DigitalRev TV: Cameras, light & action

For the past few months, I have been researching seriously about what DSLR camera I should get. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a DSLR for over a year. I’ve been learning a bit about the mechanics of a camera and lenses, TLR, SLR, mirrorless, ¾, full frame. But I'm still having great difficulty on deciding what I want.

In terms of cameras, my family has always owned a canon camera – we use to shoot on film. Then I got 2 canon point and shoot cameras, the ixus and ixy. I love my canon cameras; it’s easy to use, produces great colored pictures, has some nice art filters. So naturally, I would stay loyal to the brand and get a canon DSLR like the 60D, 600D right?

Well, that’s what I initially thought. After going to camera stores and picking the brains of experts, my friends and watching DigitalRev TV my mind has changed some what.

Let me tell you about DigitalRev TV, well it’s a show about cameras. It’s one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen, I’m absolutely obsessed with the show now. Think of UK’s TV show Top gear but instead of featuring cars, the show features cameras. Like Top Gear, DigitalRev TV has 3 hosts: Kai, Lok and Alamby.

Kai is the frontman of the show, his humor is similar to Jeremy Clarkson’s – it’s blunt and he comes up with some classic one liners. In one video he referred to Justin Bieber as a singing foetus. His humor is bloody brilliant.

From the show I learnt that Canon cameras are large plastic things and the lenses are cheap plastic. Olympus OMD M-5 has a magnesium alloy body with weather sealing. All the features of the SLR are in a more compact size in the OMD M-5. The smaller camera is more ideal for the traveler. Currently I'm leaning towards the Olympus M5, but I shall ponder a tiny bit longer about it. I want to be 100% happy with my purchase.

Back to DigitalRev TV, some of my favourite moments include Kai and Lok painting DSLR cameras (they are not cheap) PINK! Such as a canon 600D, Nikon D7000 even a Leica M8 camera!!! I enjoyed their smoke photography tutorial (let me mention they nearly burnt the apartment down!! Don't worry, they had a bucket of water lying nearby LOL!)

I’ve posted one of my fave DigitalRev episodes below, check it out =) This is where they just abuse a canon 7D camera to test out its durability. You'll be surprise at how much the 7D could handle.

SBS Bollywood Star

My new fave Aussie show this year is 'Bollywood Star'. This delightfully entertaining family show is on the search to find  Bollywood's next superstar in Australia.

In this 4 part series, contestants go through a grueling audition process to discover who has the talent, star quality, appeal to succeed in Bollywood.

A diverse group of contestants of different backgrounds went to Sydney to dazzle the judges. Amongst the good, the bad and the ugly auditions, the judges uncovered remarkable talent that shined through the crowd.

In the second episode (aired 9th June), the contestant pool was narrowed down to the final 6. The 6 include G-Luv, the only male to make it to the finals. His personality is huge, unmissable on the show, making him one of the most memorable faces on the show. He is what I would describe as Bollywood meets hip hop. He has a lot of hip hop attitude, the way he speaks and poses. The way Bollywood is modernizing for the younger audiences, G-Luv may as well find a fanbase in Bollywood.

The final 6 will now fly to Mumbai for the next round of auditions. Tune in next Saturday on SBS at 7:30pm to see what happens next!

Kmovie review – Mother (2009)

Its mother’s day this weekend, so I thought it was fitting that I review the Korean film ‘Mother’ on today’s show. This film is a thriller so not the type of film you would watch with your mum on mother’s day (LOL!).

‘Mother’ stars Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin as mother and son. Kim plays an unnamed widow who works as a herbalist in a small town in order to support her only son Do-Joon, whom has an intellectual disability. Mother smothers Do-Joon with affection causing dislike from Do-Joon because he wants his independence. Do-Joon’s only friend is Jin-tae, a bad apple in the small town who always gets Do-Joon in trouble.

