My picks for entertainment ~ suggested movies, TV shows, music, and books ~ so you can enjoy some quality ME time! (ATTN Korean drama addicts! This blog has lots of K-drama love.)
“There Will Be Blood” (2007) is a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis. He won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
If you are a fan, then you will love the actor but you will hate the character he played. Oh my! What a horrible awful awful man!! You never want to meet someone like that in real life! If you know someone like that then surely you must go in the opposite direction every time it looks like you're going cross paths. If I were keeping a list of movies I hate, this film would be at the top of the list. I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!
If you are a loyal fan of Daniel Day-Lewis (Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis) then you have probably seen this movie. It’s not a recent film. It was released 10+ years ago. The movie is “There Will Be Blood”.
I don’t care for all of the movies where Daniel Day-Lewis is the star, even if he is a “Sir”. But I do know that he always gives 200% whenever he gives a performance.
This film won 2 Oscars. One award was for Best Achievement in Cinematography: Robert Elswit. The other was given to Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
He was good! He played his part well. He was so good that I HATED HIM!!
I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!
If I met any of those people in real life I would run away from them!
I only liked 2 characters: the adopted son (of Daniel Day-Lewis) and the girl he fell in love with.
As for the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis and that preacher he was always butting heads with?
I HATED BOTH OF THEM! I HATED THEIR GUTS!!
So was there blood? If you have not seen the movie, I don’t want to spoil it for but … yeah! Blood was definitely shed.
Sean Fennessey, a writer for The Ringer, a publication that covers sports, pop culture, and tech, provided a succinct description of this film in his movie review:
Never crawl out? Never??
What a relief to know that it was just a movie and not a historical account of real events.
So relax. If you are pursuing the American dream … dream on!
Did you know that sunflowers turn to follow the sun? In Greek mythology, a young nymph fell in love with the sun god Apollo. What do you think the gods did to her? It's a tragic love story. The movie "Sunflower" which stars Sophia Loren is also a tragic love story. Where to Watch.
But the sunflower has more than one love story.
Do you enjoy old movies?Are you also a fan of Sophia Loren? If so, you may have already seen this film, but if you haven't, it comes highly recommended. (That means my husband liked it! ☺) It's a very moving love story about a newly wedded couple. The woman's husband went to war and did not return home. Even though others tell her he is probably dead, she believes her husband is alive and sets out to prove it."In the Soviet Union, Giovanna visits the sunflower fields, where there is supposedly one flower for each fallen Italian soldier, and where the Germans forced the Italians to dig their own mass graves." (Quote Source) That's it! No spoilers. That's all you'll get out of me, except to say that, this movie would make a great addition to your personal video library. Ms. Loren has starred in many movies that just didn't enough publicity or airtime. This is one of them.
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.
Fans of Monica Belluci will likely agree that this was her best film ever! It's the most touching love story about true genuine everlasting love and about how hateful people can be really cruel to an innocent woman who has done them no wrong.
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: 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.
An excellent review and comparison of two war movies both named "Midway". One released in 1976 with a powerful cast of stars including Charlton Heston and his contemporaries, released in 1976. Per the reviewer: "a messy mix of history and melodrama that aimed for historical accuracy but muddled it". Ouch! The remake released in 2019. The cast? Not nearly as impressive. Per the reviewer: "Casual viewers will probably enjoy it; it is, after all, a film about one of the most famous U.S. victories of World War II; ... History buffs, though, will find more that is foul than fair in Midway." Uh-huh. I'm thinking that's not a compliment. According to the movie reviewer Alex Diaz-Granados, it doesn't matter who the actors were, both films were disappointing. Quite frankly, I am very sorry to read this kind of review of a war movie. US military/war movies are for the express purpose of stoking one's patriotic fervor. It makes no sense to make a war movie that sucks! (O.o) There are veterans still alive who survived World War II. If they watch such movies, what must they think? Eh! It is what it is. It's a movie! If you want historical facts on record, you should probably watch a documentary. I suppose if you just want to be entertained you should add either film to your Watch List. But it's unlikely that you'll feel like jumping up and singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic when you get to The End.
On this list my favorite actress is Number 10. Kim Yoo Jung.
She has been acting since she was a child and I like to call her the “Korean Shirley Temple” because her acting skills, even from when she was a little girl was impressive. No surprise she has grown up in the business and they still offer her parts. I have seen her in many series and movies and even when she played a support role or a small part, I still liked her. She comes across as being a beautiful person, both inside and out. Just to name a few of the roles that I remember her from:
* Tamra Island
* Dong Yi
* Iljimae
* Love in the Moonlight
* Moon Embracing the Sun
Most recently, she starred in A Viki Original Series, “Lovers of the Red Sky”. (I published a review on Read.Cash. )
Although Mission Kashmir was released more than 20 years ago, it's still a good movie. If you have not watched it you should add it to your watch list.
This is a quick movie review/recommendation of an Indian film starring some of Bollywood’s finest: Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, and others. The name of this film is "Mission Kashmir". My alternate title for this movie is “Crayons and a Pink House”.
When Divyansh Pandey picked this topic to write about, he probably did not realize it but he picked a part of the world to write about that is of interest to me. His description of this wonderland is both charming and sad. In one instance, he calls Kashmir the “Switzerland of India” but in the title of his post, he calls this place “The Bleeding Heaven”. Extracted some profound and thought-provoking statements from the short article written by Mr. Pandey:
“Kids are picked up from school by militants and brainwashed to fight against India. For them, Its like ‘Born in Heaven brought up in hell’.”
(NOTE: The site where the article was published was shut down and I have been unable to find an online copy of the content republished elsewhere on the web.)
My interest in Kashmir developed after watching a film that was released in 2000 called “Mission Kashmir”. It was very sobering and there were two sentences or phrases that played over and over in my mind long after the movie had ended.
Movie Quote 1: “Were you dreaming of a pink house?”
Movie Quote 2: “… placing carbines instead of crayons in the hands of innocent children …”
Please bear in mind that my nationality is American, so my perspectives are that of an outsider. For me, the fragile thread of humanity extends all around the world and can so easily be snapped at any point. Kashmir, in my humble opinion, is one of those points.
A great movie! If you have not seen it, you should add it to your watch list.
♦
References:
Pandey, D. (2015, June 15). Kashmir: The bleeding Heaven – Bubblews. Retrieved from: bubblews.com/posts/kashmir-the-bleeding-heaven (Article unpublished.)
Shaikh, Mohammed Uzair. (2016, July 17). Tale of Kashmir: Who is entitled to the ‘bleeding heaven’ –India or Pakistan? – India. Retrieved from http://www.india.com/news/india/tale-of-kashmir-who-is-entitled-to-the-bleeding-heaven-india-or-pakistan-1337197/
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 22nd
century (the year is 2194) and an institute is working on a special
project to create the ultimate soldier who will always win!
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.
If you are making a list of greatest war movies, The Dirty Dozen (1967) has to go on that list. All-star cast. All-star action! “The Dirty Dozen” is a war movie classic.
Traditionally, in the United States, around Independence Day (4th of July), Memorial Day (celebrated the last Monday in May), Veterans Day (November 11), etc. television stations air military movies that are supposed to foster American patriotism. At one time FoxNews.com published a list of “The 30 Greatest War Movies of All Time”. Some of the movies I picked were on their list. Some were not. But they're still on my list for great war movies.
The Dirty Dozen (1967) is one of them.
This is a great movie about 12 convicts being given a second chance to start life over if they serve their country on a military mission and of course if they survive. I still enjoy it every time I watch it. These two lines are the ones I still remember.
*** (Background for the scene: There was an obvious commotion coming from the room; the definite sound of men fighting, or rather … settling their differences in the only way men know how.)
- Sergeant Clyde Bowren: [as Major Reisman exits the room ] : Whats going on, sir?
- Major John Reisman: Oh, the gentleman from the South had a question about the dining arrangements. He and his comrades are discussing place settings now.
*** Cracked up (laughed) when the major said that. Some say the movie Inglorious Basterds was inspired by this movie. Well it may have been inspired but it was nowhere near as good as this classic starring some of my favorite actors: Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Jim Brown, to name a few. They tried to do sequels but they are not as good as the original.
No argument that it's a classic. But some say the movie “Inglourious Basterds” was inspired by this movie. Inspired? Perhaps. Better than? Not even close!! Have no doubt Quentin Tarantino, the Director of "Inglorious Basterds", would say "Amen!" to my comparison. This classic film starred some of my favorite actors: Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Jim Brown, to name a few.
In America, the word “icon” is often applied to a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of society and culture and worthy of honor or great respect. Many celebrities or movie stars are often described as icons. If you were judging them based solely on their public persona, you would approve of them as “representative symbols”. If you were to include details about their private lives as reported, they might not be considered “iconic”.
Not
On My List
Any list I make ignores the private lives of the celebrities. Have you ever made your own list of iconic female celebrities? Madonna, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga might be on your list. Not on my list. I’m old school. Many of the
glamorous movie stars from back in my day (“my day” meaning the 50s,
60s, and 70s) are no longer with us. A few years ago, at one of my blogs, I published my unofficial top ten list of female celebrities that in my humble opinion were “iconic”. My Top 10 List of Iconic Female Celebrities
If you review my list (referenced above) you will note that my favorite movie star, Elizabeth Taylor, is not on my list. That's because I think she is iconic; legendary, and deserves her own spotlight. So I published a separate blog post.
