Love Me Not (2006 KR)

(pics from hancinema)

Love Me Not (2006) - 사랑따윈 필요없어 (Sa-lang-dda-won Pil-yo-eobs-eo) Moon Geun-yeong (문근영) and Kim Joo-hyeok (김주혁)

Julian (Kim Joo Hyuk) is a ladie's man who lives off rich women as the handsome #1 male host. But he owes a ton of debt and is given one month to live. He decides to impersonate his dead friend and another host Ryu Jin (who died in a car accident) to claim his inheritance. He meets his blind sister Ryu Min (Moon Geun-Yeong--a role to show she is more grown up). She is cold and does not believe in love, not unlike Julian himself. All he plans to do is kill her by accident and then he stands to inherit the necessary funds to pay his debt. When she slowly opens up, his heart in turn warms up. Then the disease that caused her blindness is now to the point of being life threatening, what will he do? What will happen? How will she react when she discovers that the man who says he is her brother is not?

I'm a Cyborg, but that's ok (KR-2006)

( poster credit www.twitch.com)

Directed by Cannes winner Park Chan Wook (2004 "Old Boy"), "I'm a Cyborg, But that's Ok" (싸이보그지만 괜찮아 Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchana) stars Korean heart throb and singing sensation Rain (touted as top #1 most influential on Time.com magazine's site this year) I saw last night. This flick is touted as a romantic comedy. It is a simple story about a girl (Lim Soo Jung) thinks she is a cyborg. The young man who falls in love with her is played by Rain. They are both in a mental ward. There are some "imaginery" scenes by Lim Soo Jung's character that remind you it is a Park Chan Wook film. Mainly a flick that causes one to scratch their heads and say "huh?"

Even in South Korea, this movie did not do so well. In fact after slow sales of under 800,000 tickets sold, it was pulled before the lucrative holiday rush this past December 2006. In fact, while I was in Korea, I did see the movie posters everywhere.

I would give this movie a 6.5 out of 10.

Hwang Jini (KBS 2006) opens on AZN June 14, 2007

(Top-film version with Song Hye Gyo, painting real Hwang Jini and below middle-Ha Ji Won in the KBS Drama) wikipedia,yesasia photo source

Hwang Jin-i (황진이, 黃眞伊) (1520c.-1560c.), So I have been waiting to rent out Hwang Jini but now I guess I do not have to. I was told about it around the same time of Jumong by my good pal in Seoul.Ha Ji Won is the lead and Song Hye Gyo plays the big screen Hwang Jini in the pic coming out this month in South Korea. Ha Ji Won garnered a few awards last year for her portrayal of a Kisaeng, a woman of the arts-educated, play instruments, beautiful but similar to Geisha life is not easy.It is reported to be based on the real life 16th Century Hwang Jini inspired many people to be in love with her. Her first love was an aristocrat and died of a broken heart when he could not marry her. This is only the beginning of Hwang Jini trials in love throughout her life.

Per the law in 16th century Korea, any childe from a Giseang is automatically a Giseang. Also they may not get married. But unlike the typical female, they have more freedoms but sadness too.

I have caught two episodes and I enjoyed the younger Hwang Jini (She is impeccably played) and I love her expressions and acting. I wish they had her for a bit longer on the big screen. The costumes are beautiful and the dances, make up and instruments are great. I am looking forward to the rest of the drama.

Rondo (TBS 2006) with Yutaka Takenouchi and Choi Ji Woo

This 2006 11 episode Japanese Drama with Korean drama superstar actress Choi Ji Woo and famous Japanese actor/model Yutaka Takenouchi starred in :Rondo/ 輪舞曲/윤무곡 / Yunmugok caused a stir when it came out. One thing being Choi Ji Woo is a popular and beloved Kdrama actress from "Stairway to Heaven" and "Winter Sonota" are two famous dramas she played the lead actress.I cannot wait to watch it. I remember him from "Long Vacation" where I enjoyed Yamaguchi Tomoko (no longer acts) and Kimura Takuya of SMAP SMAP fame. The soundtrack was amazing and my roomie Kako chan told me about it.

