I Saw the Devil - Korea

          Director:  Jee-woon Kim
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "When his fiancee becomes the latest victim of a killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge."


          I actually watched this a bit ago so I can't be completely in depth.  I ranked this on Criticker on July 4th, so yeah, a bit ago.  I am not sure why it took me so long to write the review.  I originally wanted to watch this movie for Byung-hun, and if you have watched a few of his movies I am sure you can see why I would watch it for him.  Anyway, I did watch it again around Thanksgiving, but I still didn't get around to this post.  The people I watched it with also felt it was a great movie.  That is of course coming from people who don't like subtitle movies and are addicted to online poker.  This movie had them paying attention and struggling with keeping up with their games.
          I think the greatest point of this movie is the idea of revenge.  There are many movies and things that focus on revenge and how it can lead to bad results, but I think this is the best version of the same idea I have seen.  The biggest question this movie poses, is what does revenge get you.  The main character acts against the killer in a way that is quite fun to watch as an avid horror fan.  He toys with him and gives him a little piece of what he did to others.
          The thing is, he walks a fine line between exacting justice and turning into something without feeling.  This is the part that really stuck with me, even after it being awhile since I watched it.  I am not sure that I have seen a movie that has been able to really show the main character where we are unsure where to place him.  Has he crossed the line, or is he in the right?  Of course this also has to do with the killer.  If he hadn't been the way he was, it would have been far easier to judge the main character.  The actions of both the killer and the main character really make this movie something that isn't easy to forget.


          It isn't hard to understand, I really do highly suggest this movie.  It is a little graphic and such, so it is not the best movie for very squeamish.  It definitely wouldn't be the best for my sister, who has even found issues just watching the TV show Supernatural (btw love love love it).  Still, if you aren't completely put off by a little gore and such, this movie is absolutely awesome.  I still will likely try to talk my sister into watching it.  I just won't tell her about the fun stuff.  n.n

Silenced - Korea

          Director:  Dong-hyuk Hwang
          Year:  2011
          Plot:  "Gang In-ho, who is working to earn money for his daughter's surgery, is appointed to a school for hearing-impaired children in Gwangju.  But what he discovers there is an ugly truth: the children are being physically and sexually abused by their teachers.  When he decides to fight for the children's rights and expose the crimes being committed at the school, In-ho teams up with human rights activist Seo Yu-jin.  But he and Yu-jin soon realize the school's principal and teachers, and even the police, prosecutors and churches in the community are actually trying to cover up the truth."


          I know I have been slacking as far as Asian movie reviews go.  I have watched a bunch, but haven't had the time to actually get a review done.  As far as Silenced goes, I had to find the time to review.  I know it is a subject that many might try to avoid watching, I know my sister is.  I ended up watching the movie alone in my room because she refused to watch a movie involving child abuse and molestation.  As I see it though, this movie isn't about the bad, but about the good that came out of this case.
          This movie was stunning to watch and i could see it from the beginning.  I was sold about this movie even after the first 20 minutes.  The fact that the abuse and molestation wasn't shied away from like many other movies might have made the movie all that more impactful.  One person suggested that people fast forward through the scenes on Netflix and I think that is horrible.  I am a person who laughs at blood and gore, but I had to look away quite a few times while watching the abuse scenes, still I never skipped over these scenes.  It just seems wrong to me to actually skip over these scenes when the point was for them to be disturbing.  If you simply skip over them, I don't know that the impact would be the same.
          I also found another response posted about this movie that said how horrible the people were for being a part of making this movie.  The person was upset because of how the movie ended, and that the teacher was a coward for not helping the children.  The problem is that this movie wasn't meant as a feel good movie.  This was meant as a statement about the atrocities that went on at a school for the deaf and limitations that were faced when trying to punish those at fault.  The fact is that you should be upset after watching this movie.  To think that the government had so many faults that the ending happened as it did is outrageous.
          I have to say the person was completely wrong about the teacher though.  He wasn't a coward, he was just conflicted for the most part.  It was really hard for him to go against what he needed to do for his own family to help out the children.  I can only imagine what kind of stress he must have felt knowing that he was doing the right thing, but in doing so was going against his duties to his family.

