SQUID GAME 2 (2024): Short Review, Actors' Controversy & Was it Inspired by True Story?

 

SQUID GAME 2 is South Korean dystopian survival thriller television series Squid Game season2, created by Korean television producer and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk. It was released on Netflix on December 26, 2024 with a total 7 episodes. It is a sequel from its original series in 2021.

It is set three years after Seong Gi-hun won the Squid Game in season 1. A little flashback to season 1, squid game or ojingeo game which was released on September 2021 with total 9 episodes, tells a story about Seong Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-Jae) gets fired from his job. His life is miserable. Seong Gi-Hun was offered by a stranger in a train station about a secret survival game, with a 45.6 billion won prize for the winner. He decides to take part in the game. Meanwhile, Cho Sang-Woo (Park Hae-Soo) is Gi hun's best friend which is like a brother to Seong Gi-Hun and vice versa. They grew up in the same neighborhood. Despite his poor family background, Cho Sang-Woo graduated from a prestigious university and found a good job. He now faces a crisis, due to embezzlement of company funds that he did. He decides to join the secret survival game with Seong Gi-Hun. The ending is tragic when you have to sacrifice everything just for money. 

Back to the 2nd season, Seong Gi Hun is finally canceled his plan on going to the United States  to see his daughter and instead returning to the games with the intention of stopping them once and for all. He once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of ₩45.6 billion. Unknown to him, his plan won't be easy to be done no matter how meticulous his plan was. The third and final season, which was filmed back-to-back with the second season, will be released this year in 2025.

As successful as it is, squid game also has its own Controversies surrounding the actors and story. Some actors are allegedly related to criminal cases such as sexual misconduct, marijuana, prostitution, DUI, etc. and inspiration for its story was said to be the case of Brothers' Home: South Korea's 1980s 'concentration camp'. As quoted from BBC; According to testimonies and evidence gathered from the site, detainees say they were used as slave labor at construction sites, farms, and factories during the 1970s and 80s. They were also allegedly tortured and raped, with hundreds dying under the inhumane conditions.The facility at Hyungje Bokjiwon has been compared to a concentration camp, but its story is not widely known, and nobody - to this day - has been held accountable for the atrocities that reportedly happened within its walls. Although it was not officially confirmed by the producer. 

 

As for personal review, this series is definitely not suitable for minor or below +18 and quite a good watch but somehow made me uncomfortable with gory and adult scenes. And I also have to say that the previous season was far more superior than this 2nd season. The thrill to what's next on the game, how they're going to be eliminated in the game and the prominent characters are not so intriguing as the first one. This is my fan art for the drama based on its poster. The iconic part from this series perhaps related to the simple green with white combination jumpsuit costume for the game participants, the pink soldiers costume and also the simple front man black leather coat. 

 

MOVING - The Superheroes Disguised as Ordinary People (Korean Drama 2023)

 

    Moving is a 2023 Korean drama which aired on August 9 - September 20. The story is about Kim Bong-Seok, Jang Hui-Soo and Lee Gang-Hoon who attend the same high school.    

   They look like ordinary students, but actually they have special abilities that they inherited from their parents. Kim Bong-Seok has the ability to fly with sharp senses. Jang Hui-Soo has excellent athletic abilities and she is able to rapidly recover from injuries, like being shot or stabbed. Lee Gang-Hoon has uncanny power and speed.

    These three students try to hide their special abilities from other people, while their parents struggle to protect them from being used by other and it is related to their past with secret government agency. 

    Based on webcomic "Moving ” by Kang Pool (published from February 2 to September 21, 2015 via Daum). I decided to watch it after I noticed the drama and the actors got a lot of awards in several occasions. I was pretty curious of what it had to offer in the story and It was indeed one of a great and out of the box Korean drama although I can't say if the theme or the idea of super power people is something new or original. It kind of reminded me a lot of marvel X-men mutant superheroes even some of the background story, school and such. The only thing different would be in this drama there is no flashy and colorful superhero costumes. Just special people with normal appearances.

   

    I give it 8.5 to 8.9 out of 10 and highly recommended to watch for adult. Beware the gory and bloody parts that might not be uncomfortable to watch. And the moral value would be: be kind no matter what. This is my fan art drawing based on one of the official poster.

RED SWAN (K-DRAMA 2024): A Confusing and Predictable Bodyguard & Chaebol Story

   Red swan is 2024 Korean drama which aired and has finished just recently. The story revolves around Oh Wan-Soo (played by Kim Ha-Neul) who reached the top of her sport career as a golf player despite having a rough life background. Her life is nearly perfect as she managed to live a life within the upper class by marrying the successor of the Hwain Group. Now, Wan-Soo retired as golfer to work as the chairperson for Now family foundation and has gained worldwide fame through her charity work. 

   Her life suddenly changed and always in danger right after her father in-law died. She then has Seo Do-Yoon (played by Rain) as her new bodyguard. Do-Yoon graduated from the police university. He joined the security team for Hwain family for a certain reason. One by one, both of them eventually find out the dark secret within this chaebol family they live in. 

