Confession of Murder

내가 살인범이다 (I'm a Murderer; Confession of Murder) is a South Korean movie directed by Jung Byoung-gil released in 2012.

Story: Lieutenant Choi Hyung-go is chasing the serial killer who killed 10 women one rainy night. During the chase he gets a scar after fighting with the murderer.
Later, Jung Hyun-sik, the son of the first victim, who became close to Hyung-go after the cases commits suicide.
In 2007, two years after the statute of limitations that originally was 15 years ended, Lee Duk-soo publishes a book with the title "Confession of Murder". He describes the murders and states that he needs to talk about it because of the guilt. The book turns him into a bestselling author but also gets him kidnapped by the family members of the victims, among them Han Ji-soo who still tries to find her daughters' remains.
During a live debate broadcast with Lee Duk-soo and Choi Hyung-go another man who only refers to himself as "J" calls and asks questions to which only the real murderer can know the answers. Now everyone is carefully trying to find out who is the murderer and what will happen.

Cast: Jung Jae-young as Choi Hyung-go. He was brilliant in the role, I totally believed every little bit of this even though I only fully understood it in the end. While he can portray the rough cop and the poker face I honestly did like the emotional side as to why he can't let it go, too.
Park Si-hoo as Lee Doo-suk is a perfect flower boy in his role. I think that the part of the "nice killer" fits him in this drama and that he also portrays it in a believable manner while sometimes the way he uses to ask for forgiveness seems a little bit ironic and not serious. I'm talking about a specific scene with the doctor, if you watch the movie you might understand where I'm coming from.
Jung Hae-kyun as J. He was barely seen without a mask for the most part of the movie so judging facial expressions is more or less impossible. However, the way he talked he didn't seem to be a normal criminal but totally insane. I don't know if that was how the character was written or if it was his acting but yeah..
Kim Young-ae as Han Ji-soo was awesome especially in the end but also in the flashbacks. A mother in grief trying to find her daughter so she can let go peacefully. All the sides of her character seemed more or less realistic.
Other actors in this drama include Jang Gwang as the director of the broadcasting station, Jo Eun-ji as Choi Kang-sook, Choi Won-young as Jung Tae-suk, Kim Jung-goo as the snake hunter and Min Ji-ah as Jung Soo-yeon.


So I personally think this movie is interesting but not one of the most mind-blowing I have seen in my life which is why I rated it with 8.5/10. The main reason is that some of the chases just seemed kinda overdone and totally unrealistic (you will get me, I just mention the ambulance so you know which chase I mean).
What I can say for sure is that in this movie nothing is what it seems to be. It surprised me quite a lot how the mystery was solved but you will have to watch it yourself to find out. I recommend this movie to lovers of crime and suspense stories with a lot of action.

The Housemaid

하녀 (The Housemaid) is a South Korean movie that was directed by Im Sang-soo and released in 2010. It is a remake of Kim Ki-young's movie "The Housemaid" that was released in 1960.

Story: Lee Eun-yi starts to work as a maid in the house of a rich family. Her task mainly is to take care of the daughter Nami but also do the housework and cook together with Byeong-sik, a woman who has been working for the family for a long time.
On a family trip Eun-yi gets into an affair with Hoon, the son of a rich family and her boss, who is married to Hae-ra. Hae-ra is pregnant with twins.
Soon Byeong-sik finds out that Eun-yi is pregnant with Hoon's child and tells Hae-ra's mother about it. So the women in the family are trying to get rid of the dark secret.

Cast: Jeon Do-yeon as Lee Eun-yi is the main character in this movie. While her acting was good I also think just by her looks she reminded me of what I would imagine a nanny to look like. Except for a few moments of definitely overdone acting she was good in this movie.
Lee Jung-jae as Hoon is the son of a rich family who always got what he wanted when he wanted it. The acting was good, too, but in some way his character confused me a bit in the end. Anyway, I think it was not about the acting itself but the character.
Hae-ra was played by Seo Woo and I think her acting was too flat. There were some emotions missing in the daily stuff, not only when acting like a jealous wife. So personally I didn't believe in the relationship between Hae-ra and Hoon because of her acting.
Park Ji-young as Hae-ra's mother has a similar problem in my opinion but it is not about a lack of emotions shown. It is more or less a too ruthless way of behavior her character showed and while I was able to believe her acting in that way the interactions with the family members were a little bit strange.
Lastly, Yoon Yeo-jeong as Byeong-sik seems cold and hard as stone but showed a nice change in character especially towards Eun-yi. I personally really think she is a good actress in these type of roles - she seems to become something like a mother or aunt and portrayed that change well.


I saw some really bad reviews of this movie because, yes, it is slow paced. Yes, the story itself is kinda obvious and some people don't even see a story (I don't know how though?). Yes, the ending really is ridiculous and totally influenced my rating but I'm not sure if it happened that way because of the original version from 1960.
However, I gave this movie a 5.5/10 for everything. While it did lack in aspects and definitely does not deserve the genre tags "thriller" and "suspense" it is a good, classical drama/melodrama and if you like those kind of movies you should go for it.


BE WARNED though since this movie has some nudity. So I would say watch it if you think you don't mind sexual scenes.

