2014 Korean Film Festival @ Megamall (Oct 8 - 12, 2014)

Image courtesy of my sister 

We've seen it in Shang and now more prominent in Megamall. It seems like they're jumping on the bandwagon of Film Festivals and being very accessible it's not surprising that lines are exaggeratedly long, plus, it's Korean. Pinoys love anything Korean does.

I was able to watch 5/7 films, 4 of them after office hours, 1 today. I was really entertained. Arranged below are the movies I was able to enjoy these last 4 days (Saturday doesn't count, we didn't come) and a really quick review.

Hwayi: A Monster Boy

Synopsis

We follow the life of Hwayi (Yeo Jin-goo) who was abducted and later on raised by a gang of ruthless criminals led by Seok-tae (Kim Yun-seok). We also see Yeong-joo (Ji-Eun Lim) a girl in chains who also took part in raising him, serving as his only known mother. Now in high school, Hwayi was put into his first assignment, a client who hired them to finish a couple that halts a construction business. Little did he know that this would totally shook the balance of his known family.

Review

A really heavy movie. What's different from other movies of this kind is that they have this CGI monster that pops up randomly (the boy's ailment if you can call it like that) which I still don't fully get what for. I do know that Hwayi  thinks he's seeing things (the monster in particular) but to me it was something they could just leave out of the entire story line. The back story are really fine, at how they are connected with one another and how our protagonist shows off the skills he have learned from his 5 dads.

Favorite Scene: 
The face off in the dilapidated warehouse (a smart move for our main character).

A Company Man

Synopsis

A hired company man, Ji Hyeong-do (So Ji-sub) was involved in a project that demanded him to kill his associate Ra Hun (Dong Jun ) a young high school dropout who he (Hyeong-do) have become fond of. Ever since the project, he became increasingly different from who he really was in the "company" and started realizing he wants out and live a simple life. 

Review

Other than being handsome, I liked that the story revolved around  and not the supposedly budding romance between Hyeong-do and his childhood crush Yu Mi-yeon (Lee Mi-yeon). I would have liked it that he was able to walk away finally, but hey, it's sort of an open ending for me. He could escape if he want to anyway.

Favorite Scene: 

Opening was good, the small scene where they were eating noodles (last part may have been an adlib too) and the car scene with his co-workers. Throwing Gwon Jong-tae (Kwak Do-won) out of the window was honestly fulfilling too.

My Paparotti

Synopsis
Jang-Ho (Lee Je-hoon), is a member of a gang who was sent to school. He initially despises schooling until he was challenged into honing his skills on becoming a classical musician. He is mentored by Sang-Jin (Han Suk-kyu). Both started off in the wrong foot but eventually found themselves mirroring each other's dreams.

Review
Fine, Je-hoon is an eye-candy.  Lee Jae-yong is really effective being a gang lord (sister says it's a stereotype role for him). The pacing is quick too, they don't dwell too much on drama which is so fine with me. Kang So-ra is also cute and a breath of fresh air with her antics (also have too many of the same roles not being able to sing even if she wanted to). This is one of those movies that effectively shows an inspiring student-teacher relationship some of us could easily relate to and stayed on that track instead of your typical student-teacher and student-student romance. Heartwarming indeed.

Favorite Scene
Just the small ones, most of which the interaction between the teacher and the student.

Man on the Edge

Synopsis
Gwang-Ho (Park Shin-yang) is a part of a gang who in some twist of fate made him see ghosts. He ended up becoming a shaman, giving advice behind a screen curtain in return for money. He is accompanied by the very cute Han Soo-Min  (Yoon Song-Yi) who he fondly calls as chicklet (because of her yellow pajamas, similar to Bruce Lee's) who pops in and out of the story

Review
A heartwarming comedy, the chemistry between Shin-yang and the bubbly Song-Yi is just too irresistible not to like. I'm not a fan of the fighting scene near the end but as a whole, it was peppered with the right comedic timings and lines. Not too cheesy nor melodramatic. Try to watch until the credits. There's a cute little scene there where they reveal a different view of what happened to the newspaper scene.

Favorite Scene
The one in the interrogation room and the flying newspaper.

Hide and Seek

Synopsis
Sung-Soo (Son Hyun-Joo) is living a wonderful life: a good business, a very beautiful high rise house and a loving family until one day he received a call of his missing brother. He was curious in finding out what happened to him and started investigating on his own. Little did he know that his little investigation will result to a much more sinister ending.

Review

This is probably the best of the bunch, a thriller and mystery in one. It's also an experience I would never forget on a cinema. The viewers are literally at the edge of their seats most of the time, screaming and breathless. It's amazing how a thriller movie set in broad daylight can create anxiety effectively.

Favorite Scene
Now that I think about it, I didn't like one scene, I liked them collectively, especially the climax part when started finding out what really happened to his brother. You also notice a pattern that each arc of the story levels up each time. I also liked those small details in the conversation that will make you connect it by the end.


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