Hanoi Bride

 

Cast:

Lee Dong Wook – as Dr. Park Eun Woo

 

 

 

Kim Ok Bin – as Ly Thi Vu

Park Soh Go

In Lan

 

 

 

Synopsis:

 Bride From Hanoi is a very special, two-part K-Drama, filmed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. It tells the story of Eun Woo (Lee Dong Uk), a Korean doctor who meets and falls in love with Tib, a half-Korean, half-Vietnamese woman (Played by Kim Ok Bin) whilst in Vietnam. However, Tib's sister is opposed to the match, as she was hurt by a Korean man in the past, and so persuades her Tib to break off the relationship.

Eun Woo returns to Korea broken hearted, only for his older brother Sok Woo (Lee Won Jong) to head off to Vietnam in search of a bride himself. But when he returns with a young woman on his arm, Eun Woo is horrified to discover that it is Tib!

 

 

 

What I Think:

This is definitely a good mini-movie! I was thinking of the first part of the movie where Lee Dong Wook ( Eun Woo) was trying to electrically revive a patient and he was lying on top of the patient, that was a big blooper coz when doctors do that, the first thing that they say is “All Clear! Give me 150 joules!” but LDW was sitting on top of the patient, then he could have been electricuted along with him!! That scene remined me of Kim tae Hee’s scene in Love Story in Harvard.

 

Are Lee Dong Wook’s lips the reddest or what? His lips are really red, so cute! The only other actor I can think of with lips as red as his is Jo In Sung. J  How I love Lee Dong Wook, he is so tall and lean and wonderfully sexy! Hehe! He is really handsome, and Thi vu is kinda pretty too and speaks korean well. Oh and I love Lee Dong Wook’s clothes here too, his look is very casual, jeans, clean pressed shirts with sweaters on very different from his outrageous clothes in “My Girl.”

 

Lotus flowers, I never knew Lotus flowers are gorgeous! My fave flowers have always been Tulips, I thought the flowers Thi Vu was carrying were Tulips but they were Lotus! Nice! The backdrop scenes were awesome too! Vietnam is so wonderful, very scenic and Korea has always been scenic! The scenes of Eun woo and Soh go’s plantation is the very same flower field used in Summer Scent! I love that place!

 

Some nice scenes to watch out for:

@ Eun Woo meets Thi Vu at the bike parking, she brought Lotus flowers, he was staring at her and tipped the whole line of bicycles there! That is funny.

@ Old patient: What relationship do you have with this woman?

    Eun Woo: I love this woman!! (in perfect Viet! Thi Vu was angry that he pretended he didn’t   

    understand any Viet! She stormed out)

@ Thi Vu never coming to the airport to see  Eun woo off.

@ Eun woo almost telling his brother that he used to date Thi Vu.

@ Park Soh Go and In Lan together, I just feel that they belong together when I saw them walking side by side.

@ Thi Vu breaking down when she knew her sister’s deception.

@ Mom giving Thi Vu her jade ring. She loves Thi Vu, this scene made me cry.

@ Soh goh telling Eun Woo what happened to Thi Vu when he left her in Vietnam.

@ Eun woo telling his family that he will marry Thi Vu, his mom went bersek

@ The ending with Thi Vu telling Eun woo “ I would still love you even if you hadn’t came.” 

 

 

 

Rating: 9 Korean kimchis out of 10

 

CREDITS: hancinema

Love In Magic

Cast:

Yun Jung Hun – Woo Ji Hoon

Park Jin Hee – Koo Hee Won

 

 

Synopsis:

Ji-hoon is a famous magician. He's also a ladies man. The city is his stage, or rather his hunting ground. Every night he's out looking for a new lady, and he rarely goes home alone. But Ji-hoon's womanising ways are about to land him in some serious trouble. One night when he's dragged yet another girl to yet another hotelroom, he suddenly gets a call from his friend, who has stumbled over some hidden camera footage on the internet of a couple having sex in a hotel. Why is that so interesting? Well, the guy is Ji-hoon!