71: Into the Fire

포화속으로 (71: Into the Fire) is a South Korean movie based on a real historic event during the Korean war directed by John H. Lee and released in 2010.

Story: The movie starts with Oh Jung-beom being ordered around to deliver supplies to soldiers in need in Yeongdeok. The town is attacked by North Korean soldiers and Jung-beom is saved my Lieutenant Kim Jun-seop who dies to save the student soldier. Full of guilt Jung-beom manages to get to Pohang with another unit of the South Korean army that established a base camp in a girls middle school. As the troops leave to fight at the Nakdong river 71 student-soldiers, most of whom never used a gun before, are left at the middle school to defend the minor strategic point. Kang Suk-dae makes Jung-beom the leader of the student-soldiers because he is one of three of the group who has some combat experience.
One day they are on patrol and get under fire. The feared 766th division of the North Korean army is attacking the group of students. The get an ultimatum to either rise a white flag or the school will be attacked by the division.
After reporting their encounters with the North Korean soldiers, Kang Suk-dae continously asks the commander of the forces at Nakdong river to send support to the school and shortly before the North Koreans attack he leaves with his soldiers for the school to save the students.

Cast: There was not one actor in this movie whom I didn't believe his role. I think they all put their heart and soul into this production and it is visible. T.O.P as Oh Jung-beom was doing especially well in the beginning being the traumtised students. Since he has to take the lead later on it shows that his acting is strong in this movie, the transformation to a leader of the student-soldiers is portrayed well.
Kwon Sang-woo as Gu Kap-jo was really good in his rebellious acting and it seemed as if I saw him before in this role. I don't know if he often plays those rebel characters but it was really good. Kim Seung-woo as Kang Suk-dae was good, too. He seemed sincerely worried about the soldiers on a human basis much more like a father character that doesn't want to see his children die because he had to leave them alone.
Cha Seung-won as Park Mu-rang, the leader of the North Korean division, was a good antagonist. While I personally think his character was sometimes a little bit too careless about orders (I don't think the North Korean military would like that much) it still worked well with the story and totally was not a problem with his acting.
Of course as this is a movie about the Korean war there are lots and lots of actors and I can't name them all but other actors in this movie include Kim Yoon-sung as Poong-chun, Yoon Seung-hoon as Hwang Chang-woo, Kim Hye-seong as Yong-man, Kim Dong-bum as Jae-seon and Shin Hyeon-tak as Dal-yeong.


I personally loved this movie in its real and historic tragedy for portraying the reality of war. Especially the Korean war is a topic I know much about and that is therefore a special topic to me. It is one of the wars where brothers could have happened to fight against each other because of different ideologies or just living places. I had to rate this movie with a 10/10 and also added it to the list of my favorite movies (I'm not a movie person so there aren't that many though..)
I highly recommend this movie if you are interested in Korean history.

Formula 17

十七岁的天空 (Formula 17) is a Taiwanese gay movie directed by Yin-jung Chen and released in 2004 with a screentime of 93 minutes.

Story: Chou Tien Tsai is a country kid who believes in true love. One day he goes to Taipei to meet his internet friend face to face but he eventually ends up in a gay club after his internet friend suggests having sex without love. In that club his friend Yu works as a barkeeper. During the next days Yu and Tien are roommates. In the bar Tien also meets CC, Yu's friend, and a man who is described as a playboy by many, Bai.
After that night in the club Yu tries to help Tien to lose his virginity but all plans fail as eventually Tien keeps running into Bai and falls in love with him even though he knows it might be dangerous for his feelings.

Cast: Tony Yang as Chou Tien Tsai is such a cute character that I really wanted to squeal from time to time. The naive, romantic country person came out well in this role. Duncan Lai as Bai is also an interesting character by the way he tries to avoid love. While it is not bad at first he starts to consult a professional at some point as he doesn't know what is happening to him.
King Chin as Yu is such a hilarious character - I think you should see him in this movie - that I couldn't do anything but laugh about the country bumpkin who turned into a big city bar keeper and party person. He can't keep up with Dada Ji as CC though - like.. CC is the gay person many people actually just imagine as the representative of gay men (which of course he isn't) but together with Jimmy Yang as Alan they are doing a great job at keeping up the comedy because of their characters literally screaming "gay" at the audience.


I honestly admit that I watched this movie for the first time back in 2011 or 2012 back when I was really interested in all that boys love and gay movie-stuff and I had to rewatch this movie to be able to tell you about the story and to properly criticize it.
What I can tell you is that it is an entertaining comedy movie that is almost a little bit like satire - even though I wouldn't view it as criticism - so the acting is a little bit extreme. However, this movie made me laugh much more and it has quite memorable scenes I still remembered even after such a long time. So it does deserve a rating of 8.5/10 solely for those parts.
The love story on the other hand is cute but somehow basic - it is nothing really unique but the package made this movie funny and cute at the same time and I should probably put it on the list of "feel-good"-movies.

Postman to Heaven

천국의 우편배달부 (Postman to Heaven) is a South Korean movie directed by Lee Hyeong-min and released in 2009 with a running time of 108 minutes. The movie actually was a Japanese-Korean collaboration written by Eriko Kitagawa.

