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Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Korean Film Festival 2013


Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines once again brings Korean cinema to the Filipino public. The Korean Film Festival 2013 features six movies namely A Werewolf Boy, Masquerade, Sunny, Green Days, Deranged, and Dancing Queen. It will be held in SM Megamall on Sept 18-22, SM Iloilo on Sept 26-29, SM Cebu on Oct 3-6 and SM Lanang in Davao on Oct 10-13.


SM MEGAMALL

Sept 18
19:00 A Werewolf Boy

Sept 19
16:30 Masquerade
19:35 Dancing Queen

Sept 20
16:30 Green Days
19:10 Deranged

Sept 21
13:00 Green Day
15:30 Dancing Queen
18:25 Sunny

Sept 22
13:00 A Werewolf Boy
15:55 Sunny
18:50 Masquerade

SM ILOILO

Sept 26
19:00 Sunny

Sept 27
17:10 Dancing Queen
20:00 Green Days

Sept 28
14:20 Green Days
17:10 Dancing Queen
20:00 Deranged

Sept 29
14:20 A Werewolf Boy
17:10 Sunny
20:00 Masquerade

SM CEBU

Oct 03
19:00 A Werewolf Boy

Oct 04
18:30 Deranged
21:00 Sunny

Oct 05
16:00 Green Days
18:30 Masquerade
21:00 A Werewolf Boy

Oct 06
16:00 Green Days
18:30 Dancing Queen
21:00 Deranged

SM LANANG PREMIER

Oct 10
19:00 Masquerade

Oct 11
18:00 Deranged
20:30 Green Days 

Oct 12
15.25 Green Days
17:45 Dancing Queen
20:30 A Werewolf Boy

Oct 13
15:00 Deranged
17:45 Sunny
20:30 Masquerade


I highly recommend Sunny because it's one of my all-time favorite movies! Masquerade, A Werewolf Boy, and Dancing Queen are good, too. I plan to watch Deranged this friday so hopefully that'll push through. :)


Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Rainy Day Movies

It may be sunny in other parts of the world, but in the Philippines we're facing one storm after another. Right now, we're still battling Maring, one of the strongest storms to hit the country. A huge part of the metro is still submerged in flood. I'm luckily in my home province, and the rain won't stop falling. It's scary to go out.

So far the past five days, I do nothing but watch anime, movies, and kdramas. Thankfully, I never ran out of things to watch!

My Rainy Days
My Rainy Days (2009)

Of course, this has to be on the list!

This movie tells the story of Rio, a high school student who banks on her looks to gain friends and to find love. When she meets the college professor, Kouki, she realizes that there are some things in her life that she has to change.

Their first meeting happens in a hospital. The second takes place in the rain. It's a cute love story about two individuals who can't be more different from each, but they learn to adapt to each other's quirks. I actually expected a more mature type of movie but was surprised that it takes on a more innocent approach.

This could have been a typical Japanese romantic movie, but I'm glad that it takes a different path for its ending.


The Garden of Words
The Garden of Words (2013)

Takao promises to only skip school everytime it rains. And everytime it does, he goes to a park and sketches. Here he meets Yukino, an older woman who drinks beer and eats chocolate during daytime. As rainy days happen more, the two meets more often and eventually develops a subtly and genuine friendship.

This movie is really beautiful and I think I need to write a proper commentary for it. It's written, produced and directed by the man behind 5 Centimeters Per Second, so I guess it's no surprise that this one is amazingly drawn, too. However, I think I prefer this over 5 Centimeters.

I don't know what to say, but it definitely is the perfect movie to watch while cuddling in bed. Well, that's what I did anyway.

Memories of Murder
Memories of Murder (2003)

When it comes to crime/detective movies, expect Korea to produce the best ones.

Based on a true story, Memories of Murder details the events that took place in the 80s when the first known serial murderer in Korea was on a rampage. Two detectives try to solve the case while both are trying to adjust to each other's own sense of justice.

It's a thrilling murder case especially when things start to get personal. What makes this movie enthralling is how it tries to look into the heart of the murder, but ends up looking into the hearts of the detectives as well. When it comes to seeking justice, sometimes the one carrying it out gets blinded  by their own conviction.

Nothing can make you feel the chill of rainy days than a good crime movie. It's been quite a long time since I watch it but it left quite a lasting mark.

Temptation of Wolves
Temptation of Wolves (2004)

Not my favorite Guiyeoni novel adaptation, but it's definitely a nice movie to watch while curling up in bed. Nothing beats high school sappy love stories when it comes to warming up your insides.

HanKyung is a country bumpkin who moves to the city. She's pretty daft, and somehow, she finds herself in the middle of a whirlwind story full of romance, gang fights and some brotherly love.

She's definitely not the best heroine out there, too, but she has to two leading men enough to turn away the dark clouds of your day. (Okay, that sounds ridiculous. Sorry.) This is the movie that sent Kang DongWon into stardom, and he definitely made me love TaeSung. In the novel, I actually prefer HaeWon.

If you end up enjoying this movie, try Doremi and He Was Cool, too!

