andjel

So Happy that the Tears come out

This is a simple yet very nice romantic drama about a girl and a boy who grow in affection for each other. We used to have many movies like this before, but now they come rarely, so they feel all the more emotional and inspiring. As in every love story, there is always a challenge — and here it is a rare medical condition of a girl, Mi-sol, who is sensitive to sunlight, so she can meet her boy only at night. But love always finds a way. Midnight Sun is truly a heartwarming movie for all the innocent souls out there. It reminds us of the importance of family and the beauty and strength of love.

There are a few cute comedic moments, but the movie makes us smile mostly with its goodness. I felt a lot of joy, but with a constant tear in my eye while watching this movie, sometimes out of pure happiness and sometimes out of sadness. Mi-sol is not only sick and in love, but she is also a singer-songwriter, and the songs we hear in the movie are all great and worthy of repeat listening. They have a nice indie melody and meaningful lyrics. So I will revisit this movie for sure — especially for the songs.

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New Demon Hunters

Before the animated film KPop Demon Hunters, there was this live-action movie: Holy Night Demon Hunters. This movie would have worked much better as an animation, because as it is, it doesn’t succeed as an action film, even less as a horror movie, and even less as a fantasy or comedy. They really didn’t need those silly gags. The movie also spent too much time on “found footage,” where we watch events from another camera instead of directly. In my opinion, the biggest flaw of the movie is its misguided production.

I still had some fun watching Ma Dong-seok (I didn’t really catch his character’s name) kicking demons with his destructive fists, and it was interesting to see an exorcism done in a slightly different way. Usually, the Catholic Church is the one expelling demons, but here they turned it into a Korean-style exorcism while still keeping a vague connection with Christianity. So, there is some originality, even though the majority of the movie is just another below-average exorcism film.

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The Triangle of Warfare

You know how some movies feature a love triangle, where three people are involved in a romantic drama that can only end with two? Here, we have something akin to a *fighting triangle*, interestingly set up to represent the three parties involved in the conflict: the imperial guards, the slaves, and the Japanese enemies in this historical period of Korean history.

Korean movies usually succeed in conveying strong emotion, and this movie has all the elements of a great drama, spiced up with thrilling battle choreographies. But for some reason, I couldn't empathize with the characters emotionally— basically none of them. The story is great, the actors are very good, and the production is top-notch, but something was not in the right place for a perfect epic, so I couldn't fully enjoy the film. I definitely appreciated the scenery, with its beautiful and sometimes brutal shots, but where the film should have been strongest—in the emotional clashes between the protagonists—something was missing, and I can't fully explain what it is. One of the reasons could be the movie's pacing, which wasn't fluid and jumped from one thing to the next, making it seem like the director didn't focus enough on the central plot.

What I really liked, however, was the theme about Korean society and the relationship between the upper and lower castes. There are echoes of a message that we should all be equal, whether someone is an emperor or a slave, and we know that because of this very message, the Catholic faith in Korea was violently suppressed in the early 19th century.

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Beauty Photoshoot

It is clear from the beginning that this is a B-movie. Actually, it is hard for me to believe that this was first a drama series turned into a theatrical release. Artistically there is nothing of worth here but there is some entertainment in watching beautiful girls doing photoshoots. For me that was the best part of the movie – just enjoying looking at some beautiful Korean women. I guess the appeal of this movie is to show these actors to the public and it doesn’t try to hard to be a good movie.

Storywise, it was all too silly and unbelievable. The theme of vampires is used just as background for the romance and drama but is not realized very well. This movie doesn’t work as Sci-Fi or fantasy, but it has some worth as a comedy. I must admit, I had a laugh or two watching this.

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Oh boy!

From the first scene you can guess correctly where this will go. I started watching it not knowing anything about it and after realizing that at the center is the relationship between two male friends I wanted this to be a show about just friendship, but it turned out to be LGTBQ+ story/propaganda with nice visuals but bad script and acting wasn't convincing. Everyone looked suspicious about the person questioning his identity but no one dared to say anything and the drama never became explicit about it's theme. The Epilogue was a surprise. It worked well from the story perspective but for me it further promoted the - I will say it again - propaganda.

