Cyborg She (2008)

Absolutely amazing science fiction romcom about a beautiful female cyborg sent from the year 2070 by her creator Jiro, back to the year 2008 to assist his younger self and change some things in the past. I loved this movie. It’s got plenty of very funny moments in it. The director’s inventive humour and storytelling delivers quite a satisfying and entertaining movie. While some of the comedy may border on the silly, I found myself laughing at a lot of the visual gags. The mood though changes from comedy to drama as a major disaster hits Tokyo. You might even shed yourself a tear or two by the end. The special effects in general were fun to watch, and the whole movie was nicely paced. Ayase Haruka is alluring and cute in her role as the future cyborg. She makes for a likable if but somewhat stiff heroine. Koide Kesuke is also likable as Jiro. Their love story begins in typical awkward fashion but soon develops into a sweet romance thanks to their nice and controlled performances.

Running just shy of 2 hours, Cyborg Girl is an enjoyable sci-fi fantasy that will have audiences hooked from the start and invested in the romance between the attractive leads. While some may find the story a bit melodramatic and the humour a tad forced, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Train Man (2005)

More popularly known as Densha Otoko. Based on a supposed true story about a twentysomething computer nerd who finds himself in an unfamiliar role as “protector” when he ends up saving a woman from the advances of a drunken salaryman on a commuter train. The young woman finds herself somewhat attracted to the man that saved her. A complete moron when it comes to the ladies, this young computer freak would rather stay in his fantasy land of anime, manga, toys, and computer games than face the real world. Thus, when faced with the proposition of dating this new woman, he goes online where known as “Train Man” he turns to his anonymous chatroom pals for support, asking for tips on what just exactly he should do to win this woman’s heart.

This romantic movie is really enjoyable with some good performances from the cast but I really do prefer the drama series as the story is fleshed out a bit more. By all means take a look at the movie but I would definitely recommend watching the drama series more than this.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 out of 5

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My Little Bride (2004)

Boeun is an ordinary high school girl who worries about grades and has a crush on her school’s baseball team ace, Jungwoo. One day, Boeun’s grandfather orders her to marry Sangmin because of a pact he made with Sangmin’s grandfather during the Korean War. Despite their opposition, they are forced to marry because of Boeun’s grandfather’s strong influence. Boeun’s undercover married life begins: She pretends that she doesn’t have a husband and starts dating Jungwoo. Boeun believes that she can manage both men and live a double life. Everything goes smoothly until Sangmin visits Boeun’s school as a student teacher!!

I loved this superb romantic comedy. Moon Geun-Yeong is charming, sweet and adorable. Just watch the silly facial expressions she does in this movie. The chemistry she had with Kim Rae Won was really great and they looked good together as a couple. The climax gives you a fantastic feel-good warmth inside you. Packed with plenty of comedy, I highly recommend this movie.

Sadako’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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My Tutor Friend (2003)

Su-wan is a student at college and works part-time as a tutor to cover her tuition since her father lost his job and started a small chicken eatery. Tutoring is a tough job, especially since those being tutored are more curious about what’s underneath her skirt than what’s in the books. It’s been only 7 days since she started teaching her new student, and already she’s been sacked. “No tutoring, no tuition,” declares her mother to make sure she understands she has no choice. So Su-wan is back on the market, and meets her next challenge — the impossible, the unconquerable and the unreformable Ji-hoon.

He’s the eldest son of a wealthy upstart. At school, he’s a well-known fighter and the king of troublemakers. And what’s more, he’s repeating his senior year for the third time. Ji-hoon, who boasts such an impressive school record, becomes a very unwilling student of Su-wan, who’s the same age but in college. She is flabbergasted by his careless manners and speech, and his incessant smoking during the lesson. Extremely tempted to quit, Su-wan is determined not to lose this job since she doesn’t want to disappoint her Mom. Then things start happening for the pair…..

One of the best Korean rom coms that’s been made. Loved everything about it especially Kim Ha Neul. The dynamic between the characters is enjoyable, and will likely charm most people who’re looking for a fun movie. Definitely one to check out.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 out of 5

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Too Beautiful To Lie (2004)

An ex-con accidentally comes into possession of a family heirloom engagement ring soon after her parole. She lifted it from the actual thief, but was unable to return it to rightful owner Choi Hee-Chul. She instead journeys to his rural hometown and tries to return it to his family, but thanks to a variety of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and general silliness, his family comes to believe that she’s his fiancee. Even worse, the story becomes that she’s pregnant, and wants her to have an abortion. When Hee-Chul arrives with his real girlfriend following shortly thereafter, sparks of epic proportions are guaranteed to fly.

A wonderful Korean romcom that works well due to the awesome actress Kim Ha Neul. She totally carries the movie. Such a sweet storyline. Two thumbs up from me.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Lovely Complex (2006)

Very enjoyable live movie done anime style of a mismatched duo (a tall girl and a short boy) that are friends but are afraid of ruining what they’ve got if they fall for each other. Japanese rom coms are a lot of fun and this one is no different. If you like this kind of genre, Lovely Complex will hit all the right buttons for you. I thought it was great.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Please Teach Me English (2003)

Unlucky in love and in life female public office employee Na Young-ju is nominated to enrol at an English class so that she can deal with all the foreign people as there is nobody that can speak with them. It is there she meets the shallow Park Moon-su, a cocky shoe shop worker who thinks that he’ll be able to pick up any women with English chat-up lines and be able to communicate better with his sister who lives in New York. Na Young-ju who is nicknamed Candy in the class falls for him but Park Moon-su (nicknamed Elvis) only has eyes for his Australian classroom teacher Cathy. Will true love prevail for Candy?

A great little Korean rom-com. Na-yeong Lee is hilarious as Candy who struggles to learn English. It’s rather predictable as you’ll have a feeling that both Candy and Elvis will end up together in the end but it’s still a rather funny movie The two leading roles have a great chemistry with each other. The director also implements some cartoons highlighting what Candy thinks of herself and the people around her which I thought was a nice touch. As with other Korean comedies you’ve got to have a dramatic sub-plot and this has one about a family being split apart due to them being poor. If you’re after a fun movie to watch then this comes recommended with plenty of laughs in it.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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