#Kang Gil-woo

[celluloidrainbow]

정말 먼 곳 | A DISTANT PLACE (2020) dir. Kun Young Park Jin Woo is a sheep farmer who lives a quiet life with his daughter Seol. Ranch owner Joong Man and his own daughter Moon Kyeong treat them as family. One day, Jin Woo's long-time lover Hyun Min arrives at the ranch. They dream of living happily with Seol in this peaceful place. However, with Jin Woo's twin sister Eun Young's visit, new conflicts arrise. The local folks, who seemed friendly and gentle, show their true colors, and become exclusive and discriminatory as they learn about the truth of the two men, and even the intentions of family members, who thought they knew each other well, feel like 'a distant place' as the beautiful autumn landscape of the country turns into harsh winter. (link in title)

[rookie-critic]

Rookie-Critic's Top 25 Films of 2022: Honorable Mentions - Broker (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)

If you've seen Hirokazu Kore-eda's 2018 film Shoplifters, the themes of found family and unconventional relationships explored in Broker won't be anything new. What Broker does boast, however, is a story that, in its own way separate from Shoplifters, is profoundly beautiful. The characters and overarching trajectory of the plot in Broker is slightly more straightforward in its positive message and uplifting spirit than Shoplifters was, and, of course, it's yet another great acting showcase for Korean powerhouse Song Kang-ho. It's also an incredible acting showcase for K-pop star Lee Ji-eun, who is probably better known by her stage name IU. I hope Broker is a launchpad to seeing her in more stuff, because she is wildly impressive in this.

Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on DVD & Blu-ray through Decal Releasing.

Read my full review of Broker here.

[k-star-holic]

'Douglas' Kang Gil-woo, is it the first historical drama? 'Couple' Namgoong Min

Source: k-star-holic.blogspot.com

[noteverticali]

Le buone stelle - Broker: cinema lieve ma capace di virare al dramma

Le buone stelle – Broker: cinema lieve ma capace di virare al dramma

Nella Corea del ventunesimo secolo due contrabbandieri di neonati esercitano la professione. I due uomini vengono in possesso di un bimbo lasciato da una giovane madre poco convinta. Dopo aver parlato con la ragazza, i tre cominceranno a girare per il paese alla ricerca della miglior coppia di genitori offerenti. Una poliziotta zelante e la sua compagna sono sulle loro tracce. Le buone stelle –…

[somanykdramas]

WELCOME TO SAMDAL-RI

GENRES: Drama, Romance

SUMMARY: When life gets too tough, its important to have a place you can go where people believe in you for who you always were.

THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING: Convenience store hideouts, corporate abuse, haenyeos, amusement park failures, dog mascots, weather forecasting, old flames, flashy sports cars, loss and forgiveness, crooners, drunken kisses, and dolphins.

HOT TAKE: I'm always hesitant to watch these small town slice-of-life dramas since I know they're going to be slow and drawn out, but you know what? I've never regretted sitting through one yet. There's something just very soulfully soothing about casual strolls, nosy-yet-supportive neighbors, and honest dialogue and communication, and this show is no exception.

Nevermind best kdrama kissers: I want a list of best kdrama huggers, starting with the King, Ji Chang Wook.

[leedongwook]

“Won Mi Ho almost died because of you.”

Island 아일랜드 // Episode 6

[staydandy]

Island (2022-2023) - 아일랜드 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Evil took its first step to destroy the world. On the mysterious Jeju Island, Ban, a mix of human and monster; Won Mi Ho, the one in the center of fate; and Johan, the one who exercises God's power, come together. A strange, yet captivating, action-packed exorcism fantasy in which they fight evil, share the fate of saving the world, and defy their own. (P1: MDL, P2: MDL)

Whumpee : Ban/Van played by Kim Nam Gil (left) • Johan / Kang Chan Hyuk played by Cha Eun Woo (right)

Country : 🇰🇷 South Korea Genres : Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy

Notes : This is a Full Whump List for both Parts 1 & 2 (it was seriously wholly unnecessary for them to split it into 2 parts) • Adapted from the webtoon "Island" (아일랜드) written by Yoon In Wan (윤인완) and illustrated by Yang Kyung Il (양경일). • Ban is almost an immortal being - he has the ability to self-heal. I did not include moments when Ban heals immediately & doesn't show pain; like it didn't even remotely bother him .. I don't really count stuff like that as whump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Episodes on List : 6 Total Episodes : 12 (6 per Part)

