Hana Kimi

 

Ore Wa Homo Janai~!!

Hana Kimi is my favorite Japanese dorama, a live version of the anime. This was filmed in 2007 and has never been equaled. I think it is funnier and better than Hana Yori Dango. There are Korean (To The Beautiful You, which I also like and still have the OST in my iPod) and Taiwanese (never saw and liked Chinese language dramedies) versions. It has a gender bending theme a la Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and As You Like it but with the Japanese style silliness. I watched this series in 2010 and watching it again on Netflix. I still love it specially Nakatsu. 

Nakatsu thought he was gay because he felt a spark and is attracted to the girl pretending to be a boy. I believe he set the trend in second lead syndrome in dramaland. I love the first couple, though, and the first series I've seen with Oguri Shun. He is also in Hana Yori Dango and numerous movies. He has a new dorama currently streaming on Netflix, Romantics Anonymous. I have seen probably half of all his TV series and movies. One of my favorites is live action movie, Lupin the Third. 

The lead female enrolled in an all boys high school where intelligence and wealth are not necessary. The boys just have to be ikemen and apparently weird. Word got out that there is a girl in the school and the boys set up tests to determine who is female among the students. The tests were weird but hilarious.

Highly recommended for Japanese dorama fans.

Heavenly Ever After

tags: Korean dramedy, Netflix, romantic fantasy

12 episodes, Saturday and Sunday

An elderly woman named Lee Hae-sook died at the age of 80. Since her husband's accident, she has provided for her family on her own. Hae-sook makes an odd choice when she first arrives at the Heaven Admission Counseling Office: she decides to keep her 80-year-old appearance for her afterlife. Her husband's affectionate remarks that she was gorgeous at all ages, but particularly now, had an impact on this choice. Hae-sook and her husband, Ko Nak-Joon, are reunited in Heaven.

But she is shocked to see him in his younger, thirty-year-old self, and he is equally shocked to see her looking older. As it happens, Hae-sook is the only individual in Heaven who has decided against going back to their younger self. In the meantime, Nak-joon delivers letters of well wishes from Earth while working as a postman in Heaven. While he waited for Hae-sook, he constructed a stunning home in Heaven and died before her.

I love it already after watching the first 2 episodes. My fave Son Suk-Ku stars in this comedy drama set in heaven. He is so funny and cute in a comedic role.

I think this series might be a tearjerker also but with more comedy and romance. The dogs who also went to heaven reunited with their humans. There is only one cat in heaven, Lee Hae-sook and her husband's pet who died before both of them did. I'm guessing the cat got to heaven maybe because Lee Hae-sook put a cross on her ashes/urn. 

 

Little Siberia

 

tags: comedy, drama, Finland, Netflix

⭐⭐out of 5

 From IMDB

The everyday life of the small village of Hurmevaara is shaken when a meteorite falls through the roof of a car one night. According to the town's mayor, the meteorite is very valuable for the future of the slowly dying village. Joel, the village priest, and a veteran peacekeeper, ends up guarding the meteorite in an old museum before it is sent to London for a more detailed evaluation. But a precious meteorite gets a lot of attention. It is understandable that he wants to get rid .. While Joel protects the meteorite from both amateur and professional criminals, he tries to unravel an even greater mystery surrounding his own life. Joel's wife has recently revealed that she, finally, is pregnant. Great news, but unfortunately, Joel is unable to have children due to his war injury. He just hasn't told his wife.

This is the first movie on Netflix from Finland. I can't decide if I like it or if I understood the point. There are a few LOL as well as suspenseful moments. 

A meteorite fell inside the car of a somewhat batty individual. He has been asking for a memorial or something for his dead friend and now the meteorite is more important. It is understandable that he wants to get rid of the meteorite. The stone is being kept in the town's tiny "museum" inside a glass case and protected because some people from the U.K might buy it for a million €s. A couple of strange foreigners together with a local are planning to steal the rock. The fate of the rock is hilarious and appropriate IMO. 

The story of the pastor and his wife is vague. He did some lame "investigation" and finally told her his condition. The wife didn't comment after the revelation but got upset and decided to go to Helsinki and asked her husband if he still wants her, he can come for her. Huh?! But I like that they didn't shout nor quarrel, no drama at all. They talked like they were discussing what's for dinner. 😄

The Recruit Season 2

 

tags: action, comedy, espionage, Netflix series 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

The second season has a huge hole in the story but I still loved the nonstop action, the dramedy, South Korean culture and specially the actors Noah Centineo and Yoo Teo. 

Highly recommended

The Fiery Priest Season 2

Finally, the wait is over after 5 years! Kim Nam GiI, Honey Lee, and the gang are back. I miss the old villains but the new group of villains, led by Sung Joon as a drug lord in Busan, is as good if not better. 

