Thanksgiving Doublog! 家有儿女 (Home With the Children) and 부l힌지옼 Possessed

This Thanksgiving, I have two films to recommend watching with friends and family: Korean horror movie by Yong-ju Lee, Possessed, and a warm and cute Chinese sitcom show Home with the Children.

 

Possessed is a psychologically thrilling Korean horror movie that friends would love watching together. Possessed ranked 6th place at the South Korean box office for its opening weekend of August 14–16, 2009. It is about a college student who returns home when her 14-year-old sister So Jin (Shim Eun Kyung) goes missing. Her mother is a fanatic evangelist and resorts to prayer and refuses to work with the lazy police. Meanwhile Hee Jin hears rumors that her sister had been possessed. The whereabouts of So Jin become increasingly elusive and dead people begin appearing in Hee Jin's distorted dreams.

The sypnosis is not that creepy, but trust me, the film is more than creepy. 

I thought Possessed was great at capturing the small, creepy details and building suspense. The actors are great, especially the actress for the slightly crazy mother. I love how Possessed captures so much terror in one look from a possessed person, or a single shadow in the distance. There were a few scenes where I thought nothing was going to happen and something – an eye, a body, or a sound catches me by surprise. Some parts didn’t scare me at all though – when the director clearly meant for the scene to be scary.

So, on my Doublog scale (1 is that it is the best movie to watch; 10 is to not ever watch this for the holiday) I rate it as a 3.

Next up; Home with the Children is a nice sitcom to enjoy with the family over a crackling fire. It is about a family with three children (two from the father's previous marriage, one from the mother's previous marriage). It is a chaotic mess of a family and yet they manage to solve every problem with zing!

The funny moments in Home with the Children are unbelievable, and inspired me to think that if I look at life in a different way, anything is laughable. The sitcom has accompanied me through my childhood and actually is a useful tool for stress relieve. The innocence in Home with the Children transports many back to their own beautifully innocent times. I rate this a perfect 1. Must see, especially for my Chinese followers!! BTW, you can watch episodes on Youtube.

There you go! :D See you Saturday for a Japanese anime movie!     

トイレの神様; Goddess of the Toilet: The Most Beautiful Family Story Ever

Goddess in the Toilet (sorry, no trailer available, so I posted a clip), an adaptation of Japanese singer/songwriter Kana Uemura's song Toilet no Kamisama about her late grandmother, is the most touching, lovely movie I have ever laid eyes on. The plot is so simple, yet the sweet, well-thought details make this movie a hit on my blog. It was produced by MBS and directed by Hajime Takezono as a drama in January 2011. 

Goddess in the Toilet starts out as a funny comedy with a twist, and turns in a very serious yet inspirational direction. When she was 8 years old, she lived at her grandmother's house next door to her parents, playing gomoku, eating noodle soup when they went out shopping, and watching Yoshimoto Shinkigeki. Her grandmother especially told her that a beautiful goddess lives in the toilet, if she cleaned it every day, she'll turn out to be as beautiful as the goddess. As Uemura grew older, they stayed together still (actually the real Uemura grew very apart from her grandmother). Her grandmother gave her very good advice from achieving her dreams to dealing with her boyfriend. Her grandmother later became more ill when Uemura left for Tokyo to pursue her hopes of becoming a singer, and was hospitalized. Her grandmother could not say much and the next morning died quietly in her sleep. Uemura believes her grandmother was waiting for her.

There are no reviews in English or Chinese that I could easily find (guess I am the first). I personally feel like this movie was breathtaking. The characters are very relatable and optimistic, portraying many different viewpoints on one situation. The lessons learned from this fantastic movie are truly invaluable. It is as if your own grandmother is telling you these lessons. At the end, get a box of Kleenex ready because every tear etched down from Uemura's face will prove to be unbearably moving. You see, this my the first time I remember me bawling simply because of a movie. And also notice how the film ends very happily and peacefully, comforting you and leaving your soul cleansed/stable. The soundtrack is also not something to take lightly.

If you haven't guessed, this movie gets a phenomenal 5 out of 5 points. MUST SEE.

늑대의 유혹; Temptation of Wolves: Tear-Jerker...Maybe a little too much?

Director Kim Tae Goon's 2004 novel adaptation Temptation of Wolves (starring hotshot Jo Han Seon) is a witty jumble of different types of love and violence in modern South Korea. This movie is what I would call a pretty pretty love story.

Jung Han-kyeong is a country girl, and after her father's death, she comes to Seoul to live with her mother. However, her life in Seoul is a series of mental and physical shocks. Seeing Han-kyeong's pitiable and adorable nature, Hae-Won, the most popular guy in school, falls for her.
The leader of Sung-Kwon High is named Jung Tae-sung (Kang Dong-won), and he, too, has feelings for Han-kyeong. Despite his adorable face, Tae-sung has strong fists. Tae-sung has a secret, one that forces him to love Han-kyeong in spite of himself, and Han-kyeong, ignorant of this, tries to do her best to be gentle with both of them. Eventually, Han-kyeong and Hae-won learn of Tae-sung's secret. (summary adapted from Wikipedia)

I think that if the director meant for this to be a simple, old-fashioned Korean romance, than he has done his job. The male leads are absolute heartthrobs with a cool, gangster attitude, and Han-kyeong is innocent and charming. The slightly complex issues of romance, family-love, and even tough bromance makes this film different from other romance films. It makes the movie watcher reflect and make connections to their own lives. Wolves is fundamentally a tragedy, and there was a lot of crying. But after a while, the tears drowned me in a state of boredom...the crying is supposed to make the movie watcher feel sadder. Somehow, the way Tae Goon's arrangement of the sad scenes weren't as tear-jerking as I liked it. Also, the portrayal of the female 'protagonist' really annoyed me -- she as pure white skin, is really short, leans physically and emotionally on the two men, cries a lot, and always looks down at the ground as if ashamed -- how more sexist and extremely feminine can you make her, Tae Goon?! Of course, the males are violent, frowning, remote, and really tall. Therefore, although the film did make me emotional, I give it a just-above-average 3.8/5 stars, because it is one feeling when one is watching the film, but it is a whole other feeling when one is reflecting a while after the film ended.