Sunny
Sunny (2010)

Definitely my favorite movie of all tim, so it's the perfect movie to watch in any season. But when it's storming outside, this is the kind of movie that can cheer you up. Heck, even the title says so!

Nami is an average housewife who's going through a mid-life crisis. One day when she visits her mother in the hospital, she meets an old friend. Together, they reminisce their high school days and tries to find their other friends. It's a heart-warming movie about friendship and growing up.

Nothing perks me up more than this movie does. I think it's the best example of how a woman loses herself once she becomes a wife and a mother. Together with her friends, Nami tries to find her old self.

It's weird how I haven't blogged about this movie, but if anyone will ask for a movie recommendation, this will always be on the list.

The Classic
The Classic (2003)

JiHae, a college student, moves to the house her mother used to live in. Here, she finds a collection of letters and diary entries of her mother's first love who happens to not be her father. As she slowly learns about her mother's past, she also starts to fall for SangMin. The tricky part is that her best friend likes him, too.

It's a movie that deals with two different love stories but somehow finds a link in both. It's quite a treat since both stories have their own unique charm. Up till now, I haven't decided which one I like better.

Can there be a more defining movie than The Classic? Who can ever forget the rain scene in this movie? I have no idea how many times I have tried to imitate that scene.

If you haven't seen this movie, then you better do something about it. It's one of the must-watch RomCom South Korean movies, you know.

--

It definitely feels nice to stay in bed and watch movies all day, but I do hope that the rain will stop. We had too much already. You can help by donating or volunteering. The easiest would to check out redcross.org.ph. In the meantime, I do hope that all my readers are safe and warm at home.

Friday, 4 January 2013

Seven Something (2012)


Seven Something is the GTH's anniversary offering, a movie to commemorate their seventh year in the business. An anthology of sorts, the movie depicts three separate stories of love and friendship. The film opens with a little narration explaining how every 7 years, an important milestone or change happens in a persons life, and each story tries to illustrate this.

And that, I think, is where the movie fails. I'm not sure if I'm just slow in the uptake, or maybe it's a culture thing that I missed, but the title isn't fully incorporated in the story and the narration that's supposed to link each story doesn't really do it. It may be wrong to start this little review with a criticism, but I just need to get it out of the way. Because if you take it aside and try not to look too deep into the title, it's a pretty good movie.


We are first introduced to Milk (Sutatta Udomsilp) and Puan (Jirayu La-Ongmanee), two teens whose love story is proudly publicized online. But it's all thanks to Puan who enjoys basking in the online limelight, which pretty much annoys Milk. This story is probably targeted for the younger audience, though it seems shallow at first, it perfectly captures a phenomenon that's prevalent among the youth. Many kids these days are obsessed with getting as many Facebook likes as possible, as many Youtube views, Twitter followers. This is the generation where the youth gives value on online popularity way too much. And unsurprisingly, it's often the cause of many failed relationships and petty miscommunication.

The second story is of two ex-lovers, Mam (Cris Horwang) and Jon (Sunny Suwanmethanont), who met in a film set but sadly, their breakup isn't very pretty. It's actually very messy breakup that leaves tears and pain (literally) in its trail. Seven years later, Mam tries to convince Jon to do the sequel of the movie that made them famous, but Jon has long turned his back from acting. It's about the career of an actress who tries to hold on to what little popularity she has left. And it's about a man who gives little value in fame but lured in  just because one girl. But most of all, it's a story of a relationship that's ruined by pride and hurtful words. It's a relationship that's battered and completely stripped off beauty, but once the couple set aside their pride and inhibitions, they're left with enough care for each other to get back together.

The conclusion of the movie tells the story of two people who cannot be more different from each other. Both characters are unnamed which leaves more charm to their story. They met when the guy which we should simply call Finisher 1988 (Nichkhun) bumps into the girl, who happens to be an anchorwoman, during one of his runs. After a couple of persuasion, he manages to persuade the anchorwoman (Suquan Bulakul) to join a marathon. He runs just to prove that his asthma isn't a limitation but a challenge, while she runs to start over and try to triumph over the sadness of her past. But the conflict arises when she realizes that people may not exactly approve of whatever relationship they have at the present. She's a woman old enough to be her mother and her past may forever haunt her. And he's a young man who has his whole life ahead of him. But as they ponder over this dilemma, they also go through the devils of running a marathon.


Each story has its flaws but each one also has its own perks. Surprisingly, I am most invested in the last story, when most of the time, I usually avoid older woman-younger man plotline. There's a coherence in the story in which I think the 3rd person narration helps create. The flashbacks help, too, and I think that of the three stories, it has the most depth. Their relationship is given time to develop, so the conflict wasn't rushed. I guess it also helps that it's the longest in the three-part movie. But maybe it's in the fact that it's the only one that gives a strong end to its story.

I cannot find the article where it's stated that there's a different director for each story, but despite it, the movie still has a coherence to it that I can only attribute to the editing. The movie is beautifully shot and well-edited, too. Each shot seems to be given ample creative input. From the first story alone, they made using technology seem so exciting! I mean, Puan's just editing videos and filming, how exciting can it get, right? So kudos to the team behind the movie. In the second story, we are presented with such visual delight for every underwater shot in the aquarium. It's really a sight to behold.