A high school girl is discovered dead on a building's roof and evidence found at the crime scene points to Do-Joon. Unable to defend himself, police find’s Do-Joon guilty of the crime and throws him in Jail.

His mother believes Do-Joon has been framed and goes to extraordinary lengths to prove his innocence. She constantly asks Do-Joon to remember details of the night the school girl was killed. Do-Joon has trouble recalling because he was drinking earlier in the night.

With no lead to follow, she did unethical things in an effort to collect evidence that will clear her son’s name. The question begs, how far will she go to protect her son?

One of the most fascinating aspects of this film was questioning everyone’s involvement in the crime. Things aren’t what they appear to be, and it was hard to determine who was good and who was bad.

Kim carried the film, moving us when she was vulnerable, frightening us when she was angry. Won Bin proved himself as a serious actor taking on this role. He delivered a compelling performance, especially in the ending scenes.

Interesting and compelling film. 5/5 stars.

America’s Next Top Model – Nicholas Tse

Hong Kong superstar Nicholas Tse guest starred in this week’s episode of America’s next top model.

5 finalist remain in the competition and they were flown to Hong Kong for the last part of the competition. For this week’s challenge, Nicholas Tse had the girls act in fight sequence. The winner of the challenge would get to star in an upcoming music video of his.

Nicholas did some demos of fight sequences, displaying his professionalism and skills. The contestants were very impressed with  him. The entertaining part was when the girls had to learn the fight sequence. It was obvious the girls are no Maggie Q or Angelina Jolie. A lot of the times the girls looked rather awkward or un-coordinated. It just shows that it’s hard to do action sequences and make them look natural and not rehearsed or contrived.

It was really cool to see Nicholas Tse in America’s Next Top Model.

Kmovie Review: Actresses (2009)

I’m a huge fan of documentaries and ‘Actresses’ is the first Korean documentary I have watched. ‘Actresses’ follows 6 leading ladies of Korean cinema at the Vogue Korea Magazine Photoshoot.

The 6 leading actresses are Choi Ji-woo, Yoon Yeo-Jeong, Lee Mi-sook, Ko Hyeon-jeong, Kim Min-hee and Kim ok-bin. The documentary focuses on the 6 actresses and how they interact together on set.

There are a few elements that make the documentary interesting to watch. The generational tension that is seen between the actresses was evident; whose ages span from 20s to 60s. In addition, a lot of drama was seen amongst the young actresses arguing who is the 'bigger' celebrity. Things got quite catty, but in comparison to American reality shows, it was rather tame.

Rumors had it that this film was scripted. It actually wasn’t, however, the director said each scene had an outline (similar to how TV show ‘Curb your enthusiasm’ is made). The outline required the actresses to improvise in the given scenario.


The director wanted to show the women’s character in real life. When I was watching the film, some sections felt contrived – like the actress was putting up a performance. Which reminded me of the quote shown in the opening credits of the film:

'There are 3 types of people in this world, Men, Women and Actresses'.

There were some delightfully funny moments between the actresses when they start to warm up to each other. 

I was most surprised about Choi Ji-woo’s diva antics. We’re so familiar with her girl next door image in movies and TV dramas, so it was surreal to watch the ‘real’ her being a diva and having a whinge. She’s a convincing actress, however ironically in this film she comes off as over acting.

This documentary doesn’t feel authentic. I would actually label it as a mockumentary. I'll give it 3/5 stars.

Check out the trailer:

CMovie - Insperable starring Daniel Wu & Kevin Spacey

Daniel Wu and Kevin Spacey star opposite each other for the first time in the Chinese film 'Inseparable', which is released today in China.

It is an exciting project, having two of the biggest stars in Asia and Hollywood on screen together. The film is bilingual with both english and mandarin dialogue.

In this black comedy, Daniel Wu plays a young man dealing with problems at work and at home, who is befriended by a mysterious American expat (Kevin Spacey).

