Concrete Utopia is a great movie

Quote: Concerning the totals disaster surrounding them, “Honestly, there is no difference between a murderer and a Pastor.” From Concrete Utopia.

Whenever there is a total disaster with little possibility of relief forth coming, the first thing to go is humanity. Looking out for only self rises to a heightened level in many people. When resources are at a minimum, and vital resources like food, clothing and shelter are limited, the “have nots” get most fierce.

Concrete Utopia looks at such a situation, created by a disaster which leveled most all of the country, and how people react to this situation. Disaster uncovers an unbalance of power, with people seizing authority. Decisions are made as to who to help and why. Distribution of resources is usually uneven. In Concrete Utopia, people try to make order out of disorder. Society breaks down, as the unworthy try to seize control. This movie did a great job depicting the stress and duress of living in a total disaster situation. Right or wrong, the hard decisions they chose to make called for hypocritical resolutions. When some of your resources are outside of your controlled area, this also should govern the decisions you make. There are a lot of lessons to learn from this movie. You will have lots of head talk after viewing it.

This disaster takes place in a country which does not promote gun ownership. The outcome would have been so totally different in any of the 24 states in the U S which allows concealed carry of guns. I am not saying that this would be a good thing, to own a gun. Frankly, the mess created would have just been bigger.

Read More

When you buy into the premise, you have an excellent, thrilling movie.

Premise of the movie.

Earth is about to go extinct, because of natural and man-made factors. Earth Scientists have proposed to move the earth to another location in the Solar System. Until then, earthlings will live underground. The water levels of the earth are expect to rise considerably.

Let’s get the Science out of the way first. Some of the science leaves a lot of questions.

NONETHELESS!

Having said this, any movie is based on you buying into the premise. Buying into the premise starts the movie at zero instead of a negative value. Then the movie can began to entertain you.

I want to remind people who scuff at the premise of this movie, do you really think that humanoid shaped persons can fly in the sky unaided mechanically (Superman)? Do you believe that you can transport/teleport someone with their clothes on (Star Trek)? Escapism is all based on accepting the premise and moving on.

Accepting the Premise and moving on.

The movie has cool gadgetry, great action with great CGI, seamless embedded miniaturization shots, and great imaginative mechanical vehicles and machinery. There is an interesting mix of international actors. Given the unbelievable premise, is Wondering Earth entertaining? Oddly enough, yes. An exhausting Yes!! You quickly get invested into the characters and there is lots of entertaining action. It is a go, if you can hold your scientifically lifted nose. This world that is created for the movie ‘Wondering Earth’ looks amazing. Wandering Earth is a great SyFy Action Thriller and there is a part 2.

And for ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ fans, yes, there is a HAL 9000.


Troubling Science

The earth is in the Goldilocks Zone, just perfect for the right temperatures for earth. If moved away from the sun, there will be a deep freeze. How do you compensate for climate changes long term if the earth is moved?

Outside forces like the sun act on the earth to keep the earth in its orbit. How do you get around these forces holding the earth in its place? How do you break the force of the sun on the earth?

There is a lot of cosmic debris in Space in our solar system which could alter the travel route of such a plan to move the earth toward Jupiter.

What is the possible impact on your new neighborhood near Jupiter, as a result of moving the earth into its space?

What in tarnation is big enough or powerful enough to move the earth?

Read More

Why people don’t understand the Male Lead, but should.

Lee Soo (Played by Ong Seong-wu from At Eighteen)

More Than Friends (2020) is about a woman who is friend-zoned by the ML Character for 10 years, starting with High School. Lee Soo is so hated by so many viewers as obnoxious, selfish, and self-centered and this character earns these strips by his actions (seemingly). This is one Korean drama where the Second Lead is the overwhelming favorite to get the girl by the viewing public. Why do I feel that this character is misunderstood? His actions are a result of his childhood trauma. The parents of Lee Soo got divorced when his was a kid. They hated each other. After divorcing, the parents got along more civilly. Lee Soo was schooled about romance from the bad example of his parents. They got along with each other as long as they were not married. This fostered the notion in Lee Soo that it was better to be friends with the one you love. The girl in question (FL) never picked up on this, and neither did she see all the endearing ways all through their lives where Lee Soo secretly helped and rescued her, because he did so behind the shadows. Is it not true that our first example of love, affection, and romance are parents mostly, as a good or bad example? I was so in tuned to this character. This is one of my highest rated Korean dramas. Others score this drama lower, maybe in part because they don’t fully grasp the character.

