Come Closer

Come Closer is a movie that might not be for everyone. It is paced a bit slow and is intended to be a slice of life. -- A bit more of the plot can be found here.

           Characters:

            Su-Jin (Kim Hyo-Seo): She is the first character introduced. She answers the phone in the coffee shop.
                Young-Soo (Oh Chang-Suk): draws pornographic images and is struggling with his old boyfriend                                                    because  he had an affair with a woman
                Se-Yun (Yeom Bo-Ra): She sleeps with Young-Soo eventually ending up with him.
                Hyun-Oh (Yun Gye-Sang): He is trying to move on his life while his ex keeps showing up to stop him.
                Eun-Hee (Jung Yu-Mi): She cannot get over her ex(Hyun-Oh) and stalks him from time to time.
                Woon-Chul (Jong Seo-Won): He is dating Young-Soo, eventually getting dumped after Young-Soo 
                     decides to leave him for a girl.
                Ju-Young (Yoon Hee-Seok): He is hangs out with Hye-Young and complains about woman wanting                                                             stability instead of romance.
                Hye-Young (Yozoh): She is in a band with Ju-Young and has (almost) given up on relationships.

So…let’s talk about Come Closer. Right from the start the movie gives and indie vibe. I usually like the genre in general; however it seemed a bit cookie-cutter. As if the creators got together and said, oh this will definitely make it more indie. Take for instance the opening. The movie begins with a Polish guy looking for his girlfriend. He calls a Korean Coffee shop, explaining that someone told him she might be there. The girl who picks up the phone tells him no, and opts to listen to his story. The polish guy proceeds to describe his girlfriend a bit and what it’s like in Poland. This whole ordeal goes on for about ten minutes, during which, I was under the impression that the scene was the opening credits for the production team. You know, like Pixar’s short animation before the movie begins. There was also a very mellow vibe that screamed; look I’m indie!

Most of the stories that were presented were a bit too brief for me to gain any emotional attachment. For example during the scene with Eun-Hee and Hyun-Oh, I was trying to figure out its point. I know some movies are just stories that don’t have a deeper meaning, but sometimes the story should be interesting. You know? I didn’t really care that she couldn’t get over him. It happens to all of us; however we do not go stalking our exes.

The story revolving around Young-Soo was probably my favorite because it consisted of about half of the movie. I was able to get a grasp on the situation while formulating an opinion. I understood that it was a big deal for him. Most people are concerned about liking the same sex and try to push their awareness away, however it is opposite for Young-Soo. He pushed away his preference for women because he mistook admiration for love.

(4:38PM)(10/13/11)

Thus the awkward scene where he had sex with Se-Yun makes a hell of a lot of sense. During most sex scenes, participants act with lust (or passion…whatever you want to call it) but Young-Soo is making a discovery. Oh my goodness, after all these years, I never knew this could feel so good. And with this, his movements are a bit stifled. All his life he thought he knew one thing, but within an instant the rules have completely changed. It’s like eating the forbidden fruit, there is no back button. The whole confrontation with Woon-Chul (his boyfriend) adds on to his development.

(5:10PM)

Young-Soo explains that he had felt inferior to Woon-Chul since high school. As he watched in envy, he became attached. He wanted to be closer (unintentional reference to the movie title) to Woon-Chul in hopes to be a little more like him.

….AGH!!!

(5:16PM)

Obsessed

(5:17PM)

As time draws on, he becomes more obsessed with Woon-Chul, eventually forming a relationship with him. He felt happy, but only because he was making Woon-Chul happy. It’s kind of like when we were younger (or even now), we became obsessed with celebrities and wanted to be just like them. At the end the movie, we don’t know whether or not Young-Soo and Se-Yun will last as a couple, but it is irrelevant. The point the movie is trying to make, is that Young-Soo needs to find himself. If dating a woman makes him happier, then he should do so.

