Rules of Dating (연애의 목적/Yeonae-ui mokjeok-2005)

Starring:
Hae-il Park - Lee Yoo-rim
Hye-jeong Kang - Choi Hong
Dae-yeon Lee
Grina Park
Yeong-hwa Seo

LEE Yu-rim is a high school English teacher. He's cute, clever... and shameless. CHOI Hong is a student teacher, even though she is one year older than Yu-rim. She's cynical and always plays hard-to-get when a man shows interest in her. While going out for drinks one night, Yu-rim suddenly tells Hong that he wants to have sex with her. Hong is hardly impressed. And so begins a battle of will and wits, both between each other and within themselves, as both Yu-rim and Hong are unsure of what each other wants and what they want themselves. Dating and desire mix explosively. What is the point of this strange relationship? What is the object of their desire?

I was astounded to fing out I really, really, really liked this movie. I guess Yoo-rim's actions at first were terribly funny. I mean, come on!, what man is that straight forward? I'm surprised Hong held off as long as she did. LOL! I don't think I could have.......

Even though most of this movie was funny, the serious undertones were not smothered with comedy. Rumors, even if innocent, can harbor a lot of pain and suffering for some people. This is what the story is about. Hong and the pain and anguish she went through because a horrible teacher spread rumors about her, that weren't innocent by all means.

The very end of the movie I sort of got confused because even though Yoo-rim was actually falling in love with her and tried to protect her, she betrayed him. Then it hit me! *Bam!* Yoo-rim carried her pain (like Jesus and the cross) and suffered for it....for Hong. He truly experienced what she went through. And even though he hated her, I think that is what extinguished all suffering for both of them.

I really loved the ending. Beautiful and funny at the same time. This was a really good movie. Not for kiddos though, some serious sex scenes in them. *What is up with Korean movies and soft porn?*

Park Hae Il

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!!!!!