Note: As Rob Hunter has been busy covering SXSW and watching Love Exposure on repeat, Landon Palmer is trying his best to fill his globe-trotting cinematic shoes. Rob will be back next week with another object from a foreign land. To make the observation that some really great films have been coming from South Korea in the last few years is to say nothing new. To say that there have been a lot of violent revenge movies from that country is also to say nothing new. But between Lee Chang-dong’s wonderful Poetry and Bong Joon-ho’s equally great Mother from last year, another revisited theme has emerged in South Korean exports: maternal figures that must care for and live with children who may or may not have committed a heinous crime to a young woman.

For 36 days straight, we’ll be exploring the famous 36 Dramatic Situations by examining a film that exemplifies each one. From family killing family to prisoners in need of asylum, we brush off the 19th century list in order to remember that it’s still incredibly relevant today. Whether you’re seeking a degree in Literature, love movies, or just love seeing things explode, our feature should have something for everyone. If it doesn’t, please don’t fly us to the country of Wyoming. Part 20 of the 36-part series takes a look at “Crimes of Love” with Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon.

Join us each week as Rob Hunter takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs. And remember, these listings and category placements are meant as informational conversation starters only. But you can still tell Hunter how wrong he is in the comment section below. Several of this week’s new titles seem to be coming in pairs including… Bong Joon-ho’s first film as well as his latest, a pair of Roger Corman’s Cult Classics, the BBC’s Being Human and Look Around You, A Couple of Dicks from Kevin Smith, and more. See all of this week’s relevant DVD releases after the jump…

South Korea has had a fairly consistent output over recent years thanks in no small part to a handful of directors (like Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Kim Ji-woon) who’ve yet to release a film that’s anything less than stellar. We’ll just have to pretend that I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK was directed by Smithee Alan-ho…

I’ll be foregoing my usual snark in favor of presenting a simple community service message. If you live in NYC, or will be visiting next weekend, or live near enough to commute in to the city… then your plans are set for the last week of February.

Here we go again on another beautiful Friday afternoon (it’s raining in Austin) with a quick edition of This Week in Movie Posters. I say quick, because this wasn’t a great week for movie posters, but there are a few notables.

Goddamn I’m sick of making lists. Thankfully this is the last one of the year for me, and even better it’s the one I find most important.

Attention sinners! This year’s Toronto Film Festival to open with “Creation,” the Charles Darwin biopic starring Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, and some other people who are obviously going to hell. Other movies include lies, pot, and Asians.

As a convenient companion piece to our interview with Joon-ho Bong today, Wildgrounds.com posted a new teaser trailer as well as two new posters for the director’s upcoming thriller Mother.

Director Joon-ho Bong only has three feature films to his name since his debut in 2000, but he’s considered my many to be one of South Korea’s best directors. We caught up with the busy director via email and asked questions to which he graciously responded.