Who Are You? (후아유 -2002)

Starring:
Na-yeong Lee - In-ju (Byoree)
Seung-woo Cho - Hyung-tae (Melo)
Eun-ji Jo - Bo-yeoung (Porn Queen)
Jang-won Lee - Nam-hoon (Ergurae)
Hae-il Park
Hyo-eun Hwang

Hyungtae is a game programmer working on the ultimate online dating game. Working 24/7 on the 30th floor of the tallest building in Seoul, the company's future, whether or not it sinks to the bottom depends on the success of the game. Inju, a former champion swimmer, works on the bottom floor at the Sea World aquarium, feeding the fishes and seals. But things are not going well. Hyungtae's company is running out of money, he desperately needs sleep, and a beta-test player with the login name "Byulee" has declared that she hates the game. As for Inju, she's working hard to perform as a mermaid but having trouble holding her breath.

Hyungtae finds out that "Byulee" works in the same building and he sets out to make "Byulee" fall in love with his game and his online character "Mello." "Byulee" is in real life Inju, and when Hyungtae meets Inju, he soon finds that the game is becoming more real than he imagined possible. And for Inju, she finds in "Mello" a perfect partner, but is also attracted to Hyungtae. When and where does the game end and love begin?


I'm so in love with this movie! I loved it, loved it, loved it!

Cho Seung Woo never disappoints! Never...ever....ever.....ever......in a thousand years.

At this moment I'm listening to Delispice's Chau Chau (Chow Chow) the end song during credits. God, I love it! Wow the first Korean rock song I've heard. I've only heard Korean R&B/Hip Hop.

God, I can't think. Living off the 'puter myself, can totally understand how easy it is to believe the other person on the other end is telling the truth. But are they? I can totally understand how much easier it is to tell that other person things you'd never tell your closest friends. I can understand the illusions we put upon ourselves to break the monotony in our lives. So the premise of this movie was really what drew my eye. Well, of course, Cho Seung Woo was a big factor since the man can play any role he puts his mind and body to.

I know many a friend who has made "friends" online, myself included, and have dated people also. It's so much easier to take off the "baggage" we carry upon ourselves and set those aside and actually reveal more about ourselves than most people. We are most apt to show ourselves because we aren't looking into the eyes of the other person who is most able to read our souls. We all have hidden agendas and things we are most afraid of so the internet is the easiest, gentlest way to remove those "monkeys off our backs" and reveal the "skeletons in our closet". Why? Because if we safeguard ourselves, the other person is probably most likely never to see you anyway. Until.........we make that "connection."

This movie touches on those factors but also leads to a love connection in a soft coated way.

We all want someone to truly see us but on the internet are we truly revealing ourselves or the part of the self that has been hidden or never seen?

A very good movie. Enjoyable, romantic, and eye opening if you grasp the undertone of internet connection.

Tazza: The High Rollers (타짜/Tajja -2006)

Starring:
Seung-woo Cho ... Go-ni
Yun-shik Baek ... Pyung Gyung-jang
Hye-su Kim ... Madam Jung
Dong-hun Choi
Jong-ryol Choi
Yeong-min Ha
Sang-geon Jo
Jin-mo Ju
In-gi Jeong
Eung-su Kim ... Kwak
Jeong-nan Kim ... Se-ran
Kang-woo Kim
Kwang-gyu Kim
Kyeong-ik Kim
Sang-ho Kim
Yun-seok Kim
Tae-won Kwon
Jae-gu Lee
Su-kyeong Lee ... Hwa-ran
Jeong-eun Lim
Hae-jin Yu

Tazza: The High Rollers is director Dong-Hun Choi's glitzy, fast-paced spin on a popular comic book about Korea's gambling subculture and its assorted denizens, replete with an innocent all too eager to be corrupted, his wise mentor and the no-good woman whose main occupation is betrayal. All the familiar pieces are there but the filmmaker upends them, refreshing the conventions of crime/con films and turning his material into something of an epic journey where everyone appears to be interconnected. Tazza kicks off with a creative and virtuosic use of split-screen to showcase a game of hwatu, a card-playing session. In this tour-de-force sequence, the overlapping images are shuffled breathlessly like a deck of cards. The young hero, Goni, loses his money to a tazza, a high roller, and throws himself into a search of gambling dens to find the player who took his money. Along the way he meets the veteran tazza, Pyoung, who teaches him the tricks of the trade, and the formidable Madam Jung (the fabulous, scene-stealing Kim Hae Soo), a classic femme fatale who lures foolish men into losing games. In keeping with the material, the film looks like it's been backlit with neon, a touch that contrasts brilliantly with occasional monochromatic imagery.



That was a pretty good movie. I wasn't really going to watch it but Cho Seung Woo was cast as the lead and damn if he didn't impress me in the Classic and Marathon. So I broke down even though the synopsis wasn't my thing.

I was pleasantly surprised and amazed at how smooth and well the movie flowed. I love me a good Texas Hold'em so the game they played sort of reminded me of it. Maybe it's the same thing. Not sure.

It was really hard to see Seung-woo cast as a tough and rugged kind of guy since all the movies I've seen him in have been sweet and innocent characters. And dang if he didn't look good. I really like this guy. He's an amazing actor with major abilities in changing his character. Marathon was probably the best because playing an autistic person has got to be emotionally draining to do.

This was a fun movie. Oh, and hey......he was naked! Great butt shots. LOL!

