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Money has Toll
The synopsis reveals quite a lot about the plot, perhaps even too much. We have two detectives who, in addition to their police work, earn extra money through a deal with local criminals. However, I watched the film without knowing anything about the plot, and I believe that's the best way to approach it because every detail gradually increases the intrigue and tension. This is an action film, but it contains plenty of drama and thriller elements, and at times even a touch of horror. I can't say the plot is entirely original, as there are many films with similar stories, but this one stands out by successfully bringing the main characters closer to the audience, making us empathize with them. The producers clearly put in a lot of effort to make the film visually impressive, with some shots resembling artistic scenes.There's a saying that money is a necessary evil. We all need it, but dishonest and dirty money never brings blessings. I think a biblical quote fits this film well: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10).
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Do you know what your neighbor is doing?
Living in an apartment where you can hear what's going on with your neighbors through the walls is the everyday life of many people. And of course, when you hear sounds and you don't know what they are, you start imagining different things. I'll never forget one night when I couldn't sleep because the neighbor above me was moving furniture at midnight, and I thought it was a real earthquake. This is also the premise of this film. A young woman who is pursuing a writing career is disturbed by the sounds from the neighbor's apartment, but interestingly, no one else is bothered by it. I liked that for the greater part of the film, as viewers, we remain in ignorance and suspense because we ourselves question what is really happening. Later, when all the elements are revealed, the film shifts the emphasis to another topic, so until the end there is something that keeps us attentive to the plot. But saying more would mean to spoil te movie.The movie isn't bad, and I liked that it didn't try to over-inflate the tension. It tries to be as realistic as possible, and yet arouse interest in the viewers due to the slowly developing plot. I have some objections to the decisions and actions of the main characters, which seem illogical to me, but all in all, this is a solid film that turns from a social drama at the beginning into a tense thriller at the end.
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Strange finger
The movie is almost 20 minutes long but it was over in an instant. The background for the story is the loud TV program with commercials and news about current issues in the Korean society. And then there is this chopped finger found at the parking place.I have seen people cutting and chopping and losing fingers in many Korean movies. Most recently in the movie "Hopeless". I even remember the news about some Koreans chopping off their own finger in protest against Japan. But the main question here is: what can you do with a finger? Apparently, a lot but nothing worthy. Maybe this is an allegory on how we are interested in the lives of other people but at the end we can only live our own life.
So this short movie is very strange. I didn't understand it but i liked it.
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Live up to your Name
Wow. This is quality cinema. The story was in moments confusing for me so maybe i should watch it again, but it got me to think a lot. That is because the movie shows many layers of society and reality. You think that you understand what is going on but you are not aware of the play that is conditioning the main characters, and maybe even those who control him are unknowingly controlled and influenced by someone else.The synopsis says that the main character Lee Man-jae sold his name to survive so this is not a spoiler. And throughout the move his name will have a central role of the story as he tries to get a hold of all the things that happened to him. What value does our name has? This movie shows that without your name you might be alive but you are actually dead.
In one moment the movie gives us a message that goes something like this: "Even if you haven't sinned, you have a sin because it is sin if you didn't do anything." I am not sure how this connects with the story of the movie so if someone can help I would appreciate it. Nevertheless, this is a strong and true statement that it is better to do something and fail (sin) than to not do anything.
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Real Story
I am sued to watch the actor Ra Min-ran in comedic roles. Here her talent shines through as a hard working single mother who got scammed for her life savings. So instead of making us laugh she makes us sympathize with her struggle for her children, job, money, in fact for her life. Her acting is so sincere that I forgot that this is only a movie. I felt sorry for her situation as if she was my neighbor. Also the other actors are very good. And there are also characters who bring a little bit of humor and cheerfulness so that the movie wouldn’t be too depressing.I like this kind of movies where the story captures you from the start and continues to guide the emotions. I think that the director masterfully connected real life event on which this movie is based of, with the dramatic themes and cinematic details. In short, i was engaged 100% in the movie from start to finish and i can recommend it to everyone. It also speaks about the ever growing problem of scammers.
Interesting fact, completely by chance I watched this movie exactly on the date the case was solved, August 21st.
