Friday, September 30, 2011

A Million Stars Falling From The Sky (Japanese Drama 2002)

(Can also be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

Cast:

Dojima Kanzo - a cop

Dojima Yuko - Kanzo sister that was then then revealed to be adopted

Nishihara Miwa - heir to Nishihara Group, Yuko best friend

Katasa Ryo - a very mysterious chef apprentice

Miyashita Yuki - a mysterious woman, who is also Ryo’s girlfriend

Sugita Kotoko - Kanzo colleague

Kashiwagi Naoya – the man Miwas supposed to marry (arrange marriage)

Plot Summary

A university student was found dead at the bottom of a very high apartment. The cops believe it was suicide. They conclude that she jump off the balcony of her apartment. After the autopsy, only then the cops found out that she was stab before thrown off the balcony. The murderer went back to the apartment to arrange everything to its normal state.

The police suspect her ex-boyfriend did it. Kanzo how ever, was skeptical. “He is not strange,” remark Kanzo. “He doesn’t have the heart to kill anyone.” The other cops was torn apart whether to believe in Kanzo or not. But, they do respect him as a senior cop full of experience. “His instinct is always right,” remark a colleague. The only lead the cops have is a photo of the deceased victim with a few friends. The victim was a film addicted. She has rows of film DVD. Strangely, the DVD was arranged in the same sequel in the photo which was taken years before the murder took place. ‘The murderer is a person that can memorize anything with just one look,” remark Kotoko.

On a big cruise boat, Miwa is having her birthday party. She is turning 25. Yuko is also there helping her. Yuko wear the bracelet given to her by Kanzo. Kanzo has a crush towards Miwa. On the big cruise boat, was the place Miwa fist met Ryo and fallen in love to him. Yuko also have a love-hate relation with Ryo (they share a burn scar, losing of family members and the lonely feeling). Miwa parents wanted her to marry Kashiwagi of high standard (mainly to protect their own standard). But, Kashiwagi is a pervert if I might say so. How ever, Miwa killed Kashiwagi so that she can finally be with Ryo. Miwa didn’t know that Ryo is already fallen towards Yuko. Yuki tried to stab Yuko after finding out about her affair with Ryo but failed. It is then revealed that Yuki was the one who killed the university student out of jealousy. The university student was falling for Ryo.

Ryo was getting closer to Yuko. He decided it is time for him to find out the truth of his broken memories of his past. Slowly, Ryo regains some of his memories. It was revealed that Kanzo was the man that killed Ryo’s father. Ryo’s father was actually a murderer. Kanzo, who was a young inexperience cop at that time, out of nervousness, shoot Ryo’s father. Ryo didn’t tell anything to Yuko while planning for revenge. After more of his memories regained, only then Ryo realized that Yuko is actually his sister. It tears up Ryo as he love Yuko and they had already slept together. (I don't know why they have to throw the incest plot in here).

At the same time, Kashiwagi’s sister, decided to investigate. She then found out everything about Ryo, Yuko and Kanzo and how they are related. Ryo confiscated her gun and before killing her, showed Yuko that he is a heartless man so that Yuko will hate him. The murder was all over the news and a warrant for Ryo’s arrest had been issued. At this time, Yuko is still in the dark of her true relationship with Ryo. Yuko found out from one of Ryo colleagues that he wanted to meet with Kanzo. Yuko goes to the house where Ryo is hiding and end up killing him instead. Then she found the letter inside his pocket that reveals that they were actually siblings. She drags Ryo’s body to the lake and places him in a boat. As they are floating at the middle of the lake, Kanzo finally catches up to them and yelled for her. Then she grasp Ryo’ hand and shoot herself.

Review

University student – killed by Yuki

Ryo’ father – killed by Kanzo

Kashiwagi – killed by Miwa

Kashiwagi’s sister – killed by Ryo

Ryo – killed by Yuko

Yuko – killed herself

Miwa – killed by whom?

Well that is the summary of the drama. There is still one secret that we can pursue. The identity of the person that killed Miwa.

I can accept gay/lesbian, but, INCEST?! Well, cannot blame the character as they don't know the true nature of their relationship. But, the plot about incest nagged me a little bit. Is it just me?!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Baby & I (Korean Movie 2008)

Cast

Jang Guen-suk (born 1987) as Han Joon-su
Moon Mason (born 2007) as Baby Woo-ram
Kim Byul (born 1986) as Kim Byeol
Ko Gyoo-pil as Ki-seok
Choi Jae-hwan as Choon-seong

Plot Summary

Three guys (Joon-su, Ki-seok and Choon-seong), at a food stall, are eating instant noodles while facing towards a row of shops. (These shops are like a wedding shop with glass wall and pretty clothes display). They are checking out girls that walk on the walkway. Then, a chubby girl walk-by and Joon-su say that she is perfect. (At first I thought this movie is about handsome guy falling for chubby girl). He walks towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turns around and sees this very tall and handsome guy smiling at her. (If I were her, I’ll be dumbstruck too). She asks what he wants. He holds her hands and says “Can I get some breast milk?” She slaps him and leave immediately. Then, we see a baby (Baby Woo-ram) in a harness crying. Baby Woo-ram doesn’t want formula milk.