Story: Jae-joon is a mailman delivering letters to heaven which makes him the heaven's postman. One day when emptying the mailbox he meets Ha-na, a woman who keeps on writing to her deceased ex-boyfriend. During the next two weeks they become closer and try to ease the pain of those who are in pain after someone's death - but Jae-joon has a secret that is the reason why they can't be found out.

Cast: Kim Jae-joong as Jae-joon is a really interesting character and actor. It is soon obvious that he has a secret but the acting keeps his character mysterious and somehow interesting. Also the character develops and changes slowly which was portrayed well.
Han Hyo-joo as Ha-na was a little bit too childish as a character sometimes but her turning into a happy and bright person was really good to watch and the light-hearted kind of thing that is popular among audiences in both Japan and Korea. The acting was good but not perfect so her overall performance was a nice thing but still not perfect.
However, they had a good chemistry on-screen which was easy and nice to watch.


The way this story was told somehow fascinates me, the idea of a heaven's postman who helps to ease people's pain is something I would wish for in a real life. The way Jae-joon's personal background was revealed and what or who exactly he is in fact is very interesting. While this movie maybe included not enough action to be one of my overall favorite movies, it is definitely worth watching.
So my personal rating is a 7.5/10.

Little Black Dress

마이 블랙 미니드레스 (My Black Mini Dress; Little Black Dress) is a South Korean Movie that was directed by Heo In-moo and released in 2011. It has a running time of 107 minutes.


Story: The movie deals with the friendship, hopes, wishes and failures of four 24 year-olds who just graduated from university.
Yoo-min still doesn't know what she wants to do but ends up working as a supporting writer. Going to the interview in a sports suit because she was told to her new boss sends her off to buy clothes with the credit card given to her and she ends up buying a black mini dress at a luxury department store and accepts the job. However, her job mainly consists of organizing papers or taking care of the main writer's twin sons. She runs into Young-mi one day, a girl she knew from highschool, who also works as a supporting writer.
Hye-ji is a party girl and busy enjoying life to its fullest. One day she is scouted by a talent agency because the manager saw her dancing in a club. Shooting to stardom quickly she experiences her friends' jealousy as well as the problems of sudding stardom.
Soo-jin tried to become an actress but failed and is most jealous of Hye-ji. After failing in many auditions she faked her degree and started to work as a tutor.
Min-hee has rich parents who are going to get divorced. In order to avoid the drama she wants to study abroad but her language skills are not good enough so she wants to get Hye-ji to attend an academy with her.


Cast: Yoon Eun-hye portrays the kinda clueless character of Yoo-min good but it wasn't really an outstanding performance. In certain parts her acting seems a little bit bland.
Park Han-byul as Hye-ji did a good job portraying her character and the problems of the sudden rise to fame as well as the regular fights with Soo-jin. An actress playing in actress - it sounds a bit ironic but the role was played fairly well.
Cha Ye-ryun was best in her role as the jealous and unsuccessful tutor who just wants to become an actress instead of teaching. As mentioned just above the fights with Soo-jin are portrayed well.
Yoo In-na as Min-hee is of course incredibly beautiful but just seems to be the typical, dumb kid born to rich parents. I won't say the acting was bland but it was just ridiculous and unrealistic.

My rating for this movie is a 3.5/10 and it is not only a little bit disappointing.
While it does remind me of Sex and the City in certain ways it is just a pointless movie - what are they trying to say with this? In the very first place, why are the girls still friends? If they are jealous of each other and don't get along what is the reason? Is there a special bond? Why did they even bring in a male character? This movie was somehow funny just because it did not make sense and didn't really have a point or a plot at all.

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The Technicians

기술자들 (The Technicians; also known as The Con Artists) is a South Korean movie directed by Kim Hong-sun that was released in 2014 with a running time of 116 minutes.

Story: Lee Ji-hyeok is a safe cracker and counterfeiter - one of the best in his field - and works with Koo-in who introduces him to Park Jong-bae, an elite hacker. Together, the three plan to steal diamonds worth 500.000$. After that Chairman Cho of Chinatown wants them to work with him to steal 150 billion won. But Ji-hyeok and his comrades make their own plans instead which gets them into some trouble..

Cast: Kim Woo-bin as Lee Ji-hyeok was really good in this movie. He played the smart and cocky character so well that I can hardly imagine someone else in this role.
Lee Hyun-woo as Jong-bae was really good, too. He looks so innocent so it was pretty much against the typical cliché but he did well and the role of the youngest of the team who always gets accused of being a traitor somehow worked well for him.
Ko Chang-seok as Koo-in was somehow the naive part of this trio even though he is the oldest and has the most contacts in his field. The acting was really good, especially when getting mad at Ji-hyeok at one point.
Jo Yoon-hee as Oh Eun-ha is the typical helpless female character we all should remember from K-Dramaland I think. There is nothing special and I think her performance was okay but definitely not the strongest.
And I can't leave out Kim Young-chul as Chairman Cho. I recently feel I stumble upon his name way too often and in this movie I think it is one of my favorite roles. He's definitely a good villain and a good actor in my opinion.


8.5/10 was my decision for rating this movie. It is good, definitely on the better side of the scale but some parts of the plot were too obvious - which isn't bad because it is still very strong and has his strong parts. Especially the acting and the characters but also some unique twists make this movie good. Highly recommended!

