Saki

Saki is a drama I have chosen because there was not much else and because the story of an evil woman destroying everyone around her seemed attractive. Nakama Yukie is not a favorite actor but I thought she'll be able to handle the part and I was not wrong.

First off I was pleasantly surprised with the art direction. Especiall Saki's apartment was so good. I love looking at food and Saki cooks a special food item after completing one of her evil tasks. And her go to dish after destroying yet another enemy is a slice of deliciously marbled Kobe beef. Her cutlary and her china (I loved the tea cups especially) are first rate and everything she cooked looked delicious. I also loved her room full of books. I want that apartment.

I liked the three major songs and their repetition never bothered me.


SPOILERS:

It is revealed towards the later episodes that the whole thing is an eleborate revenge on people who Saki thought caused her mother's death. The ending to me was ambigious since Saki ended up being pregnant with a boy but I don't understand whose baby that was. The only one she had sex with was the lawyer.

I had a better time with this than I thought I would have.

Shiri

Shiri is the first S.Korean film I have watched. And made fell in love with the country's cinema. Starring two of my favorite S.Korean actors Song Kang Ho (in the sidekick role here but currently one of the most loved stars in the country) and Han Suk Kyu (now kicking ass in historical TV dramas). The female lead is Kim Yun Jin. Choi Min Sik is the villain and he is a great actor but one I can never warm up to for some reason.

Spoilers from hereon:

The story is about a North Korean sniper sent to S.Korea and later on in her career there took on an undercover job. The big reveal of the film is that she had a plastic surgery and became the girlfriend and then fiancé of a S.Korean agent who is on the hunt for the sniper. A part of the N.Korean army rebelled against the peace policies with S.Korea and sent an elite force to bomb away a friendly football game where the leaders of the two countries will be present.

It is an action film with a whodunnit, a melodrama and a love story combined together. Acted in the perfect tone and I don't know how many times I have watched it (I think four) and I still cry in the end.

This is still very good after all these years and I highly recommend. 

A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street I realised I never watched it so gave it a try. And I fell asleep towards the end. It is not bad but it didn't work for me, at all. 

King of Ambition

King of Ambition -whose photo is again sideways and refuses to rotate for some reason- is a drama I only picked up because there was not anything else I wanted to watch. I don't really care for Kwon Sang Woo and despite the fact that Soo Ae is a good actress, she seems type cast. And the show's writer was accused of plagiarism twice. The first time he was released from the charges since two people can think of a similar plot (The drama was being compared to Nice Guy) otherwise the writers of Nice Guy may have had to pay hefty fees to writers of Turkish melodrama writers. The second time he was accused of plagirising another writer. I didn't really read these stories since I was not interested in the show as it aired.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Having no expectations, I delved into the unexpected makjang pool of: a despicable villain whose ambitions in life causes unhappiness, no tragedy, in every life connected to hers, family secrets, twin brothers not knowing they exist and more. And I loved it.

First off, a good villain who you love to hate is a good thing to have in a revenge drama. Joo Dae Hae is such a villain. And the best thing is that her ambitions and how they way she became who she is explained in detail. Of course she is evil but this character has the chance to be acted by a good actress and this caused me to feel sorry for her more than I care to admit.

Our hero is the good guy. I love good guys. The better than man, the more I fall for him (but this is of course valid if the good guy is the hero, the secondary guys are almost always good guys). And Kwon Sang Woo reminded me what I ilked him at the beginning and why I disliked him after watching Running Wild. The man is a melodrama actor. When he tries to go mad with anger and lash out, he can't do it. He can't to comedy either. But he CAN do drama and he is a master of tears. Ok here it is, I have cried and cried during this show. I even surprised myself.

There is an idol called U-Know (I think the Korean name will be Un Ho) as the secondary guy and I'm sorry to say that he was not up to it. His plastic surgeried face disturbed me among actors who had their natural faces and the poor kid had to chance against Soo Ae (who is a good actor but not really a generous one, she'll steal the screen if she can and with him she always could). That doesn't mean I didn't cry when he
SPOILER died, horribly. Evil Joo Dae Hae, why did you let him die?????

Anyway the show ended in a satisfactory manner and I shed even more tears.

This is not only melo but worse, makjang melo and if you are into that, I can happily recommend.

Koloni

Koloni Jean - Christophe Grangé'nin okuduğum ilk romanı. Roman bana bir iş arkadaşım tarafından ödünç verildi. Heyecanlı ve sürükleyici bir konusu vardı. En sonunda kahramanlarımızın başına bir şey gelecek diye baya bir endişelenmeye bile başladım. Sonuçta (umuyorum) Fransızca orjinalinden Türkçe tercüme fena değildi. Tabi nerede o eski Fransızca tercümeler. Neyse roman içinde aşırı şiddet vs. barındırdığı için herkese önermiyorum ama bu tip uçuk polisiyeleri seviyorsanız bence bir deneyin. John Burdett ayarında diyebilirim. Şimdilik Jo Nesbo'dan bir tık aşağıda Mösyö Grangé benim için. 

Ocean's 11

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Ocean's 11 is one of those OK Soderbergh films. The first time I watched it on theater I was surprised that there was not a single one among the hotties in the film that I fancied. They are all good actors and did their jobs well but you'd think that among 11 men there would be one that'd appeal to me. Anyway this viewing at home was more mellow and since then I have actually been to Vegas I was able to like it more. Bellagio is a beautiful hotel and it is nicely filmed here. Anyway it is also a heist film and your point of view is the of the thieves. My sister always says that it is not good side with the thieves and I think she is right. Even though you still don't want them to get caught.

One exception to this was The Town (directed and starred by Ben Affleck, now here is a guy I would not throw out of bed - and he is a very good actor too) in which I cared for the characters but I never sided with them. I liked the film.

Saving Mr.Banks

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Saving Mr.Banks was recommended to me by my manager at work and it sounds like the sort of film I'd enjoy. There is Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks two of my all time favorite actors. Their popularity do not marr their talent in my eyes. Both are top notch in the film (as expected) and since I have actually seen Mary Poppins - the film Walt Disney is trying to adapt from a novel written by P.L Travers - the story's fictional "making of" segments appealed to me. I have never check the director though. I had the idea that this is just another generic director. Well maybe it is but Mr.Hancock apparently also directed The Blind Side, one of my all time weepy faves and Saving Mr.Banks also made me cry buckets. I was not expecting a family melodrama and even though my two least fave leads (Colin Farrel and Ruth Wilson) were starring in the family drama sections.

This one for me is a keeper for the excellent acting and the melodrama that completely suits to my tastes.