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*

Tomorrow With You review

Drama name: Tomorrow With You
Country: South Korea
Year: Feb- Mar 2017

I came to know about this drama right after I finished watching Signal. I liked Lee Je Hoon there and was happy to be able to see him in another drama so soon. A romantic one at that, so I did look forward to it. 

So, what's this drama about?

Yoo So Joon is the Chairman of a huge property developer company named MyReits. Nobody knows anything about his background, or  how he became so rich so fast at such a young age. Apparently, Yoo So Joon has a special ability... that is to be able to time travel. 

He travels to the future and buys all the newspapers, magazines regarding business and politics. With that information he is able to know which land is worth investing in the present time. Only So Joon's best friend knows about this and So Joon seems to be enjoying his life.

One day, So Joon travelled into the future and saw himself die in a car accident. Shocked and confused, he also noticed that a woman died on the same day and time as him. Determined to find out who and why, he starts to investigate the woman's identity. 

It turns out that woman's name is Song Ma Rin. She used to be a child actress but that was in the past. Now as a grown up, she is barely earning any money being a freelance photographer. Plagued with her former fame she always seem to end up in the news for being drunk and acting out. 

As So Joon can time travel, he knows what will happen in Ma Rin's life. He decides to save her one day from an accident that will leave her paralysed. Things start to change from there as So Joon begin to get involved in Ma Rin's life. 

The rest of the story goes on with So Joon travelling back and forth to the future and present trying to figure out why he married Ma Rin, then later why their relationship went bad, why there was a time where he seemed to have disappeared and finally to the day where he and Ma Rin was supposed to die. 

Overall thoughts?

I was pretty excited when the drama started, there was a mystery about why So Joon and Ma Rin will die on that day and it made you want to find out more. But as the drama went on, I found it really boring. I actually stopped watching for awhile before picking up the drama again. There isn't much on the time travelling part, the drama focuses more on the relationship struggles of a newlywed couple, living together, overcoming each other's insecurities and falling deeper in love with one another each day.

Best parts of the drama?

It has to be Lee Je Hoon! He dresses really well in this drama with the latest fashion...(Um, fashion from the future) ;D

But I seriously don't get this beggar like cloak... It's like pieces of torn fabric sewn all together! ;P

So Joon has a nice house in an expensive neighbourhood... 

Let's not forget his car... 

Cool gadgets from the future which includes Back to the future shoes, a wedding ring eating floor cleaner and transparent mobile phones! Wowww!! :O 

For those food lovers, there is a future ramyeon that you want to try! I guess we can get to eat it pretty soon!

I quite like this fancy restaurant, it looks like an art gallery or some sort.. You can get lost wandering around the place and still end up where you started! 

Notable scenes

When So Joon and Ma Rin just gotten married, after dinner at the restaurant... Ma Rin sees a fruit seller and suggests to buy some fruits. So Joon replied her just like any husband would that they still have some at home. I thought that was a pretty sweet moment... 

So Joon and Ma Rin dating even after marriage was really nice. It's true in many ways... 

Couple pyjamas! I know many girls would love this cutesy part!

Funny drama moment where everyone would think the hero will be able to kick open a locked door! 

Conclusion

Yoo So Joon finally found out why whenever he travelled to the future, he was being told that his marriage to Ma Rin wasn't working out... It was all Ma Rin's smartass idea to reset the present so that So Joon will not get stabbed by the evil Executive Director on the subway and disappear into the future....What?... I know right.... -_-

Yes, for the whole drama all the mystery surrounding their relationship and marriage all boils down to that. I was so furious I wanted to flip the table, strangle Ma Rin and slap some sense into that stupid head of hers. Arrrgghh!!

Despite all her efforts, So Joon did get stabbed by the evil guy and So Joon disappears into the future for about two years.

Don't worry, there is a happy ending after all... ;D So Joon managed to wake up from his coma and travels back to the present just in time. A day before March 25th, 2019, the day where he and Ma Rin was supposed to die.

Come March 25th, 2019... So Joon and Ma Rin was at the exact place at the exact time... but as you know by now, the circumstances have changed... Both of them were about to be hit by an oncoming vehicle when Ma Rin's dad suddenly drives a car to block them... Yes, Ma Rin's dad sacrificed himself to save Ma Rin....

Yoo So Joon and Song Ma Rin lived past March 25th, 2019.... The story ends with them three years later, still bickering over small stuff like credit card bills (Haha!) and not being pregnant... but still very much in love with each other. Aww....

I read some of the comments on this drama, they said it felt a bit like Final Destination, Grim reaper... that you can escape death once but death will eventually come to get you. :O Yoo So Joon, Song Ma Rin and Ma Rin's dad were supposed to die at the Namyeong train station accident back in March 25th, 2009. So it was another ten years later that they will eventually die again... March 25th, 2019 at 9.15pm.

It's a bit creepy but I think there were some news reports that has similar stories like this... The person escapes once but the next one he/ she will eventually die.