From AsianWiki 

Kim Hae-Il (Kim Nam-Gil) is a hot-tempered Catholic priest with a burning sense of justice. He heads to Busan to pursue a drug case which originated in Gudam-district, Seoul. Helping him in his pursuit are Prosecutor Park Kyung-Sun (Lee Ha-Nee), Detective Gu Dae-Young (Kim Sung-Kyun) from Gudam Police Station, and Detective Gu Ja-Young (Bibi) from Busan.

Sung Joon

Fruitcake

 

tags: comedy, Filipino movie, Netflix

⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

From IMDB

In modern-day Metro Manila, a diverse group of Filipinos faces life's lows as their destinies collide on a fateful train ride, unfolding a heartwarming and comedic tapestry of interconnected stories.

First time I watched a Filipino movie in 1 sitting. I usually stop the movie or series to decide if it is worthy of my time then I eventually abandon it. Filipino movies are always either dramedy romance or horror usually with subpar script and acting. 

Fruitcake is mostly comedy except for one character who got pregnant after a drunken night with her ugly co-worker. She wanted to abort the baby and asked her brother, a priest, for advice. Naturally the priest was against it and gave her the reasons why she shouldn't. And they were good reasons too without him being preachy. The movie bombed at the theaters. I knew why I liked it because Filipinos didn't.

The characters have indirect connection with each other except for the guy who wanted to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. The movie will be funny only to Filipinos. Foreigners won't understand the jokes. Example: the guy who went to Manila to look for his ex-girlfriend has a piggery he runs with his mother. The sows have names of famous movie personalities with 1 or 2 letters altered but still recognizable as the celebrities they are named after. One of the pigs was sold by the mom so he can afford the trip to Manila from the province. It was later shown being roasted over live coals, a Filipino delicacy called Lechon. 

Photo by DUDE FOR FOOD

Spoilers

My Demon

tags: fantasy, Kdrama, Netflix, romance, supernatural 

16 episodes, Friday and Saturday

A demon Jeong Gu-won is superior to humans in every way, but when he loses his powers, he will have to work with a chaebol heiress Do Do-hee to recover them, and romance begins to bloom in this process.

Song Kang and Kim You-Jung. They are both pretty. Kim You-Jung is not only beautiful, she is also one of the best acting actresses in KDramaland.

Song Kang's Sweet Home Season 2, a horror fantasy series is coming on December 1, 2023 on Netflix. Can't wait.

The 10th Victim

tags: comedy, fantasy, farce, sci-fi 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 From IMDB

In the 21st Century, where a human vs. human "Big Hunt" is used as an alternative to war, a veteran huntress agrees to kill a "victim" to get a major TV sponsorship deal, but romantic entanglements between the two complicate matters.

Before The Running Man, The Hunger Games, and Battle Royale, there is the 1960s Italian movie, The 10th Victim, with Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress as prey and hunter. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 

The movie is funny and satirical. The opening scene with Ursula wearing a shiny silver bikini while dancing and slapping men inside a masochists club is specially hilarious and ending in her triumphant elimination of the "hunter". 

The movie is also rather prescient with regard to current reality shows where contestants are being filmed in real time. I liked the costumes, jazz music, the witty dialogue, and specially the beautiful Ursula. I enjoy watching these types of old movies with cheap gadgets and sets but with beautiful leads unlike the latest Hollyweird drecks filled with fat ugly unfunny people like Melissa McCarthy, Whoopie Goldberg et al. Bring back the beauties, Hollywood!

A Private Affair (Un Asunto Privado)

tags: Amazon streaming, comedy, crime, murder-mystery, Spanish series

8 episodes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Amazon

1940s, Galicia. Marina Quiroga, a bold upper class girl with the soul of a detective, decides with the help of Héctor, her loyal butler, to trap the killer who has been terrorising her city.

My favorites Aura Garrido and Jean Reno are the leads, how can I not watch. I like the first two episode so far and will rate when I am done watching the complete series. Amazon is showing interesting series [at least to me], at last.

Update September 24, 2022: 5 stars.

Highly recommended. Watch in original European Spanish with English subtitles. Dubbing in English is always atrocious.

Seoul Vibe

 

tags: action, comedy, Korean movie, Netflix

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

From Netflix

Worldwide excitement is escalating in Seoul in the days leading up to the opening of the 1988 Summer Olympics. The fashion is old school, the music is sentimental and the racing is the best in the world. The drivers of the Sanggye-dong Supreme Team receive an offer they can’t refuse and become mired in a VIP slush fund investigation.

