Maundy Thursday Movie Review

Title: Maundy Thursday

AKA: Our Happy Times / Holy Thursday

Genre: Romance

Origin: Korea

Release date: September 14, 2006

Cast: Kang Dong Won and Lee Na Young.

When she for the third time fails suicide Moon Yoo Jung (Lee Na Young) meets her childhood nun. As her family is very religious and part of the church community, most of her childhood was in the church and with the nun. The nun gives her an ultimatum, either she goes to counseling or goes with her to a prison to meet an inmate. She reluctantly promises the nun to go with her and meet the inmate every Thursday, but when noticing that he is convict on death row she immediately regrets it. The inmate Jung Yoon Soo (Kang Dong Woo) is serving the death sentence for man slaughter, and has for some reason wished to meet Yoo Jung before he dies.

After refusing to meet the nun, Yoo Jung is forced to keep her promise and meets Yoon Soo every Thursday. Slowly these two find each other and the will to live again…

This is one of those you have to get in the mood for in order to actually grasp it, and yet you still understand the severity of it. It shows the other side of the wall, and yet it becomes heartbreaking in the end. I started watching this because of Kang Dong Won since I am a huge fan of his, and he really did not let me down. Even though this is over 7 years old you don’t really see that especially if you aren’t familiar with the Korean justice world. The impression I had in Korean dramas was that you serve an amount of time - no matter what kind of murder - and get release on either probation or released completely. But in this movie my impression is much more different. I don’t want to taint your impression of the movie and the theme if you are going to watch it, so I won’t discuss anything more. Though I’ll say it really is good, and the chemisty is brilliant even though there is almost no skin ship.

All in all I do recommend it.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Jeon Woo Chi Movie Review

Title: Jeon Woo Chi

AKA: The Taoist Wizard

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Period, Comedy, Romance

Origin: Korea

Release date: 23 December 2009

Cast: Kang Dong Won, Baek Yoon Sik, Kim Yoon Seok, Im Soo Jung, Yoo Hae Jin, Kim Sang Ho, Joo Jin Mo and Song Young Chang

Being a cocky yet talented magician, Jeon Woo Chi (Kang Dong Won) tries with all means to become the most famous person in the Joseon Dynasty. Though he can’t really use magic without his talismans, his Master (Baek Yoon Sik) believes he has some potential. When the flute, that summons goblins and shows humans their true faces, happens to fall into Woo Chi’s hands, the great Hwadam (Kim Yoon Seok) hears about it, and together with the three gods, finds the hiding place. As the wizard master and Hwadam try to decide who shall keep the flute, it breaks into two, and both leave their separate ways.

Later that same evening Hwadam returns and kills the Master, blaming it on Woo Chi, and with the help of the three gods, sealing him in a painting.

500 years later, in modern days Seoul, goblins have been trying to find out what has happened to the flute, even holding a god and subduing him, but when the two other find out, they aid to rescue, only to be attacked by them. Unable to fight back, they re-summon Woo Chi, in order to have him destroy the goblins, which he does, but he has his own agenda: finding the great bronze sword that has been said to have amazing powers.

This is nice movie for fantasy lovers, even though it is ‘Asian’ fantasy, but till pretty good. It has some period elements, without being confusing. I love and have always loved Kang Dong Won, here he doesn’t disappoint me and does a neat job, really entertaining. Im So Jung is one of my favorite actresses, has been since Sorry I Love You, and still is. I am not sure whether I recommend it, unless you like this Wuxia stuff, I usually don’t but here it’s okay.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Secret Reunion Movie Review

Title: Secret Reunion
Genre: Thriller, action, friendship
Origin: Korea
Release date: 04 February 2010
Cast: Song Kang Ho and Kang Dong Won.

Working as a spy for North Korea, Song Ji Won (Kang Dong Won) left a family, hoping to go back after his last mission, which involves the assassination of a North Korean defect that writes badly about their ‘leader’. In the police force, an anti-terrorist force with Lee Han Kyu (Song Ho Kang) as the cheif, they’ve been on the heels of Ji Won for a long time, and as they finally figure out what his next move is, they try to ambush him.
Ji Won on the other hand, has met up with a legend from the North “The Shadow”, and as they together go to the defects house, they are ambushed, but that was due to an anonymous tip given to the police. The Shadow on the other hand believes its Ji Won who’s responsible for the set-up, leaving Ji Won to go underground. The ambush fails, and Han Kyu is fired.
6 years later, the two meet, both able to recognize each other, and both with plans of using each other: Han Kyu wants to use Ji Won as bait to lure out the shadow, and Ji Won wants to use Han Kyu as a ticket back to North Korea to see his wife and child again, but somehow they start to care for one another…

Are you freaking kidding me? One of the best movies till date! Daim these Koreans know how to make action/police movies and dramas! I don’t believe I’ve ever been disappointed in these categories before! This movie is both moving, action packed (in a way) and brilliantly acted, I seriously doubt anyone could do it better than these two. Seriously, there isn’t much bad to say about it, except that the ending should have been just a little more spectacular, but on the other hand its neat, even the amount given : )
I most defiently recommend it.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Jenji's verdict
I think the movie shows how most of koreans, or the stereotype, are towards immigrants and the North Koreans, from what I know. I dont really know how it is in daily life but from what I've seen, they seem to really not like other nationalities from east Asia. But then again it shows that not all people are like that. And it wants to show that we should be "humane", and treat other people "humanely". The message is really good, and it's a great action movie, no complaints about that. I just hated all the bad people in here, made me really hate those stereotypes, and again I'm happy there are movies like this to show that it is wrong and no matter nationality or whatever, we are firstly humans.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

1 % of Anything Review

Title: 1% of Anything
AKA: Something About 1%
Genre: Romnace, Family
Episodes: 26
Broadcast period: 2003-Jul to 2003-Dec
Cast: Kim Jung Hwa, Kang Dong Won, Han Hye Jin, Lee Byung Wook, Kim Seung Min and Kim Ji Woo.

Kim Da Hyun (Kim Jung Hwa) is a bit of a blockhead; she’s smart but forgets things easily. One day she meets an old man on a train, whom she helps and befriends. Little does she know: that old man is the chairman of the Saga Company, one of Koreas biggest, and has now found a liking in Da Hyun. The chairman decides to retire and write his will in which states that if his grandson Lee Jae In (Kang Dong Won) marries Da Hyun, he’ll get the company, if he doesn’t want to, his second grandson Min Tae Ha (Lee Byung Wook) just has to marry her and he’ll get the company. Jae In and Tae Ha have been rivals and enemies their entire life, so Jae In refuses to let Tae Ha have shot.
Jae In takes his friend Kim Hyeong Jun (Kim Seung Min), who is a lawyer, with him to meet the teacher, Da Hyun, but with the fiery temper of Jae Ins, sparks fly between them and they bicker. Second time they meet they come up with a plan: make a contract where Da Hyun is to date Jae In for 10 months and Jae In is to help a student of Da Hyuns, into a school in the U.S.

This drama is interesting: it’s old without being out-dated, but has a lot of silly elements. I guess it’s because it’s an old KOREAN (notice the enlarged word), it becomes, well unnatural, but somehow, it manages to swing to my likening. It’s simple, predictable and not to mention ongoing: three love stories, all with the ’parents-disagree’ problem… A little too much, huh?
On the other hand, it’s fun, and worth ones time, well mine. Don’t watch it if you look for excitement or heart pounding, none of that here. It’s a nice family drama.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts