294. Doubtful Victory 의문의 일승 (2017) Korean

Yoon Gyun Sang, Jung Hye Sung, Kim Hee Won, Choi Won Young, Yoon Yoo Sun, Jang Hyun Sung

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: B

This one might be one of the better named dramas if it is the literal "beginning of doubt" or "doubtful victory" over the whatever translation "oh, the mysterious" in the fact that our leads are the underdogs the entire time. It's pretty doubtful that they are going to win the entire time, since they are constantly at a disadvantage and being played by everyone, and reacting instead of acting. It actually makes it pretty stressful. It's like constantly life or death and no one can break out of the manipulation and they just have to grit their teeth and try. Then there are so many bad guys, and the bad guys are all so tight knit that I wondered if they were ever going to turn on each other, and it was all pretty stressful. But at the same time I just enjoyed it, and maybe that was because I enjoyed almost all of the characters, bad and good.

Korean Movie Night: Collective Invention 돌연변이 (2015) Korean

Lee Kwang Soo, Park Bo Young, Lee Chun Hee, Jang Gwang, Lee Byung Joon, Kim Hee Won

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: ?? (A?)

I was both happy and sad to watch this because while Kwang Soo is an amazing actor who can emote even with a fish head on, it meant that I didn't get to see his face the entire time, and that always makes me sad. Plus, it is a show about a man who gets turned into a half fish man, so how happy could it be? It was definitely designed to get you in the feels. It brings up the dilemma of what is right, between the advancement of science and cultural economy and human rights. The whole time everyone is fighting over Park Goo (Lee Kwang Soo) and what should happen to him, Goo is just so humble and patient about it. It makes the heart bleed for him.

Korean Movie Night: No Tears for the Dead 우는 남자 (2014) Korean

Jang Dong Gun, Kim Min Hee, Brian Tee, Kim Hee Won, Kim Jun Seong 

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

I don't know why I keep forgetting that I watch these movies, or at least forgetting to review them.  It must be because it's a one time commitment of like 2ish hours, versus like 16+ hours and weeks of dedication.  But anyway, I do like watching movies too, and so I'll have to just keep remembering all the movies I've watched so I can review them, so you all can decide whether or not to watch them... or just enjoy reading my thoughts if you've already watched them.

So, No Tears for the Dead.  A very bloody action film.  My little brother showed it to my older sister and I, so it was like a different kind of movie night.  It has lots of swears.  It has lots of violence.  It's pretty darn cool.  It also has Byun Yo Han in it for like two seconds.  Just long enough for me to shout his name and get excited before it was over.  Oh.  It's ok, we've got Jang Dong Gun being bad-a.  We're good.

It's about an assassin who starts to question whether he wants to remain as an assassin when his last job goes a little south.  He is ordered to clean up his mess and bump off the wife of the man he just killed as well.  There is a lot of him pretending to follow orders, then not following orders, and former buddies being mad that he's not following orders because now they have to kill him.  So he's got to protect himself while he protects this woman, and all that jazz.  It's pretty compelling.

The bad guys are total d-bags.  I don't want to be violent, but they made me want to be violent because they were mean and gross.  Kind of like how we hated the Ahjussi baddies.  Like their deaths are super justified.  So it has kind of a Die Hard meets Bourne Identity meets Ahjussi vibe to it, and I liked that.  There were lots of conflicting emotions, especially since it was about the conflicting emotions of this poor hardened killer, this assassin who is super good at his job, but just a helpless little boy at heart.  Much tears.  So besides it being super violent and full of subtitle swears and not subtitle swears (in English too, since the bad guys were like Korean American- you've been warned) it was a tear jerker, really.  Very interesting and super cool.  The action was very cool.

Ahjussi 아저씨 (aka Man from Nowhere) (2010) Korean

Won Bin, Kim Sea Ron, Kim Hee Won, Kim Sung Oh

Movie rating: 9/10     Neck score: A

This movie is awesome!  Also super violent, but so good.  There are plenty of cringe worthy violent parts, but it's not glorying in the violence, with the whole violence for violence sake, but it is more of showing the horribleness of that situation and the crime organizations.  It's about a mysterious man (Won Bin) who runs a pawn shop in this grungy apartment complex.  This little girl named So Mi befriends him, as her mother is like a prostitute or something and definitely a drug addict, and she feels more comfortable with "Ahjussi" than at home sometimes.  When her mother gets involved with stolen drugs belonging to a group of powerful drug lords, her daughter ends up getting kidnapped, and Ahjussi has to come out of his voluntary retirement to track the bad dudes down and get the girl back before she is sold or her organs are harvested.  Since it deals with really gross subjects, such as drugs, human trafficking, and organ harvesting, it's not going to be a pretty movie, but it is so very well made.  The fight scene at the end... wow.  It leaves you like blank stare overwhelmed.  Also, since it's like a little 8 year old girl, you get pretty anxious for her safety, so it's also an super intense movie that way too.  But so good!  Also, Won Bin.  He's so hot, even when he's all gruff with the long hair.  But boy, when he cuts his hair... whew!