I love this movie 💗💗💗because I love movies set in the 80s. What's not to love? 1988 Seoul, the clothes, music, the actors.

I remember when I went to Seoul a few months before the 1988 Olympics and everything was Olympics Olympics Olympics. I even bought a hand fan with the swirly logo. I think it's kept somewhere in the basement. LOL 

American brands, culture, clothing, and food were very popular at the time, specially Pizza Hut and McD's. Koreans were obsessed with anything American. In the movie Park Yoon-Hee wore a jacket with Washington Redskins and her brother Park Dong-Wook, played by Yoo Ah-In was wearing a jacket with Oakland Raiders at the end of the movie. The pair of Nike shoes offered to a rival is so spot on. 

Most of my favorite Korean actors are in the movie but I specially love Lee Kyu-Hyung and his 80s clothes. He is one of the more versatile Korean actors in Korean dramas and movies.

Highly recommended for fans of Korean movies and set in the 80s.

 

The Entitled

 

tags: comedy, Filipino movie, Netflix streaming

humongous goose egg 0

After learning her estranged father is a hotel mogul, Belinda bumbles her way through a new, sophisticated lifestyle with the help of a charming lawyer.

Why oh why was this horrible movie made? I'm not fond of Filipino movies and this one made me more than cringe. This movie is garbage and I hate it. The acting is over the top and dialog is atrocious. The girl Belinda is so vulgar using all the crude stuff [vomit, poop, fart, stomach growling, Brazilian wax, the attorney's d*ck] for what she thinks is "comedy". She is a loudmouth, obsessed with sex ugly lead character and almost everything that comes out of her dirty mouth has sexual reference. When she gets startled or stumbles, she utters male or female sexual anatomy. Each. And. Every. Time. I wanted to drag her into the bathtub and wash her including her mouth with disinfectant soap.

The writer and director think this is funny. Even the poorest people in the Philippines are not as crass as this Belinda creature. I am so ashamed for the Filipino people for creating this dreadful abomination they call a comedy movie and streaming on Netflix.

Not recommended.

Metal Lords

tags: comedy, drama, post-metal music, Netflix streaming, teen movie

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from IMDB

Two kids want to start a heavy metal band in a high school where exactly two kids care about heavy metal. They try to find a bass player, and fail but they do find a girl who is very good at cello. If the three of them can't settle their differences and work together, they're never going to win the Battle of the Bands.

I couldn't care less if the movie is rated unsatisfactory by "professional" reviewers. Yes, it is clichéd and has a predictable ending but it is funny and engaging. I loved it. Sometimes, Netflix comes up with an enjoyable movie about high schoolers that is worth a second watch.

The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure

Today, March 2, 2022 on Netflix streaming - The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure

tags: comedy, historical fiction, Korean movie, Netflix streaming

⭐⭐⭐⭐

from AsianWiki

A search takes place over the ocean to find the lost treasure of the Goryeo royal family, which disappeared without a trace.

Kang Ha-Neul has frizzy wiry hair and he screams a lot. There's too much screaming in this movie but I still like it.

Kang Ha-Neul

*********************************************************************************

The 2014 The Pirates movie with Kim Nam-Gil and Son Ye-Jin is better IMHO. It is no longer streaming on Netflix.

Rewinding The 80s

Some of my favorite 80s teen movies. 

The only Sean Penn movie I've ever seen.

Don't Call It Mystery

tags: comedy, dorama, Japanese, mystery, philosophy, police procedural

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from AsianWiki

Totono Kuno is a university psychology student. He has curly hair, which he has a complex about. He doesn't have any friends or a girlfriend. His memory and observation skills are very good and he is also skilled at making conclusions from a given set of facts. A murder case takes place in a park near Totono Kuno’s home. The victim is a university student that attended the same school and Totono Kuno becomes a suspect in the murder. He is interrogated by detectives at the police station. During the interrogation, Totono Kuno becomes aware of hidden clues behind the student's murder and also the personal worries of the detectives. But a weapon, which contains Totono Kuno’s fingerprints, is found.

This Japanese series is almost perfect IMHO. Only 4 episodes have been aired so far but I am rating it 5 stars because it has the perfect balance of comedy, mystery, and drama with great background music. During police interviews on the first episode, Totono Kuno ends up interviewing the detectives and learns about their personal problems and the same time is able to find the true murderer. He uses philosophy and psychology to solve the mystery. The ongoing joke is he prepares his favorite curry but as soon as he sits down to eat, he gets interrupted by either the door bell or his cellphone. The viewers never get to see him eat his curry dinner.

I can't wait to see the next episodes. Japanese doramas usually have only 10 or 12 episodes which I like as the story is not stretched with unnecessary plot twists.

