Movie Title: 베테랑(Veteran)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2015
Movie Title: 乜代宗師 (The Grand Grandmaster)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/10)
Year: 2020
Movie Title: 미션 파서블 (Mission Possible)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2021
Movie Title: 싱크홀(Sinkhole)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (6/10)
Year: 2021
Sinkhole is a star-studded comedic disaster movie which I find have a lot of contrast element which makes it either a hit or a miss. The movie centres around Park Dong-won (Kim Sung-kyun) and his family who recently move into a house in Jangsu in which he only managed to purchase after 11 years of hard work and savings. On the “moving day” Dong-won cross path with Jeong Man-soo (Cha Seung-won), Dong-won’s quirky neighbour who seems to keep appearing in Dong-won’s life as he work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
The movie starts to get exciting when Dong-won invites his colleagues to his new house for housewarming party, only to find his house sank into the sinkhole due to heavy rain pour for the last couple of days. Dang-won and his colleagues – Seung-hyun (Lee Kwang-soo) and Eun-joo (Kim Hye-jun) were quickly united with Man-soo and his son Seung-tae (Nam Da-reum) and together they keep a look out to ensure they all survive the chaotic fall.
While the comedic disaster genre is quite new and refreshing, while their characters are funny and quirky, I personally find Cha Seung-won and Lee Kwang-soo acting is a little over worked and exaggerated and just wished they could have turned it down one notch. With me recently watching a few movies of Seung-won and Kwang-soo, I can’t help but to notice they seems to have been type casted for the same kind of comedic character over and over again.
While I love the new genre style of the movie and how relatable the movie topic was – the hardship one has to go through to buy a house in major city, the movie has it’s fair share of flops. While the star-studded movie may seems to be a pro, it is also a con as there we just too many characters in the movie in which each have minimal screen time aside the 5 key character. Most of the character in the movie were half-baked, and seems to have been added for the sake of prolonging the movie.
The absurd and illogical ending scenes of them floating up in a empty tank that floats out of no where? Like seriously, in the first place how could the sinkhole be flooded when the sunk house hasn’t even reach the ground. And if the entire apartment have no water supply and sunk into a sinkhole, how can the place be flooded. And for an apartment block to sink 500m underground and the sinkhole can be flooded in less than hours, how is that even possible? The width and the depth of that sinkhole is just not cup size.
Anyway, it is a let down and just simply sad to see how the director equate illogical plots to being comedic and proceeded with the shots and outcome.
Movie Title: 김종욱 찾기 (Finding Mr. Destiny)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/10)
Year: 2010
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Movie Title: 여교사 (Misbehavior)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/10)
Year: 2015
Misbehavior tells a tale of two complete opposite lives of boy’s school teacher. Hyo-joo (Kim Ha-neul) constantly feels stressed and miserable as her life is going nowhere. She is a contract based teacher who is constantly worried that she will not get her contract renewed while she is also desperately trying to get a promoted to be a full-time teacher. Her long time boyfriend is a slacker who live off her and one day decides to dump her.
On the other side, the young and beautiful Hae-young (Yoo In-yeong) who is Hyo-joo’s university junior is the newest teacher in the school who instantly took her long waited full-time teacher spot. Hae-young have it all, good looks, good connection and well to do (she is the daughter of the school board’s chairman), trophy boyfriend.
Both their life cross path when Hyo-joo and Hae-young both are drawn to the good looking and charismatic student, Jae-ha ( Lee Won-geun). The movie’s mood took a change when Hyo-joo caught Hae-young and Jae-ha making out in the school gym room. Hyo-joo uses this to emotionally blackmail Hae-young and slowly allowed her arrogance and jealousy blinded her when Hyo-joo herself later got involved with the same student.
While the movie’s manage to build and showcase the injustice of hierarchy in daily lives and workplace, the movie flawed with weak character build up where t he director tries too hard to give everyone screen time, including the dance teacher, Hae-young’s boyfriend and others, which in return sacrificed the build up of the main characters. The movie also lacks emotional connection between the trio which makes it believable that there are love and affection in the relationships – Jae-ha and Hae-young, or Hyo-joo and Jae-ha.
The movie stars of promising but the choppy editing starts to bring the movie to a slow and messy middle, and the abrupt ending leaves audience hoping there were more to it.
Movie Title: 바르게 살자 (Going By The Book)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (8/10)
Year: 2007
Going By The Book is a comedy movie which center around the character Jung Do-man (Jung Jae-young). Do-man was demoted from his detective post when he tries to put a corrupted government officer behind bars but failed due to lack of evidence and was then sent to be a small town to be a traffic officer 👮♂️ in a small town.
With his upright and honest character, he always go by the book no matter how big or small a matter is. His life is about to change when he is selected to play the “robber” role in a training mission to combat the recent increase bank robber case in the town. The training mission aimed to improve public’s trust in the police force turns into a disaster when Do-man plays his “robber” role seriously and “killed” various hostages and SWAT team. This quickly gains the interest of public and even made it to national news which creates an embarrassing scene for the police.
