23 May, 2016

[Movie] The Man From Nowhere

[Movie] The Man From Nowhere




This 2010 Korean movie threatens to be a run-of-the-mill action movie, but manages to create its own identity. The sameness is how it shows most of its bad guys, and there are plenty, as one dimensionally evil. There are children who are put in harm's way, but not gratuitously--for the most part--providing the hero with a chance to be human.

This is an action film and it does not disappoint on that level. Some of it is pretty brutal, but by the finale you will most likely feel that everyone gets what they deserve and, if anything, a few deserved more. This is because they manage to build characters we care about with out slowing down too much. The pacing is nicely done with properly placed comic moments as well. Some of the humor was a bit dark, which was also nice.

What surprised me was how much I cared for the main characters. The child was sweet but not overly so.

There are cruel moments in the film but the film itself did not feel cruel. That is why I liked it. So often films are either mindless, or mean-spirited, and this one avoided these pit-falls.

2010: (8th) Korean Film Awards – November 18
Best Actor: Won Bin
Best New Actress: Kim Sae-ron (only 10 years old at the time)
Best Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
Best Lighting: Lee Cheol-oh
Best Editing: Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum
Best Visual Effects: Park Jung-ryul (for action scenes)
Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung




08 May, 2016

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day


A collection of videos I felt were appropriate for Mother's Day. Some are short films, while some are actually very well done commercials that mention no product or service till the last second. These are all subtitled, but guaranteed to give you 'feels'.


Unconditional love. Based on a true story.


Previous video is part of what was a trilogy of stories. All 3 stories are here:


My Mom's A Liar


Two young boys go on a journey to find the one boy's Mom


Journey of a 63 year old mother travelling 4 days to see her daughter


Mom's sacrifices


Great Care starts with Small Bites