          This is definitely a movie to watch.  It is sad and disturbing, but it definitely strikes a nerve in a positive way.  The acting in this movie was great, some felt that Yoo Gong (played In-ho) was rather emotionless, but I have to disagree.  I simply felt that he was conflicted and wasn't sure what the best course was.

A Moment to Remember - Korea

          Director:  John H. Lee

          Year:  2004

          Plot:  "A romance blossoms between a clothing designer and a cautious young man, but because the two have both been hurt in the past, it develops slowly. One is recovering from an affair with a married man. The other has lived his life alienated and alone."

          When I came across this movie, I put it aside like many others.  It sounded good, but I wasn't up for a movie just yet.  I was only looking.  Today, I was browsing again, not really meaning to watch when I accidentally clicked on the movie on Netflix (online, you know so it plays automatically).  I wasn't really interested in watching a movie with subtitles as I am working on a baby blanket that demands full attention.  The thing is, I let the movie play because I figured it meant that I must have really wanted to watch it, I just didn't know it yet.
          I really do think there was something to that accidental click after watching the movie.  This isn't one to pass up, and I can't believe I did for some time.  I don't even think there is anything bad I can really say about this movie.  It was a nice build and cute in the beginning.  Su-jin meets Cheol-su due to one of her forgetful moments.  The moment is strange in any normal sense, but it will turn out to be the most important moment for Su-jin.  A real moment to remember.
          The thing is, there relationship starts out strange than moves to sweet.  Of course, as the movie progresses, you begin to notice Su-jin isn't exactly normal.  She is very forgetful and though it is cute and leads to her meeting Cheol-su, it turns her relationship from sweet to bittersweet.  She even goes to the doctor when she starts having trouble finding her way home.  Of course I won't tell what her diagnosis is, but it is something that hurts her and those around her.
          Many of the scenes in this movie are great involving the between the couple, but the best moment is by far the best.  It is a special moment brought on by dialogue of another character in the movie.  Some people complained about the scene being ambiguous, but I didn't feel this way.  The moment for me was something that made sense and was easy to understand.  As I seen it, a husband was making a special moment to let his wife know how he felt about her.  That understanding alone does not do that moment justice.

          As I have already said, this is not a movie to pass up, even for a few days.  Even if you aren't into romance movies, this one is worth a shot because it will pull at parts in your heart and not let go until the movie is over.  There is something about the situation in this movie that is hard for anyone not to feel for.

No Mercy - Korea

          Director:  Hyeong-Joon Kim

          Year:  2010

          Plot:  "When a beautiful young woman is found butchered into six parts by a river, with an arm missing, Kang a forensic pathologist is beckoned for one last job. "

          I have seen a few movies like this one.  The base of this story and others is that someone is kidnapped and instead of going to the less than useful police, they handle it themselves.  This one happened to be more than what I was expecting.  I am very glad I didn't let the seemingly normal Korean thriller plot to stop me from watching.  Based on this, I know I shouldn't be put off by the 'overdone' plot, like some people are.  The last three movies I have seen with this same basic plot (the kidnapping and all) have turned out to be great movies.
          On IMDb, this is listed as a thriller/horror, but I don't see even a little bit of horror in this.  Thus, I chose to put this movie's review on this blog rather than my horror one.  Now, back to the movie.  Like I said, it starts off like a few of the other Korean thrillers I have watched, but it has some differences.  One of the things that really stands out, is that though most of the police force are worthless, there is one detective that seems to know how to actually do her job.
          The other big difference in this movie is the ending.  I was expecting an ending much like some of the others I have seen, but this was completely different.  I absolutely did not see some of that ending coming; okay, I didn't see most of that ending coming.  On another site, someone said they found it to be too much like Oldboy.  I do see a small similarity, but nothing that would really seem like they are copying an idea in anyway.

          I would definitely suggest watching this movie.  I am pretty sure you won't see the ending coming and will enjoy it, even if it does seem to slow down a bit.  I did question a bit whether I should rate this 4 or 5 stars, because some scenes were a little drawn out.  It is the ending though that made me rate it the way I did.

