Too Beautiful To Lie (Korea 2004)

Leave it to Korea to give us romatic comedies that truly has a heart. Movies that appeal to one's emotions without being too touchy. Too Beautiful to Lie is no different.

The movie starts with Joo Young-ju serving her time in prison for fraud. Because of her good behavior and a genuis knack for lying, she was out on parole. On her way home, she met Choi Hee-chul on the train. Hee-chul was about to propose to the woman of his dreams with his mom's wedding ring. He was practicing his speech when a thief got his eyes on the ring. Fearing that the stealing would be taken against her, Young-ju left the train and took the ring back from the thief. Only that when she was about to go back, the train was leaving with her bag on it.

Young-ju went to Hee-chul's town to recover her bag from him and to return the ring. That was when all misunderstandings and confusions took place. She suddenly became Hee-chul's fiancee! When Hee-chul came back, more troubles begun. Soon enough, both he and Young-ju were tangled in their own web of lies that eventually led them to being together.

During the first few minutes of the film, the film will remind you of Hollywood hits like While You Were Sleeping and Mrs. Winterbourne. They were originally from the same concept and story. Because of that, one will have a hard time laughing with the funny antics that are happening on screen. However, later on, the film took its own wists and turns. You'd find yourself laughing your heart out. You'd become so engaged with it that you'd soon forget its comparison with the two films mentioned above.

Of course, like any other romantic comedies, Too Beautiful to Die is quite predictable. No matter what the lead characters went through, they always end up with one another. But predictability isn't important. What's significant is how the characters fell in love with each other and how they have touched their audience's hearts. Surprisingly, this film will not just make you laugh but will you cry, as well.

As what its tagline says, "We will make you laugh. We will touch your heart.We will leave you feeling something you'd never imagined possible.This movie will redefine what a comic melodrama should be." Indeed, the movie is true to its words!

S Diary (Korea 2004)

Feeling suffocated with the relationship, Jini's boyfriend broke up with her. However, he gave her a "project". He told her to ask her former boyfriends if they have loved her.

Devastated with the break-up, Jini drowned herself in sorrows. As she was looking through her old stuffs, she found an unused diaries that her mom gave her. Afterwards, in them, she had written down the histories of her former romances. When she was about to write her affair with her recent flame, his so-called "project" haunted her. So she looked for her old beaus and popped them the question, "Did you love me?"

Disappointed with what she heard, Jini decided to get back at them. She asked them for money pay back for all the things she did for them, including sex. When they refused to do so, she plotted clever ways that would forced them to eventually give her what she wanted.

Like Old Boy, S Diary is about exacting revenge on the people who have hurt you. It is about being vindicated for the pains and sorrows that you went through. However, the ultimate questions would always be, "After revenge, what comes next? Would it make you a better person?"

S Diary is more about self-discovery and love for oneself. Because it is only when we love ourselves that we could truly feel being loved by other people.

See (and read) this Diary to learn about yourself and how stupid we can get when we are in love...

Old Boy (Korea 2003)

Inspired by the Japanese comic, Old Boy is about Oh Deasu, an ordinary guy, who has been kidnapped and kept in a cell prison for 15 years. In those years, he kept wondering why he was kept in confinement. He had thought about all the people he had hurt but he didn't get any answer from the people who were keeping him alive. TV was the only one keeping him company in those years. He tried killing himself several times but the people locking him up saves him every time. Feeling quite helpless with his situation, he plotted ways to get out of his cell and trained himself physically. The cell became his home and vengeance kept him sane and alive.

On his 15th year, he was freed. Outside the cell, he was given a wallet filled with money and a mobile phone. He received a phone call asking him to know the reason why he was imprisoned and not just focused himself on who did it. From that day on, he tries to solve the puzzle that ultimately led him to his and his assailant's destruction.

During the first part of the film, there were confusing bits but they are mainly because of the storytelling style of the director. As it goes along, you'd eventually get the feel of how the story is going along.

