Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby was just as good as I remembered it. Rivers of tears flowed and I respected Clint Eastwood once again both as actor and director. Hillary Swank is wonderful in this. You know the actor did it right when you can't think of anyone else in the role. Highly recommended. 

La Finestra Di Fronte (Facing Windows)

La Finestra Di Fronte (Facing Windows) I had high hopes for this. I have liked/loved every single Ferzan Ozpetek film I had seen and I thought I'd like it even if I didn't love it. Well it was not so. This one did nothing to me. The actors were all fine but the story was told in a way that made them all so superficial. And I was not able to feel any of what they felt. This was a fail as far as I'm concerned and I started to feel scared since I had purchased two more films by this director already. 

Sevimli ve Tehlikeli

Photo credit:http://pamuk-sekeer.blogspot.com.tr

Sevimli ve Tehlikeli  yönetmen Özcan Deniz'in G. Kore filmini alıp güzelce (ve orjinal filme hakkını vererek) yeniden çevirmesi ve başarılı olmasının ardından herhalde Hint filmleri izleyip, "bizde yaparız böyle bir şey, tutar da neden olmasın?" diyerek yönettiği bir fim gibi geldi bana. Galiba en beğendi Hint aktristi Aishwarya Rai zira onun bir benzerini bulup başrole oturtmuş. Heyhat Aishwarya'nın (tescilli) dünya güzelliği yanında kameraya çok yakışan bir ekran önü karisması da mevcut ancak başroldeki Ayça Ayşin ona yakın bir şey çıkaramamış. Hatun iyi rol yapıyor ve muhtemelen kendisine verilen talimatları harfiyen takip etmiş ancak birini taklit etmek iyi sonuç vermemiş, kendisi olsa bence daha iyi olurdu. Erkek başrol yakışıklı ve Hintvari bir jön'e verilmiş, fena olmamış ama Hintli "hero"larda görülen biraz manik, biraz maço, biraz yaralı, biraz psikopat o ruh hali eksik kalmış. İyi rol yapıyor çocuk ama biraz batılı, biraz yontulmuş bir havası var.

Neyse ben çocuklara mana bulamıyorum gayet güzel oynamışlar. Öykü böyle biraz masal gibi bir tonda olmuş, o da güzel oturmuş, herşey iyi güzel ama o Hint filmi ruhu eksik kalmış, biz onlardan farklıyız, tamam dans etmeyi, güzel müziği, kıllı esmer jönleri, güzel ve "masum seksi" kızları, dövüş izlemeyi vs. seviyoruz ancak bizim sosyo politik yapımız, adetlerimiz, günlük hayatımızı Hindistan'dan o kadar farklı ki oturmamış

G. Kore ile tipler benzemese de çok ortak yanımız var, oradan adaptasyon bize bu yüzden tutuyor ama Hint olmamış. Beceriksizlikten değil mayamız benzemediği için.

Ha ama ağladım mı, evet hem de ne ağlamak. Özcan Deniz melo damarını iyi tutturuyor.

The Dark Knight Rises

Photo credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The Dark Knight Rises is the third film of Mr. Nolan's Batman trilogy and even though I had watched it twice before this viewing was just as entertaining. 

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Photo credit: http://www.azcentral.com

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past this is a lousy rom com and I didn't like it much when I first saw it. This time it was on TV I was channel hopping and got stuck with it for some reason. Cried my heart out during and have no idea why. Jennifer Gardner is not the type of rom com lead I like and the only rom com I liked Matthew McConaughey is How to Lose Girlfriend in 10 days or something like that)

Not recommended. 

Force Majeure

Photo credit: https://www.theedgesusu.co.uk

Force Majeure is a film I wanted to see for a long time (but not enough to seek a dvd). When it showed up on Dvdigi I pleasantly set to watch. It is a good film. But having avoided spoilers I had the idea that it was an action or a suspense film. Well it had suspense but of the emotional kind. 

What would you do when your life partner runs away (taking his phone) leaving you and your kids behind in danger? 