In this drama, Kaneyama Takumi (Takenouchi) plays an undercover policeman in search of his father's killer! He was killed by someone in the underworld and he swore he would avenge his death. Now he foreswore his loved ones to find the true killer. Along the way, he meets Yuna and Yunee sisters from Korea in Japan in search of their father. Trying to eke a living managing a small restaurant, these two people slowly fall for each other. Will Takumi avenge his father's death and will Yuna find her father?

The first episode was a special two hours. There was alot of dramatic camera angles and black and white fade outs which got a bit to me. As the title implies "RONDO" has many meanings but the one I like that is used for this drama is "return". You learn watching this drama that their is a "return" theme throughout the drama. I personally like the two leads so that was enjoyable for me.

Plot wise, there was a ton of twists and turns. The English subtitles were atrocious. Luckily, I studied Japanese and understand some Korean so I was able to piece some conversations that were otherwise not translated or if they were it was done poorly. Choi Yuna (Choi Ji Woo) dies her best in the tragic rolls that has her crying alot. As Takumi, (Takenouchi) is the typical stoic and emotionless (tries to be) Japanese man. I enjoyed the Takumi's underworld "little bro" sidekick who is very loyal to him throughout the drama.

Overall, the drama to me rates a 7.5 out of a 10 scale.

200 Pound Beauty (Korea 2006)

200 Pounds Beauty (2006) - 미녀는 괴로워 (Mi-nyeo-neun Goi-ro-wa)

Kim Ah-joong (김아중) Joo Jin-mo (주진모)

(Photos from hancinema.net)

This movie was a flick I have been wanting to see since December when I was in Korea. I was seeing the MV every morning of a cover of the Blondie song "Maria". This movie beat out other higher cost, more mega wattage star powered flicks during the holiday season in Korea! I enjoyed it for what it was just for pure entertainment.

It tells the tale of a beautiful inner woman named Hannah who has a gorgeous voice, but she is the "hidden" voice of sexy sultry and slender singer Ammy (who cannot sing a proper note). She is secretly in love with Ammy's manager Sang Jun. Ammy loves to embarrass and pull jokes on Hannah. One day she goes to far during Sang Jun's birthday. Using her connections from one of her other part time gigs (phone sex worker) and decides to go under an EXTREME makeover. There is alot of cajoling and tears pleading with the plastic surgeon from Hannah.

Hannah disappears and has major plastic surgery and weight loss regimen during one year. She reappears to Sang Jun and Ammy but as Korean American Jenny who wants to break into the Korean music industry. What will happen next?

Kim Sung Ah owns this movie! If it were not for her, this movie would not have been as compelling and great as it was (plus she garnered some acting awards too). Another thing, Kim Sung Ah sang a fews songs on the soundtrack (not lip synced but sung by her !) plus she is not a singer by trade! Ju Jin Moo doesn't need to do much here but look good, which he does very well.

(source: Wikipedia.org)

200 Pounds Beauty (미녀는 괴로워) is an award-winning 2006 South Korean comedy based on a Japanese manga by Suzuki Yumiko. The story tells the tale about a large girl that undergoes an extreme makeover to become a pop sensation.

Plot
Kang Han-na (Kim Ah-jung) is an overweight phone sex employee and a secret vocalist for Ammy, a famous Korean pop singer who actually lip syncs as she cannot sing. Instead of being famous for her own amazing vocal talent, Han-na hides behind Ammy's performance stage and sings during Ammy's concerts, and records all of Ammy's songs. One day, Ammy ungratefully humiliates her in front of the music company's director Sang-jun (Ju Jin-mo) during his birthday party, knowing full well that Han-na has a crush on him. While crying in the bathroom, Han-na overhears Sang-jun telling Ammy that even though they are just using Han-na for her voice, they must be kind to her so she will not walk out on them. Heartbroken, Han-na contemplates suicide but is interrupted by a phone call from one of her phone sex regulars who happens to be a top cosmetic surgeon. She decides to get a head-to-toe makeover instead. The surgeon at first refuses to operate on Han-na, but Han-na blackmails that she will tell the surgeon's wife about his calls. Then, Han-na makes a moving speech that she does not want to undergo surgery merely to be beautiful, but for the sake of love and as a boost in confidence, and the surgeon is deeply moved. Han-na puts herself in seclusion for a year as she recovers from the changes.
When she comes back from the hospital, Han-na is incredibly beautiful and slender. No one, not even her best friend, recognizes her. With the help of her best friend, she creates a new identity for herself; she is now a Korean-American from California named Jenny. After auditioning to be Ammy's secret vocalist again, she earns her own recording contract instead from Sang-jun, claiming that she is "all-natural". In the meantime, Ammy, oblivious just like everyone else of Han-na's new identity, desperately tries to find Han-na so that she can record her own postponed album (since she cannot sing the songs herself) by spending time with Hanna's father who is in a hospital with some mental problems, possibly Alzheimer's. Through spending time with Han-na's father, she eventually realizes that this new Jenny is actually Han-na in disguise. So on the day of a party, Ammy brings "Jenny's" father, who tries to return Han-na's Barbie doll to her, which has always been Han-na's favourite childhood gift from him. Startled by the sudden appearance of her father, Hanna knocks him down, and Hanna's friend helps him back up.