It is character-driven. Like the main lead in the film, you'd be taken for a ride. You'd want to solve the mystery the way Oh does. Being smitten with the later solving of mystery would now depend on whether it has enough grip on you or not. But then, that really isn't what will hold you down. This movie has enough tricks on its sleeve that will keep you guessing till the end.

Old Boy could be a sick and gruesome thriller but it is also a great cinematic experience that would leave you wanting for more.

When I Turned Nine (Korea 2004)

When I Turned Nine is a story about a nine-year old boy, Yeo-min Baek, who is in the third grade. At such a young age, he feels responsible for his family and friends' well-being without them telling him so.

During the summer, he sells ice-cream to earn some cash and save up. He wants to buy a special something for the person he cares the most. Because he knows that selling ice-cream won't be enough, he starts cleaning houses and runs errands for other people.

When school started, he became the designated protector of his friends from bullies. Upon Woo-rim Jang's arrival in school, another so-called trouble started to unfold. He became attracted to her much so to the disliking of his long-time girl friend. She feels that Woo-rim isn't what she seems to be. From that day on, Yeo-min tried to balance his relationship between his long-time friends and Woo-rim.

Before anything else, let me tell that, in recent years, there wasn't any movie like this that made me sob like a baby! It is a tearjerker all the way! Although it wasn't the kind that is quite heavy. There may be a lot of strong emotional scenes, this movie may still be considered as light. It is melodramatic without being cheesy.

When I Turned Nine isn't like any other movie. For one thing, the story revolves around children. And they weren't goofing around as most children movies have. They were acting in an environment as if they were adults. The closest comparable movie that I have in mind is My Girl. But then, with regards to the depth and substance of this, My Girl would fall flat.

Nine is about familial love, puppy love, and friendships. It tackles love at a tender age, jealousy, naivete, honesty, sadness, responsibility, generosity, and sincerity. It is such amazing to see how children act in their world. For them, everything is black and white. Either you do it or you don't. Complicated isn't in their vocabulary. If only adults could remain as pure and innocent as them, then the world would be a better place to live in.

What's bothering, however, is how Korean teachers treat their students. I can't imagine myself hurting my students physically the way they do. Korean teachers still treat themselves as superior and a cut above the rest.

Besides that, Nine is perfect in every way! Great casting led by Suk Kim. At such a young age, he can act with intense passion and pure concentration. The dialogues may be pretty much adult-ish but it may be only because of the translations made. It is well-paced and well-characterized.

When I Turned Nine, a novel-turned-movie, is wonderful!

Verdict: Four and a half rolls of tissue!!!

Over the Rainbow (Korea 2002)

Jin-soo, a tv weatherman, met a car accident. Fortunately, he didn't suffer any serious physical injuries. However, he later realized that he has lost a certain part of his memory. He had partial amenesia.

Then, a vision of a woman came to haunt his memory. In order to know who she is or was, he sought out the help of his high school friends. But it was Yeon-hee who had helped him the most to solve the puzzle of his lost memory.

"Over The Rainbow" is one of the fascinating love stories that came out of the Korean movie factory. Although predictable and may lack the gripping mystery (that may or may not hold the audience to it), it is very enjoyable and has a "barkada movie" written all over it.

It has a great ensemble of cast that makes up for the somewhat simplistic style of the film. It is funny. It is heart-warming. It is a feel-good movie that would make you wish for a rainbow after singing in the rain! :-p

Note: Is it just me or is the song "Over the Rainbow" really such a sad song? Despite its words of hope, I feel some desperateness about it. :wipe tears:

3-Iron (Bin-jip)

Before you read further, I'd like to warn you about the spoilers that are heading your way. I'm afraid that it'd be hard to review this film without giving details that would somehow reveal what it is all about. If you're okay with it, go ahead and read this one. If not, then skip this now. Watch the movie and come back to read this. Be advise, though, that it'd be better to see the film first before reading this. If you just want to know if you should watch this or not, I'd say that YOU SHOULD!