Beauty / Elegance / Grace / Style / Commanding Presence - is communicated both verbally and nonverbally, she was amazing, Elizabeth Taylor. Beautiful eyes in picture 1. Pic. 3 where I first saw her as Velvet Brown in National Velvet 1944. Pic. 4 Liz as a young girl in London. pic.twitter.com/XdYf5vEDJM
Numerous documentaries have been aired on television or via the
Internet about Ms. Taylor’s life and film career and I have watched too many of them to count. In discussing her significant films, one of the documentaries failed to mention ALL of my favorite Taylor movies. I
have 3 favorite films and 2 out of the 3 movies on my faves list were not even mentioned. No matter. I’ll mention them now.
Below
are the three motion pictures which starred Elizabeth Taylor that
made a lasting impression on me, along with the memorable quotes.
They are classic or vintage movies now, and they are worthy of being
included in America’s cinematic history and legacy.
National Velvet 1944, her 1st starring role. Perfect in every way! Her faith and determination in a horse to win the race in a big way. She even cut off her hair. A Life's lesson film. pic.twitter.com/hivunUjv3g
♦ National Velvet (1944) This was the story of a young girl who believed in her dream. She loved her horse named “Pi” and she believed that she and Pi could compete in a horse race for professionals. She was an unqualified jockey with no experience or training, and Pi had not been tested. It didn’t matter. She knew in her heart that they could and would win!
“ …
by
knowing the Pi can win and telling him so!”
“Oh
mother! Were we the best that we could be?”
♦
Giant (1956)
This movie is a love story. A girl from the east married an oil millionaire from Texas. She had to make adjustments to her new lifestyle and married life had its difficulties. She loved her husband and he loved her back like vinegar on greens.
“Well, we Texans like a little bit of vinegar in our greens. It gives them flavor.”
{NOTE: This is what Jordan Benedict (played by Rock Hudson) said to his wife, Leslie Benedict (Elizabeth Taylor’s character). It’s the line
etched in my memory.}
♦
Cleopatra (1963)
The title is the name of the famous Egyptian queen who loved two powerful men, the Roman emperor Julius Caesar and a Roman politician and general, Mark Antony. These romantic liaisons were for love and for lust. She desired power. The rest of her story is history.
12 June 1963. Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor in the title role, premiered in New York City. pic.twitter.com/UolQGHAxRZ
— Professor Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 12, 2016
“How
DARE you and the rest of your barbarians set fire to my library? Play
conqueror all you want, Mighty Caesar! Rape, murder, pillage
thousands, even millions of human beings! But neither you nor any
other barbarian has the right to destroy one human thought!”
♦
In
Memory Of: Elizabeth Taylor (1932 -2011)
Is
Elizabeth Taylor on your list of favorite actresses and do you have a
favorite Liz Taylor film?
I usually watch K-drama TV series. But I found a Korean drama movie to watch called “Love, Lies” (2016).
WARNING!! DO NOT watch this movie if you don’t want to be bummed out!
I got addicted to Korean drama 5+ years ago. So I know K-dramas always have a love triangle. It’s expected. However, this is the saddest, most painful, most sorrowful, and most tragic love triangle I have ever seen IN MY LIFE! (And I have watched a lot of sad love stories over the years.)
Two young Korean girls ~ Jung So-yul (played by Han Hyo-joo), and Seo Yeon-hee (played by Chun Woo-hee) ~ who have beautful voices were raised to be “artists”. (That’s what they were told. One of them found out later that they were just beautified to be “artful prostitutes” for the Japanese men.)
One young Korean man ~ Kim Yoon-woo (played by Yoo Yeon-seok0 ~ who is a song-writer. But he writes popular songs for the common people ~ “Joseon’s Heart”. Not the traditional music (jeongga, or classical Korean songs) the girls have been trained to sing for the upper class Korean society and the Japanese occupiers.
Kim Yoon-woo says he is in love with one girl but then he meets her best friend. You might want to call the guy “a jive turkey”. But as the relationships develop, you almost feel like … he didn’t really do anything wrong.
WHY? I always say that if you are in a relationship, it is best that you find out BEFORE you get married that you don’t want to be in that relationship. No matter how much it may hurt the other person, you really should not marry somebody that you don’t love. Because that means two (2) people will be miserable in the relationship. Break it off before you marry so that the other person can … maybe … find someone else to be happy with.
I won’t tell you details of how this story unfolds but it was so so so so so so so so so so so so … painful!!
Half of the time I was watching the movie, one part of my mind kept telling me … Look away! You don’t want to see The End. The other part of my mind was saying … Look! You gotta know what happens in The End.