I didn't think the issue was because he was a man. The guy left his family (his children!!!) behind to seek shelter during an avalanche. Well I thought that I'd immediately leave him. Seriously I wouldn't have anything to do with a man like that. However my mother thought that this is hasty and marriage needs compromise. Well they have two children who want their parents to stay together. But still, if I can't trust my partner in a crisis then I wouldn't be able to enjoy the good times with him either. 

The film has a clean cinematography and good acting with solid questions regarding marriage/life sharing.

Sassy Girl Chun Hyang

Photo credit: http://lovingkdramas.blogspot.com.tr/

Sassy Girl Chun Hyang is a Korean drama inspired by the old Korean tale of Chun Hyang. In the old tale Chunhyang is the daughter of a gisaeng (a high priced prostitute) who falls for the son of a noble man. He loves her back and goes to enter the state exam. Meanwhile town magistrate Byun falls for Chunhyang but she resists not only all his advances but also his bad treatment staying loyal to Munryong. This is a story with a happy ending :)

The drama takes that tale and modernises it to comedic effect. As with most K-dramas though, it gets really melo and angsty towards the end. I liked it very much but I guess I would have liked it better if it was one of the first K-dramas I have seen. Now that I have more than a few in my belt, this felt a bit stale. Regardless I enjoyed it and give it a try at the youtube link below. I had been looking for a legit dvd in vain for years and finally succumbed to this. I guess the only place I can watch Sang do will be on line too.

https://www.youtube.com

Piraye

Piraye Canan Tan'ın çok satan romanı. Film siparişlerime ilave ettiğim bir iki kitaptan biriydi. Broken Harbour beni çok sarstığı için nispeten anlatımı daha rahat, stili düz ve konusu melodramatik bir şey ararken tam vaktine elime geçti. Zaten bir günde bitti bile. İstanbullu bir orta sınıf ailenin, dişçilik okuyan kızı, Diyarbakır'lı zengin ve nüfuslu bir aileye gelin gidiyor. Asmalı Konak havasında geldi geçti işte. Ama sonunda üzüldüm. En azından bir karakterin mutlu olmasını beklerdim doğrusu. Öte yandan Canan Tan'ın zarif anlatımı bana ilaç gibi geldi. Canan Tan'ın stiliyle "bambaşka tür bir kitap ile yeni bir yolculuğa hazırdım artık" :) 

Broken Harbour

Broken Harbour is the fourth Tana French novel I have read and she gets better with each one. Mystery is one of my all time favorite genres and Ms. French is a master. Not only there is genuine mystery but also engaging characters who not only surprise the reader with their actions but also have interesting backgrounds and pyschological issues. I can't put her novels down no matter where I'm or what I'm doing (I have started In The Woods in Japan and found myself reading and smoking well into the night at Kyoto cafés). Excellent.

Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You is among the audiobooks I have purchased at a sale and I liked it. It is a family drama focused out from the mysterious death of one of the daughters. It is a mixed race family with the wife being caucasian and the husband Asian (Chinese American). They have two girls and a boy and one of them dissappears and found dead. This tragedy shakes the already fragile family dynamics and we are told this sad story from different perspectives and various flashbacks. The reading was good but I had the sense that I'd like this one better as a regular book (as opposed to say, Elantris)

Marriage Not Dating

Marriage Not Dating is a drama I chose solely because I like the plot. A rich guy who just wants to be left alone makes a deal with the girl who is just dumped by his best friend. And she accepts first for revenge, then continues the charade since it made her estranged parents closer. The guy's objective is to make his family to reject the girl (and for this reason she is extremely relaxed and behaves badly when she is with them) and then say to them "It is either this girl or none other". However his mother suspects this very thing and his aunt follows the couple so they desperately try to keep the act and meanwhile falling for eachother for real.

I thought this one would be entertaining but it was also very very good. Firstly I don't remember watching the leads anywhere (although I have found out that the lead actor was also in When a Man Loves) but I fell for both. Their acting suited the excellent writing and it is one of the few shows that made me laugh out loud more than once.