Tae-suk is a young man who rides a motorcycle. Every morning, he puts in flyers of restaurant to different houses. In the late afternoon, he would come back and check which door still has the flyer untouched. Then, he breaks in and gets inside the house to spend the night. In exchange for his stay, he does chores for the family who lives there: laundry, cleaning, or repair. He doesn't take anything with him except for food or tea that he consumed during his stay. With his digital camera, he takes picture of him inside the house as a souvenir (of some sort).

One night, he got inside a businessman's house not knowing that his wife was there. He does his usual routine while the wife, Sun-hwa watches him. Realizing that he isn't a thief, Sun-hwa lets him know her presence inside the house. Tae-suk took off but came back to the badly-bruised and beaten wife. Her husband arrived and tried to hurt her once more. Tae-suk saved her from her husband by hitting him with the golf balls. As he left the house, Sun-hwa joined him.

Smitten by him, Sun-hwa led the life that Tae-suk was living. However, they were soon discovered by a family. They were sent to the police. Sun-hwa was taken back by her husband while Tae-suk remained in prison. In prison, Tae-suk managed to channel his anger and pain to something more powerful. Because of that, he was able to return to Sun-hwa without her husband knowing his presence. Thus, enjoying their lives together.

"3-Iron" is a very powerful movie that really deserves a recommendation! Not only because of how it was done but because of the mixed reactions that it has been getting from its audience. It is the kind of movie where people inject their own interpretation according to how the film affected them.

It is amazing how the two leads remained silent all throughout the film (except for some words uttered by Sun-hwa in the end). Ironically, they had effectively conveyed the emotions of their characters with the slightest movements and less facial expressions.

The film boasts of many symbolisms and metaphors. Amongst them is how Sun-hwa and Tae-suk found solace in each other. They need no words to express whatever feelings that are inside them. Till the end, they remained shadows in other people's lives by not participating actively as the world turns.

Now, whether Tae-suk achieved a higher metaphysical being or became part of the other dimension remains unanswered. The important question is whether you agree with how they live their lives or not. 'Cause I surely don't. For someone who is educated, skilled, and talented as him, Tae-suk is definitely a waste of life!

Oh! Happy Day

Hee-jee (Jang Na-ra) is a voice dubber for both radio and t.v. At the same time, she also teaches voice projection for those would-be dubbers. The moment she saw Hyun-joo (Park Jung-chul), who works as a manager for an American firm called Club Med, she fell in love with him. From that day, she told herself that she would make him fall in love with her and marry him, no matter what it takes! And she meant business! Whatever it truly takes!

"Oh! Happy Day" is an all-out comedy about a relentless woman you'd try anything to win over the love of her life! I have three words for it: fun, fun, fun! It isn't the typical romantic comedy movies where you would swoon over the lead characters or give a heap of sigh with all their romantic doings. In fact, it veers away from that. Perhaps, it is due to the reason that it aims toward adult audience rather than the teens.

Jang Na-ra is a delight to watch on screen after her t.v. performance via Bright Girl (on GMA-7 here) with Jang-Hyeok (of Windstruck, Please Teach Me English). She has such a bubbly character that trancends throughout the screen! What a truly great transition from recording to acting.

What is most unforgettable for me are the scenes that took place after Hee-jee was released from the hospital. They may be slapstick at times but they are hysterically funny! Trust me!

Need I say more?
P.S. Is there really a scarcity of men in Korea that women needs to work on it if they want to get married?

Desire (Korea 2003)

Rosa and Kyumin are husband and wife living together in a lukewarm relationship. Kyumin had sex with a male prostitute named Leo. Rosa learned about it. When she accidentally met Leo, she had sex with him, too. Soon enough, the three were tangled in web of relationship they didn't know how to get out of.