Psychometry

사이코메트리 (Psychometry; also known as The Gifted Hands) is a South Korean movie with a runtime of 108 minutes that was directed by Kwon Ho-young and released in 2013.

Story: Yang Chun-dong is a rather unsuccessful detective. One day he takes on the case of a missing child but is unable to find her for one month. He is the only one willing to work on it so there is no special task force but alone he is unable to find the girl alive. 30 days later she is found dead at a playground not far from her home. Trying to find the murder Chun-dong remembers an encounter with a young man in an alley. The graffiti painting the men created looks exactly like the playground which of course leads to the man, Kim Jun, as a murder suspect. But since he was suspended, Yang Chun-dong investigates only with the help of Yang Soo. Soon the two know that Kim Jun has a secret but only his highschool classmate Kim Seul-gi can give Chun-dong a hint on what is going on with Jun.

"Psychometry, also known as token-object reading, or psychoscopy, is a form of extrasensory perception characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object."

When another girl, Yoon Da-hee, disappears, Yang Chun-dong decides to use Jun to find the little girl before she dies.

Cast: So at the very first we have Kim Kang-woo as Yang Chun-dong. I admire this actor in crime series since Missing Noir M and this role is totally different but very well played. The struggle with the past and the determination to find Da-hee while also protecting Jun are portrayed in a way it kept me hoping for the best.
Kim Jun was played by Kim Bum and he is literally my favorite actor since I started watching K-Dramas. So of course I had to watch this movie and he didn't disappoint me at all. His acting involving the psychometry power was a little bit as if he was obsessed - but I have no other idea on how else it could be portrayed so he honestly got even more respect from me now.
Lee Joon-hyuk played Yang Soo and while he personally isn't a very likeable character I think the acting was good, too. It is just that Yang Soo wants money and is responsible for a bad situation Chun-dong is in so that is how Yang Soo gets dragged into this case.
Kim Seul-gi isn't a major character in this series - but I recognized Esom right away and in her very short scenes she also did a solid job but of course as a side character she is not really important and only appears in a few scenes.

And little Da-hee was played by Kim Yoo-bin. She is so cute I was really praying for her safety until the end. It is hard for me to rate her acting but it seemed like children would really behave that way so it was good, too.


This movie. I just hated it on many levels during the last minutes because it was so exciting. I don't quite know why but it has potential to be one of my favorite movies. The supernatural effect, the suspense, the bromance (no, it is not even close to gay and doesn't disturb the movie), the mystery and the thrill - it was a great movie and deserves its rating with 9/10 quite well. I love it and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested either in supernatural or crime or.. both?

And so a new year has begun...

YES, I'm aware I'm a little bit late but I hope all of you spent a beautiful Christmas festival with your beloved ones. And I also hope everyone arrived in the year 2017 without having too much of a hangover.

This entry is just one I wanted to write to let you know what I'm up to and how I'm planning to continue my blog in the future. Also during 2016 you probably noticed that especially during the end there was a clear shift in favor of Korean movies and dramas which is just the majority of what I watch.
I still intend to write about Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese dramas and movies when I watch some. But the point is that I moved to Seoul for one year as an exchange student back in February 2016. Therefore I do understand Korean better than Japanese or any language I never even started to learn. And as most of you might be able to think about - I don't write an entry every week. I plan my entries and have them posted every Friday but back in February already I had entries planned until somewhere in August since I knew I probably wouldn't have much time to watch K-drama. And dramas and movies where part of my preparation helping me to improve my listening comprehension as well as learning some terms - things that you just pick up over time.
I can't tell for how long I have entries planned now, maybe until March or April, maybe longer, it depends on how much I can watch and write about until I go back to my home country that doesn't feel like home even a bit now in February. After going back I will most likely start to watch more dramas again when I'm bored but I hope you will forgive me if for a certain amount of time I can't update regularly anymore.
My next semester starts in April 2017, and it is my last semester of my major course. I think I will at least need one more semester for my minor but I hope I can get two out of this, it all depends on my courses, but it most likely will leave me some time even though I have to get a job besides so I can go back to Korea as soon as I can.

Enough of this talk already, I hope I didn't forget anything. I wish all of you a Happy New Year 2017 and may it be better than 2016 - for me 2016 will be difficult to beat but I will give it my all to rock the year 2017 as well.

Days With You

恋極星 (Koikyokusei; Days With You) is a Japanese movie directed by Amiy Mori and released in March 2009.

Story: Natsuki Kashiwagi lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and takes care of her autistic brother Daiki Kashiwagi. One day she is reunited with her childhood love Souta Funabiki who moved away to Canada when they were young. The two fall in love again but Souta suffers from a serious disease and decided to not get surgery again since the disease is always returning.

Cast: Another movie with Erika Toda in it, this time as Natsuki Kashiwagi. Her acting is really good in my opinion, she manages to portray the happiness and the hope as well as the sadness and the burden of caring for her brother alone after her fathers death well.
Kazuki Kato delivers another great character as Souta Funabiki. The way he portrayed the struggle with the disease and the hopelessness but also the will to fight for his love and his parents was portrayed well and really made me hope the best for him (and the fact that I just hate sad endings of course makes me hope for the best all the time as well).
And Ryuya Wakaba as Daiki Kashiwagi did a great job portraying the autistic younger brother. I don't know much about autism, just that there are of course different forms, and I was wondering if what he was portraying was a real form of autism but I think it fit the story well in total and did highlight the fact that he somehow needed his sister to help him.


