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Over the River
A day before watching this movie, I read a book about our last king, who was sent into exile after World War I. One of the reasons was that he refused to sign a contract with the Masons. He sacrificed his position of power to stand up for what he believed was right. Naturally, watching this film about a king in exile, I found many parallels and deeply appreciated its themes. The king here is a young boy sent to live in a house on the other side of the river, separated from his people. The movie uses the river as a powerful symbol, but I won’t spoil it here because it is connected with the finale of the movie.The film also promotes themes of overcoming selfish intentions, loyalty, friendship, community, breaking the boundaries of class — all of which I found meaningful and well-executed.
Unfortunately, the movie didn’t really move me emotionally. For me, it felt too uneven, constantly shifting between comedy and drama. It also relied heavily on cinematic tropes (for example, rain suddenly starting and stopping at the perfect dramatic moment for visual impact). Many scenes felt overly staged, which prevented me from fully immersing myself. Aside from the king’s warden (Yoo Hae-jin) and the king himself, the other characters were mostly caricatures in the background. Strangely, the moment that had the strongest emotional impact on me was the historical records shown at the end of the movie.
Although I respect and like this film, I can’t help but feel it could have been much better.
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Carrying the casket
Touching and meaningful. In the Love Track series, the main plot is love with the addition of certain original elements, but in this episode, the romantic relationship of the main character is actually an addition to the real story — saying goodbye to a dear person who has passed away. The whole story unfolds during the funeral ceremony, so this drama is also educational in showing how Korean funerals are held. I have actually been to one funeral in a Korean church, and I helped carry the casket from the church to the car, so this particular drama was very meaningful to me.The final images of this drama are also very touching, in a good way. We all have to say goodbye to someone we loved (or rather, not loved, but still love, because death cannot kill love), but we say that goodbye with respect for the life that was lived and with hope for the life that is still to come. There was no priest at this funeral, but there is hope, and I recommend watching this if you have the chance.
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Magic of Onion Soup
Very funny. Loving a certain dish is nice, but that can never be true love, because if we love something that only serves us, that love is selfish. The main character here loves his onion soup a little too much, but the director used that premise in a smart way to lead us further and make us think about the dishes we like and the relationships we develop around them.The actors were great. The female lead was cute and had a special kind of aura, but the male lead was the highlight. Of course, he is one of the Korean veterans, so there is no doubt about his acting skills. His attitude was so funny to watch, and in a strange way, I could relate to both of the main characters. I really enjoyed every second of this first episode from the *Love Track* series, which continues the legacy of the Drama Special format of one-episode short stories. I am looking forward to the other episodes.
I bet that after watching this short movie/series, you will want to try onion soup yourself.
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Unbelievable
This movie is unbelievable—and I don’t mean that in a good way, but rather as unrealistic and absurd. It is best described as a parody of gangster films, and the entire plot feels more like an introduction to a story than a fully developed feature. But despite its flaws, the movie has many good elements. First of all, it is short, so it can serve as decent entertainment during a boring evening. It took me a while to get used to the nature of the comedy, but once I accepted that it is silly, I started to enjoy it more and more. By the end, I even laughed out loud at a few gags.The actors are very solid. They handled the action scenes very well and truly committed to their characters. It was great seeing them during the post-credits scene as a small behind-the-scenes preview—especially since they are almost all legends of Korean cinema, each with over 50 roles in different movies. For me personally, that was the most enjoyable part of the film: seeing so many familiar faces together.
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Noisy Mansion
I didn’t know that noise was such an issue in Korean apartments. After a month-long break from watching Korean films, I just saw two movies: The Noisy Mansion (2025) and this one — both centered around the same issue: a strange noise disturbing the tenants in a large apartment complex. But while the first film managed to connect the dots, this one left me confused and disoriented. I would say the main problem is that the movie shifts in atmosphere and tone too many times — from dreamlike sequences and imagined montages of buying an apartment, to social drama, thriller action, and mystery. It becomes a mix of everything, but ultimately remains unconvincing and unrealistic.I tried to focus on the real meaning of the title, Wall to Wall, or the translated Korean title: 84 Square Meters. That would suggest the apartment itself is the main protagonist, trying to survive its noisy, weird, and angry tenants. There was a lot I didn’t understand or felt was poorly resolved. That said, I did enjoy the movie, and it held my interest as I wanted to see where the plot would take us. But despite its unusual twists and strange events, I think this film is, unfortunately, forgettable.
P.S. I’d really like to know — what was that laugh at the end? Can someone explain?