   That's a short spoiler about this drama. after finished watching the whole 10 episodes, I would personally rate it as 4.5 to 5 out of 10. this came from an awful plot and characterization also lack of chemistry. It was a total failure and mostly predictable too. Unfortunately, I would not recommend it to watch for it's not worth the time. To be honest, I felt disappointed to waste my time on it. Anyway, this is my random fan art drawing based on the official poster. 

As for fashion sense, the main female lead wore some expensive branded clothing from gown, dress, blazer, work suit, etc as shown in the photos above. The poster and photos belong to the rightful owner and not mine. 

WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE (2024 Korean - Japanese Drama)

   What comes after love is a 2024 six episodes Korean drama which currently aired started on 27 September. Based on novel "Sarang Hooae Oneun Geoddeul" by Kong Ji-Young & Hitonari Tsuji (published December 20, 2005 by Sodam Books). A collaboration between Korean and Japanese writer. 

 

   It is about Choi Hong (played by Lee Se-Young) as a Korean free spirit girl trying to study in Japan. She then meets Jungo Aoki (played by Kentaro Sakaguchi), a literature college boy and they fall in love with each other. However, they broke up due to different thoughts about love and practical problems in a past future plot storytelling. 5 years later, Hong and Jungo meet again in Korea and I'm so curious after 3 episodes of how they're gonna resolve their feelings in the end. It was worth watching so far I give like 8 out of 10 and with beautiful cinematography, story line and chemistry. This is my fan art drawing based on one of their official poster.

   

   I anticipated this one because its been so long since the last 2002 four episode Korean-Japanese collaboration drama titled 'Friends' played by Won Bin and Kyoko Fukada which was one of all time favorite drama. 

   

   I've eagerly waited like every week for the rest of the episodes to know how they will conclude the story. Unfortunately, the ending for me personally just kill (not only ruin) all the good things that were shown in the previous episodes. How come they made such ending after all the detail romantic back story between them only to ended up just holding hand and run together smiling, without any dramatic union moments such as emotional hugging and kissing. They're after all longing for each other and just found out the truth about their real feelings also cleared up all the misunderstanding. I know maybe it was cheesy or cringe but those sweet moments in the past should be justified with a lovely ending. At least that was what I hoped for, especially it was Korean made and not Japanese one. It was totally different with 'Friends' drama I've mentioned earlier where the climax was pure satisfaction and it was so good to repeat watching it several times. As for this I have to correct the rating as 7.5 out of 10 due to the ending. I like the romantic moments but I dislike the stiff ending. One more thing, all the obstacles and questions related to the girl's parents, him letting her know about his past seemed to be just brushed off as not important and it was truly unfortunate. I would not want to watch it again knowing how the story will end. That's all.

   As for sense of fashion in this movie, mostly use earthy color tones in an autumn season for working people with long coat and simple clothing. There are a lot of photos on Google for this and what I've put here are belong to the rightful owner (not mine) and served only for references. Thanks for reading my article.

MIDNIGHT ROMANCE IN HAGWON - Korean Drama 2024

 Another kdrama which aired on May 11 to June 30, 2024.

Seo Hye-Jin (played by Jung Ryeo-Won) who has worked as a Korean language teacher at a private educational institute in the Daechi-neighborhood of Gangnam for the past 14 years. The neighborhood is known as the most competitive private education area in south korea. Until recently, Seo Hye-Jin has agonized over her future post-teaching career and what she wants in her past dream. At that time, her ex-student Lee Joon-Ho (played Wi Ha-Joon) appears in front of her again for the first time in 10 years. When Seo Hye-Jin taught him, she did her best to teach him and he finally made it into a prestigious university. That helped her gained fame as an instructor. Lee Joon-Ho then quit working for a big company and begins work as a rookie instructor at the same private educational where Seo Hye-Jin teaches which she didn't approve at first. This is where the conflict, romance and problems arise in her life. 

 

Well, that's for the short spoiler. The pace in this drama is quite slow and perhaps would be boring for some viewers who only watch for the romance and didn't enjoy educational perspective and competitiveness in Korean education system. Because it will not show as much. They said it as slow-burn romance. It was heavily reminded me to the drama 'Something in the rain' with the red umbrella and color tones in this drama. I can say this drama was good but not that great. Lets say 7 out of 10 for me. And this is my fan art drawing again based on the opening of each episode.One thing for sure, the couple fashion was good as shown in this article. The photos belong to the rightful owners.

WONDERFUL WORLD (Korean Drama 2024) - Cha eun woo's drama with tragic revenge theme

 Wonderful world is a 2024 kdrama which Aired on March 1 until April 13. The drama revolved around Eun Soo-Hyun (played by senior actress Kim Nam-Joo) she is a psychology professor and a famous writer, but one day perfect her life is completely changed. Her young son died unjustly due to hit and run. Making things worse, the person who responsible for her son’s death isn’t punished by the law and unwilling to even apologize for his action. Eun Soo-Hyun loses hope with this world and out of despair, decided to punish the man by herself. Her life is still in vain after years. One day, Eun Soo-Hyun gets involved with a young man (played by the handsome idol Cha Eun Woo) who suffer from similar pain as her and together solved their entangled life mystery. 