I can't say I loved this movie but I kinda liked it so it got a 7/10 from me. It is not necessarily a movie I would rewatch even though I do love the setting and the acting a lot but the story doesn't really offer a big surprise. I honestly knew what disease they would use right when I read about a 'serious illness', it is just what usually happens in dramas and movies.
But what I have to admit is that the Japanese movie producers know how to make a heartwrenching melodramas just by using some stereotypical things.

Voice of a Murderer

그놈 목소리 (Voice of a Murderer) is a South Korean crime-thriller drama movie that is the fictionalized version of a real kidnapping in 1991. The movie was released in 2007.

Story: Han Kyung-bae is a famous news anchor of the 9PM news. His wife Oh Ji-sun is a Christian who tries to make their chubby Han Sang-woo lose weight. One day Sang-woo goes out to the playground and doesn't come back home. His mother tries to reach friends and family but during the night it becomes clear that Sang-woo disappeared without a trace. The kidnapper calls the father and gives clear instructions on what to do so the parents will get their son back alive. However, soon Ji-sun informs the police and a special task force is set up under detective Kim Wook-jung to find the young boy.

Cast: Sol Kyung-gu as Han Kyung-bae and Kim Nam-joo as Oh Ji-sun were really good in the roles of the parents who try to do everything to save their son. It was a realistic way of portraying desperate parents and both actors put their feelings into those roles.
Kim Young-chul as Kim Wook-jung was also really good when it came to portraying the feelings of his personal situation - for example in a trunk to always be with the father in his car - showing how much energy this case cost the police force as well. While he was of course not as emotionally involved as the parents having a child himself he did work hard to try and get the boy back.
Ko Su-hee as Cha Su-hee brought some funny aspect to this movie in parts while it still kept it's serious atmosphere. Song Young-chang as Captain No tried to keep a rather calm atmosphere around him and to give the parents some hope and safety.
Other actors in this drama include Kim Kwang-gyu, Kang Dong-won and Yoon Je-moon.

So I did like this movie in some way. The story was interesting and it is definitely not something to take lightly. It was good to watch but left a bitter taste behind. Some parts were filmed very shakily so it would've been nice to hold the camera a little more still and pay more attention to the way it was filmed. As the story, setting and acting were good I would give this a 7/10 rating.

Eighteen

회오리 바람 (Eighteen) is a South Korean movie directed by Jang Kun-Jae and released in February 2010. The movie has a duration of 95 minutes.

Story: Tae-hoon and Mi-jeong travel to the East Coast during their winter break to celebrate their 100th day anniversary. After coming back to Seoul problems begin to arise as Tae-hoon gets scolded for travelling and Mi-jeong's parents call Tae-hoon's parents. While Mi-jeong's parents don't want the two to meet anymore and Tae-hoon is ready to fight for his relationship, Mi-jeong simply gives in and listens to her parents.
This movie pretty much includes forbidden love, highschool times and teenagers, and of course the first love.

Cast: Seo Jun-young was in this movie the male protagonist Tae-hoon. He is stubborn and willing to fight and do all he can but it makes things even more complicated. As for the acting, it definitely wasn't his strongest role but it could've been a lot worse in my opinion. It is just that there was some exciting element missing when it came to his character and his acting. I can say pretty much the same about Lee Min-ji as Mi-jeong. I don't know much about her but I think she was a little bit boring in this situation. And so was her character who just gave in to her parents wishes and doesn't even try to stand up for herself and her wishes.
As for the other actors not many of them are known internationally. Choi Hyo-sang played Mi-jeong's aggressive and over-protective father. Which he wasn't doing too bad so I wanted to give him some credit. While the aggression the character showed towards his daughter is never what a parent should be like that I do know that some parents especially in Korea are like that.
Kwon Hyuk-Poong as Tae-hoon's father seemed more calm and understanding at least and the acting was also very much descent so he is another actor from this movie I know about.


After all I would love to tell you that this movie was good but it was more average to me. I read a review on MyDramaList and expected it to be way worse than it actually was. I feel like they put in some stuff just to make the movie longer like some accident that occurred - that didn't have any connection to the rest of the plot. The story in general could've been much shorter since they added scenes that weren't needed. But in the end I felt like I missed out on something.
In total I would say if you like stories about first love and the tragic Romeo and Juliett part, than a 6.5/10 is okay for this movie. After all it does have a story and the way it is filmed seemed very independent but gave beautiful impressions and pictures of South Korea's East Coast.

Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard

전우치 (Jeon Woo Chi) is a South Korean movie directed by Choi Dong-hoon released in 2009.

Story: The movie begins in the Chosun dynasty where a young wizard named Jeon Woo Chi, his friend and helper, three Taoist wizards, a king and evil goblins all are after a prophetic pipe. While trying to get the pipe Jeon Woo Chi becomes framed for a crime he didn't commit and ends up sealed into an ancient scroll.
In 2009 evil goblins start appearing all over Korea again and the retired Taoist wizards are called to help. They release Jeon Woo Chi and his friend and servant from the scroll to help them and save the world. In modern Korea, however, women and sightseeing become far more interesting to Jeon Woo Chi.

