Withdrawal

I'm really having a rough time right now. I've watched all the Asian dramas I can watch. I've watched repeats upon repeats of my favorites. I guess at this moment every fansubber on the face of the planet is taking down time. I know there are some dramas I haven't watched. Mainly because they don't seem to my liking or they've been overdone (ex. Hana Yori Dango...I'm sure the Korean version is great but there is only so much I can stand so I have forgone that drama.....Yeah, I'm not following that beaten path and following my own.)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is.....I'm having withdrawal symptoms. I start getting flutters in my stomach, I can't stay focused, I search the internet on a constant basis looking for something to appease me, and now I'm getting depressed. And, ya know, it's the Korean "drugs" I'm wanting more and more. LOL! I think I've watched every episode that every member of Super Junior has put out. I'm about to cruise the net for SS501 (never heard their music before, will give them a try), 2AM (another I've never heard), and I might do some Epik High (LOL! Sounds like the drug I'm needing. Oh, I crack myself up.)

I've just started watching variety shows that I'd probably never have given anther thought too. Star Golden Bell has become addictive. Actually, scary addictive. 2Days 1Night is hilarious...my Thursdays revolve around that one. If I don't have it, my day isn't right. Then there is Family Outing...OMG! If you don't like Korean language or shows, this one could change your mind. LOL! The show makes me so freakin' happy. I love Lee Chun-Hee. You get to see how funny one culture can be. The Koreans have a strange funny bone. But it's nice. Maybe it's the differential to my mundane life. The comedy, the games, the familial backdrop leaves you excited for the next episode. (Yeah, another show that gives me freakin' withdrawl. Ottoke?)

So what do I do? I've never been on youtube as much as I have this week. It's terrifying. I'm even to the point that I'm wanting to go to our local Asian market and buy out the Jjangjangmyun, Ramyun, kimbap, chapchae and Hite beer (and I don't even drink..LOL!)

Ya know what? I think I need a new "drug"..........

*....and no people, I'm not a drug addict. Read BETWEEN the lines.*

Beautiful (아름답다 / Ahreumdapda -2008)

Starring:
Su-yeon Cha - Eun-young Kim
Cheon-hee Lee - Police Officer Choi



A miserable girl because of her irresistible beauty.. Is her beauty the Blessing? Or the Curse? There is a girl, Eun-young, who is not happy for her breathtaking beauty. She gets lonely and exhausted from the stares from men and jealousies from women. One day, she gets raped by one of her stalkers, Sung-min and hears the terrible words from him. “I did it just because you are so beautiful.” She believes that she was raped because of her cruel beauty and starts to kill her beautiful looks. And there is one guy who runs after her…



This was an interestingly, amazing movie. It was totally weird....twilight zonish....in my opinion.

Imagine that you are sooooooo beautiful, the opposite sex won't leave you alone for one minute. Would that appeal to you or disgust you?

This movie really showed the opposite side of beauty. This woman was so beautiful that the men fawned all over her to the point that their love was never sincere. The aggression of the men was entirely possessive. The dark side of beauty is exactly what someone would expect it to be.

After being raped, she was now definitely a man hater. Her mind turned to mush, a psychosis that led her to want to gain weight but she couldn't. She then tried anorexia and bulimia to be ugly skinny.....almost. But the only way for her to live was to kill the man who raped her. But the problem is......he's in prison but her psychosis had her seeing the rapists image on every man.

Only one man truly tried to save her but then after awhile started becoming obsessed with her too. Stalking her, he saw the dark side of her illness.

His dilemma.......let her go or give in to his obsession. In a way, this was a most twisted love story. The conclusion was almost expected but yet sad. And then the very, very, very end was sick to the point of disgusting................

The movie, while being weird, was a cinematic gem. I loved the context of the story. A twist on the fairy tale that all women want to be beautiful but are the consequences worth it??

Too Beautiful to Lie (Geunyeoreul midji maseyo/그녀를 믿지 마세요-2004)

Starring:
Ha-Neul Kim ... Ju Yeong-ju
Dong-won Kang ... Choi Hee-cheol
Ah-rong Kim
Ji-yeong Kim (07/24/1937) ... Hee-cheol's grandma
Cheon-hee Lee ... Youg-deok
Ju-seok Lee ... Doctor
Yeong-eun Lee ... Soo-mi
Ha-ryong Lim ... The husband of Hee-cheol's paternal aunt
Ji-Yeon Myeong ... Hwa-sook
Sang-mi Nam ... Jae-eun
Su-jeong Nam
Jae-ho Song ... Hee-cheol's dad

Her professional skills of pretense and deceit easily got Young-ju out on parole. On a train to attend her sister's wedding, she runs into Hee-chul, a man in love with a girl he is just about to propose to. By some bad? or perhaps good? luck Young-ju and Hee-chul run into each other and she mistakes Hee-chul as a bum trying to molest her. Their first chance encounter turns out quite embarrassing. On top of that a pickpocket steals Hee-chul's engagement ring! Young-ju is worried that she might be accused of the theft, so she sets out to bring him back the ring. Amidst the hassle, she is left behind on the platform. The train has left, carrying away her own luggage. And all that she has with her is the ring.

