Who are you mister?

Fist of all, this movie was right for my taste. It doesn't have the suspenseful plots and twists or the multi-layered story like other great Korean thrillers, but that's not necessary. Sometimes it's best to be simple and straightforward, and this movie is like that. Clear, short, atmospheric, with great characters and an enigmatic protagonist who doesn't communicate much with words but with his attitude and actions. In another film, we would have learned more about the context of the story and about the motivations of the characters, but here it is not necessary. That is exactly what heightens the interest of the viewer, who can conclude for himself who and what kind of people the characters he is watching are.

Probably not all viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the film, but it kept me riveted and interested from beginning to end. The production and cinematography was great. From the characters, I liked the girl Inbi the most (young actress 류지안), she played her role very well, without much words.

And I'm very pleased with how it all ended, a bit absurd, but satisfying.

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Smuggling is not for everybody

Another one of those Korean films that is impossible to place in a specific genre. The atmosphere is a comedy, and the plot is a thriller, with elements of action, drama, and adventure. The film is at times casual and relaxed, and at times bloody brutal, as if I am watching two movies at the same time. In my opinion, the comedic elements are misused and prevent the viewer from enjoying the seriousness, tension and twists in the plot. The plot has a lot of twists and turns and thus constantly makes the movie more and more interesting.

The actors are very good and special praise and respect should be given to the female actors and stuntmen who spent a large part of the film diving underwater.

I also really like the choice of music. At times, the musical numbers seem forced as if they were selected on a jukebox, but I'll forgive that because I like the style of the music and even wish there was more of it. Actually, now after the movie I'm going to listen to some Korean trot and evergreens from the golden seventies.
And yes, one spoiler, at the end I even noticed some dolphins 😊

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Be yourself

This historical cooking drama is very good to watch but loses its balance from scene to scene trying to add so many things. While it is a enjoyable to watch, it has many details that bothered me so it is hard for me to recommend it. I really liked the meals (i always love seeing Korean cousin on screen), and then the dramatic tension in the family and also the question about balancing between expectations and requirements from a society that put a person into a box. So the message (Be yourself) is quite good - one should find his own path and fight for his freedom. I didn't like that the two male leads behave as children or maybe even like they are in love, also i was bothered by themes that weren't properly resolved and by the many scenes presented in a pathetic way trying to artificially stir emotion.

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Oh boy!

From the first scene you can guess correctly where this will go. I started watching it not knowing anything about it and after realizing that at the center is the relationship between two male friends I wanted this to be a show about just friendship, but it turned out to be LGTBQ+ story/propaganda with nice visuals but bad script and acting wasn't convincing. Everyone looked suspicious about the person questioning his identity but no one dared to say anything and the drama never became explicit about it's theme. The Epilogue was a surprise. It worked well from the story perspective but for me it further promoted the - I will say it again - propaganda.

For example there is a performer who they present as a man with female face but he obviously is a woman. So gay story was okay for the most part but wanting to present a man as a beautiful woman, oh boy, that turned me off. It took me four days to finish this drama and i finished it because it is a part of a Drama Special Series that i enjoy a lot and want to complete, and after watching all 225 episodes of the all 14 seasons this is the first one that I felt uncomfortable with.

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When nothing works

If you want to enjoy this drama don't read anything about the story because the excitement comes from the unexpected events and twists. The actors are not bad but, somehow, I didn’t have enough time to care for them and the flow of the movie is static and not that suspenseful as the story suggests. The main interest of the viewer is what happens next and how will the story connect the protagonists.

The atmosphere is melancholic, depressing and heavy so it is not for everybody, but if you want a good mystery give it a try. But maybe it would be better to just read the book.

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What is the GOAT life

There is a saying: Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. Well here in this short one hour comedy-romance-drama we have a student who wants to trick another student into love only to experience how love works in mysterious ways.

We indeed live in a society that promotes success more than love and it is hard to just take your time with life. Underneath the silly premise of this drama there is an important message about life. Maybe we don’t need to submit ourselves to the system, maybe we should change the system with a better life.

I enjoyed this drama a lot, the actors were cute, the scenes were funny and emotional, the production on a high level and the message is great. Maybe a little cheesy at the moments but still so adorable, even for me as a 40 year old guy.

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Basketball VS Football

I might be biased because basketball is my sport, but this drama was just right on every level. The desire of the main protagonist to play basketball when everyone is interested in football is a good allegory of the unique talents that every child brings and the difficulty to adjust to the group. Young actors were great. The story is simple yet very authentic and therefore emotional. It helps us grownups to understand children and their emotions which can be very complicated.

This drama manages to touch on many themes in only one hour of duration (sport, school, children, friendship, romance, family, …) and that makes it a great choice to watch. I still didn’t watch the entire “KBS Drama Special 2023” but for now this is my favorite of the season.

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Sport for Love

There is love for sport and there is sport for love. While watching this drama I remembered a meme with a picture of boys playing basketball. One boy is looking the girls at the stands and says: As I get older, I am less interested in Sport. At the same time a girl from the stands, while looking attracted to boys, says: As I get older, I am more interested in Sport.

So this drama is presenting itself as a sport romance comedy, about a female football (or soccer) player who can even compete against men, but we don’t get to see to much of football because there is a love story here also. As much as I appreciate the story in both dimensions, the connection between women gets the most screen time so that the drama actually doesn’t have a clear focus. Finally, the best part of this drama is Lee Yeon as Ko Do Hyun. She was very believable as a football player unlike other actresses.

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So harsh

Drama Special is a great format, sometimes too short, but sometimes just right. This episode is the later, short but impactful. The main lead is a competent good man but his fate seems to turn everything against him and he is falling deeper and deeper. This is the premise and it is best, not to know more but to just relax and watch it. In fact this is not a relaxing story because the story is so real and while watching i couldn't help but sympathize with people whose jobs are so stressful and complicated.

