K-Movie Review [1] The Man From Nowhere

I believe this is my first Korean Movie Review, and boy do I have a great movie for you guys. I would say that this movie is probably in my top five movies of all time and that's including movies of every language. I now present to you The Man From Nowhere.

BE WARNED THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS: Cha Tae Sik is a man of few words who keeps to himself. He runs a pawn shop in a poor neighborhood and finds himself the reluctant companion of little girl named So Mi who lives next door to him. When So Mi's mother steals drugs from a crime group, both So Mi and her mother are kidnapped by the crime group, leaving Tae Sik to use his knowledge of fighting and weapons to get them back.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Won Bin as Cha Tae Sik [A introverted pawn shop owner, who seems void of emotion. His past is complicated and is the reason he lives such a depressing lifestyle. He is highly skilled and trained in the art of fighting and weapon use.]

Kim Sae Ron as So Mi [So Mi comes from a broken home, her mother is addicted to heroin and tells So Mi that she is worthless and should just disappear. Despite her sad home life So Mi appears to keep a good outlook on life. She likes to go to Tae Sik's as an escape from her mother.]

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:

Kim Hee Won as Man Seok [Man Seok is the leader of a crime group he cares for no one and thinks nothing of using children to earn money by any means.]

Kim Sung Oh as Jong Seok [He is Man Seok's brother and right-hand man. He has a cruel side and love to cause pain to others through torture.]

Thanayong Wongtrakul as Ramrowan [He is the muscle of Man Seok's group, he is somewhat fascinated by Tae Sik's abilities and see him as an opponent who can test his skills.]

Kim Tae Hoon as Detective Kim Chi Gon [He is committed to bringing down the crime groups in his city.]

ACTING: The acting was really great, Won Bin truly is an amazing actor. Sae Ron was really cute and made you feel for her. Oh and I was blown away when I saw Sung Oh, for those who don't know he play Secretary Kim in Secret Garden, but his character in this movie was nothing like his character in Secret Garden. I must say, he is a really good actor because his character was believable and did not seem forced. I also really enjoyed Thanayong Wongtrakul's acting, he made for an interesting rival and supporting character throughout the movie.

PLOT OVERVIEW: The plot was great. The themes may be a little too dark for fans who like candy sweet romantic k-drama's. But if you are a fan of action movies this is one to see. I also like that it shows a side of life in Korea never really hinted at in k-dramas. In this movie the main character isn't filthy rich, and there is no love interest, it is purely an action suspense movie at its finest. Another thing I really loved about this movie is that the lead character is so human. Though he has amazing fighting skills he can be injured which makes the character believable. Also Tae Sik's reason for being so well trained in fighting makes sense and goes well with the plot, it's not something just thrown in there or worst never explained at all like a lot of movies out there do.

ENDING: The ending really suits the overall feel of the show. Though it is considered a happy ending it is still not an overly done super sugary sweet ending. I like that Tae Sik and So Mi are reunited and though I do wish that the two of them could end up living together and become a family, it just would not fit this show.

SOUNDTRACK: The soundtrack was good and served its purpose, nothing overly mind-blowing but not bad by any means of the word.

RATING: Ok so on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst movie I have ever seen and 10 being a movie I could watch every day I give it an 10. This really is an amazing show that has great camera work, an amazily talented cast, a wonderful plot, I really do not have one complaint about this movie at all.

Here's the trailer:

As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this movie.  

2012 MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards)

It's time for the 2012 MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards)

If you are like me, over the years you've heard of the MAMA's but never really knew what they were or why you should care.

The MAMA's are one of the major Kpop awards shows in Korea. It allows fans from all over the world to vote for their favorite artist.


It is super simple to vote, you have to have an account, however all you are required to put to make an account is an email address an account name and a password.

Vote HERE

I'm not really one to do this, but I'm going to do a shameless plug and beg you guys to please vote for Shinhwa in the two categories they are nominated in.

This blog now has a twitter account!!

So I decided to just go ahead and make a twitter account https://twitter.com/VastWorldOfKpop

With so many rookies debuting all the time (there have been over 90 rookies debuting in 2012 alone) I felt like twitter would be a more effective means of helping others find out about new groups that deserve attention, since writing reviews is so time consuming.

I'll still be writing reviews and features however this is just another way to introduce you guys to some great groups.

p.s. I apologize in advance for any grammar and spelling mistakes that will more then likely exist in my tweets.

p.s.s I've never used twitter before I don't even have a personal twitter account so please excuse me while I try and figure everything out.

Feature [12] Phantom

Hello everyone, since this semester isn't killing me just yet, I have some time to write another feature for you guys and I've gotta say I really love the group I'm about to talk about. I'm proud to introduce you to  PHANTOM.

