Mini Movie Reviews: 2011 (Part 1)

Death Bell
Year Released: 2011
Cast: Nam Gyu Ri, Kim Beom, Lee Beom Soo, Yun Jung Hee, Lee Chae Won, Moon Woong Ki
Where I Watched: DramaFever
One Sentence Synopsis: A murderer lurks in the school halls seeking revenge for a student's wrongful death.
Mini Review: Not the scariest of movies but definitely suspenseful. It had a lot of layers to it that I didn't expect. It was a good movie especially for those of the mystery or thriller genres.

You're My Pet
Year Released: 2011
Cast: Kim Ha Neul, Jang Geun Suk, Ryu Tae Joon, Jung Yoo Mi, Choi Jong Hoon, Kang Ha Neul
Where I Watched: Hulu
One Sentence Synopsis: A man becomes a pet for a lonely woman.
Mini Review: This movie would have been kind of weird without the whole "pet" part, but even with that part it was weird. There was no fluidity and it was irritating seeing the female lead choose between two guys because she wasn't really good enough for either. Also, the musical scene was really horrible, but it did have some funny moments.

Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow
Year Released: 2011
Cast: Kim Myung Min, Han Ji Min, Oh Dal Su
Where I Watched: DramaFever
One Sentence Synopsis: Korea's first detective tries to solve the mysteries behind corrupt officials.
Mini Review: I really can't explain how I felt about this movie after watching it. I thought it was going to be really great but I was kind of disappointed. It had some great elements and great moments but they never really came together. The thing that probably confused me the most was the sort of haphazard introduction of the Christian faith as a source of strife. It's not that I am confused that they chose to use it, that part makes sense, but the way it was brought up in the movie wasn't always fluid and the end really threw me off. It's a movie that I am willing to watch again to see if I get it better, and it's a movie I would recommend to other fans of Korean dramas/movies to see if they can explain it to me.

Mini Movie Reviews: 2000-2010 (Part 1)

Korean Movies are a great break from Korean Dramas. It gives you all the subtitles and good looking actors that K-Dramas provide but in a more digestible dose. Plus, movies are an easy way to get your non-drama watching family and friends to open their minds to foreign entertainment. I've gotten more into watching movies and I must say that I am impressed with many of the movies from Korea. Here are short reviews on a few of the movies I've seen.  

Friend

Year Released: 2001

Cast: Yu Oh Seong, Jang Dong Gun, Seo Tae Hwa, Jung Woon Tae

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: Old friends become enemies as they get caught up in the gang life.

Mini Review: I couldn't pass up on the chance to watch a classic movie that people are still talking about. It was a good movie but it wasn't as fluid as I thought it could have been and some moments made me uncomfortable but that's what I get for watching an R-rated movie. Anyway, it was a good gangster movie and a good show of friendship and how it can change in a second.

My Tutor Friend

Year Released: 2003

Cast: Kim HaNeul, Kwon Sang-Woo

Where I Watched: YouTube

One Sentence Synopsis: A college student becomes the tutor for a high school student that is the same age as her.

Mini Review: This movie was bit hard to digest, part that might have been from the horrible quality while watching and part of it might be that it was adapted from an internet series so the movie writers decided to smash as many events as possible in the time allotted. Anyway, the pacing of events was a bit off to me, however the events that occurred were entertaining, so I think it's a movie worth watching. 

Please Teach Me English

Year Released: 2003

Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Na-Young

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A woman falls in love with a man in her English class, but can't really get him to take his focus off their foreign teacher.

Mini Review: It was funny with just the right amount of romance added in. It was also interesting to see the process (however exaggerated) of learning English as a second language.

200 Pounds Beauty

Year Released: 2006

Cast: Kim Ah Joong, Joo Jin Mo, Ji Seo-Yun, Sung Dong Il

One Sentence Synopsis: A romantic comedy that takes a fat girl to a skinny pretty girl with a lot of plastic surgery.

Where I Watched: Hulu

Mini Review: It was funny and endearing. It also gave thoughtful commentary about the pressures to be thin in the entertainment industry despite being talented.

My Tutor Friend 2

Year Released: 2007

Cast: Park Min Ki, Lee Chung Ah

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: A Korean college student tries to tutor a foreigner living at his dad's boarding house in Korean.

Mini Review: For the most part this was a cute and funny movie, there was only one event that threw it off for me. Park Min Ki's character, Jong Man, is supposed to have been a really great boxer but gave it up. The event that kind of hindered the flow of the movie, to me, was when he returned to boxing. It was a bit out of place, other than that I thought it was a fun movie. 

Crazy Waiting

Year Released: 2008

Cast: Son Tae Young, Jang Geun Suk, Jang Hee Jin, Danny Ahn, Yu In Young, Kim Sam Ho, Han Yeao Reum, and Woo Seung Min

Where I Watched: YouTube

One Sentence Synopsis: Four couples try to stay together as the men serve their mandatory military service.

Mini Review: This was another movie that I felt lacked flow. I know that it was in the anthology style focusing on multiple couples at one time so it wasn't going to be the most fluid movie, but I still feel there was a way to make the movie less choppy.

19-Nineteen

Year Released: 2009

Cast: T.O.P., Seungri, Huh Yi Jae, Kim Young Ho

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A coming of age tale of three teenagers accused of murder.

