Pandora (2016): Korean Drama: Disaster Film and Political Thrille

When the government tells the people everything will be alright and what they are doing is good for the country's economy ... DON'T BUY THAT LINE!! That's what all politicians say. They work from a distance. 

Sadly, the person who is working AT the nuclear plant tries to warn the president, the head of the government, that the nuclear plant is not being maintained and that if prompt action is not taken, the result will be disastrous .. IS IGNORED. 

A loyal employee at the nuclear facility prepared a scathing report, identifying problems, and recommending solutions BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! For his concern and due diligence, he is removed from his position and replaced by someone less competent who does whatever he was told to do. 

Long story short, by the time the president realized how grave the situation was at the nuclear power plant, nobody was willing to risk their lives to go inside and fix it! So the president gets on television, informs the nation of the danger, and pleads for volunteers who are willing to go inside the plant and make the necessary repairs.

VOLUNTEER FOR SUICIDE? 

Where are the heroes when you need them?

Main characters:

• Jae-Hyeok (played by Kim Nam-Gil)
• Pyung-Sub (played by Jung Jin-Young)

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Korean Movie: The Berlin File (2013), Action, Spy Thriller

The criminal underworld believes in equal opportunity.  If anyone wants to participate in organized criminal activity, the door is open.

In the case of The Berlin File, the door that opened is now closed because of secrecy needed to conduct an illegal arms exchange taking place between a North Korean, a Russian, and an Arab, in a hotel room in Berlin, Germany. 

Before the transaction can be completed, agents from the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) burst into the room. They tell the North Korean he can leave; they only want the Arab and the Russian guys. 

The North Korean spy tries to leave the scene but a South Korean NIS agent chases after him. He manages to escape but the NIS agent still plans to pursue him. South Korea needs to find a bank account that belonged to the late Korean leader Kim Jung-il. The funds will be used by other countries that aid North Korea. NIS believes the North Korean spy has information about the money. 

Unfortunately, the spy is being betrayed by his own countrymen. They also want to gain access to Kim Jung-il's bank account for their own political agenda and plan to frame him as a traitor. He needs to try to escape from his North Korean comrades. the South Korean NIS, and the other international spy agencies like the Israeli Mossad and the American CIA who are thrown into the “mix”.

He wants to escape with the woman he loves.

Can he escape? Where will he go?

Main Characters:

• North Korean spy Pyo Jong-Sung (played by Ha Jung-Woo, “Narco Saints”)

• South Korean NIS agent Jung Jin-Soo (played by Han Suk-Kyu, “Tree With Deep Roots”).

"The Berlin File" (2013) - #Kdrama #Koreanmovies #Action #Spy #Thriller #moviegems
Exposed during an illegal arms trade gone wrong in Berlin, a North Korean agent tries to flee! But a South Korean agent is on his trail.https://t.co/4zvRO6hfUe via @amazon @goshoppingbees pic.twitter.com/IYOexV1Zo3

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) April 30, 2024

THE UNJUST (2010) ~ Korean Drama Movie Gem

Netflix suggested Unjust (2010) as a gem and I agree. The IMDb Rating: 6.6 out of 10 stars. But my rating for this movie is 9 out of 10 stars. This movie painted a very realistic picture of unjust acts that corrupt civil servants commit in their official line of duty. It was a chilling eye-opener.

The Unjust is an Intense Crime Drama!

The viewer is immediately drawn into the storyline when it starts with televised news reports about a serial killer on the loose, killing young children and mutilating their bodies. The public is justifiably outraged and wants to know why the police have not yet captured this menace to society. Choi Cheol-Gi is assigned to head up the task force and bring this brutal murderer to justice. But instead of finding the real killer, he picks a guy who has served time in prison for sexual assault against a child and presents him to the public as the culprit. WHY? The public will be relieved, the case will be closed, he will be painted as a HERO, and will finally get that promotion.

Not so fast! Prosecutor Joo-Yang eats and plays golf with a wealthy corrupt businessman. When that businessman is arrested for crimes, the prosecutor bends the law to get the charges dropped. He is not exactly a saint. But when he finds out that Choi Cheol-Gi did not catch the real killer, he makes it his mission to expose him. There's bd blood between the two of them.