*Spoilers below*

Part 1 : 04 : Johan is strangled … Ban is tied up, the restraints burn him … Johan is choked

05 : … continued from previous ep. ... Choked … Ban stabs his own arm

06 : Johan is thrown against a wall … Ban is hit by a fireball, choked against a wall … collapses, coughs up blood.. passes out … Johan is stabbed ( ? or rather, punched through his stomach), thrown against a wall, coughing up blood

Part 2 : 04 : Ban is in a fight, spits blood.. stabbed in the back

05 : Johan is in a fight; coughs up blood, choked … found, hanging pierced through the chest on a broken piece of steel, bleeding heavily, passes out

06 : Bandaged, on a ventilator, nightmare of being beat in the fight … Ban is stabbed … (YAS!! I've been waiting for some bad-ass Johan!! Go get 'em!) Johan, still heavily bandaged, joins the fight, gains new wounds throughout … Ban forces his way through a magical barrier that continuously hurts/burns him … stabbed through the chest … killed/destroyed by the magical barrier successfully being built … Johan now wears a hearing aid after his hearing was damaged during the fight

More Whump Lists for this show: love-me-a-lotta-whump

[moonchildicons]

Island

🌠🌠🌠

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[imsailorpluto]

Island, episode 6, what the hell?

tw: Eunwoo appreciation post :P

Literally, why ?! Why making the 1st part finale one large heartache after another? Stripping all of those happy characters' hearts bare and turning them into stones, one by one. Leaving us all in the dark. Not knowing anything. What's going to happen with pretty priest Johan now??? Fine, he isn't the strongest, but weaker ones survived way worse scenarios in other shows, and maybe his powers could even evolve after this extremely traumatic event.

Heart. F*cking. Broken. I can't. But I still feel like they will just kill him sooner or later and I can't- (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

Long story short, Chan-hyuk's (Johan's) brother dies within a day of their reunion. Not only does he die, but he begs Chan-hyuk to kill him, as he is infected with the lust demon. Since Chan-hyuk can't perform the exorcism efficiently and the demon within Chan-hee has only one goal (killing Mi-ho), poor Chan-hyuk stabs his own brother with the holy sword and kills him. Of course Gungtan is behind all this chaos, he knows how to choose his victims, it was all carefully planned.

Dark Lord Voldy vibes much? Anyone?

In the meantime Van is clearly losing it already.

Even though I wanted to fight Van at this point, at the same time I can't blame him at all, and here's why.

For starters, his brother is a powerful sociopath who keeps destroying everything he touches. Van can't kill him.

Then we have Mi-ho or rather Wonjeong who isn't waking up at all, that is, she isn't regaining consciousness of her past life nor control over her powers.

Not only that but there is a serious possibility that Van might overuse his demonic powers and won't be able to transition out of the demon mode anymore. Especially now that he's been around Mi-ho so much. So it's pretty reasonable he's done with all the crap that's been going on and wants to just wrap it all up and be done with it.

In the final scene we see a whole clan of Gungtan's followers as Gungtan approaches his throne. And that highschooler who asked for help earlier, Yeom-ji, addresses Gungtan as uncle.

Disturbing. Plus my knowledge of Korean is so bad that I have no idea about the intention. Is it like calling an adult in a polite manner or does she mean that in literal sense? Even though I see people writing things like omg he's really her uncle and that means Van is her father... bla bla...

But, then I remembered when Gio made fun of Van, questioning him about his age and how to address him. And along teasing him being a grandpa he says something like:

Sooooo obviously the emphasis was rather on that kid being a part of Gungtan's gang and not on her addressing him as uncle

But that's the least of my worries here, I've never liked her, even though she was the only one sticking for her friend Suryeon. It's just that she is so rude every time Van eats at her grandmother's.

So what I am expecting of the next season is seeing the mighty trio, Mi-ho, Van and Chan-hyuk beating Asmodeus' and Gungtan's asses. And actually all three of them staying alive doing so! Ok Van and Mi-ho will surely survive the horrors, but priest Gio? Hmm.

I'm fearing the worst.

Part 2 is coming out very soon. And seeing the trailer and that Gio's scene in a split of a second awoke some worries, but let's see. Maybe it's just something they did on purpose.

Let's leave it to Gio as he's the one who knows how to take care of us with his hope and faith and hopefully good sense of fashion and humor in the next season, byeee and till next time

(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)

[lecinemaestunart]

"A Distant Place" (정말 먼 곳), Park Kun Young (2020)

[namjhyun]

MOVIE REVIEW | Dream (2023)

In this film about broken dreams and second chances, a professional football player finds himself in a difficult position due to a mix of bad decisions and bad luck. He also has no real support system in his mother (who is on the run for scamming people) and his agency wants him to quit the sport to become a celebrity.

