‘Hope’ — Breathless Korean sci-fi monster thriller is a spectacular ride

In brief

DUBAI: With “Hope,” director Na Hong-jin serves up one of the year’s most entertaining cinematic experiences. There are influences a-plenty on show — Spielberg and Tarantino, to name two — but Hong-jin’s mix of breathless action, gory violence, slapstick humor, and pathos has a flavor all its own. The action is set in the eponymous small town near the demilitarized zone that separates South and North Korea.