 (10/13/11)(9:01PM)

My second favorite story is the friendship between Hye-Young and Ju-Young. For some reason I enjoyed their pessimism about love. While looking at younger couples still in their honeymoon phase, they both agree that after a while, people want stability over a fast burning love. Hye-Young seems to be more in a rut than Ju-Young, claiming that all guys are idiots. It is established early on that she has gotten out of a relationship, however how much time has passed since them remains unknown. Thus it is unclear about whether or not this is just a phase for her. It makes me curious; will she ever be able to accept a relationship again? She seemed so adamant about her position in the whole ordeal that it is hard for me to imagine her doing so. There was an occasional moment or two in which I thought that there was an attraction between them; however I am still unsure about whether or not this was intended. Because of this I like how their scene ended with their future unclear.

The ending of the movie was a bit typical, indie music and shots of the characters on their own. Seeing as this movie consisted of multiple storylines, it is hard to imagine an alternative. It just seemed like it was missing something though…The last shot was of Hye-Young looking nonchalantly into the distance. I kind of wished that it would have ended with a shot of leaves or something, I don’t know. I felt like there should be a deeper meaning behind choosing her, but I couldn’t find it. Any ideas?

Overall I liked the movie, but I had to watch it in intervals because it was a bit slow at some points. After completing the film, I looked up the actress who played Hye-Young and was surprised to learn that she was an indie singer (Yozoh). Her music is quite nice to listen to while working on homework or writing. I didn’t think her acting was bad at all, does anyone else think differently?? I decided to watch this because Yoon Kye-Sang was in it, but was disappointed that his role in this movie was approximately 20 or so minutes.

I would give this movie a 7.5 /10 for Quality and an 8/10 for Personal Preference.

Punch (2003)

This weekend I decided to watch the 2003 Korean Drama, Punch. I started watching it knowing that it would have faults, and wasn’t too disappointed with the series. These are just a rough collection of my immediate thoughts. If anyone would like to know whether or not it is worth watching let me know, I will give you my opinion.   

 .

Brief Synopsis: Yu-bin was an orphan living with her brother, until he gets injured badly in a boxing match and dies the following day. His opponent was Han Sae. He quits boxing immediately after and joins the army. During this time a wealthy man named Seo-Woo starts to take interest towards Yu-bin. He is with her during her brother’s death and pines for her after her sudden disappearance. The story picks up two years later and the three form a love triangle. Meanwhile there are many other side stories involving the people surrounding the three main characters.

Characters! (there are more, but this should be sufficient for now)

Yu-bin (Shin Min-A) – the main character. She is pretty much happy-go-lucky about everything. She decides to take up boxing as a way to live on for her brother.

Han-Sae (Joo Jin-Mo) – the second lead. He is in turmoil over “killing” Yu-bin’s brother and is determined to make it up to her while keeping his role in her brother’s death a secret.

Seo-Woo (Sung Si-Kyung) – the “other guy”. He is the CEO (I’m guessing…) of a talent agency. His initial intentions are to make Yu-bin a star, but he eventually falls in love with her.

Oh Hae-Mi (So E-Hyun) – the “other girl” and the “bitch” all packaged into one. She has been jealous of Yu-bin since high school and plans to make Yu-bin suffer for taking everything (nothing at all) away.

Mi-Ra (Lim Seong-Eon) – She is Yu-bin’s best friend. She is affectionate towards Yun Pyo, all the while going out with a boy named Han-Soo

Yun-Pyo (Ko Joo-Won) – He is pissed at his mom for having an affair and basically plays the misunderstood guy.

Ae-Ri (Jo Hye-Ryun) – she is also Yu-bin’s friend. She sells health vitamins, and takes up boxing as a stress reliever and fun pastime. She is 29 and has yet to be asked on a date.  

Seo Ji-Su (Kim Bin-Woo)– she was a bully in high school, and comes back as Yu-bin’s boxing rival. Yu-bin is determined to beat her, because she caused Yu-bin to miss her brother’s fight.

