Riverbank Legend (Ddukbbang Jeonseol, 뚝방전설 -2006)

AKA:
Bar Legend
Three Fellas
Legend of the Dike
Embankment Legend

Starring:
Keon-hyeong Park - Jeong Kwon
Cheon-hee Lee - Seong-Hyeon
M.C. Mong - Kyeong-Ro
Hie-bong Jo
Mi-lyeong Jo
Su-hyeon Kim (02/20/1970)
Hyeon-shik Lim
Jun-il Lim
Dal-su Oh
Ji-Yeon Park
Min-gyu Yeo
Seung-hyeok Yeo
Ji-tae Yu

At school, Jeong-gwon is second to none in fighting. Seong-hyun is also a famous fighter. But Gyeong-roh on the other hand is just a slick. These three called themselves the °No Touch Clan" since they are the untouchables in town.

After graduation these inseparable three start their own lives until Jeong-gwon returns to their hometown. Jeong-gwon, who became a real gangster, has just finished his time in jail.

But it is not just Jeong-gwon who has changed. The town itself has changed too. Buildings are going up on every corner as Mafia groups enter the town, trying to get hold of concessions and power.

A peaceful town is now swarming with gangs and groaning in chaos with these three friends accidentally getting caught in the middle of all this mess. (Source: koreanfilm.org.kr)


Okay, the movie was really interesting. I loved the action and the dialogue. Hey, Park Gun Hyung and Lee Cheon-hee weren't bad to look at. *whew!* I love a good student/mafia movie. LOL! My only beef....what in the hell was wrong with the ending? All of a sudden the tough guy is a weenie. Near the end, we learn some not so nice things about him. The ending was totally messed up...if you watch you'll see. So in all, the first 1.5 hours were wonderful and then *poof* the whole movie went to crap at the end.

Koizora (Sky of Love, 恋空-2007)

Starring:

Haruma Miura-Sakurai Hiro
Yui Aragaki-Tahara Mika
Keisuke Koide-Fukuhara Yu
Karina
Ryuji Yamamoto
Yuko Asano
Tomona Hirota
Yosuke Asari

The cell-phone novel that moved 11 million to tears.

Uploaded to a cell-phone website, this tale of an average girl’s three stormy years of high school, a saga of love, rape, pregnancy, miscarriage, parting, and reunion, is in fact a true story. Striking a chord with many women, its popularity spread like wildfire by word of mouth, and published in book form was an instant best-seller, with 1.3 million copies snapped up in only three weeks. The work is a true phenomenon of the emerging cell-phone society. (source: Moviexclusive.com)



I write this as snot runs, dripping down my nose, lips, chin. I can't stop sobbing. Not the quiet tears but heart-wrenching, gut-tightening, hiccuping, lungs-suffocating, rocking type of crying. This movie, I will have trouble throughout the day, will haunt me for days. I will not be able to watch Gokusen 3 because of Miura Haruma who is a lead role. I can honestly say that I've fallen for him. This movie, his part, "oh God!".......will I be able to make it. The tears won't stop. Out of the 2 hours of watching, I cried through 75% of it....especially the end.

This was a love so inspiring that I wish we all could have but then could we all survive the pain that comes with that type of love?

I'm trying so hard not to give away this movie. I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I will say this........be prepared, be forewarned........this movie, if it doesn't move you to tears with wracking sobs, needs more than a store of tissue. If you don't cry during this movie, you must have no heart or love of any kind. I'm sitting here trying so damn hard to type through my tears and to keep from having snot land on my keypad.

I will probably not watch this movie again because I don't think I can handle it. The most important part of the story that had me so upset was when Hiro realized he didn't want to die and wanted to live on with Mika. Damn! I just can't seem to stop crying. This movie affected me so much. I need to find a happy movie ASAP!

Oh and there is a reason this was called the Sky of Love.................damn more tears. How much snot can one person produce?

I'd add pics....but I don't think I can do it just now..*sigh*

The Perfect Couple (최강 로맨스, Choi-kang Ro-maen-seu-2007)

AKA:
The Best Romance
The Best Couple



Starring:
Yeong Hyeon - Choi Soo Jin
Dong-Wook Lee - Kang Jae Hyuk
Su-kyeong Jeon
Myeong-jin Lee
Jong-su Lee
Jeong-heon Lee
Yoon-seo Chae
Hyo-eun Hwang
Sang-ok Jo

Romance can bloom out of the strangest events. Sometimes even very embarrassing ones. Running after a pickpocket, Detective Kang Jae Hyuk (Lee Dong Wook, My Girl) finds out how problematic journalist Choi Soo Jin (Hyun Young, The Art of Seduction) can be when the skewer that holds her delicious treat magically ends up impaled in his abdomen. Things become more complicated when Kang becomes the police's media rep, as Choi is transferred to crime reporting. The reality show that ensues ("The Choi vs. Kang Report") enables the bickering pair to pursue a crime boss for the benefit of both their careers. But the two start to form a reluctant but formidable alliance: he's good looking, a great fighter, and a good detective. And she's determined to get her story done. Together, they make The Perfect Couple.