The truth is these guys abuse their positions of public trust in order to advance their careers. They're both corrupt and unjust. But one of them is … The Unjust. Which one? 

Korean Movie: Remember (2022)

Remember (2022) is categorized as Historical, Thriller, Suspense; and Viki viewers gave it a rating of 9.6 out of 10 stars.  I agree. 

Pil-Ju is an elderly veteran who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. He is beginning to forget but does not want to forget the people who betrayed and destroyed his family during the Japanese occupation. In order to remember, he tattoed their names on his fingers.

Despite their age differences. In-Kyu considers Pil-Ju a trustworthy friend. Pil-Ju offers to pay him to be his chauffeur. In the beginning, he does not know Pil-Ju's backstory. He just thinks it's a driving job. However, when he learns what happened to Pil-Ju's family, he chooses to help him. In-Kyu has his own personal reasons for offering his support to the elderly veteran.

Main Characters:

• Lee Sung-Min plays Pil-Ju, a war veteran suffering from Alzheimer's disease

• Nam Joo-Hyuk plays In-Kyu, a young man who befriends the elderly veteran

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Space Sweepers (2021): Sci-Fi Korean Drama Movie

Space Sweepers is a sci-fi K-drama film, released in 2021, currently streaming on Netflix. 

You do not need much imagination to figure out that it's about people who sweep space collecting junk and debris. There are junkyards on Earth. Why wouldn't there be junkyards in Space?

• PLOT SUMMARY: “The year is 2092, and Earth is borderline uninhabitable, overrun by arid deserts and the dry orange color grading of Blade Runner 2049. Everyone who can afford it has moved off the ruined planet to live in orbit on a seemingly utopian colony named Eden, built and ruled by a megacorporation.” (Quote Source: Space Sweepers review: Netflix sci-fi movie feels like Cowboy Bebop | Polygon)

***

Meet the Victory Team

Tae-ho, Captain Jang, Tiger Park, and an android named Bubs are the crew of space sweepers who find Dorothy. The name of their spaceship is Victory.

In 2092 space debris is like gold or currency. Space sweepers explore space collecting junk and selling it. While exploring some debris to see what they could salvage to sell, a team of space sweepers finds a little girl in the wreckage. They figure she's a missing child and somebody will probably pay handsomely for her to be returned. Seems like a logical deduction.  Only ... 

A Little Girl is Not Debris, But She Can Be a Bomb!

***

Song Joong Ki’s Movie ‘Space Sweepers’ to Possibly Return with Two More Sequels | KDramaStars

Korean Movie Review: Unlocked (2023)

UNLOCKED IS A KOREAN FILM STREAMING ON NETFLIX, RELEASED IN 2023. A YOUNG WOMAN LOSES HER SMARTPHONE.  A SERIAL KILLER FINDS IT AND TURNS HER LIFE INTO A LIVING HELL!

SOMETIMES SMART PEOPLE ARE NOT VERY SMART

Lee Na-Mi (played by Chun Woo-hee, “Love, Lies“) is a female hustler. She’s intelligent, talented, hard-working, has excellent marketing skills, and holds down more than one job. When she’s not working beside her dad in his cafe, she is doing other jobs related to marketing products via social media technology. Like most young people her age, she uses her smartphone FOR EVERYTHING!! Work and play. Her device has loads of photos with friends and family, as well as lots of revealing.text messages. Very revealing. It’s surprising how innocent innocuous casual conversations via text messages reveal a lot about an individual.

Lee Na-Mi is smart but she did something not so smart. She got stupid drunk and in her drunken stupor lost her smartphone.  A serial killer found it.

You can guess what happened next?

READ FULL REVIEW ON POPGEEKS.COM

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018)

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) is the second film based on the webtoon series by Joo Ho-Min. Tibetan Buddhists believe that there is an in-between stage known as the bardo which can take up to 49 days.