I guess the main point of this drama is to remind us to always live in the present... To love the ones that are with us now.... and not worry about the future... But hey, if I have the ability to time travel I would definitely live like how So Joon did! Who doesn't want to live a good life with a nice house, car, clothes...and win the lottery??!! :DD

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, I'll leave you with So Joon and Ma Rin's happy marriage!

Signal Korean Review

Drama name: Signal
Country: South Korea
Year: Jan- Mar 2016

This is the first drama that I've watched solely based on online commentors recommendation. I read a lot of comments saying that this is a really good drama and a must-watch. So I've given it a go and I must say they were pretty right! :D 

So, what's this drama about?

Lieutenant Park Hae Young is a criminal profiler with the Korean police force. His job is to analyse the behaviour of criminals and come up with a basic profile of the suspect based on investigation reports, photos and other evidence.

However, in his free time he would use his profiling skills to provide information about celebrity hook-ups to paparazzis for fun. (I know right?! I bet a lot of people out there would love to know who their favourite oppa is secretly dating right now!)

Lieut. Park was caught one day by violent crime detective Cha Soo Hyun for stalking a female celebrity by going through her trash. The charge was later dropped by the celebrity's management. Lieut. Park was peeved that the violent crime unit was used to arrest him just because the celebrity's manager called them to do so instead of solving real crime.

Lieut. Park had a bad experience in the past with the police force. When he was small, he witnessed a female schoolmate kidnapped and was later found dead. He went to the police station to give information on the kidnapper but the police didn't bother to listen to him. The kidnapper was never caught.

His own brother was also falsely accused of rape and later committed suicide. Ironically, he enrolled in the police university and became a policeman after all. But, his attitude towards all police has never changed.

As he was leaving the police station after being freed from arrest, Lieut. Park found his car being blocked by a truck. Suddenly, he heard a crackling sound and someone calling his name. He found an old walkie-talkie in the back of the truck and started to communicate with a detective named Lee Jae Han.

The detective told him about a body found in a manhole behind a mental hospital. Thinking he was just hearing things, Lieut. Park went to investigate the above mentioned location. To his horror, he did find a skeletal remains in the manhole. Apparently, it was related to the kidnapped schoolmate case of long ago.

Lieut. Park tries to find the detective but then he discovers that Lee Jae Han had disappeared for 15 years already. He realises that the detective that he had been communicating with is from the past.

The story goes on with Lieut. Park communicating with detective Lee Jae Han via the walkie-talkie and solving old crime cases. Lieut. Park discovers that eventually the investigation of these cases might cost the life of Detective Lee Jae Han.

Overall thoughts?

The drama is intense and thrilling. Each episode will keep you on the edge and you'll find yourself screaming out who is the criminal even before they reveal it. :D 

Best parts of the drama?

Unlike other dramas, there isn't any trendy interiors or cafes in this one. However, the overall story of this drama will captivate your attention. 

I enjoyed the conversations between Lieut. Park and Detective Lee Jae Han via the walkie-talkie: 

Teary moment when Lieut. Park knew that Detective Lee Jae Han will die if he continues the investigation: 

The moment where Detective Cha Soo Hyun realises she is talking to Detective Lee Jae Han:

Detective Lee Jae Han chuckles when he finds out that Detective Cha Soo Hyun became a team leader in year 2015: 

Notable scenes:

My favourite duo in this drama are the old detective and forensics guy. :D They do provide some humour amidst the seriousness of this drama:

The profiling of the serial killer (It's Producer Ahn from My Wife's Having an Affair this week! So scary seeing him as a psycho depressed killer here...Nuu!)

Commercials

If you are a kdrama fan you would know by now that Subway is a very active sponsor in many dramas. If I ever visit Korea I would love to look up this Subway! It's the same one in K2 if I'm not mistaken, where Je Ha orders his favourite sandwich... ;D

Conclusion

Lieut. Park realises that by changing the past, the present will change as well. Some individuals will be saved but some others will die instead. Some deaths are also not able to be changed.

Lieut. Park was shot and supposed to have died but he didn't die as the past changed. He awoke to find everything has changed, the cold squad team did not exist and the funny duo in his team does not recognise him at all. He set out to look for Detective Cha Soo Hyun and found her. Detective Lee Jae Han had left him a letter and floppy disc containing the evidence for the bigger case behind the burglaries of 1995. 

The ending is left hanging with Lieut. Park and Detective Cha Soo Hyun driving to a small hospital in hopes of finding Detective Lee Jae Han. The last scene shows that Lee Jae Han is still alive and the signal of the walkie-talkie is on again. 

I am a bit disappointed with the ending, Lieut. Park didn't manage to meet his long time friend after all. There are some questions also left unanswered, like why did the signal only appear at 11.23 pm? Was it the time where Lee Jae Han was shot and presumably died? Also, why Lieut. Park? Is it because the case has something to do with his brother's death? 

As I was watching this series I read the comments that there is a season 2. I'm not sure if the same cast will continue but I also have some fears as with many second seasons it's not as nice as the first. Let's hope there will be an ending in season 2...