Cast: So the main character Jeon Woo Chi was played by Kang Dong-won. I haven't seen him in many works I think but in this one his acting was good - just the character was a little bit ridiculous and weird which is probably not really surprising.
Yoo Hae-jin as Chorangyi, the servant, friend and actual dog of Woo Chi, was hilarious in his own way. The acting was so funny that I really came to like him as a character and the actor itself.
Lim Soo-jung as Seo In-kyung turned out to be one of the less memorable characters. I would love to tell all of you more about the character and the acting but I cannot say much about it. It wasn't bad but not good so more like an average not really outstanding person.
Kim Yun-seok as Hwadam was just the perfect villain to me though. I think I was a little bit scared but it wasn't too bad so I'm still alive.
Other actors in this movie include Baek Yoon-sik, Joo Jin-mo, Kim Sang-ho and Song Young-chang.


After all I can say that a 7.5/10 is not really a bad rating for this movie. Logic aside, it was fun and included impressive martial arts-scenes. On the other hand it really lacked that one thing - logic. Yes, even fantasy usually includes some.
However, for a movie night with about 200 exchange students it is a fun and light watch and nothing too serious.
I recommend it if you're interested in fantasy and martial arts as a short pleasure but nothing more, I don't think it would be more to most people.

Rough Play

배우는 배우다 (Rough Play; An Actor is an Actor) is a South Korean movie directed by Shin Youn-shick and released in 2013.

Story: Oh Young is a young actor who suddenly becomes very popular but his character changes due to his fame. He starts to work with a group of gangsters and gets involved in scandals which not only almost destroys his career but also could get him killed at some point.

Cast: Oh Young was played by Lee Joon whom I personally consider a good actor nowadays. In this movie his performance within a performance is good, and that deserves some attention in my opinion.
Seo Bum-suk as Kim Jang-ho was the manager who started the spiral in this movie. While I'm not totally sure about his intentions anymore the acting was totally fine.
Seo Young-hee as Oh Yeon-hee was barely memorable in any way to me. Not because her acting was bad but I'm not lying when I say I really don't quite remember her character in this movie which is.. a little bit weird since she was important.
Ma Dong-seok is in one of the character types he can play well in this movie - a gangster boss just somehow seems to fit him well so I remember him a lot better than some other actors.
Other actors in this movie include Kang Shin-hyo, Yang Dong-geun, Oh Gwang-rok and Kim Hyung-jun.
In total I think the cast delivered a performance I would rate as 'okay' - some did better than others, can't deny that, some were hardly memorable and again others just seemed to be there.


In the end this movie left me a little bit wondering about... everything?
What was the purpose of the sexual scenes? Yeah, it showed that Oh Young lost it a little bit after being successful but it wasn't necessary at all I think. I guess they just added that to make fangirls watch it.
The beginning and the end were a little bit chaotic and confusing. I was guessing it might be some infinite loop of events but I don't quite know what to think about it.
What happened to all the other characters in the end? There were so many characters that just disappeared without any explanation at all.
So the story is okay. So is the movie but I definitely had higher expectations so maybe that's why my rating is only a 6/10 and I probably won't watch it again.

The Target

표적 (The Target) is a South Korean movie that was released in 2014. The movie directed by Director Chang has a runtime of 98 minutes and is a remake of the French movie Point Blank.

Story: Baek Yeo-hoon is followed by men in the beginning and gets into an accident. Ending up in a hospital, Lee Tae-joon becomes his doctor. Soon Lee's wife is kidnapped and he needs to get Baek Yeo-hoon out of the hospital to safe his pregnant wife. Through this crime Yeo-hoon and Tae-joon find themselves in the middle of police officers working for their own benefits.

Cast: Lee Jin-wook is in this movie (again~? I feel like I've been watching a lot of his works lately) as Lee Tae-joon. His performance in this movie was quite good though his character was the type of character I usually like, more like a too unrational person.
Ryu Seung-ryong was a more interesting character to me. While at first his intentions are pretty unclear, this is exactly what makes the character as interesting as it is. A sad family story in the background, he tries to protect his brother Sung-hoon who suffers from the Tourette syndrome played by Jin Goo. Yoo Jun-sang as Chief  Detective Song also did a good job in my opinion though I think it's natural to not really like his character. In general it was believable though.
And there's Jo Yeo-jeong as Tae-joon's wife Hee-joo, a psychiatrist, who really seems to live up to her role. I enjoyed seeing her in this movie a lot.

Soundtrack: Nothing was off, everything was where it had to be - that's literally all I can say about this. It's definitely a nice action soundtrack.


Please note that I did not watch the original movie. Therefore, I cannot compare this movie to the French original.
In general this movie was good, a 7,5/10 rating is still pretty nice regarding the fact that the story wasn't mind-blowing. It's a story that's quite common. The acting and soundtrack were good though and the story wasn't boring either so I will forget about some flaws.

Recommended to fans of action movies!

Perfect Partner

완벽한 파트너  (Perfect Partner, also known as My Secret Partner) is a South Korean comedy adult movie directed by Park Hyun-soo and released in 2011.

