One Percent of Anything (2003)

Starring:
Kim Jung Hwa as Kim Da Hyun (26)
Kang Dong Won as Lee Jae In (32)
Han Hye Jin as Jung Hyun Jin (26)
Lee Byung Wook as Min Tae Ha (32)
Kim Ji Woo as Lee Jae Yeong (25)
Kim Seung Min as Kim Hyeong Jun (32)
Da Hyun's family
Kim Young Ran as Jung Mi Jung (mother)
Choi Sang Hoon (최상훈) as Kim Jin Man (father)
Kyung Joon as Kim Seo Hyeon (older brother)
Huh Jung Min as Kim Jun Hyeon (younger brother)
Jae In's family
Byun Hee Bong as Lee Kyu Chul (grandfather)
Lee Hui Do as Kim Dong Suk (secretary)
Oh Mi Yeon as Yum Sun Hee (mother)
Kim Chung (김청) as Lee Soo Young (aunt, Tae Ha's mother)
Jun In Taek as Min Hyuk Joo (uncle, Tae Ha's father)
Others
Choi Min Soo
Yoo Gun

Kim Jung Hwa is a young and sincere middle school teacher, who has little interest in money. She is also extremely warm-hearted and loves to help other people. When she helps carry an elderly man's belongings from the train to another location, the elderly man is extremely thankful. This grandfather turns out to be the extremely rich owner of a well known conglomerate. His grandson, Kang Dong Won is a quick-tempered businessman who rivals his grandfather, but in an almost comical way. In an order to "tame" his favorite grandson, the grandfather agrees to give his entire fortune to the person who marries Kim Jung Hwa, therefore forcing Kang to meet the girl whom his grandfather chose. Although at first Kim and Kang don't get along because of Kang's extremely cute but bad temper, their arguments bring them closer together. Kang starts to get jealous when Kim's fellow teacher starts liking her too. Through the clever conditions that Kang's grandfather makes, Kang starts a relationship he does not look forward too. However, what looked like a relationship that would 99% not work out, turns out to be the "perfect" match, the 1% chance.
Source: Soompi.com

I've been so bored lately. I've watched all the movies off crunchyroll.com. I haven't seen all the dramas but there are some that don't trip my trigger anyway. Soooooo................

I've been rewatching dramas I've seen over a year ago or more. I came across this one and thought to myself...."I don't remember Kang Dong Won in this...." Ummm, when I saw this I was a newbie to the asian drama world and didn't know anyone.

I forgot how much I loved this drama. I actually spent a whole two days holed up to watch this. Yeah, two days!!! It has 26 episodes my God.

And since this was a long time ago, I enjoyed it more since I was able to appreciate the actors more soundly.

There is only one thing about this drama I didn't like......the last 6 episodes forget about the main two characters and focus on the sub characters. Okay, that's all good but we all watched this to see Jae-in and Da-Hyun's relationship bloom. Okay, they made it to the alter but I wanted to see their married life. Ah well, it was a happy ending. All's well and ends well..........

And we can't forget about KDW.......holy moly is he fine. The Duelist...everyone must see him in the Duelist!!!!

Kang Dong Won

Full House (2004)

Starring:
Bi (Rain) as Lee Young Jae
Song Hye Gyo as Han Ji Eun
Han Eun Jung as Kang Hye Won
Kim Sung Soo as Yoo Min Hyuk
Jang Yong as Mr. Lee (Young-jae's Father)
Sun Woo Eun Sook as Ms. Kim (Young-jae's Mother)
Kim Ji Young as Young-jae's Grandmother
Do Han as Dong Wook
Lee Young Eun as Hee Jin
Im Ye Jin as Dae Pyo

Han Ji Eun is a naive writer who got swindled out of everything she owned including her house by her best friends. Stranded in China, She managed to borrow money from an actor Lee Young Jae to return to Korea. On her return, she found out that her house was bought by Lee Young Jae. In an attempt to get her possessions back, she entered in a contract marriage with Young Jae for one year. In spite of losing all, Ji Eun manages to be cheerful and takes things in strike and the business relationship between the two becomes personal as they start to rely and care for each other. Based on a popular manhwa of the same title.

Okay, it was time for me to post about my most favorite drama EVER! The drama that brought Bi (Rain) to my attention.

FULL HOUSE is probably the sweetest, adorable, cinderella-type drama ever. Take a poor girl, rich guy and add the most funniest comedic moments and there you go. Okay, yeah, it has those pesky Korean quadrangles but they are simple and not overly drawn out. AND this drama has a happy ending that leaves you satisfied and not sobbing or wishing for death. And lets say the couple match-up is perfect!

Yesterday, I spent the whole day rewatching this drama. Yeah, the whole day! I'd forgotten so much and am so glad that I did. I cried from episode 12-16. Bi (Rain) then is not the Rain now but yet maybe he is. He portrayed the role of Young-jae so perfectly. There isn't a single person who can't fall for this character or the charms of the innocent Young-jae. This is the Korean drama that is still to this day the most sought after and the most recommended.

I don't think there is a single person on this earth who couldn't/wouldn't be able to say this drama sucked.

