I Can Speak movie review

Movie name: I Can Speak

Country: South Korea

Year: Sept 2017

This movie was featured on the Disqus kdrama channel some time ago... It caught my eye because of the actor Lee Je Hoon, and I was curious to know what was the story about. I seldom watch Korean movies mainly because I am not very aware of their titles but it is always nice to watch something new... :D 

So, what's the movie about?

Rookie civil servant, Park Min Jae was just transfered to Seoul in the municipal council like office. His job was to file complaints from the public regarding facilities, amenities and etc. As all new brooms sweeps clean, Park was stickler for rules. He meets a halmoeni (grandma) on the first day of his job. 

This grandma named Na Ok-Boom is a resident "complainer"... Haha... Yes, she would be at that office almost every day to report on things so much until everyone there is scared of her. XD Her first encounter with Park was quite memorable... Hahah scary man, don't mess with this old lady!! 

She made sure to take numbers for the following occasions and Park could say nothing but to process her complaints. Aigoo! Told you don't mess with ladies... esp grandmas... XD 

So, the daily meetings between Park and the grandma wasn't as pleasant as you can already guess! ;D It was not until one day at a language centre that changed everything. Grandma Na was taking English classes there but it was not friendly towards older folks... :( All seemed hopeless until she bumped into Park downstairs. She was so excited to find out that he could speak English fluently and decided to ask him to teach her. 

Park asked her why she wanted to learn English but Grandma Na never said the reason. He refused her offer and she continued to harrass him... even finding his mobile number! Hahah!! This grandma is daebak! :D 

Park finally relented after one evening at Grandma Na's place. Park has a younger bro, but he has no time to take care of him so the bro would always eat ramyeon sometimes even uncooked ones. Grandma Na found the bro one day eating uncooked ramyeon and offered food to him. She didn't know that it was Park's younger bro. 

The rest of the story goes on with Grandma Na learning English and Park finds out the reason why she wanted to learn it. 

Overall thoughts

It is a heart warming story with the relationship between Park and Grandma Na. It was really neat to hear Lee Je Hoon speak English! Ooh my hearteu... XD I actually watched this movie with two online friends on Rabbit and I found myself crying so much at the end! Huhu!! ;D 

Best parts of the movie

Definitely the interaction between Grandma Na and Park... Very touching, I found it refreshing from the usual kdramas of the usual romance... For once they featured a family love kind of bonding... 

The part where Park challenged Grandma Na to speak to foreigners in a bar for 5 minutes... Haha, that was so cool she killed it! ;D 

Even neighbourhood gangsters are no match for Grandma Na! :D

Conclusion

By now you must be dying to know why Grandma Na wants to learn English... ;D Well, it is because of her friend. Her friend was a witness for an international lawsuit in United Nations. Grandma Na and her friend were one of the many "comfort women" during the Japanese occupation in Korea. These women were only young girls about 12- 13 years old back then. They were captured, tortured and sexually abused. Her friend was sick and started to have dementia so it was her last request to Grandma Na to tell the world about the wrong doings of that era.

It was shameful to many as the stigma was that these women voluntarily became comfort women but in actual fact they were captured and forced to do it. This part really made me so angry, serious s* people use your brains who would volunteer to be that? Stupid.

When Park found out, he went all out to help Grandma Na. Even to the very last moment during the hearing... He came and Grandma Na could give her testimony without fear. It was a really brave moment for an old lady. Salute.

This part is actually based on a true story. I remember some news back then that there was such a case and the Japanese refuse to apologise. It was like admitting their fault so they never said sorry. Dayum.

The story ends on a good note, the resolution was passed but as said earlier no apology was ever given by the Japanese government. Grandma Na reunites with her long lost brother in US, for all these years she tried to contact him but he refused to see her because of that stigma. Park had helped her contact the bro... aww that was really so sweet... Lots of onions here.. yes... ;D

Now Grandma Na is travelling around the world, giving her testimony to different levels of authority. The ending scene was funny, when the immigration officer in San Francisco airport asked her if she could speak English....