That's basically the short spoiler. However, the drama itself was getting me on my nerve somehow. At some parts, I got so annoyed with the plot and the main characters, especially the female lead. it should've been much better since it has the potential to be a good drama and I cant help to compare it after I've watched another famous revenge drama like the glory last year. The main characters should've been smarter since she's a professor and he is a bright medical student. If only who play the lead is someone like Song Hye Kyo's age for the woman, then it would also be more proper for the character and many more reasons for me to feel dissatisfied with this drama although the premise was actually interesting and we can learn some moral values from this story and to be honest, the title itself would be the sarcastic term of whats really going on inside it. 

And if I have to put some plausible factors would be seeing Cha Eun Woo's face here and main characters' sense of fashion, especially Cha Eun Woo's as I displayed here from some references found on Google which belong to the original owners and not mine. It would be like 6.8 out of 10 for me for this drama rating. This is my fan art drawing based on the opening art from each episode in this drama.

True Beauty from The secret of Angel - webtoon (Korean Drama 2020 - 2021) VS Backstreet Rookie (2019-2020)

 Well, what can I say? I've watched the 2 dramas in several months distance and I have to say these two actually has something more to offer but perhaps it didn't go as I would've expected in the end. I will give my thought about both drama as below:

BACKSTREET ROOKIE  (2019 -2020)

First of all, the one which aired a few months prior was Backstreet rookie. It is based on a webtoon with titled Convenience store Saet-Byeol /Pyeonuijeom Saetbyeoli. I read in several articles before the drama adaptation was decided, it was quite worrisome because of its adult content. People were concern due to the adapted adult content in drama later on and age of the selected actress Kim yo jung is really young in her early 20s meanwhile the actor Ji chang wook is in his 30s of age. 

 I didn't read the webtoon for this one as I was more curious about the drama itself. At the beginning of the early episodes. actually it has some potentials to grow more and turn into something great in the story. However, due to some violations based on viewers' opinion which accumulated in a protest to the government institution for this field, the drama finally got some warning and penalty. Since then, the story was stagnant, quite boring, practically didn't go anywhere that much. It should've been more if only the writer adjust the story better for the main characters and give them the justice they deserved but then again, I guess the drama team was trying to play safe, although to be honest, it was 'too' safe. In the end, it was quite disappointing as for 5.5 - 6 out of 10 for me.

TRUE BEAUTY (2020 - 2021)

Now we move on to the next drama. True Beauty. Another webtoon adaptation from The secret of Angel / Yeoshingangrim which revolved around a young girl who gained better attention after being bullied for her looks by applying some make up to make her looks beautiful. 

I've read the webtoon for several chapters until I dropped it halfway due to my boredom. I then, give the drama a chance to see if it was better than the webtoon itself. I guess I was expecting too much of it. Other than good looking guys, a scent of bullying problem, and highschool life drama, there was nothing else to offer. The point of expecting the main girl character to grow more as an inspiring one was far fetched. She was just too lucky in her life and that's not really what I want to see. Therefore, I didn't continue the rest of the last episodes as I didn't really feel like doing it. In my taste this would be 6 out of 10 too. One thing that is perhaps inspiring would be the costumes for youth fashion inspirations.

Side note: Maybe this is influenced by my personal thought and often comparing it to Japanese drama which often shows of life should be better if we deem to thrive for it the best we can.

*the drawing of True Beauty was a sudden urge as I want to do it when I still expecting a good thing from the drama back then.

ALICE / Aelriseu (Korean Drama 2020)

After a while, I've found one interesting and intriguing Korean drama this year named 'Alice'. It is still an ongoing drama with only 4 episodes so far but I can't wait to see what's next to come. I might add some more review with conclusion later on if it is needed.

There's nothing new in the premise of this drama nor the theme since it is about time travel, parallel universe and changing the past or present or even future with the hope for a better life of human kind in some way. The plot is  quite fast for early episodes with back and forth timeline from one to another scenes to tell its story and background in general. Perhaps it was meant to give a better understanding to the viewers of what it's all about.

While some people made a rather pointless argument about the age gap between the main characters and how difficult it is to understand the pace, I would like to point out more on the riddle to solve among the characters themselves. It may not be well-received by those who crave for cheesy easy cliche romance drama with shallow plot. Anyway, we will see it in the next episodes whether the lead female - physic professor is  truly the mother or it is entirely different person to the lead male - police detective guy. I like Joo won and Kim hee seon here no matter the age gap thing since it is not too obvious in their overall appearances. Kim hee seon looks  a lot younger in her 40s and Joo won is good as he is. ( to be continued)

UPDATED TODAY 25/10/2020

So, I finally finished watching this drama's last episode today, but on a note of only being curious with how the writer wrapped the whole things up instead of eagerly interested  and couldn't wait for it. I was full of expectations and excitement on the earlier episodes since it blew my mind away. However, it changed drastically as it progressed towards the end. As if it lost the charm and poof the magic was just gone and became draggy, boring, predictable and utterly nonsensical with so many plot holes. It has a similar case with 'Memory of Alhambra' where suddenly everything gone sour although it started with a good premise. Let me break down some of the things that made me shake my head so many times throughout the story (spoilers alert): 