Highly recommended even if the genre is not really your thing. You'll be entertained for sure. 

All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See This one is loved by many and for good reason too. It is a sad and thoughtful story of a French girl and a German boy at the time of Second World War. We start at a crucial point and then the story of the two are told separately in short chapters with economy and richness of prose.

What was interesting to me is that the novel didn't end where I thought it would. I loved the fact that I was able to see into the future and especially that a life saved was lived thoroughly and with enjoyment. It was a great ending. This one is highly recommended. 

Alien vs.Predator 2: Requiem

Photo credit: http://www.themoviescene.co.uk

Alien vs. Predator 2: Requiem put me to sleep and I had to rewind more than once. It just was not my type of film. I liked the original Predator (and Alien and Aliens) much better. 

Tightrople

Photo credit: http://thisdistractedglobe.com

Tightrope is probably one of the most boring films Clint has ever starred in. I fell asleep three times during the viewing and had to rewind again and again. There was not suspense, there was not drama and despite the fact that the plot was not that bad (a cop who committed a crime is arrested by Clint and decides to get revenge by turning into a serial killer, killing prostitutes and women Clint is associated with, Clint here is into S&M or something like that) but the film was devoid of any excitement or interes. Still it is Clint and I'm happy that I have seen it. 

Sunny

Photo credit: http://wpmedia.montrealgazette.com

Sunny is a film I have watched and like before (and have a dvd of) but as I was eager for a weepie and I had Stepmom in mind (thinking mistakenly that my sister has it) I just picked this one since I knew it would make me cry rivers. And it did once again.

Bir Gün

Bir Gün yine hiç sıkılmadan okuduğum, gayet güzel su gibi giden bir Ayşe Kulin romanı. Bu sefer konumuz Türk Kürt sorunu ve bu sorunun çözümünün ne kadar zor olduğuna işaret ediyor Kulin kahramanlarını bir hapishane odasında anıları ve kendi gerçeklerini paylaştırarak. Tabii ki çok dokunaklı ve beni ağlattı. Kulin sonunda akıllıca davranarak bir çözüm önerisi getirmiyor ama özellikle kadınların eğitim yetersizliğine işaret ederek belki çözüm için bu eğitim konusuna eğilerek başlamanın daha başarılı olacağını öne sürüyor. Kadınlar elbette ki daha mantıklı ve sağduyulu. Herkese rahatlıkla önerebilirim. 

It Happened One Autumn

It Happened One Autumn  OK Ms. Kleypas, I surrender. At first I didn't like you that much but now your novels really work for me. And I love it when that happens. I suddenly started to like Scarlett Johanson and now don't mind films starring Christian Bale. And Lisa Kleypas won my heart slowly with her wallflowers series. I have read Summer, Winter and now Autumn and looking forward to spring. I like her smart heroines and flawed heros although the hero of this novel is just to my taste. A man who is cold and logical towards everyone but melts towards the heroine. I just love it that the hero, though cold and logical, is not cruel or mean and redeemed by the heroine. It is like that Mary Balough novel with the Duke. Anyway there were salutes to Pride and Prejudice too. All in all I'm very happy with this one. 

Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation

Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation is one of the rare films I have seen in theater. I actually saw it the first night too. The reason for that is I liked the trailer. Anyway it turned out to be a nice film with the same tune of Ghost Protocol (I think it is my all time fave Mission Impossible film) where things do not go as one wanted. Mistakes happen and there are jokes etc. I like the female character. She saves the hero twice and is the strongest and smartest of them all :) Recommended to have a good time.  

Maps to The Stars

Photo credit: http://bantmag.com

Maps to the Stars is the best film I have seen this weekend. By far. Ok I love David Cronenberg and his clean cinematography and weirdness that is both scary and makes sense at some level. This is the sort of film that appeals to me. Clean cinematography, a lot of close ups, a great cast with perfect performances (Julianne Moore is a gift from God I think) - the only one I don't like is John Cusack but his character was unlikable so this time it worked for me-.

