Slow and Steady

Until now, I've held a significant personal distrust of Netflix-exclusive, or "Original," films. Perhaps it's the difference between watching a movie with complete focus in a theater versus watching at home in a somewhat distracting environment. However, even setting aside those environmental factors, the truth is that films produced by Netflix have repeatedly failed to meet expectations, leaving me feeling underwhelmed. As a result, even when new films are released, they tend to get pushed to the back of my watchlist.   The movie 'Good News' was also pushed far down my watchlist for those very reasons. With so many interesting dramas and other content to watch recently, it was deprioritized, and I only just recently pressed play. Now that I've finished the film, I'm struck by two facts, along with the regret of not having watched it sooner. First, that this movie is based on an unbelievable "true story," and second, that this was the most en...

The provocative tagline attached to the movie <First Ride>—"If you laugh watching this movie, you're certified foolish!"—throws down a gauntlet to the audience. If a film presents itself as a comedy, the core measure of its success is whether it makes you laugh. Content is important, but laughter is what validates the reason for watching. In that respect, <First Ride> was a success, as it made me laugh out loud several times throughout the screening.   However, this film doesn't stop at being a simple, one-dimensional comedy aiming only for laughs. As the movie begins, you quickly realize that while it is a delightful comedy, it is also a 'youth film' capturing a clumsy and shining page from one's younger days. The film kicks off with a unique narration where the protagonists refer to themselves as 'fools.' The identity of this narrator is a small mystery at the start. One of the first characters to appear is actress Kim Ha-neul, but th...

 The Story of Manager Kim, a Dae-Gyeob Employee with His Own Home in Seoul, a drama adaptation of the bestselling novel whose title alone stimulates the realities and desires of countless office workers of this era, has finally reached viewers. In recent years, in a market dominated by dramas based on webtoons or web novels, the emergence of a drama based on a hit novel, armed with a solid narrative and relatable realism, has garnered significant anticipation. This work delves into the ecosystem of modern office workers through symbolic keywords that represent the pinnacle of success for some and a goal to be achieved for others: "owning my own home in Seoul" and "a manager at a large corporation (Dae-Gyeob)." The origin story of the original novel is quite unique. The story began when author 'Song Hee-gu' started serializing it on his personal blog during the period when the real estate market in South Korea was at its hottest. This writing, which contained...

There was a movie poster that, for some strange reason, I kept seeing everywhere. It was for the film <The 100th Love with You>. When I first saw it, the actor Kentaro Sakaguchi wasn't very famous to me. Now, however, having seen several of his works, he has become quite familiar. The image of him holding a guitar and looking straight ahead with his unique expression and gaze was particularly impressive even before I watched the movie.   After all this time, I finally got around to watching this film, which had long remained just a poster in my memory. Considering it was released in both Japan and Korea in 2017, quite a bit of time has passed. The movie falls into the romance genre, typical of Japanese cinema. However, to be honest, it fell slightly short of the expectations I had built up from other Japanese romance masterpieces I've seen. The core element of the story is the 'time leap'. At first, I assumed the female protagonist, Aoi Hinata (played by miwa), po...

Han Hyo-joo, one of South Korea's top actresses, is garnering significant attention as the lead in the 8-episode Japanese Netflix series Romantic Anonymous. The drama has generated considerable buzz even before its release, as it pairs her with renowned Japanese actor Oguri Shun. Her past appearances on Korean variety shows, where she demonstrated her fluent Japanese skills, are being revisited. Her ability to carry natural conversations with native speakers, rather than just listing words, gives a glimpse into the immense effort she must have dedicated to this role. A Korean actor taking a leading role in a Japanese drama and performing in the local language is a significant challenge and a symbolic event showcasing the elevated status of K-content. Along with this casting news, an interesting point of comparison that has recently resurfaced is the pay gap for actors in Korea and Japan. According to reports from Japanese media, there is a structural limit that makes it difficult f...