"Desire" will be hard to sit through because the characters don't talk much. Unlike "Wanee & Junah", it has fewer dialogues and it relies on the emotional roller coaster that the characters are going through. The problem is, the emotions shown on screen were not enough for one to feel it. Unless you were in the same situation, you may get their point. Aside from that, it'd be difficult to know what exactly the characters want. If they're confuse, you'd be more confuse than them in the end!

"Desire" also relies on its eroticism yet there is nothing erotic about their sexual scenes. All throughout, this film is so cold and distant.

Wanee & Junah (Korea 2001)

First and foremost, what attracted me to this movie was the DVD cover. It wasn't the one shown here or below. I couldn't find that cover here on the net. Anyway, it was a yellow cover featuring three different poses of Wanee & Junah from the same shoot. It was really eye-catching! Not to mention the fact that both actors are quite a looker! However, what made me decide to buy it was the review I've read. According to the reading, it has an amazing animation for its prologue and epilogue. It was amazing, indeed! A simple animation done in watercolor that merely states how the two lead characters have met. For that alone, watching this film is all worth it!

Anyway, "Wanee & Junah" are live-in lovers in their mid-20s. Wanee is an animator whose career is starting to boom while Junah is a movie scriptwriter whose struggling to make a name for himself. Their peaceful lives was disturbed when Wanee learned that her step-brother will be visiting Korea from Europe. From that day on, thoughts of the past haunted Wanee at the expense of her relationship with Junah. Junah, in turn, took the back seat to give Wanee the chance to figure out things on her own.

The progression of the events is so smooth and calm. It's like reading a book with less dialogues but full of emotions. The emotions may not have been projected well by the characters but you know they're there. Because we are all but human, one way or another, we have been in their shoes.

"Wanee & Junah" isn't perfect in terms of its acting depth but its beautiful colors, sights, and sounds surely make up for it!

Note: This film, according to Korean critics, bravely go where the others dared not to. It has filmed two of the tabooed relationships in Korea: live-in and homosexual. Although the film centers more on the former and just merely passes by the latter.

Kimchi

If others go for the classic Sushi, I go for Kimchi. It rightly suits my tastes. It's fresh but not raw. It's flavored but not too tasty. It has the perfect concoction of spices that set my emotions on high and lows. In other words, my type of cinema!

And when I said that I am addicted to Korean Cinema, I wasn't kidding! Just recently bought 13 DVDs in a day! Plus, there are others I haven't (and want to!) bought yet! The coming weeks would really be an ultimate movie marathon for me!

Korea
Over the Rainbow
Wanee and Junah
Desire
The Sweet Sex and Love
Please Teach Me English
First Kiss
So Cute
100 Days with Mr. Arrogant
Crzay First Love
Oh, Happy Day!
3-Iron
Once Upon a Time in High School
Too Beautiful to Lie

Thailand
Shutter

Jenny, Juno: When You're Young and In Love

"Jenny, Juno" created waves when it was shown in Korea early this year. Basically because of the sensitive nature of its topic: teen pregnancy. Being a conservative country like ours, of course they would condone such issue much more sexual freedom among teens! Not to mention that the teen characters were portrayed by actual teenagers. In Hollywood, sexual freedom among teens were highly discussed in Larry Clark's "Kids" and in the much graphic "Ken Park" (it has a Pinoy-American character). This movie received an R-18 but after much uproar from the makers of the movie and some fans, it was toned down to PG-15.

"Jenny, Juno" can basically be divided into three parts. First, Jenny and Juno found out that they were pregnant. They both tried to hide it from their parents fearing that they might abort the baby. For a couple of months, they did what they think is best for the baby. In their innocent ways, they were building their future. However, Jenny's sister found out the truth so eventually, they needed to tell their parents the truth. That being said, the focus has now been shifted to the parents - their initial reactions, their feelings toward their children's situations, their dealings with both side of the families, etc. Third part would be how Jenny and Juno resolve their situation.