This one is a dark film without a single nice character. There is a brother and sister, brother a huge star (but one in this teens) sister, a sociopath who just left the sanatarium. Their father is a famous celebrity pyschiatrist of some sort who is not a nice person, only interested in his book tour and the career of his son. The son is in rehab (he is what? 13??) and he is kind of an asshole. Insecure and plagued with ennui, he starts to see hallucinations of a dead girl (after he visited her in the hospital for a charity project and got her illness wrong at the time). The sister is back in town with her scars (she burned the house down when her brother is in it) and stars to work as Julianne Moore's character's personal assistant (she gets the job due to Carrie Fisher, who befriends the girl when writing a story about burn victims) Havana Segrand is a nasty person too. She wants a job in a new film that will be the remake of her famous mother's cult film. She gave a good reading but doesn't look like she'll get it. And she doesn't. She is very unhappy. But later on the little child of the actress chosen for the part she wants is found dead in the pool and you should see how she acts all concerned in front of other people but she sings and dances with her assistant in private.

There is a limo driver who has sex with Agatha (the pyscho sister) and Havana is also interested in him just because he dates Agatha and Havana is that kind of a bitch.

The ending is really good. The child star tries to choke a co actor (who is a very yound kid, to be honest, he was seeing hallucinations at the time but still) who mercifully pulls through at the hospital. Agatha kills Havana with one of her (or her mother's) awards. And then two siblings go to the land of their old house and commit suicide there (or I think they do since they take a lot of pills).

I loved this one.

The Hangover

Photo credit: http://www.ew.com

The Hangover is a film I really enjoyed and it didn't hurt this second time either. I only chose it due to lack of alternatives but we really enjoyed it all over again. The problem I have with this one is an unrelated one. I can't seem to warm up to Bradley Cooper. He is a decent actor but I can't see the appeal. Anyway this one is hillarious. It was great to see Vegas again (and how nice it is to actually know what the streets smell like and how the weather feels like at a film location).

This one is highly recommended. It is offensive but hillarious (also this one was not censored either, maybe new ownership of Digiturk does not censor films. 

Wrong Turn 6: The Last Resort

Photo credit: http://www.shockya.com

Wrong Turn 6: The Last Resort was on Dvdigi and not censored either. However the only person it kind of scared was my mother who only had passing glances to it. My sister yawned and left the room and I fell asleep midway but rewound and completed it. I can't recommend but it was not horrible (in a bad way that is) either. 

What We Did On Holiday

Photo credit: http://clairestbearestreviews.com/

What We Did On Holiday was at Dvdigi and I thought I'd give it a try thinking that it will be a quaint little UK film. It was OK I suppose but it didn't have that certain special charm. Everything was too pat, too tame in the wrong way.

Writing these, it looks like not a very fruitful weekend for me as far as the film viewing goes.  

Trouw Met Mij (Marry Me)

Photo credit: http://www.ashton-reports.be

Trouw Met Mij (Marry Me) I chose only because I liked the plot. A Belgian and a Turkish Belgian want to get married and their relatives have problems with it. It just was not very good however. Firstly the casting was not really good. Some of the things were exaggerated and not in a nice way. The Turkishness of the whole thing was a bit like My Big Fat Greek Wedding or something like it but they wanted to have a soupçon of Gegen Die Wand (now that one was a great film with the Turkishness very much in place and correctly identified). Anyway it just didn't work. The actors were just not right. The Bride's brother has a large part but he didn't look anything like the character and didn't act like it either. Anyway not recommended 

I Origins

Photo credit: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

I Origins was on dvdigi and I didn't particularly want to watch but I had time and it was there and I thought why not. Well I liked it. It certainly served my believer sensibilities. I liked how the love story was depicted. And I was in tears by the end of it. Recommended. 