Romance then begins to blossom between "Jenny" and Sang-Jun. However, after a date one night, when Han-na is asleep, Sang-jun wakes up and happens to look at a glass panel on which Han-na has drawn a Hakuna Matata sign. He remembers that when Han-na still existed and he had not met "Jenny" yet, Han-na had drawn the exact same signs on a sheet of music. Then he adds all of the signs up and realizes as well that Han-na is actually Jenny, and he seems to be unable to forgive her for lying to him, though Han-na still tells him that she will continue working and will succeed as an artist.

The day of "Jenny's" first concert, Jenny breaks down from losing her friend and father and reveals to the public that Jenny is a "fake," and that she is not "all-natural", as she had claimed, but is "plastic". However, nobody seems to believe her. During the concert, Han-na breaks down and tells the large crowd her story: that she has abandoned everything and her best friend and father to get to where she is, and that she is not naturally beautiful. The screens behind her on stage then show a clip of the old, obese Han-na, singing angelically. The crowd responds by chanting "It's all right," and Han-na rekindles her relationships with her father and best friend. She drops the stage name "Jenny" and re-releases a CD with her own name, Hanna, and becomes a highly successful music artist, gaining many anti-fans as well as loyal fans along the way. Sang-jun realizes the very thing about Han-na that had always drawn her to him - Han-na's innocence.

Cast
Kim Ah-jung 김아중 -Kang Han-na
Ju Jin-mo 주진모 - Sang-jun

Soundtrack
The title song in the movie is a cover of the Blondie song "Maria", sung in Korean by the movie's star, Kim Ah-jung. The Korean modern rock band Loveholic also appears on the 200 Pounds.

Beauty soundtrack.
Track/Title/Artist
#1 Beautiful Girl 김아중 [Kim Ah Joong]
#2 별 [Byul] 유미 [Youme]
#3 Maria 김아중 [Kim Ah Joong]
#4 Dance With My Daddy Alex Chu (Clazziquai)
#5 You Don’t Know I Love You-- U [유]
#6 슈퍼스타 [Super Star] Loveholic
#7 튜울립 [Tulip] Venny (상상밴드) (Feat. 종휘 [Jong-hui])
#8 Miss You Much 유미 [Youme]
#9 Beautiful Girl(teaser Edit) 김아중 [Kim Ah Joong] (Feat. Alex Chu of Clazziquai & And)
#10 바보처럼 [Like A Fool] 김형중 [Kim Hyung Joong]
#11 별 [Star] (Original dialog Version) 김아중 [Kim Ah Joong]

Herb (Korean Film)

Herb(허브 - 2007)
Kang Hye-jeong (강혜정), Bae Jong-ok (배종옥), Jeong Gyeong-ho (정경호)
I caught "HERB" last night. It is about a pretty 20 year old (Kang Hye-Jeong of "Love Phobia" and "Old Boy" fame) with the sensibility of a 7 year old who is dearly loved and protected by her mother. The movie chronicles her path to love, unexpectedly with a cute policeman (Jeong Gyeong-Ho) and loss. But despite these curve balls life throws at her, she survives and perseveres. She is taught that fairy tales are not all what they seem but she has a strong female influence in her mom (Bae Jong Ok).

This movie was a respite from the other movies I have been watching within the last 6 months.