Extreme Job review

 

Movie name: Extreme Job

Country: South Korea

Year: Jan 2019

Someone recommended this k-movie in the kdrama Discord server that I am in. Made a bookmark to watch it and finally gotten around to it earlier this year. 

So,what's this movie about?

A team of five detectives who has a very poor performance in bringing in the crooks are at the risk of being disbanded. In order to save his team, the leader Chief Go decides to tackle a drug lord named Mubae whose right hand man had been released from jail recently. If they manage to bust the gang they would be promoted and not lose their jobs. 

The story goes on with how Chief Go and team tries to infiltrate the gang by doing a stakeout at a nearby fried chicken restaurant. However, the restaurant is not doing well at all and the owner is about to sell it. The team decides to take over the restaurant to continue with their mission to nab the drug lord. 

Overall thoughts

It is a really funny action movie. Although some may not like the slapstick comedy and overly dramatic action fight scenes (somewhat reminiscent of Hong Kong action movies!) I still think it is an entertaining watch. 

Best parts of the movie

Definitely the stakeout and take over part... haha, they were eating fried chicken and the original owner thought they were a bunch of jobless losers... The part where they were defining their relationship to each other while trying to get the restaurant ownership deal... 

After acquiring the restaurant, their struggle to maintain the fried chicken business and continuing their mission on Mubae... The part when they finally got an order from the drug den, they were dismayed as the place had been vacated already... alas! 

Story goes on

Their fried chicken business went too well and caught the attention of a local TV producer. The team offended the producer by denying him an interview. They couldn't get caught on TV with their superiors seeing them! Unfortunately for them, the producer decided take revenge by smearing their shop saying that their fried chicken is fake, being bought from other shops and served to customers instead. The news went viral and Chief Go's superiors came to know about it. All of them were fired from their police jobs. So sad! 

However, the team had some sort of dumb luck... haha, their restaurant's popularity caught the attention of Mubae's right hand man. He came up with the proposal to use the restaurant delivery service to deliver drugs to customers. It was like the drug guys came to Chief Go in the end! Chief Go didn't know anything about it and proceed to sign with them since they lost their jobs as policemen. 

It was not until one of them realised that their restaurant food chain is not doing well but still there seem to be many deliveries. The team went to investigate and found out that Mubae had been using it for his drug activities. 

Conclusion

Rescue mission time! Detective Ma was missing and the rest of the team had to go rescue him. Meanwhile, the drug lord Mubae was having his own business deal with another drug guy. This is the final showdown when Chief Go and team versus the bad guys. 

Lots of kick ass fights later, the team finally defeated all the bad guys. Haha!! Love the scene where all of them sitting on the couch waiting for the police to arrive. It's a happy ending, all of them got their jobs back and promoted... 

It is a light hearted comedy movie that you could watch. Was a good recommendation indeed. Haha, I really laughed a lot! And the fried chicken does look delicious. Will leave you with Chief Go... 

*Image credits own screenshots and Google search* 

Vincenzo review

 

Drama name: Vincenzo
Country: South Korea

Year: Feb- May 2021 

Came to know about this drama when an ex-colleague posted a trailer on Facebook. It was the scene where Vincenzo was teaching the thugs a lesson at the Italian restaurant. Looked it up and got hooked instantly! This is my first time watching Song Joong Ki in a kdrama... 

So, what's this drama about?

Vincenzo Cassano is a mafia consigliere, someone who is a part of the mafia family that gives legal advice and also help settle family businesses. He is part of the Cassano family for a long time, but that came to an end when the leader passed away. The power was transferred to the son, who did not like Vincenzo. 

Vincenzo knew it was time for him to leave the Cassano family, but without much money he would not be able to live comfortably as before. He recalled a job which he undertook while being a consigliere some years ago, and that was for a Chinese businessman who wanted to store his gold bars. Vincenzo advised the man to purchase an old building and put the gold there. The Chinese businessman has passed away and Vincenzo jumped at the chance to recover the gold bars. 

He heads back to South Korea, where the gold bars are stashed but he encounters a whole new set of problems while trying to retrieve the gold, including dealing with a powerful and ruthless pharmaceutical company. 

Overall thoughts

Definitely worth the watch with all the hype. It starts off a bit slow but it picks up in Episode 4. Some of the parts are a bit over the top and draggy but there is a lot of comedy, action and some romance as well. 

Best parts of the drama

Vincenzo Cassano himself... The visuals... He looks so good with all his tailored suits and his voice... Haha, fell in love instantly! Song Joong Ki speaking (and cursing!) in Italian is a bonus... 

The blue lamborghini scene where they appeared for the court case... 

The new Cassano family... the tenants of the Geumga Plaza... certainly provided us with lots of comedy and team work! 

Inzaghi!! The pigeon that irritated Vincenzo at first, but turns out to be a mafia bird that saves his life... Wow! 

NIS agent, Ahn Gi Seok! Hahah!! This guy is hilarious... he started out as a spy but ended up being a fan boy of Vincenzo! Love the part where he reveals his real identity... 

I did wonder how bad (or good!) the Italian chef's dishes were... Haha, poor guy always gets the horrible review from Vincenzo! 

Notable scenes

The part where Vincenzo dumps pig's blood on Babel's owner... Ok Taecyon is kinda scary in this drama to be honest.. 

Special Mention

Baby Babo... :D Haha, Babo (also means fool in Korean) was the nickname Cha-Young and Vincenzo used while trying to find out the real owner of Babel Group.. The younger brother who seemed to be the bad guy at first but became good in the end... 

