Korean x Taiwan Movies Review

Coming Up Soon: Silenced/Plan Man


-A Hard Day
8.5/10

Movie: A Hard Day (English title) / Take It to the End (literal title)
  • Revised romanization: Kkeutkkaji Ganda
  • Hangul: 끝까지 간다
  • Director: Kim Sung-Hoon
  • Writer: Kim Sung-Hoon, Lee Hae-Jun, Choi Kwan-Young, Jang Hang-Jun
  • Producer: Jang Won-Suk. Cha Ji-Hyun. Lee Dong-Yoon
  • Cinematographer: Kim Tae-Sung
  • World Premiere: May 19, 2014 (Director's Fortnight Cannes)
  • Release Date: May 29, 2014
  • Runtime: 111 min.
  • Genre: Crime / Action / Action / Police / Award Winning
  • Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
  • Language: Korean
  • Country: South Korea

    • Plot

    Detective Gun-Soo (Lee Sun-Kyun) skips out on his mother-in-law's funeral to attend to a crisis at the police station. While driving to the station a man appears out of nowhere and Detective Gun-Soo crashes into him with his car. The man is dead and Detective Gun-Soo panics. He drags the dead man to his car and throws him into his car trunk. Detective Gun-Soo's hard day is just beginning.

    Personal Comments: I wouldn't call this movie spectacular but it's well done, it was a box office hit and I understand why. It's a movie full of twists and turns, it was smartly penned but everything seemed so confusing (the show also did a good job in showing human nature and the choices people will make at desperate situations)....... Honestly, this movie will be more popular among guys than girls because of the action element but as a girl I still enjoyed it. Lee Sun Kyun put out a strong performance, he kinda suit action thriller more than romantic comedies/melo? Cho Jin Woong came out around halfway through the show and stole a lot of the spotlight from Lee Sun Kyun, he is well known as a supporting actor so no surprise that he did well and won the hearts of many critics. Overall the movie is well, smart and tightly written, actors did a excellent job, worth the watch but not worth raving about.

    - Miss Granny
    10/10



    Movie: Miss Granny (English title) / Suspicious Woman (literal title)
  • Revised romanization: Soosanghan Geunyeo
  • Hangul: 수상한 그녀
  • Director: Hwang Dong-Hyuk
  • Writer: Shin Dong-Ik, Dong Hee-Sun, Hong Yoon-Jung, Hwang Dong-Hyuk
  • Producer: Han Hong-Suk, Lim Ji-Young, Jun Jae-Soon
  • Cinematographer: Kim Ji-Yong
  • Release Date: January 22, 2014
  • Runtime: 124 min.
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Distributor: CJ Entertainment
  • Language: Korean
  • Country: South Korea

    • Plot

    74-year-old Oh Mal-Soon (Na Moon-Hee) regains her physical appearance from the age of 20. She then changes her name to Oh Doo-Ri (Shim Eun-Kyung)……

    Personal Comments: Hands down one of the best Korean movies of all time, I've heard rave reviews about the acting and the story but never really cared about it until few weeks ago when I chanced upon it on the airplane entertainment system and decided to watch it because I've got nothing else to watch and it was a long haul flight of around 18 hours. Shim Eun Kyung deserves ALL the attention and love she gets from the movie, her performance was sooooo good that I can't think of any other actress portraying it as well as she did. The story was great, it made me self reflect and think through a lot, thank you movie. I know Lee Jin Wook since Nine but never really like him but his performance and character here make me totally fall in love with him awwwww he made my heart flutter whenever he appeared. I love how they make the story realistic and touching when it's clearly unrealistic but I love how I can easily feel connected and engrossed in the story and the characters. I will definitely watch this again and take a peak at the china version. OHYA AND THE ENDING WAS PERFECTION AND IT WAS SO HILLARIOUS I WAS CRYING AND LAUGHING AT THE SAME TIME HAHA ( I don't want to spoil it so i'm not going to further comment on it but watch it to find out ;) )

