Review: Twenty (2015 Film)

Thursday, December 31, 2015 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
This one was all over the internet and making a lot of buzz on the blogs, so I decided to discover what all the buzz was about…



“Girl: What are you doing?
Boy: I am sitting still
Girl: What are you doing while you’re sitting still?
Boy: Nothing
Narrator: Chi-Ho’s goal was to keep breathing. He has accomplished that goal.”


The Rundown
Behind the name: The coming-of-age year 
Country: South Korea, 2015
 Genre: Comedy, Coming-of-Age
Distributed by: Next Entertainment World
Director: Lee Byeong-heon
                  Cast: Kim Woo-bin (as Ji-Ho), Lee Junho (as Dong-Wo), Kang Ha-neul (as Kyung-Jae), Jung So-min (as So-Min), Jung Joo-yeon (as Eun-Hye), Min Hyo-rin (as Jin-Joo)
                  Compare to: “American Pie” but a lot more PG
                  Hate it or Love it?  Luv it

Synopsis in a Sentence: Three high-school friends must come to terms with their adulthood after graduating high school; one, a lazy rich-kid with no ambition; another the hustling job-seeker, and a third the dreamer whose family just became bankrupt; As males at age 20, they must prove themselves to the world.
           
On Writing: The Plot
The storyline was good; almost anyone can relate to these three friends and their dreams, and as it seems, the writers attempt to give us girls a peek into the male world. The comedy is straightforward and light, with some deeper undertones that deal with “getting your life together,” “dealing with a tough economy,” and “becoming more responsible”.
Quite unlike what this movie’s marketing crafted, this is not exactly Korea’s version of American Pie. It’s considerably more PG-13, but of course selling the movie as a risqué cliché will draw in the audience. The script is written by the movie’s director, Lee Byeong-Heon who seems to have a knack for male-centered productions. This is only his second one, and he did a good job on it! 
(4/5)

On Acting: The Cast
Alright, so we all know the star of this cast is Kim Woo-Bin, who recently shot to stardom in TV Series like The Heirs and School 2013. His peers elect him as the most popular star of 2015, as he wins the Popularity Award for playing this character, Chi-Ho, at the Korean Film Actors' Guild Awards. In any rate, he is great as Chi-Ho. Relaying the I-don’t-care coolness of his character with ease. He’s quite mastered these roles, and we’d quite like to see him attempt something a bit versatile, but there’s not a complaint for this role.
Lee Jun-Ho plays as Dong-Wo, the struggling cartoonist who must face the reality of his situation when his parent’s company runs bankrupt. He plays the role with well.
And then Kang Ha-Neul who is Kyung-Jae, the wanna-be company employee plays the straight-forward straight shooter. Kang wins awards for his portrayal of his character; he earns the title of Best New Actor at the 15th Korea World Youth Film Festival and the Korean Film Actors' Guild Awards. Overall a good cast.
 (4/5)

On Production: The Creativity
Production is good and goes well with the story and theme of unfettered youth. Especially, marketing is good. Overall a good production
(4/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
The resolution is quite good. Arguably better than the entire run of the movie. And the irony is classic. An overall good end to an overall good movie.
(4.5/5)

The Verdict: A fun, light-hearted comedy but don’t wait for the risqué bits. The movie was over-sold in that aspect. If however you’re looking to smile at the idiocy and struggles of youth, then this is your film.


Overall Score = 16.5/20 



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My Love From Another Star (2014 Series)

Thursday, January 15, 2015 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
Okay. So there comes a time in every girl’s life when she stops crushing on every TV series around and starts seriously considering her long-time K-cinema love prospects. That was my outlook on this series. I loved it. It was entertaining, and comical and addictive and oh-so-real; so what made me flip out on the underlying message this one was sending? And why had I never had any issue with it until now?


“Do Min Joon: There is a reason for everything.
There must be a reason for people around you to leave you, Miss Cheon Song Yi.
Cheon Song Yi: What? So are you saying that me being like this is my fault?
Do Min Joon: Before holding a grudge against the people around you for not taking on your side, think about why you haven't been able to make them stand on your side.
Perhaps, it's you that made you lonely.
Cheon Song Yi: I'm not lonely. Who said I'm lonely?
Do Min Joon: If not, why are you staying here? If you can't go to your friends or family, why are you at a strange man's house? What do you know about me? Why did you come to me? 
You are lonely, because you have no one or no place to go.”

