EUREKA

EUREKA
Season One

Created by: Andrew Cosby & Jaime Paglia
Starring: Colin Ferguson as the extremely relaxed US Marshal (soon to be sheriff) Jack Carter, Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Carter’s and Eureka’s babysitter Allison Blake, Jordan Hinson as Zoe Carter – the rebellious daughter, as well as a lot of other great actors both known and unknown.
Screen date (US): 2006

Date seen: 19.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer:

Review: OK, this is a television series, not a film. It’s harder to evaluate, both since they usually pick up or drop down in quality by the season (or sometimes episode), and you never know what to expect. I’m reviewing Eureka based on the pilot and the 2nd episode. I do this because that’s how I decide if I’m personally going to follow a series or not. With Entourage for instance, I needed to see the first four episodes before deciding to keep watching. And then again, I didn’t actually start to love the series until late in the first season.

But Eureka worked for me. It’s a science fiction series, with a few gags in between. It’s somewhat like a Disney film, but then again more like Desperate Housewives. I can’t really decide where to put this, but it’s safe to say that the plot for a TV series is original enough for me to get interested.

The plot: Jack Carter is a US Marshal, driving his rebellious daughter Zoe home after she once again escaped from his separated wife, and on top of that pretended to be an air stewardess. A serious offense of course, and Carter has enough on his mind when suddenly a dog appears in the middle of nowhere. He manages to steer clear, but crash into a tree. After walking all trough the night, they get to a quiet small town. Seemingly. But this small town is Eureka, hidden by the government to foster the greatest minds of the nation into developing all sorts of new inventions. Carter is an easy-going guy, and doesn’t mind much that 5 year olds read advanced science, pieces of motorhomes vanishes into thin air or that everything really is a bit off. He gets sucked into a somewhat big case when the sheriff looses his leg, and with his relaxed temper, charming smile, and quick wits, he impresses and overcomes even the smartest of scientists in this little town. Finally solving the case and getting the old sheriff back on his feet, he returns back home, only to be promoted. To sheriff of Eureka.

There’s potential for a nice love story or two in here, there’s the strange characters that you know is up to no good, there’s family issues, bizarre happenings and lots of geeks and cool gadgets. The tempo of the episodes is fairly relaxed, and although Carter didn’t have time to shower or brush his teeth for two days in the pilot, I didn’t flex a muscle. I liked that! This is something you could watch any time of the day – it’s pure entertainment.

In words: science, investigation, inventions, gadgets, fun, comedy, relationships, family, sci-fi, mystery

Reminds me of: A Disney Original Movie with a twist of Desperate Housewives.

Buy: From our friend, Amazon.

200 POUNDS BEAUTY

200 POUNDS BEAUTY
Minyeo-neun goerowo

Director: Kim Yong-hwa
Starring: Kim Ah-joong as the incredibly beautiful Jenny (Hanna when in fatsuit) and Joo Jin-mo as the handsome manager, amongst other great actors and actresses.
Screen date (Kor): 2006

Date seen: 18.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer:

Review: Where should I start? Maybe I should begin with proclaiming that this is the best feel-good romantic comedy I’ve ever seen? I guess I got your attention?

The plot starts out quite simple, and you’ll know how the story will develop from the very beginning. But it’s the things that happen in between that makes 200 Pounds Beauty such a great film! That’s why I don’t mind spoiling the story:

Ah-joong with the fatsuit (Hanna) is a fat, ugly girl with a very low self-conscience. Of course it doesn’t help that her two only talents is her job as a phone sex operator and being the (well hidden) voice of the very famous lip sync pop star Ammy. Especially when she has the biggest (no pun intended) crush on Ammy’s manager, played by Jin-mo. As she overhears Ammy and the manager talking about how they only use Hanna to make money, she decides to kill herself. But as she lies in bed waiting for the apartment to fill up with gas, one of her most demanding regulars calls her up for some more phone sex. She remembers that he’s a plastic surgeon, and the next day she heads to his office to extort him to transfer her into the girl she thinks others wants her to be.

Hanna is no more, the girl who comes out from the bandages is now Jenny – incredibly beautiful. Strange Korean music starts to play when men fall for her, and the stage is set for a lot of good laughs. Jenny decides to spy on her big love, the manager, and does so with great effort. Finally she auditions for him, and suddenly she’s famous. No wonder! When she sings the movies theme song Maria, I got shivers trough my entire body!

Jenny’s popularity rises and she almost gets her prince and the kingdom too. But Ammy is jealous, and somehow finds out that Jenny really is Hanna. Jenny tries to hide her old self to the extreme, and almost ruins everything. Of course it all ends well, but it’s important to see that this is a story not only about love, music and laughs – but also about accepting yourself as you are. A well used story in the film industry, but still so very important, especially in a country like Korea!