Seven Days - Korea

          Director:  Shin-yeon Won
          Year:  2007
          Plot:  "A successful lawyer who, in order to save her daughter, is pressured into defending the innocence of a man slated to receive the death penalty."

          This movie has been on my "To Watch" list since March.  That isn't as long as some of the movies I want to give a shot, but I decided to watch this before the others.  The thing is, I am not sure how I feel about this movie exactly.  There were parts I loved, and others that I didn't, and others I am just not sure what happened.
          First off, I really loved the ending.  I didn't see it coming, for many reasons, but what happened in the end was pretty great.  It wasn't as great as the ending of Midnight FM, but this movie did have a very effective ending.  This ending though might have been even better if other parts of the movie didn't have some issues.
          While I was watching this movie, I was knitting, but I have absolutely no problem knitting and reading subtitles.  I mention this because I am not one to be distracted by the things I do when watching a movie, so it isn't the reason for the issues I found with this movie.  I have to say this movie had me completely confused, and not in a good way.  There was simply too many suspects that were claimed to be the killers, or covered up the truth.
          I love to be unable to pin down the real murderer, or bad guy, as it makes for a great movie.  This one though made it really confusing.  I get who the killer was, and the kidnapper now that the movie is over, because it was clearly stated at the end.  The issue I have is that some of other suspects kind of blended together.  I am actually not sure what their stories were now that the movie is over and the focus has shifted to the murderer and kidnapper.

          I don't think I would necessarily suggest this movie.  It was decent enough for a watch, and the ending with the kidnapper was great.  For a night where a great movie is called for, this is not one I would watch.  Boring nights are the time for something like this, because it will use your time well enough with some decent scenes.  I just suggest not expecting much, otherwise you are likely to be disappointed.

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

Midnight FM - Korea

          Director:  Sang-Man Kim
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Popular TV anchorwoman & late night radio host Sun-Young prepares to work her final radio program. After this program she will prepare to take her ill daughter to America the following morning. During the radio show Ko Sun-Young receives a startling text message."

          Yes, I found this movie to be quite entertaining.  The best point and rightfully so was the ending.  This definitely wasn't one of those movies that build up to a climax just to come up short and leave a bad taste in the mouths of the audience.  This movie came to a very well done and great ending.  It is definitely one that I was completely happy with.
          I don't really understand the one bad review that I found for this movie.  The person said that this movie was predictable and annoying as well as not having one thrilling scene in the movie.  I serious have a problem with that.  There was many scenes that had my heart going and me very worried.  It was the little kids mainly.  I just can't help but worry for cute little kids, especially with the movie being well done.
          There isn't really all that much that I can see as being wrong with this movie.  About all I can see is that the movie starts off a bit slow, but that seems to be purposeful.  The movie starts off will rather boring coworker chatter and all, but that is just a set up.  Once the movie starts its buildup, the pace starts increasing quite nicely.

          I definitely suggest this movie.  It is a great thriller.  I really did enjoy watching this movie and I believe many others will as well.  The only reviews up on IMDb for this movie at the moment highly praise this movie, and as I have said, it is for good reason.

Dasepo Naughty Girls - Korea

          Director:  Je-yong Lee
          Year:  2006
          Plot:  "Based on the popular Internet novel, "Multi-Cell Girl", the film takes place in "No-Use High School", a school renowned for its sexual aberrations.  The student body is comprised of sexually ambiguous teenagers.  But amidst this environment, there are some that just can't adapt.  Among them: "Poor Girl", a student who earns money for her family by sleeping with older men; "Anthony", a luxurious pretty-boy from Switzerland; and "One-Eye", the school's sole virgin."