1. Park Jin Gyeom (Joo Won), the main character, the child of prophecy, the special 'creation' with - special time travel ability without card-added later on, ended up as a crying, whiny, clueless, a bit psycho man who wasn't supposed to have another doppelganger as villain since his mother was a person from the future of 2050 who stayed 70 years in the past on 1992. He, who was being told as not having enough emotion but crying over his inability to save his mother several times. He can be at the right place and the right moment to save the professor with his 'lightning speed' many times because the time delay in between the dangerous moment was quite long and the bad guys were taking some times off to threat his victim before doing something vicious. He who eventually didn't die or disappear although the time was reset and everything else went back to normal as if his mother magically didn't come to 1992 and she supposed to maybe not even got pregnant if she didn't meet his dad Min hyuk at Alice. The most ridiculous thing was when his dad/Min Hyuk sedated him and kept him somewhere safe,then the professor Oh Seok Won (time traveler) asked Min Hyuk where Jin Gyeom was when he went back to Alice headquarter, a few moments later Jin Gyeom magically on his way to Alice and truly knew where he was going just like that and managed to get inside to then killed Oh.

2. Yoon Tae Yi (Kim Hee Seon), the mother and the physic professor shared the same names but different personalities.At first, the writer indicated that they were 2 totally different person who can live in the same time in 1992 and 2010 and has different neck mark. Yoon Tae Yi/Park Sun Yong as the mother was the creator of Alice/time travel machine, came to 1992 to collect the book of prophecy and leave little 9 years old Tae yi- professor later on- alone as when the police came. But then she was the one who took care of her and easily claimed as her mother. She who tried to invent another way to stop the time travel was not fully described as the inventor of the machine but more like only Alice staff at first, but then she was described as utterly genius who knew from the beginning about the book of prophecy and it was her ego not to stop the machine at the end. The most weird thing was when she killed herself just to save her son. The 2nd Yoon Tae Yi as the physic professor was a genius and had to witness her dad's death by time traveler, got a long amnesia, fascinated about time travel, an egoist with anger management problem but later on had something going on with Jin Gyeom and much later on met with the mother who magically transferred some memories to her as if she became the mother in one hell of a confusing episode. Her busy body to find solution was mere business out of nothing achieved for it in the end. She was ended up the one who remembered everything. That's it.

As for other characters, the plot twist over plot twist just made them  funny and confusing characters which were added to make the story merrier without any proper explanation as to why it happened the way it was. They live, they died, they were nothing. The different skin mark between Alice and illegal time traveler in the end made no sense, no difference and just nothing. 1-10 episodes were OK and the remain 6 episodes were lame. Ending was lame. The genre was forcefully mixed half way too for no reason with a pinch of comedy, cringe, romance moment. For final score for me as a mere drama viewer is almost 7 out of 10. I suspected either the writer was being changed or simply lost the golden idea half way.           

* the illustration is made by me last week in speedpaint process based on the real poster.

* for Fashion notes: I like Tae Yi's clothing style with her Jackets, blazers in casual mix and match.     

 

 

Kajol, Kyoko Fukada, Tuba Buyukustun, Song Hye Kyo and Rachel Weisz (My Favorite Actresses)

They are my favorite actresses from different countries.I made this semi collage illustration of them back in January 2020. 

I will write here why I like them for years in clockwise order. 

Kajol (India)

She caught my attention after I watched her movie; Kuch kuch hota hai, back in the year 2000. I instantly being a fan of hers and have been looking for more of her works. Her beauty is unique and her acting is natural. My favorite movies from her would be: Kuch kuch hota hai, Gupt, Dilwale dulhania le jayenge, Kabhi khusi kabhi gham, My name is Khan, Faana.

Kyoko Fukada (Japan)

I watched her for the first time in her first drama, Kamisama mo sukoshi dake. After that, I always anticipate her new work through the years although I might not follow or watch all of them. My favorite drama from her would be: Kamisama mo sukoshi dake, S.O.S, Second Love, Please love the useless me and more. I wish she would found her perfect man someday and have a happy life as depicted in her dramas.

Tuba buyukustun (Turkey)

I like her a lot after watching her phenomenal drama "Kara para ask" with Engin Akyurek. I like her sense of fashion there too. I'm curious with her previous and latest work, however, it is not easy to find the online streaming drama to watch. 

Song Hye Kyo (South Korea)

I love her since Full house drama. It even inspired me when I built my home. Her beauty is just flawless and I didn't get bored watching her. As any other actresses above, I follow her latest news for almost everything. My favorite drama from her would be: Full house, That winter the wind blows, Descendants of the sun and the latest one, Encounter.  I still wait for her new project and wish she would eventually find the right man for her future.

Rachel Weisz ( UK/USA)

I fell in love with her after watching mummy movies back then. I often look for her movies, but I didn't watch them all. I like her mostly on The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, About a boy, The Constant Gardener, My Blueberry Night, My cousin Rachel. 

  

Kim Hee Ae in Secret Affair and The World of the Married (Korean Drama 2014 - 2020)

Lately I've been so overwhelmed with the news of Kim hee ae and her latest drama which most of Korean drama lovers known and that she was awarded as the best actress in Baeksang Art awards 2020. Therefore, I need to share some of my thoughts through my writing here about her.

