Top 5 (Recent) Korean Romance Movies.

To be completely honest about it, I haven't watched that many Korean romantic films in the recent years. There are few reasons that contribute to that. First is that I've been busy. It's not that I don't have time anymore to watch a few movies. It's just that if I watch a certain movie, I want to be really interested in it even before watching because I will not and could not finish a movie if I find it to be a bother to watch based on the first few scenes. Another reason is that there are a few Korean romance movies that have really unique and interesting story lines. I watched many Korean romance movies then and it's easy for me to watch from movies to movies because the genre was new to me. Now, I've gotten used to the stories and much like those cliché Hollywood or Filipino movies, I could not take to watch every movie anymore. I just choose those potentially good movies and that's it. Lastly, I try to widen my scope these days. I really like horror or thriller movies, so I give more time in watching movies of that genre. Also, I watch (romance) French, Hollywood, British, Japanese, Thai, and other genres as well from other countries. That's why maybe I don't give time to watch other Korean romance films that are not that appealing to me. Nonetheless, I'm giving my top five Korean romantic films that was released from 2010 to present.

Let's start from..

5. Cyrano Agency (2010)

At times, I really forget what the ending to this movie was. I think that's a good thing though, because you don't watch a movie just because of its ending. It's all about the process of how the story was presented. The concept was really good because it's quite different from the usual Korean romance movies that we all like.

4. How to Use Guys with Secret Tips (2013)

This movie is much more unique than you might expect it to be. The Korean title really means "A Manual on How to Use Men." It's basically about a woman who lacks social skills that a "woman" accepted by society needs, which is the capability to attract men. She then found a videotape (bought it from a weird vendor) that teaches women how to attract men in a step-by-step process. You might have guessed already: she then followed the tips and her life turned around from then on..

There are those types of movies wherein you just don't understand what's going on, because it seems like underneath those weird scenes comes a deep meaning. Perhaps I'm just thinking about it too much, but this movie indeed is somehow weird but its message is interestingly conveyed. You might notice that I like movies that is somehow at the periphery of the usual boy-meets-girl type of Korean movies because of reasons like what I've said in my introduction.

3. My Black Mini Dress (2011)

I actually included this movie already in the list I made for the Top 10 Korean Romance Comedy Movies I made back then, however, it wasn't in the top 10. I didn't include it because it was pretty recent and I wanted to include those old movies that many people really like already. This time, I'm including My Black Mini Dress in this list. This is about four women in their mid 20's who are struggling in life, albeit in different ways. These four were best friends in college but now that they're facing the "real world" already, the fun stopped and now they're struggling to look for the direction they need in life. It's a bit timely because the generation of people in their 20's nowadays are all "struggling" in finding something that is worthy to do for the rest of their lives. It's a matter that many of us are currently experiencing, and so this movie might just be the right movie to watch even though it's not that "romantic" in a sense of having a love story as the main plot of the movie.

2. Sunny (2011)

Like "My Black Mini Dress," this movie is not centered on a love story about a man and a woman. It's also about girls who were the best of friends in high school and got separated upon growing up. The movie alternates between the "present" wherein the girls are already adults and the "past" wherein they were in high school and having fun. I like this movie because it somehow gives you the feeling of nostalgia even if you're not part of the group. It's perfect in representing friendship especially between women. I also really like the soundtrack, especially the song where the title was based on, which is "Sunny" (that we all should love).

1. Architecture 101 (2012)

Architecture 101 or Introduction to Architecture is probably popular among K-pop fans because of Suzy (Miss A). This movie is about first love. The concept of first love in romance movies might not be that unique anymore, but this movie definitely portrayed it in a different way. The movie is somewhat perfect for me. It has this subtle vibe of romance. Usually, movies about first love can be so dramatic and passionate that it just ruins the innocence that's supposed to represent "first love." This is not the case for Architecture 101. The soundtrack was also really good and as you might have noticed, I'm a sucker for good soundtracks. Overall, this movie is at the top of my list because I think it's worthy enough to be in line with my other favorite movies like "My Sassy Girl" or "Windstruck."

That's it for the top 5 recent Korean romance movies. I hope you guys like the movies in the list and I promise to watch more romance movies so that I can review them here.

P.S.

This post is to make up for the past month (February). I haven't posted anything because of my busy schedule, but I hope this list makes up for it. I'll try to post another list (maybe of soundtracks) for the "love month," February.

February Hiatus.