Meet Koo Hee-won. A sweet young teacher, who also happens to be Ji-hoon's co-star in that soon to be infamous sex-tape. When Ji-hoon seeks her out to tell her that their brief union has been immortalised on the internet, she breaks down, but soon comes up with a plan. They must find the tape! They must find the ones who made it!

First they have to locate the hotel, but none of them can remember where they stayed! Ji-hoon and Hee-won then begin an intense hunt for the right hotel. They tour around the entire area, from one ghastly hotel room to another searching for surveillance equipment. Meanwhile they both try to get on with their love lives, but the more time they spend together, they more they start to remember the passion they shared, Could this unfortunate event bring these two people together again...? Or perhaps a touch of magic will do the trick.

 

Credits: shuqi.org

 

 

 

 

Summary:

Woo Ji Hoon (Yun Jung Hun) is a playboy magician. He uses magic to get girls. He believes that love is like magic; when it wears of you just have to move on to the next woman. When he performed in a magic show in one school, he ended up making love to a teacher, Koo Hee Won. Then years after, they both lost touch and moved on. Ji Hoon went back to his playboy ways, Hee Won to teaching mischievous high school kids. One day Ji Hoon’s manager and flat mate, while looking for porn in the internet, accidentally watched this film from a hidden camera taken from a motel, of a man and a pretty young woman. He zoomed in on the shot and realized it was his friend Ji Hoon caught on candid camera!! He told Ji Hoon and he started racking up his brain who was that girl he made love with in the camera shot…and realized that is was the high school teacher Hee Won!

Ji Hoon then went back and told Hee Won that they were had a sex tape of the day when they made love in that hotel proliferating in the internet. Ji Hoon was already dating his dentist while Hee Won has a pending marriage proposal from Joon seok. Hee Won decided that they should find the pranksters and find the hidden cameras, now if only they could remember that motel. They made love in so many places that they cannot remember which motel was this.

As both Ji Hoon and He won were looking for the hidden cameras in different motels…Ji Hoon was slowly falling in love all over again with Hee Won. While Hee Won was pressured to give Joon seok an answer to his marriage proposal. Then while looking at Hee Won’s 26^th birthday picture, he found the motel and discovered the hidden cameras. The motel owners mugged him and gave him a big black eye. Joon seok eventually saw Hee Won and Ji Hoon’s sex scandal and broke of their engagement. The school fired Hee Won, she moved on to a place where no one knows her. Ji Hoon, one day, found her again and they started dating again then they got married and went to their honeymoon. But before the magic in bed started they started scanning their room for hidden cameras..

 

 

 

 

What I Think:

I wanted to watch more movies with my fave, Yun Jung Hun in it so I watched this one. Yun Jung Hun is definitely a good actor and when he goes out of his comfort zone, like in this movie, he does well. I was shocked at first when I saw him in this movie, he was jumping from one girl to another, he was suave! I really like it when he starts smiling like that! Aish! Turns my insides into mush!! And his bod does not look that bad either.

Park Jin Hee is kinda pretty too, her acting is just okay and she is stylish. This is the first time I saw her in a movie and she did okay.

This movie is basically just okay. Nothing too much to rave about it.

 

This movie has a very complex way of telling things, an awful lot of flashbacks are used. I find myself lost, wondering whether this scene is the present time or the flash back, you don’t know where one scene starts and another stops. Speaking of Girls, girls, girls--- man I was totally confused which girl is Yun Jung Hun making love too. Believe me Hee won and that dentist girl that Ji Hoon’s dating looks so much like and so are the rest of Ji Hoon’s girls! Whew!

 

Some nice scenes:

@ The lady dentist took out Ji Hoon’s tooth he started complaining “It keeps on bleeding!!”---then he saw the pretty dentist, he smiles and said “I’ll be damned the pain is gone!” I thought this scene was funny!

@ Ji Hoon and Hee Won’s sex scandal from a motel. Woah! I never thought Yun Jung Hun could do those bed scenes! I need to catch my breath, those scenes are rated PG. They’re hot!

@ Ji Hoon and Hee Won staring at each thru a fish tank, This looks like a scene from Romeo and Juliet.

