I agree about LJS. He is a case study of botox side effects! lol But I liked the movie and its plot.
Don't know if you're still around, but to me the problem is not botox, it's that SM or one of the other management agencies he was under talked him into having half his nose removed. I think his lips here are near-exploding with collagen too. In profile he looks like a Barbie doll. Sad too, as I'm sure he was handsome before disfiguring himself.
Wow. Near-flawless political/criminal thriller. Don't know what else I could ask for. Have so state again how I NEVER watched this sort of thing before discovering Asian cinema. Whatever Hollywood gets wrong with this kind of thing, at least as it concerns me, Korean/Japan get every damn thing right.
What a kick-ass cast, eh?
It really is too bad that SM Entertainment or one of the other despicable Korean entertainment giants, had half of Lee Jong Suk's nose removed. He played the part of the psychopath very well, but every time he was in closeup all I saw was an extreme nose-job and lips pumped full of collagen. In profile, he looks like a Barbie doll. As he matures, he is going to regret having that shit done to his face.
Dropping halfway through. For me, the focus isn't staying tightly enough on the relationship between the ML and the little girl. Too much predictable, wonderful-people-in-the-country schmaltz to keep my interest all the way.
The ML is very appealing, the little girl is adorable and is acting the deaf/blind thing very well. Just not working for me enough to see it through.
There is nothing hotter than watching Gong Woo run full-out in his tight suit pants. The man is beyond fine. And a great actor too, as demonstrated in other non-walking-dead-people movies.
I am not a big fan of zombie flicks in general but there are a few that left me breathless. Listed below by preference:
Train To Busan World War Z 28 Days Later 28 Weeks Later Shaun of the Dead
That's it. There are five zombie movies I consider worth watching. Train to Busan is #1 on that list.
This was hardly portrayed as being as easy as "changing clothes." If you have to misrepresent what it is you're…
Gosh, here you are again replying to me and beating up on me and trying to provoke me again...I guess because you're very mature and have lots of other things to do. 😂😂😂
Kim Nam Gil is a fave actor of mine but this is a dull slog. I like slow-burn films but they have to be done well. This one isn't. Sloppy script confuses having HIV with having AIDS from the beginning.
Apparently, the FL is a bad actress. See her in three flicks now; always something off about her performance. Her early confession to the magician scene in the van was embarrassing.
Excuse me. But in what way was switching identities here portrayed as being "easy?" Secondly, the point was clearly…
I'd argue that it's simply not possible for one human to share ALL of themselves with another. We are each an island, yes?
Given all we've speculated on, that bit at the end with cutting off the lawyer in mid-sentence seems a bit...cheesy.
How creepy was it when the bitch wife basically told the lawyer to "get over it and get back to being yourself?" Hell, she doesn't care if that other self he's been presenting is authentic or not, it's the one that fits her expectations and that's all that matters to her. She made not one effort to comfort him or talk him through his angst.
Plus, he made it clear, even though he denied it, that part of his obsession was a feeling that he was running away from...HER.
Honestly, I thought the lawyer's dad also killed someone. I could be remembering it incorrectly, but as I watched I saw the lawyer pause to look at himself in the reflection of a window and what he saw was a young boy. Then the young boy started walking and it became the scene where he comes home to a bloody hell. So how is it the memory of the lumberjack if it's the lawyer's reflection we see have that experience?
To me, that was why the lawyer does what he does professionally...he too is very conflicted about who he is genetically as tied to a killer. No?
Excuse me. But in what way was switching identities here portrayed as being "easy?" Secondly, the point was clearly…
Well, I took the twist to be that the lawyer had assumed another identity, married the mom and was raising the older boy and little girl with her. But I saw your message to me and it's more likely he's just fantasizing about living some life, combining that of the hot springs owner's brother and the dead lumberjack. But why would he stay with that bitch wife of his after finding out she was cheating on him?
However, if he really was with the mom and kids at the end, what would he be doing sitting alone in a bar at night drinking when he could be home with them? It seems he's probably divorced and living a very lonely existence. So why not calm the mom and hookup with her?
Did you take from flashbacks that the lawyer was also the son of a murderer? The one who came to find his dad covered in blood, who handed him bloody money? I probably need to rewatch the whole flick, actually, now that I'm wondering these things.
