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2035: The Green What?!
The official title of this movie is 2035: The Green Light (2035 더 그린라이트). The film is a hybrid of a “fake documentary” and a sci-fi thriller, set in the year 2035, ten years after the hypothetical unification of Korea. The plot revolves around NXN journalists who are filming a documentary about the mysterious green light that appeared in 2025, and we see everything through their camera.But I must say, I didn’t really like the movie. The first part was okay and somewhat funny, but the second part was very confusing and exhausting to watch. The two reporters just can’t stop talking—even in situations where their lives might be in danger and they should remain silent, they keep making unnecessary noise. Also, the theme of a unified Korea wasn’t explored at all, so in a sense it felt like a wasted premise. The film also fails to present anything convincingly futuristic from the year 2035; instead, the scenery looks like it’s from 2015.
Anyway, this is a somewhat unique film, and I’m glad I saw it—but I don’t think I’ll be returning to it again.
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Watching plants
This is an interesting minimalistic indie drama with a lot of space for reflection. The main character is the owner of a Cafe Bar turned into Plant Shop, who works with plants and makes tea at the same time. His character is very distant and he speaks through narration because he is not very good in communication. The narration reveals his life story and how he came to appreciate plants but I had a lot of issues with his interaction with the customers. He serves them well (even though i didn't see him washing hands between working with dirt and making tea) but he keeps them at distance from himself. He doesn't show kindness or hospitality, in fact we don't see a lot of his emotions. I would expect more from a film that has "warmth" in its title. The various plants that we see during the film are more interesting to watch than the main character.Still, if you like plants this is a nice watch. If you have a plant in your life, you might also reflect on your friendship with it. And if you don't like plants, you should force yourself to watch this film or, even better, go into the nature and hug a tree.
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Oh those evil secret agents!
My first impression when I started watching this movie is a quality of production. And really, the people who worked on the visual aspects of the movie did a great job. The scenes were often dark but still very clear and impressive. Also I was surprised to see quite a few veteran actors who bring their charisma into the movie. Sul Kyung-gu and Yang Dong-geun are my guys and Koran Cinema action heroes.So, yes, this is an action movie but the action was mostly just shooting without much sense and realism. The good guys can shoot everyone they want but the bad guys can never shoot the target. But mostly i was confused by the amount of killing, and have in mind that here we don't have assassins like in "John Wick" but government officers working as secret agents. The interest of the movie is in finding out who among the agents is a double spy (a rat). So I had a good time watching the movie, and i will remember the visuals, but the story and the action was somewhat forgettable.
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Personal Demons
Wow, this is very engaging and atmospheric movie. From the first scene where disturbing drums mix with harmonious church singing to the last scene where ... hm, i can't reveal the ending but I can say that it left me with a strong impression. The three main protagonists share the same sense of supernatural, each in their own way. They all have a gift of extraordinary guidance, which is also their curse. So the question is: do these people have true revelations, are they haunted by their evil demons or is it something else? This movie is a very good example of a psychological thriller-drama and i really liked how it all turned out. There is a message here for all of us, and maybe also some therapeutical advice.I would have to go into spoilers if i really wanted to comment my opinion on the movie. So i will skip that. The actors were okey but i needed a little more expression. The highlight is the music which sets the right tone for the whole movie. The resolution of the plot was a little bit sloppy with some sudden revelations and solutions, but the main worth of the movie is the conversation starter about faith.
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More of the same
I don't remember all of the original Hitman but this sequel gives me the exact vibe and satisfaction at the end. This is the kind of movie that you know isn’t great, but you still want to see it. The highlight is the cinematography. The webtoon animated parts of the movie are the best and there is also one very short flashback that was filmed masterfully and it is hard to believe that it is from the same movie. The action was also pretty fun, but so unrealistic so i liked the animated action more than the one acted live. Most of the movie is comedy which is purposefully put in contrast to the serious theme of the movie so the actors try their best to be funny and, unfortunately forget to be credible. I can't believe they used "where is the bathroom" gag 3 times.The premise of the movie is the connection between the webtoon and the real life, and I must admit that the producer managed to put a new twist to it and make it engaging. So in short, if you liked the original Hitman (2020) you will like this one.
PS. Is there a real webtoon based on this movie? If yes i would like to read it. I am currently reading gangster webtoon "무진".