Is in this moment of his life that to rehabilitate his image he is forced to become the coach of a football team conformed by homeless men that will compete on a charity tournament.

Reluctantly, he learns the reasons why these men found themselves living in the streets. Addiction, bad decisions, abandonment, grief, among other motives. What they all have in common is that through this tournament they are looking to become a better version of themselves.

To record every moment of their journey, a documentary director (deep in student debt and stress) needs to find the right angle to have this film be a success for her and them.

It’s through teamwork and sharing their problems, that this team of odd men out find -perhaps for the first time in their lives- a real support system and even a family.

Dream is a solid comedy with really touching moments that brought some tears to my eyes. The film tries to shed some light on current social issues in South Korea through the housing problem these men are going through.

Park Seo Joon gives a good performance going from disheartened to finding a new dream and people to fight for. His chemistry with IU is hilarious to watch as they play entirely platonic teammates throwing jabs at each other, even long after they start to get along.

IU’s character as the documentary director who is forced to believe in herself into success is both fun and oh, so real.

The heart of the film, however, is Heo Joon Seok, whose character never lost hope and fought from beginning to end so the team could achieve their dream. The rest of the actors bring some emotions though the respective stories that makes the comedy more grounded.

Overall, I enjoyed this film.

[rookie-critic]

Broker (2022, dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda) - review by Rookie-Critic

Broker is an absolutely beautiful film that touches on both the failings of the adoption system in South Korea (which seem relatively close to how they work here in the States, as well, but I'm not an expert so don't quote me on that) and, much like Kore-eda's previous film Shoplifters, the benefits of found family. Kore-eda is seen deeply set in his comfort zone here, and it's a little hard not to hear the synopsis or watch the trailer and think, "So it's Shoplifters, just this time with Song Kang-ho." After having seen the film, I can say that there are parts of me that still feels that way about it, but Broker has a lot going for it on its own merit to call it its own original, distinctive film. For one, and I wasn't sure this was possible, Broker almost seems even more sentimental than Shoplifters was, which is a pretty tall order all on its own. However, the movie never allows that sentimentality to tip the scales towards sappiness; leaving some of the more cynical characters to drag things back into balance. The acting is also great across the board. It's no surprise to anyone at this point that, if Song Kang-ho is in something, he's brilliant in said thing. That man is an acting force to be reckoned with, and I think one of the film's biggest strengths is that, in spite of this fact, the ensemble doesn't suffer. They all rise up to meet Song's level. I'd specifically like to give props to Lee Ji-eun (who is traditionally a singer, probably better known by her stage name, IU), who gives an outstanding breakout performance to the point where, for most of the movie, your attention is focused on her and not Song. I know that it's kind of just a part of the K-pop idol trajectory to eventually start acting, but that doesn't always mean that the idol in question is successful, or very likely even good at it. However, IU is without a doubt amazingly talented, and gives a performance that is both understated when it needs to be and big when the moment calls for it. Really, everyone just blends so well together and it sells the found family message super well.

If I had a complaint about Broker, and I do, it's that Kore-eda has already made a brilliant movie about found family and the failings of the system, the previously mentioned Shoplifters, and, in this reviewer's opinion, that film is overall better than this one. I found that I never connected with this group of characters in the same deep-rooted way that I did with the family from Shoplifters, and while that movie may have had a slightly less altruistically "happy" ending, it felt maybe just a bit more impactful. That being said, I can't knock Broker hardly at all for that, as there are probably a lot of people whose first of these two films will most likely be this one, due to both Song Kang-ho and IU's presence in it, and I think that Broker is great enough on its own to (mostly) stand up to the comparison, and will likely have fans that do make just as much of a connection, if not more of one, to this group.

Score: 9/10

Currently only in theaters.

[k-star-holic]

Concerns about Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin's love wheat party were only unfounded ('Couple')

[sandyships99]

My favourite k-dramas of this year 2022:

Through the Darkness

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

All of Us Are Dead

My Liberation Notes

Weak Hero Class 1

[olivierdemangeon]

EMERGENCY DECLARATION (2022) ★★★★☆

EMERGENCY DECLARATION (2022) ★★★★☆

[leedongwook]

“I’ll be right back. Hang in there.”

Island 아일랜드 // Episode 11