World Reviews Now!: February 2011

Pasta (2010 TV Series)

Friday, February 25, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

Pasta seemed like the modern re-invention of Korean romantic comedies, and it started like that, but quickly turned into a series of events strung together by pasta-making contests.

“It’s food, 'romance' and competition.”

The Rundown

Behind the name: That’s what it’s all about—seriously!

Country: South Korea, 2010

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Released by: MBC (MunHwa Broadcasting Corporation)

Director: Kwan Seok-Jang

Cast: Kong Hyo-jin (as Seo Yoo-Kyung), Lee Sun Gyun (as Choi Hyun-wook), Lee Ha-nui (as Oh Sae-young), Alex (as Kim San)

Compare to: Tarzan? Lol no.

Hate it or Love it? Like it, I guess

Synopsis in a Sentence: A kitchen assistant falls for her arrogant boss and they spend the rest of the series trying to get together, against his own “rules”.

The romance was just like pasta—twisted & displaced, and the comedy quite the same.

On Writing: The Plot

It’ all about making pasta and what’s supposed to be “love”.

But it’s not a bad plot. The writers obviously intended for it to be better than it turned out. On the bright side, the plot was original, unlike many other Korean romantic comedies, and included “cute bits” that highlighted the story. On the down side, after seeing what Korea’s capable of, the story turned out to be a series of events stringed together by contests—literally, it was one pasta contest after another after another after another—and that went on throughout the series. I’m quite sick of Korea telling stories of “clumsy female meets refined male” characters—it’s not cute! Much rather annoying. And that’s exactly what Pasta does

Will make you either love Pasta, or hate it.

(3/5)

On Acting: The Cast

Quite good. Most were good, or great.

Props to Lee Ha-nui, who played the female head cook. Lee Sun Gyun, who played the lead male was okay, but not quite great. His character wasn’t fun either.

Props also to Lee Seong-Min, who played the comedic villain. Overall, the cast presented a good cast, with the characters blending easily together.

(3.5/5)

On Production:

Great music. Quite well designed. The soundtrack was unique and fresh, with tunes that embellished the story, the set was great, and the direction was good. It’s overall a good production.

(4/5)

On Resolution: The Conclusion

Hmm. Not quite sure what to say about it. It ended quite well, but didn’t quite ‘resolute’. It left us hanging, and not quite sure what to do about it. I’m guessing an attempt to end the story with a twist fell flat.

(3/5)

The Verdict: Recommended to lovers of food, specifically pasta, Italian food… and um, displaced romance?

Overall Score = 13.5/20

Posted In 2010, Asia, Pasta, Romantic comedy, South Korea, TV Series | 0 comments |

Falling (2006 Film)

Friday, February 18, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

I was quite excited about this one. It was my first choice in the German collection, judging from the cover and the recommendations from Time Out, the New York Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, but this film simply fell flat.

“I sat and fumbled empathy, searched for the climax, and begged for action, but alas, they never came, and I was left Falling through the rest of the film.”

The Rundown

Behind the name: Fallen (Also Known As)

Country: Austria, 2006

Genre: Drama

Distributed by: Kino International Corp.

Directors: Barbara Albert

Cast: Nina Proll (as Nina), Birgit Minichmayr (as Brigitte), Ursula Strauss (as Alex), Kathrin Resetarits (as Carmen), Gabriela Hegedüs (as Nicole), Ina Strnad (As Daphne)

Compare to: Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion (But drier than ever)

Hate it or Love it? Hate it L

Synopsis in a Sentence: Five women get to have a reunion when they meet at their teacher’s funeral—they may have gone separate ways, but how much have they changed?

Patience—this one requires patience.

On Writing: The Plot

A film in German, produced in Austria.

The plot’s actually not bad, but as viewers nowadays are accustomed to entertainment so that they can be entertained, the plot of this film didn’t do much of that. Actually, the plot did much of anything.

The dialogue itself wasn’t bad. It was a real production for realistic ideas through realism—but that’s the problem—that was all this film had to offer. Seasoned viewers know that for realism to be effective, equally skilful tactics in film production have to be employed. But no technique at all was used to motivate the viewers of Falling to follow the storyline. It starts with a good formula for realism—five females re-discover one another in the wake of tragedy, but it falls flat after that, with minimal connections throughout the story’s plot, virtually no climax, and no emotive motivation. Actually, the film goes on as though it doesn’t care that that a human will have to watch it one day!

(2.5/5)

On Acting: The Cast

They’re relatively good actors stuck in a story without connections; so we watch them struggle. It was hard to find a relatable character, and just when hope was rising in the horizon, the character would do a 180º and flip on you, and then you’re left wondering again—until you meet another one that does it all over again.

We were also made to wonder if this was Ina Strnad’s first film, because she was relatively disconnected from her character throughout the film.

(3/5)

On Production:

Not bad, but nothing of noteworthy mention. No particular part stood out as memorable, (*should I mention, that the cover photo is the best moment of the film) but we can appreciate the snap-shots of good moment throughout the film. J

(2/5)

On Resolution: The Conclusion

High and dry. That’s what the end leaves you feeling like, and after 88 minutes of sitting through this, you may regret not picking up some German words as the time passed by because that may have been all you got to learn (and enjoy) from Falling.

(Unless you’re going through the pains of one of these women, it’s hard to feel the empathy in the film, even then). L

(1.5/5)

The Verdict: Alas, I would only recommend this to someone stuck in a desert with nothing else for entertainment.

Overall Score = 9/20

In the end, I might be wrong about this film. See Falling for yourself and decide at a local screening [http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22027&FID=32].