The drama is flavored with different types of likeable characters that similarly push the story forward with their foolish actions. First, Ji-eun and Young-jae thoughtlessly enter into a contract marriage even though they obviously loathe each other. Meanwhile, sly-fox Hye-won desperately tries to sustain Young-jae’s companionship despite his marriage. Then, deciding to get involved because of the way Young-jae treats his wife, Min-hyuk knowingly risks their friendships and challenges Young-jae's love for Ji-eun. Finally, the top tier of this foolish cake is the surprisingly enjoyable friends of Ji-eun, Dong-wook and Hee-jin. These two continuously give the plot momentum with their hasty chatter and clever lies. All in all, the characters’ irrational personalities are balanced with decency and purpose.

With a little tolerance for excessiveness, viewers can walk away from Full House with hearts full of contentment.

My heart beats faster and finds itself in a love for those characters that make this show so great.

I will say this.....................I love Rain!!!

Bi (Rain)

Alive (2002)

Starring:
Hideo Sakaki - TenshuYashiro
Ryô - Yurika Saegusa
Koyuki - Asuka Saegusa
Shun Sugata - Matsuda
Erika Oda - Misako Hara
Tak Sakaguchi - Zeros
Jun Kunimura - Kojima

Based on a popular Manga by Tsutomu Takahashi ("Sky High"), "Alive" combines the tension of Vincenzo Natali's "Cube" and Kitamura's own "Versus". For the brutal murder of his girlfriend's rapists, Tenshu is sentenced to die in the electric chair. Resigned to his fate and unmoved by his actions, he survives the lethal high voltage punishment. He is then given the choice to burn again, or take part in a vicious experiment pitting him against another prisoner and a mysterious alien life force. Here is where the true punishment begins.

OMG! This movie was totally kick butt. Not what I expected. I was expecting some serious gross out, so that delayed my viewing pleasure.

I will admit the movie is terribly slow. So how come I think the movie rocked? I can't explain it. It was wicked. It sort of reminded me, visually, of Miike Takashi's Big Bang Love, Juvenile A. It was dark. The colors were black, grey, smokey, some white and red and that was it.

A few flashbacks of Tenshu's life as to why he was sent to prison for murder. I got a little confused because they said he killed his girlfriend but yet I got the impression she killed herself. Not sure about that part but the rest of the story was ironically stunning.

You will, at first, feel sorry for Tenshu but the feeling never goes a way. The story won't let you. You catch yourself routing for Tenshu.........

The end had some nice sequenced action scenes with an ending that leaves you blinking.........

Sakaki Hideo

Downtown Torpedoes (San tau dip ying / 神偷谍影 -1997)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro-Jackal
Jordan Chan Siu-Chun-Cash
Charlie Young Choi-Nei-Sam
Theresa Lee Yi-Hung-Phoenix
Ken Wong Hap-Hei-Titan
Alex Fong Chung-Sun-Stanley

Hong Kong’s answer to Mission: Impossible is a slight action-thriller that’s carried out professionally and commercially. Jackal (Takeshi Kaneshiro), Cash (Jordan Chan) and Sam (Charlie Young) form the core of ATM (Available Tactical Mercenaries), an industrial espionage unit that utilizes high-tech gadgetry to steal technology and fence it on the black market. However, they're blackmailed by the Hong Kong government (led by Alex Fong Chung-Sun) to snatch some counterfeit plates called SN2 from the British MI5. Naturally stuff goes wrong, our heroes are framed for SN2’s disappearance, and then they must set about clearing their names with whatever hi-tech gadgets they have leftover.



This was a pretty cool movie. I mean it had the hotman Takeshi-kun. Totally hot!

From the get-go, Downtown Torpedoes sets itself up as a slick spy caper and it doesn't disappoint. The movie mixes in just enough high-tech gear and gutsy action to make it both believeable and exciting at the same time. In a time when many films mistake computer gimmickry for action, it was refreshing to see more of a straight-forward style. As always with these types of movies (especially ones that are a few years old), not all of the gadgets make sense or look great, but overall the spy action in Downtown Torpedoes is well-done, culminating in a climatic chase scene that is one of the best done (in either the US or HK) over the last several years.

Even though there is a fair amount of double-crosses, hidden agents and other plot twists, the story is easier to follow because of the movie's efficent storytelling. The film-makers realized that we don't need to see each detail of every character's life, and this helps move Downtown Torpedoes at a brisk pace. Even the dreaded mandatory romantic subplot fails to rear its' head here, and the film flows much better as a result.

The emphasis here is on spy hi-jinks, not mushy love stories. This streamlined storytelling is welcome in this day and age of movies that try and pretend to be more important than they are by dumping everything but the kitchen sink into the mix. From top to bottom, Downtown Torpedoes is a solid action movie that's worth your time.~hkfilms *I had to copy and paste this review because they said EXACTLY how I felt about the movie. I couldn't have said it better!*

Mothers and Daughters (Heukshi monyeo / 흑심모녀 -2008)

Starring:
Hye-jin Shim - Nam-hee Park
Su-mi Kim - Kan-nan
Da-hee Lee - Na-rae
Sang-woo Lee - Jun

Nam-hee (Hye-jin Shim) is going about selling fruit from her truck, when she nearly runs over a young gentleman, Joon (Sang-woo Lee). Joon finds his way to Nam-hee's house, where he meets her mother Gan-nan (Su-mi Kim), and her 20-year-old daughter Na-rae (Da-hee Lee). Through a series of circumstances, Joon comes to live with the three women, and with the introduction of a handsome man in their house, the three use their own skills to vie for his attention and compete for his affection.