Seven days earlier.

A fight is ensuing. Joon-su rides in his motorcycle and come and beat the bad guys and safe Ki-seon and Choon-seong. He scolds them for picking a fight but they deny it.

In a hall (more like a gym), Joon-su is sitting on the floor wearing a martial art uniform (karate-do) while facing an older man. The older man is angry about the gang fight. (At this point we will find out that the older man is Joon-su’s father). His father beat him up martial art style. Then an older woman (I presume she is the mother) enter the gym and pull the father’s ear. She then proceeds to scold Joon-su. (Two words - woman rules)

In front of a school, (I know it is a school because there is a banner hanging that says ‘Best School of the Year for Sex Education & Good Manners’) a girl (Kim Byeol) in a chicken suit is standing facing it. Joon-su rides his motorcycle and manages to brake just right in front of Kim Byeol. He takes off his helmet and Kim Byeol is dumbfounded. (If a tall handsome guy standing right in front of you, you’ll be dumbfounded too). Joon-su scolds Kim Byeol because she is in his way.

In the school gym, Miss Tyson (PE teacher) is scolding Joon-su and Choon-seong. Ki-seok however did not attend school that day. Miss Tyson tells them that the school board will discuss their future whether they can still attend the school or be expelled, so, they better show up tomorrow with their parents.

At the same time, Kim Byeol runs home and tells her mother that she want to go back to school. Her parents are stunned. (I thought maybe because they are middle class family with nine kids and they could not afford education for their kid. I was wrong. As you proceed further, you’ll know why.). So, Kim Byeol goes to the same school as Joon-su and Miss Tyson told the student she used to study at the prestigious Science High School. While Miss Tyson decides where Kim Byeol should sit, Kim Byeol chooses to sit next to Joon-su. (Here we can see that Joon-su hates Kim Byeol while Kim Byeol just ignore Joon-su attitude towards her. Oohhhh, someone is in love). Joon-su meets Choon-seong on the school top floor and decided to have a smoke. Kim Byeol appear from nowhere and start telling them facts about what smoking can do to you health.

That night Joon-su and Choon-seong goes to see Ki-seok at his work place. They want Ki-seok to attend school tomorrow or he will surely be expelled. Ki-seok doesn’t care much about not getting his High School Diploma. His mother is sick and he needs a lot of money to pay for her hospital bills. Ki-seok tells them that not everyone is as lucky as Joon-su who comes from a rich family.

Joon-su goes home only to find that his parents have leaved him as they are ashamed at his behavior. They will only return once he changes into a responsible person. They suspended his credit card and leaved him a small amount of money. Joon-su doesn’t care much and shows it by throwing a small party at his house for him and his two best friends.

While at the store to get some refreshment and alcohol, someone left a baby (Baby Woo-ram) in his cart. There is a note saying that he is the father and he should take full responsibility of Baby Woo-ram. He takes Baby Woo-ram homes.

His friends and he discover that Baby Woo-ram look exactly like him when he was a baby and decided that no DNA test is necessary. Kim Byeol appear from nowhere (she tag along with Choon-seong atcually), and is disappointed towards Joon-su, but, will be by his side no matter what. Joon-su starts yelling at Kim Byeol and this upset Baby Woo-ram. So, Kim Byeol takes charge of soothing Baby Woo-ram.

The next day, Joon-su takes Baby Woo-ram to see all his ex-girlfriend but every one of them deny ever having a baby right after giving Joon-su a slap.

That night, Joon-su is having some problem on how to handle Baby Woo-ram. So, he decided to call Kim Byeol for assistance.

While trying to leave Baby Woo-ram at a dumpster, Joon-su decided it is best to leave him at an orphanage. There, he meets an older man who decided he also wants to leave his baby at the orphanage. They decides to have a drink at a near by stall. The older man then realizes that he should take responsibility of his baby. Another man with a baby walk-by and joins them. He gives them a card (an address for single father club).

Miss Tyson force Joon-su to attend school no matter what. So, Joon-su takes Baby Woo-ram with him. Baby Woo-ram becomes the center of attention in the class. The no 1 student at the school hates all the fuss and yells at Joon-su to take ‘that thing’ away from school. Joon-su who is short-temper takes Baby Woo-ram dirty diaper and smacks it on the no 1 student’s book. He then gives the no 1 student his book which is still brand new as he never opens it before.

At the same time, all the teachers are having a discussion about the matter. All teachers except Miss Tyson vote for Joon-su to be expelled. Kim Byeol out of nowhere (again?!) tells the teachers that the school policy states nothing against a student having a baby.

After school, Joon-su and Baby Woo-ram goes to the hospital to visit Ki-seok’s mother. Joon-su finds out that Ki-seok have no money to pay the hospital bills. So, he gives Ki-seok a big amount of money left to him by his parent. He tells Ki-seok to buy him a bigger motorbike when Ki-seok becomes rich.