 The story started out humorous, and by the end of episode one I almost, almost shed a tear. When Jang Yu-Bin’s brother was taking a serious beating I really felt it. The character development was lovely. Things have been nice since then (I am currently on episode 7 (holy shit!)) but I am finding it harder to turn a blind eye towards the show’s flaws. Right now Yu-Bin is having troubles because some bitch, Oh Hye-mi, is being a bitch for no reason other than her dislike towards Yu-bin. No long backstory, nothing. This girl just gets jealous and temperamental easily. Aside from that, there are many coincidences (used often in many early dramas…) that are a bit farfetched. There was even one scene that for the life of me, I still don’t understand. It was near the end of episode two Jo Seo-Woo (the other man) is being introduced to his new secretary and as he turns around to do so the camera does a slow motion take on him. It made no sense at all but I let it slide until he got out of his chair, looked to see around the corner of his office, and notices Yu-bin. There was no explanation given, there were no scenes with her in it beforehand, it was just there. If anyone can explain this, please tell me.

(10/8/11)(5:35PM)

Oh, did I forget to mention that the show somehow manages to make a mouth guard a symbol of romance? Chuckle :D

(5:39PM)

So I finished the drama (within two days…sigh.) I realize now that the slow motion take on Seo-Woo was done to highlight the secretary’s initial attraction towards Seo-woo. I still don’t get how he knew Yu-bin was there…

I compiled a small list of things that I might want to discuss if I decide to recap the series:

Episode 8 at minute 23:  Bong Mi-Ra tells Yun Pyo that he is lucky to have parents because she has none, however she has a dad! Perhaps it was just a mistranslation? Maybe it meant that she has no mother. I guess I just don’t like the whole situation to begin with. Yun Pyo was being moody because his mom had had an affair and he was unwilling to forgive her. It just seemed out of place. Mi-Ra didn’t have any right to jump in and try to mend things.

Episode 11 at minute 33: Seo-woo is filming Yu-bin’s fight and turns the camera that towards Han Sae.  For those couple of seconds I mused at the possibility of a secret love. Sigh, Seo-woo certainly looks the part.

Episode 11 at minute 36: Haha. At this point there is still tension between Yu-bin and Han Sae. Seo-woo tells Han Sae to remove a poster of Yu-Bin that Han Sae kept on his gym’s wall. A couple of scenes later Ju Ae-Ri decides to hang a poster of herself in its place. It was so out of place that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Episode13: There was a whole ordeal with Seo Ji-Su having breast cancer. It is nice to see some reasoning behind her character, but at the same time it seemed to be used more as a tool for the story rather than character development. The end of this episode was a bit “WTF” worthy. Yu-bin tells Han Sae that she will take back all her feelings that she once had for him, and to do so she kisses him? Yeah, it might have worked if they played it out with a darker mood. What if she kisses him first and then says I am done with you? Ooh sounds interesting…

Episode 14 at minute 19: It was good to finally see the humor come back. Ju Ae-Ri calls Yu-bin and Han Sae out for a date. She basically plays matchmaker, and it’s funny to see how she isn’t subtle at all. At one point she sets the two up for an “accidental” hand touch when getting popcorn. If only the show emphasized these moments for the latter half…

(10:55PM)(10/9/11)

Because I finished this drama within two days it should be a bit apparent that I liked it. Well…I really wanted to like it. After a while some of the show’s basic flaws became harder to ignore. I will admit that I started watching this drama because Shin Min Ah was in it, and it didn’t hurt that it was about boxing.  I do plan to give a better analysis later, when I find some time.

Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete

Before taking a shower I would like to mention Taisetsu naKoto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta. It was a good drama and could have been soo much better had they not inserted Pink every freaking episode in the most awkward places. I swear if I ever hear Dear Mr. President again…sigh. Aside from that I kind of liked it a lot. There is a lot to think about. Although the main guy’s (Shuji’s) indecisiveness was a bit irritating, I respected it because it portrayed the truth. There are rarely times when we know what we want or what the right thing is.
 The story begins with Shuji engaged to a fellow colleague (Natsumi), both working at a high school.  Shuji awakes one morning to find himself in bed with a young girl (Masayo), whom turns out to be his student. I initially was rooting for Shuji and Masayo (I am a sucker for forbidden romance), but as the story progressed I found myself supporting Shuji and Natsumi. When Natsumi learns about the scandal, I was surprised by her initial reaction. She accepts him unconditionally, but eventually begins to hate him for giving up on their relationship. Instead of begging for forgiveness he decides to leave her as atonement. Thinking about it now, I wonder if she would have forgiven him as she said she would. Perhaps she would have ultimately left him if he decided to stay.  No matter the case, she feels resentment because he was able to leave her so easily, as if their relationship had little value.
Aside from the Shuji-Natsumi dynamic, there was definitely tension between Natsumi and Masayo. There was even a moment in which I paused the show and literally spazzed. Somewhere in the drama Masayo states she admired Natsumi and in result wanted to destroy her. She ends up joining the basketball team to get closer to Natsumi (the coach). During a practice (with just the two of them), Masayo throws a ball directly into Natsumi’s face. To her dismay Natsumi just smiles. After freaking out a bit, I began to relate to Masayo. She is still far from being a grown up, and it was analogous to a child throwing a tantrum. Natsumi’s indifference makes it worse, because it forces Masayo to notice her own adolescence. Masayo throws the ball again and asks why Natsumi isn’t mad. She replies that she believes in Shuji (the power of love <3). As I realized that I accepted Natsumi’s support, the following crossed my mind. As a woman I should want to tell her to screw him, but somehow I couldn’t. She isn’t playing a jilted girl who only knows how to love; she is just a person that accepts that she can’t control her emotions…(interlude with a shower)
Shuji’s innocence in the whole ordeal is ultimately revealed. For the most part, I didn’t really suspect that the student and the teacher hadn’t had sex. I thought about it, but I loved the story so much more for having the possibility that they really did it. Why did they do it? What possible reason could there be? Is it really something that could be forgiven? I wonder how the story would have turned out. Would their relationship have survived if it had been true? Ah so many possibilities… Despite this, it is nice that the drama showed no intention of letting up. There are still consequences. His position as a teacher is put on probation, Masayo gets ostracized, and Natsumi-Shuji’s relationship is still in shambles. Natsumi still hates him for being so nice and not laying out his feelings. The interesting thing about hate though, is that it is so close to love. Oh, did I forget to mention that Natsumi is pregnant?! Gasp! Unpredicted plot twist for the win!

Time lapses and the story is put six months ahead. Shuji is pretty much stuck in a rut, and he admits that he is doing so because it is easy. Eventually he steps up and comes back, claiming that he wants to help Masayo. His intentions aren’t really clear. Is he being a super awesome teacher or is he growing attached to Masayo? Meanwhile Natsumi is all alone with his unborn child. I was kind of thinking that she should move away and fully get rid of him; but that would only happen if the drama intended to have the guy fall in love with the student. This drama is all about redefining love. Sometime after Shuji comes back Natsumi spills the beans and he immediately tries to “take responsibility”. I cheered when she said no. He said this out of obligation, not love. He still is determined to support Masayo (admitting this of course as I almost threw the screen across the room). Knowing that he still hasn’t defined his relationship with her, Natsumi won’t accept him.
Eventually the students find out. A whole production goes on about whether or not to fire them. Because apparently in Japan things are that tight knit (I never knew about teacher relationships, nor did I care when I was in school…just saying). Since the unwed parents are frowned upon as role models, Shuji is told that he will be fired. He agrees to stay until the time comes while Natsumi is sent on maternity leave. Their last days arrive and they say their goodbyes to the students. Shuji leaves his class with the following message, ‘sometimes we get afraid when we see people ahead of us fall, but when we learn that they are still doing ok, we realize that we can do the same’. Aw! During this time Natsumi is sent on an arranged date, and he asks her to marry him. He states that marriage could start with love and eventually be left with nothing; but all the same, marriage could build love out of nothing. She agrees with this logic. However, as she thinks the proposition through she comes to realize that she rather risk it all for love. Meanwhile Shuji is still kind of in a limbo. He meets up with Masayo at a train station with the intentions of sending her off (I think…).  At the last minute, he decides to accompany her (to my dismay). During the ride they kind of resolve their issues. That same day he rushes to meet with Natsumi. As he gets there she begins labor and she is sent to the hospital. After the baby is successfully out, he proposes. This time she smiles, cries, and accepts him.  At this moment I thought about the feminist side. She could have done it alone; she didn’t need a man to support her. As I thought about it more though, I remembered that they had loved each other from the beginning (albeit stupidly). From the start (before the baby), what she really wanted was for Shuji to step up and tell her that he wanted her. Marriage was always an option, the timing just wasn’t right. The drama ends nicely, with Shuji and Natsumi caring for their child (despite my sinister desire for it to result in a miscarriage…more on that later…) and they look at each other lovingly. The two come to realize that love isn’t all fluffy bunnies and candy canes, it also hurts like hell. The drama is about the obstacles that the two face. Sometimes there is no way around it, they must be willing to endure pain and move on. 