          When the movie first started, I kept asking myself why I was watching this movie.  I mean the opening scene with all the students excusing themselves seemed a little out there.  I mean really every single person (Except One-Eye) was connected and had to leave.  This of course then leads to a very strange musical number.  Though I thought the girls dancing through the different religions was kind of cool.  The fact is though that this movie starts off really strange.
          The interesting thing is though that this movie turned out to be rather good.  I did skip most of the little musical numbers after I figured out what it was about.  The rest of the story line was quite good.  You see the lives of some interesting characters, but it mainly revolves around the life of Poor Girl.
          I also have to say that some parts were really funny.  I absolutely loved the scene with the guy chatting with a girl on the computer.  It was hard to keep from laughing and waking up those who were sleeping.  The only thing that was more ridiculous than funny was the way they were trying to defeat the rather strange being.

          This movie is one I would say I would definitely suggest.  It is a rather funny movie, though it also has its serious points.  It is one that should only be watched if you are in the mood for a comedy.  If you want something serious, you should probably stay away.

Postman to Heaven - Korea

          Director:  Lee Hyeong-Min
          Year:  2009
          Plot:  "Jaejoon, isn't your ordinary postman, he delivers letters to Heaven from those missing there loved one.  Ha-Na is one such person, and together they try to ease the grief of the letter senders."

          Okay before I start, I do of course have to admit that I watched this simply because I am a Jaejoong fan (which add to the fact that I wasn't happy that IMDb didn't even have him listed as the star of this movie, Han Hyo-joo either).  Anyway, the thing is though I am not sure if that had anything to do with how I rated this movie.  You see, this was a really well done movie.
          The idea of this movie was really cute.  I think it is nice that the grieving people would have a place to send there thoughts, and that somebody actually comes and takes them.  The thing is though not all of them want to send warm messages.  Some of them messages show that there is something keeping them from moving on with their life.  The really sweet part is that this is where the movie really focuses on.
           I really thought it was great how the main characters would come up with ways to ease the people's heartache.  It really is very sweet, but also leads to a bit of trouble down the road.  It is hard to see who was in the right, the one lying to make someone feel better, or the one who felt it was wrong.  This rather philosophical is handled quiet well within the movie and I quite enjoyed it.
          There are endings that you just want to see happen and then there are those that are played out in a really cheesy manner.  Thankfully this movie's ending was of the former rather than the latter.  They handled it well when it could have easily turned out to be very cheesy.  This one was rather sweet.  n.n

          This is one I would definitely suggest, and not just to Jaejoong fans.  This is one I would sure like to have in my collection (I have a list going, man I need to get my financial aid refund soon >.<).

Sunflower - Korea

          Director:  Seok-beom Kang
          Year:  2006
          Plot:  "Released from prison, Taesik goes to live with an adopted mother. He takes a job and tries to live a quiet life with his new family. His efforts are threatened when a politician seeks to knock the family restaurant down to build a mall."


          This story is of course on that has been done before.  There are many stories of a recently released prisoner that returns home and redeems themselves by saving the town or what not.  (That's not exactly how this one happens, but pretty close to the same thing.)
          This movie was rather a surprise to me.  Sure, it isn't hard to see some things coming because this is a rather common story line.  The reason this one surprised me is because it was really well done.  It isn't too often that I stay interested in a movie that is kind of slow, especially when I had been expecting some action (there is some, but mainly just at the end).
          Despite the fact that the movie was a little slow, it easily kept my interest.  The best point of this movie was our main character Taesik.  I loved that at first he seemed all quiet and a bit innocent like.  When his past is revealed, you understand that this is because of his bad history and wanting to now be a good person.  He really is a good person it seems.  The notebook he carries around is really a nice addition to the story.  I love that instead of having things he needs to do to put things right, he has things that he needs to do to either be a good person or that he never got to do, like a picnic.
          Now about the fight scenes.  These were quite lacking in the movie.  They really only existed for like the last five minutes, if that.  There was more scenes of people beating on the hero, but it isn't really a fight scene if it isn't two sided.  There was one scene though of this that I absolutely loved.  In this specific scene, instead of worrying about himself, he only worried about another person.  This really showed how far he had come.
          The ending was kind of sad, but I guess it worked.  Though I didn't really care for how they ended the scene with Taesik, I absolutely loved how they ended it with the sister.  That part was really nice and it really ended this movie in a really nice way.