Joon-su decides for the first time to take the sub-way train as he have no money left to even pay for gas. He soon fall asleep and after reaching his stop, he exit the train only to finds out that he have left Baby Woo-ram on the train. At first he chases the train but then decides that it is a chance given to him. At home he sees Baby Woo-ram clothes and toys and realizes he cannot live without Baby Woo-ram. He goes to the police station to file a report and discover that the sub-way have CCTV. So, the policeman knows that Joon-su is not lying about Baby Woo-ram being his baby. The policeman is shocked that even a high school kid can have a baby while the policeman himself is still not even marry yet. The policeman gives Baby Woo-ram back to Joon-su. At the same time, Miss Tyson appears at the police station. The policeman simply accuse Miss Tyson is Baby Woo-ram’s mother and having a relationship with a student which is illegal. This angers Miss Tyson.

At home, Joon-su acquires help from Kim-Byeol to handle Baby Woo-ram while he eats. Baby Woo-ram doesn’t want to drink the formula milk that Kim Byeol is trying to feed him. She said that they need to get some breast milk. Joon-su seems not to care about the situation and continue eating. This anger Kim Byeol and she deduce that Joon-su is not ready to be a father. She said “Parents are supposed to give up their own food for their children”. Joon-su then starts staring at Kim Byeol chest. (I guess he wants her to feed Baby Woo-ram).

The next day, Joon-su goes to get addressed of the people who recently registered for birth certificate. Then he proceeds telling the lady at the counter that Baby Woo-ram doesn’t drink formula milk and his mother died while giving birth. (Accompany with fake tears and the fake tears won). So, Joon-su goes to every house on the list to ask for breast milk. He managed to get a lot of bottle of breast milk that can last for a week. (Kim Byeol also accompanies him). Those same days, Joon-su decided that he is ready for fatherhood and goes to the single father club. At the club, the fathers are told to get their baby vaccination. So, the next day Joon-su takes Baby Woo-ram (accompanies by Kim Byeol) to a clinic to get some vaccination. After paying for it, he was left with so little amount of money.

That night, Joon-su starts working as a waiter at a night club. Some of the customer gives him tips for acting it out. (The night club is known as Baby and Joon-su took Baby Woo-ram with him to work making the customer thinks that he is acting his role according the club’s name). His boss told him to pass some brochure outside the club. He asked one of the night club call girls to take care of Baby Woo-ram. After passing all the brochure he went to take Baby Woo-ram only to discover that the call girl have left Baby Woo-ram alone after putting make-up on him. Baby Woo-ram is crying and Joon-su decided his not coming back to the place. (That is child abuse. That girl should be hang or something.)

At school, the no 1 student is bragging that his mother is the PTA president and that he will always be no 1. Joon-su is suspended from school for bringing Baby Woo-ram to school that may cause distractions to other students. This angers Kim Byeol. She challenges the no 1 student by saying that she’ll change her name if he ever be no 1 again.

The next day the class teacher told the students to self study. This anger Kim Byeol as self study can be done at home. So, she decided to go home. She told the teacher she will report it to the Board of Education.

That night Joon-su comes home to find Kim Byeol waiting for him at the gate. While backing away, he bumps with Kim Byeol father. They went for a drink. Kim Byeol father thanked Joon-su for being the inspiration for his daughter to go back to school. He then tells Joon-su that Kim Byeol is a smart kid. She surpasses even her teachers in knowledge. Her teachers who don’t want to answer question that out of their league decided to ignore Kim Byeol. Even her fellow classmates hate her for being too smart. Kim Byeol who is heartbroken decided not to go to school anymore until the day she met Joon-su.

The next day, Joon-su mother return to see what have happen to her son only to bump with Kim Byeol. Kim Byeol said she is the babysitter of the master of the house’s baby. This anger Joon-su mother as she thought her husband is cheating on her. She goes to see her husband and dump noodles on his head.

At the school, the students are taking their exam. The teacher (the one that told the class to self study), walked to Choon-song place only to find that he is sleeping. He didn’t answer any question at all and simply wrote at the back of the answer sheet “Teacher, I’m sorry. I really don’t know anything”. The teacher gave him a smacked on the head. The teacher then proceeds to Kim Byeol place and she is sleeping too. He woke her up. However, she answered all question correctly. So, he told her to continue sleeping.

In the mean time, Joon-su went searching for jobs only to be turned down at every place because of Baby Woo-ram. (Remember not to bring your child at workplace). That night, he only has a few cents left to buy some milk. He remembers what Kim Byeol once told him and decided to feed Baby Woo-ram instead. Unfortunately, he spilt the milk. At the moment, a drunken man went to sit near Joon-su. Joon-su stole his wallet only to be chase by the drunken man. He stopped a car and enters it thinking it is a taxi. He then discovers that it is a police car. He was brought to the police station. Miss Tyson went to bail him out. She also gave him some money. With the money, he bought a can of formula milk. He also decided to buy a carton of cigarettes. Looking at Baby woo-ram, he decided to buy another can of formula milk instead. He goes home to discover that his parents have return. He told them what have happen while faking a cry.

