Begin Again

Rate 8/10

Cast

• Keira Knightley as Gretta James
• Mark Ruffalo as Dan Mulligan
• Hailee Steinfeld as Violet Mulligan
• Adam Levine as Dave Kohl

Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) is a record label producer who didn't produce anything for the last 7 years. He lives separately from his wife and daughter, Violet (Hailee Steinfeld). His failing career and his broken relationship with his family drives him into a wreck.

Gretta James (Keira Knightley), a talented singer and songwriter lives in New York with her boyfriend, Dave Kohl (Adam Levine). Dave, now having a successful career as a singer, tempted by his colleague and ends up cheating. Broken-hearted, Gretta leaves him and intends to leave New York the very next day. But that night, things start to change when she meets Dan. He's entranced by her talent as she's performing on stage. From then on, they start their journey of music.  

I didn't expect much about this movie, I only knew Mark Ruffalo from The Avengers and he doesn't really stand out. But here, he's outstanding. His chemistry with Keira Knightley is perfect. Every scene seems so natural and beautifully entangled in this movie. The soundtrack is wonderful and Lost Stars sounds like old Maroon 5 songs which is amazing. Honestly, nowadays, Maroon 5 sounds more like those shitty EDM than a band. I always thought romance movie without comedy would be very dull, but Begin Again shows me that it's not. It was so great that I got a little disappointed when it comes to an end, I want more! Definitely recommended. 

  

Image source: http://www.movie2free.com/wp-content/uploads/thumb/BeginAgain.jpg

Focus

Rate 7.1/10

Cast

• Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon
• Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett
• Rodrigo Santoro as Garriga

Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie), an amateur swindler, tries her luck by tricking Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith). Failing miserably, she finds out that Nicky is a very skilled con artist himself. Jess finally joins in Nicky's crew of professional swindlers and soon becomes romantically involved with him. Nicky, thinking that involving her too far will bring no good, let her go after they catch a big fish. Three years later, they meet again and things get complicated. 

The plot of the movie is nice, though a little bit predictable. Some scenes move too fast, others too slow. There isn't much action for an action movie. The characters, the plot, the  scenes, everything seems to be neither very good nor very bad. It lacks something, it feels like there's no soul in the movie. You watch it, you enjoy it, but you're gonna forget it right away. It's not the kind of movie which you'll be excitedly talk with your friends about it. It's good, but not that good.       

Image source:

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Ladda Land (The Lost Home)

Rate 7/10

Cast

• Saharat Sangkapreecha as Thee
• Piyathida Woramusik as Parn
• Sutatta Udomsilp as Nan
• Athipich Chutiwatkajornchai as Nat

Thee (Saharat Sangkapreecha), a father of two, finds a new job in Chiang Mai. He moves from Bangkok with his family to a new house in Ladda Land, a beautiful housing estate with large houses and a lively neighborhood. His wife and son are happy to move in the new house, but it's the exact opposite for his daughter, Nan (Suttata Udomsilp). She's upset for leaving Bangkok and her friends despite her father's effort to make her happy. Everything's going well until they find out that their neighborhood is not as ordinary as it seems.

A horror movie with a hint of drama. The beginning is a little bit slow and keeeps me wondering 'Is it really a horror movie?'. But worry not, as the story progress, terrifying events start to unveil and it finally shows its real story. It's good, frightening, without lots of jump-scare from the ghosts. The only flaw is that there are some weird events which unexplained until the end of the movie (e.g. the robber). Overall, it's good but it might be not good enough for horror movie fans who look for a constant fear. 

    

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/Laddaland-poster.jpg

Ex-Girlfriend Club

Rate 7.1/10

Cast

• Song Ji Hyo as Kim Soo Jin
• Byun Yo Han as Bang Myeong Soo
• Lee Yoon Ji as Jang Hwa Young
• Jang Ji Eun as Na Ji Ah
• Hwa Young as Ra Ra
• Do Sang Woo as Joo  Gun

Episodes: 12

Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo) is a producer in a failing film production company. Trying to save the company from bankruptcy, she decides to produce a movie based on a popular webtoon. The webtoon tells the story of the writer's past relationships with his ex-girlfriends. Soo Jin is surprised to find out that the webtoon artist is her very own ex-boyfriend, Bang Myeong Soo (Byun Yo Han). When the movie production starts, Soo Jin ultimately has to face Myeong Soo and his three ex-girlfriends.

• Na Ji Ah (Jang Ji Eun), a calm and composed widow who runs a restaurant and seems like she still has some feelings left for Myeong Soo.

• Jang Hwa Young (Lee Yoon Ji), a fierce and successful business woman who doesn't want her fiancee to ever find out about her ex or her extreme behavior if the movie comes out.  

  

• Ra Ra (Hwa Young), a young and sexy third-rate actress who wants to get a role in the movie no matter what it takes.

When these three meet, all hell breaks loose.