    - The Flu
    10/10
    File:The Flu - Korean Movie-p1.jpg

    Plot

    A group of immigrants are smuggled inside a shipping container with their final destination being South Korea. Inside the container, one of the immigrants is a carrier for a lethal and highly contagious virus.
    Byung-Ki (Lee Hee-Joon) and Byoung-Woo (Lee Sang-Yeob) drive to the shipping container to release the immigrants. They soon discover that all of the immigrants are dead, except for one man.
    Soon, thousands of people become infected every hour by the deadly virus, which kills within 36 hours of infection. The entire suburb of Bundang is quarantined by the government in a desperate attempt to stop the virus from spreading further. Firefighter Kang Ji-Koo (Jang Hyuk) is one of those quarantined. Dr. Kim In-Hae (Soo-Ae) is one of the first responders to the outbreak of the virus. The outbreak becomes even more personal once she suspects her own daughter (Park Min-Ha) is infected by the virus. Firefighter Kang Ji-Koo and Dr. Kim In-Hae frantically work together in a race against time to find a cure.

    Personal Comments: This kept me gripping on my seat throughout the movie, the last movie that kept me like this was the tower. Solid acting from all of the cast, great writing and directing, although there are many similar movies made by different countries and they are all quite similar but I really enjoyed this and I love how they make a kid involve in the story (she's sooo cute).

    - No Breathing
    8.5/10
    • Movie: No Breathing
    • Revised romanization: Nobeureshing
    • Hangul: 노브레싱
    • Director: Jo Yong-Sun
    • Writer: Jo Yong-Sun, Yoo Young-A
    • Producer: Lee Song-Joon, Park Chang-Hyun, Jung Dae-Hoon
    • Cinematographer: Lee Joon-Gyu
    • Release Date: October 30, 2013
    • Runtime: 118 min.
    • Genre: Sports / Water Sports / Youth
    • Distributor: 9ers Entertainment
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    Set in the world of competition swimming. Woo-Sang (Lee Jong-Suk) is a national swimmer. He pursues the number one spot. Won-Il (Seo In-Guk) is gifted swimmer, but stopped participating in the sport. He then makes a come back.

    Personal Comments: As a fan for both lee jong suk and seo in good i watched it with high expectations but..... its not bad but well not as good as i thought it will be. This movie still received good reviews from critics so maybe its only me?

    - Always / Only You
    10/10

    • Movie: Always (English title) / Only You (literal title)
    • Revised romanization: Ohjik Geudaeman
    • Hangul: 오직 그대만
    • Director: Song Il-Gon
    • Writer: Song Il-Gon, Roh Hong-Jin, Yoo Young-A
    • Producer: Moon Bomi
    • Cinematographer: Hong Kyung-Pyo
    • World Premiere: October 6, 2011 (Busan International Film Festival)
    • Release Date: October 20, 2011
    • Runtime: 108 min.
    • Genre: Melodrama / Romance / Blindness / Tearjerker
    • Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    Cheol-Min (So Ji-Sub), a man with a dark, mysterious past, picks up a part-time night job as a parking lot attendant. He sits in the tiny pay booth in the parking lot and stares at the small television. A woman named Jung-Hwa (Han Hyo-Joo) walks into the booth. She offers something to Cheol-Min and sits next to him. Cheol-Min realizes the woman is blind and she is confusing him for the parking attendant who worked their previously.
    Nevertheless, the woman comes back on another night to watch the same television drama series. She constantly asks Cheol-Min questions on what is happening on the television screen. Cheol-Min starts becoming attached to the woman. Their past is tied by a life altering incident.
    One day, Cheol-Min accompanies Jung-Hwa to a musical. Afterwards they have dinner together. Jung-Hwa asks about Cheol-Min's past. Cheol-Min ruthlessly berates Jung-Hwa for asking about his past. Their relationship becomes frozen.
    Several days later when Jung-Hwa's boss follows her home and tries to sexually assault her. Cheol-Min busts through the door. He beats Jung-Hwa's boss savagely and attempts to comfort Jung-Hwa. They move in together and start to live as a couple. But can their happiness last?