The next day his father brought him to see the principal and almost quarrel with the principal. His parents arrange for him to go back to school while his mother will take care of Baby Woo-ram. The exam grade is out and Kim Byeol is no 1 with 100% score while the no 1 students is now no 2. Kim Byeol is the first student at that point to score 100%. Joon-su shows that he is proud of Kim Byeol.

Joon-su got a called and he rushed to the hospital. Baby Woo-ram got pneumonia. Joon-su blamed his mother. Joon-su father is so angry that he smacks Joon-su. That night, Joon-su went home to get his mother clothes only to discover her diary. It turns out that Joon-su was sick as a baby and the doctor predict he will never make it. But, his mother believes that Joon-su will be fine and stayed with him at the hospital all the time. (The same as what she is doing to Baby Woo-ram). Joon-su feel guilty and apologize to her. Joon-su and his parents are in a lot of pain seeing Baby Woo-ram suffering.

Ki-seok then told Joon-su that he feels guilty after what he had done to him. He said that Joon-su should not be suffering for other peoples fault. He explains to Joon-su that Baby Woo-ram is his. He left Baby Woo-ram with Joon-su because he had no money. Joon-su is so angry. He decided that Ki-seok should take responsibility of Baby Woo-ram. Joon-su goes to the hospital and told his parents to go home as Baby Woo-ram’s parents have been found.

After a few days (I think), Kim Byeol and Choon-seong came to see Joon-su to tells him that Ki-seok decided to give Baby Woo-ram for adoption. Baby Woo-ram has been adopted by a foreign couple and will be flying out of Korea. At first Joon-su shows that he don’t care. That night he went to Ki-seok house only to hear Ki-seok told his sick mother that he doesn’t want to do it. He only decided to leave Baby Woo-ram with Joon-su because he knows that Joon-su will take good care of him (Joon-su has prove that he can be a good father). But as Joon-su decided not to do that anymore, he have to give Baby Woo-ram away as he want his baby to have a better life.

The next morning, Ki-seok, Choon-seong and Kim Byeol went to the airport to give Baby Woo-ram to the couple. As the couple is about to depart, Joon-su rushed in and was stop by the guards. Joon-su keeps on yelling “That is my baby”.

That night, Joon-su, Ki-seok, Choon-seong and Baby Woo-ram are sitting at a park. Joon-su and Ki-seok made an arrangement that they both will be Baby Woo-ram’s father and will take turn in taking care of him. Ki-soek and Choon-seong went to buy drinks (they want to give Joon-su and Kim Byeol times alone). Kim Byeol then kissed a surprised Joon-su and starts running towards Ki-seok and Choon-seong.

The movie ends by showing that Joon-su is the product of out-off-wedlock too. His mother (a high school student at that time) left him in front of his father’s house with a note saying that he should take full responsibility.

Review

The truth is I was bored and decided to browsed trough Dramacrazy site for movies. The top movie is Hana Yori Dango The Movie which I already watch. The next best thing is this movie. This is how I get to know Jang Geun-suk. So, I decided to watch his other movie as well, for example, Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. Maybe I'll post something about that movie also.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Reincarnation (Japanese Movie 2005)

ACTUALLY YOU MAY HAVE HEARD IT FROM SOMEONE IN THE PAST, OR GATHERED THE INFORMATION FROM A BOOK YOU’VE READ. IT BECOMES SO LOST AND CONFUSED THAT YOU WOULD FORGET IT. IT WILL UNCONSCIOUSLY APPEAR AGAIN IN A DIFFERENT FORM. MOST CASES ARE LIKE THAT. AND THIS IS CALLED “CRYPTOMNESIA PHENOMENON”, THIS PARTICULAR SYMPTOM IS OFTEN LINKED TO THE TERM “PAST LIFE” OR THE CONCEPTS OF “REINCARNATION” AND “TRANSMIGRATION”.

Cast:

Yuuka as Nagisa Sugiura

Karina as Yayoi Kinoshita

Atsushi Haruta as Norihisa Omori

Mao Sasaki as Chisato Omori

Hiroto Ito as Yuya Omori

Plot Summary (Can also be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

This story opens on three school friends at a café. They are playing games using a cell phone to discover who they are in the past live. One of the students keeps feeling that she is being watch.

Then the story moves to a man around mid 30’s drinking something out off a bottle (seems like medicine). He goes to the trash can to throw the empty bottle. At this point we can see that he is all alone at the park. There is a man standing near the trash can. The man started to leave. The mid 30’s man become bewildered because when he looks around, there is no one there. Next the mid 30’s man is in an elevator. Every body else has exit the elevator. (We can see that he is all alone). The mid 30’s man steps back only to bump with a man. (The man he sees at the park). He turns around. Next thing we see, the mid 30’ man is dead.