Story: Joon-suk is a screenwriter who needs new inspiration and gets into an affair with a young female writer, Yeon-hee, who lacks some creativity. Yeon-hee's mom Hee-sook is a cook researcher looking for new ides since she is just recycling old recipes. Her student, Min-soo, Joon-suk's son, is full of new ideas and willing to try a lot of those. These two also find a way of helping each other.

Cast: Kim Young-ho as Joon-suk was a little bit.. ridiculous in my opinion. He is not the type of adult or teacher you meet or see often so it makes him funny but at the same time a little bit annoying in my honest opinion. The acting is nothing especially outstanding but also not really bad, honestly just something you expect from an actor.
Kim Hye-sun as Hee-sook on the other hand seems to be a somehow strict adult who also knows exactly what she wants. She is a strong woman and that is portrayed well in this movie. In the beginning she might seem a little too cold to be taking serious but personally I consider her character to be one of the most realistic in some aspect
Kim San-ho was doing a good job as Min-soo. He seems a little bit naive in this movie but actually that as well as some interesting situations he got himself into and the fight with Hee-sook's actual assistant makes him even more funny. Personally I would say that his performance was the best in this movie.
Yoon Chae-yi as Yeon-hee showed a solid performance as well but sometimes there was something I felt she lacked. I cannot really explain what it is so I just hope others who watched the movie understand what I mean.. in the end it wasn't that bad though.

Soundtrack: I can't say much about the soundtrack but it did what it should've done for me - it supported the humorous aspects well but not so much the serious parts so it is neither bad nor incredibly good.


After all my rating for this movie is a 8.5/10 even though I can criticize many parts of it. The story is actually basic in many aspects, and the cross relationships between parent/teacher and the other persons child was a bit confusing at first and honestly didn't do much for the story - except for the last scene, which is still very much in my memory but didn't explain anything clearly and didn't last for too long either.
The comedy part of this movie was great! As for the adult part (yes, I'm talking about sex scenes) I wonder if it was necessary. It wasn't too much but the story would've worked without it most of the time, too.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I wanted to punch the characters for being stupid and not thinking stuff through carefully but I guess this is a problem within the comedy genre anyways.

I recommend this movie to.. comedy fans who are clearly 18+/19+, it's not really a movie to watch with your family or your child so don't think I didn't warn you.

My Tutor Friend 2

동갑내기 과외하기 레슨 II (My Tutor Friend: Lesson 2) is a South Korean movie directed by Kim Ho-jung and Ji Kil-woong and was released on April 19th 2007.

Story: Junko Kitano is an exchange student from Japan who plans to study in Korea to find Woo-sung and learn the Korean language. She lives in a guesthouse in which the friendly owner is cooking for his son and the tenants. At some point she finds out that the room she rented is actually the room of the owner, Heo Jong-man. She plans on leaving the guesthouse but Jong-man's father offers her a package deal - he makes Jong-man teach Junko Korean. Since Jong-man doesn't want to tutor the exchange student, he gets her into a lot of trouble and the two start fighting each other..

Cast: Lee Chung-ah is in this movie as Kitano Junko. I openly admit that my Japanese is not that good so I don't know how good she was at Japanese but acting as if she's at a beginner level when it comes to speaking her own language seems kind of difficult to me. Of course it is her job as an actress but I found it believable (I even checked whether she was Korean-Japanese mixed or something). Park Ki-woong as Heo Jong-man was also really nice to watch, someone working hard because of a sad past. He's a talented actor and his acting in this movie in general was good though I sometimes felt it was overdone - but then again it was supposed to be a comedy.
Jong-man's father Heo Ha-ryong was played by Lee Young-ha and I really loved this kind of father-son-relationship. It was some chaos but it was somehow cute and that's what actually makes things more interesting and somewhat more realistic (though not all parents occasionally insult their children in playful ways I guess).


After all this movie is more realistic than the first one though it is not always a good idea to travel to another country to find someone you loved.
A 7.5/10 rating seems to work well in my opinion. The movie is funny but does have it's serious moments so sometimes it loses some of it's strength but it's still pretty much alright.

Recommended to Rom-com fans and of course fans of the lead actors!

My Tutor Friend

동갑내기 과외하기 (My Tutor Friend) is a South Korean movie directed by Kim Kyeong-hyeong and released on February 7th 2013.

Story: Choi Su-wan is a sophomore in college who has to work to pay her tuition fees after her father lost his job and opened a chicken restaurant with her mother. Tutoring is a difficult job since most of the students are more interested in female features. After quitting another job, her mom gets angry and makes it clear that Su-wan has to work. A rich friend of her mother asks her to tutor her son, Kim Ji-hoon, who's 21 years old but still a high school student. Ji-hoon, being well-known for causing trouble, is not interested in studying but his father wants him to graduate. Though Ji-hoon's behavior drives her crazy, she can't lose this job again and decides to teach him some manners..