This movie was really good but yet it bothered me. I can't really accept a "love" relationship of a middle aged woman to a man half her age especially if she has a daughter of the same age as the man.

I couldn't really enjoy this movie and dig down into it. I'm sure others will say differently because the age thing didn't bother them. So I sat there and grimaced everytime the "two" had a heartfelt moment. I actually hoped this was a freak thing and in actuality the man (Jun) had the hots for the daughter. He was kind to her but there wasn't a connection except that of a brother and sister type feeling. Ugh!

The casting was good in general. I loved Grandma. Hehe! She was sooooo cute. I think she made the whole movie in general. Her comedic timing is genius! Hugs out to her!

So my own inhibitions to this movie ruined it for me. But don't let my inhibitions bother you. Jun was a darn hottie!! I hope to see him in some better roles though. I really think he can pull something off in his performances.

Lee Sang Woo

Never to Lose (Kangryeok 3Ban / 강력 3반 -2006)

Starring:
Jun-ho Heo - Mun Bong-soo
Hang-Seon Jang - Yuk Chul-gu
Min-jun Kim - Kim Hong-joo
Tae-wook Kim - Oh Jae-chul
Sang-mi Nam - Lee Hye-ryung
Sang-Myeon Park
Hae-jin Yu
Ji-hye Yun - Tae-hee Kim
Eung-su Kim
Jeong-tae Kim - Jae-chil Oh
Sung-ha Cho
Tae-yeong Yun - Tae-do Seo
Nae-sang Ahn - Sil-jang Park

“Never to Lose” concerns the men of Homicide Unit 3, who are in dire straits at the moment. While Unit 3’s cops are full of ambition and talent, they never seem to crack a case. The team is comprised of Detective Koh, a 15 year veteran, Detective Kim (Min-jun Kim), a rookie eager to make a name for himself, Detective Koh, a married man who spends more time on the job than with his wife, and Detective Ryung ( Sang-mi Nam ), who can’t get taken seriously by her peers because she’s a woman. While at a party with his girlfriend, Kim happens upon information about a drug deal that could get the team the respect they’ve been looking for. But what the team gets into turns out to be not just a big drug bust, but a case that makes Homicide Unit 3 the target of the largest drug lord in Korea .



This movie was a freakin' riot. I really liked it. It wasn't a blockbuster but it kept me on my toes and it was fun. Okay, I'll admit Kim Min Jun was freakin' hot!

I'll admit there were a few scenes that were funny but I don't think was really supposed to be a comedy. Okay, I cried when one particular cop was killed. I couldn't believe it. I think it was the quote that he said that made my heart hurt.

I did think that a romance was supposed to have evolved between two particular cops but I think they didn't want to make this movie into something like that. So the romance was on the downlow. Which was okay. But I was hoping.................

The movie had a great start, good middle, and a rewarding ending. So this movie wasn't half bad.

Kim Min Jun

In the Pool (In za pûru / イン・ザ・プール -2005)

Starring:
Suzuki Matsuo ... Psychiatrist Ichirô Irabu
Joe Odagiri ... Tetsuya Taguchi
Miwako Ichikawa ... Suzumi Iwamura
Seiichi Tanabe ... Kazuo Ômori
Toshiki Ayata
Chiharu
Noriko Eguchi
Yoko Fujita
Eri Fuse ... Editor-in-Chief
Ryo Iwamatsu ... General Manager Maenishi (as Ryô Iwamatsu)
Houka Kinoshita (as Hôka Kinoshita)
Kitarou (as Kitarô)
Maiko ... Nurse Mayumi-chan
Yoko Maki (as Yôko Maki)
Shunsuke Matsuoka
Noboru Mitani ... Doctor Himenogi
Leo Morimoto ... Professor Samata (as Reo Morimoto)
Yuko Nakamura
Kyusaku Shimada (as Kyûsaku Shimada)
Ikko Suzuki (as Ikkô Suzuki)
Yoji Tanaka (as Yôji Tanaka)
Masahiro Toda

In the PoolThe vast majority of modern urban dwellers harbor pernicious seeds of neurosis that could surface at any time in any number of bizarre forms. Irabu General Hospital is visited by many such people, all ordinary, but who suffer from extraordinary conditions. The cause of their illnesses? Stress, something we all know much about.

In the basement of Irabu General Hospital is the office of psychiatrist Ichiro Irabu (Suzuki Matsuo), who has inherited the hospital from his father. His unkempt, scraggly appearance belies his credentials. Under his white smock, he wears a leopard-striped shirt and army boots. His demeanor is gruff and unprofessional. He's loud, harbors a severe Oedipal complex, is prone to violent outbursts and barely hears a word his patients are saying. In short, he seems a complete slacker. But somehow all these detracting qualities add up to a strange magnetism that draws his patients to him out of, if nothing else, a sense of a shared fate and empathy. At Dr. Irabu's side is the voluptuous nurse, Mayumi, who seems to take no interest whatsoever in her job or her boss. All they share is a fondness for needles. Dr. Irabu, meanwhile, has taken to swimming at a local pool during his off hours.