Then the story moves to a man in a toilet. He turns out to be a truck driver. His face looks pale. He is driving at an empty street that night. Suddenly he sees a man standing in the middle of the street. He stops his truck but still hit the man. He goes down to check out and discover a man under his truck. The wind starts to blow hard. The truck driver looks around and discovers a lot of faces hiding among the bushes. He gets scare and climb onto his truck. He cannot start his truck. He move further back and we can see all the faces is staring at him while he is shouting. (Real spooky).

The plot is simple. A film director is making a new film. It is based on a true story. A college professor tries to kill his family at a hotel. Instead of just killing them (wife, son and daughter), he also kill the hotel staff and other guests. He then killed himself. The tragedy happens in 1970. Nagisa Sugiura (the girl earlier at the café) is the actress who has been role to act in the film. She will play the daughter part. Because the daughter is only six years old at the time of the murdered, the director has changed his script so it suits Sugiura age.

Yayoi Kinoshita is another girl who keeps on seeing the hotel in her dreams. She is a college student.

Yuka Morita is another girl who believes she has been reincarnated. She is studying to be an actress. She went to the same audition with Sugiura. Morita believe she is one of the eleven victims murdered in the hotel.

Sugiura and the production teams are at the hotel. The hotel has been closed after the tragedy. Sugiura keeps having flashback on what have happen on that tragic day. She sees the doctor killed his son and his daughter by stabbing them with a knife. (The sickest thing is that the doctor also recorded what happened using a very old video cam).

Three people have been killed by the ghost of the hotel, the mid 30’s man, the truck driver and Morita. (I believe they are all reincarnation of the victims.)

Yayoi goes to see the lone survivor of the tragedy. The old lady is Dr Omori’s wife. She survives her husband brutality. The old lady showed Yayoi, Dr Omori's (the murder) research book. Dr Omori believed that the human body is only a vessel. He was researching about the origin of human and the place they go after they died. Maybe that is the reason he committed all the murders.

After some times, we will know that Yayoi is the reincarnation of the Dr’s daughter. The film director is the reincarnation of the Dr’s son. All of the victims that have been reincarnated will die and goes back to the hotel.

In the end Sugiura become crazy. She is the reincarnation of Dr Omori. The old lady (Dr Omori’s wife) gives Sugiura a doll and a ball that belongs to her late children. She seems happy that they are now together again.

Review

If you like suspense thriller movie, this is the movie for you. I like it because it is less bloody and less gruesome.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Greatest Love (Korean Drama 2011)

Cast

Plot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Love)

Gu Ae-jung was the most popular member of girl group Kukbo Sonyeo, literally meaning "National Treasure Girls," some 10 years ago, but fell from grace after becoming embroiled in scandals. She makes appearances on television programs to make out a living for her troublemaker father and brother. On the other hand Dokko Jin is the most beloved star in the nation, topping all kinds of popularity polls and appearing in many commercials, but has several character flaws. Ae-jung discovers a secret about Jin by chance and reveals it on a talk show, incurring his fury. However, their ill-fated relationship unfolds in an unexpected way as Jin falls for Ae-jung and tries to win her heart.

Kang Se-ri used to be in Kukbo Sonyeo with Ae-jung. But whereas Ae-jung was more famous in her heyday and Se-ri was a nobody, now every girl wants to be just like Kang Se-ri. She dated Dokko Jin for a short time, but despite their breakup, they keep up the pretense that they’re still dating to avoid negative publicity. Se-ri is also the host of popular TV dating show Couple Making Season 3.

Yoon Pil-joo is a well-mannered, thoughtful and caring doctor of Oriental medicine. He has no interest in celebrities and their outrageous lives. Under pressure from his mother, he agrees to appear on a TV dating show, but after finding out that Ae-jung will also be appearing on the same show, he becomes very eager to meet her. Fictional dating show Couple Making Season 3 is based on MBC’s real variety program We Got Married, where they throw celebrities into fake relationships for the cameras. The concept is a competition-based mat-seon program, essentially setting up people on blind dates for the purposes of finding a marriage partner. The major difference is that in Couple Making, celebrity ladies compete over a non-celebrity eligible bachelor who gives them roses to prevent their elimination (a la The Bachelor), which is how Yoon Pil-joo ends up as a contestant on the show.

-FURTHER REVISION WILL BE POST SOON-

Review

Dokko Jin - A 37 years old man who only think of himself. No one can blame him for that as he IS the most famous and influential star. He get what he wants. (If you live in Malaysia, he is in the same level as Dato Siti Nurhaliza. If you live in India, he is in the same level as Shah Rukh Khan. Well, you get where I'm going with this). During the highlight of the National Treasure Girls, he did a heart surgery. At that time, the surgeon was listening to 'Thump Thump', the girls famous song. So, every time he listen to that song, his heart beat faster. He think of it as love. (I do think it is real love. Only he doesn't realize it yet.) After founding out about it, he make a conclusion that he was hypnotize by that song, that he never really love Ae-jung. He stop chasing Ae-jung and decided to continue his life as before. The problem is, NOW Ae-jung have fallen for him and on her quest to pursue him.