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Drama Special Season 15: The Road in Between
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Search or Wait
When someone you love goes missing do you wait or search for them? I don't think there is one right answer, and this drama shows us a short but impactful story about what might happen when some people go away and how the providence leads us forward. All in all, I liked the theme of the story because it gave me something to think about and also reflect upon from my own life. I think everyone has someone that he doesn't have anymore. Also the actors are cute, but to me, Choi Hee Jin was much better then Jung Gun Joo who, maybe intentionally as a male, acted static and barely showed emotions.The problem for me are some illogical scenes (how can you get lost with a smart phone in a city you live in?) and some incomplete and incoherent short segments (i wonder if the kimpab was good or not). The relationship between main male protagonist and his former girlfriend wasn't developed well enough. That is why I cant give this drama a higher score even if I liked it a lot and it made me remember the people I love/loved.
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Drama Special Season 15: The History of Us
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Ministry of Truth
I like what Napoleon Bonaparte said: "What is history but a fable agreed upon?" We tend to believe that the history is our teacher but unfortunately there are many examples of deleted or rewritten history. So I appreciate this historical drama for engaging with the topic of the importance of true and honest History. This story is based on a historical note about the year 1762 in Korean history. (This is in the synopsis so it is not a spoiler.) I don't think the theme was developed well enough here, but the important thing is that the question was made and we as viewers are called to reflect about it. Is having a Ministry of Truth a good thing, and why is it bad!Drama Special format gives us only one hour of story so the producers were limited. Still they spent the first 30 minutes vaguely making us guess what is the theme of this drama. Is it maybe a hidden romance between the prince and his friend historian, or the experience of royal recorders of history? That is why, in the first half of the drama i was confused and sceptical but when the drama finally revealed the true theme, I was able to enjoy the rest. Another observation I have is that the drama has maybe 30 second of women on screen, it is heavy male centric.
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Dude, who is a gangster?
Just saw this movie for the second time and it is great to see the actors I didn't see for a long time in any project. The production is really excellent. The movie started with an impressive artistic scene with hundreds of gangsters together so i was expecting a „City of Violence“ type of movie. Then, after some jokes thrown into the story I thought maybe this is more like „The Crime City (The Roundup)“ movie series. But this is another city – City of Damnation where we have gangsters and cops but we don’t have much action, just the comedy so this movie would mostly fit the genre of comedy. The director didn’t bother much with the story but just for the visuals and the comedy. There are hundreds of gags in this 2-hour movie which is too much and so over the top that at the end I just laughed at their stupidity. I was reminded two times on the movie “Dude, where’s my car”. There is a tattoo joke and a scene where a character unsuccessfully tries to translate one English to Korean. Haha.Anyway, this could have been a great movie but it exaggerated with the jokes and missed some opportunities with the interesting premise of the story.
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Life doesn't get easier
The movie begins with an interesting plot of a man who returns to life after death and gets a new chance. That short introduction takes us back more than 20 years, to 1997, where we relive the high school days of the main character. His mission is to relive his youth by making a lot of money, but reality will teach him about his limitations and what is really important in life.The uniqueness that the film brings in the original background of the plot with supernatural, even at times religious elements, is diminished due to the clichéd plot and standard, not to say, predictable, story of the students in high school. For me, the best parts of the movie were the first and last 10 minutes, because they try to connect the idea of the story into one, while the main part of the movie fails to profit from the idea of going back in time, but gives one, though nice, but still only a standard high school story.
The message that even with second chance our life is challenging, is actually very noble. I found the movie inconsistent, although it's unique enough that I'm glad I watched it and can recommend it to those who are interested either in the story or the actors.
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Dog?!
First of all there is no dog as protagonist in the movie but there is an artist who dreams in black and white and without sound so his dreams could be his shadows. He is also preparing the exhibition but isn’t doing anything to prepare it?! He is just exploring the small town where he came after a long time. One of his wall painting is actually called: “The Dog Who Eats Shadows”.Still, I didn't get the movie. What dog? What shadows? Maybe I should check Chinese Mythology? Maybe dog (개) can be intended as a scumbag, a person who is less than human. And shadow (그림자) could be compared with the artist because a painting is 그림. So in my mind 그림자 could be a person who paints. Then we should see, who is the scumbag who eats our painter, haha. Sorry, this is just an interpretation since this movie is open to many interpretations. At least the guessing made me interested in the story.
I missed the story arc of an actress, a woman with a certain charisma that seems to be friendly with men around so she can be considered the one eating, dispersing shadows: the doubts, the sadness, the pains of others. I would like to know what happened to her.