Long before her drama (The world of the married -TWotM) became an undoubtly formidable hits drama this year, I've seen her in her previous drama back in 2014, Secret Affair (SA).

Both her new and previous drama shared the same theme, an affair or forbidden love from a married person. The most obvious difference would be her role there. 

Let's start with Secret Affair (2014). There,  she was the one who did the affair with one young pianist in his 20s while she was an independent unhappy married woman in her 40s. Yes, she was having a cold relationship with her husband who worked as a professor for years. He'd never touched her and seldom communicating other than works and daily conversation due to him being too busy on his own. Having been too lonely for years, she suddenly saw something interesting in the new talented young pianist who sought new knowledge for his skill from her. The rest was where all the problems, conflicts, love, secrets and society stigma collided until the end. It was a good drama and worth to watch with 8/10 for my personal rating.

As for The World of the Married (2020), it's quite the opposite where she played as a betrayed wife by her cheating husband with a young woman. Due to too much hype and attention on this drama also dozens of spoilers all over the social medias, I've decided not to watch this anytime soon. However, I somehow got the essence of the story and all the praises for her acting there.

In brief, both of her roles in these dramas offered one similar problem in different perspectives. I don't justify myself with agreeing her having an affair in SA, but under a different circumstance, she deserved a man who truly loved her like the young pianist and not as cold as her husband who made her as a mere pride show. However, in TWotM. as a woman, I would fully agree with her letting go of her toxic relationship with her ex husband for a better life. I need to spoil a bit about the ending for it was not like a fairy tale happy ever after ending story but a chunk of life with a lesson learned and moral values. 

Other than that, her 'high end-fashion runway style' costumes in both dramas were all excellent and had made her a great description of high society lady there. Unfortunately I didn't have more times to collect those pictures of her clothes to show here.

That's for her reel life as far as I follow. As her real life, she is happily married with her husband and children.
 

*The drama posters are not mine but belongs to the rightful owner but the graphic drawing picture above is mine.      

  

Sevimli Tehlikeli / Cute & Dangerous (Turkish Movie 2015)

I was bored back then and scrolled around some videos on Youtube to find something interesting to watch when finally I came across this movie.
 
The story in the movie revolved around Zarok who was being ordered to kidnap a baby girl in Edirne many years ago when he was a young orphan boy, causing a family to suffer from great pain for life. He did it assuming the person who told him so was his own dad but actually just a bandit who then killed by the client who took the baby. Many years have passed, the baby girl turned to be a young and beautiful girl named Zelis. They both met in an awkward way and since then the journey of both of them began. This movie is written and directed by well known Turkish actor Ozcan Deniz.

The premise was good, the overall package was also delightful to see. I love the ending. I gave like 8 out of 10 for this as a light and watchable movie with a good moral value.

The poster and photo belong to the rightful owner and not mine. 

The Tale of Nokdu & Vagabond ( Korean Drama 2019)

Tale of Nokdu (2019) 

At first, I did not intend to watch this drama due to lack of interest. However, after a few scenes from its early episodes shown in some social medias, I began to put more attention and finally watched it until the end.

It was overall interesting with fresh young actors, fresh story and unpredictable twists. It occurred to me that it would be like another light romcom drama with Joseon background but it was heavier and deeper than it seemed.

The story revolved around a young man who tried to find out about his real identity and a young woman who sought revenge for her parents' death because of the cruel insecure king. Destiny made them crossed paths with each other and all other mystery surrounded the story behind the tragedy. I have to give it like 8 out of 10 for all aspects especially the main male protagonist's acting when he disguised himself as a lady. I also got to say that the costumes from the drama were great in a bright-cheering-colorful tones which not necessarily refer to the actual color of that Joseon era.

The drawing/illustration is made by me and inspired from once of the lovely scene in one episode.

Meanwhile, the real cover of the drama is not mine but belong to the rightful owner 

Vagabond (2019)

This was one of my most anticipated Korean drama in 2019. I really like the actors and also the trailer. It was really promising and interesting.

The genre is action, political thriller drama with all the complicated unpredictable story related to money, power, love, trust issue, spy agents and more.
The special effect was outstanding like a movie would do, however the depth of the story was not good enough to define a great pack of genres I've mentioned above. I've watched it because I like the casts and the trailer. 

Overall it was good enough although I can't say it was better than Iris or complicated as Jason Borne movies. It was much lighter than that with sort of open ending too. I would give it about 7 out of 10 for my personal taste.

Despite all that, I like the clothes worn by the female protagonist though. It didn't show much but casual-elegant in her own way.

I randomly did speedpaint drawing inspired by one of the scene in one early episode when the protagonists were in Morocco.

Shoplifters (Japanese Movie 2018) and Parasite (South Korean Movie 2019)

   This week I've watched two movies with great quality in everything start from story-telling, plot, acting and moral values. To be honest, I was really satisfied and it got me thinking how amazing it is for the movie creator to share it with the viewers in a way that for example, me, got so hooked up watching it til the end.