At the pool, Irabu regularly runs into a man who seems quite obsessed with swimming. He is Kazuo Ohmori (Seiichi Tanabe), a brash, confident young company man who has been put in charge of a large outlet mall development project. He has a wife, a mistress and a reputation for getting the job done. But the project has him very busy and more anxious than usual. Wondering how to best deal with his accumulating stress, he happens upon a magazine article that prompts him to take up swimming. He finds it to be just what the doctor ordered. But as the demands of his job begin to get in the way of his newfound ritual, he sees his health deteriorating, which only further fuels his craving to swim, eventually implanting a "pool dependence," which he must satisfy.

Meanwhile, a salesman at medium-size manufacturing company, Tetsuya Taguchi (Joe Odagiri) one day wakes up to find himself with a 24-hour erection. In great discomfort and pain, he rushes to an urologist who offers little help except to pass him on to Dr. Irabu, who quickly realizes that Taguchi is a man who can't express his feelings, particularly to women, and is highly suppressed. Irabu is direct. "There's something you're not telling me." In fact, Taguchi's wife, Sayoko, recently left him to be with a company friend, with whom she had an affair. But Taguchi has never let her go emotionally, and has bizarre nightly dreams of her. He knows he must stop being such a pushover but how? Fixing his constant erection takes primary concern, however, which is increasingly causing him more pain and embarrassment, especially at work. At one point, he is ordered to go on a business trip with clients at a hot springs resort. With his erection showing no signs of receding, Irabu finally tells him he must confront his ex-wife.

Irabu is visited by one more patient, a serious, hard-working magazine writer by the name of Suzumi Iwamura (Miwako Ichikawa). Her meticulous investigative instincts make her a good expose writer but they also threaten to be her undoing as she craves verification. Once a thought gets into her head, her mind won't let it go. This leads to a neurotic condition where she constantly worries about whether she's left the gas or electricity on at her apartment, or the door unlocked. At one point, she even worries that she left the burner gas on at Korean barbecue restaurant. She finds it increasingly difficult to go anywhere and repeatedly leaves in the middle of her work to rush home and check her appliances. Irabu prescribes a series of highly unconventional exercises such as going and throwing rocks at a rival hospital. Suzumi, though suspect of Irabu's seemingly self-driven methods, gradually comes to trust him until the day he jars loose a startling incident from her childhood that lies at the root of her problem. An incident with criminal ramifications, no less. The two have no choice but to investigate further in hopes of reaching closure.



I have to laugh at this movie. I laughed because it was funny imagining Joe Odagiri with a constant erection. I think that entire part of the story was the only part of the movie that kept me watching. The rest...........bored me to tears.

I mean, yeah, the doctor was riot. He was insane. LOL!

This movie was so unconventional. At times, I was like..."Huh?" I'm sure there was supposed to have been a moral to this story. I guess it was a reminder that we all have some sort of stress or erratic behavior of some sort. We just have to face our problems or laugh them off as we go on.

This was a good time waster. When Joe-kun plays in comedic roles, he totally rocks. He sometimes comes across as the innocent when he is cleaned up and shaved. But then, when he plays the "bad" guy.....he rules there too!

In all, the movie was okay in general.

Beijing Closing Ceremonies........Rain is BACK!

*I know this is days late but I've been trying to catch up on Cartoon KAT-TUN so please forgive me. I also have many more movies to blog also. Hopefully, I'll get to those tomorrow...*






Okay, on to my guy! I was so upset with NBC coverage of the final concert. They give Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page, an awesome overview performance. Yeah, Leona belted out that song awesomely. But come on! Rain is more famous in China than Leona Lewis!!!!!!!!!!

So I spent 2.5 hours of my time (neglected KAT-TUN) to wait for Rain's performance. Only a 30 second glimpse pretty much. I was soooooo pissed it wasn't even funny. A few fellow bloggers and forum friends also shared the same view as I. Eeeeergh! Oh and to top it off, NBC announced him as a Chinese performer. I 'bout choked on my Diet Mountain Dew! NBC you're such dumb asses, it ain't funny.

But!!!!! What we did see was a handsome, elegant Rain. The long hair was chopped off and the old Rain was back at it. That beautifully sculpted body and magnanimous voice.....*sigh*

Rain is Back!!!!

January 2009 won't get here fast enough to see his next cinematic performance as a Ninja Assassin! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Boys of Tomorrow (Woo-ri-e-ge Nae-il-eun Up-da / 우리에게 내일은 없다 -2007)

Starring:
Jae-sung Choi - Mr. Kim
Byeong-seok Kim - Ki-su
Dong-ho Lee - Yo-han / Jong-dae
Ah-in Yu - Jong-dae


Kisu, a sincere and reserved young man, lives in a tiny basement studio flat and earns his living as a driver. When he feels suffocated by this world that is too small for his dreams, he concentrates on his real passion in life: drumming.
Although his material living conditions are somewhat precarious and his future does not look that promising, Kisu never loses hope, his watchword being: «There is no road one cannot take». This apparent optimism however hides a deep trauma: he is eaten up by guilt at having been the cause of his brother Jongdae’s impotence, following an accident that happened when they were children. In atonement, Kisu has set himself the task of protecting him for life.
As for Jongdae, he dreams of owning a gun, which would make him, feel stronger when faced with the town’s petty delinquents. In these oppressive circumstances, Kisu is given his young nephew to look after. An intense friendship develops between the brothers and the child, in which two generations confront one another in order to understand and support one another better.

