Beanie level: Water maid

Just finished “The Last Blossom.” The film adaptation of Noh Hee Kyung’s drama, “The Most Beautiful Goodbye in the World.” It was quite good and I’ll be looking forward to the upcoming remake.

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Watched the 2012 film, “National Security” earlier today. A disturbing account based on a true story of a democracy activist who was arrested and tortured for 22 days in 1985 by the Korean police. Disturbing but very powerful stuff.

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Completed the 2011 film, “Unbowed” last night. Based on a true story of a professor who aimed a crossbow at a judge due to his frustration with the corrupt judicial system. Very good courtroom drama.

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    Great movie and my first time watching Ahn Sung-ki. I became an instant fan.

    Impressive career for a child actor. This could be Yeo Jin-goo in 40+ years.

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      Definitely. Let’s hope Yeo Jin Goo acts as long as Ahn Sung Ki has and leaves a huge legacy as long as he has. 1987 is looking good and I am looking forward to it’s release next month.

      The director of this film, Jung Ji Young, and Ahn Sung Ki go way back since the early 90’s and I believe this was Jung JI Young’s comeback after 13 years. In fact, several of the actors in this movie go way back with him like Lee Kyung Young. It’s surprising how well made both this and “National Security” were since the film industry changed so much since.

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        I’m so looking forward to 1987! Powerful historic incident that will never get old.
        Yeo Jin-goo has a bright future in Chungmuro for someone so young. I wish he’d do more films and less dramas.
        I’m loving the Ha Jung-woo reunion with Kim Yoon-seok. It reminds me of when they were working together in “The Chaser.”

        Is Jung Ji-young retired? I’m not that familiar with him cause I’m still a newbie lol. I’ve only seen 2 of his films.

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          It’s telling that Jang Joon Hwan worked with Yeo Jin Goo again after Hwayi for 1987. He will go far in Chungmuro. I haven’t watched his recent dramas but I heard they weren’t too good. At least he made some good connections in Chungmuro.

          Jung Ji Young is currently in pre-production for a movie called, Goblin. I believe he offered Kim Nam Gil the role. It’s a historical film. Dramabeans covered it earlier this year although I haven’t heard from it since. He’s still working but I think there was a period between 1998-2011 where he didn’t make films. I watched a documentary that he was involved with and he kind of hinted that it was due to investors not wanting to invest in his films unless he compromised with his films. It’s what happened to a lot of the veteran directors who refused to give in as the 2000’s came in and investment methods changed. Also, his films are pretty politically charged to the left so he was probably also on that blacklist that surfaced several months ago.

          For films about a historic event, have you seen the 1996 film, “A Petal” by Jang Sun Woo? It’s about the Gwangju Massacre and the traumatic effects it has on a 15-year-old girl who survived it. The movie is an absolutely crazy depiction of the event and the psychological damage it leaves. I recommend it but it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s on the Korean Film Archive YouTube channel.

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            Thanks for the extra info on Jung Ji-young <3.

            I watched "May 18" but a "A Petal" is on my watch list. I'm waiting to watch it when my heart can take it. I read some old reviews and that's about it.
            I do prefer "A Taxi Driver" to "May 18" though but "A Petal" still top the other two among the critics.

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Watched the 2005 film, “Blue Swallow” last night. A biopic about Park Kyung Won, one of Korea’s earliest female pilots during the Japanese occupation. Great movie with fantastic acting all around.

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Interesting. Park Chan Wook is going to be adapting John le Carré’s novel, “The Little Drummer Girl” into a 6-episode BBC miniseries. Florence Pugh is going to be the lead.

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    Whoa! I’m so excited to hear that. Can’t wait.

    Thanks for sharing <3.

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Finally got to watch “Train to Busan” today. Very enjoyable and just overall well done. Kind of missed the cynical edge of Yeon Sang Ho’s previous films, but it was much more accessible without it.

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Finished Yeon Sang Ho’s animated film, “Seoul Station” last night. The so-called “prequel” to “Train to Busan.” A good companion piece to TTB but much darker and cynical. Not for everyone though.

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    ohh…interesting~
    a perfect choice for Halloween imo

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    I have only met excerpts from it, but haven´t found the full film anywhere

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Finished Jung Ji Woo’s 1999 film, “Happy End.” About an extramarital affair. Some interesting commentary about gender roles. Great acting from the leads too. For mature audiences only.

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Watched the 2009 film, “A Brand New Life.” About how a little girl deals with being abandoned at an orphanage. Great acting from the child actors, especially from Kim Sae Ron in her debut.

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    OMG Sae-ron’s so cute in this pic! ♥ How was it? I think I’ll give this a try

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      Hello. Kim Sae Ron’s about 9 years old in this film, which makes her performance quite impressive. Overall, I thought it was a good movie. It’s a straightforward film and it is a bit sad due to the subject matter. However, it was directed in a way so that the sadness wasn’t manipulative. At the very least, it’s worth a watch.

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    Aww Kim Sae-ron. I’d still say that she is better off doing films than dramas.

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Done with Lee Joon Ik’s 2006 film, “Radio Star.” Very feel-good type of movie about a washed up rock star and his manager of 20 years. Nothing new in story but acting and directing elevates it.

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    Ahn Sung-ki <3. Over 100 films and still going strong.
    It's too bad I'm boycotting Kim Ki-duk or I would be watching "The Time of Humans."