@ Hee won saying “I think you are certifiably crazy!” to Ji Hoon

@ Hee Won seeing their scandal on cd, she broke down and cried.

@ Hee won saying “Let’s get married or let’s get the crooks!”

@ Ji Hoon giving Hee Won a rubber duckie which only sueks when h touches it. The simple things that makes you smile, is ll that matters.

@ The searches on every motel for a hidden camera.

@ Ji Hoon giving Hee won a piggy back ride home when she got to drunk thinking of her problems. This piggy back scenes always works.

@ Their marriage

 

 

Rating: 7 Korean Kimchis out of 10

 

Bet on my Disco

Cast:

Lee Jung Jin – Hae-juk

Han Chae Young – Bong- ja

 

 

Synopsis:

Hae-juk and his friends spend their youth fighting with local villains in a wretched neighborhood of Seoul in the early 80s. They have little to do but drink and brawl, but true love can happen anywhere: one day Hae-juk is smitten by Bong-ja, the local shit collector's beautiful daughter. Bong-ja is forced to work in a discotheque run by gangsters. The local crime boss is having problems filling his venue, so he gives Hae-juk a final offer:
If he wants Bong-ja back, he must win the upcoming disco contest!

 

Credits: heroic-cinema.com

 

 

 

What I Think:

Okay months before I have decided to watch this movie, I saw the poster and I was thinking "Oooh I have a bad feeling about this movie…" and after watching this one I could not have been any right.

 

Lee Jung Jin, I just like this actor but I do not want that to be the reason why I should be partial to him and this movie. I have to check when this movie was produced but I am pretty sure that this has been released a long long long time ago already because Lee Jung Jin looks so young here. His acting skills here are still not too polished. Oh but he looks absolutely hilarious when he tried dancing! He gave me a good laugh in those scenes! His body looks good though, he works out a lot that I can say. There were lots of scenes where Jung Jin looks like a wood; you cannot see any feelings there.

 

Han Chae Young, ever since Autumn in my Heart, I haven't come to like her that much but I have to admit she was funny in "Chun Yang" and so sweet in "Only You." She looks so young in this movie, god she really reminds me of a mouse! She lacks depth in acting, she seem to have absolutely no feelings when it comes to the sad, problematic scenes. I don't dig her hairstyle here either.

 

This movie is just 6/10 for me. The actors have little chemistry. The first 5 minutes into the movie, Buddha help them, there was no real conversation and the music is not at all good. But there were some scenes that were funny like when Lee Jung Jin was practicing disco dance with a black eye! Yup that was funny. Or the scene where Bong-ja's father almost had an accident while pushing a crt of poop! Yes this movie has its own share of cheap laughs. It took me a few minutes to actually stomach the ruffles, the skin-sticking Ricky Martin-like suade pants. Thank god Lee Jung Jin's hair was short and not shaggy. If you are a big fan of Lee Jung Jin or Han Chae Young you can try watching this one but if you're not you can skip this one out.

 

I just have to say this,by god it took me days just to find a decent picture of this movie, this movie is a bit old and difficult to search! I got the pictures from han cinema.

 

 

 

Rating: 6 Korean Kimchis out of 10

 

Almost Love

 

 

 

Cast:

Kwon Sang Woo – Lee Ji Wan

 

 

Kim Ha Neul – Jin Dal Rae

 

 

 

Summary:

Kwon Sang Woo and Kim Ha Neul, the popular stars of 2003's hit film My Tutor Friend reunite for writer/director Lee Han's 2005 romantic comedy, Almost Love! The two actors play Ji Hwan and Dal Rae, a pair of friends who grew up together in the same neighborhood and have been platonic pals ever since childhood. While Taekwondo student turned stuntman, Ji Hwan (Kwon Sang Woo) wishes to follow in the footsteps of his hero, action movie icon Jackie Chan, drama student Dal Rae (Kim Ha Neul) would like nothing more than to become an actress, although her eternal shyness during the audition process continually prevents her from landing any plum acting roles.