Mini Review: I consider this a good starter movie and Big Bang fans will be pleased with T.O.P and Seungri's acting skills. I thought it was well written and I thought it was very relatable. I am no longer 19 but I still feel growing pains as I am moving into adulthood. I thought this issue was addressed in a very creative and suspenseful way.

Mr. Idol

Year Released: 2009

Cast: Park Ye Jin, Ji Hyun Woo, Kim Su Ro, Lim Won Hee, Jay Park, Jang Seo Won, Kim Randy

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: The pains of becoming an idol condensed into a movie. 

Mini Review: It was pretty predictable, but I still enjoyed watching it. It addressed common place problems within the music industry in Korea, so the situations that came about and how they were resolved weren't necessarily shocking but the movie was well written and the acting was pretty good. I wished they would have addressed the stories of the other boy band members a little more.

My Girlfriend Is an Agent

Year Released: 2009

Cast: Kim Ha Neul, Kang Ji Hwan, Jang Yeong Nam, Ryoo Seung Ryo

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: Two exes meet again as enemy agents.

Mini Review: This movie was hilarious. I laughed the whole time.

The Man from Nowhere

Year Released: 2010

Cast: Won Bin, Kim Sae Ron, Kim Hee Won, Kim Sung Oh, Kim Tae Hoon, Lee Jong l, Thanayong Wongtrakul

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A girl gets kidnapped by gangsters after her mother is killed, and he next door neighbor starts kicking butt to get her back. 

Mini Review: This was actually my first taste of Korean action films. It was so legit! The back story, the fighting, the villains. At no point was I bored, disappointed, or felt lost. After watching it I fully understood why it was such a popular movie, it was action packed and not did the villain but also the hero sent chills up my spine. Kim Sae Ron also displayed the talent that would carry her into her current status as a promising child actress. Two thumbs up!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Technicians (The Con Artists/Criminal Designer)

It's finally here! The movie many Korean entertainment fans have been waiting for is available to international viewers (legally) on DramaFever. Right now the movie has only been released to Premium subscribers, but I am sure that in the near future it will be available to all, so if you're not a subscriber to DramaFever Premium I suggest you practice patience. However, if you do have premium access then head over to DramaFever right now!

Photo Credit: AsianWiki

I can't tell you how excited I was to be able to view this movie. I decided long ago that I was going to career stalk Kim Woo Bin, this was even before I saw him in The Heirs. Out of the 11 productions that Kim Woo Bin has credits for I've managed to see seven including The Technicians. Though Kim Woo Bin is still in the genesis of his acting career he has managed to go from random guy on the runway in Runway Cop to one of the most sought after young actors in South Korea. To make such amazing steps in such a short amount of time is not only a credit to his acting skills, which I think he is still trying to sharpen, but also to his eye for a promising production. 

That being said I think it's time I start talking about the movie. 

Plot: Lee Ji Hyuk (Kim Woo Bin) a master safe cracker and art thief works with a master engineer (Go Chang Suk) and a master hacker (Lee Hyun Woo) in order to steal $150 million dollars from Incheon Customs. The plot should be familiar to anyone who is a fan of heist movies. Since the plot is pretty familiar the movie can be a bit predictable, but I think the writers did a good job at throwing in just the right amount of twists to keep the viewer's interested.

Action: Growing up on American action movies, I am used to high octane action. I live for a sizable amount of explosions, car chases, and gun shooting like most fans of action movies. This movie however, didn't really have that. It did have some action: there were car chase scenes, there was an explosion and there was a lot of  hiding from the cops but nothing that was too extraordinary. There wasn't anything that kept me on the edge my seat freaking out over how much it would cost to rebuild the city of Incheon. Truthfully for this type of plot, a lot of action was needed. In movies with a more complicated plot I think scaled back action makes sense but in this one an epic car chase through the streets lasting much longer than it should have would have been AWESOME!

Acting: I think the highlight of the movie was the three main actors, Kim Woo Bin, Lee Chang Suk, and Lee Hyun Woo. They each delivered their character well and definitely had fan girls swooning with their cheeky smiles and manly eyebrow action. Though I wanted to see the movie for Kim Woo Bin, it was Lee Hyun Woo who really impressed me. I hope that he can continue to build his resume with movies like this. Though he's known to be a total sweetheart and charming cutie pie, he has managed to show his manly side in productions like Secretly Greatly and The Technicians. He totally blew me away in this movie. If you saw Lee Hyun Woo on Running Man then you know how smiley he can be, but he was a real bad ass in this movie and I liked that. 

Aside from the three main actors, there were other stand out performers such as Lim Ju Hwan (Shine or Go Crazy) as the evil henchman. He definitely held his own in this movie and kicked some major butt with his silver taser stick. Also in the movie was Jo Yoon Hee (Lie to Me) as Eun Ha, the romantic interest of Ji Hyuk, and Kim Young Chul (Iris) as President Jo, the ultimate bad guy. The two played their parts well and kept the movie going, providing motivation for Ji Hyuk's actions. 

Photo Credit: AsianWiki

Overall Recommendation: I definitely recommend the movie. It's not going to change your world or anything, but it was enjoyable to watch. It had some good action moments, some good comedic moments, and even a decent hint at romance. Overall I think it did the trick, and if you're looking for a Kim Woo Bin fix before his next drama then this is a good way to go.