Do Yourself a Favor and Watch These Beauties

Movie

<3 <3

They say "it's what's on the inside that counts" and The Beauty Inside makes the most use of it by following Woo Jin, a man who, since the age of 19 has never woken up with the same body he did the day before. He ends up every morning with a different outward age, sex, race, size, etc. He is a furniture designer and crafter and one day falls in love with Yi Soo who works at a furniture store and the movie explores their relationship and how they deal with Woo Jin's condition.

(This movie is based off of the mini-series The Beauty Inside, not the book Every Day. They came out about the same time, and have very similar plots (which tends to make people confused about the remakes of them, hence why I took time to write out this excerpt) but they are not actually the same.)

Drama

Come to Black Dog to find a drama that really highlights the need for an individual to find themselves, and that this is a lot more helpful when you have a team behind you supporting you.

Our main lead is a bit soft spoken and unsure in the beginning, which can be annoying to some people, but is also some people's (myself >.>) reality. However, as she learns more, and the story progresses, she learns how to do things HER WAY. I feel like that's the main focus of this show, and a very important lesson in the working world. She always had enough ability behind her, but due to being a new hire, and bottom of the teacher hierarchy system, she was pushed to having to teach in a way that didn't work for her, but her "partner" teacher. It isn't until she learns more from the working world and makes friends that she is able to find her groove.

This is a very real drama, and as someone who works in a school (although super different from how they do things) I found the drama very interesting to watch.

Drama

Chicago Typewriter weaves two stories into one. While our character try to unravel the stories of their previous lives, the viewers are given a look into freedom fighters during the 1930's Japanese Occupation of Korea. As my first look into this... and basically introduction about this time in general, I found this really interesting and riveting. Not to mention the many great quotes one can take from it (One of my favorites is from Yoo Jin Oh.) many of them basically urging the viewers to not let anything get in their way, face their fears, to just try their best, and to just live(more wise words from Jin Oh >.<). 

Drama

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Circle is a very well crafted drama. With two stories being told at once, the episodes are split in half, with each episode add to information the viewer is given, leading to twists and turns, red herrings. The drama is good at keeping you trying to figure out what's really happening, making for a very enjoyable, unusually structured drama. And with only 12 episodes, this drama is also a very quick gem.

There are some parts the drama misses out in... there are some parts left unanswered... and the way it ends really leads you to wanting a season 2, however everything of most importance is wrapped up in the end.

Movie

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Fathers follows two men who have been in a relationship together for 13 years as they face raising a child in an unaccepting environment. However this is mostly the backdrop and moving factors of the movie. The characters are more at the fore front. The parent's love for their child is accentuated through this what they said about adopting the boy. My boyfriend and I adopted him because of our love(for the full quote click the link). Their worries as to how to respond to their child inquisitive about his mother or the changes the child faces after going to school. Honestly I don't think I'm doing this film right, there is really a lot of heart and really makes you feel what it is like being a homosexual couple raising a child where it is not accepted as much and is stigmatized. 

It's a hard movie to find, but if you can, it's totally worth it.

Drama

Okay... I am weak when it comes to Lee Joon Gi. He's a fabulous actor that brings something different to each of his roles. I think this maybe a role I like the most? He's got a lot of complex emotions, or lack there of emotions to show.

I feel like this is a drama people either love, or really can't get into, and there's little in between. For me though, there is interesting inter-character dynamics happening that really make this drama shine. 

Movie

You will be hard pressed to find a more beautifully done cinematography that adds so much to the fights. Hero plays with all the colors on the color palette. with reds, blues, whites, and pale greens being used. Some may think that the colors symbolize different things, however the director said that the colors are merely aesthetic, they do however show a difference in who is telling the story and different period of the story. Hero is inspired by Rashomon in it's story telling, by having one story being told by others. This use of color though, really is a treat for the eyes. 

Movie

Where Hero uses color to tell different points of view. House of Flying Daggers is equally beautiful. (Personally I like this color in my movies more as it just feels more naturally beautiful and not a forced one color, but that's just me). This is a more typical wuxia type story, however that doesn't mean it doesn't have any substance of it's own. 

Movie

ONLY PICK UP THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE READY FOR IT'S CONTENT!

This movie follows a little girl who gets hospitalized after being raped and beaten on her way to school, and thus can be rather hard to watch. However we follow her as she and her family make a road of recovery and is really beautiful to watch for the pure love in it. I'm not one to cry, but I cried a lot while watching this. Watching as people worked to help her after such a terrible event... and watching her father try to find ways to be with her and support her even though she's afraid of men... I'm just crying again writing this....

Drama

Hot Stove league is a wonderful ride. The conflict comes from within. The same people that hired our main character to make the team win, are the very same people who want to destroy it. I found that dynamic really interesting and don't see it much. Usually the conflict comes from an external force. Of course our characters don't want to see the end, and our ML is famous for the teams he has brought from the bottom to win. 