"Jenny, Juno" has the makings of a great romantic movie, only that the characters are 15 year olds. All the kilig elements are there that would make you wonder whether, in your teens, would you have done stuffs like that? The lead characters were perfectly portrayed by the actors and were perfectly written. No one would doubt that the love they have for each other is true (at those moments, of course). You would even somehow root for them to be together. Oh, the wonders of young love!

The major problem lies, though, on the parents' side. Their initial reactions were perfectly shown: the anger, the denial, the embarrassment, the bargaining and the eventual acceptance. However, it ended there. The film had treated its subject as if it was a simple Romeo and Juliet type of story. I wouldn't be surprised if young audience would feel like the contravidas in their lives are their parent certainly because they were made to look like that in the movie. Their side of the story wasn't given much depth. They weren't able to talk about the repercussions of teen pregnancy to their children.

What I'm afraid of is the impression that this movie might give to young audience. Raising children by children isn't like raising puppies that only need to be fed and played with. It takes more than that. The film failed to emphasized that or even mention it. Aside from that, what saddens me is that abortion becomes part of the choices. Shouldn't it be not mentioned at all?

Anyway, as a romantic/drama movie, this one had surely soared high! It's great! One of the best, I should say, especially for being so bold in tackling such topic. However though, I'd advised parents to see this films with their teens and not let them get the impressions that teen pregnancy is cool! Despite that, this one tops my favorites list!

To Adapt is Human; To Pay is Divine

I was planning to see "Say That You Love Me" today. I didn't because I've read that the movie was sort of an adaptation of "My Sassy Girl". When I saw its trailer, a friend already commented that it seemed like an adaptation (actually, the Pinoy word is "ginaya" which seemed to have a really bad connotation here) but I refused to believe it because I'm rooting for the Jennylyn Mercado-Mark Herras tandem. But then, when I read the Click the City review, it was confirmed! According to them, it was still an enjoyable film despite "borrowing" some key elements that made Sassy worked. They added that the movie adapted "three explicit things: Kristine is an insolent lady to Stephen, who always bows to her ingratiating whims; at one point, Stephen details the things that he had learned about Kristine; and lastly, someone has been trying to introduce them to each other since before they met."

I've no problems with adaptations. I believe that there are only a few original stories around and it's up to the writers to make something different out of it. How many times have the story of "Cinderella" (i.e. "poor" girl meeting her "prince" and falling in love) resurfaced on screen and on tv and still succeed? I've problems with adapting a certain story without ever mentioning the original story where it came from. It'd be really easy to accept an adapted film if in fact, it admits that it came from an original story. So many Filipino films have been a product of adaptation yet not crediting the source. Why? Is it because they don't want to pay any royalty? Would paying royalty means less income for the film? If that would be case, then I suggest that they better come up with original and creative stories and not "steal" anyone's hardworked product.

Anyway, I still have high hopes about this film. As I was reading its synopsis on the official site, I still think that it could stand on its own. I may or may not catch it on screen. But I'd surely see it on video in case I missed it. So sad, though, that Sassy was not shown here. Filipino audience is missing a lot by not seeing this Korean gem. I hope that distributors would also include Korean romantic movies on their list of releases here and not just focus on horror stories. I believe that we had enough of those Sadako-type characters who kept coming out in most Asian horror movies.

My Brother (Korea 2004)

"My Brother" is gripping with emotions yet done with simplicity and subtlety. It reminds of movies like Maryo J. Delos Reyes' "Magnifico" or Jose Javier Reyes' "Minsan May Isang Puso". It honestly portrays the rift amongst the members of the family yet not undermining the obvious love they have for one another. This is definitely one the the tissues!