And I want to add a warning that this is a mature film with 3 very brief scenes of nudity.
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The Redemption of a Series
After the mess that was the season 2 I thought this series is dead and I almost didn't want to watch season 3. But man, this was a good show and i liked the most of it. There are still many stupid illogical details but at least the series had a focus and gave each character a purpose and a proper conclusion.Watching the series, I realized how much I care about the characters and it was very emotional to witness their pain and tragic fates. This is thanks to the actors who looked very attractive and authentic. Also the excellent soundtrack that often sounded like church music contributed to the atmosphere.
I especially liked the use of religious elements and symbols that subtly indicated order in the midst of chaos. All the characters, whether human or monster or specially infected or neohumans, they all found their purpose and a kind of redemption. In my opinion, the authors managed to return the series to its original roots and conclude the story in a great way and i couldn't be happier about it.
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Holy gangsters :)
It is said that spirituality should not be used for jokes, but sometimes that is justified. This film uses different religions and spiritualities in a very good way, for a joke, but also for inspiration. For a moment it may seem that the film makes fun of faith, but in fact it conveys the message that faith has its own strength and meaning, and the message that different faiths together give greater strength is also noble.The Korean title of the film is 목스박 which stands for 목사 (pastor), 스님 (monk) and 박수무당 (shaman), according to the three main characters who suddenly take on the roles of these holy figures leading to various funny and absurd situations. Since this is a family friendly action comedy after all, I am a little disappointed with the excessive use of curse words. The characters are just as crazy as they should be, to combine the comedy and the action for a fun watching experience. In some absurd way, this is a good movie about religious dialogue and cooperation.
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Is there luck for everyone?
What a strange movie! This is not a movie I'd want to watch twice, but I'm still glad I saw it. It is about a talisman that brings luck to his owner and about a man who tries to finally put an end to the failures he has experienced all his life. The actors should be complimented for being able to sustain the movie since it relies mostly on the performance and acting of the two main protagonists. The entire movie actually has only three scenes in which the entire action takes place. There is only the addition of a church in the background at one scene, which seemed to me to be a convenient insert to the story about superstition. I hope that the church is shown to turn the viewer away from superstition and towards the true faith. The question about happiness and whether there is enough happiness for everyone or whether we have to steal it from each other is also interesting.My complaint is that the story is dragged out for an hour and twenty minutes, and I would shorten it by a whole hour. All the dialogue is repeated at least twice, especially the message about the lucky talisman, which the filmmakers decided to explain ten times how it works. I think the movie would work great as a short movie, but it is also watchable like this thanks to the energy and effort of the main actors.
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Are we living in Concrete Utopia?
I finally saw this movie. I already watched Badland Hunters and The Bargain pt. 1 and pt.2 in Korean cinemas, which are part of this world affected by a devastating earthquake, the consequences of which turned the entire country into a wasteland. Concrete Utopia is a type of films that I really like because they talk about survival in dangerous situations and about human psychology. On the one hand, I would like the people in the film to be more humane towards their neighbors, because that way they would start rebuilding what the earthquake destroyed, but probably this kind of presentation is more realistic. Man's first survival instinct is to be selfish and take care of himself. Nevertheless, in one impressive scene, the film provides a glimmer of light and hope in an artistic way, through the stained glass window of a ruined church.So, this film is brutal, less because of the tragedy of the great earthquake itself, and more because of the relationships between people who manage to survive as best they know how. Here we have a number of top actors and all of them managed to convey the emotion of despair and anguish in a very difficult situation. And at the end, I have a question: Isn't the behavior of people in this movie a reflection of the real behavior of people in today's civilized world, because our reality is even more than in the movie, a real Concrete Utopia!?
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Go to sleep and it will go away
I didn't know, before watching the movie, that I am watching a monodrama. That would change my expectations from the movie, but the ways I saw it, it was too long and exhausting. Just a minor spoiler: the movie starts with a 5-minute sequence of a man walking through dark rooms and nothing happens. That might set the tone of suspense for some viewers, but one minute would be just fine.I couldn't really relate with the emotions of the main characters but i knew that his inner struggles would all go away if he just went to sleep. He would feel better in the morning. Finally, when the movie starts giving us another perspective, it all becomes more "entertaining" and somehow confusing. So at the end, I compliment the main actor for holding the entire movie on himself and offering us an interesting psychological study of the protagonist, but I can not recommend the movie to the general audience.
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