The Rundown
Behind the name: Literally —You Who Came from the Stars
— Because that special guy literally has to fall from the moon!
Country: South Korea, 2014
 Genre: Romantic Comedy, Sci-Fi
Distributed by: SBS
Director: Jang Tae-yoo
Cast: Jun Ji-hyun (as Cheon Song-yi), Kim Soo-hyun (as Do Min-joon), Park Hae-jin (as Lee Hwi-kyung), Yoo In-na (as Yoo Se-mi), Shin Sung-rok (as Lee Jae-kyung), Kim Chang-wan as (Jang Young-mok), Na Young-hee (as Yang Mi-yeon)
                  Compare to: The Little Mermaid in reverse… well, almost something like that
Hate it or Love it?  Love it

Synopsis in a Sentence: Superstar actress just happens to fall for the most perfect man alive—Turns out this “perfect guy” is an alien from the Joseon Dynasty who “fell from the stars” 400 years ago—Should he stay or should he go?
           
On Writing: The Plot
The story is interesting. It’s fun and new and so out there. Really!
(4/5)

On Acting: The Cast
The cast is, of course, talented. There’s Jun Ji-hyun, who plays Cheon Song-yi, the
Jun Ji-Hyun
superstar actress andmain character of the series. She’s fabulous and choses this role to relaunch her return to the small screen after a 14 year hiatus. She is rumoured to play herself in real life through this character. Jun relays her character’s boldness and fabulosity and quirkiness so well, that we fall in love with both her and her character! A job well done!

Kim Soo-Hyun
Kim Soo-hyun graces our screen as alien hunk, Do Min-joon. He delivers cool detachness and perfectness (whatever that means) through this character.

So many great actors, honourable mentions go to Kim Chang-wan, who plays Jang Young-mok, Doo Min-Joon’s kindly lawyer and friend. Also to Na Young-hee, as Yang Mi-yeon, Cheon Song-Yi’s mother a.k.a the stagemom, Korea style. Finally, Shin Sung-rok makes Lee Jae-kyung, the villain absolutely despicable.
A fab cast!
 (4.5/5)

On Production: The Creativity
Oh there are really pretty parts in production. The best thing about TV is that lots of unreasonable things—like defying gravity—can happen, production breaks almost everything logical. Forget all the rules of physics and chemistry and biology. This is fiction, and production plays it up!
(4.5/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
Alright. So. This is when I get on my soapbox and RANT.
I — almost — loved this series. It was fun, it was interesting, it was different. But. I have seen enough South Korean series—about five years worth—to question why a series that ends this way is heralded as one of the biggest and best series of 2014. Why?
Well, first of all, the basic message is that it sets unrealistic standards for both guys and girls.
This guy is so perfect—so intelligent that he’s a professor with the mind and knowledge of 400 years of scholarship in the body of a handsome, 20-something year old man. He’s so wealthy; he could own a few small countries. He’s so powerful; he literally has superpowers—he can fly, he can teleport, he can stop time, he possesses so much unnatural speed and strength, that he can stop a moving car. Wow! Whatta man! What a seriously unrealistic man!
How exactly is any living breathing man supposed to measure up to this? Are women around the world supposed to watch this character and look to find a man like this alien? And we know this is fiction, but fiction is, to a certain degree, a reflection of real life fantasies. And this just took it too far.
But that’s not all. How about the woman? The woman is successful, she’s talented, she’s… not so intelligent… but hey, she’s beautiful, what on earth does she need brains for? She also can’t cook, doesn’t have any practical life skills … buy hey, she’s beautiful, what does she need practical life skills for? She’s lucky! She’s even rich, most women will need a man to sustain her financially, but not Cheon Song-Yi! Her beauty and talent are all she needs and that’s what makes her an exceptional woman. The best! Because you know, she’s a woman, and you can only choose talent and beauty versus brains and aptitude. And the perfect woman should just be beautiful
And her man? Well he’s an exception because he’s just perfect! And she’s so lucky to be with him, this perfect man from the stars. She better thank her stars that he loves her because she’s so imperfect, she can never measure up to him. And he can do whatever he wants, you know, like disappear for an unlimited amount of time and maybe, perhaps, one day return… or never!
Because, you know, it’s her fault if he leaves.
What the hell!
I’m picking qualms with this particular series because I see this theme again and again in K-series but as much as I love them, there’s a greater issue here. And it’s not all right.
(0/5)

The Verdict: A fun watch, but what it implies is more negative than you’d want to admit.

Overall Score = 13/20








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