Puzzle (Dodoiyuheui peurojekteu, peojeul/두뇌유희프로젝트, 퍼즐 -2006)

Starring:
Seok-cheon Hong ... Noh
Jin-mo Ju ... Ryu
Hyun-sung Kim ... Jung
Seong-kun Mun ... Hwan
Jun-seok Park ... Kyu
Ha-kyun Kim

Five complete strangers are brought together through the guise of one unknown man. They have been summoned for a project – a project of which success would guarantee them riches and a life beyond their wildest dreams. They’ve been given no information, no data, no identity. The project is dubbed X. The five men jump onboard. Finally, the fateful day arrives. Ryu, Roh, Jeong, and Kyu gather at the bank where the plan is to be carried out. Under Hwan’s leadership, the process is executed smoothly, until a minor slipup grinds the plan to an unexpected halt. Police swarm to the scene of the crime, and the men barely manage an escape by taking one of the captured people hostage. They quickly run to the place where they are to meet Hwan. When they arrive, however, they discover Hwan’s body – dead. Slowly, they begin to realize something is going wrong. In light of the shocking circumstances, suspicion falls on each other, as the men stealthily attempt to find who X is. Who is this X? What exactly does he want? Why did he bring these men together? Who is the architect behind this grand, master plan?


This had an ending that I didn't expect...well, the most part. I had already figured out who X was prior to the finish. I'd say 30 minutes before the show ended. But the rest of the ending was so unexpected. I even cried a bit. Not that it was sad but just hurtful.

I loved the twist and turns of the characters. It was exciting to watch and learn about each character and how they ended up being chosen. All of them had some connection to a man named Nam.

As the scenes past scenes pass by, X is a part of one of the men's past. I still don't know why these particular men were chosen but they were outstanding.

The main point of the story, I think, had all to do with trust. These men had so many problems with the other because the other didn't trust. That in the end was their downfall. That is what made the movie so painful at the end. Ugh!

This was an excellent movie. Not a comedy. This was a seriously thought out movie and oh-so exciting!

Ju Jin Mo

Puzzle (パズル-2007)

Starring:
Yanagi Kotaro
Nakamura Yuichi
Takahashi Marino (高橋まりの)
Mori Ren
Yamamoto Yusuke
Katsura Asami (桂亜沙美)
Nakagawa Shingo
Nakamura Masaya
Shida Nanako (志田菜々子)
Tanaka Takuma (田中琢磨)
Kataoka Asuka (片岡明日香)
Amada Reki (天田暦)
Konno Masato (今野雅人)
Narita Shoji (成田昌児)

When an armed group seizes control of an elite high school, a group of classmates are forced to find 2,000 puzzle pieces hidden throughout the school within 48 hours.

This was a little boring. Thank Kami-sama (God) that is was only 4 episodes long. I was hoping for in-depth puzzle solving. Instead it was a police interview of what transpired in the 24-hours with them hunting for puzzle pieces and putting it together. The end was interesting. I sort of figured it out during the 3rd episode. It was kind of obvious because they kept talking about the kids who were kicked out or left. Duh!

This definitely could have been better.

Most of the male cast are from the J-pop group D-Boys. Ehh! Not enough on them to post pics. Maybe later............................