The Buried Giant

The Buried Giant is a novel I treated myself with purchasing a larger than normal paperback on sale price (of course I didn't pay for it and used my credit card points) It is an interesting genre switch for the novelist since this one is a fantasy. He has written science fiction before too (the excellent Never Let Me Go) and even though I was into the story, the thing I like best about Mr. Ishiguro's novels is his prose style. I can listen to any story he chose to tell because he has a way of pointing at the feelings and inner complications of his characters. And I like the way he is neutral to them (normally I'd be cold since I like writers who are good to their characters best) since he is a master at that certain economic prose that tells so much in a clear and orderly manner. This is highly recommended but if you have never read anything else from this writer start with Never Let Me Go or The Remains of the Day (a masterpiece in my humble opinion). 

Empire of Gold

Empire of Gold was purchased because it was not that expensive and 24 episodes and I like dramas where everyone sits and talks (like old school sageuks). This one was a mixed bag as far as viewer emotions go. Towards the middle of it I was very much involved but the last four episodes were really not good. I actually fall asleep and had to rewind multiple times at the final episod.

This drama is all about three (or maybe four) people trying to gain the control of a corporation. The lady is the original founder and chairman's daughter, the older guy is her cousion, son of her younger uncle (well the uncle is old but he is younger than the chairman) and the hot guy in the middle is the son of a noodle stall owner whose father was killed striking one of the real estate deals the corporation had. He is after not really revenge but he wants to be richer and to have more power than the other two so he can lord over them. There is a stepmom who planned revenge for 27 years, a secondary girl who actually loved by the hero throughout the series and he never got together with the main girl despite them getting married. And I think it was one of the things that turned me off. Not that it was bad that the hero remained loyal to the secondary girl (she not only prostituted herself but also got a murder rap for the hero) but I wanted some sexual tension and the dynamics of a forced marriage. And they were non existent. These two complemented each other as business partners but never got close as romantic partners.

All three of them were despicable, pitiful human beings. She wanted to be a professor of literature but forced by her father to lead the corporation, he always wanted the corporation and did despicable things to gain it. In fact all three of them did but she was the more humane and the winner in the end (you go drama).
The hero remained kind of pure despite forcing someone to accept murder charges, but towards the end he lost his cool and did the very thing that had been done to his father and caused the death of an innocent. Well he committed suicide. The other one went to jail for fraud.

So all in all I knew that it is impossible for someone to remain morally sound while running a huge corporation and getting profit. And it would have been better for the hero to go to the Philippines with the secondary girl. Ambition is not good.

This one is not recommended. All villains and no hero. 

A Dream From The Night

A Dream From The Night is a generic Barbara Cartland novel that gives you what you'll think you'll get. I like the grand mama of the romance writers and like her novels with sensible, level headed heroines. This one is short but sweet. 

Very Ordinary Couple

Photo credit http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/

Very Ordinary Couple is a film my sister chose for herself and I have only viewed because I had nothing else to watch at that moment. And I liked it a lot. It is a romantic comedy. It begins with two colleagues working at the same bank branch breaking up. And they get together and break up again. It is entertaining with good, likable actors and the characters are indeed ordinary but both of them won my heart.

Recommended.  

Love 911

Photo credit: https://gllitterkid.wordpress.com

Love 911 is a romantic comedy with two unlikable charactes who will both grow on the viewer as the story progresses. This second viewing was not unpleasant, especially as I'm currently watching Empire of Gold and liking Go Soo (the male lead). Han Hye Joo is someone I really like ever since I watched her in Brilliant Inheritance the first time. All in all this is a bit long but is decent time pass. 

Rough Cut

Photo credit: https://endersgirrrl.wordpress.com/    (and it is a great site too) 

Rough Cut is a film I have purchased and watched a while ago. But it was there in my sister's electronic stash and it is always great to watch So Ji Sub (one of my fantasy men). I liked it a lot better at this second viewing. The story is interesting. There is a gangster, number 2 of a gang with the leader in prison. This guy is very handsome, attractive and the silent, brooding type with a hidden sense of humour and he loves films and looks like So Ji Sub (yeah my kryptonite). There is an actor who has behavioural problems (like getting mad and hitting his co actors for real, keeping his girlfriend hidden away with their only communication being booty calls in the actor's van. So when he hits his co actor and causes an accident that ended the said actor in hospital, no one wants to star with him. The made him think of the gangster he met at a karaoke place (the gangster is his fan). 