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Fun but forgettable
Not gonna lie. I had fun watching this movie but ultimately this seems like one of those average Netflix movies. I guess what bothers me the most is that the movie resembles Hollywood action comedies a little too much and I wouldn't want Korean movies going that direction.In terms of comedy and action, the film provides enough material. I didn't find some jokes funny at all, but others made me laugh out loud. Also, the production is at a high level so we have some very good action scenes. The plot is interesting, but forced. Many events happen without any logic, but so that the story can take the desired course. This is an ideal movie for those who want to refresh a boring evening, but it is not a movie that will be on any top lists.
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Gut-wrenching story
This movie is not entertainment but a depressing story about a town without hope. The title of the movie is truly fitting. There seems to be no hope for our main character and neither for other people. So this was all emotionally very hard to watch. Few scenes were hard to watch because of brutality but the entire movie is hard to watch emotionally because it is just sad to see peoples lives going downhill. In fact it is more than sad. There is sadness that purifies but when you don’t have hope it is even worse. In a sense this is what hell looks like.Actually the real title of the movie is Hwaran – 화란. That is transliterated from the Chinese word for Netherlands. Our main character Yeon Gyu has a dream of going to the beautiful Netherlands. However, Hwaran can also be transliterated from another Chinese character with the meaning of disaster and chaos. Very interesting detail that says a lot about the story of this movie too. In short, don’t watch this movie if you want to have a good time, watch it at your own risk.
Btw. the version of the movie I saw was 1hr 58min and not 2 hr 13 min as stated on the info.
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Awkward Woman
This is an interesting movie, but I wouldn't say that it is for entertainment, but for thinking about foreigners integration. In today's world, in many developed countries, there are a lot of foreign tourists, travelers, workers so that the compactness of nations and states is slowly being lost. Despite all its openness to the world, Korea still proudly preserves its traditions. In this movie we have an unknown woman, a foreigner, who lives in Korea. The title of the film suggests that she is a traveler, but it seems that she would like to be a part of Korea, not just a foreign traveler. The movie touches on what I experienced myself – In Korea, everyone is very kind and friendly to me, but I still feel like a foreigner.The foreign woman in this movie reflects the difference and clash of cultures. It was awkward and uncomfortable for me to watch her interaction with people, hugging at the first greeting, nonchalance and seeming disinterest in regards to others, irresponsibility for herself, taking private space in sitting to close to other people... The movie has a lot of interesting details, it is especially nice how some sentences and gestures are repeated by several characters to convey that there is something that connects us. In my opinion, the message of the movie is that there is a place for foreigners in Korea, but not without difficulties.
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Change or not to change
This is a beautiful looking movie. Production, story, acting, music – everything looks nice, especially the photography. But is there any value or substance beneath the appearance? I would say that there is.The topic of living as a single person is very sensitive today because a lot of people live as single people intentionally or by force, and it is impossible to give a comprehensive answer and a sufficiently objective comment on such a life. My comment is that it is not good for a man to be alone. In any way, we need other people, and we live this reality most deeply in a couple as a man and a woman. This film approaches the subject in a creative, comical and, of course, romantic way. It respects single people, but is aware that they are also people who love, i.e. who are looking for/need love. As a book lover, I really liked that they used reading, writing and publishing a book as a metaphor for the human relationships. I would say that the movie gives better advice on writing books than on living as single.
I can't say that I completely agree with the philosophy of the story, but I really enjoyed watching this entertaining and emotional film.
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Drama Special Season 14: Overlap Knife, Knife
2 people found this review helpful
When nothing works
If you want to enjoy this drama don't read anything about the story because the excitement comes from the unexpected events and twists. The actors are not bad but, somehow, I didn’t have enough time to care for them and the flow of the movie is static and not that suspenseful as the story suggests. The main interest of the viewer is what happens next and how will the story connect the protagonists.The atmosphere is melancholic, depressing and heavy so it is not for everybody, but if you want a good mystery give it a try. But maybe it would be better to just read the book.
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Drama Special Season 14: Anyone Anywhere
2 people found this review helpful
were you there?