Check out the trailer:

Kmovie review: Chilling romance (aka Spellbound 2011)

Two film genres that the Korean film industry excels in are romcoms and horrors. So it was just a matter of time when we saw the marriage of the two genres to produce one terrifying love story.

‘Chilling romance’ stars South Korea’s sweet heart Son Ye-Jin. It’s a welcome return for her to the big screen. Her last film was ‘Into The White Night’ in 2009. She plays Yu-Ri, an odd woman with a secretive life. When we are first introduced to her character in the movie, she looks a bit emo.

The leading male in this horror romance is played by Lee Min-Ki. His character Jo-Goo is a street magician who found Yu-Ri as the inspiration for his horror magic show. He invites her to join his magic show as part of the production crew. When Yu-Ri joined the team, his show became a huge success and he was enjoying fame and fortune.

Jo-Goo doesn’t understand why Yu-Ri is anti-social and distances herself with everyone around her. When he pays her a surprise visit in her home, he sees an odd little boy whom he doesn’t realize is a ghost. That boy follows him home and he quickly realizes the boy and other ghosts have come to haunt him.

Yu-Ri soon reveals her terrifying secret to Jo-Goo and tells him to stay away from her. But he couldn’t because he had developed feelings for her. Although he is frightened of all the ghosts he is determined to be with her.

The ghosts are angry with the situation and want to drive Jo-Goo away from Yu-Ri like they did with everyone close to her. They go after Jo-Goo.

I love romcoms but cannot watch horror flicks. So this film was an interesting experience for me. When the scary music started, I knew it was my cue to close my eyes LOL! I did manage to watch some of the scary scenes and they were scary! It reminded me of ‘The Ring’ and ‘The Grudge’.

I really enjoyed this horror twist to the romcom, it added a new dimension to the genre. The ending wasn’t as strong as the rest of the film, it was OK.

Son Ye-Jin’s character evolved from weird to a typical girl in a Korean romcom. I would have liked to see her character a bit more eccentric and quirky.

Enjoyable film 3.5/5 stars

Titanic 3D censorship in China

Due to China's strict censorship regulations, 'risque' scenes from Titanic have been cut. This caused the memorable scene of Jack drawing a nude pic of Kate being cut to only seeing her from the neck up.

I'm not entirely sure why this is making the headlines again because when Titanic first premiered in China over 10 years ago, those scenes were left on the cutting floor. So this isn't new news.

Director James Cameron appeared on the The Colbert Report this week (watch full episode)to talk about the censorship in China. Cameron stated that the Chinese authorities didn't want the movie goers to reach out to the screens during the film as this will cause a distraction to other viewers. Cameron was happy to go along with the censorship because Titanic 3D was doing great at the box office, raking in 20million in the first 2 days.

Colbert asked Cameron, 'Why Titanic 3D? Did you want all of us to feel as though we were drowning'. LOL! Hilarious interview, I highly recommend you all to watch the full interview.

Although Cameron is happy to go along with the censorship, many people in China are unhappy with the edit. Chinese males especially were looking forward to seeing those steamy scenes in 3D. Well, maybe they will get a chance to see the full version when Titanic 4D comes out in another decade or so LOL!

Reference: The daily mail

Movie review: Silenced (aka The Crucible)

I recently watched this powerful Korean film called ‘the crucible’ or ‘silenced’. The different titles are used for different markets in the world. This movie is based on the true story about the mass sexual abuse of deaf students by their teachers at a special needs school in, Gwangju South Korea, in the early 2000s.

Hallyu star Gong Yoo plays Kang In-ho, the new arts teacher at a special needs school in a small town. He notices that the children’s behave quite strange, but doesn’t understand why. He soon discovers the lethal secret that is covered up buy all the staff and local policeman. In order to protect the children, he fights against power and corruption.