So he offers him the part and he accepts with the condition that they will fight for real and the end fight will be real too (normally the actor should have won according to the script). 

Their interactions affect each other, the gangster begins to soften up somehow and the actor starts to realise what a jerk he is but will the end for the gangster be happy? (spoiler: no). 

Kang Ji Hwan plays the actor and he is very good. I love this actor especially after Capital Scandal. My problem with him is not his face (not my type) but his voice. It is rather high pitched. 

Anyway this one is interesting if you like this sort of thing. Also it is artsy. I'd call it viewer friendly Kim Ki Duk. 

Ghost of Oiwa

Photo credit http://thebloodypitofhorror.blogspot.com.tr/

Ghost of Oiwa to me was not that scary. Also I had seen a similar story in another film (Kaidan??). It only served us (my mother and I) to see that women are treated badly everywhere and made me think about how Japanese people, as a culture made things harder for themselves (all the dresses and cast systems, rules and regulations, customs etc.) 

Pacemaker

Photo credit http://www.hancinema.net/

Pacemaker only interested me because the lead actor is Lee Myung Min and he is really good. And at the end of the film I thought that I'd still have liked it with someone else starring. It is a decent story with a not really probably but definitely happy ending. 

The Admiral: Roaring Currents

The Admiral: Roaring Currents is the all time Korean Box Office topper now. It is a rather nationalist film but I think the Koreans are entitled to their pride in this particular sea battle. The actors are fine, the small stories are suitably emotional but all in all it didn't do much to me (probably because I'm not Korean).  

The End of The Affair

The End of the Affair not only the novel is excellent but the performance of the reader matches it perfectly. Mr. Firth can give a lesson on how to read an audiobook, how to voice characters and how to convey all the emotions without over acting. Loved it.

Boomerang Family

Photo credit: http://hangukyeonghwa.com/

Boomerang Family is not a film I would have chosen myself but I have watched it since my sister had it and she recommended it. All in all it was one of those mixed bag Korean films which starts as comedy/dark comedy and then slowly evolves into a melodrama. The actors were nice and I'm happy to say that Park Hae Il has won me over with The Arrow. And now I'm happy to see him instead of being annoyed by his presence. Anyway this one is not that good but ended up being a time pass. 

Marrying The Mafia

Photo credit: http://asianfilmseries.blogspot.com.tr/

Marrying The Mafia is a film I have watched years ago during my Korean film craze (which, apparently recurs from time to time) It is a very successful film that spawned many sequels and remakes. And there is a reason for that. I loved how our lawyer male lead who is in a long term relationship with a woman with western sensibilities, finds himself waking up from a one night stand he can't remember. Our female lead works in a laboratory and is seemingly demure and old fashioned. However there is a catch. Her family are a mob family and they want them to get married. He tries to get out of it but as fails time and time again, he starts to fall for this weird woman who falls for him back. This is very entertaining and I enjoyed it just as well as I did the first time. 

Fateful Encounter

Photo credit: http://www.dramarecap.com/

Fateful Encounter is an apt name for this film (the original translation is King's Wrath) but it turns out there is a manga and another film/drama (?) with the same name and it was not as easy to find visuals. Hyun Bin is the guy in the photo plays the King Jeongjo who is the son of Prince Sado (who died a very unpleasant death). He is a good king but he has major issues like getting revenge for his father, balancing the government in which a faction has more power than the other, his freaky step grandmother etc. Despite being a hottie and a decent actor, his part of the story was the least interesting. The other side of the story tells about the King's eunuch. This man is devoted to the King and does his best to aid him. He is caught after a failed assasination attempt and we learn that he was caught by vicious and merciless assasins as a kind and was painfully trained to be a deadly man. He chose to be an eunuch spy in the palace to save another kid he befriended in the hell hole they lived. The other kid was saved from being an eunuch but he ended up being a deadly assassin (unconvincingly played by Cho Jung Seok, this man just gets on my nerves) and they grew up being apart but not forgetting each other. The deadly assassin is chosen to murder the King but he is smart, supported by loyal followers and quick witted enough to make some change sides.

