How To Woo A Girl: Kdrama Style
Monster Hunt
Country: China Year: 2015 Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Imagine a world where monsters and humans battle for their lives, and in this world there is a young mayor named Tian Yin. However, this mayor is crippled, and in all honesty, is more suited as a housewife than the protector of a village. One day he accidentally becomes impregnated by the queen of the monsters and gives birth to a tiny monster king. A monster hunter named Xiao Lan discovers his tiny secret and wants to keep it for herself. Follow the journey of these three as they battle friend and foe, changing the future of the world.
Why should you watch it?
This is one of my new favourite films. A friend recently recommended that I watch this, and to be honest, I was a little dubious. I’m very used to watching fantasy film, Asian ones in particular, where the whole CGI and special effect area are not very good… So I normally avoid these kinds of film. But as I told my friend I would watch this, I sat down one Thursday afternoon and watched it start to finish. It was one of the best things I’d seen all week. The CGI is amazing, thumbs up to the animators in this. The monsters are all very well done, to the point I could believe (as much as you can when watching a fantasy film) that the monsters were real. The comedy and drama are well balanced between scenes and I did cry at least once. I think what really made this film for me though, apart from the adorable monster king, was the reverse roles between the two leads. With the guy being the one who sews, cooks and knits his way through life, and the female being the badass who will fight anyone who touches her hubby or her baby. It’s not a common thing to see females being complete pushovers, which is nice. It’s a feel good-film which I’m desperately hoping will have a sequel!
Detroit Metal City
Country: Japan Year: 2008 Genre: Comedy, Manga, Music
With all his hopes and dreams, Soichiro Negishi moves from his rural town to the big city of Tokyo. All Soichiro wants to do is become a successful indie-pop musician, singing about happiness and dreams. However, despite his efforts, he somehow ends up the lead singer, or screecher depending on your view point, in a death metal band. Chancing upon his former college sweetheart who works for the latest hip new magazine, can he tell her that he sings in an ultra-heavy death metal band?!
Why should you watch this?
Well, it's another feel-good film and we need more of those in life! I must admit that at first, I absolutely hated the lead character in this, whether it was his attitude or just that he’s a very overplayed character, I don’t know, but it did take some time for him to grow on me. When he did and I just enjoyed and accepted this crazy film, I loved every part of it. Detroit Metal City had me in tears from laughing, and despite its foul, and occasionally offensive language, this weird and random film made it onto my favourites list. If you want a good laugh or a distraction, watch this film and remind yourself that if things don’t always go the way you want, it’s probably not that bad.
Just a heads-up though: there is quite a bit of violent and unpleasant lyrics in this, not that it takes anything away from the film, I just thought I should warn you as I didn’t expect it.
Private Eye
Country: South Korea Year: 2009 Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Taking us back to 1910, we follow the journey of an incompetent detective and a young medical student. Whilst looking for animal corpses to practice his medical procedures on, Kwang-Su discovers the body of an unknown man lying dead in the forest. Without asking questions, he takes the corpse home and uses it as a medical dummy. However, the very next day, much to his surprise and horror, he discovers that the corpse he cut up only hours ago was the son of a high-ranking policeman. He recruits the help of detective Hong Jin to capture the true murderer and avoid becoming a suspect himself.
Why should you watch it?
Yes, this is a detective movie – not the most original story in the book, I know. However, the style and presentation of the film and the script are impeccable. The cinematography and costumes are beautiful, I love the way that they matched the 1910 setting with a more old-school filming type. It’s hard to describe, apart from beautiful. Plus, if you’re a fan of Sherlock and Watson, this is a must-watch, the detective duo have the bromance down to scratch. Although it’s not hard to guess approximately who the murderer is, they make up for it in side-stories, bromance and presentation. I must admit that when I realised why the murders were happening and the whole back story to that, I did feel a little ill. Why? You’ll have to watch and see! Without spoiling the story, all I can say is maybe don’t watch this film with your kids. There is blood, death, killing people, etc. You know. The normal things which come in mystery films. But otherwise, enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy these movies as much as I did, and I wish you all to have an awesome weekend! ^^