Boys of Tomorrow paints a picture of suburban boys who believe their future is elsewhere but who have no means by which to achieve their dreams. The childhood scenes combined with those of adult life anchor the film in a hazy temporality, suggesting that one generation’s future is strangely similar to those that came before and will come after....



This movie was strange but yet intriguing all the same. I really thought Yu Ah-in nailed his character as well as the guy portraying Ki-su, Kim Byeong-seok. This was totally delving into the rough lives of two teens having to grow up sooner than most should but yet still left with enough innocence to keep them grounded.

A very heart wrenching movie to say the least. The story totally twists out of control and left me crying at the end. I felt it shouldn't or didn't have to happen but seeing this is a Korean movie....they would have to make me feel like crap at the end.

This is an emotionally gripping tale. Some adult situations especially for two young males left to grow up on their own. But damn if I didn't fall in love with them. I'm left as a mother wanting to hug them tight and cry with them...................

Typhoon (Taepung / 태풍 -2005)

Starring:
Dong-Kun Jang ... SIn
Jung-Jae Lee ... Gang Se-jong
Mi-yeon Lee ... Choi Myeong-ju
David McInnis ... Somchai
Kap-su Kim
Chatthapong Pantanaunkul ... Toto
Il-hwa Choi

Sin (Jang Dong Gun, who also played the lead role in “Friend”), a North Korean who as a child attempted to defect to the South with his family but was betrayed, resulting in the deaths of his parents. Plotting genocidal revenge, Sin takes up with a group of Thai pirates, and steals a U.S. ship carrying nuclear devices which have been secretly manufactured in Taiwan . He is pursued by Kang Se Jong (Lee Jeong Jae, also in the 2000 romantic hit “Il Mare”), a naval officer who attempts to bring Sin to justice, though who gradually comes to understand, and even sympathise with his foe.



This move was freakin' awesome! Totally freakin' awesome! I loved it from the beginning to the very end. Oh yeah...I was a blubbering idiot but then if I cry that means it had to have touched me in some way.

In actuality, you couldn't help but eventually fall for the bad guy. In actuality, was he really a bad guy? Okay, he was threatening to kill every South Korean with nuclear explosives. Okay, he killed a bunch of people in the process of getting said nuclear weapons.

But as the story flashed back and forth between his life as a kid and adult, you actually wonder if he wasn't doing the right thing...sort of. Okay, not every South Korean should die but the person/people who made his life and family's life a living hell. Yeah, they should suffer a gruesome death. But he was so "messed" in the head, filled with hatred, well......you really couldn't blame his feelings at the time.

So in this same process, our hero starts to understand the same things you as a viewer will feel. He understood Sin's desire and will to finish what was started 20 year's earlier. The movie was way to good to give up. I really loved it. Again, for us girlies....make sure you have some tissues handy. God! Was it good.

South of the Border (Gukgyeong-ui namjjok / 국경의 남쪽 -2006)

Starring:
Seung-won Cha - Kim Sun-ho
Yi-jin Jo - Yeon-hwa
Ah-Hyeon Lee
Hye-jin Shim - Kyung-ju
Jae-ho Song
Hae-jin Yu
Sang-ho Kim

Sun-ho, a horn player for the Mansoodae Art Company, Pyongyang’s state propaganda troupe, is a man who has everything: he’s from a well-to-do family and has a beautiful fiancée, Yeon-hwa. However, his world turns upside-down when authorities discover a letter from his grandfather in Seoul. His family has to flee North Korea and they take refuge in Seoul. Now with no money or friends, Sun-ho’s only hope is to make enough money to bring Yeon-hwa from North Korea.

This movie was really good. But the romance was a little messed up.

The story was strong. The actors were good. The movie was focused. But something wasn't quite right. I can't put my finger on it.

I was really into the movie as it went along. But once Sun-ho's girlfriend from years past shows up, Yeon-hwa, the story gets messy. All of a sudden Sun-ho's wife disappears (not literally from the story) but it was like she was forgotten. All of sudden we just see her getting confused, waiting, or helping the family. Was there any love between his wife and himself? There had to be something. Maybe it wasn't that first kind of love between he and Seon-wha but still..............

I didn't really like the ending. I got the feelings, yet again, that even after they (Seon-hwa and Sun-ho) dissolved their relationship...it wasn't over. He shouldn't be yearning for something that can never be. Ehhh. That is just me.

