The ones I didn't want, I sold. And some that I do have, aren't there. Birdcage Inn (by Kim Ki Duk) isn't listed. Run 2 U (which is by far, the worst Japanese-Korean coproduction on the face of the earth), I also sold (I think my friend has stopped talking to me ). Korea's first venture into wuxia was not successful. The woeful Bichunmoo is forgettable (thank God, I just borrowed that). I mean, Sunday Chinese Kung fu movies were waaaay better than that!

GaviolaGaviola wrote:

The ones I didn't want, I sold. And some that I do have, aren't there. Birdcage Inn (by Kim Ki Duk) isn't listed. Run 2 U (which is by far, the worst Japanese-Korean coproduction on the face of the earth), I also sold (I think my friend has stopped talking to me ). Korea's first venture into wuxia was not successful. The woeful Bichunmoo is forgettable (thank God, I just borrowed that). I mean, Sunday Chinese Kung fu movies were waaaay better than that!

r u talking sunday chinese movies in the phil. damn those we're crap!!

the dub were all off-beat

u don't have Sex is Zero oh!! ur missing a lot

i got it along GreenHills

no Guns & Talk?!? oh no. Must watch baby.
and don't forget, Silmido...must watch.
ah, Spy Girl was good...sorta.

Impression15 wrote:

no Guns & Talk?!? oh no. Must watch baby. and don't forget, Silmido...must watch. ah, Spy Girl was good...sorta.

i really like ur avatar it's damn

she's momosu right

arnel98 wrote:

i dont care much for Son Yae Jin though (she's the one in summerscent and the classic, right?) her films/series are too slow for me, especially sumerscent - gave up on that half way. The one i like now is Im Kyung eun from the bodyguard.

Yea that's her. Her roles are a lot more mellow. Goes well with her since she looks like the type to do those roles. I like her since she's my quiet side but I also like Jeon Ji Jyun since she's my energetic side

yea, mari yaguchi aka mrs. predator

Impression15 wrote:

yea, mari yaguchi aka mrs. predator

mrs. predator

zchendevlemh wrote:

mrs. predator

predator eh?

eltinator wrote:

Yea My Sassy Girl was great also. I have Il Mare but haven't seen yet My 2 fav korean actress are Jeon and of course the amazingly pretty Son Yae Jin

Yeah, JJH is such pie

Il Mare is good, as is My Sassy Girl (aka Yupki Girl).

What are some good Son Yae Jin movies?
-PCM

pcmodem wrote:

Yeah, JJH is such pie Il Mare is good, as is My Sassy Girl (aka Yupki Girl). What are some good Son Yae Jin movies? -PCM

Il Mare is


too damn slow

attack the gas station that korean movie is funny!!!!! any one seen it?

pcmodem wrote:

Yeah, JJH is such pie Il Mare is good, as is My Sassy Girl (aka Yupki Girl). What are some good Son Yae Jin movies? -PCM

The Classic!

The name speaks for itself, it's definately a classic. I'd say MSG and The Classic are easily my 2 favorite Korean movies and maybe 2 favorite movies of all time. Another good Son Yae Jin movies is Lover's Concerto (also stars the lead actor from MSG).

Fighter in the Wind
Pretty good, the action scenes weren't as flashy as Jet Li/Jackie Chan's but still good! The main actor = Ryu from Street Fighter. Sadly, he didn't throw a hadoken in the movie, hehe. Don't expect a great story, just enjoy the fighting scenes! There is a little surprise for Aya fans
Originally I had the urge to watch this movie because I found out Aya Hirayama had a role in the movie, it's significantly better than her previous roles. Somewhat Aya being a geisha doesn't suit her because of her girly cute face, she could still easily pass for a high school student.

Any good korean movies for recommendation? Thanks!

Arahan at the Hawaii International Film Festival. possible spoilers ahead.

Saw this film last night. GREAT, GREAT FILM!!!!

From when I knew HIFF was gonna screen this one, Arahan was the "if I could only see one HIFF movie this season" film pick for The Man, and lemme tell you; Arahan lived up to my expectations. This is a martial arts/fantasy (more the former, if you ask me) that is VERY well done and it beats a lot of film of similar distinction out of the water. Seriously. It matches up (and, to me, it had a bit more of that great action scenes) to the fight scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Ohhhh, man . . . Arahan is GOOD film. I didn't even realize the director was Ryoo Seung Wan, who did the best-kept-secret Die Bad (another GOOOOOOOOD film that you just got to see).