This movie definitely is a heart warming one. It touches on the human side of the atrocities of war and it serves as a grim reminder to everyone. :( I did feel disturbed after watching this movie but am glad that such shows are made to tell some parts of history. Hope you enjoyed this review, see you in the next one soon...

*Image credits: Google and my own screenshots*

Midnight Runners review

Movie name: Midnight Runners
Country: South Korea
Year: Aug 2017

I seem to be on a Park Seo Joon shows review marathon! :D This movie was advertised on my local cable TV as a movie on demand, I wanted to watch it since he was starring in it... 

So, what's this movie about?

This movie is about two young guys, Park Ki Joon and Kang Hee Yeol who wants to join the police force. In order to do that, they must first be accepted into the police university. Park Ki Joon is from a single parent family with not much money, he has a big heart and is like a happy go lucky kind of guy. 

Kang Hee Yeol on the other hand, is from a top school in Seoul, his father runs a meat business and he is someone who is very rigid with many principles and rules for living. 

Their opposite personalities definitely made them enemies right from the start. It was not until after a training episode where Park helped Kang down the hill because Kang offered to buy him a steak if he did so. They escaped punishment and became best friends after that. Aww... 

Fast forward about two years, Park and Kang are now best friends and they have day offs... They can leave the university campus and enjoy a night out in town. This is where the story actually starts... The two went clubbing trying to pick up girls but failed hahah!! They met a girl walking on the street and wanted to get her number. But to their horror, they saw her being abducted into a van... 

Being police cadets in training, they went to make a police report immediately only to be told that their case is not important as the order from the top commissioner. The two decided to take matters into their own hands. 

The rest of the show goes on with the duo trying to find the kidnapped girl, tracking her down and stumbling into a bigger, more sinister plot behind it all. 

Overall thoughts

I wasn't expecting anything of the sort from the movie title. To be honest, I thought it was about runners who do work at midnight or something... Haha.... I know, I was kind of let down that the story line wasn't what I thought it would be. 

Best parts of the movie

The bromance between Park and Kang is fun to watch... 

I guess the only part which I liked and it is literally the movie title... Midnight Runners... there was a lot of running... Hahahh!! XD Park Seo Joon looked so good running with his long legs... 

Another best part would be his body.... XD Hahaha... Well, there were some shower and working out scenes that might be of interest for some fans... ;D 

I also liked the part in class where Park and Kang's answer to the same question really shows their different personalities. Both answers were correct in their own respective ways... and not to mention the middle finger scene! XD 

Conclusion

If you are guessing what I'm guessing about the kidnapped girl, you could be wrong... :O Yeah, the girl was kidnapped not for prostitution or such... but for her human eggs. *horror scream* In name they are young students who sell their eggs for money to couples who want to have children but in reality these girls are runaways from homes, they are captured and sold to be human hens... (somewhat)

You would have to leave your mind behind for the ending... Haha... Yeah, two young cadets tracking and bringing down a big syndicate all by themselves... There is a good ending don't worry, the girls were rescued and the bad guys busted. 

As they are still in the police university and a disciplinary institution, their actions deem as breaking the rules and must be punished. This part is nice as well, the play of words and the core value of being a policeman is reinforced... 

There is an epilogue at the end which shows the same girl from that night visiting them. It ends on that good note... Aww... 

This movie has some comedic moments but I somehow felt a bit disturbed overall after watching it... It is good for such topics to be featured, as we do not know of such things happening. I do hope and pray that all young girls out there to be safe and well... I'll leave you all with the two guys looking all dashing in their uniforms... See you around! Thanks for reading. <3 

The Beauty Inside review

Movie name: The Beauty Inside

Country: South Korea

Year: Aug 2015

I stumbled across this movie while surfing the Chinese movies channel on tv one day. The guy on screen was Turtle (I don't know his real name but in the kdrama Entourage his nickname was Turtle :D ) and he caught my attention. Wait a minute, this is a korean movie... what is it doing on this channel?! I stayed on that channel and ended up watching it. Haha!! I missed a little bit at the beginning but it was all good. 

So, what's this movie about?

Kim Woo Jin has this weird ability to morph into a different person every day. The moment he falls asleep the next day he wakes up with a different face, different body and sometimes, different gender. This phenomenon started one day when he was about 18 years old and his life was never the same after that. 