Cho Seung Woo


Ju Jin Mo

Marathon ( 말아톤-2004)

Starring:
Seung-woo Cho ... Cho-won
Mi-suk Kim ... Cho-won's mum
Gi-yeong Lee ... Jung-wook
Seong-hyeon Baek ... Yun Jung-won
Nae-sang Ahn ... Cho-won's dad
Mi-suk Park
Nae-sang Ahn

Marathon tells the story of the relationship between a young autistic man named Cho-Won (portrayed by Cho Seung-Woo) and his doting mother, Kyong-Sook (TV actress Kim Mi-Sook). Although Cho-Won may be twenty years old, he has only a childlike understanding of the world. He likes chocolate cookies, loves zebras, and can memorize casual conversations and TV shows. He also tends to dance in public and pass gas at the most inopportune times. While these things may seem charming or at least humorous, this behavior can get him into a lot of trouble due to his inability to understand how the rest of the world operates. Thus, his mother controls many aspects of his life in the name of "protection," a characteristic that will have further relevance to the plot as the film progresses. As a youth, Cho-Won tended to engage in self-destructive behaviors, but with the help of the special school he attends and his mother's insistence that he participate in various physical activities, his condition quickly improved. Believing that he enjoys running, Kyong-Sook enters Cho-Won into a variety of races, and soon decides that her son should compete in a marathon, hoping he'll achieve something every amateur runner dreams of: completing the race in less than three hours. But are these high ambitions for her son's benefit or her own? Does Cho-Won truly enjoy running or has he been "trained" to agree with his mother's demands?



OMG! I hit the JACKPOT! This movie was GRADE A-kobe beef! Cho Seung Woo was SPECTACULAR! Move over Dustin Hoffman....he outclassed you by 100 miles. The role was challenging having to play an autistic adult, who we learn later as the movie progresses, loves to run. I, being a runner myself, can fully understand the joy of accomplishing the goal of a marathon (even though I've never done one myself). The feel of adrenaline pumping through your body, the rush of achieving a goal, your heart racing as reality becomes a dream and vice versa, the pain and comfort of tired legs and sore feet. Yeah, I know the feeling well. Cho Seung Woo, in every form and fashion that an actor can, has established that he IS an A-class actor.

I happened upon this movie after having just watched him in Love Phobia. I think he is the best Korean film actor so far..........God bless him!

Cho Seung Woo

Love Phobia(Domabaem,도마뱀-2006)

Starring:
Seung-woo Cho ... Jo Kang
Hye-jeong Kang ... A-ri
Ju-yeon Byeon
Jin-yeong Jeong
Shin-il Kang
Geon-tae Park
Shin-hye Park
Hyeon Woo
Hyeong-cheol Lee

Cho Seung Woo (Marathon, The Classic) and Gang Hye Jung (Welcome To Dongmakgol, Old Boy) star in this curious romantic drama that spans decades. One sunny day, a young boy named Jo Kang meets a curious young girl, dressed in a bright yellow raincoat. Jo Kang instantly becomes friends with Ari, and falls instantly in love with the beautiful but rather strange young girl - only for her to one day disappear! The story jumps to ten years later, and Jo Kang is now in high school. One day, completely out of the blue, Ari contacts him and asks to meet again. Although they have not seen each other in a decade, they have a wonderful time together, and the love between them begins to grow once more. But then, Ari disappears once more, leaving Jo Kang devastated. Can Jo Kang track down his true love? Will he ever discover why Ari keeps disappearing? Will he be able to do anything about it? All will be revealed in the tender story of Love Phobia.



Get out the tissue! I'm still crying as I type this. Okay, it's no Koizora (which made me howl for days). This movie is deep seated. Be prepared.

Love Phobia is in reference to a certain illness that affected billions in the early 80's and still affects the continent of Africa more than any other. Love Phobia references those of us who didn't really know about this illness and were advised to avoid these people as much as possible. (I hope you all are getting my "drift") Famous case: Ryan White. Those with this illness were treated as if they were from outer space, aliens. So....lots of references to her being an alien.

To a degree, this movie had a poetic quality with beautiful village landscapes and photography. The actors were superb and the chemistry seemed real. My heart just aches. Ugh! Save me from the heartache. Save me from Korean love stories. Damn, if they know how to rip your heart out and make you eat it. Yeah, this one was too good to be true and the ending was just....well, just......keep the tissues handy. Damn! The tears are hot again! *sob escapes*

Cho Seung Woo

OMG! He looks like RAIN!!!!!

The Classic

OMG! This was just the most wonderful story EVER. EVER!

The movie starts out with Ji-hae describing her life to the point she was at. She narrarates the story as she tells us about herself and her mother and we follow along on their journeys to love, friendship, family, and destiny.

Ji-hae's friend is having problems expressing her feelings to the boy (Sang-min is played by Jo In-seoung) she loves, so she asks Ji-hae to write e-mails to him in her name. Her friend not knowing that Ji-hae has a secret crush on him as well.

As the story goes on, Ji-hae finds love letters of her mother's that were stored in a box. Ji-hae reads them and discovers the story of her mother's romance which is remarkably similar to her own circumstances. The story goes to her mother's time and describes the love she had throughout most of the movie. Through many twists and turns, flashbacks and returns, the story unfolds and we discover fate and destiny plays a role in Ji-hae's life.

The story gets 4 stars out of 4. I cried and cried. Went to bed and couldn't stop thinking of it and cried some more. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!