This is a film that starts out quietly great, and hearteningly greater. And if I'm making up words here, who cares; Arahan is THAT great.

Throughout this film, the thing I kept thinking was, regardless of whether I knew sorta'/kinda' that Hong Kong action specialists were involved, I kept thinking, THESE are the guys who should be doing the X-Men movies. These are the guys who should be doing the up-and-coming super hero flicks. Yes, the master himself, John Woo, tried his hand at a Marvel comics mainstay, the Incredible Hulk; and, while entertaining, left me with thinking there's something missing here. East Asia cinema knows action, and Arahan is a cool testament to that. We've seen folks running down buildings in cinema in the last, oh, five years or so; Arahan perfects that particular item with one seconds-filled shot. When you see no evidence of strings holding up the actors in this kinda' fantasy/martial arts films (and, I suppose a tip in doing that, as evinced by Arahan is to have your actors bounce in the air a little when they are levitating, to promote the realism, because man, IT REALLY LOOKED LIKE THESE GUYS WERE LEVITATING, DEFYING GRAVITY AND ALL), that's pretty much a film that should be looked at.

And, I just gotta say if cartoon men at the beginning of the film are sparring with one another while carving out the credits the are featured at the beginning of Arahan and if one of the main villain's defensive move includes a gracefully spinning the cup at the tip of his sword , then I have no problem calling Arahan a sword-play film even if it has less instances of it in, say, a Jidai-Geki such as the aforementioned review by The Man, Azumi. That all having been said, it is NOT ONLY swordplay, but, some of the coolest martial arts you'll see on the big screen (which is, really where you should see Arahan . . . and, man, there are no more Oahu showings. LET'S HOPE the theatres here pick it up for a few weeks like they've done for Tae Guk Gi) . . . oh, what was that? Better than what's shown in The Matrix? Yeah, Arahan pretty much makes the fights in The Matrix look like playground scuffles. Sorry, but, that's the impression I got.

Arahan goes a bit like this: Ryu Seung Beom (he also starred in Ryoo's Die Bad, and, I'm convinced with his work in Arahan, is the cream of the ubiquitous 20-30something acting set in Korea; seriously, the audience took quite well to this guy and, I would not at all be surprised if a whole bunch of last night's audience went out to find his other films) plays Sang Hwan, a rookie cop hell-bent on following the rules (i.e., tries to give a traffic-light running driver chauffering the local politician a ticket and goes against the grain of the apparent mob-police relationship, featured in the film, by insulting the thugs in front of one of his more senior officers). One day, he runs after a motorcycling purse-snatcher, with the refined martial artist Eiu Jin (played by Yoon So Yi who, yes, yes, she is just wonderfully cute. Yoon SOOO cute. Truly) already in hot pursuit. Her open-palmed invisible power projectile (obligatory in these type of fantasy/martial arts films, no?) misses the purse snatcher and hits Sang Hwan instead. The latter is taken back to Eiu Jin's home, which is also the dwelling of An Sung Ki (the dang Robert DeNiro of K-cinema, from Silmido, Musa, Kilimanjaro, and other shows), who is one of five of the seven masters (sorry; you'll have to see the film to see why I'm describing them like that, because, the reason is too hilariously priceless) that determine that this rookie cop has enough Ch'i (which, for purposes of this movie, is to Star Wars' "the Force") to become a Maruchi, which is, oh, just martial arts' President/King/CEO/4-Star General/Bruce Lee/Babe Ruth. The REAL "one," in other words. There is a villain, played by my vote for a guy who just might make Jet Li pee his pants, Jeong Doo Hong, the martial arts heavy from No Blood, No Tears and Natural City (the latter, also at this year's HIFF).

