Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I remembered watching the crime movie Night in Paradise . This one has Kim Seol Hyun who I first saw in the sci-fi crime drama Awaken . Now, it's time to see her in a realistic crime movie. It would be hard to discuss without doing some spoilers. I'll try to keep the spoilers as low as possible. This movie is pretty much a thriller. One man named  Kim Byeong So (Sol Kyung Gu) is a retired serial killer with Alzheimer's. Taking care of him is his daughter Kim Eun Hee played by Seol Hyun. This is one film where some mysteries unfold in a nearly two-hours run. Kim Nam Gil plays the seemingly innocent but murderous Tae Joo. Beong So is pretty much a serial killer and vigilante rolled into one. Nam Gil murdered his abusive father as a teenager. As time passed, Beong Soo is pretty much more concerned about punishing others who he believe should pay the price. Beong Soo's vigilante justice does come with a price. Along the way, Beong So's degenerative disease continues to ...

I remembered watching Monkey Magic which lasted for only 13 episodes. It could've been good if a second season came after that. Which Buddha is which? Some may assume that it was Gautama Buddha who subdued Sun Wukong. Yet, the divine power of this Buddha has been rather immense. This Buddha made Wukong a bet. Wukong could rule the Heavens IF he could escape the Buddha's hand. Sun Wukong infamously peed on the hand of Buddha without knowing it. The five pillars were Buddha's fingers. After losing the bet, Wukong was locked up for 500 years. Later, Sun Wukong was released by the monk Xuanzang. Sun Wukong was to take part in the Journey to the West. Wishbone (RIP to the dog) later had this Buddha of Western Paradise. This would be the Amitabha Buddha. In Indian legends, we also have Vishnu as the one who oversees the Vaikuntha. Vishu is said to have ten legendary avatars. Vishnu took many forms to defend humanity. Later, Vishnu was said to have become Sakyamuni who was also Si...

J-Drama or K-Drama? There was a time I actually preferred Japanese entertainment over Korean entertainment. However, 2013 started to change my tide when Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger was just plain obnoxious IMHO. Sure, there's been newer Super Sentai series that have been good and I'm enjoying Avatar Sentai Donbrothers . I've been watching a couple of Korean crime dramas. Most of the police K-Dramas I preferred were realistic fiction. Though, some of them were obviously sci-fi like Awaken and Tunnel . I did watch some Tokusatsu cop-themed shows such as Winspector , Solbrain , Exceedraft , Janperson , and Kamen Rider Drive . I felt watching some realistic crime drama from Japan might do a bit of a change.  I decided to pick up Crisis: Social Security Squad . Yes, we've got Shun Oguri who played Arsene Lupin III from the Lupin III movie. He was also the main protagonist of Border where he gained the ability of a necromancer. In this one, nothing supernatural. Here, we have a s...

We have some salty weebs to just love to bark at the wrong tree. Weaboos or weebs for short means anybody who over-glorifies Japanese culture. I could remember how some salty weebs (and many of them have been talking like that former cop, Alan La Madrid Purisima). Some of them kept blaming Power Rangers  and Saban Entertainment for Super Sentai's lack of popularity. If anything, Super Sentai's lack of popularity might be best linked primarily to TOEI LTD. It's funny how these guys say, "Never question Toei's decisions!" Wasn't it Toei's decision to let Power Rangers exist in the first place? I'd like to say it was also Toei's decision not just to let Power Rangers exist but to why Power Rangers is airing instead of Super Senta . Meanwhile, Kamen Rider still airs in the Philippines from time to time. I heard the rights to Super Sentai have become more expensive. Though South Korea has been airing Super Sentai as "Power Rangers" for som...

KDrama Review If you can't decide between a legal drama and a love story when why not get the whole package? You could get it in a show like Pride and Prejudice and Suspicious Partner .  That had me thinking about K-Drama. This one features Cha Tae Hyun who is now in his late 40s and a well-known actor. I did remember seeing Tae Hyun in First Love of the Royal Prince where he was a spoiled son but never finished it. He was also in Sassy Girl which I didn't finish because I wasn't deep into K-Drama. Here, I see a more mature Tae Hyun who acts as Professor Yu Dong Man - a detective turned professor. The guy has some bad blood towards someone which can be full of spoilers. So, I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum.  The story involves avoiding a judgmental, biased attitude in serving law enforcement. Professor Yu has bad blood with Kang Seo Ho (Jung Jin Young) who was a former hacking criminal. There's that online gambling ring that surprise-surprise (or not) use...

  Some works of fiction can be used as an eye-opener. I remembered watching Lawless Lawyer and my mind warped back to the Vizconde Massacre. Yes, it turns out that Hubert Webb was innocent. One thing I never realized was how Judge Cha Moon Sook's actress, Lee Hye Young (who was also Jun Pyo's mother in that abomination called  Boys Over Flowers ) looks a bit like retired judge Amelita G. Tolentino. Yes, Tolentino the very person who presided over the Vizconde Trial. I think Hye Young is a nice person in real life. I heard she had a blast doing her role as a wicked judge.  I have a feeling that Studio Dragon caught wind of the Vizconde Massacre case. Maybe, it's no coincidence that Hye Young was chosen for the role. I bet after many auditions - Hye Young makes a terrifying character real. I bet that during the filming - I guess cast members may have joked, "She looks like you!" to Hye Young. Maybe, the directors had a photograph of Tolentino. Behind the scenes, Hye...

I guess I already have a strange obsession with Korean crime drama now. Okay, Through the Darkness did end around March this year. I only saw it now and I'm thinking about a couple of crime dramas I've watched. Some had sci-fi elements while others bordered on realism. Some of them had a love story attached (ex. Pride and Prejudice ). This one is a fictional story based on the experiences of the first Korean criminal profiler, Kwon Il-Young, and writer Goo Na Mo. Writer Seol Yi Na takes elements from two non-fiction novel and writes this grizzly piece of fiction not for the faint of heart.  Once again, watching Korean K-Drama is more of a taking out of the comfort zone. There's no eye candy (my guilty pleasure). Instead, it's all focused on a somewhat academic approach while telling a fictional story. You have the story of criminal profilers who seek to understand the mind of serial killers. The whole drama is focused on investigation than action. It's a far cry fro...