There are a lot of Korean movies and shows with a theme of Highschool bullying but this one manages to be original by focusing on students who are standing by and don’t do anything about it, or don’t do enough. So this drama is relevant to all of us. It can be depressing to watch this kind of dramas but it is still important to be reminded about our responsibility to stand up for ourselves and for others. It is a virtue to be meek, but as a song goes “Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man”.There are two versions of English title for this drama: “We Were There” and “Anyone Anywhere”, the first meaning that the witness is also responsible and the second asking if there is anyone anywhere who is willing to help. I can see this drama being a part of educational programs.
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The Time is Now
The first part of the movie was a little better than this sequel, but I'm glad I have now seen the story to the end. The plot combines past and present well and provides a satisfying conclusion to this complicated but entertaining sf adventure. Everything somehow falls into place.One thing that bothered me while watching was the emphasis on comedy. The film uses every scene and every situation for some stupid jokes. There is one joke on a treadmill that was so stupid that I had to laugh, but otherwise the goofy jokes were just annoying. I also think that the screenwriters were sloppy because the plot flows somewhat forcedly from one event to another without a sufficiently logical sequence.
The special effects are great, the fights are very good, the characters are charismatic. There are a lot of details that make the film attractive, so I spent a fun evening with Alienoid 2 but I still have the impression that the film could have been much better and more dramatic in terms of atmosphere if it had taken itself a little more seriously.
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Attempt at a dark comedy
The plus of the movie is a certain unpredictability of the story and the interesting idea of moral dilemmas concerning what happens to Mickey. So I really liked the final point that the movie makes switching the title of the Movie, but still, the manner in which the movie is made was just so absurd and parodical that it was unpleasant to watch for me most of the time.It is hard to comment the acting also. Robert Pattinson was certainly very good, Steven Yeun was fine and Anamaria Vartolomei is very beautiful. The rest were comical beyond my understanding. I was put off by the actors trying so hard to represent the presidential candidates of the USA. I have seen many great imitations of Trump, but this one was the worst, just a strait mockery.
Seeing most of Bong Joon-ho directorial works I can see the pattern - a social political satire with highlighted class divide and raising awareness on some important issues. I commend it and I still look forward to more of his movies but this one was a little over the top for me.
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Mother's Duty
The movie has a strange title, and I didn't feel like sugar plays that big a role in the movie, but it makes sense at the end. I am a person who likes sugar maybe a little too much, so that I even avoid all the products that are sugar-free. It was very touching, even stressful, to watch a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes struggling with the prohibition of sugar and the constant fight with the disease. From the people I met, I know that this illness is very severe, medically and psychologically, on the entire family. In this movie, the central character is the mother who cares for her ill child while also trying her best to balance her personal and professional life.I would say that this movie is documentary-like, message-heavy, and emotional, but all that in a positive way. The events are shown in a realistic way, and knowing that the movie is based on a true story, at moments it feels like watching the news. There are many important messages in the movie, and I am glad that the supporting roles also had something to say. So the movie is multi-layered. The highlight was a police officer at customs for imported goods with one, if not the only, comedic moment in the movie. And the emotions... The third act of the movie really delivered with emotions. Some of them were exaggerated, but all in all, they completed the story nicely for a movie that I would recommend watching with a family.
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UFO - Underneath Firmaments of Others
After watching this strange movie I was inspired to look for a meaning of UFO's. Yes this movie has an UFO - Unidentified Flying Object but it uses that background to show something about our reality as humans so i would suggest that UFO also reveals what is Underneath Firmaments of Others. We see the emotions, thoughts, statements, experiences of many people but at the end it is impossible to identify what other people hold underneath their appearances.I can see how some people would dislike this movie if they are not ready to watch something different. This is a dynamic art film. Many people, many scenes, many words, many details, yet the viewer is lost inside trying to connect the elements of the story. But how can someone connect all humans stories?
This movie shows how people would live with the presence of UFO. For me as Christian this presence of the big flying object in the sky is like the presence of God. He is there above, watching everything, yet staying silently and lets us wonder and explore life.
To conclude, this movie was really interesting and made an impact on my philosophy of life. The music and songs added a lot of soul to the story.
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