And, I dunno if the following was intended by the film (but it's something that it definitely promotes), but, my immediate feeling about this film is that (and, no matter what your religion or faith) if you see it, the next time you're in the city (as proved by feelings this morning), you're going to have this sense of harnessing your ch'i. THIS FILM IS AN URBAN FANTASY/MARTIAL ARTS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

The direction in this film, man, Mr. Ryoo Seung Wan, I'm telling you, big-money wishes to the Hollywood studio who picks this guy up. Now, I know a foreign film director getting picked up by a Hollywood studio isn't the best thing, but, this guy's craft BEGS to be watched and awed at. There's a lot I like about S. Korea -- the movies, the TV dramas, the food, the actors, some of the music, the fact that they got a TOUGH armed services, so . . . I guess, especially to be objective, I can say I hate one thing, can't I? And that is (drum roll), ome of S. Korean architecture as I've seen it portrayed in film. All those cobblestones, and, rough edges on some of the structures. Ugh. Just ugh. There are some films I've seen that the surroundings . . . well, didn't entirely spoil the film for me, but, made me think, "what, Mr. Director, you couldn't find one better place for film that scene?" hehe. Now, I mention all this because, as weird as it sounds -- and it's just my opinion here -- Ryoo Seung Wan manages to re-do S. Korea architecture, is the easiest way I can say it. I dunno if it's due to the film stock he's using or whatever, but, he really, really (and, this is in consideration of his past films as well) makes the surroundings in his films look vibrant and just makes a statement. OK, so, what else . . . oh, yeah, Ryoo Seung Wan seemingly does a homage to Chinese kung fu theatre when he does a split screen to show two different scenes of the film; you got those long faces, long-looking scenes. That was pretty neat.

This film is funny, too. The audience took well to the intended funny scenes. There is a majestically-done balance of drama, humor, and action. Most film directors should watch Arahan as an example.

And the fight scenes. Oh, too much. Most of it, to me, fluid, though, some parts with the two main leads looked sorta' stiff, but, at the same time bespoke a certain realism. Also, An Sung Ki must practice on his own; he's really good at martial arts, to top his acting-nesses.

Arahan featured something that I just wish Korean cinema'd stop doing, however clever this one was. There's a scene where one of the characters (I think it's the Yoon So-yi's Eui jin, but, I'm not ashamed I'm mistaken -- this is how good every single actor in this film is; that I can't remember who said what, haha!) is explaining to Sang hwan that everyone has their Ch'i -- some folks manage to find it early, others don't, still others manage to exude and utilize it without making a big deal out of it; in order to expressing, the camera pans over to examples, which include a few guys efforlessly loading a good-sized refrigerator onto a truck, a woman balancing STACKS of dishware on flat trays on her head, another woman balancing a huge pile of wrapped laundry (that I think Schwarzenegger would have a tough time with on a good day) on top of her own head, and some guy holding bunches of black shoes in each hand without having to hunch his back. Now, again, I wanna emphasize that it was quite clever of Arahan to show that there are ordinary folk who harness their ch'i without going around and power palming one another. But, man, I just gotta say . . . that seemed STRAIGHT out of the Men in Black II scenes where Will Smith is looking at apparently normal folk who have tails sticking out of their coats or other oddities to suggest their "alien"-ness. I dunno, maybe's just me, but, I thought the parallel was too obvious.

The way that five of the seven masters discover Ryu Seung Beom's character as a gifted martial artist is via survey of his "Meridian points" (?) . . . yeah, I'm still a bit confused, but, the survey did involve use of acupuncture needles. This one, to me, seemed a bit of a homage to Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace's mention of mediclorians rash in Anakin Skywalker, designating him as a gifted Jedi. Again, something clever offered by Arahan but, just tooooooo obvious for me to accept it as the film's own creation.

Then, again, they could just be homages, no? To sci-fi, a category to which Arahan certain belongs.

I think I've said enough for now. I still gotta go to a few more HIFF films. Maybe I'll approach the Signature Theatres (where most of the HIFF films are playing) manager to tell him about this great film, Arahan. I mean, really, it deserves to be seen.

watched windstruck last week!! it was really good!!!
and sad
i love jjh and jang hyuj

pcmodem wrote:

What are some good Son Yae Jin movies? -PCM

Is Son Yae Jin = Soh Ye Jin ?

my fav SYJ movie is The classic...
its really a classic

hi hi!!! i would like to recommend some of my favorite korean movies!!
windstruck-jeon ji hyun;jang hyuk same writer/director of sassy girl
100 days with mr. arrogant-kim jae won;ha ji won
my little bride-kim rae won;moon geun young
oh! happy days-park jung chul;jang na ra
my tutor friend-kwon sang woo;kim ha neul
taegugki-won bin;jang dong gun
and many many more!! but these movies are my favorites!! u must watch em! buy them! it's worth it!!!

damn, manny. watch k-flicks much? hahaha....
thats a damn near thesis!
_________________

niko2x wrote:

damn, manny. watch k-flicks much? hahaha.... thats a damn near thesis!