Due to his weird ability, he couldn't work like any normal person would. It was a good thing that he had a talent in making furniture and together with his good friend (Turtle) he became a furniture designer. He would work in the factory while his friend deals with marketing and meeting clients. They would operate online so they do not have a physical office which makes their furniture more exclusive and mysterious at the same time. 

One day, Woo Jin visited the local furniture warehouse and he saw Yi Soo working there. Somewhat like love at first sight, he would go there everyday with his different face and body just to talk to her as a customer. Stalker much?! ;D He knew he could never ask her out with the current face and body so he waited until one fine day, he woke up as a handsome young man. Like whattt??!! Smh...

The story goes on from there with Woo Jin trying to have a relationship with Yi Soo and the struggles that they both have to overcome with Woo Jin's strange morphing ability. 

Overall thoughts

This movie is unique because it tackles the perception of beauty. What beauty actually means, is it only physical appearance or the personality of the soul inside the outer shell that is our bodies. If I'm not mistaken it is adapted from a book or some western movie... The show is pretty slow moving but if you can sit through it, it does have some nice scenery of Czech Republic and artsy stuff.

Best parts of the drama

The furniture warehouse where Yi Soo worked, I'm not sure if Mamastudio really exists in South Korea but I think it is also the same place where Jay Park filmed his "All I wanna do" music video... ;D

As you already know I love design stuff, the furniture design in this movie is really nice... I love those chairs and tables etc..

Woo Jin's apartment in Czech Republic is pretty neat as well... Very quaint...

Notable scenes

The initial moment where Yi Soo found out about Woo Jin's strange ability, she wanders into his closet where he kept clothing, shoes of all sizes and even prescription glasses for any type of eyesight...

The part where Woo Jin grasps Yi Soo's hand telling her that's how to recognise him... A simple love language as holding hands with much meaning behind it... Aww sweet...

Conclusion

As with any relationship, there are problems to overcome. However, dating Woo Jin has taken a toll on Yi Soo's mental health. She started to have anxiety and had to take sleeping pills to sleep. I mean, who could blame the poor girl... Imagine you sleep with a guy you think is your boyfriend the next day you wake up and the person next to you is a totally different person... Your mind will be fcked up seriously...

Woo Jin decided to leave her because he could see she was in pain. Yi Soo's life went back to normal after that, she stopped taking the sleeping/ anxiety pills. However, Yi Soo realised that she had really fallen in love with him... Despite his appearance, she realised she fell in love with the soul inside the person... Huhu... some sad moments here... ;'(

She went to Turtle and managed to get Woo Jin's current location... It was in Czech Republic and he had launched a new furniture brand...She flew all the way there and when the door opened, Woo Jin recognised her at once but he pretended to be someone else. She told him that she was interested in his furniture and managed to get inside his apartment... Haha... Nice move girl! ;D

It's a happy ending everyone, don't worry! ;D Yi Soo held his hand and he broke down in tears.. Aww, he really loved her... The movie ends with girl proposing to the guy... Haha!! I'm not joking... it's really sweet. 

But the sweetest part was after she asked him to marry her, the guy pulled out a wooden box. Twist it open and the wedding ring is hidden inside. Dayummm!! Furniture designer moves man... hahah!! I think that's one of the simplest design of a wedding ring box but it looks soooo good... Noice. XD 

The end! The closing scene was the flashback of all the characters in slow motion walking towards her and finally the kiss. It's a sweet movie, if you have some time to waste you could give it a try but it is seriously a very slow moving show.

However, there one thing that I am disappointed with... That is there was no explanation on why Woo Jin has that weird morphing ability. It's like he's a mutant or something... :O And I'm wondering of the various people he woken up as... What happens to the original person of those bodies?! *flips table* 

Alright, thanks for reading.... I just realised the last guy is the same playboy in the movie, "Mood of the day"... XD No wonder he looked familiar. The girl is my fav from W-Two Worlds... I'll leave you with her pretty face, she really is beautiful! ;D 

*Image credits Google and my own screenshots*