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Romans 8:31-39
The title of this movie comes from one of my favourite texts from the Bible: Romans 8:31–39. In this passage, Saint Paul explains how great the love of God is for us through Jesus Christ. I had trouble understanding how this applies to the movie, but it truly gives us something to reflect upon once the movie is over. There are also many Bible verses included in the film, but they appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, and I couldn't really connect them to the story. The director probably wants us to do a kind of workshop or reflection on the state of our service in the Church. The overall theme of the movie is about sinful people who work in the Church. Since I am a priest, I feel I am the intended audience—and I can say it truly made me examine my conscience.From an outsider’s perspective, some people might interpret this film as a denunciation of the Church, revealing the corruption that exists among pastors who become false idols. It's true that many could find reasons to stop believing or attending Church because of the bad behaviour of religious leaders. But for me, this challenging movie is a testimony to us weak and sinful people that God is always beyond us. We can trust in his Love but we must be humble.
There is also a very young girl in the movie. She barely appears, but her subplot about cookies is so strong and provocative. That little subplot is simple, but theologically it’s quite powerful. What to do with love that hurts someone?
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Father's exorcism
We have one Father - a Priest and we have another father - a doctor who's daughter is possessed. Both fathers are ready to do all it takes to save the girl in danger. Even though the priest is more educated and knows what he is doing, the father who doesn't know anything is still trying. But how to save a girl that has already died? This is a minor spoiler but is already in the synopsis of the movie so I don't need to hide it here. I liked the new approach to the exorcism theme and the invention of a new theological myth about demons.There are some scary moments and some cheap jump scares. I would say that the movie does scene cuts pretty well and helps us understand the situations through flashbacks. The actors were good but the characters they play didn't really behave consistently. There are a few side characters that just appear and experience something big but the movie forgets them instantly. What I liked the most is the atmosphere and the Latin prayers. (Vade retro satana!)
PS. This is actually the fourth Korean movie in a row about Demons and exorcism that I saw and i didn't even plan that. The good thing is that each movie is unique and doesn't hurt the enjoyment of others and I would recommend them all.
Dark Nuns - a mystical fantasy with Nuns taking the role of Priest.
Revelations - psychological thriller about personal demons .
Handsome Guys - dark comedy with shocking moments and some gore.
Devils Stay - standard horror with many supernatural elements but still grounded and most realistic among these four.
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A Search for Truth
The truth is increasingly difficult to find. Mainstream media choose which side of the story to tell, and individual influencers direct and stage their own truth. Most of the things we hear on the internet are actually fake news. Where does that lead? This film provides a dramatic example of the search for truth. The film contains very valuable messages about the influence of popular streaming stars.There are some moments in the film that seemed illogical to me, but I have to admit that from the first minute to the last I was closely following the action. How the saying goes: It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.. The film successfully maintains tension from beginning to end so that no part of the film is just a time filler but has a real effect on the development of the story. And that's why I can only give it 10 out of 10. The main actress Park Ju-hyun did a great job in her role and in the most dramatic moments she looked very cool.
I hear voices that a film like this can be an inspiration to real people to take revenge on streamers in a similar way, but I believe that the story of the film is so unusual that it will be difficult for anyone to imitate it, and from the positive side, the film is a lesson and a warning to be truthful and authentic in real life.
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What lies behind the lies?
This is a cute little, fairy tale looking, family drama with a lot of emotion so you might need some tissue for this one. It is touching because it is honest about real family experiences that we try to cover with some lies to make our lives easier. We might never know what a person holds in its soul.In this drama we follow a young girl who loves her mother and father and finds it difficult to live with only one parent. With her we as viewers learn/are reminded of important life lessons to let go of hate, to be wise (like king Solomon), to look at the sky when life is hard. All in all this is a drama for all ages certainly worth watching.
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This is serious
Everyone who tried to buy or sell something on classified ads websites can relate to this movie. Personally I was scammed once when selling something, and almost when trying to buy a console but I can see and detect scammers on a daily basis whenever I scroll the adds online. There are too many scammers out there. Unfortunately they always use new tactics and we should all be careful when shopping and leaving our personal information online. This movie is a great warning for that."Target" is a very interesting and suspenseful triller. There are some typical Korean movie cliches inside but they didn't bother me because the story was very compelling and moved quickly. It kept my interest all the time and I would certainly recommend it to everyone.