Hhaha. Oh, you liked that one, Niko2x? Here's ANOTHER film I saw at this week's Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF):

Untold Scandal (Seu-ken-deul: Jo-seon-nam-nyeo Sang-yeoi-ji-sa) at HIFF, Fall 2004.

Haha. That's kinda' funny, actually; that the beginning of the title of this film sounds liek "So Ken doll," as in "oh, gosh, that is SO Ken doll" or something, hahha.

But, I got to see this one last night, Saturday, when I SHOULD have been at the UH homecoming game (good to know they won, folks, and that ain't no spoiler 'cause the game all pau already), with some chums, and lemme tell ya' . . . Untold Scandal is a faithful take on Dangerous Liaisons (or Les Liaisons Dangereuses, depending on where you're coming from) is all I got to say.

It is colorful (in many ways), excruciating to observe, at times -- you really feel for the characters.

ALL the performances are so exquisitely (and, take note that The Man is normally HARDLY inclined to utilize "exquisite" in any shape or form) rendered and, well, let's admit it; in the type of film where there's intrigue concerning the human heart and where talk does more damage than a gunshot sometimes, its successful execution depends on the greatness of its actors, and that's a BIG reason why this film delivers.

The director himself, E J-yong was in attendance which was doubly good as he admonished us to stay following the credits in order to see two scenes pertinent to the story; they're not "deleted scenes" by any stretch of the imagination, and if you haven't seen those two scenes . . . make an effort to go find it! Rent the film, or there are two more showings at the festival (go to www.hiff.org to check for showtimes!).

E J-yong took questions following the screening. The moderator (uh, I forget who it was) and the director small-kind discussed exactly (because The Man's gonna mention it because it's true) what was on The Man's mind -- the fact that the musical score in the film is in a decidedly baroque, western style. I should've addressed more directly whether the director intended the score as it is in the film as a homage to the original source material or as bring out the spirit of the original source material -- something like how, I dunno if you read Ebert's review of Kill Bill, vol. 1, but, he actually goes into how Beatrice Kiddo's yellow costume, while exactly the same as Bruce Lee's in . . . what was the film? Game of Death? Anyway, I think (and someone correct me here if I'm wrong) what Ebert was specifically addressing is how Tarantino doesn't borrow the outfit from the Lee flick, but, rather the outfit coexists with each other; same kinda' logic here, with the Untold Scandal score, is what I'm getting at, if I haven't confused any of you already. I woulda' offered a follow-up Q, but, I never when like ask question in front all those people li'dat. I'm not normally like that, but, at least they got to address this thing that I was wondering about.

E J-yong also mentioned that he has three scripts that he was either given or brought to Hawaii and are considering those for upcoming flicks.

Another question that came up concerned whether the growing worldwide popularity of K-celluloid is just a fad or will continue for many years to come. And, sorry, folks, I really didn't hear the answer; was yukking it up with the pals and such.

But, yeah, if you manage to miss Untold Scandal, go rent it when it comes out (or go for it if it's out already). A really nice-looking, very well-done film.

P.S. TO ALL YA'LL WINTER SONATA-ITES: Now, I think it was mentioned before here on our fair board, but . . . eh . . . if you one Bae Yong-jun fan, hehe, woahhhhhh WOOOOOAAAAAH, LEMME tell you somet'ing . . . let's just say that you can see MANY-NESSES of a Bae Yong-jun. For real. Eh, you gonna see a VEEEEEEERRRY different version of a Bae Yong-jun. You gonna' SEE a Bae Yong-jun, that's for sure, and THAT'S being conservative about the description.

One last thing . . . during the discussion, I think E J-yong also mentioned that, with this film, Bae Yong-jun is now looked upon as a full-fledged actor. I dunno if that's his own assessment (the audience kinda' chuckled when E J-yong said that), but, you know what? Bae Yong-jun's acting is really great in this film.

Just go see it.

I like BEAUTIFUL DAYS movie
You can hear Lee Jung Hyun singing