The Front Line: Breaking All the Rules for a Pyrrhic Victory

Everything's fair in love and war. That's certainly an extremist point of view. It's also an idea which the war pic Jang Hun's The Front Line has made its underlying principal minus the love part. Within the context of war, no action is considered unacceptable -- not shooting a squadron of your own men, not using an injured, baby-faced soldier (Lee Da-wit) as bait to catch a sniper, not transporting messages from the enemies to their friends just for some chocolate or a bottle of wine, not letting an assassin (Kim Ok-bin) go because she's a woman. Whenever this status quo is challenged, a shouting match may ensue between the crafty officer (Go Soo) with the unappetizing tactic and the upstanding, undercover agent (Shin Ha-kyun) who everyone knows is undercover. No matter how heinous the suggestion put forth by the diabolical soldier, he is the one who is going to get the support of the troops. Morality, evidently, is antithetical to the battleground.

It doesn't end there either. When the fat captain (Jo Jin-woong) who's been giving lousy orders for the entire film finally goes too far endangering the men you can shoot him and take over. When the command from above is to defend at all costs, you can flee. When your best friend is revealed to be a complete traitor, you can forgive pretty quickly. You can even shout hurtful things to little girls with missing limbs without losing the respect of most of your fellow comrades. It's stress-related behavior, I guess.

I'm not sure why Korea chose to put this movie in contention for an Academy Award -- it didn't make the short list. The story isn't just anti-war, it's anti-person. And as war movies go, the battles recall video games in that you can see the objective (climb the hill) or go into a monochromatic environment (explore the tunnel) as the casualties roll by and the landmines explode like so many special effects graphics intended to enliven your faux world as the story/adventure pushes forward. The snag is that there isn't a character here who I'd want to play. I want my token back.

Into the White Night: Fashioning an Imperfect Murder

I don't know what to say about this one so how about director Park Shin-woo's mystery is filled with symbols galore: a police detective (Han Suk-kyu) who's slowly going blind, a killer (Go Soo) who wields scissors for art and murder, and a rape victim (Son Ye-jin) who desires nothing more than to launch a line of ugly clothing for men. Fighting interpretation, each lexicon of Into the White Night's cinematic semiotics loses significance as quickly as it gains meaning. The more you study it, the less the movie reveals. So put aside that imagery! You're better off sticking with who kills whom how, when and why as the action rewinds and fast forwards with all the stylishness of a ten-year-old operating a VCR. That same clunkiness trips up most of the characters who feel only half-developed. One of the more complex roles -- a tough private eye (Lee Min-jung) with a good sense of intuition -- gets knocked off too soon; a largely forgettable police chief (Jeong Jin) gets reincorporated too late. Stick around long enough and you'll witness a perverse scene in which the rape victim psychologically victimizes the sexually assaulted daughter of her husband-to-be but I'd rather spoil that plot twist for you here and save you the trouble.

Will It Snow For Christmas (Drama - 2010)

# Title: 크리스마스에 눈이 올까요? / Keuriseumaseue Nooni Olkkayo
# Also known as: Will it Snow at Christmas?
# Genre: Melodrama, romance
# Episodes: 16
# Broadcast Network: SBS
# Broadcast period: 2009-Dec-02 to 2010-Jan-28
# Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55
# Director: Choi Moon Suk
# Scriptwriter: Lee Kyung Hee

 Cast

    * Go Soo as Cha Kang Jin
          o Kim Soo Hyun as Kang Jin (teen)
    * Han Ye Seul as Han Ji Wan
          o Nam Ji Hyun as Ji Wan (teen)
    * Sun Woo Sun as Lee Woo Jung
    * Song Jong Ho as Park Tae Joon


Kisah berawal dari peristiwa jatuhnya kalung seorang anak bernama Cha Kang Jin ke sungai.

Cha Kang Jin adalah anak dari seorang pelayan coffee shop. Ketika ada laki-laki yang melecehkan Ibunya, Kang Jin hanya bisa diam dan menahan amarahnya. Justru Han Ji Wan, teman sekolah Kang Jin, yang melihat Ibu Kang Jin dilecehkan merasa marah dan sedih. Untuk balas dendam, Han Ji Wan mencoret-coret mobil lelaki itu. Alhasil Han Ji Wan babak belur oleh si laki-laki itu, Kang Jin pun datang dan membela Han Ji Wan dengan berkelahi dengan laki-laki itu dan perkelahian itu menyebabkan kalung Cha Kang Jin jatuh ke sungai. Kalung itu adalah benda yang sangat berharga bagi Kang Jin, bahkan ia menganggap kalung itu sebagai ayahnya.

Han Ji Wan merasa bersalah karena demi membela dirinya, kalung itu jatuh ke sungai. Ia pun mencoba mencari kalung itu di sungai tiap hari. Namun hasilnya nihil. Ji Yong, kakak yang Ji Wan yang sangat menyayangi adiknya berjanji untuk membantu Ji Wan mencari kalung itu. Bahkan Ji Yong berjanji pada Ji wan kalau ia tidak akan keluar dari sungai sebelum menemukan kalung itu. Akhirnya Ji Yong pun benar-benar tidak keluar lagi alias meninggal.
Han Ji Wan merasa bahwa dialah yang membunuh kakaknya. Karena merasa bersalah pada orang tuanya, ia pun diam-diam pergi dari rumah.

Cerita berlanjut setelah 8 tahun kemudian. Cha Kang Jin bertemu lagi dengan Han Ji Wan. Bagaiman lanjutannya? nonton aja aja ya....

Aku suka banget sama cerita yang di awali dari masa kecil, biasanya bagus n sedih trus pasti ada tema keluarganya. Bagus. Tapi sayang, masa kecilnya cuma sebentar, cuma 1 episode lebih. Tapi itu juga udah bisa ngebuat aku nangis karena sedih. Namun makin lama ceritanya makin rumit dan makin berbelit-belit.

Dari segi cerita bagus, musiknya juga mendukung banget, pemainnya lumayanlah, Go Soo di film ini cakep loh, kalo ngebandingin sama di Marrying Millionaire jauh banget, di Marrying Millionaire dia gendut gitu trus tampangnya agak kusam, tapi di Will it snow for christmas ini keliatan langsing dan bersih, cakep deh. Trus Han Ye Seul juga keliatan beda. Pertama kali liat dia di sitkom Nonstop 4 bareng Hyun Bin. Di Nonstop 4 make up nya tebel gitu trus karakternya tuh jadi cewek kaya, genit, cerewet, sombong, kalo ngomong badannya ga bisa diem, lucu banget deh, tapi di will it snow for chirstmas ini dia lebih kalem n dandanannya lebih minimalis. Trus suka banget sama Kim Soo Hyun pemeran Kang jin kecil. Suka juga sama Song Joong Ki yang jadi Kakaknya Ji wan. Trus pertama kali liat Ibunya Kang Jin langsung mengira kalau itu Hwayobi, abis mirip banget, tapi suaranya beda.

Nilaiku untuk film ini bolehlah 75. Ostnya bagus banget. Udah bisa di download di blog. Liriknya juga udah ada.