. Wow. I don't know the director and I shudder at the craziness of this movie. It seems the director's talent just isn't there, which can be seen at the poor quality of this movie. Don't hate me for my comment, but John Cho and the legendary Jung Jun-ho was the reason why I even saw this movie in the first place. I'm NOT even going to see his other failed movie. No wonder he didn't get far at all with his directing career. LOL Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Gangsters everywhere. K-town would be shut down if this were released in theaters. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member If these folks had had a bigger budget, I'm sure this would have been an even better show. Still, it's very good. I'm fascinated by upwards of 50% of this movie, based in K-Town, Queens, NY, utilizing the Korean language, and by the fact that John Cho, both in real life and in the film, is barely able to speak the language. This Americanization and the distancing from one's heritage plays a key role in keeping Cho's character always slightly outside, always slightly "other." Of course this is ironic, since Cho represents mainstream America, and the payoff with this cultural distancing is that Cho distances himself not only from his Korean-ness but right out of mainstream humanity in the end. West 32nd Street is the main strip, the heart of K-Town in Queens, and Cho's venture into this heart ultimately means that he destroys his own heart. <p>Probably my favorite aspect of this whole story is the tribute paid to <i>Bittersweet Life</i> -- definitely one of my all-time favorite Korean films. I watched this three times -- the final time with the commentary on. It takes a lot nowadays to get me to watch a movie more than once. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member after attempting twice during the tribeca film festival in 2007, i finally got to see this movie. good acting by jun sung kim. john cho was ok. this movie seemed very close to typical korean gang movies. very intense, lot of blood. i didn't like the story line. but mad props to the korean americans who made this movie possible in hollywood. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Michael Kang is a Korean American filmmaker, and <i>West 32nd</i> is a crime drama that matches his description.<p>As this picture takes place in New York City, the film does a nice job of showing Korean culture in an American setting. It is a little difficult to say if the fusing of American and Korean cultures is successful, since a good portion of the film does focus on the Korean mafia. It really does feel more like a Korean crime drama than a Hollywood one.</p><p>The pacing of this 80+ minute film is slow going, despite some of the quick scene jumps and story advances. The early going is a bit bland and so is the plot. Eventually, things pick up as the story progresses.</p><p>John Cho doesn't exactly steal the show here, since Jun-seong Kim is the one doing that, but his portrayal of a Korean American lawyer is not a failure. The same can be said about the acting of the beautiful Grace Park.</p><p><i>West 32nd</i> doesn't hit the ball out of the stadium with a big budget, intense action, or even an exciting story. It just does enough to get by.</p> Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      West 32nd

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      Critics Reviews

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      Don Willmott Filmcritic.com Writer/director Michael Kang seems to be going for a Mean Streets vibe, but he's no Scorsese, at least not yet. Rated: 2.5/5 Nov 9, 2009 Full Review Brian Linder IGN Movies A well-made, street-stylish drama that defies stock Hollywood storytelling conceits with its complex themes and grey-area approach to its subject matter. Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 22, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis When an ambitious young lawyer takes on a pro bono case to exonerate a 14-year-old boy from a first-degree murder charge, he finds a world he never knew existed in the underbelly of Manhattan -- the Korean underworld.
      Director
      Michael Kang
      Producer
      Ted Kim, Jamin O'Brien
      Screenwriter
      Michael Kang, Edmund Lee
      Genre
      Crime, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Oct 13, 2009
      Runtime
      1h 26m