The first film was Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds. In the previous film, Su Hong was a vengeful spirit roaming the earth.  In this sequel film, Su Hong (played by Kim Dong Wook), the vengeful spirit has now been taken into the afterlife. He must pass the series of heavenly court trials and prove that he has lived a virtuous life (not counting the time when he was misbehaving as a vengeful spirit).

If he is judged not guilty, he can be reincarnated.

Only ... he does not want to be reincarnated.

But? What will happen if he does not get reincarnated?

That causes a problem for the trio of guardians. Assisting souls and helping them get reincarnated are acts, “good deeds”, that are credited on their records. If they can help a certain number of souls get reincarnated they will also be allowed to reincarnate. They were once human and evidently, because of what they did in their past life, they were unable to prove their worth. So the gods in charge promised they could return to earth as mortals IF …

Su Hong's insistence that he does not want to be reincarnated is complicating matters for them.

But what did they do in their past life? 

Their memories were wiped. So they don't exactly know. In this sequel film, the life story of each guardian is revealed. It turns out there are some differences they need to resolve with each other. Su Hong's heavenly trials and the reconciliation of the relationships between guardians all take place in 49 days.

“Along With The Gods” Director Talks About Series + EXO’s D.O. Confirmed For Third Film | Soompi

• Where to Watch “The Last 49 Days”

Original source

Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds (2017) | Korean Drama That Explores the Afterlife and Reincarnation

Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds, released in 2017, is a film that explores Buddhist beliefs regarding the afterlife and reincarnation.  It is based on the webtoon series by Joo Ho-min.

Kim Ja Hong (played by Cha Tae Hyun, “Brain Works”) is a courageous firefighter who died in the line of duty. When he enters the afterlife he finds himself being escorted by a team of guardians. They inform him that he died and that he must go through seven (7) otherworldly courts. In each court, there are specific things that he has done in his life and he will either be judged innocent or guilty.

The Three Guardians are:

• Hae Won Maek (played by Joo Ji Hoon),
• Gang Rim (played by Ha Jung Woo), and
• Lee Deok Choon (played by Kim Hyang Gi).

They must attend each of his heavenly court trials, sort of as his team of defenders, and present proof that he has lived a virtuous life and therefore he should be reincarnated to live once again in the mortal realm. However, a problem has arisen that is making it difficult to prove his worth. It seems that his brother, Su Hong (played by Kim Dong Wook) has died a wrongful death, and has turned into a vengeful spirit. His brother's ghost is roaming around the earth venting his anger. Some of that anger is directed at Kim Ja Hong. He and his brother need to resolve their difference and reconcile with each other, so the trials can be completed. 

Of course, since Kim Ja Hong is dead and no longer on the earth, it might be hard to get in touch with his brother's spirit which has not left the earth. No worries. The guardians will find a way to bridge the two worlds.

Original source

Where to Watch ~ Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds

Korean Sci-Fi Movie Review: JUNG_E (2023)

JUNG_E is a Korean sci-fi movie, released in 2023, and currently streaming on Netflix. It is set in the post-apocalyptic world in the 22^nd century (the year is 2194) and an institute is working on a special project to create the ultimate soldier who will always win!

JUNG_E is a robot who has been built to resemble “Captain Yun Jung-yi is a legendary mercenary of Allied Forces who led her team to countless successful missions against the Adrian Republic”.

The real soldier, Captain Yun Jung-yi, was injured during a battle and ended up in a coma. Her “consciousness” has been kept alive and a team of scientific researchers have been trying to recreate her by copying her brain data and putting it into android bodies. 

The research team is led by Yun Seo-hyun, the daughter of Captain Yun Jung-yi.  Yun Seo-hyun found out that Kronoid, the institute she worked for, had changed the mission of her project. Instead of creating the perfect soldier for combat, her mother's consciousness was going to be placed into androids who would perform “other tasks”, such as serving as a porn toy to fulfill a person's sexual fantasies.

Yun Seo-hyun is horrified at the thought of her mother being demeaned and comes up with a daring plan to rescue her. 

Read full review on Popgeeks.com.