Cast: Kim Ha-neul as Choi Su-wan was basically born for her role. In some parts, her character reminded me of Jan-di in the drama Boys Over Flowers and I love that kind of confident characters who know how to defend themselves if it is needed. She was really good in this movie.
Kwon Sang-woo as Kim Ji-hoon was also really good. I loved the way he portrayed a rebellious character but I don't think it was necessary to make him as a character that "stupid". It was okay but not necessary - after all that's the writers' fault and not about the actor.
I couldn't do anything but admire how beautiful Kim Ji-woo was a Ho-kyung but she was this typical type of Mary Sue-character. The movie didn't really need her in my honest opinion. The acting was a little childish though but I guess that might be because of the movie being a little older. Gong Yoo as Lee Joon-soo, the high school boss, actually made this movie a little more funny. A funny character and strong acting were the strong comical part this series had.


This movie got a 8/10 rating from me because it is funny and cute but does have it's serious moments. It has the chance of maybe becoming one of my favorite romance movies in Korea. Yes, they could've made it a little shorter again (why do I have the feeling Korean movies are generally longer than US or German movies?!) but it's not like the movie really turned out boring. Not even in parts.

Recommended to all the rom-com fans who don't mind watching some older movies!

Marathon

말아톤 (Marathon) is a South Korean movie directed by Jeong Yoon-chul and was released in January 2005. The movie is based on the real story of Bae Hyeong-jin and was the 4th most attended movie in South Korea in 2005.

Story: Yoon Cho-won is a young man with autism who's living with his mother and his younger brother Jung-won. His brother is sometimes jealous because of the attention Cho-won gets from their mother even though he learned to live with his disability in a society that doesn't deal with disabilities openly. The only way for Cho-won to find real joy and release is running. After placing third in a race his mother decides to hire a coach to train him for a marathon - and Cho-won's dream is to break the record.

Cast: Yoon Cho-won was played by Cho Seung-woo in this movie. His portrayal of an autistic character was realistic and therefore excellent. Also, Kim Mi-sook as Kyung-sook, Cho-won's mother, delivered an excellent performance. It seems these actors really did some serious research on the issues a family with an autistic child experiences.
Lee Ki-young as Coach Son Jung-wook represented a part of society in fact. As a character he didn't know how to deal with autism at first and he slowly learned about the disability and how to handle an autistic athlete. Though he was a minor character, his growth was impressive.
And Baek Sung-hyun is in this movie as Yoon Jung-won. While he didn't have that much screentime, his acting was stable - a jealous but also caring brother. Of course this might not have been his best role but it was good after all.


In the end my rating for this movie is 6/10 not because of the acting but it's simply a movie showing the life of a family. It's rather slow-paced, the story in itself is interesting but it was too long in some parts so it turned out to be a little boring with the duration of roughly two hours.

Pained

통증 (Pained, also known as Pain) is a South Korean movie that was released in 2011.

Story: Nam-soon works for a loan shark as a human punching bag to scare people into paying back their debt. He lost the ability to feel pain after a car accident in which his family died. Since he feels responsible for the accident he lost his will to live as well.
Dong-hyun is a young woman who's parents died both because of illnesses. She has high debts left to pay though she only makes money selling handmade items and additionally suffers from hemophilia.
One day Nam-soon and Bum-no visit Dong-hyun to collect a debt. Bum-no has to leave, and Nam-soon quietly waits outside until Dong-hyun comes out of her house. The police soon arrives and finds the two of them fighting which makes Nam-soon leave.
When a few days later a group of homeless approach Dong-hyun because of her father owing them money, Nam-soon helps her out and since she had to left her apartment because of him, he decides to let her live with him..

Cast: Kwon Sang-woo as Nam-soon wasn't too bad of an actor. Same goes for Jung Ryeo-won as Dong-hyun. But their chemistry could have been better and I honestly felt like something just wasn't right. Their acting in itself was pretty much okay anyways, so there's nothing special to really say about them.
However, Bum-no played by Ma Dong-seok was the highlight in this movie. The acting overall was great and I did like his character and how he worked with Nam-soon. I can't really explain the reason but I just liked it.

Soundtrack: While I don't know the title of the song, I did like the song at the end of the movie. The music was one of the things I enjoyed about this movie.


I'm sure a rating of 5/10 is kind of surprising to some of those who read this post thus far. There are a few reasons to it but let's just start with the most obvious one:
This is a melodrama. It's also categorized as "tearjerker" and I was far from crying. There were romance-comedy dramas that brought me closer to tears. Besides I'm not a huge fan of melodrama but still ended up watching this movie (that's my bad but I still have hope I'll find a melodrama that captures my attention).
The whole plot isn't that unique as well. A man who can't feel pain and a woman who thinks stuff over and over again because of her disease. But really, it doesn't feel like there's a unique touch to it. The story itself wasn't really able to keep me interested.
The fighting scenes were nice and also some scenes with the two leads but I still got the feeling they just lacked something.
And what was worse to me was the ending. I don't get why they did that. First, it would've made sense for all those people around to call an ambulance. If you've watched this movie before, you might understand what I mean. Secondly, it would only make sense for Dong-hyun to die. Of course we don't know that (I won't tell you what's exactly happening) but the part including Nam-soon's prayer just seems randomly placed there. It's not like a prayer could heal a genetic disease. Well, yes, of course, a melodrama should be more based on emotions than on logic but still, that's what actually bothers me.

However, it's not a waste of time if you're bored and have nothing else to watch. Though you might need to like melodramatic love stories. I probably won't watch it again or maybe when I'm in a bad mood because of being love sick.