Although the two of them bicker incessantly, there's a mischievous, altogether playful quality to their arguments, and as the film develops, it becomes clear that they are great friends with a deep affection for one another. However, their friendship takes a turn for the worse when they each begin dating other people: Dal Rae starts seeing a handsome, athletic young man who happens to be a fellow member of Ji Hwan's Taekwondo group, while Ji Hwan himself begins going out with a gorgeous young woman with a figure to die for. It would seem that there shouldn't be any issue between these two about dating other people, but as soon as they embark on these new relationships, things start to get weird for these once good friends! It seems that everybody knows their relationship is so much more than friendship, except Ji Hwan and Dal Rae themselves! Will they figure out their own feelings in time, before it's too late

Credits: selaplana.com

 

 

 

 

 

What I Think:

People have been recommending this movie for months now, the reviews on showbiz extra in Arirangtv were good too so might as well give this movie a shot. I am actually looking forward to watching this movie with Kwon Sang Woo and Kim Ha Neul in their second outing together.

The storyline is good, and the actors are great.

Kwon Sang Woo, Dal Rae described him as a kid stuck in a man's body… at first I thought he was really a special child like the one in the movie "Marathon." I noticed when it comes to movies I have never seen Kwon Sang Woo do a dramatic role, his movies always has martial arts, fighting and kungfu in it like My Tutor Friend, Once Upon a Time in High School (my fave ksw movie) and this one. I bet Kwon Sang Woo is a big Kung fu fan. I hate his hair here; they could have let him be a big Jackie Chan fan without that horendo hair. It does not suit him. His body is awesome quite believable for someone who idolizes Jackie Chan much. His acting too is brilliant like when he realized he lost a leg, his acting was good.

 

Kim Ha Neul, after watching her in "Stained Glass" I have seen Kim Ha Neul in a new light. Before when I look at her, she looks old but in this movie her hair was short and she looks years younger here. When it comes to clothes, Kim Ha Neul never shows too much skin, her fashion style is more on the sweaters and the preppy side. Acting-wise, I can't seem to describe her. She looks like she's in a daze sometimes but in her depth she can convey stuff thru her acting. She and KSW seem to have a great chemistry.

 

Young Hoon is a cutie! Another actor added to my OG Other Guy List! He has a gorgeous bod too and quite tall, heck he is taller than KSW!

 

 

Some nice scenes to look out for:

@ Young Hoon trying to walk beside Dal Rae and he held her hand, she pulled her hand back saying people might see and he said " It took me 3 months to hold your hand." And he held her hand again. That was so sweet!!

@ Young Hoon (Dal Rae's boyfriend) gives her a piggy back ride home after she got too drunk

@ Ji Won losing a leg

@ Young Hoon telling Dal Rae *he gives her Ji Won's finished screen play* " That was the longest love letter that I have read…" and he turned around, walked away and cried. It was then he realized tht he had to let Dal Rae go. I love him for doing that. Young Hoon is definitely cute too!

 

 

Rating: 7 Korean Kimchis out of 10

It Started With A Kiss

 

Cast:

Ariel Lin as Yuan Xiang Qin

Joe Cheng as Jiang Zhi Shu

Jiro Wang as Ah Jing/Jing Yuan Feng

Tiffany Xu as Pei Zi Yu

Jason as Wang Hao Qian

Chang Yung Cheng as Jiang Ah Li

Cyndi Chao as Ah Li's wife

Tang Tsung Sheng as Yuan Ah Cai

Yang Pei Ting as Lin Chun Mei

Liu Jung Chia as Liu Ya Nun

 

 

Other Titles:

E Zuo Ju Zhi Wen

 

 

Synopsis:

Yuan Xiangqin (Ariel Lin) is a naive but optimistic high school girl. Ever since she met Jiang Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) at the freshman orientation, she's fallen in love with the genius with an IQ of 200. After two years of having a crush on him, she finally musters the courage to confess to him at school. Zhi Shu is not impressed, and his cold-hearted rejection immediately turns her into the biggest joke of the school.