Fine, Totally Fine (Zenzen Daijobu/ 全然大丈夫 (完全没问题) -2008)

Starring:
YosiYosi Arakawa - Teuro Tohyama
Yoshino Kimura - Akari Kinoshita
Yoshinori Okada - Hisanobu Komori
Noriko Eguchi - Umezawa
Shima Ise - Tomoko
Keizo Kanie - Eitaro
Kitaro - Kurita
Seminosuke Murasugi
Toshie Negishi - Toyohara
Ichiro Ogura - Kotaro
Taka Okubo
Kayoko Shiraishi
Naoki Tanaka - Yuhara

Teruo, the eldest son of a used bookstore owner has a dream: to build the world scariest haunted house. About to reach his 30th birthday, Teruo is still idling away his life. One day, through the introduction of childhood friend Hisanobu, an extremely clumsy painter/artist comes to work at the bookstore. Meet Akari. A cute, attractive girl that both Teruo and Hisanobu soon fall for.



Hmmm? I saw this movie 2 days ago so I'm a little behind in posting. Sorry!! *sheepishly hides her face in her shirt*

This movie I though would be better. Maybe because it was early in the morning that I decided to watch it. I don't know but it bored me too sleep. Yeah, BORED.

I had some cute, quirky moments but I really didn't see a point to this movie. The only part I really liked was the sub plot between Akari and Yuhara. I really think the story should have revolved around Yuhara because of his mysteriousness. I really enjoyed watching the screen when his parts came up.

Other than that, this movie was a waste of my morning. I enjoyed the nap though. LOL!

Host and Guest (방문자 / Bang-moon-ja -2005)

Starring:
Kim Jae-rok
Kang Ji-hwan
Lee Dong-gyoo
Kim Tae-yun

Seoul, winter.

Ho-jun, a recently divorced, part-time film-studies lecturer, moves to a small and shabby one-room flat. Having left his only son Gun with his ex-wife, Ho-jun lives a cheerless and destitute life. His negative and cynical attitude and his miserable situation drive him into a desperate depression.
Source http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/



This was a beautifully scripted, directed, and acted movie. A very, very, very, very slow movie at the beginning. Don't let that fool you one bit. There is a reason for it.

Ho-jun is depressed. We watch at the beginning how his life is a monotonous, boring existence, until..........

Gye-sang shows up to save Ho-jun a death from solitude in the bathroom.

The story goes on as the two become friends that probably would have never happened if not for that fateful day.

I'll admit, at first, I wasn't sure if this was a joke plagued by President Bush. Trust me, you'll find out why. I didn't know if this was anti-Americanism, anti-war, anti-terrorism. I wasn't sure. This has definite political undertones surrounding the ending of the movie. What saved this movie was Gye-sang's speech. Can't tell you what it was about because then I've blasted the whole movie for others to see. I cried. Boy, did I cry. Then to top it off....the end. OMG! This movie will have you wondering what in the hell Korea has up it's ass for it's male citizens who are forced to servitude in today's military.

Eric Mun popped into my head. He leaves next month. Oh God, I'll be crying like a freak on a leash. I understand the threat of the North breathes down the South's neck. Why in the hell is the American military over there if the average Korean male is forced to serve his country for 2 years...or longer if they so choose?

This movie goes in this direction of what the average Korean male has to ponder in his life and decide to serve his country or time in jail. Geez-a-lou!

This movie was just brilliant. I can't describe how brilliant this movie is. There are no words but to just say that to watch it will quench your desire of wonderment.

Kang Ji Hwan

DBSK-Mini Dramas

Starring:

"U-know" Yunho


"Xiah" Junsu


"Hero" Jaejoong


"Max" Changmin


"Mickey" Yoochun


FIRST LOVE - feat. Yunho, Micky, ... and this other girl i dunno who - There's a new girl in school and it seems like calm Mcky Yoochun as well as Yunho has taken an interest in her.

UNFORGETTABLE LOVE - It is White day and Yunho happily goes out on a date. The rest of the boys are stuck home and decide to pass time by telling stories about their past girlfriends.

THE UNINVITED GUEST - takes place at the same time as Finding Lost Time. - Someone has deleted all the dbsk boy's recordings making them have to do it again. Not only this but they also receive threat letters, get their uniforms torn and Yunho also loses his underpants. Together they use the clues and solve the mystery note: this drama takes place at the same time as Finding Lost Time so micky yoochun does not appear much.

THE MASKED FENCER - (this took place in those medieval times) Hee Jin is the lady promised to Sir Yunho. On her way to her husband-to-be's home, she is attacked but is later rescued by a man in a mask. At Sir Yunho's house, she meets his servant Yoochun, the man in the mask.

DANGEROUS LOVE - feat. all group members - After a photoshoot in a secluded place, all five band members are told to take rest in the house. Xiah who desperately wants to play his football, drags Max outside to play with him. Bad idea. The pair get hurt and end up staying a house nearby, the girl who "rescues" them hides a secret which stops them from returning home. Back at the house, Micky is in his own world and extremely worried about his lost band-mates, while Hero is anxious about why U Know is being ever so nice to him.

FINDING LOST TIME - feat. main characters Micky yoochun, soohyun, and Sungmin from super junior. - Micky and Sungmin's had been good friends since forever until one day they hear a flute playing and they both fall in love with the girl. Upon giving soohyun (the main girl) a song written my micky himself, he sees her giving a special gift to sungmin. He decides to moves away and years later he meets soohyun again who tells him that sungmin is dead. Slowly the story reveals itself......