    Personal Comments: To be honest this show doesn't have a really fresh storyline but it touches my heart haha literally. I cried and cried and cried so much throughout the movie, i really love so ji sub and han hyo joo even before the movie and their acting were so good. A must watch for people that are looking for a romantic melodrama *thumbs up*
    - Architecture 101
    9.5/10
    • Movie: Architecture 101 (English title) / Introduction of Architecture (literal title)
    • Revised romanization: Geonchukhakgaeron
    • Hangul: 건축학개론
    • Director: Lee Yong-Ju
    • Writer: Lee Yong-Ju, Kim Ji-Hye
    • Producer: Kim Kyun-Hee
    • Cinematographer: Jo Sang-Yoon
    • Release Date: March 22, 2012
    • Runtime: 118 min.
    • Genre: Romance / Period-1990 / Award Winning
    • Production Company: Myung Films
    • Distributor: Lotte Entertainment
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    35-year-old architect Seung-Min (Uhm Tae-Woong) receives a visit at his office from a woman. Seung-Min doesn't recognize the woman at first, but then realizes the woman is Seo-Yeon (Han Ga-In). Seo-Yeon is his first love, but he hasn't seen her since his freshman year in college. Seo-Yeon now has a request. She wants to hire Seung-Min to rebuild her home on Jeju Island.
    15 years ago, Seung-Min (Lee Je-Hoon) is a naive young man beginning his architecture studies in college. He first meets Seo-Yeon (Bae Suzy) in his Architecture 101 class. As they work on a class project together, Seung-Min and Seo-Yeon begin to fall in love.
    Back to the present day, Seung-Min is hesitant to take Seo-Yeon's job offer. Seo-Yeon persists and even goes to his boss with her wish. Seung-Min now has no choice, but to take on Seo-Yeon's home project. Old memories of love and heartbreak will soon resurface, as they find themselves at different junctions in their lives .

    Personal Comments: First Love reunited, just your typical melo movie without any twist but worth the watch for it's cast and tone of the movie.

    - Secretly And Greatly
    8.5/10


    • Movie: Secretly Greatly (English title) / Covertness (literal title)
    • Revised romanization: Eunmilhage Widaehage
    • Hangul: 은밀하게 위대하게
    • Director: Jang Cheol-Soo
    • Writer: Hun (comic)
    • Producer:
    • Cinematographer:
    • Release Date: June 5, 2013
    • Runtime: 124 min.
    • Genre: Action / Comedy
    • Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    Won Ryu-Hwan (Kim Soo-Hyun) trained in the North Korean Special Forces. He can speak five languages and is also a lethal killing machine. Two years ago, he received orders to deploy to South Korea as a spy.
    While wondering in a poor neighborhood in Seoul, Won Ryu-Hwan passed out and was awakened by a worried old mother. The woman then allowed him to live in a small apartment above her modest convenient store and let him work in her store. His identity in South Korea is now Bang Dong-Gu and he has taken up the persona of a goofy, mentally challenged young man. Since that time, Bang Dong-Gu has gotten to know everybody in the neighborhood and has become attached to the woman who treats him like her second son.
    One evening, Bang Dong-Gu receives a visitor in his small apartment. His visitor is Lee Hae-Rang (Park Ki-Woong), who trained in the same North Korean Special Forces Unit. Lee Hae-Rang has also received orders from North Korea to work covertly as a spy in South Korea. His persona is that of a young wannabe rock star. Lee Hae-Rang finds it difficult, because he never played the guitar before. Shortly later, Ri Hae-Jin (Lee Hyun-Woo), also a member of their special forces team in North Korea, arrives in the same neighborhood. While the three young men live unnoticed among their neighbors, they await orders from North Korea. Their order finally arrives.

    Personal Comments: i'm sorry its boring to me  )-: 

    - Mr Go
    8/10
    • Movie: Mr. Go
    • Revised romanization: Miseuteo Ko
    • Hangul: 미스터 고
    • Director: Kim Yong-Hwa
    • Writer: Huh Young-Man (comic)
    • Producer:
    • Cinematographer:
    • Release Date: July 18, 2013
    • Runtime:
    • Genre: Drama / Comedy / Animal
    • Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    15-year-old Weiwei (Jiao Xu) is left all alone with her gorilla Ling Ling after her grandfather passes away in China. Her grandfather ran a circus troupe. Thanks to her grandfather's love for baseball, the gorilla Ling Ling was trained to play baseball and has developed remarkable hitting skills. A baseball agent from South Korea named Sung Choong-Soo (Sung Dong-Il) hears of the remarkable gorilla Ling Ling. He signs Ling Ling to play in the professional South Korean baseball league.
    Dreaming of success, Weiwei and Ling Ling go to South Korea. Ling Ling quickly becomes a superstar in the baseball league. Meanwhile, a rival baseball team scouts a gorilla named Rating.