LOL! I watched this last night. It was a fun movie. I didn't realize how good looking Lee Dong Wook was. Maybe I should have watched this after Koizora (Sky of Love) because it had really funny, happy moments that lifted your spirits. Totally fun movie to watch. Really!

You never know when love comes your way and how at first it can seem unlikely. I really loved this comedic, romantic romp.

I should have written this last night but it was late and now it's not so fresh in my mind plus I have Koizora running through my head. Ugh! Sorry...*embarrassed*

Just watch if you love looking at LDW!

Lee Dong Wook

Me likey this pic! *aye carumba!*

I Wish I Had a Wife (Nado anaega isseosseumyeon johgessda, 나도 아내가 있었으면 좋겠다-2000)

Starring:
Kyung-gu Sol ... Kim Bong-soo
Do-yeon Jeon ... Jung Won-ju
Hee-kyung Jin
Kwang-leol Jeon
Jung-Hee Moon
Tae-hwa Seo
Ban-ya Choi

Bong-soo has been working as manager of a small bank in an apartment complex for three years. During three years there -- no, for 23 years if you count his school days -- he has never been late.

However, he purposely decides to skip work one day. There is only one reason. Inside a subway train that has suddenly stopped on his way to work, everyone around him reaches for their cell phones to call someone. At that moment, he realized that he does not have a single person to call.

He doesn't know that inside the educational centre across the street from the bank where he works, a 27-year-old woman Won-ju is looking at him, nourishing a small love.

Bong-soo and Won-ju run into each other every day, at the Ramen restaurant, at the bank, at the bus station...

Various trivial incidents occur, but Bong-soo still does not truly recognize Won-ju's presence.

This will be a simple review. This movie didn't really contain any hotties so no pictures either.

This story was simple, slow, and a little bit apathetic. To some degree it reminded me of the Korean drama Soulmate. Both Bong-soo and Won-ju crossed paths so many times, but Bong-soo showed know inclination towards Won-ju. Poor Won-ju. It's always the woman who starts noticing...especially when paths cross a few times. Eventually she started liking then falling in love with Bong-soo. It took the whole movie before he realized that there was something between them.

This movie isn't for everyone. It is slow moving with lots of visuals and no talking. Don't expect a lot of emotion. It was kind of bland but I liked it. Okay, okay, okay...it was more of a girl movie than anything else. For mature audiences, meaning I don't see a teen or young adult liking this movie much. More of a grown-up thing..........

Isshun no Kaze ni Nare (一瞬の風になれ Become a Moment of Wind-2008)

Starring:
Uchi Hiroki as Kamiya Shinji
Fukuda Saki as Taniguchi Wakana
Nishikido Ryo as Kamiya Kenichi
Hasegawa Jun as Ichinose Ren
Igarashi Shunji as Kagiyama Yoshito
Endo Yuya as Negishi Yasuyuki
Tanimura Mitsuki as Torisawa Keiko
Hojo Takahiro as Moriya
Nakamura Tomoya as Momouchi
Uchimura Teruyoshi as Miwa-sensei
Tajima Ryo

The story is about, Shinji, a freshman in high school who has found his calling in track and field, especially sprinting. Once a soccer player who idolized his brother enough to want to surpass him. Realizing this wouldn't happen, he quit soccer and joined the T&F club. The coach realizing that Shinji had potential has regarded him. Later Shinji was asked by the former captain of the team to replace him as captain as Shinji was a special motivator and asset to the team. As the years pass, Shinji finds friends, strength, and love while out on the field. Will he be able surpass his brother and accomplish his goals?



I've only seen the first 3 episodes of this...since the fansubbers haven't released the 4th and final part which is driving me crazy. I've put it in my favorites to keep a lookout for it.