All in all while loving and shedding tears over the melodrama of the assassins, I was kind of cold towards the troubles of the king (despite the fact that Sado incident being a very interesting one). All in all this film failed in the box office and I can understand why. The director Lee Jae Kyu is more suited to direct melodrama than tense political intrigue.

The Techicians

Photo Credit: https://imjuhwanifc.files.wordpress.com/

The Technicians was one of the films in my sister electrical stash so I have given it a go. Actually the weekend before that (it has been sometime I have updated this blog!) I have done an impromptu Korean film festival - come to think of this this weekend was like that too. Anyway this film was probably promoting an idol (Kim Woo Bin) and was not very good. Sure it is slick an kind of entertaining while not being anywhere was good as The Thieves (which probably was an inspiration).

This is a heist film where con men try to our con each other. While in The Thieves women were just as smart and active as men, here we only have one female character who is just window dressing and plot point. I liked the villain's henchman (Im Ju Hwan in the photo) the best and the rest were too cartoonish to mention. This one was not for me. 

Başka Topraklarda Rüzgar Sert Eser

Başka Topraklarda Rüzgar Sert Eser Neresi olursa olsun bir yerde kitap varsa hemen karıştırmaya başlarım. Bunu buldum ve sadece ve sadece Güney Koreli bir yazar olduğu için ve Türkçe çevirisini merak ettiğim için aldım. Kitabı çok sevdim. Çeviri güzeldi ve yazım stili bana hitap etti. Bu biraz depresif bir kitap. Bir gecekondu mahallesinde çok fakir ve toplumun diğerine uymayan insanların hayatları ve başlarına gelenlerden bir kesit veriyor. Kahramanımız ergen bir çocuk. Küçük yaşta kendisine çok kötü davranılmış ve bir yetimhaneye terkedilmiş, ergen yaşa gelince evlat edinilme olasılığı azaldıkça azalmış ve sonunda bir Türk kasabın isteği üzerine onun yanına verilmiş (herhalde koruyucu aile olarak). Türk kasap Kore iç savaşından sonra (ki Birleşmiş Milletlerden çeşitli ülkeler G. Kore'ye asker göndermişti) orada kalmış, diğerlerinin normlarına uymayan biri. Bir restoran sahibi hanım, bir Yunan asker, bir G. Korel'li casus, iki tane farklı gecekondu çocuğu ve daha bir kaç yan karakter kitabın öyküsünü yavaş yavaş önümüze seriyorlar. Sonunda göz yaşı bile döktüm (ama Kore melodramının benim üzerimde acayip bir etkisi var.

Neyse bu yazarın başka kitaplarını önüme gelirlerse almaya niyetim oldu. 

Us

Us was a great read and certainly didn't dissapoint. I loved how especially it was about people of my age (well 5 years older or something but same generation). This writer is very good at telling stories and describing emberrasing situations and awkward moments but I also love how he is good to his characters and they may not get the conventional happy ending but the reader feels good about it.

I highly recommend, in fact I have already loaned my copy to a colleague :) 

Cuore Sacro (Sacred Heart)

Cuore Sacro ended up being yet another Ferzan Özpetek film that I have cried rivers during viewing. But it is different than the other films of his I have seen, (Ignorant Fairies, Loose Cannons, Fasten Your Seatbelts).

This one ended up being a more internal story with some supernatural elements to it. Well I loved it. The acting, the visuals, the editing. Everything spoke to me and the ending was very good.