If you had time to read this review, please find an hour of your life to watch this drama. It has an important message and is very well made.

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All Actions have Consequences

This show started perfectly and it managed to stay fresh and interesting until the end. I couldn't stop thinking about it for two days until i finished it. I did took a break after every episode.

The style is a little bit quirky and even though this is an action thriller with a hint of supernatural, it also had some comical moments. I was bothered with some unnecessary scenes like for example two short nude scenes, but the biggest issue is that in the second half of the series the main character, Lee Tang paradoxically only has 5 minutes of screen time per episode since the story expanded to other characters. So the drama loses/changes it's original identity. All in all this was an exciting watch with great characters and actors who gave them life.

A great small detail in the drama is a book "Crime and Punishment" which must have inspired the creators and, after finishing this drama, i feel a desire to read the book also.

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A Birth of a Priest

For a long time I was searching for this movie, and finally I saw it and I must give it a 10/10 because I am so happy that it was made. This is not a typically entertainment movie but a historical biographical drama about the "adventures" of Andrew Kim Dae Geon, first Korean Priest.

The film is very long, but I watched it over four days with great excitement and interest, and that's why I wasn't bored at any point. I enjoyed every scene. The cinematography of the film is excellent. Every scene is detailed and beautiful as a photography. The actors are also very good. The flow of the plot is a bit fragmented as it covers a lot of topics and events, but that is understandable for this type of film. I think that those who are already familiar with the life of Andrew Kim will enjoy the film more because they will be able to recognize future saints in some of the characters along with the main character who is the trademark name of Korean saints.

Many elements from the film I already knew before, I have been to many places in Korea that are shown here, even on the small boat Rafael on Jeju Island. As a priest, I had a very emotional experience watching the challenges faced by the first Christians, accused of collaborating with foreign enemies and disrespecting the king, and especially the situation with priests who had to be ready for martyrdom and death.

That is the message of this movie. This is not about the birth of one man, but about the birth of a priest, the birth of a new Korea that will be open to the gospel, and a spiritual birth through baptism and martyr's blood, because what is death if not a new birth? Listen to the last words of the main character of this movie, priest Andrew Kim Dae geon: "I have held communication with foreigners only for my religion and my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is now on the point of birth."

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Everyone has a chance

I saw this movie by a chance so I would say that the director succeeded even though the main character in the movie tries to succeed with, what seems like a bad idea. He dreams of a blockbuster but insists of doing an erotic B-movie and is disappointed with constant failures. It is true that no achievement can be accomplished without failures. It is said that Thomas Edison produced 2000 bad lightbulbs before achieving success. So all those failures were necessary to discover a right way to do it. In this movie, a movie-director Seung Hoon fails at many steps but somehow he goes on and that is a good message.

The movie also reminds us of the limitations a problems caused by to Covid. The acting could have been better. I was surprised to see some American people here. The jokes weren't very funny to me but I will remember the movie in positive light because i enjoyed the selection of songs played in the background a couple of times.

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pleasing fantasy

Dr. Cheon is a likeable guy and the movie rightfully carries his name in the title. He also has his sidekicks, a small group of distinct characters. Unfortunately they weren't used much in the story. They are here mostly for show, but I can imagine them having more responsibilities in a sequel if they decide to make it.

I like this type of movies so the plot holes didn't bother me too much. There is adventure and fantasy, and a little bit of spirituality, and also action. Would like to see more movies like this from Korea. The atmosphere is great, especially in the first part where the comedy and a small bits of horror work well. At the end it becomes more and more generic but still very enjoyable and exciting. The runtime is good, not every movie needs to be 2-ghour long. All in all, not a masterpiece but a great relaxing evening movie.

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People are better than this

Let me start by saying that this is a horror movie without you realizing that it is a horror. It looks realistic and familiar with characters you meet in your daily life but with a twist that somehow always take the turn for the worst. So i understand the title "New normal" because this are the normal people in "new" shocking situations. The movie represents the new normal as if this is the new reality we live in but I strongly believe that humans in real world are much better then those in this movie.

Now what i liked and what i didn't like. I liked the actors, the music, the atmosphere, the production and the pace of the story. Everything was nicely done. I am not a fan of short stories because they mostly end up superficial, shallow and over simplistic, but in this movie they were purposely connected by presenting a nihilistic society.

And that is what i didn't like. My heart is not agreeing with the message of this movie. I believe in Jesus who died on the cross out of love to save the world which is opposite to the one small but important detail in the movie (a minor spoiler ahead!!!), and that is a fluorescent lamp in the shape of a cross with an inscription “F*** the World” that one of the main protagonists has on the wall. The movie suggest that you should trust the people and that the world is damned but i believe in good people and in salvation.

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I wanted to do good

Oh my, this was a long movie that makes me want to light up a candle and pray for the protagonists - man and woman living together. One of them actually does light a candle while working, maybe even praying, and the other said something that describes the movie for me. He said: I wanted to do good.

The society has an institution of marriage for a reason, for protection and support (the common good) of both husband and wife, and their children. The couple in this movie are just living together, they are friends, partners and lovers, they live in a consensual union where everything is good until it isn't. Paradoxically, the problems seem to start when the woman Jay gets pregnant . Would marriage make it easier for them? I argue that it would. I would say that this movie is an honest depictions of psychological and practical challenges of unexpected pregnancy not only for woman but also for man. The story takes an unexpected turn and the end is both negative and positive. Even if i would want to spoil the movie, i wouldn't be able to decide if the ending is good or bad. It is, just like in real life, the reality of so many relationships. Don't watch this movie for entertainment, watch it if you want to study relationships.

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