Misfortune comes in a pair: that evening, the new house she has just moved into with her father collapses in a minor earthquake. She and her father are instantly left homeless. Fortunately, her father's old high school friend extends a helping hand and invites both of them to live at his house. Little did Xiang Qin know that the kind Uncle Li is actually the father of Jiang Zhishu! Because of the unexpected turn of events, the two of them begin living their lives under the same roof.

Nothing has ever seemed too hard for Zhi Shu; he's overcome every obstacle in his life with a practiced ease. However, Xiang Qin's appearance is like a tornado, turning his perfectly organized life into a whirlwind of unpredictable events. Despite his initial coldness and annoyance, Xiang Qin's blind courage and determination causes him to re-evaluate and think about his own life and future.

Will this be enough to win Zhi Shu's heart? Or will Xiang Qin break down under the full blast of Zhi Shu's coldness?

Credits: dramawiki

 

 

 

What I Think:

If you are a big Korean series fan, then just like me, you will need much time to re-acclimatize yourself to Taiwanese series like this that are a little slow-paced, and will last for 30 episodes. I was used to watching K-series that has only about 12- 16 episodes but I remembered when I watched Meteor garden 2, that too was about 30 or 31 episodes, so this is quite average for a Taiwanese series.

 

The soundtrack is awesome! This has got to be the best soundtrack in Taiwanese drama ever! I love every song because it reflects every scene in the series. My fave songs are Say You Love Me by Lara and Jason and track 3: Yu Dao/Meet by Wang Lan Yin and Come a Little Closer by Lara. Every song especially Yu Dao/Meet is so crappin good! It knocks me off my feet! Wahhhh I think I have gone absolutely crazy for the Yu Dao song and the series!!!

 

I am absolutely overwhelmed by Joe Cheng! He looks a lot like Edison Chen but a lot cooler and he does not have the air. After watching their NGs with Ariel Lin in the end, he was like laughing so darn hard, the biggest laugh I have seen in Taiwanese series land, I love Joe Cheng!  I like Edison a lot but you know there are times when he comes across too loud and has a lot of air…Joe is different. J He is a good actor, I like the scenes where he initiates the hugs and the caresses and the kisses! Aish he has no inhibitions! You should see him and Ariel in episode 29 and 30! Hilarious, awesome, funny, romantic and wonderful! I think even his chipped teeth adds much depth and cuteness!

 

Ariel Lin…wow, this is the first time I have seen her in a series. I started watching ISWAK along with Secret Garden in CTV. She is adorable and she is such a good and versatile actress. The one thing that bothered me about her very long skirts! Man that was so hard to watch Hahaha! God she and Joe Cheng have really great chemistry together!  

 

My two favorite supporting casts are Ah Jing and Ji zhu’s mother. Ji-zhu’s mom was wonderful and such a welcome and awesome comic relief. I liked her more coz she was not a bitch at all, in fact she was the biggest Xiang Qin – Zhi Shu shipper. Ah Jing, at first I thought he was just one annoying high school loser but his character evolved and I ended up even liking him down the middle of the series. I love the fact that he has been pursuing Xiang Qin for a few years already and had loved her for the longest time. I liked it when Xiang Qin decided to give him a chance and started dating him, but what can he do her heart already belonged to and has always been with Zhi Shu. I liked the way he treated Xiang Qin, he was always perky and funny and resilient..and loved him even more when he let go of Xiang Qin. 

 

Some really really nice scenes:

@ The intro where Xiang Qin thought she got a love letter from Zhi Shu!

@ When the school announced that “Xiang Qin from lower class F wants to be in the top 100 and aspires to be in class A.” the way everything and everyone stopped! Hilarious and so embarrassing!

@ When the results were released, both of them passed. Zhi Shu was rank 1 and Xiang Qin was rank 100. She started reading from the top 1 then checked her name in rank 100. Zhi Shu started reading from rank 100 and went opposite to check his name in top1.the way they crossed paths! Aish!

@ Zhi Shu kissed Xiang Qin the first time at the class party. She was shocked!

@ Zhi Shu kissed Xiang Qin the second time at the hospital without her knowing, she was sleeping and he kissed her, but Zhi Shu’s brother saw it! So romantic!