While the movie don’t have any climax point, the humour and wittiness of the character and storyline is well-paced over the 102 minutes movie. The movie is a refreshing one, as it doesn’t involve any romance scene in it which I find it different. Jae-young proper and strict appearance perfectly fits the character bringing it to live and gives it a charming charisma.
Watch it! 🎬 It’s a great movie to watch to put a smile on face but minus the cheesy romantic scenes.
Movie Title: 탐정: 리턴즈 (Accidental Detective 2: In Action)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2018
The Accidental Detective 2: In Action thriller-comedy movie is the sequel to the 2015’s movie of the same name. While I have not what the prequel, the movie was not hard to follow. The movie starts with Kang Dae-man (Kwong Sang-woo) a comic store owner who secretly sold his comic book store without discussing with his wife to setup his own private detective firm together with Noh Tae-soo (Sung Dong-il), hides about him taking an indefinite absent leave from police force just to test out how their private detective business will pan out.
Their first and only case came when a widow suspects her husband’s suicidal death is not what it seemed to be but was denied by the police due to lack of evidence. Their investigation on the case leads them back to the orphanage the victim was brought up in, which leads it to a broader conspiration between the orphanage and hospitals.
The addition of Hopper (Lee Kwang-soo) as a geek-ish hacker adds contributes his tech skills in the suspense investigation. Together, the trio is a perfect combo with each of them having different personalities that helps compliment each others lacking.
I find the movie pretty standard and decent detective-crime movie style. While the movie may not have drastic climax, the pacing and story unfolding is comfortably executed. While to some, this may seems lacking and less worthy of time, but I personally feel not every movie requires high action, climax and major plot twist. At times, classics are sufficient and in fact gold, and this is one of them.
Movie Title: 나의 특별한 형제 (Inseparable Bros)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2018
Inseparable bros is a sentimental-comedy about two disabled boy who were abandoned by their family members. Growing up together in the orphanage, they both soon become perfect and compatible partners. Se-Ha (Shin Ha-kyun) is a smart who are paralyzed from neck onwards hence he is not able to move due to the injury of his spinal cord while Dong-goo (Lee Kwang-soo) a cheerful character who is tall and strong yet have the mental age of a 5 year old.
While they both were not real brothers, their relationship blossom and they act as one and are inseparable when Se-ha works as the brain of Dong- goo, helping him with day to day decisions and thoughts, while Dong- goo helps Se-ha to perform physical tasks
However their brother like relationship are threaten with separation to different institutes due to their different disability when the orphanage are closed down. To make matters worst, Dong-goo’s mother appear all of a suddenly coming into their lives.
While the movie has a simple plot, a simple day to day life of two brothers from a humorous perspective it quickly gets audience bored due to it being predictable and draggy. The acting for both the lead actors may be too exaggerated at some point, but it does help as it is used to compensate their acting limitations due to their character’s disability. One thing do turn me off, Lee Kwang-soo’s ear piercing, which was overlooked and made it less believable for his character.
While it may have a predictable ending, it is a good watch to squeeze out some humour and emotions in you.
Movie Title: 배심원들 (Juror 8)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/10)
Year: 2019
Juror 8 is a courtroom style movie, which probably have been done and audiences may have same something of similar around. However, little do many know this sort of genre is not exactly common in South Korea and what makes Juror 8 more special is the fact that the movie is based loosely from the first jury trial in South Korea back in 2008.
As the first citizen participation to judge 👩⚖️ a gruesome case where the defendant Taegu (Seo Hyeon-woo) is accused of murdering 🔪 his own mother. The case quickly turned complicated when a supposedly easy to conclude case as the defendant has pleaded guilty before trial turned his tone during the court session.
As all the media outlet attention 🎥 is on the case especially on strict yet emphatic judge, Kim Joon-Gyum (Moon So-ri) and the jurors.
Juror 1 – Yoon Geu Rim (Soo-Jang Baek)
Juror 2 – Yang Choon Ok (Kim Mi-Kyung)
Juror 3 – Jo Jin Shik (Yoon Kyung-ho)
Juror 4 – Byun Sang Mi – (Seo Jung-Yeon)
Juror 5 – Choi Yeong Jae (Jo Han-chul)
Juror 6 – Jang Ki Baek (Kim Hong-Pa)
Juror 7 – Oh Soo Jung (Jo Soo-Hyang)
Juror 8 – Kwon Nam Woo (Park Hyung-Sik)
While the movie comes with a familiar storyline and genre with a predictable ending, the casting were superb as each of the cast played their role flawlessly. And juror 8’s character with never give up spirit to find out the truth does give a movie a great highlight and something to look forward to. Watch it if you love the courtroom mixed with a detective like movie style, where the plot doesn’t only confines the scenes to the courtroom but beyond just to find out the truth.