MEMBERS:

Sanchez (Main Vocals)

Kiggen (Leader, Producer, Rapper)

Hanhae (Rapper, Maknae)

BIO: Sanchez and Kiggen both used to work for Happy Face Ent., Kiggen was a part of the group HybReFine and Sanchez was a featured artist on some of his songs. Hanhae was a trainee under Stardom Ent. and was going to debut as the main vocalist for Block B however he ended up not making it into the group. With all three now under Brand New Music in 2011 the trio appeared in Verbal Jint's "You Look Good" video as characters in the MV. Their first work they released was the song "19 Song (Love Songs That Teens Cannot Listen To)" it was a medley of song arrangements which featured song that had been banned by the South Korean MOGEF. They then posted a video on their Youtube page of then singing SNSD's "The Boys" in which Sanchez was dressed as Freddie Mercury from Queen. Finally they released their first single album "Hole In Your Face." Their official debut however did not happened until 2012 with Phantom City.


OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Youtube page http://www.youtube.com/brandnewmusickorea
                                         Official Cafe http://cafe.daum.net/Phantomism/
                                         Twitter Kiggen https://twitter.com/HybReFine
                                         Twitter Sanchez https://twitter.com/NZmightySanchez
                                         Twitter Hanhae https://twitter.com/Hanhae90


MUSIC VIDEOS:

Burning

                                          


19 Song (Love Songs That Teens Cannot Listen To)

Hole In Your Face

The Boys (cover)

Ice

These guys are incredibly talented and sound amazing live. Please help support PHANTOM, you can purchase their music on itunes at this http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/paenteom-phantom/id551540638

Feature [11] U-KISS

Hello everyone, I'm back again with another feature. Now the group i'm about to talk about is not exactly unknown, in fact they have a very large fan base. However they have never once won first place on MCountdown and frankly I think it's time they should. That's right I'm talking about U-KISS.

Before 2011

After 2011 (When they changed members )

MEMBERS:

Soohyun (Leader, Main Vocals)

Kiseop (Vocals)

Eli (Rapper)

AJ (Rapper, Vocals)

Hoon (Vocals)

Kevin (Vocals)

Dongho (Rapper, Maknae)

Former Members:

Xander

Kibum

BIO: U-KISS is a South Korean boy group who formed in 2008, their name stands for Ubiquitous Korean International idol Super Star. They originally debut as a six member group, however they are now a seven member group with the addition of Kiseop in 2009. U-Kiss had the intentions to debut in the Untied States, however this never took place as both Alexander and Kibum left the group. Their empty spots were filled by AJ and Hoon. They are very well known and well recieved  in Japan as well as other countries in Asia. However in Korea they have yet to capture the top spot on any of the music programs such as MCountdown.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Website http://u-kiss.co.kr/
                                          Twitter http://twitter.com/ukisskorea
                                          Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ukiss
                                          Youtube http://www.youtube.com/ukiss2008
MUSIC VIDEOS: These are not all their MV's just my favorites.
 Man Man Ha Ni

시끄러!! (Full Ver.)

Always

Neverland

Doradora

Tick Tack (I can't find the full version of this video anywhere but it's by far my favorite.)

Truly these boys have worked hard and deserve all the praise they get and really deserve awards as well so please support these boys. They are a group who has evolved from boys to men style wise, and I can't wait to see what they have in-store for us in the future.

Please support U-KISS by purchasing their music legally you can find it on itunes here is the http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/u-kiss/id410587085

NOTE: To My Readers

Hello everyone,

I wanted to write a quick post and ask you guys a few question that will hopefully help me improve my blog and my posts.

1. Is my blog easy to navigate, can you find what you are looking for when you arrive at my page?

2. Since is seems I have a lot of people who view this blog from non-English speaking countries, have you found the google translate button helpful? Does it translate my post into understandable text in your language or is it just confusing nonsense?

3. Do you like the way I review K-Dramas? Is there any thing else you would like to know about a kdrama when I review it (such as additional information)?

4. From reading my kpop group features, have I helped introduce you to a new group or singer that you had never heard of or never really listened to before?

For the most part I like the format I use when reviewing groups and dramas, however if there is information missing that you guys would like me to cover when I write a review just let me know.

KDrama Review 8 [Personal Taste]

This might be my last review for a while since i'm starting school again, however the show i'm about to review is one that I believe will hold you over until I can write a new one. So here's my review of Personal Taste.

BE WARNED THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

SYNOPSIS: Jeon Jin Ho is a man who loves cleanliness, organization, and order. Though he seldom shows his own emotions he has a talent for figuring out the feelings of women. So when Park Kae In decides to rent out a room in her house after her ex-friend In Hee moves out after betraying her by almost marring her now ex-boyfriend Chang Ryul. Kae In comes to a misunderstandings and believes that Jin Ho is gay. Therefore she has no problem renting him a room in her house since he would be no threat to her. The two soon come find out more about each other and end up forming feelings for each other.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Son Ye Jin as Park Kae In [She is the daughter of a famous architect who often finds herself taken advantage of because of her naive and forgiving nature. She designs furniture just like her mother once did, however she has had little success.]