Ae-jung - A 30 years old woman who lost her chance in being famous for a scandal she didn't even commit. She hated Dokko Jin, but, soon realize she's in love with him. The problem is, he has stop loving her. She wanted to pursue him, but, there are not even in the same level. It's either she climb to his level, or, he come down to her level.

Pil-joo - A doctor who met Ae-jung out of confusion. Ae-jung thought of him being a pimp and dump him with a glass of water. She realize her mistake afterward. He never look at Ae-jung as a celebrity. That's why he get connected to her fast. He want to shield Ae-jung from the harsh celebrity world. The problem is, Ae-jung is in love with Dokko Jin.

If you have watched Lie To Me and Secret Garden, you will find the uncanny resemblance between these two dramas. It start out as a lie that progress into a real relationship.

As the dramas progress, I have some question that I know you want to know the answers:

1. Why did National Treasure Girls disband?

Gu Ae-jung slapped Kang Se-ri.

She did that accidentally out of rage. Se-ri wanted to play a prank on her, but, instead the prank goes to Mi-na. The result of the prank caused Mi-na to loose her baby. Mi-na wanted to leave the group and settle with her boyfriend (he is from a famous boy-band). After loosing the baby, Mi-na plan didn't go well. Mi-na wanted to commit suicide. (I guess she was dumped by the boyfriend after she lost the baby).

Their ex-manager accused Ae-jung, not knowing the truth. Ae-jung took all the blame, not wanting to conflict the matter further.

(I feel bad for her. For 10 years she's been living as a nobody for a fault that is not even hers.)

2. What secrets does Gu Ae-jung know about Dokko Jin?

- Dokko Jin desperately want to act in a Hollywood movie that he even resorts to bribery. He didn't get the part because he can't speak English fluently. (He did however get the part, but, because he lied about being injured, he have to let go of the proposal).

- Dokko Jin hurts his eardrum while filming a flop movie Fighter. (This is the secret that Gu Ae-jung decided to share with the nation. The movie Fighter in the end become a box-office movie. Mainly because the fans are sympathy towards Dokko Jin for not being able to take part in the Hollywood movie because of his injury).

- When all the South Korean nation is supporting Park Tae Hwan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Tae_Hwan), Dokko Jin is the only one who didn't. Mainly because his commercial won't go on air if Park Tae Hwan wins gold medal.

3. Why does Dokko Jin hearts beat faster every time he hears Gu Ae-jung ring tone?

Remember that Gu Ae-jung used to be in a famous girls group. The ring tone is the group famous song. If you watch closely, you'll know that Dokko Jin used to have a heart operation. In the 1 episode, a doctor is doing a heart surgery. He was listening to the National Treasure Girls song at that time. I guess the patient is Dokko Jin and the song affect him somehow.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Only You Can Hear Me (Japanese Movie 2007)

I AM ALONE

Cast:

Narumi Riko as Aihara Ryou

Koide Keisuke as Nozaki Shinya

Katase Nana as Harada

Plot Summary (Can also be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

The story opens on Ryou in her classroom. Suddenly the phone rings. It is her classmate’s phone. At that moment Ryou think to herself, there is no use of having a phone if no one will call her. After school, on her way home, she hears a phone rings. She picks it up only to find out it is a toy phone that looks like a real phone. She put the toy phone in he drawer.

Some where, a boy picks up a broken phone in an abandoned building. The boy tries to fix the phone.

Next morning she is awaken by a phone rings. She sees the toy phone on her coffee table. Before she manages to reach it, her alarm clock goes off. She turns back only to discover that the toy phone is not on the coffee table. She goes to her drawer and sees that the toy phone is still in there.

In her classroom, she hears phone rings. But no one else hears it. Feeling sick, she went to the school nurse. The school nurse orders her to rest for a while. Suddenly, she hears a phone rings. She sees near the pillow, the toy phone. She picks it up and answers it. A boy is talking at the other end. Ryou is shock. But after sometimes, she tends to enjoy it. But then, the toy phone disappears. Ryou become confuse. The boy says that there are speaking in their mind.

To prove that they are not Schizophrenics, they both went to the magazine corner at the groceries She never read any of them. He chooses a magazine and she picks the page. After he reads from that page, she realizes that she is not crazy. He is real. Because they have the same magazine at each side, then it means that they are from the same year. They are separated by 1 hour.

Ryou is in the school gym when she hears ringing. She answers it (of course mentally). Instead of speaking to Shinya, she is speaking to a girl call Harada. Harada says it have been some time since someone called on the mental cell phone.

At first I thought that Shinya grandmother is deaf and mute. But soon I realize Shinya is the one that is deaf and mute.