This was hardly portrayed as being as easy as "changing clothes." If you have to misrepresent what it is you're…
It's always entertaining when people waste time posting replies to other people to tell them they won't be "wasting time" replying to them anymore. lol Got it.
This was hardly portrayed as being as easy as "changing clothes." If you have to misrepresent what it is you're…
Don't call me "sweetie," Sweetie.
You said switching identities was represented in this movie as being "as easy as changing clothes." That is a deliberate mischaracterization of what was shown in the plot, Sweetie, and thus the point you are trying to make is lame.
You think just because of digital tech, facial rec, etc. that switching identities is impossible. I disagree. There are ALWAYS people who are three steps ahead of the tech we know about and who know how to get around it...Sweetie.
"The script was so bad that Kim Hyung Min forgot to act. Joo Young Soo also had zero depth, unrootable, and was the same zzzzz character throughout."
lol It's clear you have no idea what you're babbling about. The fact you're a fan of the Vengeance trilogy is evidence enough that you have scenery-chewing and acting confused as being the same thing. They're not.
Kim Myung Min is a spectacularly talented and effective actor. I saw him a couple of days ago as Korea's president in "Pandora." He nailed that role just as well as he did this one.
His incredible hotness lies not so much in his looks, though those don't hurt either, but in his natural charisma, charm and ability to naturalistically evoke emotions. I 100% believe him in every role.
The only drawback to this movie are a couple of plot contrivances I could have done without. Other than that, just a great flick. The girl, the mother, the detective, the kidnapper, all are beautifully acted.
The fact that the wife was cheating on Kido was disgusting and made me so mad. My head canon is that he assumes…
I agree with your "head canon," lol
However, I'd suggest you ease up on judging other people and their behavior as "disgusting." You might find yourself on the other side of that judgementalism one day. Or are you not human? Given earlier hints as to that person's character and priorities, the behavior in question did not come as a surprise and gave the other party a perfect reason to escape from an unhappy situation. Looked at in that way, the behavior was actually a good thing, no?
Okay but not great given this movie won many awards in Japan. I wonder did people in Japan can easily impersonate…
Excuse me. But in what way was switching identities here portrayed as being "easy?" Secondly, the point was clearly made that if someone began to really dig into a false identity with the aim of getting at the truth, then all was likely to be revealed. But in how many cases does that happen? 99% of people we meet take us to be who we say we are, and vice-versa.
And as for the very final twist, I'm pretty sure the dude, being an expert in the field, covered his tracks with the utmost perfection. He will never be found out.
This was hardly portrayed as being as easy as "changing clothes." If you have to misrepresent what it is you're critiquing to make a point, then your point isn't valid.
Went in completely blind as to whether this would be of interest to me. Ummm...YES.
Great story, great sub-plot regarding the Japanese obsession with imagining themselves to somehow be racially superior to Koreans. Fuck, they've been invading and mixing with Koreans for thousands of years. There is no Japanese "race." Get a grip.
Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ando Sakura and Kubota Masataka are expertly cast and each actor's performance is perfection. Watching Sakura's face in closeup in the opening scene, before anything at all took place, was a master class in acting without "acting." She is stunning in this part.
Film did a good job of walking me through the identities as they piled up, just often enough to keep me, who can get lost in such things, clear on what information had been discovered and how it related to everything else.
LOVE how things wrapped up, so unexpectedly. Talk about MASSIVE dramatic events portrayed with understated, low-key perfection...wow.
9.5/10
As always on MDL the best films are dramatically underrated.
A few touching/wrenching emotional moments toward the end but the lame FX and the bad romantic comedy/slapstick first hour during which we are supposed to have connected to the characters, but which did not work, wrecked the show.
Then, the science of earthquakes & tsunamis, which is known in detail especially in that area of Asia, was tossed as far away as you can imagine in the writing and plot development of this movie. Tsunamis do not gain their height until they hit shallow waters. The shockwave from the underwater earthquakes that cause most Tsunamis travels along the BOTTOM of the ocean, not the freaking top. Boats at sea may barely notice a Tsunami that becomes a monster killer once it hits land.
Also, most of them come in an extremely fast-rising, relentless tide, not a 50-story tall wave. lol Pathetic. Youtube is full of videos that will show you the real thing if you're interested.