For example there is a performer who they present as a man with female face but he obviously is a woman. So gay story was okay for the most part but wanting to present a man as a beautiful woman, oh boy, that turned me off. It took me four days to finish this drama and i finished it because it is a part of a Drama Special Series that i enjoy a lot and want to complete, and after watching all 225 episodes of the all 14 seasons this is the first one that I felt uncomfortable with.

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Secret Friendship

Excellent diplomatic (historical!) action triller drama, with a touch of comedy - a standard Korean recipe of mixed genres put together to provide a complete experience. In the execution, the movie is both very realistic and surreal with many well thought details that add to the quality of production and to the message. Look for example where they put "Welcome to Mogadishu" sign in the movie about escape from the city. There is only one moment in the movie (where one person tries to raise a white flag) that i found stupid, but i understand how it was needed to add some extra intensity and peril for our main protagonists. The director does a great job never letting the movie to become boring but always adding new elements of suspense.
The title of the movie reveals what the movie is about - an escape from a city/country caught in civil war, but the real drama starts when you have both South and North Korean Diplomats having to work together. This on its own made the movie worth it.
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I just watched this movie for a second time as the opening movie of a Korean Movie Week here in Croatia and i was surprised how i enjoyed the movie now even more then when i saw it for the first time. Seeing it sitting near Korean ambassador in our Country and with a fully packed theatre of audience that laughed and gasped and cheered was an adrenaline rush, and also to me personally i managed to find many new details that i didn't see during my first watch. At this time when we have more conflicts in the world, the message of this movie is even more important.

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Sound of Freedom

This movie deserves every recommendation, and I want to join the praises with a brief review. The producers know how to capture the audience's attention and evoke emotions. This is pure action with a moderate dose of humor but also a lot of seriousness, especially in the second half when we follow criminals committing very serious crimes. No one can remain indifferent when watching children in danger. This movie reminded me of the excellent *Sound of Freedom*.

In short, this movie works excellently both as entertaining action and as a social commentary on criminals on probation after being released from prison. The main actor, Kim Woo-bin, who plays Lee Jeong-do, managed to stand out with his charisma among much more experienced actors, and it’s nice to see his maturation through the experiences he gains in the movie.

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In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

I saw many people disappointed in this movie, but I watched it carefully and with much interest. It reminds me of "Exhuma" for the atmosphere that continue to draw you in, with how the story progress and with many intriguing small details instead of jump scares. Some say that this movie is not very scary, and that is true, but that doesn't take away from the quality. The important thing is that it is authentic and engaging. Thy movie was indeed, no joke, and the stakes were higher then expected.

"Dark Nuns" continues pretty well where "The Priests" (2015) ended 10 years ago. It is also similar to that movie as it spends the most runtime on one specific exorcism. As a priest myself I had a lot of thoughts throughout the movie. Obviously, many things are problematic but it is understandable that in a horror fantasy movie they will use religious themes and symbols in an unreal inauthentic way (categorization of evil spirits, use of tarot cards, made-up relics, nuns authority, gallons of holy water, ...) On the other side, there are many positive elements. I liked the most that the movie highlights the power of prayer, and specifically united prayer, and that it also shows how Koreans fought evil spirits beside Christianity. Prayer is our strongest weapon against the attacks and temptations of Evil. There is indeed a lot to talk about this movie, but watch it first and we can continue talking later.

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Love is a beautiful Thing

A romantic comedy at its best – thank you, Korea, for reminding us how love stories should be told. I mean, this movie is nothing revolutionary or new; it repeats a story already told a hundred times, but it is done in an honest and pure way that makes you remember what love is really about. It is more about friendship than about butterflies in your stomach.

The main protagonist, Park Se-ri, is adorable in her silly attempts to find the love of her life. All the characters are cute and believable. I don’t know how modern students will react to it, but for me, as a 40-year-old guy, this movie was very nostalgic for my high school days. From my experience, the events in the movie are quite realistic.

The production of the movie was also great. I appreciate how much effort people put into making it. This is so much better than your average Netflix movie, but thanks to Netflix many will be able to enjoy it and be inspired to write their own love story.

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