Read More

Mr Perfect was not perfect, but was fun

The tone was set for this movie when the Korean assistance who was not proficient in English was told that she could speak Korean and he would speak English, because he understands Korean. The voice in my head said, “Yeah, but will she understand every English sentence he speaks?

Anyway, the proper tittle for the movie is ‘Seducing Mr Perfect’ and it was a cute cliché movie that featured multitalented stars of that time in 2006. ‘Seducing Mr Perfect’ is not a ground breaking movie, nor is the movie about seducing anyone. The term seducing is used in an outdated way. In updated English, this movie could have been called Catching Mr Right.

Quote: I want to fall in love with a man and not feel lonely.
Quote: A woman who has just been dumped needs a shoulder to cry on, not a critic.

Seducing Mr Perfect (2006) stars Korean actress Uhm Jung-hwa (Dr Cha) and Korean American actor Daniel Henney (Hawaii Five O, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds: Beyond the Boarder). These two make a really cute couple, so the movie is not a total waste of time. I even enjoyed it.

Read More

Elegant and Graceful

My Dearest (2023)

With some Korean actors, you just learn to trust their judgement in picking great Korean Dramas in which to act. I took on this drama ‘My Dearest’, because of the actor Namkoong Min. Within minutes of viewing, I knew that I made the right decision for me.

The period covered in the story, pasted around actual factual history, is 1636-1659 CE. ‘My Dearest’ starts out in 1659 and goes back to 1636 for the backstory. Lots of period Korean culture is on display in this drama, including historic instrumental music. The historian for this drama did a great research job.

Joseon gets embroiled between the Chinese Jin and Ming Dynasties, plus the Japanese. The Chinese barbarians, with a huge military force, declares war on Joseon. The Chinese are a skilled fighting force. They come up against the drafted Joseon intellectual and political elite who seem as rag-tag against this dominating military presence. Based on this backdrop is a beautifully emerging story of forever love.

Quote: “Have you ever heard the sound of flowers in bloom? I heard that rare sound today (when he first met her).” Male Lead gazing into the eyes of the Female Lead.

The Male Lead character Lee Jang-hyu is arrogant and worldly-wise. The Female Lead character Yoo Gil-chae is very conceited and forceful. This is a playful match. ‘My Dearest’ is such a realistic Korean Drama, with realistic people who have huge faults. In addition, much attention is paid to building these characters, each with unusual personalities. ‘My Dearest’ is rich storytelling, unique dramatization blended into historical facts. Many are going to find this drama intriguing. There is sword fighting in this drama.

I think that ‘My Dearest’ could be an Insta-Classic at its present meteoric ratings pace.

Two really good actors stack the cast. Watch for their facial expressions, those little nuances which raises an actor above the crowd.

Namkoong Min (Hot Stove League, Remember: War of the Sun) playing Lee Jang-hyu is a dubious and mysterious nobleman. Ahn Eun-jin (More Than Friends) playing Yoo Gil-chae is an erasable spoiled Aristocrat. They are a hot couple who will draw you right in. This Korean Drama is a go for me.

Chinese comparison Drama is Love Like the Galaxy.

Read More

50 Days to be her lover

My cutesy school drama ‘Be My Boyfriend’ is about a standup guy enamored over the school “Hot Girl”. Miss Hotness needs somebody to pretend to be her new boyfriend so she can dump her no good soon to be ex. Miss Hotness enters a 50 day contract to carry out the rouse and on a lark picks our “steady but ready” ordinary guy. After the contract ends, each can walk away. He gives himself 50 days to change her mind and to show her that love can come in an unusual package, and for her to let the temporary job become permanent.

This couple was so cute, the pair got picked for a story arc as a couple in the Korean drama Sh**ting Stars. Literally, their arc in Sh**ting Stars was the funniest arc in the whole drama. So many video compilations have been put out on their story arc in Sh**ting Stars. Both of these actors’ careers have taken off after being in Be My Boyfriend, and deservedly so.

Actors are Lee Si-Woo and Shin Hyun Seung.

Actor Shin Hyun Seung is getting another starring role in his 2023 drama Han River, coming up shortly. Actress Lee Si-Woo can be seen in My Lovely Liar 2023. I love these guys’ acting potential.

