fyi there's athena which is iris spinoff, so theres probs more idk never watched :D
I tried watching a couple episodes but it doesn't feel quite the same. I'll probably end up finishing it eventually though.
I recently finished it and albeit not the same, it's similar. It takes a bit to start up the actual storyline. Once it gets rolling it's pretty good but I feel it should've been condensed to a 16 episode series. That and the "acting" of Soo Ae? is what makes it a bit lackluster.*(more about this in the spoiler) Loved Cha Seung Won so much, I immediately starting growing my own facial hair like that and currently rocking it. He basically carries the show in my opinion. I also thought his side-kick Andy was a very authentic (having a unique identity/personality right?) and the actor that played it looks really cool.
Don't know if this is actually a spoiler but so I can it more freely. Because she's undercover and oppressed her "acting" doesn't really change. It's due to the writing as well since the situation where emotion should be, doesn't allow for the kind of interesting emotions from her side. The WooJung? character does balance it out, sort of but indeed if you would compare that kind of love line with rollercoaster-ish love triangle in IRIS it's very bland. Uri sarang, sarang heutendae....*tudituu duuu* owichae jaeho djuseyo.... it's wrong but still I'll never forget :o
If you are reading this without having watched Athene yet you probably don't care all that much for spoilers. If you were considering to watch it I recommend pulling the plug at around episode 16. You will know when since it's like the story that has been build up pretty much stops. And then they slap on a new mini story which I found extremely uninteresting and left me wondering, why am I still watching this....
Spekulatius, all of those movies you posted are great. If I were to rate my favorite korean movies, they would be:
3 Iron - This is my favorite Kim Ki Duk movie and it is in my opinion a must see. A true work of art.
A Bittersweet life, which you have already seen
Breathless, boy there are a lot of good korean gangster movies
Friend (chingu), speaking of good gangster movies, the one that started it all for me
Castaway on the Moon - another must see, humorous, well written, endearing
Christmas in August - the essential korean romance; slow, melancholy, introspective
Failan - a korean take on a japanese manga classic
Happiness - an intense character study disguised as a romance, one of my favorite films of all time
Love is a Crazy Thing - go into it with an open mind, nothing like the title suggests
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.., Samaritan Girl, Breath, the bow - watch these along with 3 iron to get a taste of kim ki duk; often disturbing, always beautiful
Save the Green Planet - what a crazy movie
Memories of Murder, Joint Security Area, the Vengeance Trilogy (especially Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), Mother, Thirst - these are all huge hits and don't need any introduction
There are many more, I have probably 200 korean movies in my collection, but these stick out as highly recommended for fans of cinema
I found the first part of the vengeance trilogy the least appealing to be honest. Agree to disagree? Mother was incredible, as was Memories of Murder.
I've seen Attack the Gas Station too which was, in part, funny but left a rather silly taste in the end.
Kim Ki Duk was a director that has been recommended to me but he's just not as much in the spotlight which is already small enough for Asian movies. Gonna start with 3 Iron then.
Btw, the movies I watched have a tendency to be very cruel - in a both visual (cut off body parts, blood, close ups of extremeties, no "shyness" of the camera at all) and emotional way - pain, torture, suppression, loss, separation, loneliness, hopelessness and mental illness (Mother) are recurring themes. There's very few to no movies that just leave you with a happy feeling afterwards. Some are funny, but nothing that will leave a smile on your face, it's more of a momentary distraction. Is Kim Ki Duk different? Because I feel it's slowly getting to me, that coldness.