@ The scene where Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin ran away from gangsters, they ended up getting stuck with each other, biking, laughing and getting soaked in the rain, stuck in a hotel.

@ Zhi Shu cooking for Xiang Qin in a tennis match out of town game.

@ Zhi Shu carrying Xiang Qin off court when she got hurt in the match.

@ Zhi Shu giving Xiang Qin a piggy back ride to Xiang Qin’s home and back to his home.

@ All the scenes where Xiang Qin was dating Ah Jing, I swear he was so wonderful!

@ When Xiang Qin slept over at Zhi Shu’s place, they slept in bed side by side; she was imagining all the stuffs that Zhi Shu might do to her! Haha! I thought this scene was romantic!

@ When Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu made up in the rain, he kissed her and asked her to marry him, she told him “that’s the SECOND TIME you kissed me.” (She didn’t know that Zhi Shu kissed her at the hospital) Zhi Shu said “Just kiss me, stop counting.”

@ When Zhi Shu asked for Xiang Qin’s hand in marriage from her father. She lost her consciousness.

@ Both of them sleeping in Xiang Qin’s room, he just slept there the whole night.

@ At work, Xiang Qin visited Zhi Shu; he was so exhausted; he just let his head fall on her stomach, hugging her.

@ Xiang Qin kneeling in front of the grandfather CEO, Zhi Shu joined her. Then both of them kneeling down in front of the grandfather CEO, asking him to forgive them.

@ When Zhi Shu’s mom changed their family picture from fantastic 4 now including Xiang Qin and her dad! So cute!

@ When Ah Jing knew that Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu are getting married, his world just fell down; he has been planning his life with Xiang Qin in perspective.

@ When Xiang Qin was trying on wedding dressed with Zhi Shu’s brother. The dress she last wore was actually my fave wedding dress cut!!

@ Before the wedding, when Zhi Shu’s brother whispered to her that Zhi Shu kissed her when she fell asleep in the hospital.

@ The ending! Hilarious! You gotta see this wedding!!

 

 

 

Rating: 10 Taiwanese Taicha out of 10

 

 

 

Other Stuff:

Watch IT STARTED WITH A KISS ONLINE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES: HERE:

http://iswakcon.blogspot.com/

 

 

DOWNLOAD THE ISWAK OST HERE:

http;//chinesemusicblog.com/forum

 

 

IT STARTED WITH A KISS TRACKLIST (AWESOME OST!)

1. Dream Waltz -- (Instrumental)
2. Say U Love Me - Jason & Lara
3. Meet (Yu Dao) – Wang Lan Yin
4. Love Ocean (Ai Qing Hai)
5. Hear (Ting Jian)
6. Say U Love Me (Guitar version)
7. Come A Little Closer (Kao Jin Yi Dian Dian) - Lara
8. Can We (Neng Bu Neng) - Jason & Landy
9. The Whole World Could Hear (Quan Shi Jie De Ren Dou Ting Dao)
10. Peaceful World (He Ping Shi Jie)
11. Regret (Hou Hui)
12. Practical Joke - Wang Lan Yin
13. Sky [the English version of Love Ocean]

 

BROADCAST PERIOD:

2005 Sep 25 - 2006 Feb 12

 

Opening theme song: Say U Love Me by Jason and Lara

Ending theme song: (E Zuo Ju) Prank by Wang Lan Yin

TRIVIA:

*The series was based on the Japanese shoujo manga "Itazura na kiss" (Mischievous kiss) by Tada Kaoru.

*Itazura na kiss (1996) is the Japanese adaptation.

*The filming of It Started with a Kiss lasted one entire year. Some scenes were filmed in different seasons, which resulted in many goofs.

*The sequel is set to air in September 2007 due to the show's high ratings in Taiwan.

 

 credits: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/It_Started_With_A_Kiss

LINKS:

CTV Homepage (http://www.ctv.com.tw/event/2005/kiss/)

GTV Homepage (http://www.gtv.com.tw/Program/S051420051001U/index.htm)