   Both of the stories were complicated and deep but also share a little bit of joy and kindness. One thing particularly the same was the background of poverty. Their conditions led them did what they did just to live if it's not for the better.
    Shoplifters (2018) is a Japanese movie which revolved around a group of people that lived under one roof without any blood relations and they often do the shoplifting just to live their uptight daily life. Although it is quite difficult to live day by day but they are happy as a 'family'.

   Parasite (2019) is a South Korean movie which shared the same premise of poverty that leads a family of four to do whatever it takes to get a better life including to con a wealthy family.

  What I admire the most is the moral values from these movies. No matter how smart, smooth and tricky you are, when it comes to something bad you do, karma will tag along right behind you and harshly fall upon in a matter of time despite the excusable reasons for doing so. In addition, we also need to watch what we're saying in front of those who is not so fortunate with their life and avoid to underestimate or humiliate them but just being humble and be kind because we'll never know what others are going through.

  The twisted ending of both movies were also surprising and I couldn't guess it from the beginning although all I realize that it might not be pretty but deserving.

Notes: to make a real sense of poverty look, they show it by dirty or rug clothes with uncleaned faces and 'smell' which differ them from average or wealthy people. My personal rating would be 9/10.  It is highly recommended for movies with excellent quality.

Warning: These movie is not suitable for underage viewers due to violent and adult scenes.

*posters are not mine but belong to the rightful owner of these movies.

After the Ball (Canadian Film 2015)

Lately I find it hard to manage my time and spare it a little just to write an article or two for this blog, but today I've decided to do it after quite a while.

Well, I came across this movie about a few weeks ago. I kind of let myself to watch it til the end just to know how it ended rather than enjoying the movie itself. 

This is a Canadian movie which at first I thought was American, but I barely recognize the actors except the father and step mother. To know further whom I meant, anyone who read this article can go to Wikipedia because I don't want to write the detail of the casts.

Like any other predictable romantic comedy movie without any in depth story, especially this one was referring to Cinderella as the main plot, I have to say many things that I had in mind about it.

First of all, I'd like to call it not solely loosely-based -Cinderella story but more like a mix between Cinderella wanna be with Devil wears Prada and Mrs.Doubtfire or Tootsie but not in a pretty way. Why? because there are so many reasons why. Please do not continue reading unless you don't mind spoilers.

One, Kate or Katie Kassell as the main character and a daughter of CEO and founder of Kassell fashion, or the modern day Cinderella is somehow has to struggle that much just to get notice by her own dad to the point of disguising into a man just to be near him again. Okay the bla bla didn't live together for so many years and reminder of her mother to her dad, were just not enough as a great reason why her dad believed his new wife and step daughters more than her despite knowing how they are.  It's like totally strangers without any blood relation at all and the way her dad throw her out of the company in the first time was just too cold as if there is no effort to at least care. Yes she managed to win over in the end after that effort putting a swap gender appearance with totally different character. I still can tell that she is a woman though.

2nd, the prince is only ordinary worker in the company and barely has any power to help her in a way, yes just to get through the hard day but nothing else, I mean nothing in particular. 3rd, the step mother acted pretty much similar to the cold yet elegant fashion editor on Devil Wears Prada but nothing much like her. Meryl Streep is truly on another level compared to her. One last thing, the disguise thingy from a woman to a man is what reminded me to Mrs.Doubtfire or Tootsie. 

The only thing I like in the movie was the background of the company and her aunt's place with the clothes, fabrics, shoes and accessories. Those things always reminded me where I was before in my early days working in some companies. That's it though. Overall it was like 6.5 out of 10 for my personal rating.

*The photos/pictures belong to the rightful owner of the movie and not mine.

 

   

Song Hey Kyo's Divorce News

For more than a week on the news in all over media displays, her divorce news became a huge talking among people. It can't be helped since she is one of the most famous Korean actress and star which known all over the world.

As I read in a few news articles online, it was her husband who filed the divorce without her knowing it before hand. Then, some rumors started to wildly spread although it wasn't confirmed what would be the real reason behind their separation other than the statement of their agencies for unresolved differences of their characters.

I don't want to speculate further nor poking into their personal problems but speaking from my personal experience for having been in a marriage for more than a decade, I know for sure that marriage is not easy. The decision to unite or to separate, truly depends on the 2 person involved inside it. The one thing that enable a marriage to work is a high commitment, effort to maintain the communication and relationship and consider each other as a life time bestfriend, partner, lover and someone you can fully trust with almost everything. One thing for sure, don't forget to be happy. If it no longer makes you happy no matter how hard you've tried, then it is time to discuss and reconsider every possibility to save it or leave it. Once one of the couple, either the man or the woman, no longer want to keep everything that once he or she hold dear than it will be difficult. 

In addition, for people around them, they will never know what really happened and there always be several sides of the story. To keep explaining towards people will not be a good choice nor keep silence without anything to say. Again, based on my personal experience, telling people is not the best choice for it might backfire at us one day and sometimes they simply want to feed their curiosity without really helping in finding the solution. I prefer to let them think however they want as long as it didn't affect my life in a destructive way.

I have been her avid fan since long time. I hope for her the best and she will find the rainbow of eternal happiness after this.

*insert pic: my failed attempt in drawing her a few years ago.