Here is a critic's comments:

 It’s refreshing to see Han Kyeong resemble a normal Korean girl, one the audience can relate too. While Hae Won reflects the modern day “Prince Charming” minus the aura of coolness, stubbornness, and ignorant distinctiveness. Making girls swoon once again is Tae-song, adding more complication to the plot and the movie falls directly under the category of audience knowing the answers before the protagonist does. The Love triangle between Tae Song, Hae-won and Han Kyung would have classified it as a teenage romance flick, but the complications between the characters gives the story more depth. (http://kmovieaddictsreviews.blogspot.com/2006/10/temptation-of-wolves.html)

A generally great love story, minus the hints of sexism and partial unoriginality (but no one has a completely 'original' romance out yet. Do watch!!!

Next week, an educational, inspirational Japanese movie.

마이 블랙 미니드레스; My Black Mini Dress: Beautiful and Extremely Fun

Korean film My Black Mini Dress was directed by Heo In-moo (허인무) on March 23, 2011. It is a film about the lives of four friends coming right out of college to 'real' life; through 24 years old characters, this movie presents the real stories of young women in South Korea.

In the beginning of the movie, I thought it was another superficial Korean drama about love, cute couples, and physical fun with alot of pretty teenage girls partying their lives away. However, after one scene with a depressed protagonist crying without out her makeup, I was greatly sobered and I immediately started getting into the story. I love the unconventional plot! Such modern uniqueness, such wonderful creativity. For once this year, I was moved in several scenes. And the newest actress I have fallen in love with is Cha Ye-ryeon (차예련). She looks smart and sophisticated, captivating me at first sight. Her character is all that I personally wish to be.

Here is what a critic said:
 'MBMD' is so humorous and fun, that it would be almost impossible for young women to keep their eyes away from the screen, and they will at least nod once in agreement to the concerns that the four women face.
But it also has some lacking areas for men to sympathize with. It makes you wonder if the rich man Suk Woo (Lee Yong Woo), who's life mission is simply to hunt women and Soo Hwan (Lee Chun Hee), a loser who has just entered the society, are too dichotomized.
And it may also lose some sympathy from men because the movie doesn't allow the clubbing and brand name crazed women to be labeled as 'Dwen Jang Nyus (brand name items/expensive lifestyle crazed girls)'.

http://yooneunhye.net/forums/topic/my-black-mini-dress-movie-review

There you go, 4 out of 5 stars. Everything is perfect except for the strong hints of Sex and the City (*shivers*). Give it a try; maybe you'll find your first fave Korean star too. Great for watching with girlfriends and the family (maybe, maybe not the kids). The film is a wonderful mix of the sad and the happy, the funny and the serious.

Okay, see you on Wednesday for a review on a Chinese martial arts movie.

借りぐらしのアリエッティ, Arrietty the Borrower: A Magical, Inspirational Experience



Best way for foreigner's the watch an Asian film: ORIGINAL language and subtitles!



Arrietty The Borrower is a film based on Mary Norton’s fantasy novel The Borrowers,  by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. It was released in July 2010, and after it made Animation of the Year, has become a classic in Japan.

The story is a simple one, a romance between a sick, lonely boy (Sho) from the city with a ‘miniature’ girl (Arrietty) living with her family, the Borrowers, who borrow things from giant ‘human beans’, underneath his grandmother’s grandiloquent home (maybe the Borrower’s are all just the lonely boy’s desperate fantasy?). The plot is full of action and emotion, enough to get me hovering on the edge of my seat. Beyond the twisting plot, Yonebayashi’s art was also simply breathtaking. The two most lovely artistic things are the girl’s intricate little house decorated with little trinkets the family ‘borrowed’ and also – strange as this may seem – the weird way Yonebayashi creates tears: instead of creating to translucent lines as most manga drawers do, he makes them almost bubbly, as if containing all the sadness inside each drop…

At the end, it gave me inspiration to be as courageous and caring as the main protagonist, Arrietty. Also, the way the miniature family treated such a small thing like a leaf or a cube of sugar so preciously (“This could last us a whole year!” says Arrietty’s fretty mother) makes me think, “Wow, I should appreciate these small things!” Of course, their home gave me a big urge to redecorate my own shabby room.

Here are some things critics have said:

1. Studio Glibi has done it again. Arietty, inspired by the Borrowers novels of Mary Norton, is an incomparably beautiful story which effortlessly draws the viewer into a rarified world where a bay leaf makes a decent raincoat and cockroaches are the size of Shetland ponies. Delicate, thoughtful and visually unmatched by almost anything we can think of. (IMBD.com)

2. From the opening shot we are treated to the warmth, vibrancy and detail which has made many people across the world and of all ages fall in love with Studio Ghibli’s releases. (http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/)

Oh, another plus: the gorgeous music!!

I shall give this manga movie 4 out of 5 stars. The star taken off is for the (somewhat) unoriginality of the plot – prince and princess, classic love story – although the details were pretty imaginative. Followers, please watch, please watch! It’ll be a great experience, especially with the whole family. 

Alright! Time for a new Chinese comedy this Saturday; don't wanna miss that!