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Watched the animated film, “The Fake” by Yeon Sang Ho (Train to Busan) last night. A bleak story about an abusive man discovering a plot by religious leaders to scam a village. Very dark stuff.

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    Interesting! I hope Yeon is not going to abandon animation films. Have you seen “Seoul Station?”
    His next film “Psychokinesis” a comedy (surprise) has a star studded cast. Can’t wait.

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      I haven’t watched “Seoul Station” yet. I have it ready to watch someday though. I’ve read it’s very much like his other animated works meaning nihilistically dark and unforgiving with highly flawed anti-heroes.

      I hope he gets to keep making animated films as well. He has a distinct style that’s different from most and his films could use the larger budget. However, Korean animated films with a few exceptions, have never done well in Korea.

      I’m interested in what kind of film “Psychokinesis” will be. He only directed “Train to Busan,” he didn’t write it. However, he wrote the script for “Psychokinesis.” I’m curious if it will retain the edge of his animated film scripts or not.

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Finished “Plum Blossom” a couple days ago. A coming-of-age film about two men and their complicated relationships with women. It’s alright, gets too melodramatic at the end. For mature audiences only.

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    man,i watch certain mature scenes of this drama on youtube and it took time accepting kim raewon stuff after that. same with song ji hyo-jo insung famous movie 😂😂😂

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Watched “Ari Ari the Korean Cinema” last night. A documentary about the history of the Korean film industry and the changing environment. Some interesting stories about female directors and actresses.

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    It sounds really interesting ! I will watch it when I have time 🙂

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Finished “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” a couple of days ago. One of the classics I didn’t watch until now. Not bad although I had some issues with the second half. Kim Sun Ah was lovely though.

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Finished the 2004 film, “R-Point” last night. A psychological horror movie set during the Vietnam War. Not too scary but very atmospheric. Not a perfect film but a good effort for Korean horror.

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    I think R rated back in the early 2000 is like today’s PG 13.
    That goes for “The Host” too. I saw R Rated and I thought I’d be scared out of my mind but that was not the case at all.

    Did you hear about Lee Chang-dong’s BURNING? I’m excited that it’s back on track.

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      Yeah, “R-Point” wasn’t really scary nor was it gory except for the ending, but it had some great shots and had a creepy atmosphere to mess with the audience. I didn’t think “The Host” was scary either, mostly because it had a mix of genres like dark comedy to lighten things up like most Bong Joon Ho’s films and shorts.

      I did hear about Lee Chang Dong’s new film. I read the delays were caused by copyright issues so I’m glad it’s been settled. It’s been 7 years since Poetry so I’m excited to see what he has prepared and I hope the cast brings their A-game.

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Completed a Korean animated film, “The King of Pigs” by Yeon Sang Ho (Train to Busan director) several days ago. Very dark and cynical tale about school bullying. Perhaps too cynical for its own good.

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    Was it odd watching after being in KDrama land of live-action?

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      This wasn’t the first Korean animated film I watched, that would be “Leafie, a Hen into the Wild,” so I wasn’t too odd for me. However, the animation style of this one was quite ugly due to the low budget it had and its subject matter so it wasn’t the easiest film to watch. At least compared to the visuals of Japanese anime.

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Finally got around to watching “Age of Youth.” Binged it in a week to prepare for season 2. Very good drama as expected from Park Yeon Seon. Wish I had watched it sooner.

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Finished the 2006 drama, “Golden Apple” a week ago. Written by Kim Woon Kyung (Yoo Na’s Street writer). Very solid drama. Acting could have been better, but the writing was good.

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    Is it really good? I enjoyed Yoona’s Street a lot. Does it have the same feel?

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      Hello,
      I haven’t watched Yoo Na’s Street yet so I can’t say. However, this one is a bit of a slice of life dealing with a family and their friends in the 1960’s-1980’s Korea. The characters feel very real and it doesn’t center on chaebols, just ordinary people trying to make a living. Also deals with class divide issues. The writer is known for creating characters like this. It does have a strong female lead standing up for her siblings and taking care of them while having her own flaws. There is romance, but it’s told in a very bittersweet way.

      Overall, I thought it was good but like I said, the acting could be better. Female lead is fine, but the actors playing her siblings are pretty green. It’s one of the earliest works of Kim JI Hoon and Ji Hyun Woo so their inexperience shows. The writing covers for them most of the time though since they’re well drawn out characters. It’s 30 episodes (8 episodes of childhood sections) so it’s a little shorter than Yoo Na’s Street. It was worth a watch in my opinion. I apologize for the long-winded reply.

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        Thank you! I really appreciate your reply. I’m interested and will put it on my to watch list. Yoona’s Street has a similar feel. Strong heroine and a drama more focused on daily lives of people. I don’t mind the episodes. Yoona’s Street actually had 50 so 30 shouldn’t be so bad. Thanks again!

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Watched a Korean animated movie, “Padak.” About fishes trying to escape a restaurant. A bit of a mix of Watership Down, Finding Nemo and Pink Floyd The Wall. Bought it on sale on Steam for $1.74.

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Watched Kim Jee Woon’s “One Perfect Day,” a short film he did. It’s his first foray in rom-com. Nothing too groundbreaking, but he adds his signature touches making it worth a watch. It’s on YouTube.

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