This show is based on a short novel which I haven't seen yet but have read that it's way better than the drama itself. If that is true, then I'd better go and find an English translated version quick. This drama is good. I love sport stories that leave you uplifted and hopeful. I like this one especially because I AM A RUNNER. I totally understand the feeling of wanting and loving to run. (Just 30 minutes ago I ran over 7 miles.*smiles*) Just watching this drama inspired me to get off my ass and move! And I did..............

Tanaguchi: I can't become a hare, but I'll become a fast tortoise. *ahhhhhh!*

Uchi Hiroki


Nishikido Ryo


Igarashi Shunji


Endo Yuya

Ice Rain (Bingwoo, 빙우-2004)

Starring:
Sung-jae Lee ... Kang Joong-hyun
Seung-heon Song ... Han Woo-sung
Ha-Neul Kim ... Kim Kyung-min

Jung Hyoung (Lee Sung-jae) and Woo Sung (Song Seung-hun) got lost in the mountainous region in Alaska with Jung Hyoung even got his leg injured. They keep talking about everything from themselves to their loved ones so as to keep each other awake in an ice cave. Jung Hyoung tells Woo Sung the woman he used to love while Woo Sung unfolds his first love to him. But never have they thought that it is the same woman (Kim Ha-neul) they are talking about.



Never in my wildest imaginations did I think I would come away from this last 20+ minutes of this movie in a weeping mess. I'm still teary-eyed and hiccupping. I haven't cried this hard in a movie since the opening day of Titanic. Sheesh!

Even though I cried like a big wuss, I don't like the idea of the one guy having an affair behind his wife's back. That's all I'm going to say on the topic because I'll throw the whole movie right out the window for those who wish to watch it.

I've read many a review on this movie stating it starts out slow. I didn't think so. I thought it was paced rather well and kept me along for the teary-eyed ride.

This story is based on the old Korean drama standby...the love triangle...except the guys didn't know it at the time until after being trapped up on the snowy mountain where the story begins and ends. The story is based on their stories of Kyung-min, the woman they both love. Trying to stay awake, after a terrible accident, they recount the love of their life not knowing at the time it's the same woman.

Keep the tissue handy because as the story comes to it's climax you'll be a balled up mess. *damn this runny nose and hiccups*

Song Seung Hun

Dang, he looks goooood. Can I eat you up?

How To Keep My Love (내 남자의 로맨스, Nae namjaui romance, My Boyfriend's Romance-2004)

Starring:
Jeong-eun Kim - Kim Hyun-joo
Sang-kyung Kim - Kim So-hoon
Yu-jin Lee - Choi Jin-shil
Seung-hyeon Oh - Eun Da-young

Hyun-Ju is a woman in her late twenties who keeps waiting for her boyfriend--So-Hun, a professional exterminator--to pop the big question. Yet he doesn't. We soon learn that he's caught between the desires of two women



Ohhhh, this is a good one. No lie! True love. *sigh*

"Beautiful women might make men swoon and other women tremble. But true love always keeps the faith." ~ So-hoon

"I triumphed over all obstacles. And I only have this to say today...I met, I loved, I conquered!" ~ Hyun-joo

I don't want to ruin the ending....but you'll love it. Period!

Innocent Steps (댄서의 순정, Daenseo-ui sunjeong, Dancer's Innocent Love-2005)

Starring:
Moon Geun Young – Jang Chae-ryn
Park Keon-hyeong – Na Young-sae
Park Won-sang – Ma Sang-doo
Yoon Chan – Jung Hyun-soo

Young-sae was once acclaimed as the most-promising dancer. Losing his partner and lover, he lost his enthusiasm in sports dancing for two years.

Now, he decides to make a comeback at the Championships held in Seoul three months later. His new partner is a girl named Chae-min who lives in China and won in a dance contest. It is then discovered that Chae-ryn has come in place of her sister and she knows nothing about dancing!

Young-sae wants to send her back at first. When he sees Chae-ryn's determination to become a dancer, he starts to train her with the hardest lessons.

Step by step, their dancing starts to sparkle, so as their relationship.



This movie was an actual surprise. I fell in love with this movie. I didn't realize these actors could dance and if it wasn't them...they had me completely fooled. I will admit that this movie reminded me of Dancing With the Stars but that's okay. This was a total feel good movie and if you need something light hearted and touching to get you in a better spirit...this is it! Hey! And Park Geon-hyeong was hot, hot, HOT!