I am pissed that the writers killed off the beautifully handsome Lee Min Ki, who was one of the saving graces of the film. The boy and girl actors were very good. Actually, there was a lot of fine comedic and dramatic acting, but in service to such a bad script and cheap CGI it was all a waste. The wave portion was almost an afterthought.
A few touching/wrenching emotional moments toward the end but the lame FX and the bad romantic comedy/slapstick first hour during which we are supposed to have connected to the characters, but which did not work, wrecked the show.
Then, the science of earthquakes & tsunamis, which is known in detail especially in that area of Asia, was tossed as far away as you can imagine in the writing and plot development of this movie. Tsunamis do not gain their height until they hit shallow waters. The shockwave from the underwater earthquakes that cause most Tsunamis travels along the BOTTOM of the ocean, not the freaking top. Boats at sea may barely notice a Tsunami that becomes a monster killer once it hits land.
Also, most of them come in as an extremely fast-rising, relentless tide, not a 50-story tall wave. lol Pathetic. Youtube is full of videos that will show you the real thing if you're interested.
I am pissed that the writers killed off the beautifully handsome Lee Min Ki, who was one of the saving graces of the film. The boy and girl actors were very good. Actually, there was a lot of fine comedic and dramatic acting, but in service to such a bad script and cheap CGI it was all a waste. The wave portion was almost an afterthought.
1 
1 
Have so state again how I NEVER watched this sort of thing before discovering Asian cinema. Whatever Hollywood gets wrong with this kind of thing, at least as it concerns me, Korean/Japan get every damn thing right.
What a kick-ass cast, eh?
It really is too bad that SM Entertainment or one of the other despicable Korean entertainment giants, had half of Lee Jong Suk's nose removed. He played the part of the psychopath very well, but every time he was in closeup all I saw was an extreme nose-job and lips pumped full of collagen. In profile, he looks like a Barbie doll. As he matures, he is going to regret having that shit done to his face.
9.5/10
For me, the focus isn't staying tightly enough on the relationship between the ML and the little girl.
Too much predictable, wonderful-people-in-the-country schmaltz to keep my interest all the way.
The ML is very appealing, the little girl is adorable and is acting the deaf/blind thing very well.
Just not working for me enough to see it through.
I am not a big fan of zombie flicks in general but there are a few that left me breathless. Listed below by preference:
Train To Busan
World War Z
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Shaun of the Dead
That's it. There are five zombie movies I consider worth watching. Train to Busan is #1 on that list.
9.5/10
Apparently, the FL is a bad actress. See her in three flicks now; always something off about her performance. Her early confession to the magician scene in the van was embarrassing.
So...dropping. 1/10
Given all we've speculated on, that bit at the end with cutting off the lawyer in mid-sentence seems a bit...cheesy.
How creepy was it when the bitch wife basically told the lawyer to "get over it and get back to being yourself?" Hell, she doesn't care if that other self he's been presenting is authentic or not, it's the one that fits her expectations and that's all that matters to her. She made not one effort to comfort him or talk him through his angst.
Plus, he made it clear, even though he denied it, that part of his obsession was a feeling that he was running away from...HER.
Honestly, I thought the lawyer's dad also killed someone. I could be remembering it incorrectly, but as I watched I saw the lawyer pause to look at himself in the reflection of a window and what he saw was a young boy. Then the young boy started walking and it became the scene where he comes home to a bloody hell. So how is it the memory of the lumberjack if it's the lawyer's reflection we see have that experience?
To me, that was why the lawyer does what he does professionally...he too is very conflicted about who he is genetically as tied to a killer. No?
However, if he really was with the mom and kids at the end, what would he be doing sitting alone in a bar at night drinking when he could be home with them? It seems he's probably divorced and living a very lonely existence. So why not calm the mom and hookup with her?
Did you take from flashbacks that the lawyer was also the son of a murderer? The one who came to find his dad covered in blood, who handed him bloody money? I probably need to rewatch the whole flick, actually, now that I'm wondering these things.
Not gonna argue with you. There are always people who are three steps ahead of what we think is "current" tech.
You said switching identities was represented in this movie as being "as easy as changing clothes." That is a deliberate mischaracterization of what was shown in the plot, Sweetie, and thus the point you are trying to make is lame.