          I will be suggesting this one as well as owning it soon.  The only reason I wouldn't suggest this movie is if you are looking for high paced action.  This one definitely isn't that, but it wasn't too slow or even boring for me.  I felt that this was a really nice version of a rather common story line.

The Restless - Korea

          Director:  Dong-oh Cho and Dong-oh Jo
          Year:  2006
          Plot:  "It is AD 924, at the end of the United Shilla Dynasty.  Evil forces are rampant and malicious demons roam the land.  A royal demon hunting squad exist known as the Chuh-yong-dae.  YI Kwak, born with the power to see spirits, excels as the most talented warrior of these demon hunters and one day drifts into Joongcheon, the world of the dead through a strange shrine."


          I found this movie to be a rather interesting watch.  The story is rather sweet as it mainly encompasses love transcending even death itself.  It is quite a romantic notion.  The fact is though that it also contains some vary interesting fight scenes.
          The fight scenes in this movie were interesting in a non-realistic sense.  Yes, there was much flying in this movie.  The flying isn't a problem for me, especially when you take the story line into account.  Nearly the entire movie takes place in a spirit world and most of the characters are in fact spirits.  To me that seems to justify most of the characters fighting styles.
          The only major problem I seen with the fighting or anything thing had to do with the female lead.  In one scene, her hips seemed to be jerked awkwardly.  The fact that the scene was slowed down just enhanced the odd pose.
           I really enjoyed the love story behind the fighting.  During the movie, you were given bits and pieces of the characters living love story.  The fact that he never gives up on his love for her is really sweet.  Even though people he cared about in the past stood in the way, he still chose to try for love.  Can't beat that.  n.n


          The story line is very well done and the characters are just as good.  I was a bit confused with the ending, but I decided not to let that drag down my rating.  With the rest of the well told love story, the ambiguous ending didn't seem to matter enough to change my rating.  n.n

Iris: The Movie - Korea

          Director:  Kim Kyu Tae, and Yang Yun-ho
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Hyun-jun and Sa-woo, close friends and rivals from the South Korean special forces, are recruited by the secret agency NSS. They both fall for Seung-hee, the beautiful but lethal profiling specialist at NSS. When they are faced against each other in a nuclear terrorist attack, they are forced to make their final decision and Seung-hee's formidable secret is revealed."


          If you have read the post for 71: Into the Fire, you probably know why I decided to watch this one.  Yes, it was all about Seung Hyun Choi (T.O.P) for me, which seems kind of sad now.  This is actually edited from the TV drama.  I have been wanting to see it, but wasn't sure if it was worth my time.  Because of this, I decided to watch the movie first (I wanted to watch the drama for T.O.P of course).
          I have to say that this was a really good movie.  It seems that the drama was edited very well to make a movie.  I do have one complaint though.  It is the reason I said my initial reasons for watching it seem sad now.  It is all because T.O.P has only like three scenes.  Apparently it isn't much different in the drama though as he appeared in five out of the first fourteen episodes.  Rather disappointing.  The scenes that he was in were good though, and he did look great like in the screenshot at the bottom.  n.n  I am not the biggest fan of T.O.P looks wise (usually), but I can't deny that he looked really great in that scene.
          Oops, a whole paragraph for someone in only three scenes.  I will reign in my fan-girl tendencies now.  Okay, so about the movie itself.  It really had me immersed in the action, even though I had to stop every once in awhile for it to load.  The action was just as good as the underlying romance.  I did dislike the ending, but that can't be helped much.  It wasn't a bad ending as it did work quite well, I just wish it hadn't ended that way.
          I don't really know what else to say.  If I talk anymore, I might give away something important.  That wouldn't be very good, so I will leave it here.


          This movie really kept my interest the entire time and didn't leave any bad taste afterwards.  This is definitely one to watch though.  Whether you watch the movie or the drama first, is up to you.  I do suggest though watching them both if you watch the movie first.  I intend to be adding both to my collection in the near future, that's for sure.  n.n

Antique - Korea

           Director:  Kyu-Dong Ming
           Year:  2008
           Plot:  “Jin-hyeok opens a cake shop in an old antique shop, hiring Seon-woo, Korea's best pastry chef, who fell in love with him in high school.  Also there, are Su-yeong, crushing on Seon-woo, ex-boxer Ki-beom, and Seon-woo's French ex-boyfriend.”