Read More

All You Need Is Love.

I am spas-zing over some Korean school dramas that are very realistic. One is Love Revolution. Is it about this boy who is willing to give his all to this girl who is not giving him the time of day. He has a band of brothers who are also “Dateless in Korea”. However, when she does come around the drama explores very realistic interpersonal relationships among teens in the story arcs. You will find someone in the group of story arcs where you will say, “Yea. That’s Me”. It stars one of my favorite K-pop Artist/Actor Park Jihoon.

Story Arcs cover teen starving to lose weight, falling for you friends girlfriend or boyfriend, overlooking the great smart guy (because you go after the popular guy), teen fashion obsession, feeling like you will never get tall, parental abuse, and becoming part of the popular crowd.

Read More

Tomorrow With You is a great Time -Travel Korean Drama

The time-travel concept was unusual, and the time-travel parameters were inventive.

Time-Travel was launched from a moving train. The time-traveler could only move forward in time and not backward. After a time period caught up with him, he could no longer go back to this time, even if he had visited this time period in the past. He could go forward to that time only if it was in the future. “This is not a spoiler”. Ultimately, his goal was to stop his death. He saw in the distant future how he would die. We all see this in the first minute of the drama. He spends the whole drama trying to avoid his death, trying to fix the problems. Will he ends up creating a bigger mess as he time-travels? Along the way, he realizes that the key to changing his future is tied up with this girl.

The ending is fantastic and there are lots of twists and turns.

Read More

Kim Young Dae gets to me with his bedroom eyes

Forbidden Marriage is my passion. Many have tried to start the buzz talk about this Korean Drama.

Actors Kim Young Dae, Park Ju Hyun, And Kim Woo Seok

Who to choose? I really can’t choose between male First and Second Leads. I could date either male lead. This is a laugh-out-loud romp which morphs into serious drama just like Mr Queen. Male First Lead Kim Young-dae does it again. I reported previously how he heated up the cameras in Sh**ting Stars. With his bedroom alluring glances, Kim Young-Dae takes the roam out of romance and makes you want to settle down. Second Lead Kim Woo-seok is your “steady and ready” choice. Mr Perfection with no need for improvement. He has the comfort zone appeal, in a good way. Kim Woo-seok has done musical theater and can be seen in Rookie Cops. I loved both characters each played.

Read More

This is a great uncomplicated Chinese movie. Perfect for a little downtime.

This movie is not too complicated and has just enough romance to perk up a Saturday by yourself.

Quote: Many years later, they meet again. "It's not that I've fallen in love again. In reality, I've never stopped loving you." From the movie All These Years.

Sun Qian Actress (A Robot in the Orange Orchard)
Zhang Xin Cheng Singer Actor (Skate to Love)

Country girl lost in the big city after she comes to town to attend boarding school. She was top of her class at home. However, now thrust into a situation where she is among all the top students from all areas, she feels lost, intimated, and alone. She feels pressured to achieve, that is until she meets a suave popular rich boy who takes a liking to her and he takes her under his wing. This movie has great cinematography and a captivating storyline.

Thoughts from the movie

One significant thing that is highlighted in this movie is the elevation in worth of males over females by parents and grandparents in this Chinese culture.

The movie takes place in 2003 and 2019.

These two actors satellite each other perfectly, creating a perfect alignment of lovers. Both male and female leads give notable performances.

It is always funny how many people who have money say that they don’t need it.
He is totally sophisticated and cultured and she is so unworldly-wise.

Read More

Jung_E is a profound SyFy movie and a “must see”. I will explain it.

SyFy can be difficult to grasp sometimes. Jung_E is a brain twister. It takes you in one direction, then abruptly goes in another. If you don’t make the twist you are thrown off the bus. Jung_E is an intellectually profound SyFy movie. I am compelled to explain it. Contains Spoilers.

Jung_E

The movie Jung_E takes place in a dystopian world. Earth is under evacuation to Space, because of flooding covering the earth. Some eighty satellite worlds have been constructed in Space to hold humans. Now, some of the satellite worlds are at war to claim domination. There is always a political faction who wants to rule others. The world needs a fighting force. This force will be made up of AI robots patterned after this Legendary Female Commander.

When we have to read subtitles and try to absorb very relevant information, sometimes the brain does not keep up.