Rounding up actors and actresses that have already appeared in previous GTH films, Seven Something is enjoyable to watch. Even for someone like me who has only watched a handful of movies from them, the movie still feels a bit like a trip down memory lane. Because aside from telling fresh stories, the movie also pays tribute to the movies that took company to where it is right now. So many cameos in the movie and it's like a game for a foreign viewer like me to spot the actors and actresses who appeared in other GTH films.

Seven Something is a good movie, but not GTH's best. But I understand why they chose such format to celebrate their anniversary. Each part is short but it challenges the directors to come up with ways to effectively tell a compelling story within a limited time. Thus, there's no time for irrelevance or petty angles. We are only given what's essential to ke. And t


Tuesday, 1 January 2013

2012 Movies

When I think back on 2012, I felt as if I didn't watch that many movies. Because seriously, I'd go home and immediately fall asleep from exhaustion. Sometimes, I only had time for dinner and barely had the chance to watch anything. Then I counted all the Asian movies I watched and I was shocked. Haha!

And because I'm the laziest blogger ever, I only got to write about 25 movies when I actually got to watch 57 Asian flicks! I swear I try to write right after watching but laziness and fatigue and sleep got the better of me. So I guess for 2013, one of my New Year's resolutions is to not slack off when it comes to writing commentaries on movies. But 2012 was so amazing because I attended Cinemalaya for the first time, watched Filipino, Thai, Korean and Japanese movies in the theater, too

To make up for a lazy year of writing about movies, here's the list of movies I watched last year and with corresponding ratings, too!

Disclaimer: I am biased and I have no distinct criteria when rating. Heehee.

Legend:
* Re-watch
** Watched in the theater

Arranged in alphabetical order because I have no life. :)

  1. 200 Pounds of Beauty (8/10)
  2. 24/7 In Love ** (9/10)
  3. 71 Into the Fire (9/10)
  4. Acoustic (6/10)
  5. All About My Wife (10/10)
  6. Always (8/10)
  7. Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon (10/10)
  8. ATM: Er Rak Error ** (7/10)
  9. Babae sa Breakwater ** (8/10)
  10. Barefoot Dream ** (10/10)
  11. Battle Royale * (8/10)
  12. Beck (9/10)
  13. Blind (8/10)
  14. Blue Gate Crossing (9/10)
  15. Bokura ga ita Zenpen (9/10)
  16. Chilling Romance (10/10)
  17. Confessions (10/10)
  18. Dear Galileo (8/10)
  19. Every Breath U Take ** (7/10)
  20. Fan Chan (10/10)
  21. Fish Story (9/10)
  22. From Up on Poppy Hill (8/10)
  23. Gantz (7/10)
  24. Gantz: Perfect Answer (8/10)
  25. Hana and Alice (9/10)
  26. Hataw Na (8/10)
  27. Hear Me * (10/10)
  28. Heavenly Forest (8/10)
  29. Hello Ghost (8/10)
  30. Hormones (8/10)
  31. I Give My First Love to You (8/10)
  32. Infernal Affairs (9/10)
  33. Intoy Syokoy ** (7/10)
  34. Introduction to Architecture (9/10)
  35. Kiki's Delivery Service * (10/10)
  36. Ligo na U Lapit na Me (7/10)
  37. Namess Gangster: Rules of Time (8/10)
  38. Nana (9/10)
  39. Penny Pinchers (8/10)
  40. Petty Romance (9/10)
  41. Punch (9/10)
  42. Quick (7/10)
  43. Romantic Island (9/10)
  44. Rurouni Kenshin ** (10/10)
  45. Seven Something (9/10)
  46. Spirited Away * (9/10)
  47. SuckSeed * (9/10)
  48. Suicide Circle (8/10)
  49. Summer Time Machine Blues (8/10)
  50. Sunny (10/10)
  51. Taare Zameen Par (9/10)
  52. The Classic * (9/10)
  53. The Mistress ** (9/10)
  54. This Guy's in Love With You Mare! ** (8/10)
  55. Top Secret (8/10)
  56. Unofficially Yours ** (8/10)
  57. You are the Apple of My Eye (9/10)
So that's my 2012 movies, I think I got confused in the middle of rating everything. Also, just because I didn't give it a 10/10 doesn't mean it's not my favorite! Take SuckSeed for example, I seriously think it has tons of flaws but I love it anyway. Also, two of my favorites are Petty Romance and You are the Apple of My Eye but I don't feel confident giving them a 10/10!

I think I'll make a proper post of my favorites among the ones I watched last year, because they at least deserve a proper post! Hee.

Happy New Year, dear readers. I hope you had a more productive day than I did! I also hope we'd get to see more of each other this year! Thank you for putting up with my crap and thank you for reading my rants! It means more to me than you'll ever know. Haha.

And to end this post, here's a stupid picture of myself wishing you all a happy new year! :)

P.S. I do hope I'm kawaii enough for you. Also, please don't hate me. Haha.
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