 

 

Kill it ( Korean Drama 2019)

One of the short dramas I've watched this year. 

The theme, plot, acting and all other aspects were quite proportional towards the end, however, there are still a few things that I personally think it might need to be added as a note for review.

It revolved around the main protagonists, one lady cop and the other is a guy who works as a hired killer. As the story went, it will revealed the bitter past and connection between both of them along with  all other things to be resolved until the end. It was actually nice but to be honest I wasn't fond of the ending. 

It could've been much better and climax or left it as a hanging ending compared to this chosen ending, especially  when the guy is a pro at what he does after all. I will not spoil the exact story though.

For me it was like 8 out of 10 score. It was quite entertaining and recommended if you care to watch.

Marlina, the murderer in four acts (Indonesian Movie 2017)

It was really hyped several months ago when I heard about this movie and some awards they got from some movie festivals. I couldn't help but wonder and became even more curious for what it is all about.

A few weeks later I managed to watch it with English subtitle due to its language and accent which I hardly understand. It was divided into four parts with different sub title in each act. However, it was not that necessary since it displayed the same background all the way but only different in the main protagonist's position in the story.

At first, in the beginning of the story went well enough until the part where she killed almost all the robbers and got raped in the process. I wasn't impressed at all and the bitter taste continued until the end.

I was wondering so many things during that time when I watched the entire movie. Let's say I did not enjoy it as a whole to fully concentrate and excited for what came next. It was like just an obligation to finish it and see if something will change towards the end. Unfortunately, I was expecting too much for it. I can say that it was definitely in the opposite thinking when I watched '3Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri'. Actually it has a good premise or theme or even idea if only they did it as classy Hollywood's Oscar movies with great details and interpretation aside from acting itself.

In the end, I can understand why it wasn't chosen as a finalist in Oscar best foreign movie. It is just not good enough for me as a mere viewer/audience who love to watch any kind of movie.

*a random less than half hour digital speed-painting done by me for the cover based on its movie poster. 

Memories of Alhambra Korean Drama 2018

This is another new drama that I currently follow for the past few weeks, Memories of Alhambra. I think perhaps the title was inspired by the classical guitar with the same title and how it was related to cities in Spain for their background story.

The theme itself is quite interesting for me since they tried to put a popular AR (augmented reality) game into a fantasy story. How the game has changed the life of its main characters in a very surprising way. I remembered when back then Pokemon in AR game format reached its popularity and most people talked about it and even played to the extent of jeopardizing the lives of its players.  I also like the previous work of this writer in W: two worlds which was related to webtoon characters that came to life.

Up until 6 episodes so far, I'm still curious and also a bit bored with repetition with the game-playing which took longer duration that it supposed to be. Meanwhile, the character's development, pace are significantly slow and  unanswered questions started to pile up more and more. I'm worry if the writer maybe repeat their blunder in W:two worlds when they failed to impressed me with the mysterious villain identity and after that the story went downhill. Let's see if it takes more and better in story telling in the rest of the episodes.

Updated 13 January 2019 after Episode 13 (contained spoilers):
To be honest, the premise of this drama is actually good or shall I say promising. Not to mention the backward and forward story telling which might be confusing for some people. However, I begin to think there were some obvious plot holes as I finished watching episode by episode.

The girl, Jung hee jo, is not changing a lot since the first episode, just the same nice, kindhearted girl with a lot of responsibility for her family and finally own small guitar shop, who gradually fell in love with the main guy, Yoo jin woo. She didn't worry that much for her little brother after receiving fake emails for a year. She voiced out her curiosity and began to question everything only after meeting the guy again. It was quite weird.

The main guy, Yoo jin woo/Zinu is still busy trying to finished the unfinished and unrealistic AR game while searching for the creator/ the girl's 17 years old little brother, Jung se jo. After he accidentally killed his former friend who he thought would only be killed in the game but instead in reality and turned into an immortal game character that haunted him since, I was left with several questions in mind. He can log in into the game without the lens automatically without him knowing and can't be monitored by his IT employee. Surprisingly, in recent episodes, the server can be shut down (in which this is not explained the cause of the anomaly of the game) and he can take a rest from it. I mean why didn't he do it, shutting the server a long time ago to recover his body when he got sick.I also didn't understand how the guy got the special key when it was never shown before in the story. All he think about is how to level up, finish the game and rather look like taking advantage of the girl instead of really appreciating her feeling for him. He also became the know-it-all narrator in every episode and magically explained the part of the little brother feud with his evil friend. Weird case no.2.

The brother and his mystery remained a mystery whether he is dead or alive. I just didn't get the part when he laid down in the train station but invisible (which would be possible that he is dead) as his body is unknown and nowhere to be found.
The explanation of how the real people got killed just because of the game and become the game characters. It is God-like game with that kind of power. As for the last one is Emma, the pandora box. As if she is a living being rather than a mere game character in episode 13.There is a lot of weird cases to solve here, including Yu ra, Su jin and hee jo's friend characters with annoyingly disturb the story in my point of view. I still have to wait 3 more episodes to come to a conclusion.