    Personal Comments: disappointed, I was expecting way more but it turned out to be cheesy and so..... it isn't the kind of show you would want to spend time on but still, kids will enjoy it I guess.

    - Love 911
    9.5/10


    • Movie: Love 911 (English title) / Band Aid (literal title)
    • Revised romanization: Banchangggyo
    • Hangul: 반창꼬
    • Director: Jeong Ki-Hun
    • Writer: Jeong Ki-Hun, Park Sang-Min
    • Producer: Son Seung-Jin, Kim Ui-Suk, Lee Min-Ho
    • Cinematographer: Choi Se-Gyu
    • Release Date: December 19, 2012
    • Runtime: 120 min.
    • Genre: Romance / Melodrama
    • Distributor: Next Entertainment World
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    Mi-Soo (Han Hyo-Joo) is a doctor with a fiery spirit. Unfortunately, her fiery spirit gets the best of her one day at work. Mi-Soo fails to properly diagnosis an ill woman, after she sees the ill woman's husband, whom she assumes to be an abusive thug. Because of Mi-Soo's failure to diagnose the woman's illness, the woman is now hospitalized and near death. Her husband sues the hospital and Mi-Soo is advised to find a character witness.
    Kang-Il (Ko Soo) is a dedicated firefighter, who doesn't blink when it comes to saving someone else's life. Emotionally, Kang-Il still carries heavy grief over the death of his own wife. Outside of work, Kang-Il rarely socializes with others. Firefighter Kang-Il was also at the hospital when the wife, who was misdiagnosed by Mi-Soo, became gravely ill. His boss ordered Kang-Il to follow the husband and to make sure he doesn't do anything rash. The husband eventually confronts Kang-Il and assaults him.
    Later, Mi-Soo learns of the incident between firefighter Kang-Il and the husband. She concocts a plan to cozy up to the firefighter, in hopes of enlisting him in her legal defense. Little does she know, she isn't dealing with an ordinary fellow and she just may have found her true love.

    Personal Comments: Light hearted, simple and typical love story. Really like the chemistry between Han Hyo Joo and Go Soo here! Worth watching if your a fan of romantic comedy. A little slow pacing at first but the back becomes really good and cute too.

    - Werewolf Boy
    9.5/10
    • Movie: A Werewolf Boy
    • Revised romanization: Neukdae Sonyeon
    • Hangul: 늑대소년
    • Director: Jo Sung-Hee
    • Writer: Jo Sung-Hee
    • Producer: Lee Young-Suk
    • Cinematographer: Choi Sang-Muk
    • Release Date: October 31, 2012
    • Runtime: 125 min.
    • Genre: Romance / Fantasy / Award Winning
    • Distributor: CJ Entertainment
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    A mother moves with her older daughter (Park Bo-Young) and younger daughter (Kim Hyang-Gi) to a large home in the country side. The older daughter suffers from a lung ailment and her doctor advised the family to move out into the country side. The home is provided by Ji-Tae (Yoo Yeon-Seok), the son of a business partner who worked with their deceased father.
    While the family gets acclimated to their new surroundings, the older daughter makes a remarkable discovery. Within a locked room in the barn lives a wild boy (Song Joong-Ki). The family takes him in believing he is just an orphan with little social skills. The boy with little social skills begins to take an interest in the oldest daughter. Meanwhile, Ji-Tae has his own plans in marrying the oldest daughter. What's the secret behind the wild boy?

    Personal Comments: The two main leads are already beyond cute, melodrama so get plenty of tissues ready, i cried like mad while watching this and had sore eye for a really long time.

    - The tower
    10/10

    Plot

    On Christmas Eve, at the luxurious Tower Sky twin tower building in central Seoul, residents and staff members busy themselves with Christmas preparation. A small fire in the restaurant kitchen attracts the attention of Tower Sky staff member Lee Dae-Ho (Kim Sang-Kyung), who notices a faulty water sprinkler system. Building owner Jo (Cha In-Pyo) disregards the warning and goes ahead with the evening's Christmas party.
    Helicopters are hired to circle the building and spray the building with man made snow during the Christmas party. Residents gathered for the event are amazed by the spectacle. Their amazement soon turns into terror when a helicopter loses control and crashes into the building, setting off a chain off horrifying events that threatens the lives of all the residents.