Ryou is very timid. She hardly speaks to anyone. It is because of a tragedy that happens when she was small. It was piano recital day. She wore a doll-like dress. Everyone praised her. But after the recital, then only she knew that they make fun of here. She was heartbroken and never speaks louder anymore. But Shinya helps her. Shinya gives her a broken recorder that he has fixed. Shinya wants her to record her voice and send it to him. Ryou regains her self-esteem and manages to speak louder in class.

Finally, Ryou, with the advice from Harada, sums up the courage to meet Shinya. They’ll be meeting at a mall. Ryou arrives at the mall and cross the road. A speeding car was about to hit her, when Shinya out of no where comes and save her. Unfortunately, Shinya is in the car’s way and get hit. Shinya died after hand signaling to Ryou – you aren’t alone.

Then Ryou realizes the one hour differences. She decided to call Shinya mentally and tell him not to meet her. She says that she hate his face and his voice. At that moment Shinya knows that Ryou is lying. He lost his voice as a small boy. Ryou finally tells him that he’ll die. Shinya still save Ryou.

Ryou confide to Harada what have happen. She doesn’t know whether she’ll grow up matured as Harada. Harada says, Ryou will grow up just fine and cut the mental connection. Harada went to the fire place. On top of it is the recorder given to Ryou by Shinya.

Review

If any of you ever watch One Litre of Tears or Honey and Clover, you’ll know that Narumi Riko is the girl who played Little Aya sister.

First half of this film is a little boring because the three main characters are speaking mentally. You cannot see the lips moving, just the emotion they show on their face.

The last half of the film is the best one. It’s like watching Titanic all over again. Why does hero have to die?

I assume that Harada is Ryou.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Heartbreak Library (Korean Movie 2008)

Cast:

Lee Dong-wook (born 1981) as Kim Jun-oh

Yoo Jin (born 1981) as Jo Eun-soo

Eun-soo, a librarian watches for book vandalism that currently happens in the library. One day, she catches Jun-oh tearing off certain page of books. Eun-soo accuses him of vandalism but soon discovers the complex story behind his actions. Jun-oh’s girlfriend, Min-kyung, suddenly leaves him with only a mysterious note. “Look up page 198”. Min-kyung was a bibliophile and she checked out books regularly at the library. Jun-oh goes to the library and tears out page 198 from every book he comes in touch. As Eun-soo has just broken up, she gives him an advice saying that he has to let her go if she really meant it. However, looking at Jun-oh torn apart by his love, Eun-soo starts to help him decipher the messages on page 198 of all the books.

Jun-oh is a well-known shashimi chef. He owns a shashimi restaurant. When Min-kyung left him, he can’t slice the fish to make shashimi anymore. As his friendship with Eun-soo grows deeper, he finally gains his slicing ability back. Eun-soo accompanies him to find Min-kyung at Min-kyung’s house. She tells him to go on alone, but, she’ll wait for him at the junction. Upon Jun-oh returns, he told her that Min-kyung and her family have moved away. So, he wants to stop the quest. That only sparks more determination inside Eun-soo to cipher the message behind page 198. She copied page 198 from all the book Min-kyung have read. She went to Jun-oh apartment to give it to him, but, the guard tells her that Jun-oh went away a few days ago. On her way back, she bumped with her ex-boyfriend. She finds out that he left her for another woman.

Her daily routine continues without Jun-oh. She misses him, but, he’s nowhere to be found. One day, Eun-soo finds out that Min-kyung have passed away. She goes to Jun-oh restaurant to tell him only to find out from the manager that Jun-oh decided to study abroad and because of that, the restaurant will be close. The manager also tells her that he already knows of Min-kyung death. Jun-oh and Min-kyung met an accident on the way to meet her parents.

Before Jun-oh went abroad, Eun-soo takes him to a temple and tells him the legend of it. In the temple, there are some sorts of shrines. At the shrines, Jun-oh sees his messages for the deceased Min-kyung. While looking at it, Eun-soo tells him that past love shouldn’t be forgotten. Jun-oh finally opens up his heart towards Eun-soo and vice versa.

Review

Dong-wook and Yoo-jin have collaborated together in Loving You. Dong-wook best portrayal is in My Girl. The truth is, apart from Loving You, I’ve only watched Dong-wook in My Girl.

I like Yoo Jin because even-though she is not hot and sexy, she is sweet and innocence. I’ve watched her in Save the Last Dance for Me and Wonderful Life. I’ve also watched I Really Really Like You aka Truly Love, but, never know the ending. I’m looking forward for Princess Hwapyung ‘s Weight Loss.