Latest update January 21, 2019 after the drama is ended:

I guess one thing is pretty clear and obvious, not to expect much of this writer to do her work in a better way after W drama. This one is a lot worst compared to her previous work after watching the remaining episodes. She didn't manage to wrap everything in a good way and answered all the questions she pulled out from the beginning. Although let's say the drama is in fantasy genre, but still things needed to be properly explained as of why it happened. It felt like she was rather confused to tell her own story and only came up with one or two things to cover up the holes along the way. If I have to make the list of questions there will be more than enough to make anyone lazy to watch it. I have to say this is such a disappointment. I have to rate it personally as 6.5/10 which only the idea and special effects that I can praise more but other than that is a thumb down. The writer needs to learn from 'Ready player one' movie to get a sense of mixing game and reality would look like. 

The clothes worn by the main girl is really casual and appropriate for daily use.

*the picture was a half hour random digital speedpainting I did on a break time from work.

Encounter / Boyfriend / Namjachingoo Korean drama 2018

This is the new Korean drama I currently follow once a week. I was hyped to know my favorite actress Song hye kyo plays in a drama this year after 2 years hiatus.

Well, it sounds typical and nothing new about the theme and story. It is about noona-dongsaeng (young man with older woman) romance with rich-poor/ social status related genre. However, I'm curious for what they offer for the viewers to see in the plot due to another drama with similar theme has been aired before with title 'Something in the rain/ Pretty noona who buys me food' earlier this year.

So far, the story is heavier and a lot more serious compared to the other drama (SitR). The previous drama took faster pace and steamy romance only after 3 episodes and they rather played hide and seek as if the romance was not something to be proud of. They were afraid and aware of the reaction they might get from people around them/society. As for this Encounter drama, the plot is taking an opposite direction with being opened from the beginning and slower pace in romance with more complicated obstacles to overcome. Something in the rain (SitR) was well accepted and liked because of the secret steamy romance, fast pace in the beginning and both actors are single. Meanwhile, Encounter is heavily criticized by some fans because of the problems are more obvious then the romance at the moment and also because of one of them is married woman in real life. 

For me personally, Encounter is interesting and I can't wait for what happen next since the story only reach 6 episodes so far. still have to wait another 5 weeks to write the whole conclusion for this. I might add it later.

Updated on 13 January 2019 (contained spoilers):
I may say that this drama is surprisingly really good. I got the sense of feeling and excitement just the same as when I watched 'My Ahjussi'. I can't wait to write whole review later after I watched the rest of episodes. The plot flow, chemistry and even the soundtracks are seriously great. One thing for sure, when you watch this, please make sure that you open your mind and heart and enjoy it as drama only and not related to the real life of its casts. I'll continue later after I finished watching the rest of episodes.

Last update after the drama is finished last week:
I have to say all is well and ends well for this drama. A heart-wrenching melancholic drama with feel good feeling after finished watching. I felt the sense of satisfaction which is really the same as after I finished watching 'My Ahjussi' back then. I love everything about this drama despite some irresponsible people who comment on it with some inappropriate words. This drama is way above 'Something in the Rain' in all aspects of quality. Be it the folding story, overall plot, problem solutions, dialogues, cinematography, chemistry, clothes and acting, etc. It may be a problem for those who never really understand the root of Kdrama which began with helpless romantic with sad and slow mellow genre. They will not understand the point. I think this one is worth watching on a scale of 8.5/10. In the end, love is love and it will always find a way against all odds. 

Trivia: The clothes and accessories that worn by the main female protagonist were really nice since those were from famous fashion brands and well-suited for formal casual in winter and summer season . :)

*the picture is a half hour speedpaint after finished watching the 2nd episode back then.  

 

DOTS, While You Were Sleeping, Children of a Lesser God and Devilish Joy (Korean Drama)

Lately I noticed Korean drama creators tend to take some familiar titles and themes for their drama and story themes to Hollywood  movies. 

It started from Descendants of the sun (DOTS) was somehow similar to Bruce Willis's Tears of the sun movie with Monica Bellucci. Bruce willis played as a senior and skillful army chief member who was ordered to save Monica Bellucci, a pretty doctor who caught up in the middle of African country's conflict. I don't think I should explain about Song joong ki and Song hye kyo's roles in their drama because it was pretty much the same with slightly different story.

 As for 'While you were sleeping' (WYWS) was the 2second Kdrama with similar (read: same title) as Sandra Bullock's movie back then. Perhaps the spelling in Korean language might have totally different translation in English, however, their official English title was this. The story in both were totally different though. You can check out in any movie website for it. 

The third one is 'Children of a lesser God'. The movie was good and the actress got herself awarded as the youngest ever actress with Oscar trophy. The story yet again is different as for one was about a woman with disability and her rocky relationship with her teacher while the Kdrama version was about a detective story which I don't bother watching for now. 

As an additional info, I currently watch this Kdrama 'Devilish Joy' on web. The story is about a doctor with Cinderella syndrome illness due to his past accident which allowed him to remember everything within a day only and forget it the next day and fall in love to a woman who used to be a famous actress. It reminded me of Drew Barrymore's '50first dates' movie with the same topic of illness. The rest is different though. 

Maybe all are just merely coincidence or inspired by the previous movies. 

I drew the pic in speedpaint process randomly yesterday.