I love this movie for how it made me feel so incredibly happy and moved that I laughed out loud and even shed a few tears! I enjoyed it for it’s beautiful music, especially the way Maria was preformed. And I didn’t tire of it, even tough I’ve heard the story before. Because it always found ways to surprise me, ways I haven’t seen been done before in this kind of film. See it today or any day, and buy a copy for your mom and friends!

In words: love, music, confidence, friendship, culture, popularity, plastic surgery, idol, family

Reminds me of: This sets the standard for future movies.

Trivia: In Korea, it’s not unusual to marry your daughter to Vietnamese men if she’s overweight. It is in fact so popular, that it has become a million dollar industry doing dating services between the two countries.

Buy: From YesAsia with free worldwide shipping.
Or from our friend, Amazon.

MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER

MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER
Jopok Manura

Director: Jin-gyu Cho
Starring: Eun-Kyung Shin as pretty gangster wife Cha Eun-jin, Sang-Myeon Park as the husband Kang Su-il, Jae-mo Ahn as the comical new recruit Bada and In-kwon Kim as his friend – or the other way around.
Screen date (Kor): 2001

Date seen: 17.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer (Korean):

Review: We get introduced to Eun-jin trough a legend about the “company” told to a new recruit. She comes forth as an untouchable woman – the boss of 50 gangsters, and goes by the name “big brother”. But fortunately, the serious beginning of this film isn’t there to set the theme for the day. This is a mild comedy with a small mix of martial art. Before we get to even know Eun-jin, some of her gangsters has finally found her long lost sister, and Eun-jin goes to see her in the hospital. It becomes clear that she is dying, and has a final wish for her younger sister. She wants her to get married.

Let the fun begin! Let’s be honest, it’s not that much fun. The story is quite simple – strong, tough mob leader has to marry normal salary man, brings trouble to work, won’t have sex, don’t know wifely duties, disappear to fight rival gangs and abuses husband. And it’s not getting harder to follow. Altough the older sisters demands become even worse during the film, they only create a bigger frame to play around with. There’s a few twists and turns in the story to look for, but they’re just relating to the inevitable results of karma, with not much deeper meaning than that. This is a basic romantic comedy with some heavy fighting scenes, lot’s of pranks and low humor, and it’d be safe to advice it to anyone looking trough their film rack on a Tuesday night.

In words: gangsters, marriage, comedy, martial art, mafia, fighting, love, family, loss

Reminds me of: One of those simple comedies that frequent my local TV channel once a week.

Quote: Cha Eun-jin : Where have all the good men gone? Why is it so difficult to get married?

Buy: From YesAsia, both cheap and with free international shipping. At $10.49 for the DVD version, this is a bargain!
Or from the well-known Amazon.

HOLLYWOOD HONG KONG

HOLLYWOOD HONG KONG
Heung gong yau gok hor lei wood

Director: Fruit Chan
Starring: Xun Zhuo as the beautiful Tung Tung, You-Nam Wong as the pimp-gone-wrong, Sze Ping Leung as the naive and good-hearted Tiny Chu and Glen Chin as Mr. Chu, amongst other great characters.
Screen date (HK): 2001

Date seen: 16.07.08
Reviewed by: neko

Trailer (Chinese):

Review: I saw this movie about four or five years ago, and I’ve been thinking of it ever since. I was finally lucky enough to get a hold of it, and to enjoy it once more. If this film doesn’t come out as one of the top ten dramas of the 21st century, then it’s just because not enough people know about it yet. But then again, to classify this as just a drama would be unfair. I’m also looking at an art movie, with serious black humor and social importance.

The story starts out with the family Chu, who runs a pig roasting shop in a Hong Kong shanty town. This isn’t your ordinary family, mind you – but it is obvious that these people are content with their life. We also get introduced to a young couple a few shacks away. It soon becomes obvious that this 18 year old boy is the local pimp, and his girlfriend/merchandise is one of his plans to be something big in this world. As he goes out to meet a new hooker, he sends his own girl to an overnight stay at Mr. Chu – a regular customer. The connection between our characters is established. The hooker he meets calls herself Tung Tung, played by the marvelous Xun Zhuo. She shares her dreams with this guy, and he can’t help but fall in love. This is no ordinary night.

From here, the story escalates. Tung Tung meets little Tiny Chu, who is deprived of friends as he has to work with the family business in his spare time. Tiny Chu welcomes Tung Tung with the happy-go-lucky naiveness of a child, and thus the web around our characters in this little shanty town is spun. This little quiet place on earth will never be the same again.

This is a story about family, friendship, dreams and love. But also about loss, social class and the development of a metropolis. This film is one of my all time favorites, and I would advice everyone to see it!

In words: Pigs, family, love, friendship, swing, flag, development, shanty town, big city, social class, new blood, affairs, dreams, barbecue, sex.

Reminds me of: No move I’ve ever seen.

Trivia: You-Nam Wong is a member of a popular Hong Kong boyband, and has starred in several movies. One of the newer ones is called Playboy Cops. Sounds interesting?

Buy: From YesAsia with free worldwide shipping.
Or from the well-known Amazon.