I watched it until The End and my heart was breaking for all three of them!
The cruelty that resulted from a woman’s bitterness, anger, and jealousy …?? I searched for one word to describe the things she did to get her revenge. But I came up with two words. INSANELY VICIOUS!!
By the end of the movie, I was totally shattered.
Many reviewers praised the movie; and I wholeheartedly agree with those reviews. I thought the acting was superb! In addition to the stellar acting by the three (3) main characters, this movie also gets my 5 star rating for: the music, the scenery, and the costumes. Especially, the traditional Hanbok clothing and the modern westernized clothing that both ladies wore. In every outfit, they were both gorgeous and extremely stylish. Their hairstyles whether long hair or short hair were beautiful!!
Also, I really liked the album covers. Both ladies released an album with them singing and the artwork for both album covers is incredible! I wouldn’t mind buying an art print.
In fact, that’s how the movie begins. Some people found an old record album and wanted to know the whole story behind it. (Kind of like that popular American movie “Titanic” (1997) where they found that art portrait and wanted to know who the woman was.)
The majority of reviewers gave this movie 4.8 stars out of 5. I agree.
NOTE: There is one thing I am curious about in this movie. Maybe my readers can enlighten me. The red and blue parasols given to the artists when they completed their training? Is that historical fact or historical fiction?
Are you a fan of Tommy Lee Jones? Many people know him for his comedic role in “Men in Black“ (1997). He co-starred with Will Smith and they were a team tasked with the responsibility of ridding of the world of bad aliens. He was an adorable good guy.
By contrast, Mr. Jones can also be a really scary bad guy. In the movie “The Executioner’s Song”, he was a heartless cold-blooded killer! Ever saw this movie? Remember that scene where he robbed the gas station and what he did to the gas station attendant? He was a very convincing bad guy. So convincing that he earned an Emmy Award.
There are some actors who, in my opinion, can only play good guys. Tommy Lee Jones can be either good or bad. But I prefer him as a good guy. I really liked him in “The Fugitive” (1993) with Harrison Ford and the sequel, “U.S. Marshals” (1998), where he was paired with Wesley Snipes. I also liked him as the villain Two-Face, in “Batman Forever” (1995).
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Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (Sep 9, 1967), known by his fans as Akshay Kumar, is “an Indian-born Canadian actor” (per Wikipedia) and a Bollywood superstar. He makes great movies and I always love him when he is cast as the good guy.
According to the Times of India, “Akshay Kumar entered the film industry as an action hero, but proved his mettle at comic as well as romantic roles.”
I agree 100%. I have watched several of his films and Akshay Kumar can do action hero, comic and romantic roles, all-around good guy. But I refuse to accept him in a bad guy role. No. No! NO!! Absolutely not!
He played a gangster in the gangster film “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!”. He wasn’t one of the bad guys. He was The Big Bad Guy, in charge of all of the other bad guys. Sorry, but in my humble opinion, he was not suited for this role. He should have been cast as one of law enforcement people trying to catch the bad guys. It was a good movie but … Mr. Kumar as a bad guy? No way!
By contrast, I watched another one of his films, “Rustom”, because it was on a list of best 2016 Hindi films and he was fantastic! Not only was he the good guy, but you’ll appreciate the fact that the movie was based on a true story.
If you are not familiar with this actor, start by watching the two films mentioned and then you decide. Good Guy or Bad Guy? I am confident you will agree with me.
No doubt there are tons of Pierce Brosnan fans out there.
But how do you like to see him cast? Good guy or bad guy?
Me? Mr. Brosnan absolutely must be a good guy.
I have seen him trying to play a bad guy and sorry to say … it just did not suit him.
I have been a Brosnan fan since his first appearance in the television series “Remington Steele” (1982 – 1987). Perhaps it wasn’t his first gig. But it was the first time I ever saw his face. He worked side by side with Stephanie Zimbalist and instantly won me over, not just with charming and dashing good looks. Although that was one of his assets that had a major influence on me liking him.
When looking for movies to watch, if his name shows up, nine times out of ten, it goes on my watch list. Must admit not all of his movies were award-winning films, but if he was supposed to be a bad guy, it ended up being a disappointment for me.
Another disappointment? Didn’t really like him as James Bond. But I blame the scriptwriters. Not him. Besides … Sean Connery is the only real James Bond.
* * *
Links of Interest:
Image Credit: Hargrove, Jason. P Pierce Brosnan Filming for Married Life in Gastown, Vancouver, Canada. 2006. Vancouver. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/salty_soul/210357605
StayTuned TV. “Remington Steele – Trailer .” Watch Online video clip. https://youtu.be/rhVc-7bQRr8 YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 7 Oct 2015. Web.
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No argument that it's a classic. But some say the movie “