Park Geon Hyeong

Lament of the Lamb (Hitsuji no Uta-2002)

Starring:
Natsuki Kato~Chizuna Takashiro
Minami~You Yaegashi
Shun Oguri~Kazuna Takashiro
Kazuma Suzuki~Doctor Minase

Ever since his mother died, Kazuna Takashiro has been living under the roof of Mr. And Mrs. Eda, who are his father's friends. One day, he passes out while working as a model in an art class. Repeated nightmarish imageries invade his mind, and without even knowing, he heads toward his old home.

Once he gets there, he is reunited with his older sister, Chizuna, who tells him about the secret of the grave "illness" that runs in their family. An illness that make them overcome with a desire for blood of others.

When Kazuna's symptoms are all apparent with shivering fit and all, Chizuna tries to give him her own blood, and remarks that nothing can be done about it...



Okay, this movie totally wigged me out. I don't think I liked this. Oguri Shun rocked as usual but he couldn't keep this movie afloat. I know this was a manga/anime. I don't think I would have liked those either. God forbid. Some serious incestual undertones near the end. The complete ending made no sense either. What the ......? It started out really interesting then just couldn't keep my interest as the plot of the story couldn't come together. The movie was sort of slow but that didn't bother me at all it was just the story line.

If you watch this movie, you must be in some really dire need of the Shun-kun. Other than that...this movie wasn't worth a Mexican peso. Sorry..................

Galileo

Starring:
Fukuyama Masaharu as Yukawa Manabu
Shibasaki Kou as Utsumi Kaoru
Kitamura Kazuki as Kusanagi Shunpei
Shinagawa Hiroshi as Yuge Shiro
Watanabe Ikkei as Kuribayashi Hiromi
Maya Miki as Jonouchi Sakurako
Hayashi Tsuyoshi as Murase Kensuke
Aoi as Taniguchi Saeko
Fukui Hiroaki as Kobuchizawa Takashi
Takayama Miyako (高山都) as Watanabe Miyuki
Ito Takahiro as Mori Eita

In "Galileo," Fukuyama Masaharu plays a genius physicist and university associate professor, Yukawa Manabu, who solves difficult mysteries. Affectionately known as Tantei Galileo ("Detective Galileo"), Yukawa is brilliant, an all-round sportsman, tall and handsome but eccentric. Yukawa's partner is a rookie cop, Utsumi Kaoru (Shibasaki Kou), a hot-blooded woman with a strong sense of justice.

FINALLY! The Japanese have done it again. A refreshing new concept to television drama. This show was a class act, top rated, mind-engaging rollercoaster ride. This sort of reminded me of the U.S.'s CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) blended in with Japan's Hero drama series.

The show begins out with Galileo reminding us (almost every episode) that emotions are illogical. Where as, Utsumi derived her detective skills on intuition and emotion. Throughout the show, we watch both characters begin to blend their knowledge and strengths and learn to relatively trust each other to a fault. And both begin to learn the value of the other's aptitude....Galileo showing emotion and Utsumi using logic.

Against Korean drama, this show moved relatively fast and didn't leave me with want to run to the last episode to find out the conclusion. Korean's are good about making you suffer through episodes and dragging out the story until you are shaking with an insane amount of curiosity for the end. In this case, Galileo leaves you spellbound and looking forward to the next episode.

Fukuyama Masaharu


Kitamura Kazuki

Calla (카라, Ka-la-1999)

AKA:Reborn


Starring:
Seung-heon Song - Seon-Woo
Hee-seon Kim - Ji-hee
Hyun-joo Kim - Soo-jin

Seon-woo receives calla every morning and wants to find out who the secret admirer is. One day, he goes to a nearby florist's where he meets Ji-hee. He falls in love with her at first sight, thinking she is the one who is sending him flowers. Seon-woo asks Ji-hee to go on a date and she agrees. He arrives at the rendenvous only to find that Ji-hee is held hostage and, to his horror, killed before his eyes.



OMG! I totally loved this movie. Nothing what I thought it would be about. Nothing. It started out sad and I was sure I was going to need a massive amount of Kleenex to cover me. Oh no! This movie made my morning and then some. Oh yeah! I loved everything about this movie. I loved the confusion, the flashbacks, the whole enchilada! I sort of knew he made a mistake with the "flower lady" and sort of caught on to the story but it didn't take away from the ending whatsoever. Totally made my day. I will say there was the one scene when we discover who the "flower lady" actually was which totally blew my mind because she didn't come across that way at the beginning. I'll leave those details out because that would totally ruin the ending and, then why would you want to see this movie? Wow! I can't stop thinking about it.................