Conclusion

Vincenzo did manage to bring down Babel Group but not with normal justice. He did it mafia style. It was quite brutal how the bad guys died but that is mafia. I know that it should not be glorified in any way but for this drama, it definitely brought the satisfaction that every viewer wanted. 

With that said, Vincenzo was of course the most wanted criminal in South Korea. He had to leave the country. Don't cry just yet, he did come back to see Cha-Young even for a brief moment. It was a really sweet meeting and parting kiss. 

The story ends with Vincenzo walking into the night... possibly for another season? If it is, I hope it will be just as good as this one! Am happy with the ending because as a mafia, he leads a dangerous life... and the main target will always be his family. If Cha-Young became his partner, she could no longer live a normal life. 

Okay, what about the gold bars??!! Did Vincenzo finally manage to get them?! There were some nail biting moments when another bad guy wants the gold...I laughed so hard at the chocolate gold bar part!

Don't worry! The gold was already saved earlier. The hacker girl managed to open the vault and all the tenants took turns to take out the gold daily. It was all safely transferred to Cha-Young's basement... where she uses it as a bed. What?! Must be the most uncomfortable mattress ever... 

It was a fun drama with action and lots of handsome visuals... :D Although some parts are a bit too much but it is a drama after all, for all of us to escape reality even for a little while. I was watching this drama in between while waiting for the weekly episodes of Mouse to air, so it was refreshing break from thriller to comedy. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading this! A lot of people were curious on how many lighters did Vincenzo owned for him to keep throwing them away like that... haha... and there was this scene.. 

Alright, I will leave you with Vincenzo and Cha-Young... Hope everyone is doing well. Take care! 

*Images taken from own screenshots, Dramabeans and Google search*

Adventure of the Ring Taiwan review

 

Drama name: Adventure of the Ring

Country: Taiwan

Year: Dec 2020- Jan 2021

HBO was advertising this drama on my local cable TV and you have to subscribe to the movie pack in order to view it. The trailer caught my attention as it featured the Taiwan Metro line, which reminded me of the Metro of Love series. Made a mental bookmark to watch it and glad it was available online so I gave it a go. 

So, what's this drama about?

It is about a couple who has been dating and living together for around 5 years. Naturally the next step would be marriage. The female, Lisa who is a stewardess has this live long dream of having a fairy tale proposal and marriage. It was her birthday, and she was so sure that her boyfriend Yi Zhi would propose to her that night as she found the engagement ring in one of the drawers earlier. 

Meanwhile, Yi Zhi who works as a risk management executive has some insecurities about getting hitched. The night before his proposal he had a nightmare about being married. This resulted in him being more anxious than normal. On his way to work that morning, he lost the engagement ring on the metro line. 

It is a very special ring, given by his mother and was commissioned by his father. It holds a strong symbolism behind it. The rest of the drama goes on with how the ring was passed on from one couple to another and finally returning to its owner. 

Overall thoughts

The concept of this story is quite unique and interesting. Although some may think it might be far fetched a bit but it is entertaining. The individual stories touch on different types of relationships and the meaning of love. 

Best parts of the drama

Yi Zhi's apartment. It is a one bedroom apartment but it is quite stylish... 

The flow of the story on how the ring went from one couple to another... It was an adventure indeed! 

Not sure if you girls are a fan of shower scenes but there are quite a number of them in this drama... It doesn't appeal to me but if you are interested... ;) 

Dislikes from the drama

I really disliked the female character in the show. Throughout the whole series she never actually bothered to put herself in her boyfriend's shoes. Proposing and getting married is a huge leap, any guy would also have insecurities even more so for someone like Yi Zhi. He is an introvert and he has OCD to some point. 

From the moment he lost the ring, she only thought about herself. She didn't even feel any remorse or a break-up feeling because she had her ex-boyfriend hanging around her. It was like hey, I have a back-up guy no worries...

Even until the last part where Yi Zhi proposed to her, she was still looking at Alan... Oh come on now... that's too much... 

Notable scenes

This scene where Yi Zhi finally mans up and throws Lisa out of the apartment... But of course it is the usual drama style where the person actually loves the other but pretends to be bad... 

Conclusion

The ring ended up with Yi Zhi's best friend's wife, who lost it on the plane during turbulence. She is a radio DJ, and she went on air to tell about the story of the ring and hoping that there might be any information of someone finding it. The programme was broadcasted and all the couples heard it. They posted comments and videos regarding their encounter with the special ring. 

Yi Zhi decided to track down all the couples and listened to their stories... that gave him the courage to finally propose to Lisa. 

Meanwhile, Lisa found the ring on the plane and met up with the radio DJ who told her about the ring significance. The engraving on the ring's underside means that, "I love you." Lisa finally realises that Yi Zhi loves her so much (smh I just wanna b* slap her. Hahah!!) Lisa returns the ring to Yi Zhi's mum and bids goodbye. 

It's a happy ending as you would have expected... Yi Zhi did an elaborate proposal at the airport with singing and dancing... 

As I have mentioned, the female lead is still thinking about herself. She hesitates and say she still wants to pursue her dream... Well, to be honest I don't know what new dream she has but I think it is being a pilot or something... 

The ending shows a long distance relationship between them and finally getting back together after two years... 

Overall, this is a light hearted drama with 8 episodes only. If you want something short you could give this a try. I started the show with some expectations to be like Metro of Love but somehow I felt a bit disappointed because of the female lead character. If you have a girlfriend like Lisa, I advice you to think thrice before popping the question! Haha, I know I'm mean but seriously she is lucky to have met a guy like Yi Zhi. 

Thanks for reading! I will leave you with the beautiful ring...