It may not be Korean or new but I like this Japanese Science Fiction Comedy Satorare . It's about a person who have rare disorder that broadcast his inner thoughts in his surrounding without his awareness. streamlink
Spekulatius, all of those movies you posted are great. If I were to rate my favorite korean movies, they would be:
3 Iron - This is my favorite Kim Ki Duk movie and it is in my opinion a must see. A true work of art.
A Bittersweet life, which you have already seen
Breathless, boy there are a lot of good korean gangster movies
Friend (chingu), speaking of good gangster movies, the one that started it all for me
Castaway on the Moon - another must see, humorous, well written, endearing
Christmas in August - the essential korean romance; slow, melancholy, introspective
Failan - a korean take on a japanese manga classic
Happiness - an intense character study disguised as a romance, one of my favorite films of all time
Love is a Crazy Thing - go into it with an open mind, nothing like the title suggests
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.., Samaritan Girl, Breath, the bow - watch these along with 3 iron to get a taste of kim ki duk; often disturbing, always beautiful
Save the Green Planet - what a crazy movie
Memories of Murder, Joint Security Area, the Vengeance Trilogy (especially Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), Mother, Thirst - these are all huge hits and don't need any introduction
There are many more, I have probably 200 korean movies in my collection, but these stick out as highly recommended for fans of cinema
Dude, Happiness has to be one of my favorite films as well, and you are the first person I've seen mention/talk about it. Definitely a powerful and overlooked film. Castaway from the moon and breathless are also favorites of my own.
On February 21 2012 10:29 Spekulatius wrote: Will take a look into them, thanks.
I found the first part of the vengeance trilogy the least appealing to be honest. Agree to disagree? Mother was incredible, as was Memories of Murder.
I've seen Attack the Gas Station too which was, in part, funny but left a rather silly taste in the end.
Kim Ki Duk was a director that has been recommended to me but he's just not as much in the spotlight which is already small enough for Asian movies. Gonna start with 3 Iron then.
Btw, the movies I watched have a tendency to be very cruel - in a both visual (cut off body parts, blood, close ups of extremeties, no "shyness" of the camera at all) and emotional way - pain, torture, suppression, loss, separation, loneliness, hopelessness and mental illness (Mother) are recurring themes. There's very few to no movies that just leave you with a happy feeling afterwards. Some are funny, but nothing that will leave a smile on your face, it's more of a momentary distraction. Is Kim Ki Duk different? Because I feel it's slowly getting to me, that coldness.
3-Iron might actually have the 'happiest' ending in all of Ki Duk's films, so it's good you are starting with it then . Even so, there are moments that are particularly painful to watch.
I feel like one of the strengths of both Kim Ki Duk and Park Chan Wook is their ability to interweave moments of levity with much darker themes. One particular scene in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (which is my favorite, btw, partly because its the one film in the trilogy where you truly sympathize with both characters) that strikes me as one of the most powerful. It's the scene where + Show Spoiler +
after kidnapping the girl and getting the ransom money, they watch cartoons on tv and share one of the few happy moments in the whole film, which is immediately followed by one of the saddest, when his sister commits suicide.
The stark contrast (it keeps cutting back to the cartoon) is shocking and the way the scene is shot (still camera, no music) really drives home the 'coldness' that you refer to. It's one of the strengths of Korean cinema, I think, that underplaying the usual emotional tropes actually increases the emotional resonance with the viewer.
Save the Green Planet actually does this as well. Don't want to go into detail but some of the tonal shifts especially heading into the second half are extremely unsettling.
Vharox: I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. I think Happiness deserves so much more attention than it gets. It has everything: great writing, great performances, excellent pacing. It's a film where the feeling you have at the end sticks with you for days. Unfortunately, it would take me a page and a half to go into all the reasons why this movie is so good. I really recommend it to everyone.
fyi there's athena which is iris spinoff, so theres probs more idk never watched :D
I'm trying to watch Cinderella Man (for the sake of yoona) but I just can't get into it because it just seems like exactly the same thing as Shining Inheritance to me
Please tell me it gets better so I have a reason to keep going.
I personally thought Cinderella Man was kinda meh. I started because of Yoona but I just didn't feel any real chemistry between the leads. Maybe I just don't like the guy. But I really don't like Lee Seung Gi but still loved My GF is a Gumiho. So take from that what you will.
Is anyone following 'Take Care of Us, Captain', and do you like it? It started with great fanfare and boasts an experienced cast, but the TV ratings of recent episodes have been mediocre. I'm not sure I'd want to start watching this drama if it isn't very entertaining! I know it hasn't ended, so what do you think of it so far?