I must confess! I have fallen in love with this group. I don't know why all of a sudden their music has just started to appeal to me. Maybe after seeing them on the series Xman (Korean reality TV), I just became interested in them. Okay, Yunho's dancing caught my eye. I thought to myself...."Damn! This guy is HOT!" Then they had them sing on the show and was astounded. Damn! So I hit the trusty ol' youtube and did research. Then hit the trusty ol' crunchyroll for dramas. *hint, hint, hint*

Whereas, Dangerous Love was hilarious. Poor Hero! The thought of U-know and Hero in a "relationship" was addictive, hot, and well, intriguing to say the least. The show actually had two stories with the stoy of U-know and Hero as the sub story. The main story had Max and Xiah "kidnapped" by a woman with not-so-well intentions. Sort of a thriller....kind of.

The other dramas were good as well....entertaining and funny but the two mentioned above were my favorites. Enjoyable and eye candy out the WAZZOO! My favorites.....U-know and Mickey and sometimes Hero. LOL!

I watched them ALL today. I'm in love!<3>

Backdancers! (バックダンサーズ！-2006)

Starring:
Hiroko Shimabukuro - Yoshika
Aya Hirayama - Mihu
Sonim - Tomoe
Saeko - Aiko
Yu Hasebe - Juri
Takanori Jinnai - Jotaro Suzuki
Yoshino Kimura - Reiko Mihama
Masahiro Komoto - Takahashi
Kuroudo Maki - Teru
Kei Tanaka - Akira
Hiro Tsunoda - Rota
Kazuma Suzuki - Seiji
Yukiya Kitamura - DJ Kem
Zen Kajiwara - Isobe
Kosuke Toyohara - Takikawa
Mako Ishino - Naomi Saeki

When their star singer, Juli, suddenly decides to abandon her career for marriage, her four back-up dancers are at a complete loss. Miu is passionate and serious about dancing, while Yoshika is the most talented, and a natural leader. Tomoe is slightly older than the others, and wants to get married, but Aiko hopes to achieve her own stardom. They expect Juli's eventual return, but meanwhile their agency assigns them to a young manager, Chano. However, he cannot obtain sufficient work to prevent them from breaking up. But then he comes up with the idea of teaming them with a washed-up rock band called Steel Crazy (another burden on the company), which to everyone's surprise turns out to work quite well! As Chano starts to look for a bigger chance for them, the agency decides to disband the group for a newcomer, Mayu Kisaragi, with Super Tigers. Ultimately, the four are fired after having an on-stage fight with Mayu's group. In the hopes of reuniting them, and because of his love for Miu, Chano struggles to land a big-time stage for the Backdancers!



This was a pretty good movie. Not the best but it was a nice boredom buster.

An average movie with the main characters who are supposed to be great dancers. In my opinion, they weren't all that. The competitors were waaaaaay better than they could ever be.

Not overly dramatic with bits and pieces of the characters over acting.

A nice surprise was seeing Tanaka Kei protraying Chano, the girls' manager. Cute, sweet, and innocent....the best part of the movie.

The old man playing Jotaru...well, they could have found someone else for his character. He just gave me the eebie-jeebies. Kind of perverted or something. He just didn't fit well in that character.

But the fun factor was there in the movie. The typical movie with a group of wayward, not understood teens who want to make it big...........

Tripping (Gen yu den / Shen you qing ren-2006)

Starring:
Bo-lin Chen
Jimmy Hung
Lichun Lee
Tzu-chieh Miao
Ren Osugi
Rena Tanaka

Shaodea is a Japanese girl, living in Taipei with her father. He moved to Taiwan with his wife to start a Chinese herbal medicine shop. Ever since her mother died, Shaodea wants to return to Japan, but her father refuses to give up his dream. One day, after an argument with him, Shaodea goes out with her friends. While breaking in into a museum, the girl is transported back in time to feudal Taiwan. Thinking she’s on a movie set, the girl gets involved in a bank robbery and soon has to run from the authorities. She teams up with Haishon, an attractive young man who became a thief to save the economic crisis of his hometown. Together with a Tao-master, who is transporting 2 zombies back to their ancestral lands, they set off on a fantastic adventure.
Tripping is an exciting cross-cultural collaboration, combining talent from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. There’s something for everyone : a sci-fi love story, hopping corpses, costume drama, evil sorcery and exhilarating kung fu battles. Rena Tanaka (Nin x Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun, the Movie, Summer of Ubume) pulls off an engaging performance as Shaodea. Veteran actor Ren Osugi (Sonatine, Loft, Nightmare Detective) plays her father. And Bo-lin Chen (The Huadu Chronicles : Blade of the Rose, A Chinese Tall Story, Silk) shows off his martial arts skills as Haishon.



I was pleasantly surprised that this movie was as good as it was. I'm not usually fond of Taiwan or Chinese movies. This wasn't the best of movies but it was fun to watch.

Wilson (Bo-lin) Chen isn't gorgeous or extremely handsome. His cinematic charm though makes him something worthwhile to see. His kind face with the athletic body make him more than enough for most teenage girls to fawn over. Okay, I'm waaaaaay passed the teenage years but my heart says different. So I'm fawning over him.