He Was Cool (Korea 2004)

One of the things that I admire about Korean movies are their poster! They are stylized and well-thought of. The kind of posters that would attract the audience to see the film. In Pinoy's terms, "Poster pa lang, ulam na!" That is what I wish the Filipino producers would do. I hope that they would give much attention to the publicity items of their particular movie. Tigilan na 'yung mga pictorials kung saan naka-pose 'yung mga artista, nakangiti, at 'yun na! Poster na! Although I must admit that some are already changing the styles of the Filipino movie posters. Sana magtuloy-tuloy na. And please, Carlo Caparas! Ang pinagtagni-tagning scenes sa pelikula upang ilagay sa poster ay di matatawag na art at kailanma'y di nakakatawag pansin! However, what could you expect from a man who thinks that his movies are gems to Philippine Cinema?!

Anyway, back to Korean movie posters. When I saw the DVD of this movie, I didn't have any idea what it was because everything was written in Korean, even the title! But I thought to myself, the poster looks good so the film itself might be good. At least I know who stars in it, Song Seung-heon (Johnny of "Endless Love 1" series). As it turned out, the title of this film is "He Was Cool" or for better wording, it is also known as "The Guy Is Cool".

As the title suggests, is this movie as "cool" as its poster? Yes, it is. But only during the first half of it. It started out great. Eun-sung (Heung-heon) is the leader of a rebellious group who happens to roam the streets at night and somehow was able to protect innocent girls from bully guys as they victimize them. Although not particularly happy with it, he would also warn the "innocent" ones to stay away from trouble. One person who naively replied to his warning through the school's bulletin board was Ye-won (Jung Da-bin). From then on, Eun-sung hunted her but accident happened. While she was running away from him, Ye-won fell over him and accidentally kissed him! Believing in no physical contact before marriage, Eun-sung asked Ye-won to be responsible for what she did and marry him soon! Because she fears for her life, Ye-won agreed to go out with him and become his girlfriend. The "coolness" ended there. 'Cause after that, subplots kept on emerging. There was about AIDS, about death, about friendships lost, unrequited love, love triangle, and destiny. There were too many things going on for a movie that was supposed to be a light-hearted romantic comedy. I want to like it but the subplots are just too much for me to handle. Not to mention the ending that just seemed to be out of place.

However, despite of it all, I could still suggest that you see it because I might be wrong for not liking it. I am not sure whether it was me or it was just an overkill for me! I might have expected a lot after seeing "My Boyfriend Is Type B". Or maybe because the subtitles are not that good. Whatever it is, I can't decide well. What the film did for me though is like Seung-heon! He is really good (and looks good!) in this one...

Il Mare (Korea 2000)

It's official! Jun Ji-hyun is now one of my favorite actresses since she did three of the most outstanding films I've seen namely "My Sassy Girl", "Windstruck", and "Il Mare". Though the latter came out first in 2000, I've watch it the latest because it was just recently that I was able to take hold of its DVD. I've been hearing about the said movie long before I became a Korean Cinema addict. But not knowing anything about it, I didn't purchase any copy. It was only when I learned that Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves is recreating it for Hollywood that I became interested in it. I want to see it before Hollywood make a trash out of it, I thought. So when I finally got hold of my copy, I didn't jump quickly on watching it because it had "Frequency" plot written all over it! I'm a big fan of "Frequency" and I feel that those who tries to adapt such plot are just mere poor copycats. Anyway, having exhausted all the Korean DVDs I have, it was but time to see this one. And never realizing it, I have saved the best for last!

Eun-joo (Ji-hyun) and Sung-hyun (Lee Jung-jae) met by corresponding through letters. They have both lived in the same house called "Il Mare" but only in different times. As they write to each other, they eventually learned more about one another and somehow fell in love. Love became the reason why they wanted to meet each other. Only that they were living and writing to each other in different time lines: the end of 1999 (Eun-joo) and 1997 (Sung-hyun). How was the conflict resolve? Well, I'd just leave it here so as not to spoil anything for you.

So, was "Il Mare" a mere poor copycat of "Frequency"? I stand corrected. It was not! It had adapted the plot in an entirely unique way and made it all its own. What stands out the most was how heartfelt the emotions were. This movie would take you along with its ride that in the end, you'd be where the characters are. Honestly speaking, this movie made my tears flow, my heart ached, and my emotions soared up all at the same time!