Lee Min Ho as Jeon Jin Ho [He is an architect whose whole life has been dedicated to becoming a successful architect who can restore his family name.]

Kim Ji Suk as Han Chang Ryul [He is the son of a highly reguarded architect who often beats Jin Ho in design compations by underhanded means. He was dating Kae In out of pitty and ended dumping her only to try and marry In Hee.]

Wang Ji Hye as Kim In Hee [After her parents died she moved in with Kae In and lived with her for ten years. She has always hated that Kae In has always had everything handed to her so she set out to seal every boyfriend Kae In has ever had.]

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:

Ryu Seung Ryong as Choi Do Bin [The director of the Art museum he is a man that often keeps to his self.]

Jo Eun Ji as Lee Young Sun [Kae In's best friend, she is a women who hates to see her friend taken advantage of. She is often the voice of reason and wisdom for Kae In.]

Jung Sung Hwa as No Sang Joon [Jin Ho's right hand man at his design firm and fake lover.]

Choi Eun Seo as Na Hye Mi [She is very close with Jin Ho's family and in love with him even though he clearly has no romantic feelings for her.]

Im Seul Ong as Kim Tae Hoon [An office worker at Jin Ho's firm he's in love with Hye Mi and often causes problems for Jin Ho.]

Ahn Suk Hwan as Han Yoon Sub [Chang Ryul's father.]

ACTING: The acting was ok, at first I found Kae In so bland that her character left really no impression whatsoever which is a first for me. She did improve over time though and her acting near the end was great. I swear Lee Min Ho is starting to become one of my favorite male actors. Jin Ho's character was so well portrayed his lack of concern of what others think of him and the way he slowly show his feelings for Kae In was so well done. Chang Ryul was an impressive character to me, because you go from hating him to really pitting him. In Hee I felt was always a borderline villain though everything she did was evil it was never loath and hate her pass the point of return evil. My favorite actor in this whole show was Jung Sung Hwa who played Sang Joon. He was so funny yet caring, and his fake gay act was hilarious. I also enjoyed Young Sun her character was a welcome presences. One last shout out must go to Ryu Seung Ryong, he made director Choi's character interesting and complex it was amazing to see him act shy and unsure. Honestly the cast was pretty well rounded probably one of my favorite casts in a drama or at least one of my top five favorite casts.

PLOT OVERVIEW: As much as I love this show I have to admit that the plot was a bit of a mess. I was very confused as to why Hye Mi would be allowed to live with Jin Ho and his mother. From what I understand is that she left her family and friends to be with him and so it seems like she forced her way into their home. Maybe I just had bad subtitle translations but that's what I understood from the show. The whole story of what happened to Jin Ho's father I felt was also not very well explained, the story made it feel like Yoon Sub was personally responsible for killing him, as in with his own hands, however that turned out not to be the cause. Which brings me to why he had that scar on his face they never explain it. Also though I was really impressed with Kim Ji Suk's English speaking skills I felt like Julien Kang's cameo was unnecessary. Though I complain about it I still find the plot to be something new and fresh. The one thing I will say, and it's not really fair for me to complain about this because almost all k-dramas have it, and that is too much drama. I feel like often in shows I am just waiting for  that point in the show where everything goes terribly wrong or the main characters break up. Of course they are called Drama's for a reason and I know they do it to make it interesting, however it would be great to find a show that leaves the audience guessing. I began to like the show ten times more after they began to act as a couple. I also liked that the main couple, who live under the same roof actually act on their affections for each other unlike another show *coughFull Housecough*. This show really does have some of the cutest couple scenes ever. 

ENDING: Just like the main plot the ending was a bit of a mess. I felt they never really explained what happened to Jin Ho's father. Also after everything Chang Ryul did to Jin Ho I felt he got off a little to easy and In Hee definitely got off to easy for all the trouble she caused. Another thing that did not add up is how did Kae In survive the accident and her mother die it really makes no sense. As for all the couples, Hye Mi throughout the whole show refused to give up Jin Ho yet suddenly she is show all lovey dovey with Tae Hoon at the end. Also was I the only one who was sort of hoping that Sang Joon and Young Sun would end up together somehow. The break up was odd and their really there was no reason for it or behind it. I felt like the writers handled the final judging of the contest poorly because it was this big build up through out the whole show that everything depends on this result. Yet it was over in like five-seconds, there was no suspense it just seemed to fall flat. However I was happy with how the main couple ended up and I was happy with the very last scenes of the show.

SOUNDTRACK: The soundtrack was not bad it had some good songs but it was nothing amazing and only on occasion helped set the mood for the show.

RATING: Ok so on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst show I have ever seen and 10 being a show I could watch ever day I give it an 8. I so badly want to give this show a 9 or even a 10. However there were to many things left unexplained and some of the things they explained made no sense. I will say however that the acting was great and I really loved the couple and how they interacted with each other. Also the plot was something new and I really did over all like this show.


As always I encourage everyone to form their own opinion about a show or movie, these are simply my   views and reflections of what I felt about this drama.