    Personal Comments: It's really amazing how Son Ye Jin can wear one outfit throughout the movie and still look gorgeous in every scene although she is well almost dying. It's really cute and funny from the first scene and there's never a dull moment! A typical disaster film but this is really really good that even my brother who hates korean films love this. 

    - You are the apple of my eye
    9/10

    Plot[edit]

    The story begins in 1994. An outstanding student, Shen Chia-yi is popular among her teachers and classmates. The mischievous Ko Ching-teng claims that he has no interest in her, despite being her classmate since junior high school. One day the teacher moves Ching-teng's seat, placing him in front of Chia-yi, because he was caught masturbating in the back row during class.
    In English class, Chia-yi forgets to bring her textbook. Feeling sorry for her, Ching-teng slips her his book and tells their teacher he forgot his own textbook; he then endures a long lecture and is punished. Chia-yi, touched by Ching-teng's generosity, prepares a practice paper for him in return, to encourage him to work hard at his studies. She also convinces him to stay after school to study with her. From then on their relationship grows, and Ching-teng's grades gradually improve. However, they have not kissed or held hands.
    On graduation, Ching-teng enrolls at the National Chiao Tung University. Chia-Yi does not do well on the examinations because she was ill on that day, and only managed to enter the National Taipei University of Education with her mediocre test results. Depressed, she is consoled by Ching-teng, who calls her long-distance almost every night from university. During the winter holiday season that year they go on their first, "unofficial" date, where Ching-teng asks Chia-yi if she loves him. However, fearing that she would say no, he refused to listen to her answer. Ching-teng later organizes a fight night and invites Chia-yi to watch, since he wanted to impress her with his "strength". Instead, Chia-yi thinks it is childish to for him risk injuring himself; this upsets him, sparking a quarrel and they eventually break up.
    During the two years after their breakup, Ching-teng has no contact with Chia-yi. He qualifies for a graduate research course at Tunghai University, where he begins writing stories online. Ching-teng managed to regain contact with Chia-yi only after the 921 earthquake, when he calls to see if she is injured. During their long conversation with each other, they both lament the fact that they were not fated to become a couple.
    Years later, in 2004, Chia-yi suddenly calls Ching-teng to tell him that she is getting married. All of her old friends gather at the wedding, making jokes and trying to embarrass her somewhat-older husband. They are surprised that their past emotions have transformed into deep friendship and serenity. Ching-teng begins to work on a web novel about his experiences with Chia-yi.
    Personal Comments: Another one of those melodrama and romantic comedy both. It's worth watching but well it gets boring at times

    - Cold Eyes
    10/10

    • Movie: Cold Eyes (English title) / Stakeout (literal title)
    • Revised romanization: Gamshijadeul
    • Hangul: 감시자들
    • Director: Cho Ui-Seok, Kim Byung-Seo
    • Writer:
    • Producer:
    • Cinematographer:
    • Release Date: July 4, 2013
    • Runtime: 118 min.
    • Production Company: Zip Cinema
    • Distributor: Next Entertainment World
    • Language: Korean
    • Country: South Korea

    Plot

    Detective Hwang (Sol Kyung-Gu) leads a specialized surveillance team in the police department. Yoon-Joo (Han Hyo-Joo) takes a test to join the team. She's tested on her observation skills and memorization. She passes her test and becomes the newest member of the surveillance team.
    While, Yoon-Joo takes her test, James (Jung Woo-Sung) and his crime group robs a bank. He stands on the rooftop of a nearby building and directs his team's movements. He doesn't tolerate any mistakes.
    As soon as Yoon-Joo joins the surveillance team, they are tasked to take down James' criminal group. The surveillance team immediately runs into trouble when they can't identify any of the robbers due to their masks and their efficiency in robbing the bank. Detective Hwang finds one man caught on CCTV near the bank.
    James gets a new order from a mysterious broker (Kim Byung-Ok) and once again completes a heist. While, the surveillance team goes after James, the mysterious broker also looks to take out James.

    Personal Comments: I watched this because of han hyo joo but surprisingly it's damn damn damn good... ^_^ the directing is *thumbs up*, the director mangaged to make the whole show super exciting hehe the acting was good too, han hyo joo whoose normally acting isn't that good was surprisingly like her character in the story... Jung woo sung's acting is also supererb, a very believable bad guy, first time actor 2pm's Junho did a amazing job too although his screen time is ummmm little. Recommanded to watch this show in the cinema as it would be more exciting 


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