I definitely see Keanu and Sandra doing this movie. I just hope that they wouldn't take so much out of it just to make it Hollywood-ish.

P.S. The TV trailers for this movie are magnificent! Ibang klase! Gawang Asyano!

My Boyfriend is Type B (Korea)

No, Type B doesn't pertain to one's personality but rather with one's blood type. A Japanese concept, matching blood types are popular among Asians as matching birth signs in the West. Although, as a Filipino, it was the first time I've heard of such thing. According to this belief, different blood types could determine one's personality. In that case, it could also determine with which type one could have lasting relationship with. Yes, it may sound quite silly and absurb but there are people who religiously prescribe to such beliefs. It wouldn't be no different to people who believe in fate or destiny. (To check out what personality each type has, visit this page.)

Hami (Han Ji-hye), whose aunt match people according to their blood types, met Young-bin (Lee Dong-gun of Lovers in Paris) by accident. She wrongly sent him a message and when she learned about it, she felt that they were destined to be together. Being a guy who goes in and out of a relationship, Young-bin decided to be Hami's boyfriend. Only that he is of Type B blood. No matter how much her aunt disuades her to be with him, Hami still continued to see Young-bin. In time, they were able to get to know each other better that made them decide to continue the relationship despite being of different blood types.

The premise may be about blood types but the movie did not advocate the idea all thoughout the film. The focal point is still the relationship that developed between the characters. As a romatic comedy that came out from Korean Cinema , the movie succeeded. (Gawd, the last "great" romantic comedy we had was Got to Believe!) It was light and the mushiness and the kilig factor were kept at a minimum. Besides, with lines like "Are you into order? Hands first, kiss, then tits?", you'd know that this movie isn't your typical Korean romantic movie. Conservatism was thrown out of the window especially with the reply "You can forget the order. We could do it randomly or repeatedly!"

Ji-hye and Dong-gun, whose first team-up was the series Sweet 18, were quite a pair. There was good chemistry between them and they did a fantastic job.

Guys, watch out for the "Superman!" scene and try re-enacting it to earn major pogi points!

Love, So Divine (Korea 2004)

I'd like to start this review by saying how much I adore Kwon Sang-woo! He is such an ultimate Korean cutie, next to Rain and Won Bin, of course! Hehehe.

If Sang-woo is the ultimate charmer, I'm afraid that I couldn't say such about the movie. During the first few scenes with Kyushik (Kwon) and Sanghee (Ha Ji-Won), one would feel that it seemed like a "My Sassy Girl" wannabe except that the guy would soon to become a priest. However, it wasn't. The similarities just goes with the girl being quite aggressive and the guy being the timid one, that's it. Of course, them both being romantic comedies is a given already. As the movie progresses, it actually veers away with the mentioned film and takes it own course. My oh my! If "Pretty Woman" became the ultimate romantic comedy in Hollywood, could it be that "My Sassy Girl" is Korea's? Why not? They're both equally great films! Btw, what's with Koreans and aggressive (meaning: tough) girls, anyway? Is that some sort of a fetish among their men?

Major flaw of this film goes to the lack of romantic chemistry between Sang-woo and Ji-Won. There is no "kilig-factor" seeing them together. Add to that is the faulty script which fails to capture the growing romance between the two characters. They just fell in love with each other without the audience ever knowing why, how, and when it happened.

Even if I'm not a fan of Cholo (Stairway to Heaven) ooops I mean Sang-woo, I still would say that he was the saving grace of this movie. Watch out for the sing and dance scene! It was worth all the trouble of seeing this film!

Lastly, did I mentioned how cute Sang-woo looked in here?! *wink wink*

My Little Bride (Korea 2004)

Get this: a man and a woman forced to get married by circumstances. They live together in one roof yet promised not to consummate the relationship. Cute little fights between the two surface then and again as they get on each other's nerves. Bouts of jealousy happens and before you know it, the two realized that they couldn't live without each other. Thus, honoring their vow of matrimony. Very "Full House", eh?