Btw. anyone here want to buy my Sony MHC V13 Sound System? ㅎㅎ
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Girls Fighting
"Run" is an action movie in which the main characters are young women who must fight against the oppression they face at every turn. However, it is not a feminist film, as it also uses femininity to attract the male gaze. In other words, this movie is aimed at guys who want to watch beautiful women while also receiving a mild lecture about treating women with more respect.In essence, this is an indie adult action movie with quite a few fight scenes, but it lacks the charisma and polish of films with better production values. The plot is too basic, and both the acting and the action are not very convincing, so there is nothing particularly special to recommend. I guess, the main appeal comes from the attractive female actresses showing how badass they can be.
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Few cheap laughs
Thirty years ago a Korean film of the same name and similar plot came out, about two people who look alike so people mix them up. The problem is that one of them is a wanted criminal, so the other keeps ending up in many uncomfortable and dangerous situations.This is an action comedy, but below average in both respects. The action is unfortunately quite poor. Not a single punch looks convincing; it’s obvious the fighters are just swinging at thin air. The comedy is relative and depends on the viewer’s taste. There are a few funny scenes, but most of them are childish, which I particularly dislike. At the beginning I even laughed a couple of times at the mismatch between the two lookalike protagonists, but the overall impression is that the entire film is built on a single gag and after that it simply doesn’t know what to do with itself.
The story is poorly developed; the plot progression is unrealistic in the sense that the characters are always exactly where they’re expected to be, without any logical reason.
The epilogue offers a nice short tourist view of Taiwan, so the film can also be watched as an advertisement for Taiwan, but you shouldn’t expect much from it as a movie.
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Responsibility for a Family
If you don’t have enough drama in your family, go and watch this movie. This is a lovely film even though it portrays various unpleasant aspects of family relationships, but every one of us knows that this is a realistic picture of family life. Because family life is not a fairy tale, and misunderstandings often arise among members, especially between generations. What this film particularly focuses on are secrets—hidden things we try to conceal from those closest to us—but is that even possible? Even if it were possible to hide something, would family relationships then truly be sincere?The film also touches on other themes, one of the bigger ones being the break with tradition, the role of parents, and more. It approaches all these themes honestly and openly, without concealment or embellishment, and that is why it is also very interesting to watch. A dose of humour certainly helps as well. I like how the characters are distributed, and whenever it seems that the film is revealing the flaws and negative sides of one person, it quickly shows that the other person is not without sin either—and that is why in a family we need to know how to accept responsibility for one another, even in weaknesses and imperfections. Therefore, I consider this an especially instructive and inspiring drama about family life.
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Foreigner in Korea
Most emotional Korean movie I’ve seen in a long time. It starts slow — to the point that I was struggling to stay awake during the first third of the film — but then I simply fell in love with the main character and sympathized with everything she went through.Even though the film is somewhat slow and lacks big plot twists and excitement, in this case that’s actually a plus. It allows the emotions of the main character, a girl named Hye-seon, to come through much more strongly. She is a North Korean defector trying to adapt to life in the South. and that shows how foreign the 2 Koreas are between themselves. This is a slice-of-life, character-driven movie where the focus is on the experience of living in complicated South Korean society.
Watching how much Korea has advanced, I increasingly see that technology doesn’t necessarily make life easier — it often complicates it even more. Everything is recorded, everything is controlled, everything has its own app and its own rules. I still appreciate, for example, my T-money card that I’ve had since 2009 and still works for all public transport in Korea. But on my last visit to Korea, I rented a car and really struggled with parking in big cities. Also since my foreign card was declined in some stores and the store didn't accept cash i couldn't buy items there.
But back to the film — the way it’s shot, with lots of scenes cut off mid-way and constantly adding new details, builds in a steady upward trajectory. By the end, I didn’t want the movie to finish. Still, I can say it found an excellent moment for a touching ending. It feels like there’s a lot more footage that was shot, and I would love to see an extended version of this beautiful movie about a beautiful soul who continues to move forward in life despite all the obstacles. Hana is a true inspiration.
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A Lesson on Plants and Life
For what it is, it is a nice indie movie. A simple story about a friendship between a little girl and an old man (a Silkworm and a Bee). The English title is not very representative of the movie, so I prefer the original Korean title: 비밀의 화원 – Secret Flower Garden, because the movie is more about plants and flowers than animals. Still, we can say that it is simply a movie about nature and life in general, and the plants and animals serve as an allegory for life.There are also drawings and songs, so I would say that the movie uses a lot of subtle elements to connect the story and stir emotions. The fundamental purpose of the movie is to teach us to be more gentle toward all life, because we depend on it. We are all connected. I liked the message, so I liked the movie too.
P.S. I even noticed an image of Jesus in one short but meaningful frame of the movie.
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