You end up with a team. A team that has to go through a lot of growing pains, but grows just as much because of it all. I find Hot Stove League to be special due to it making all the characters something special. They each have their own things they want to accomplish, but they come together as a team.

Movie

If Cats Disappeared from the world is a wonderful story that focuses around the very simple saying of "you never know what you have until it's gone," and adds onto that (possibly my favorite part) EVERYTHING no mater how small, MATTERS, and plays a role in how your life was shaped. 

Our ML, inflicted by a fatal disease, is given the opportunity to extend his life by a day as long as he gives something up, causing it to disappear from the world. He tries to pick something smaller, but each time losses more than he realizes, memories, relationships. These small things had a huge inpact on how his life unfurled. Small items brought him together with his loved ones and people important to him. 

While I already pretty much follow the message of this movie, it is still a very good message to send out. 

Movie

Hye Won is tired of life in the city, and moves back to her small hometown. There are some memories from then she'd rather not remember, but the house becomes a healing spot for her. The movie moves slowly, but that's part of it's charm. We are healing with her. As a viewer you are given a space to slow down. Hye Won is given a spot to connect with the earth, farming the land, giving and getting gifts from neighbors, a low stress area to make various meals and treats from the food she harvests, and time to come to terms with her past once more, and friends and neighbors are there to help her through it and find her place.

As it is, slower movies aren't as much my thing, hence the rating, but still it's worth the watch.

Drama

I've said it once, and I'll say it a million times. Mr. Sunshine is a beautiful film; from the fantastic cinematography, to the calmly spoken poetry sounding conversations, to the lovable cast of characters all struggling in their own ways. Strong, unbending female characters (I love Kudo Hina), wonderfully acted characters (our main cast especially were at the top of their abilities), fun bromance and intriguing character interactions.
There's a reason this drama is around the top of my favs list. 

Drama

Mr. Queen is a fun romp. It has some serious moments, but for the most part it's a comedy. Bong Hwan is a man from modern day who suddenly finds himself in the body of soon-to-be queen So Yoon. Oblivious to how to act as 1) someone living in the palace and 2) a noble woman, not to mention his need to figure out how to survive there, there are a lot of road bumps and hilarious scenarios. 

This show takes the usual historical plots and adds elements that only a modern-male-top-chef-stuck-in-a-woman's-body in the past can bring. There are also some really touching moments, and the relationship between the queen and king blossoms beautifully.

I will mention the ending was disappointing for many people (including myself honestly) and could have been handled better, but the show otherwise is very enjoyable and I won't let that point get in the way.

Movie

Want to watch an actually well done remake of an anime/manga? Here enters Rurouni Kenshin (And it's 2 sequels that I just didn't list here...). You don't even have to know the original source as the movie does a good job of being able to stand on it's own while also keeping the basic story and heart of the original. Not to mention, great speedy action scenes to match Kenshin's fighting style. <3

Movie

I absolutely love Saimdang. It is not actually a "good" drama per se. Some may say my rating is over the top. It's slow moving... the past plotline FAR supersedes to the point that the present doesn't seem as necessary, I think I get what the writer was trying to do, but it's just not as interesting as the past, which is the majority of the story anyway, and so the bits we have that are the present feel longer.

However for me Saimdang is worth it for... well Saimdang, that character, and Lee Gyeom for that matter but we're gonna talk Saimdang here cause I love her lol. Saimdang is a beautiful character, and I always bring her up any time people talk about strong female characters. Why? Because unlike many "strong" female leads, she doesn't need to tote a gun, a bow, or a sword. She doesn't need to be a good fighter. All she needs is a strong mindset to never give up, the will and perseverance to see the light at the end of the tunnel or she'll make it herself gosh darn it! Many times writers make a strong character by doing the former: removing the female character from any traditionally "feminine" things and giving her "masculine" things, but that does not necessarily make a strong woman, and I love that Saimdang shows a mother doing all that she can to push the boundaries and create a better world for her children.

The romance is both a positive and a negative here. Some will like it, some will be board and disappointed by it. I found it just sad lol. It is very sad... ...

Movie

Tunnel gives me claustrophobia just thinking about it... and I like tight spaces >.<

On his way home, Lee Jeong Soo trapped when a tunnel collapses. This movie has a beautiful story about keeping one's humanity even in the worse of it. Honestly... It's just a really well done movie, check it out.

Since this movie I always make sure to bring water with me when driving. >.< I've thought about food but that's a hard one... I definitely will as long as I know I'm going under a tunnel though! lots >.<

Movie

Under the Hawthorn Tree is a heartbreaking movie. Done by the same director as House of Flying Daggers and Hero, this is NOT a martial art film, it's literally just a romance film, but is done very beautifully. While there isn't anything mind blowing and different about the movie, it still pulls individual elements together, and little touches here and there, to make a simple romance feel like a masterpiece. This couple is so pure and sweet... though I was a bit like "???? how innocent is the main girl???? that's an interesting misunderstanding to make" at some point in the movie. Other than that though the movie is really beautiful.

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Movie

Drama