There's always something romantic with two people hating each other's guts at first and eventually falling in love. Such formula in movies never grow old when it comes to movies as long as it is done with taste and has a good script.

"My Little Bride" is no exception. It is about a guy and a girl who were asked by their grandparents to get married in fulfillment of their promises to each other. The two refused the idea at first but later on agreed because of the manipulation of the girl's grandfather (who is the only one living among the grand parents) and their respective fathers. They live together in one house but stayed in different rooms. Because they are childhood friends, the two are not really unknown with each other. However, they still live their own separate lives with little arguments every now and then. In the end, they realized how much they have loved one another since childhood and remained committed to their marriage.

The movie works in every way as far the romance formula is concern. There are quite enough "kilig" moments and funny scenes (check out the hilarious scenes with the spinster Miss Kim!) mixed with a little bit of drama. I wouldn't be a surprise that Korea made a hit out of this one.

However, I don't know if it was just my sick thoughts or what but I feel that there was something twisted about the whole thing. You see, the movie doesn't involve the typical boy and girl characters. In this one, the guy is eight years older than the girl. Oh, there's nothing wrong with that, I know, except that the guy is in college and the girl is a high-schooler! Sangmin is 24 and Boeun is 16! Looking at them together doing the lovey-dovey thingy somehow creeps me out. The movie may have make some funny references to the "sugar-daddy" concept but it looked exactly like that, especially that Moon Geun-Young (Boeun) looked so much like a child and Kim Rae-Young (Sangmin) looked older than what he's supposedly be playing. I'm sure that perverts would have a blast watching this film especially when the girls are wearing their school uniforms!

The story of "My Little Bride" wasn't like that originally. It based from the Korean series "Sweet 18" and jugding from the title, the female lead character was 18 years old and was on her final year in high school. If that would be the case, then there'd be no problem whatsoever with the film. I just don't know why the makers of the film had to make the female lead 16 years old and on her first year high school! If Hollywood would recreate this one, I'm sure that they'd stick to the original story. If not, they'd get a much older-looking female lead or a much younger-looking male lead just to avoid the controversy that it may create to moralists.

Aside from that, the last scene didn't work for me. It was when Sangmin confessed to all the students and faculty of the school (oh, didn't I mention that Sangmin became Boeun's teacher?!) that he is married to Boeun. He made a plea to the students not to give her a hard time because she is still a kid who just honored their grand fathers' wish. In turn, Boeun admitted (to the whole school, as well!) that he was very much in love with Sangmin. That scene was very Hollywood that would work well for students who are infatuated with their teachers!

Minus those small (if you'd call them small!) set-back, "My Little Bride" is an entertaining romantic film. It is one of those romantic movies that came out in Korea that would easily capture the hearts of every movie-loving Filipinos. But still, it isn't at par with "My Sassy Girl" or "Windstruck".

Korea's "Summer Time" is Philippine's "Scorpio Nights"

I just recently saw this Korean film called "Summer Time". When I've read its synopsis on the net, I've found it be very similar to Peque Gallaga's "Scorpio Nights". I thought that the film might have based its story from SN because there are unfamiliar plots in the synopsis that I've read.

When I finally got hold of the DVD copy of ST and watched it, lo and behold! 95% (or even higher, I guess) of the film is practically very SN!!! From the plot to the main characters to the supporting ones down to the little details of the film!

I wonder, does Peque Gallaga know that ST adapted the storyline of SN? Actually, technically speaking, ST is a remake of SN. ST is a 2004 movie from Korea and SN was from the 80's. If he did, why are there no news about it? If he did not, what would he think about this? They have control over the disctribution of the story, right? So he/they should be given compensatory amount for it.

OR, was SN also based from another story which Korea based their movie on? As far as Ik now, SN was an original story...

(originally posted on Nov. 19, 2004 here)