Sunday 16 March 2014

My Girl (2005) | ★★★★½ [Korean Drama TV Series]

Genre: Korean Drama, Romantic Comedy.
Stars: Da-hae Lee, Dong-Wook Lee, Jun-ki Lee, Si-Yeon Park, Seok-Hwan Ah, Hie-bong Byeon, Ran Choi


My Girl is up there with the funniest Korean dramas I’ve ever seen. It was so refreshing to watch, breathing life into a genre that I was starting to find repetitive and unexciting. It contains many of the things I love about Korean dramas, and cuts out almost all of the things I hate about them. It’s just a perfect show for me! Words cannot do justice to how immensely joyful I felt whilst watching My Girl. The characters were hilarious, the story was hysterical, and the romance had everything I wanted and more. Each episode made me laugh, swoon, and more than a little emotional. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that. If it weren't for the sub-par ending, I'd call this the greatest romantic-comedy I've ever seen. 

Friday 14 March 2014

Spin-Off Blogathon!


The amazingly awesome Sati at The Cinematic Corner created this really interesting Blogathon. If you'd like to partake, you can find the original article here.


Here are the rules:

1. Choose a character that you love and would like to see as a leading character in the movie and write why you chose this character and what that movie would be like 

2. Don't choose leading characters or supporting characters with lots of screentime, the goal is to focus on minor characters who have between 1-5 scenes. However if you really loved a character who is on screen for more than that, go for it.

MY CHOICE IS:


Billy Elliot was an Oscar nominated film by Stephen Daldry. It is set in a coal mining town, where almost all of the miners are on strike. People can barely afford to eat, and the only pass time for the young children are: school, boxing for boys, and ballet for girl's. This is a film about a young man named Billy Elliot, who chose to do ballet, and overcame all of the adversity that came with it. 


Michael Caffrey was Billy's best friend, who fully supported him in his efforts to become a ballet dancer. He is one of the kindest, most down to earth young men I've ever seen in a film. What makes him so interesting is the secret that he hides. 

Michael likes to dress in women's clothing, and wear make-up. Imagine the kind of inner conflict this poor boy had to deal with... and the social stigma that he would have to face in the future. He lives in a town filled with sexist, bigoted miners that believe men should act a certain way. What I loved most about Michael, was the way he could see the silver lining in everything. He was the one supporting Billy, even though it was he himself who faced greater troubles. There were many scenes where I just wanted to give him a hug, because life must have been very confusing for him. 

I would love to see a film about Michael, because there just aren't enough films that show the struggle of transgender children. 

If Stephen Daldry made a film dedicated to Michael's journey to acceptance, then that would be a ground-breaking and remarkable piece of cinema. *SPOILER*, By the end of the movie 'Billy Elliot', you see Michael all grown up wearing women's clothing and sitting next to what appears to be his boyfriend. He looks like he made it into some kind of art community, and... he just looked happy. Imagine how powerful this story could be for a young transgender child struggling to come to terms with their feelings. Now this is a character that would be remembered for generations to come.

Thursday 13 March 2014

Starman (1984) - ★★★★★

Director: John Carpenter
Writers: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel

Starman is my favourite sci-fi film of all time, and one of my favourite romances. It saddens me to see that hardly anyone knows of this film, when there's so much beauty to be found within this tale. In my opinion, Karen Allen and Jeff Bridges give their career best performances in Starman. Their chemistry was as powerful as any I've ever seen captured on film, and the pure emotion they expressed was more believable than almost any other. It features some really nice special effects, fantastic cinematography, and some of the most beautiful dialogue I've ever heard in my entire life. On top of all this, it is scored by the brilliant Jack Nitzche, who created one of the most soul-touching compositions I've ever heard in a movie. I love this film as much, probably more, than any other I've ever seen.

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) - ★★★★


Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: Jerry Leichtling, Arlene Sarner
Stars: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jim Carrey, Helen Hunt, Sofia Coppola, Maureen O'Sullivan, Leon Ames, Barbara Harris, Catherine Hicks

Peggy Sue Got Married is a film with a premise that delves into many diverse, powerful emotions. Memories, nostalgia, lost relatives and friends, old crushes, new passions, and all the possibilities in the world are just some of the things explored in this thoroughly engrossing film. Kathleen Turner gives arguably her greatest performance as Peggy Sue, earning her a well deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actress. This film also served as an early spark in the acting career's of Jim Carrey, Helen Hunt, Joan Allen, and most notably, Nicolas Cage. It's far from a masterpiece. It seems more like a fun project that Francis Ford Coppola decided to take on. What I love most about this movie is the way it opens our minds to ask "what if I could do it all over again?" That made this film a really fun, emotional experience.

The Movie Man gets a Liebster Award


The Vern at The Video Vortex has nominated me for a Liebster Award, and I couldn't be more happy or proud. It seems fitting that Vern has nominated me for my very first award, for he was the very first blogger to ever give me any feedback and encouragement (way back in 2012). You should visit his blog if you get the chance. I now have to nominate 11 bloggers, but first I need to establish the rules.

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Wolf Creek 2 (2014) - ★★★½ The Comeback Review!

Director: Greg McLean
Writer: Greg McLean
Stars: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Shannon Ashlyn, Philippe Klaus

Wow. Wow. Wow. When I sum up my experience of watching Wolf Creek 2, all I can say is that it is one darn entertaining, suspenseful piece of cinema! This is the kind of film that will put you through a roller-coaster of emotions. It aims to horrify the audience, and keep them in a constant state of suspense. While I wasn't horrified in the least, there were moments that had me at the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next! Not to mention, the humour and hilarious stereotyping that is the serial killer, Mick Taylor, made me laugh more than it should have! He said some truly hilarious things, and his over-the-top accent and Australian slang just made the funniness of it all increase by ten-fold. So one second I would be biting my nails in suspense, and the next I would be laughing out loud in the cinema! I really liked Wolf Creek 2. It's far from horrifying, but so worth watching!