This movie started out well. No skipping in story lines or idiotic ploys to keep you hooked. Some funny moments but not so overly obnoxious that you turn your head out of embarrassment. The follow through of this movie never left me hanging and the sweetest moment at the end tugged my heart. Let's just say that I, for one, really felt the longing of Butterfly's heart for her sweet "thief." The moments between the two were very poignant and sad because we knew she would have to go back to her real time in the end. *I can actually feel my heart getting heavy just thinking about it............*

Ba Bo (바보 -2008)

Starring:
Tae-hyun Cha
Ji-won Ha
Supporting Cast
Seol-ri Choi
Hie-sun Park
Grina Park
Jae-ho Song
Mi-seon Jeon
Gi-yeong Lee
Ha-seon Park

Seung-ryong Tae-hyun Cha suffers a fatal accident and at age 27 he has the intelligence of a six-year-old. Now he is pitifully forgetful and has zero sense of hygiene, but is much loved, particularly by his childhood sweetheart Ji-ho Ji-won Ha.

Ji-ho returns home after a long hiatus and finds comfort in looking after Seung-ryong. Despite his disabilities, Seung-ryong manages to make a living for himself and his younger sister by selling the world's tastiest toast on the roadside.


Omg! This was a heartbreaker if there ever was one. I was not expecting the twist at the end. I will say the sub-story had me wondering why it was there.....and then you find out why. Geez!

I was not given the idea that this was going to turn out this way. Just thought it would be this wonderful, romantic comedy with the king of comedy, Cha Tae Hyun. Why, oh why? He was wonderful playing the "fool".

Get the tissues out. That's all I'm saying.

This was a great movie for the whole family. Such a sweet, sweet, sweet story. Please, please, please watch this. It was......well, worth your time, money, and effort

Oh, and his toast he made. Damn, if it didn't make me hungry. That was some pretty awesome looking food he was making. LOL!

The Happy Life (즐거운 인생 / Jeulgu woon Insaeng -2007)

Starring:
Jin-yeong Jeong - Ki-young
Yun-seok Kim - Seong-wook
Sang-ho Kim - Hyeok-su
Geun-seok Jang - Hyeon-jun
Ho-jung Kim - Sun-mi
Ah-sung Ko - Ju-hee
Yeong-seon Kim

Ki-young (Jung Jin-Young) is an unemployed lay-about who, after attending a school chum’s funeral, persuades two other friends to restart their old college band. The hardworking Sung-Wook (Kim Yoon-Suk) and the lonely Hyuk-Soo (Kim Sang-Ho) reluctantly agree when they come to the realization that two jobs and solitary nights can’t be all there is to life. They recruit young Hyun- Joon (television heartthrob Jang Geun-Suk) to take over as frontman. It just so happens Hyun-Joon’s dead father was the fourth band member.

OMG! I loved, loved, loved this movie from the beginning to the end. It was fun. It made a wonderful point. And dreams can come true and if you fight and try hard enough. You can win.

My fellow birthday buddy, we share the same day, is in this. Yeah, JGS is that buddy. He is such a cutie, patootie! Look at that face. So young.....*sigh*

I have to say I had to laugh when the members of the band got tattoos. Oh, that was a hoot. And then when they went shopping for the band clothing. They looked sooooooo not ready and overly dressed for the concert. It was like watching KISS.....that make-up. LOL!

Such a great movie. And not a bad ending to be had! Yea!!!!!!!!!

Jang Geun Seok

Hotaru no Hikari (ホタルノヒカリ -2007)

Starring:
Ayase Haruka as Amemiya Hotaru
Yoshida Riko as young Hotaru (ep1)
Fujiki Naohito as Takano Seiichi
Kuninaka Ryoko as Saegusa Yuuka
Kato Kazuki as Teshima Makoto
Takeda Shinji as Jinguuji Kaname
Itaya Yuka as Yamada Sachiko
Yasuda Ken as Futatsugi Shouji
Asami Reina as Sono Minako
Watabe Gota as Sawaki Shun
Shibue Joji as Tadokoro Junpei
Matsumoto Marika as Murota Suzuko
Matsushita Sara as Kasumi Hatsuko
Maruyama Tomomi as Goutokuji Ken
Matsunaga Hiroshi as Yamaguchi Takatoshi
Kurotani Tomoka as Miyuki

Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto.

Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano. -- Japan Times Online

I fell in love with this drama. And yet again, another one that I threw away because I wasn't patient.

This was a well thought out show. Every single person is always looking for that perfect love. Sometimes we find it. Sometimes we don't. This was all about how one person fights for what she wants but comes to realize that the person right beside her was the love she wanted and didn't know it.

Yeah, this had my main man Naohito-kun in it. How did I let him go the first round? Was I stupid? I think what originally turned me off was the fact that he was married, going through a separation, and I felt that I wasn't going to watch a married man get the hots for this young girl. Oh, but it wasn't about that. Definitely a good show with some really good, funny moments.

I didn't really like the ending much though. I felt they could have given us viewers a little more of the "couple" being more loving. But hey!....can't always get what I want. I know. At least she picked the guy I wanted her with most!!

Since I have a buttload of "my man's" pics already up....thought I'd give y'all some more new eye candy! Kato Kazuki......GORGEOUS!!!

Kato Kazuki