Bad And Crazy

Wookie (Lee Dong-Wook) is back in Bad And Crazy 

Action, comedy, corruption in politics and police, Korean series starts December 17, 2021 Fridays and Saturdays

The first episode suggests that the 2 characters are one and the same person just like the characters in Fight Club. Ryu Soo Yeol (Lee Dong-Wook) is a competent police officer but with questionable work ethics kissing a politician's ass for fast promotion. But his activities are suddenly thwarted by the appearance of K (Wi Ha-Jun of Squid Game) who is rather crazy but righteous.

Lee Dong-Wook as Ryu Soo-Yeol and Wi Ha-Joon as K

Ryu Soo-Yeol was relaxing in the sauna when K suddenly appeared fully clothed wearing a bike helmet and shoes and tossed the poor guy around. He asked for CCTV footage but K appeared nowhere in the video.

At the end of Episode 2, newly promoted Bad Ryu Soo-Yeol realized he is Crazy K when he kicked the dirty politician right on his face. One of the best and funniest second episodes in KDramaland. 😁

Racket Boys

Racket Boys - Korean comedy drama sports streaming on Netflix

16 episodes, 85 - 90 minutes, Monday and Tuesday

from AsianWiki

A story of a boys' badminton team at a middle school in Haenam as they compete in a junior athletic competition. The 16 year old boys and girls in Haenam grow as people during this time.

Yoon Hyeon-Jong was once the best badminton player and he now takes the coach job of a boys' badminton team at a middle school in Haenam. The badminton team is on the verge of being disbanded. The players on the team are Yoon Hae-Kang, Bang Yoon-Dam, Na Woo-Chan and Lee Yong-Tae. The players are not very good yet.

Meanwhile, Ra Yeong-Ja is the coach of the girls’ badminton team at a different middle school in Haenam. Her badminton team ranks #1 among their peers.

The drama comedy started airing May 31 and June 1, 2021 and I'm already hooked. The drama has lots of laughs, has quirky characters, and witty dialog. I'm not a sports fan and it's surprising that I enjoyed the competition at the end of the second episode. 

The main story is about middle school boys training and competing in badminton tournaments to be able to continue the school's badminton program. Their coming together as a team is well told and the minor characters also have interesting stories to them. It's a heart warming series and it has a potential to become my 2021 favorite. 

Episode 3 - the boys enjoy jjajangmyeon

The Way Of The Househusband

Streaming on "Netro-fricks" (Netflix) - 5 16-minute episodes Japanese anime comedy. 

A yakuza quit his job, got married, and became an earnest househusband. Very funny and great animation.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

There's also a live action series based on the anime, search Gokushufudo if you can't find the English title.

Mr. Queen

tags: comedy, Kdrama, mystery, sageuk, time-slip

This new Korean drama sageuk (historical fiction) has 16 episodes that started December 12 and 13. The first 2 episodes are mostly comedy with a present day male chef who drowns and finds himself in the body of the designated queen during Joseon period. The male chef in a female's body creates hilarious scenes. Shin Hye Sun's performance of the male chef played by Choi Jin Hyuk is nothing but perfection IMHO. 

Shin Hye Sun as queen on her wedding day

Highly recommended for Korean sageuk drama and comedy fans.

First Love

tags: action, comedy, Chinese triad, Japanese, Takashi Miike, yakuza

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Leo is an orphan and a boxer. He works in a Chinese restaurant in Kabuchiko, Tokyo. When he was knocked down by a weaker opponent, he went to have a scan and was told he has a brain tumor. A young girl, Yuri, is a drug addict and working as a prostitute to pay for her abusive father's debts. She hallucinates seeing her father wearing only his underwear and a blanket over his head when the drug effects wear off. She is being held by a demented yakuza couple, Yasu and Julie. Julie, played by the lovely Japanese tarento, Becky, went crazy and made me laugh when she jumps on the hood of the car shouting "Kase!" wanting to kill him with a crowbar and later with a katana because Kase "accidentally" killed a lot of people, the first one was Julie's man, Yasu. The young couple, Leo and Yuri, are caught in the middle of the fight between yakuza, triad, and the corrupt policeman. 

Takashi Miike threw in all the crazies in this hilarious action comedy - yakuza, corrupt cop, Chinese triad, old man dancing on a train in his tighty whiteys, one-armed triad wielding a sword - in a drug deal gone wrong that all happened in one night. The opening scene has a newly severed head of a Filipino thug, still twitching, which reminds me of freshly chopped fish heads and headless chicken running around. LOL. Miike was asked about the title and he answered, "to make money" which is vague on purpose. Miike never disappoints. 

Recommended for Takashi Miike fans.