War of the Arrows - Korea

          Director:  Han-min Kim
          Year:  2011
          Plot:  "During Second Manchu invasion of Korea, one village is attacked by Manchurian soldiers.  The soldiers kidnap Ja-in on her wedding day with her childhood sweetheart Seo-Goon.  Her brother Nam-Yi takes on the enemy to free the victims with only one bow."

          I am very glad I decided to watch this movie, despite much of it being very pixelated (watched it on some site).  Even with that, I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie.  I really loved seeing Kim Mu-Yeol in this as well.  I loved him in Iljimae and was happy to see him playing a completely different character.  In Iljimae, he played a rather big idiot for the most part, but in this movie he was quite brave and useful.
          I really loved just before our hero showed up to help the captives the first time, that had to be my favorite part with Kim Mu-Yeol.  I hadn't expected much from his character because of Iljimae, but what he did was really cool in my mind.  And after that my next favorite part had to be with Ja-in.  She was really strong and her scenes with the Prince were definitely notable.
          This movie was of course about a man with nothing but a bow taking on Manchurian soldiers.  The movie did splendid with the entire story and I have to say that the chase through the forest was more entertaining for me then many car chase scenes.  I was definitely invested in the character of Nam-Yi and was practically biting my nails near the end of the movie (I don't bite my nails anymore though).  I have to say Ja-in  did amazing with her choice of shot.
           I could go on forever with this movie I think, but I will stop here.  I just have to say that even with the pixelation, I thought this movie looked great.  The tiger seemed to look rather fake from what I could tell through the blocks, but other than that, everything looked great.

          If you couldn't tell I would definitely suggest this movie.  I also bought this movie for my collection and I do not regret it in anyway.  I even bought it from Walmart rather than trying to look for a better price online.  This is surely one to watch and not easily to disappoint.  n.n

Arahan - Korea

          Director:  Seung-wan Ryoo
          Year:  2004
          Plot:  "When Sang-hwan, the naive and honest police man, is injured chasing a theif driving a motorcycle, the skilled martial artist Eu-jin brings him to her home.  There the six Masters of Tao heal him and believe that he has a powerful chi, the spiritual energy of the universe, and could be a powerful warrior. Sang-hwan begins his training, while the evil and ambitious Heuk-woon is accidentally released from his imprisonment and begins searching for a key that would permit him to become an Arahan and dominate the world."

          I do have to say that this movie is an action comedy.  Not everything is to be taken seriously, and it is in fact funny.  I am one that usually dislikes comedies, that is those made in the United States.  In other countries, I find that much comedy can be thrown in with a real story line and work quite well.  This movie did in fact do that for me.  The main character Sang-hwan is dumb and goofy which leads to many awkward moments or accidents for him.
          In the beginning, I did find Sang-hwan to be a little too dorky to believe that he could ever amount to the cool hero he needed to become.  I am glad that I was wrong.  The movie did well in changing Sang-hwan into the hero, while still leaving some of his personality behind to show that he didn't just suddenly become something he wasn't.  He only grew, not changed.
          I enjoyed the fight scenes in this movie.  There were points that were ridiculous and fantastical, but that was the point.  This was a comedy and those small points within the fights, especially at the end, kept it from being a completely brutal action movie.  I think the best fight scene had to be when Sang-hwan finally confronts the thugs.  It was very interesting to see him finally notice what he could do.  I also enjoyed how the scene ended because it had to be done, as he was in a mind set he shouldn't have been in.
          The best part of this movie for me had to be the swords.  I have a major love for swords and katanas.  The thing that I have an issue with in most movies is all the blade on blade strikes they do without the blades ever getting damaged.  This movie did amazing with that.  They showed the nicks in the blade where other swords struck.  I haven't seen any other movie do this.  Most of them play off the idea that the swords can strike against one another without anything happening but a clash of maybe a spark.

          I definitely suggest watching this movie.  I wouldn't say it is the best movie I have ever seen, but it is still very good.  The story line of this movie is quite good and the actors did well at playing the varying genres that were throughout this movie.  The characters held up well even as the movie flipped between comedy, drama and action.  I wouldn't mind watching this movie again soon.  n.n