Premise is stellar
SyFy look is through the roof
Woman fighter and leader is a thumbs up
Set and Costume design is through the roof

EXPLANATION OF THE MOVIE

In the opening scene, we view combat action with the Legendary Female Commander. She is single-handedly taking down an army of Cyborg warriors, but then she is killed. Right before she is killed, you clearly see her pause. Abruptly in the next scene, you find out that you were looking at a simulation. You further find out that “The powers that be” are trying to perfect this AI warrior for mass production and profit. However, the Warrior always stops at the very same point in each simulation improvement. Why? This is the first brain twister, taking you in a different direction from thinking you are seeing real combat, but you are viewing a simulation.

It is revealed that one of the Scientists is actually the daughter of this deceased Legendary Female Warrior. She has been brought on to guide this project. However, why is the AI always stopping at this same point? The daughter figures out that in the midst of fighting the Cyborgs the Legendary Female Warrior loses a little finger size doll that she carries, which was given to her then young daughter (Now grown Scientist). At this point, the Legendary Female Warrior always spots this doll amidst the fighting, distracting her long enough to be shot by the Cyborgs. This is an anomaly, because the AI Warrior should not recognize her human past. The Legendary Female Warrior AI is evolving after all these tons of simulations. The daughter picks up on this and this notion is confirmed when the two actually meet and the Legendary Female Warrior recognizes her.

The second brain twister come when we are introduced to the fact that the Head Scientist is actually a Cyborg too. The mega-mad “owner of it all” is a dilettante (person who takes up a subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way) and these Artificially Intelligent constructs are toys to him to dispose of at will.

The third brain twist is when we learn that the program will be shut down, especially since they have not figured out how to advance past this certain point (Even though the daughter knows the secret). The dilettante chooses to scrap all the remaining Legendary Female Warriors and throw them away (so the daughter is told), because the warring factions resolved their differences by negotiation. The Legendary Female Warrior is no longer a source of potential profit.

Now for the fourth most profound brain twist. To the daughter, literally, they want to throw her mom in the trash. This does not sit well with her. She is use to working with her deceased mom daily. What is even more disturbing is that the daughter finds out that the dilettante is not going to toss all those Legendary Female Warriors in the trash. He is going to make them into sex toys to sell for profit. What??? After learning this, the daughter activates the main unit, which is the one evolving into sentience (or humanness) and helps her to escape. The daughter also steals the unit information needed to activate the remaining Legendary Female Warriors. This gets the ordinal Jung_E into the open and sets up the potential for Jung_E, the second movie or this SyFy premise could be used or should be used to make a Korean Drama.

Read More

Cha Eun Woo, Yes!!!

Based on the Naver Webtoon of the same name by Lee Hey.

To be honest, my first thought was to pass up this one, because the premise sounded boring and stupid. However, I saw that A Good Day to Be a Dog was running a rate of 9.8/10 from the viewing audience, so I took a chance. This drama has a stacked cast and is surprisingly good, bad premise and all. The story is about this teacher who turns into a dog at night if a guy kisses her, but returns to normal in the morning. While this did not sound good on paper, I am likening the series, based one its beginning episodes. It is hilarious.

And it’s a cute dog that steals the show.

Cast

Park Gyu-young (Celebrity, Dali and the Cocky Prince), Cha Eun Woo (Rookie Historian, True Beauty), and Lee Hyun-woo (The Liar and His Lover, Moorim School: Saga of the Brave).

Read More

This Korean Drama has a little bite to it.

This is an interesting drama. How do you categorize it? This is the story about the youngest son of the richest chaebol. He is pampered and a social media darling, but his greatest passion is to be a SWAT team member. This dismays his dad. It stars Ahn Bohyun. He is famous for his sculpted body and it is on display in the drama. That is just the gravy. What I really like about Flex X Cop is the actual Police drama part. Everything looks so realistic and orchestrated to have a real crime scene feel. In addition, the drama has some of the cleanest “fight” action I have seen in a drama. Ahn Bohyun must be a real AMA fighter. His “fight” movement is so authentic and crisp. It did not look forced and pretentious, like regular drama fight scenes do.

The drama also has a strong female lead, Park Ji-Hyun. Please, really pay attention to the fight scenes! At first, I was going to pass up Flex X Cop, but this drama really has a little teeth to it. I am going to go with this one. Flex X Cop is interestingly entertaining.

Ahn Bohyun—See You In My 19th Life, Yummy Cells, Military Prosecutor Doberman, and Descendants of the Sun.