OMG just started watching dream high 2 !!! its actuly pretty great actuly starting to like it more and more every episode !!@! its pretty much just as good as the first one ! > but the question i have to ask is when does the new dream high come out ?? hit episode 8 and i really really cannnot wait for the next episode !!!! ^_^
PS LIAN (Ji Yeon from t-ara) IS SO GOOD LOOKING !!!!!1
Dream High airs on Monday and Tuesday. You're probably the first person I know who likes DH2 just as much as DH1 -_- Sora is such an annoying, dumb, and unlikable character and Jiyeon always has the same facial expression...
On February 18 2012 01:13 unichan wrote: what do you gu ys think of historical dramas? so far i have watched 0 because well, historical drama. is it like really historical drama-ey or are the good ones interesting and refreshing breaks from your regular modern day drama storyline?
Comrades is a really good historical drama. Plenty of action and the ending scene in the last episode hit the heart pretty hard.
On February 23 2012 13:58 skyR wrote: Dream High airs on Monday and Tuesday. You're probably the first person I know who likes DH2 just as much as DH1 -_- Sora is such an annoying, dumb, and unlikable character and Jiyeon always has the same facial expression...
thank you !! =P idk i find her acting quite funny tbh ! its not as good as the first one but its like kinda close ! cannot wait till next monday and tuesday it just started getting good !
Among others, Tarantino includes Memories of Murder, The Host, Audition and Battle Royale in his personal list of the best films made since 1992 (the year he debuted as a director). I always considered him as a very intriguing wacko - I loved his movies which certainly represent his extravangant character - so I shouldn't be surprised at all to see him being fascinated by the same movies that amazed me. All the more as he's known for referencing Asian cinema throughout his movies (notably in Kill Bill: The bride's yellow/black Jackie chan suit, Meiko Kaji's soundtrack, the fighting scenes, etc.).
@Spekulatius are you actually that trip on /tv/ or was that just an image you saved?
On February 23 2012 13:58 skyR wrote: Dream High airs on Monday and Tuesday. You're probably the first person I know who likes DH2 just as much as DH1 -_- Sora is such an annoying, dumb, and unlikable character and Jiyeon always has the same facial expression...
they're both terrible. plotlines are linear but cliche and predictable, amateur acting, poor character development, unlikable protagonists, terrible everything really. dh soundtrack was also pretty mediocre for the amount of idols they had in it.
I assume you refer to kpopchan? I didn't make that compilation, I just found it somewhere, might've been on kpopchan, yea. It's been some time since I've been on there, don't really remember.
On February 23 2012 13:58 skyR wrote: Dream High airs on Monday and Tuesday. You're probably the first person I know who likes DH2 just as much as DH1 -_- Sora is such an annoying, dumb, and unlikable character and Jiyeon always has the same facial expression...
they're both terrible. plotlines are linear but cliche and predictable, amateur acting, poor character development, unlikable protagonists, terrible everything really. dh soundtrack was also pretty mediocre for the amount of idols they had in it.
the terrible thing is you are actuly 100% correct D; but its oddly funny and some how watchable . i think the koreans make doing cheezy and predictiable plots dooable somehow they are so awsome at making shows !!
I enjoyed DH1. Yes, the plot was cliche and predictable but that can be said for most of the other kdramas as well. Suzy was likeable but maybe it's just me and my love for tsunderes. I thought character development in DH1 was pretty decent whereas it's way too slow / non existent so far in DH2.
On February 23 2012 13:58 skyR wrote: Dream High airs on Monday and Tuesday. You're probably the first person I know who likes DH2 just as much as DH1 -_- Sora is such an annoying, dumb, and unlikable character and Jiyeon always has the same facial expression...
Agree with the Sora bit. No idea why we're supposed to cheer her on to become a star when it's clear she's whiny and untalented. Like, there goes the whole "you should earn it" bit?
EPT
Mother was incredible, as was Memories of Murder. 
. Even so, there are moments that are particularly painful to watch. 