I haven't been able to post new updates on everything! I've been really busy with grad school and it's sucking up all my energy. I'm still watching Running Man weekly, but I haven't watched new Korean/Japanese dramas/movies (well, except Shitsuren Chocolatier, which I haven't gotten the chance to write about) and little time to make a blog post. One of these days (this February) I will be posting something like a Valentines special to make up for everything this Feb. 

Reel Thursday: Frozen (2013).

Who here hasn't watched Frozen yet? Haha! You must be too old, a hipster, or just too busy to have time to watch it. Everyone in the internet knows this wonderful Disney movie because there are no words that can express how awesome it is. From the soundtrack, the characters, and to the plot, there's nothing to be unhappy about. 

As everyone might have already known, the main characters are the sisters Anna and Elsa, the ice seller, Kristoff and his reindeer Sven, and finally Olaf, the snowman who likes warm hugs.

What I like about Anna (left) is that she is the epitome of almost all young women nowadays. She's awkward, a bit of an airhead but smart, and she's not your princess who's actions are always with finesse. It's like she's showing the young women that even when you're awkward and normal and can't even get up early in the morning, you can also be a princess.

Elsa, on the other hand, shows the insecurities that we young women experience. There's bound to be one or more things that we're insecure about ourselves, and Elsa showing that she can "Let it go" since her insecurities "never bothered her anyway" means that these insecurities that we have are just a creation of our imagination of what other people think of us. Let's all sing "Let It Go" with Elsa and let go of those things that we don't like about ourselves. The important people in our lives (like Anna for Elsa) will not be bothered about those things anyway.

Kristoff, oh Kristoff. I have nothing about this man since he's perfect for Anna. He does not overpower Anna in anyway, and it's like they're two puzzles that perfectly fit together because of their back and forth bickering. Just be awkward together! (Wait, what?)

Finally, there's Sven and Olaf. Sven is the reindeer companion of Kristoff ever since he was a kid. Olaf is a snowman created by Elsa. Olaf provides the comic relief in the movie and his lines are the funniest. He even has his own song about how a snowman like him would enjoy summer! Best song ever.

Check it out here:

That's it for this Frozen appreciation post. I didn't say much because it's just all over the internet now and everyone has their opinion about it that mine wouldn't matter as much. It's just that I love this movie and I wanted to show my appreciation of it.

J-Wednesdays 水曜日だ！: Hal「ハル」the movie (2013).

Hal is an animated movie that's depressingly beautiful. It's a sci-fi romance themed animated film that has a twist at the end. I can say that it's pretty good, but I'm not just a fan of the kind of animation for this. The story though was good, and will definitely leave you hung over the main characters after watching.

The story is set on a time when robots can completely act like humans, and I assume that anyone can own one if they can afford to..

Hal is the guy in the picture while Kurumi is the girl. They are in a relationship when Hal suddenly died from a plane crash.

Kurumi was left devastated..

Then this old man asked the robot, Q01, to become Hal so that he could comfort Kurumi who's suffering from Hal's death.

When Hal the robot showed up, Kurumi didn't easily open up to him because she's still afraid.

However, as time went by, Kurumi opened up to Hal the robot while he makes some of Kurumi's wishes come true. (Her wishes are written on rubix cubes that are completed and Hal had to solve each of the faces to be able to read the wish).

Hal also started to get to know the old Hal. Robot Hal tried to understand what kind of person Hal was back then..

Hal and Kurumi started hanging out again and went to a festival together.

After having fun, a guy by the name of Ryu who is supposedly Hal's friend showed up. He expressed his desire to sell Kurumi..

Hal and Kurumi ran from Ryu and his apparently gangster-like friends. 

While running away, Kurumi fell in a gushing river, and it was also raining hard.

I will end my story-telling right here, since anything beyond this scene will be huge spoilers. I think the beauty of this movie is the plot twist because right there, the reality of this story was revealed. Even in this advanced society, there is the existence of humanly feelings of regret, depression, and love. The reality in the story reveals the true essence of it, which is supposed to be telling a story of love between these two people who became victims of a harsh fate.

That's all I can say about this movie. It gave me the chills, and the feeling of finding the meaning of life upon watching it. I'm not even exaggerating. 

Tuesday Running Man: Episode 181, Secret Couple.

Running Man's theme this week is "girls" vs boys, but the problem is that between this opposing teams, there is a secret couple!

The two teams meet each other. Boys team: Haha, Gary, Suk JIn, Lee Jong Suk and Jae Suk. Girls team: Ji Hyo, Lee Sae Young, "Jong Sook," Lee Bo Young and "Kwang Ja." These two teams will be going against each other in the games.