The ending is a happy one as you can guest. Jun-oh and Eun-soo are together. I was hoping for a kissing scene, but, holdings hand is also enough. It’s a slow movie, but, there is a message in it. We shouldn’t forget the past. It didn’t really shows in the movie whether Jun-oh went abroad or not. I presumed he didn’t. He did open up his restaurant again. Overall, it is a great movie and can be watch with kids. Only, I don’t think kids will understand the gist of it.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

He Was Cool (Korean Movie 2004)

Cast:
Jung Da Bin (born 1980 – died 2007) as Han Ye-Won
Song Seung Hun (born 1976) as Ji Eun-Sung
Lee Ki-Woo (born 1981) as Kim Han-Sung

The film is based on a novel written by Guiyeoni. The story is about a cheerful high school student named Han Ye-Won. She is a sweet, clumsy and warm girl. On the other side, there is Ji Eun-Sung, a student from vocational school and well-known as a bully. He is hot tempered and rude but deep inside he is longing to be loved.

One day, clumsily, Ye-Won leaves a message on her school website to reply to En-Sung’s impolite message. She is shocked when someone calls her mobile and threatens her. Gradually, her best friend, Lee Kyung-Won, tells her who Eun-Sung is. He sends Ye-Won a message on her mobile: He will wait for her in front of the main gate. She is so scared that she and Kyung-Won decide to jump over the school wall. Unfortunately, the moment Ye-Won jumps, Eun-Sung is standing exactly at the other side of the wall. She falls on him and their lips meet accidentally. Raising his voice, Eun-Sung asks her to take responsibility; she is astonished. His friend explains that Eun-Sung has never even held hands with a girl. Since she is the first girl who kissed him, as consequence, she must marry him.

The story continues very fast. At the beginning, Ye-won does not have any feelings for Eun-Sung. She even rejects his invitation to come to his birthday party. Unknowingly, Eun-Sung has fallen in love with her; but he is not the kind of guy who knows how to express his inner feelings. He is jealous when Ye-Won is approached by other guys but he does not know how to be with someone he loves.

Although he is rude and bad-tempered, Eun-Sung always pardon Ye-Won’s faults and clumsiness. One thing he couldn't bear was when he found out that Ye-Won went out with Kim Han-Sung, his senior and the one he hates a lot. The broken-hearted Eun-Sung decides to leave Korea following his mother to the USA.

A year later Ye-Won is seen with Han-Sung, discussing if she is scared for her SATs. It seems to be that they are in a relationship at this point. During her SAT, the hearing portion of the exam brings up a quote from Romeo and Juliet which bring Ye-Won back to the memory of her and Eun-Sung in the park in front of the telephone booth where, no matter what, they would re-unite at the first snowfall. At this point Ye-Won stops what she is doing and runs to the park. She waits there as the scene rolls back to the fantasy she had a year ago and she starts to cry as Eun-Sung is not there. As she turns around, a rabbit is hopping towards her, the same rabbit she gave to Eun-Sung. She looks up and Eun-Sung is there. She yells at him saying "You left without saying goodbye. What made you come back?" And Eun-Sung replied “True love requires no words.”

The film ends with Eun Sung's childhood memory of some opening event of an elementary school where the only kid that would kiss Eun-Sung was Ye-Won. An interesting aspect to this is that earlier on in the film, Ye-won uses Eun-Sung's cellphone to make a mini-video of her bedroom. There she captures footage of an old photo from when she was little, showing her and a friend. It turns out that this friend is actually the little Eun-Sung, hinting at the connection between the two. When Eun-Sung watches the video on his cell towards the end of the film, he is surprised to see himself and remembers that Ye-Won was THAT little girl.

Review
Why does Eun-Sung hate being touch by others?

It is because his father died of AIDS when he was in elementary school. All the kids stayed away from him for fear of getting AIDS. So, when Ye-Won accidentally kissed him, he felt violated thus wanting Ye-Won to take responsibility.

Why does Eun-Sung hates Han-Sung?

Well, I can’t really answer that because part 10 from Youtube is cancelled. But, it has something to do with the death of their friend, Hae-bin. I think Eun-Sung blamed Han-Sung for not allowing him to save Hae-bin.

What did I learnt from this movie?
Apart from being a romantic comedy movie, it also taught us about the consequences of AIDS and how it affects the people around us. I mean, a parent should truly understand AIDS than just simply telling their kids to stay away from anyone that is associated with it. Then again, as a parent, I might do the same thing. It’s not because I don’t understand AIDS, but, because it’s better to be save than sorry.

 What do I like about this movie?

Almost all the cast in this movie are in their mid-twenties at the time the movie being recorded. The fight scene is well organized and it surprised me. The fight scenes really show the coolness of Eun-Sung. What woman is not attracted to bad-cool guy?! The wardrobe of Eun-Sung also shows his coolness. Overall, this movie IS cool.

The lead?
Jung Da Bin, committed suicide in 2007. She was only 27 when she died. I like her after watching My 19 Years Old Sister-in-Law (16 episodes). Maybe I should watch that drama again.

Song Seung-heon needs no introduction for you guys who have watched Autumn in My Heart, Summer Scent, East of Eden and the latest My Princess. He also co-starred in the movie So Close alongside with Shu Qi and Zhao Wei. I didn’t watch Ghost: In Your Arms Again though because it is a remake of the widely famous movie Ghost.

Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Was_Cool
Photos are taken from various site using Google Image.