Happily Ever After

  This movie was one that I had been waiting for two months to watch in the theaters. The main reason was because of actress Kim Dami. I loved the tv show, <Our Beloved Summer>, where she starred alongside actor Choi Woo-sik. Their bond was perfect; the drama depicted their fresh romance so heartwarmingly that I was naturally looking forward to Kim's next appearance. And <Soulmate> was the exact movie I was looking forward to; it had everything fully equipped. So, I eagerly rushed to the theaters on the release date, and in the dimly lit space found myself face to face with something more magical than I could ever imagine.    The magic between Miso and Haeun begins in 1998, when Miso moves to Haeun's school. It continues until high school of 2004, when a new friend, Jinwoo, comes along. 2010, they each begin their journey as adults. Along the way, fights sometimes occur, but it's okay, maybe, because they will somehow find their way back to each other. Be...

    Later this month, a new Netflix movie is going to be released. The movie, <Kill Bok Soon>, stars Jeon Do-yeon and Seol Kyung-gu. But it's not the first time they are in the same movie. They also worked together before four years ago in a movie titled <Birthday>, which is what I'm going to introduce to you today.   This movie is based on the famous Sewol Ferry sinking accident that occurred in 2014. This tragic accident cost the lives of many people, including high school students who were on a school field trip together. Jeon Do-yeon and Seol Kyung-gu appear as parents of a high school boy whose life was lost in the ferry accident. The family becomes torn apart by the tragic incident, and the movie tells carefully about the life of those who are left behind, how they barely manage to live day after day.    Jeon Do-yeon and Seol Kyung-gu showed amazing chemistry in <Birthday>. Their despair accumulates as their deceased son's birthday gets c...

    <The Man From Nowhere> is still a very hot film and considered as Won Bin's best movie ever. Frankly, the plot is not so unique. A story about a young girl and a man who fights to protect her. It is such a cliché and yet, there was something definitely different about it.    Tae-sik is a special agent whose life turns into a mess after his wife died tragically. He cuts off all ties and begins  running a pawnshop. There he meets Somi, a young girl who has no one to rely on. She wants to rely on him, but Tae-sik ignores her. However, when Somi is kidnapped by human traffickers, he desperately begins the search for her.   This movie is mostly remembered by its famous scene where Won Bin shaves his head before hunting down the men who took Somi (as seen in the picture above). But I remember the movie more by it's last fight scene. I was totally mesmerized by the beauty of it. It might come across as odd since there is blood everywhere, but the wa...

  To be honest, my hopes for the movie weren't high because of the title. "Phantom" sounded pretty vague, so it didn't catch my attention right away. And to be honest again, I didn't really enjoy the movie <Believer>, made by the same director. But the movie turned out to be a pleasant surprise:)   The story occurs during the time of Japanese reign. Five Koreans are suspected to be the "phantom", who is known to rebel against the Japanese, and are held captive in a mansion under Japanese soldiers' eyes. They can only get out when the situation ends with the phantom dead. The five people start to suspect each other, and they fight to regain freedom.   There are some parts where the story flows slowly. But I felt that they were necessary to build tension little by little. This spy action movie stood out thanks to the amazing actors. Seol Kyung-gu and Park So-dam were especially perfect. They acted as though they were destined for their roles. It ...

    Starring Korea's best actors, Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, <The Point Men> was expected to be a great start of 2023. Of course, the two actors showed great acting, and Hyun Bin was stunningly handsome as usual, but the movie wasn't like what I expected it to be.   The movie starts as 23 Koreans are taken captive by Taliban in Afghanistan. Jae-ho, a diplomat, goes to Afghanistan to rescue the captives. There he meets Dae-sik, a NIS agent, and they start to work together to bring all the Koreans back in one piece.    Being held captive by Taliban is an extremely shocking and terrifying event. Yet the movie isn't very tense. I liked it, since I don't like wasting energy feeling nervous all through the movie, but some might prefer the heart-beating-and-hands-sweating. <The Point Men> is a big scale movie starring great actors, so we should wait and see where the fate of the movie heads to. After all, today is only the release day.  Review : Not ...

  <A Hard Day> is considered by many as actor Lee Sun-kyun's best movie. Although I've already seen him perform in <Parasite> and <My Mister>, this was the first time that I actually got to admire his acting. I had no idea that he had such a wide spectrum of acting. And this movie was special in that he gathered up his abilities accumulated through the ages, and poured them all out in a massive blast of whirlwind.   Geon-soo's life turns into chaos when he accidentally hits a man while drunk driving on his way to his mother's funeral. Terrified, he hastily hides the body in his car and drives away. He takes care of things, using his status as a cop to his advantage. The situation worsens when one day, a man who seems to know everything about the accident keeps on calling Geon-soo and threatens him.    In the beginning, I somehow felt uneasy watching the show, not knowing why I had this queasy feeling. Now I know why. I was so immersed that I unknowi...

    As a big fan of actress Jeon Do-yeon, I've always wanted to watch this movie, since she acknowledged this one as her favorite film she appeared in. I wondered why, since this film isn't as famous as her other movies like <Secret Sunshine> and <The Housemaid>. But after finally seeing <My Dear Enemy>, it actually became my favorite as well!   The title of this movie made me feel confused before seeing the movie. The Korean title is <Great Day>, whereas the English title is <My Dear Enemy>. I wondered, did they really have make the title so different? But after seeing the movie, those two titles actually felt similar. They give off a certain vibe, and I figured that maybe the director wanted to preserve that vibe in two ways. After all, I noticed, 'great' and 'dear' are not so different.   The movie stars two top star actors; Jeon Do-yeon and Ha Jung-woo. Without them, the movie might have been a complete fiasco. Because their act...