However, the secret couple, Ji Hyo and Lee Jong Suk will have to do a mission without anyone of the members knowing. They will have to do a lovey-dovey act with the members present but they must not be caught. If they do get caught, the winning team for the game will receive only a real clue, but if they succeed, the winning team for the game will receive two clues, one real and one fake. The clues pertain to who the "secret couple" is, which they have to guess on the last mission.

Running Man high school's secret couple.

I must admit that these two doing the mission together made me go "aww" because they're just too cute! I'm not betraying my Monday Couple heart though. Maybe it's just because I have a thing for secret lovers...

The girls team lead by the two most manly girls I've ever seen, Kwang Ja and Jong Sook.

Of course, the boys team is lead by Jae Suk, the best dancer in school. Haha! Kidding.

The first mission for the lovers is to link arms while doing the first game.

The first game is to go above that straw platform and they must stay there until the whistle is blown by the staff. There is also a maximum of members that can pass a round. Once a member passes, he or she will not participate anymore. The first team to have all members pass, wins.

In the first round, Lee Sae Young passed, and so these gangster girls are left. They had a strategy to leave Ji Suk Jin alone (and letting the other boys pass) so that they'll easily win, with Kwang Ja and Jong Sook being left against Suk Jin.

Wanko-hyung did all his best to win...

While Suk Jin struggles against the two manly girls, the secret couple finished their secret mission, which is to link arms.

Poor Suk Jin, fighting a bunch of girls who are much stronger than he is.

The girls won this round, while the boys claimed that they just let the girls win because they're gentlemen. The boys went delusional. The girls got two clues, but they don't know which one is a fake clue or a real one.

The next mission for the secret couple is to hold hands (with interlocked fingers).

Gary saw the two staff members who were showing the secret mission to the secret couple holding hands, and so he thought that they were dating!

The next game is called the "Scarecrow Game," where they have to move 4 steps (including a swing on the horizontal bar because they cannot step within the "pond" made across the bar). After moving four steps, they must stay there until everyone is done. The next step is to go back, without ruining the pose of another "scarecrow."

The two did it again stealthily. Whew! They were so cute.

The winner for this game is the boys team, and so they get the real and fake clues.

The next mission for the lovers is the "forehead kiss."

The next game is in a market place. The boys and girls will be partnered up (according to whom they want to be partnered with) and they will buy anything that they want, come back to the mission room and receive the actual mission that they should do with the bought goods from the market.

The secret couple were partnered in the first round, and so they were able to do the mission while buying stuff from the market. 

In the second round, they had different partners.

The mission for the couples is to put the thing they bought between their cheeks for one minute.

For the last round, they change couples once again. The choosing of the couples was so funny because of Kwang Ja and Jong Sook.

The last round's mission is a word relay from the thing that they bought. They only had 30 seconds to do that, and they won. Both teams receive clues.

While buying in the market, these two succeeded their secret mission and even did the mission 3 times just to make sure. They did it at the first round of the game, that's why it was fine for them to be partnered up with different people on the 2nd and 3rd round.

The next game was "Saranghae Game!" This game was also played in Family Outing and it was fun because of the pretty boys who were guests in the show back then, since the girls (Lee Hyo Ri and Park Ye Jin) get to be kissed by them. The rule is simple, they will just be saying "Saranghae" to the one next to them and if they laugh or react, they will be guilty of "falling in love" and so the person will be "punished" of making the his or her two neighbors kiss him or her on the cheek.

When Lee Sae Young whispered "saranghae" to Gary, Gary replied with "me too."

That's why he was punished by the two guests, Sae Young and Bo Young! He then screamed "hurray!"

The girls won this game, and the secret couple didn't get to do their mission because of the lack of space. They were supposed to do a back hug. The girls team then gets the real clue only.

They then went to the final location, where they had to agree on who to guess as the "secret couple" in their groups, based from the clues. They guessed right because Lee Jong Suk was so obvious that he's the guy and that Ji Hyo was suspiciously close to Jong Suk. The secret couple then got bombed with flour on their faces.

I was looking forward to this episode because of the countryside games that they did. I was a little disappointed though because the games were not that highlighted because of the secret couple thing. I wish that they just didn't do the countryside games along with the secret couple so that the games were given more attention to. Well, I just hope that they would do those kinds of game again in future episodes!

The guests for next week's episode are Yeo Jin Goo, Si Wan (ZE:A), and Do Hee (Tiny G). The games were requested by a Running Man fan from Hong Kong. That fan is so lucky! We should be jealous. Haha! I just hope her games would be exciting (it did seem fun from the preview).