Park Ji-Hyun—I love this actress from Reborn Rich, Rookie Historian,The King In Love and Do You Like Brahms?

Read More

A Journey to Love is intensely exciting and well worth your viewing time.

A Journey to Love is possibly the Chinese Period Drama Epic for the year 2023. It’s star, Liu Yu Ning (The Long Ballard), seems mostly to get the characters who are the odd man out. If most turn right, his character’s natural inclination is to turn left. This character fits the acting personality of Liu Yu Ning. At 6’2”, Liu Ye Ning has a full presence in each drama scene.

A Journey to Love Wuxia (Chinese Martial Arts Drama) does not have religious overtones. However, this drama does cover virtues or paths. The drama enumerates six and one each of the main characters in this drama embody each attribute.

Help for defining the different paths or virtues.

Liudao Hall was founded by Taizu. It specializes in detective work.

Characters: Yuan Lu, Yu Shisan, Ning Yuan Zhou, Qian Zhao, Sun Lang


The Three Virtue Paths.
1. The Heaven Path encompasses royal security. (Qian Zhao)
2. The Human Path monitors officials. (Sun Lang)
3. Asura Path monitors prostitution. (Yu Shisan)

The Three Evil Paths or Scouts
1. The Hungry Ghost Path are those good at making traps (Yuan Lu)
2. The Animal Path specialize in spying ¥¥¥ Ren Ru Yi / Ren Xin
3. The Hell Path are the assassins. (Ning Yuan Zhou)

There is great cinematography and great use of unique camera angles, which keep the mind busy.

The Story

The women of the Scarlet Guard are from the Animal Path. They do not specifically get intensive training in martial arts. This lack leaves them defenseless at times, when carrying out their duties. However, several do have acute Martial Arts skills, like Ren Ru Yi / Ren Xin (Liu Shi Shi from Sound of the Desert). From where does this come?

Someone amongst the Royals seems to be trying to wipe out this lowly rank, and almost succeeds. However, one escapes. She is exquisitely trained in knife or blade work. Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) is a clear witted and cunning assassin from the Hell Path. Throw in the very handsome Allen Fang (The Long Ballard) playing a very unusual character named Yu Shi San. This story is intensely charming, complicated and entertaining. A Journey To Love is worth your time commitment.

There is much court intrigue, action, and romance in A Journey To Love. This is an insta-classic.

Read More

Wonderfully delightful

King, The Land is fantastic and this drama does not disturb the Arab community in general, outside of a vocal minority of Netizens. I am not going to tell people how to get offended, but ‘King, The Land’ places in the top five in viewership of all dramas in most all of the Arab countries, according to their rating system during the so-called “controversy” period July 2023.

Lee Jun Ho (K-pop group 2PM, Kdrama The Red Sleeve) picks his dramas well. This cute little drama number showcases the multiple layered acting talents of the Baeksang Arts Award (Korean Oscars) winning actor. King, The Land is set in the high end Hotel business, where a sister and a brother vie for the position of Head of the Company, as their aging father seeks to retire. These two siblings are anything but nice to each other. This is partly due to the chip on the shoulders of the truculent brother. Along the way, “Mr Apprehensive” spreads his negative affection to all, including a sweet, ever patient and smiling Hotel trainee, as they continue to get in each other’s way. I found myself laughing a lot. King, The Land is a funny RomCom. This is my first drama seeing Lee Jun-ho in a comedic role. He is nailing it.

Lee Jun-ho gives his standard excellent performance as the loner Gu Won, the son of the hotel magnate. Junho plays his character as a politely caustic straight-shooter. I look at little things. I love the way Junho uses his hands in this drama. They get me every time. They are so expressive and articulate, as emotions are produced with this form of acting called ‘body language’. In addition, watch his ever expressive eyes. The love interest for King, The Land is Im Yoon-ah (K-pop group Girls Generation and K-drama Big Mouth and K2). She is the bubbly, very positive and helpful Hotel trainee, who smiles a lot. For some reason, these are all traits that Gu Won hates. The sister is played by Kim Sun-Young as Gu Hwa-Ran. I can not believe that this is her first credited acting performance. She is doing excellently with all her screen time.


I am marking King, The Land as a go for me. It passed my 15 min “love it or leave it” test in 10 minutes.


I am falling in love again.


And there must be an umbrella.

Read More