I was thinking of typing this more sophisticated like and submitting it to Dramabeans, they need some good Japanese Drama…

(5/1/11) (6:15AM)

Gumiho: Tale of a Fox's Child

Just finished watching Gumiho: Tale of a Fox’s Child. Oh, boy. It took me half a year to watch, because kept on getting bored. Do I regret watching/starting it?  More and more towards the end, but it still wasn’t as bad as some of the others I have seen. 

The story begins with a fox lady (Gumiho) and her child. They move in with a wealthy family as servants in order to have a nice place to live in. However the wealthy couple has ulterior motives; in order for their daughter to survive the woman's child must be sacrificed. After killing the girl the drama is all about revenge, well...their version of revenge. The woman could have just gone berserk and killed the shit out of the wrongdoers, but no. The drama has her sit back and idly watch things unfold (heh). During which there is this guy who decides to be her ally. Throughout the series I was waiting for some romance, or hell a freaking hug, but again no. He kind of was there as a guard dog. In the end, guess what? He dies. Practically everyone dies except the daughter of the wealthy family. You know the daughter they were trying to save by killing the other girl. The shit ass, snotty brat, whom by the end of the drama I was pleading for to die. She did not do one good deed, and she kept on sticking to her dad like glue. Her dad. The one who murdered a nine year old, killed some random guy, his wife, and started to go crazy... yea that guy. Some flipping role model. The only thing that I kind of liked was some of the surprise elements. I did not expect the mother to twiddle her flipping thumbs, or the lap dog to die, or the bitch daughter to survive, or the husband to kill the wife, or the shaman to be the shit ass person behind it all. It certainly is hard to predict random (and unbelievable?) plot twists, I kind of wished that they followed the typical route just a bit more. 

The fox lady should have gotten her revenge, and LIVED! I envisioned her learning some grand lesson and moving on with her life. Hell I wouldn't have minded the show ending with her set on killing all humans. I had little hope for her daughter, but I kind of wanted her to take over the snot nosed girl’s body. I guess in the end I didn’t really mind. She had her time. That being said I would rate the drama (o shit am I rating now?) a tentative 6 out of 10. A six because I finished the damn thing, but of course Pride would have to be an exception to the whole finishing a drama policy. Pride would get a solid 3 out of 10, and that’s because I am being generous. Hell lets lower it to a 2. Overall the tale was a roller-coaster, for a couple of episodes I was like oh hell no, no she didn’t. Other episodes, well...there was no emotion other than gah! Those episodes were condensed (I skipped scenes) heavily. 

Would I watch it again if I could do it all over? Sadly, yes. Only because it did not take up too much time and I learned to multitask. Would I be able to watch it again within a week? Shit no.

(4:29AM)(12/11/10)

After watching the series I realized that the actress who played the Gumiho was the "other" woman in Full House. I still feel kind of sad knowing the acting gap between her, Rain, and Song Hye Kyo.