What she needs is her luggage back. What she doesn't need is to be accused of theft. Young-ju finds her way to Hee-chul's home and the family seeing the ring thinks she is Hee-chul's fiancee! To wiggle herself out of the situation without adding another crime onto her record, she uses the skills of her profession and cons everyone into believing indeed she is the one.

Meanwhile, our poor Hee-chul returns home without proposing to his girl for lack of the ring, and finds that his family, in fact the whole town now blame him for deserting an innocent woman. Surprise! Surprise!

Now the bout is on between deceit and truth. Conwoman-turned-fiancee of the town's pharmacist vs. the pharmacist framed for rejecting a faithful woman.



Okay, I swear I thought I'd seen this movie. I don't know why I haven't till now. Huh, who knows?

This was a sweet movie. I haven't really seen the comedic side to KDW but I'm glad I have. After the Duelist, *oh, yeah I still have fantasies of him in that* he's been on my radar screen. I will not overlook any of his movies whatsoever just like Matsuda Ryuhei's, Odagiri Joe's, Song Seung Hun's, Kwon Sang Woo's, and Tamayama Tetsuji's.

An endearing tale of resilience, fate yet again strikes. This time it's Yeong-ju and Hee-cheol. These two were a match made in heaven. You love the way how a simple misunderstanding can lead to so many problems. But as fate yet again works it's wonders, the problems are solved and love takes shape.

I love these kind of romantic movies where they hate each other at once but as they get to know each other's weaknesses and strengths, love will bloom. *sigh*

Kang Dong Won


Okay, I went a little overboard on his pics but damn if he ain't fine! Umm...let's add him with Song Seung Hun and Kwon Sang Woo in the best category in Korean male actor list. How could I have forgotten the Duelist? That movie made my toes curl everytime they showed his sword play. God! I think I might have to watch that again.........

Lee Cheon Hee

The Aggressives (Taepungtaeyang/태풍태양-2005)

Starring:
Jong-hak Baek ... Commercial Director
Jeong-myeong Cheon ... So-yo
Yi-jin Jo
Kang-woo Kim ... Moggy
Cheon-hee Lee ... Gap-ba
Ju-wan On
Yu-jeong Lee

The Aggressives centers on Soyo (Cheon Jeong Myeong), a seemingly quiet, unassuming teenager whose ordinary humdrum life soon changes when he discovers the thrill of inline skating. His love for the sport eventually causes him to meet up with a group of skater boys that include Moggy (Kim Kang Woo), a kid whose awesome board skills immediately capture Soyo's attention. Moggy's girlfriend, Hanju (Jo Yi Jin), asks Soyo to join them and with his parents out of the picture, Soyo quickly immerses himself in this new subculture, eventually bunking with the team. His friendship with Moggy and Hanju soon takes off, and his loyalty to the team's leader Gabpa (Lee Cheon Hee) soon results in an exciting new development in the romance department.

But when Moggy is forced to shoot a commercial to score a plane ticket to the world inline skating championships, he snaps and deliberately causes an accident. Moggy's act puts the whole gang into debt, forcing the team to scramble for money to recoup the loss. A rift soon develops among the team members: Moggy stops skating, Hanju and Gapba want to leave as well, and even the once-eager Soyo starts to lose interest. Can the team pull it together or is their friendship doomed to failure?


This movie, even though Kim Kang Woo and Cheon Jeong Myeong were credited for awards for best new actors, was quite tame and a bit boring to me.

I do realize that the relationships of the boys and the actions they took paralleled So-yo's life and how his parents dealt with him. The movie didn't delve into why So-yo's parents were in debt but leaving there son behind, they did, to escape creditors. Alone, So-yo immerses himself into inline skating.

The harsh realities of being alone, responsibilities, and friendships takes there toll on So-yo.

The move, to me, could have been a little bit more of something. I felt there wasn't enough time to execute what needed to be said but instead the creators of the movie were more into shooting skating scenes (which were cool) but left the story dangling.

This movie could have been great. Instead it was just an "okay".

Cheong Jeong Myeong


Lee Cheon Hee


Kim Kang Woo

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.