I love this kinds of drama the most, romance with lots of comedies through the episodes. I have a high expectation, but it's not that good. Granted there were funny moments, but some parts are draggy look forced somehow. Song Ji Hyo looks too old for the male lead (she's better in Emergency Couple) and I feel no chemistry between the main characters. The three ex-girlfriends steal the spotlight from the lead characters. It's good that they ended it at 12 episodes, otherwise it would be too boring. There are too many cliche scenes, the piggy back ride, two guys chasing the same girl, the way it takes a really loooong time just to say "I love you". Those scenes make me cringe the most. It's still enjoyable, but it didn't live up to my expectation.   

Image source: 

http://www.allkpop.com/upload/2015/04/af_org/Song-Ji-Hyo_1428643384_af_org.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1b91f700c01dfe320e8bc4090ec1fe1e/tumblr_nqbx89Um931rbk489o1_500.jpg

http://www.soompi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/lee-yoon-ji.jpg

http://www.allkpop.com/upload/2015/06/af_org/hwayoung_1434566417_af_org.jpg

We Broke Up

Rate 7.4/10

Cast

• Kang Seung Yoon as Ji Won Yeong
• Sandara Park as No Woo Ri
• Kang Seung Hyun as Yoon Ni Na
• Jang Ki Yong as Seo Hyeon Woo

Episodes: 10

No Woo Ri (Sandara Park), fell in love at the first sight with Ji Won Yeong (Kang Seung Yoon) who was performing with his band in a cafe. They started to date but things didn't go as planned, they broke up. Now, hating each other, they don't want to live in the same house anymore. But both of them are broke, they're forced to live under the same roof. Things get complicated when a senior, Seo Hyeon Woo (Jang Ki Yong) makes a move to Woo Ri, knowing she's already broke up. And Yoon Ni Na (Kang Seung Hyun) shows interests in Won Yeong. Will they be able to move on with their feelings still attached somehow?

This drama is light and very short, you can watch the entire episodes in one sitting (each episode is about 15 minutes long). Hilarious yet heartbreaking in some parts. Kang Seung Yoon shows a pretty good acting despite him being a singer, the same goes to Sandara Park. I immediately fall in love with the soundtrack, they're singers after all, they sound so good and the song fits the drama nicely. The down side is some of the jokes are connected to the actors in real life (e.g. the appearance of Sandara's brother), you won't understand unless you know the actors beforehand. But for a fan of Sandara and Kang Seung Yoon, it must be really entertaining. 

  

Image source: http://www.koreandrama.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/We-Broke-Up-01.jpg

Dead Poets Society

Rate 7.9/10

Cast

• Robin Williams as John  Keating
• Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry
• Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson
• Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet
• Gale hanson as Charlie Dalton
• Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron
• Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks
• James Waterston as Gerard Pitts

Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), a shy teenager, starts his senior year in Welton Academy, a prestigious school. His father expects him to be just like his older brother, one of the bests students in Welton Academy. There he meets Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), a straight A's student and a popular boy with a lot of friends. On their first English class, they meet John Keating (Robin Williams), the new English teacher who stirs their curiosity by his unusual way of teaching. Later they find out that John Keating was also a student in Welton Academy and he was a part of a club called Dead Poets Society. Neil, along with Todd and the other boys, restarts the club secretly. 

I watched this movie a few weeks ago, and it was intriguing. It's interesting to see the culture and the way of living in the 1950s. The adults are very strict to the point of depressing for the youths. But I do admire the way they respect the elders and it was fascinating to see, it's very rare for us to see those kind of young people nowadays. I find the movie itself is beautiful and it makes reciting poems looks appealing somehow (I find poetry to be boring honestly). I definitely recommend this movie.

   

Image source: http://img5a.flixcart.com/image/av-media/movies/k/s/z/dead-poets-society-original-imads6sghujjmgr5.jpeg

Nobunaga Concerto

Rate 7.8/10

Cast

• Shun Oguri as Nobunaga Oda / Saburo / Mitsuhide Akechi
• Kou Shibasaki as Kichou
• Osamu Mukai as Tsuneoki Ikeda
• Takayuki Yamada as Denjiro Tahara
• Kaho as Yuki

Episodes: 11

Saburo (Shun Oguri) is a fainthearted high school boy who always runs away when he faces a trouble. One day, he accidentally time travels to the Sengoku Era, where wars between nations are everyday occurence. There, he meets Nobunaga Oda, the son of a warlord and magistrate of the lower Owari Province, who looks just like him. Nobunaga then asks Saburo to take his place. Saburo, not realizing that he's already traveled back in time, accepts his request. Problems arises when he finds out that a lot of people are after Nobunaga;s head.

Shun Oguri and Takayuki Yamada reunites after Crows Zero, great casts for a drama alongside other great actors. The plot is quite simple but the amazing casts really make this drama stands out. Most of the episodes are hilarious with a hint of action. This story shows us the reality of life in Sengoku Era where deaths and wars are considered normal, but in a hilarious way. Although some parts are a little bit heartbreaking, this drama still hold its comedy base. The only weakness of this is the cliffhanger at the end, it desperately needs season two.

Image source: http://aramajapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/aramajapan_ogurishun.jpg