Song Seung Hun

Forever the Moment, 우리 생애 최고의 순간(Woo-ri Saeng-ae Choi-go-e Soon-gan-2008)

AKA: Our Finest Hour

Starring:
Mun So-Ri~Han Mi-sook
Kim Jeong-Eun~Song Jeong-ran
Uhm Tae-Woong~Ahn Seung-pil
Jo Eun-Ji~Oh Soo-hee

Han Mi-Sook (Moon So-ri) is a handball veteran and a member of the Korean national team. However, the times when the national team was an opponent to be feared are long over. Mi-Sook decides to retire from handball and work in a supermarket to be able to support herself and her son, while her husband is always on the run from the debt-collectors he borrowed a large amount of money from.

In the meantime the handball team is assigned a new coach, former player Kim Hye-kyeong (Kim Jeong-eun), who just finished coaching a team in Japan. Hye-kyeong, along with loudmouth Song Jeong-ran (Kim Ji-young) and the young goalie Oh Soo-hee (Jo Eun-ji), would love to have Mi-Sook on the team as well. After a lot of to and fro and much persuasion she rejoins the team, only to see Hye-kyeong demoted from coach to fellow player because the training sessions don't seem to bringing about the desired progress.

Handball whiz Ahn Seung-pil (Eom Tae-woong) is appointed as the new coach and promptly begins applying modern European training methods in order to shape up the team. He must soon learn that, in order to have a breath of a chance at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, team spirit is much more important than any modern training method. Miraculously however, the team manages to fight its way to the final match and plays one of the best games of the entire event...



Where to start? This movie was quite good. The all-American, sport, tear-jerker, overcome-all-odds, come-to-kick-European-ass type movie. LOL! Except these weren't Americans, but South Korean ladies handball nationalists. I had a hard time reminding myself not to yell "U.S.A" throughout the Olympic episodes. LOL! A very moving, emotional experience. Mi-sook overcoming debt, a disappearing husband, taking care of her son alone. Yeah, you'll tear up a bit. Had to love the coach. Hate'm at first then you'll come to love'm later. My only qualm with this movie was that there wasn't more in-depth discussion of the relationship of Ahn Seung-pil and Song Jeung-ran. Ehh, but they weren't really the main focus. The movie does start quite slowly as to establish characters but once the Olympics start, it moves at quite a fast pace. A totally feel good movie and you'll love the real footage at the end of the real South Korean Women's handball team. Quite moving. *prepare tissue for tear onslaught*

Uhm Tae Woong

Stand Up!!!

Starring:
Ninomiya Kazunari as Asai Shouhei
Yamashita Tomohisa as Iwasaki Kengo
Suzuki Anne as Oowada Chie
Narimiya Hiroki as Udagawa Hayato
Oguri Shun as Enami Kouji
Tsukamoto Takashi as Kume Naoya

Four schoolboys find themselves the last virgins left at school. During the summer holidays, a girl they knew as children 11 years ago, moves back to the neighborhood. Despite their childhood attraction to her, they realize she is a mere shadow of the "princess" they all thought they knew. This story of summer - love, friendship, school, family, the hypocrisy of adults, complications of life, experience and failure is set in an everyday shopping district and shows the clumsiness of children who have developed a little later than their peers. It's a bright romantic comedy that both young and old can appreciate. --TBS

OMG! I found another awesome drama! This is highly recommended for all teens (beware parents some nudity in 2-3 episodes but not lengthy). This was funny, poignant, sad, naive, hopeful, and reminiscent of high school life. You can't help but stand up and clap at how the parents tried so hard to keep their kids "pure". Then as many times as the guys swore to their abstinance they couldn't help but wish for their first time. LOL! God knows how much money they spent on condoms and never used them.

It was a funny romp with serious undertones. I think most girls would hope to have those 4 guys to be their first. Friends are usually our first crushes and loves. And are deemed worthy to defend and protect us from foul play. These guys showed their true colors when Chie's honor was crushed. Stand Up was the perfect name for this show. I don't know how many times I wanted to "Stand Up" and cheer for the great episodes and acts of courage these guys had to go through.

This was a wonderful eye-opener for the puberty ridden kid. Consequences on both sides. Is it worth it now or to wait? Kume Naoya was the perfect protagonist and antagonist for love and sex. Totally loved this show.

I love a good show that has a story and hidden meanings that go along with it. Hey, and add some members of the Japanese Brat Pack and there ya go!!

Oguri Shun


Yamashita Tomohisa


Narimiya Hiroki


Ninomiya Kazunari


Tsukamoto Takashi

Did you know that TT is best friends with Oguri Shun? If you didn't, well now you know.