You think just because of digital tech, facial rec, etc. that switching identities is impossible. I disagree. There are ALWAYS people who are three steps ahead of the tech we know about and who know how to get around it...Sweetie.
lol It's clear you have no idea what you're babbling about. The fact you're a fan of the Vengeance trilogy is evidence enough that you have scenery-chewing and acting confused as being the same thing. They're not.
His incredible hotness lies not so much in his looks, though those don't hurt either, but in his natural charisma, charm and ability to naturalistically evoke emotions. I 100% believe him in every role.
The only drawback to this movie are a couple of plot contrivances I could have done without. Other than that, just a great flick. The girl, the mother, the detective, the kidnapper, all are beautifully acted.
9/10
However, I'd suggest you ease up on judging other people and their behavior as "disgusting." You might find yourself on the other side of that judgementalism one day. Or are you not human? Given earlier hints as to that person's character and priorities, the behavior in question did not come as a surprise and gave the other party a perfect reason to escape from an unhappy situation. Looked at in that way, the behavior was actually a good thing, no?
And as for the very final twist, I'm pretty sure the dude, being an expert in the field, covered his tracks with the utmost perfection. He will never be found out.
Went in completely blind as to whether this would be of interest to me. Ummm...YES.
Great story, great sub-plot regarding the Japanese obsession with imagining themselves to somehow be racially superior to Koreans. Fuck, they've been invading and mixing with Koreans for thousands of years. There is no Japanese "race." Get a grip.
Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ando Sakura and Kubota Masataka are expertly cast and each actor's performance is perfection. Watching Sakura's face in closeup in the opening scene, before anything at all took place, was a master class in acting without "acting." She is stunning in this part.
Film did a good job of walking me through the identities as they piled up, just often enough to keep me, who can get lost in such things, clear on what information had been discovered and how it related to everything else.
LOVE how things wrapped up, so unexpectedly. Talk about MASSIVE dramatic events portrayed with understated, low-key perfection...wow.
9.5/10
As always on MDL the best films are dramatically underrated.
A few touching/wrenching emotional moments toward the end but the lame FX and the bad romantic comedy/slapstick first hour during which we are supposed to have connected to the characters, but which did not work, wrecked the show.
Then, the science of earthquakes & tsunamis, which is known in detail especially in that area of Asia, was tossed as far away as you can imagine in the writing and plot development of this movie. Tsunamis do not gain their height until they hit shallow waters. The shockwave from the underwater earthquakes that cause most Tsunamis travels along the BOTTOM of the ocean, not the freaking top. Boats at sea may barely notice a Tsunami that becomes a monster killer once it hits land.
Also, most of them come in an extremely fast-rising, relentless tide, not a 50-story tall wave. lol Pathetic. Youtube is full of videos that will show you the real thing if you're interested.
I am pissed that the writers killed off the beautifully handsome Lee Min Ki, who was one of the saving graces of the film. The boy and girl actors were very good. Actually, there was a lot of fine comedic and dramatic acting, but in service to such a bad script and cheap CGI it was all a waste. The wave portion was almost an afterthought.
5/10
A few touching/wrenching emotional moments toward the end but the lame FX and the bad romantic comedy/slapstick first hour during which we are supposed to have connected to the characters, but which did not work, wrecked the show.
Then, the science of earthquakes & tsunamis, which is known in detail especially in that area of Asia, was tossed as far away as you can imagine in the writing and plot development of this movie. Tsunamis do not gain their height until they hit shallow waters. The shockwave from the underwater earthquakes that cause most Tsunamis travels along the BOTTOM of the ocean, not the freaking top. Boats at sea may barely notice a Tsunami that becomes a monster killer once it hits land.
Also, most of them come in as an extremely fast-rising, relentless tide, not a 50-story tall wave. lol Pathetic. Youtube is full of videos that will show you the real thing if you're interested.
I am pissed that the writers killed off the beautifully handsome Lee Min Ki, who was one of the saving graces of the film. The boy and girl actors were very good. Actually, there was a lot of fine comedic and dramatic acting, but in service to such a bad script and cheap CGI it was all a waste. The wave portion was almost an afterthought.
5/10