           I simply had to watch this one when I seen this on the site LetMeWatchThis.  I figured a Korean Gay Comedy wouldn’t be too much of a waste of time.  It turns out that I was right.  I absolutely loved this movie.  Oh, and I haven’t read the comic it is based on or anything.
           It is always seems strange to me when I find a comedy that I enjoy.  I usually find comedies stupid, but maybe that is just the American ones.  I absolutely found this movie genuinely funny.  I still can’t get over Su-yeong.  I think he was about the funniest person in this movie.
           I thought they did a good job bringing all of the characters history into this movie.  You got a little piece of everyone’s story, and that really helped to understand them better.  It is sad what Jin-hyeok did to Su-yeong when they were in school, but it really wasn’t done on purpose.  At first you look at it and think of him as a horrible person, but by the end of the movie you realize that he would have never done that if something hadn’t happened just moments before.  Of course I won’t tell you what happened, that’s for you to see for yourself.
           I think Su-yeong is my favorite character in the whole movie, and it’s not just because he is the gay guy, or cause he is pretty.  I just felt bad for him, especially with his ex-boyfriend, now there’s someone who deserved worse than he got.  Nothing may have happened between any of the shop employee (though between the two would have been nice), it seems Su-yeong was happy just working there, which is cute.
           The mystery taking place behind the cute comedy front was a very nice touch.  It really did give this movie something to keep everything in balance.  This movie might not have done so well without such an intriguing story.  I found the ending rather interesting though.  I had expected it to end a little different, but it wasn’t bad the way it happened either.  I am sure you will understand me if you watch the movie.  n.n


            This is definitely a movie I have to own.  It has a great balance of an intriguing mystery, and light-hearted humor.  Parts of this movie though may be a little off-putting to homophobes, for those who don’t mind, it is very cute.  n.n  This is definitely one to check out.

71: Into the Fire - Korea

          Director:  John H. Lee
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  “Based on the true story of 71 students who fight hundreds of North Korean soldiers in front of a middle school in August of 1950 during the Korean War.  Kap-jo was formerly a student who was convicted of murder.  While serving his sentence he volunteers to fight as a soldier.”


          I am pretty surprised that this movie didn’t seem to be very popular on IMDB.  The reason that I have such a hard time understanding this is because I pretty much hate war movies, but fell in love with this one.  Okay, so I did start watching it simply because Big Bang’s Seung Hyun Choi (T.O.P) was in it.  I ended up sticking around for more than just him though.
          The story held my attention even during another late night.  The fact that 71 students were to defend a post for South Korea with enemy infantry headed their way was very intriguing.  I absolutely loved this movie for the fact that those students were so strong.  They were just students, not soldiers, yet they we able to work together to protect a South Korean post.
          After two previous attacks is when the movie gets completely serious.  It is then that the student soldiers are given a choice, an opportunity to surrender and save themselves.  The problem is that by surrendering, the North Korean’s would breach the Nakdong River and thus leave the South Korean’s with no more room to retreat.  The choice is left to the students.  A few leave wanting to survive, but nearly all choose to stay and fight for their country, knowing that they will likely die.  It seems to be a very noble decision they make.
          As per the movie, the students only have to hold out for an hour until reinforcements hopefully arrive.  In the real story, the students held out for 11 hours, which is a far greater accomplishment.  The movie though couldn’t last that long so they shortened the time frame.  Even shortened, the accomplishment seems so great.  The students lasted despite the greater army arriving before them.


          This movie is a major tearjerker.  Most movies cannot get me to even cry, but it seems that these Asian movies that I have been finding lately have that ability.  I have no problem with this, as their movies are so well done story wise that they are worthy of some tears.
          Anyway, I absolutely loved this movie despite it being a war movie.  I am definitely planning on adding this one to my collection in the near future.  This is also one I am suggesting to everyone I know.


          Oh, here's a link to the movie on YouTube.  Click the CC button for English Subtitles.  71: Into the Fire (Part 1/8)