When I first wrote this I never mentioned the horrible Gumiho costumes...and the blood...it was bad. 

Attention Please and Pride

Some of the first Japanese dramas I have seen are Kekkon Dekinai Otoko and Kimi Wa Petto. I found both enjoyable, and I skipped at most five minutes. Deciding to give Japanese dramas a bigger chance, I quickly pursued others. Unfortunately, I have yet to find another good one.I got halfway through watching a drama called Attention Please, and immediately stopped upon hearing that the two characters that I was rooting for would never be. The storyline was about a woman who wanted to become an airline steward in order to pursue her love (he was a pilot). Throughout she is silly, clumsy, and a bit of an airhead. However, at the end of the day she would pull through. Every episode she would learn a lesson and soon after make another mistake, it began to be repetitive.

I have seen a couple more dramas in between. None really noteworthy when thinking about the mess of a drama called Pride. Many people claimed that this drama was amazing, and I still don't understand why. The premise of the drama is about hockey. A girl meets the captain of a hockey team and the two of them decide to have a no strings attached romance (What could possibly go wrong?). Unfortunately for their budding romance, the girl has a “boyfriend” that she has been waiting for and the boy has decided to never get serious because hockey is more important. It wouldn’t have been that bad, had she not been waiting for her “boyfriend” for two years without even a phone call (ugh!). Throughout the story the guy keeps on calling her the woman of the last century, and throughout I kept rolling my eyes thinking about how woman’s status has changed since then. The women in the drama are either ridiculously naïve or understanding. It sickened me.  Back to the plot. As the two lovebirds are finally getting closer, the girl receives a call from her “boyfriend”. He tells her that he is back and ready to continue their romance that “never ended”, kill me now. For unknown reasons she decides to go back, right as the guy she was having fun with decides to take it to the next step. Gah! The remaining three or so episodes are dedicated to side stories and people talking about the two’s love (can anyone say the last seasons of Bones…grrr.) It isn’t until the finale that the girl decides to go back, but only after receiving approval from her “boyfriend”. She races to the hockey match and sees that the captain has fallen. As he is laying on the ice, he envisions the ice goddess that he and the coaches had put all their effort in seeing, sigh. I wasn’t able to tell if the goddess was the girl or another woman, but for the sake of keeping my cool I would like to believe it was the main girl. Kudos, he was looking for her all along. After the game, the two meet up.  Neither of them say anything worthwhile and they both part ways. Skip to three years later, the guy is now in the NHL, living it up as a big time hockey star. The girl of course still likes him, as seen through her long gaze at the TV show with him on it. She decides to go skating to relieve stress, and wouldn’t you know it, the guy is there, jeez. He asks her to come back with him, stating she is the only one for him. And of course she agrees. The Fudging end! I can’t believe I watched the first five episodes without realizing how freaking sexist and stupid the drama was. The other 70% of the story was dedicated to the hockey team members having problems and pulling it together in the end. Thus I saved myself from watching about half of the freaking show. Yay...

This was written some time ago. It is the first entry that I have made of this sort in my journal, thus I felt that it should be my second blog entry.

First Post

Hello,

I am pretty green to the whole blogging business, but I am a fast learner. I had been wanting to recap Asian dramas for a while and time, writing skills, determination, etc. had pretty much held me back. Never the less I have decided to continue by making this my halfway point. During or after watching a drama I will share a journal of my thoughts about the show or movie, without much editing. So no stress, but tons of opinions and/or grammatical errors...

Overall I think I am more critical than praising, but please don't think I hate the world. I just love picking at flaws and assume that you guys can spot the beauty on you own; though that doesn't mean I won't praise something worth praising. Also, I find it interesting to hypothesize different scenarios and solutions, meaning I tend to over analyze things and extend the story past the framework given. Lastly, knowing that every word is written with a purpose; I like to imagine that it is my job as a viewer to find it.

Hopefully people will COMMENT AND SHARE their thoughts too. Perhaps this can be like an open thread in some ways?

Once again things are ROUGH, so please be kind.

-Alyssa