This film is confronting and upsetting. Some of the scenes were so horrifying I could not watch. The children’s performances were gripping and it really angered me to know that this was based on a true story. This film clearly demonstrates how people with status and money can abuse their power to prey on the weak and get away with it.

Gong Yoo’s performance in this film is his best to date. This challenging film allowed him to display a maturity and vulnerability that has not been seen from him before. He has definitely left his leading man heart throb roles behind and growing as an actor.

This film has received critical and commercial success.

“ For the past few years, we have seen almost no South Korean films that actively examined the state of our society, the values of what is right, and what we need to do the way The Crucible does. ”

—Film critic Ahn Si-hwan

I can’t recall watching any film like this one before. If you like powerful and honest films, you can’t miss this one.

5/5 stars

Movie review: 21 Jump St

The unlikely pairing of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in the movie reboot of the 80's television series 21 Jump St can certainly raise eyebrows.

Jonah Hill who is part of the Apatow alumni is proving to be a comedy heavyweight in the industry. Besides, starring and producing this film - he also wrote it with Michael Bacall. Jonah has comedy credentials.

Moving on to Channing. He is best known for the Step Up movies, action flicks such as GI Joe... So it seems that he is an odd choice for an action comedy who is starring opposite Jonah Hill. However, let me remind you - early on in Channing's career he did dabble in the comedy film 'She's the man'. That is one of my favoourite films! It's a fun film. Channing does have a knack for comedy.

The plot of the film is quite silly but guarantees some hilarious moments. In a nutshell, Jonah and Channing play 2 cops who have to go undercover as high school students and try to bust a drug ring at a high school. What could possibly go wrong in their mission?? Well plenty actually - they are dealing with hormone driven high school students.

Jonah and Channing's chemistry is obvious! They make a great comedic duo, everyone in the cinema were bursting out in laughter at the crazy and gross things they get up to. Remember, Jonah is part of the Apatow alumni - so you can expect some dirty dirty jokes.

This is a crazy fun film - I highly recommend it. 4/5 stars

P.S. A sequel is now in the works because of the success of this one. Looking forward to seeing Jonah and Channing together again!

Daniel Henney talks about his Number 1 Fan

In a recent Q&A session, Hollywood actor Daniel Henney answered questions that were sent to him by his fans, this lead him to talk about his number 1 fan Kim So Young.

Kim So Young has touched Daniel's heart by all the support and dedication she has given to him. She attended all his fan meetings, helped decorate the venue and ensured everyone was having a good time. She didn't want recognition for her work and told Daniel's team not to tell Daniel about her efforts.

Sadly, Kim was diagnosed with cancer and she did not want Daniel to feel sad for her; true to her nature she hid this from him. But he always knew of her condition because his team kept him up to date. Kim continued to help out at Daniel's fan meetings. But her health was deteriorating, this prevented her from helping out but she continued attending the his fan meetings with a smile.

Her condition worsened and she was hospitalised. Daniel and his team regularly sent her videos to help keep her spirits up. Last year, she passed away. This news was hard on Daniel.

A week after her death, a cake was sent to Daniel's office. It was from Kim, she had asked a friend to help her organise it. Kim wanted to thank Daniel and his team for everything, for the joy they gave her.

It is clear that Kim has a special place in Daniel's heart.

Pokemon Live Action Movie - Or NOT?

I was watching upcoming 2012 movie trailers on YouTube and came across the Pokemon live action movie trailer!! I am always hesitant about live action films of popular animes, because it's hard to get it right - Hollywood has stuffed up quite a few. And so I was quite concerned about this one.

The pokemon live action film is called 'Pokémon Apokélypse'. The film is set a few years after the original anime series. Now, Pokemon battles have been outlawed due to animal rights and protection. But Pokemon battles are continuing in the underground scene. Gangsters want Ash and Pokemon to participate in match fixing but Ash refuses and this puts everyone close to Ash at Danger. Ash and Pikachu set out to save his friends and take on the gangsters.

The biggest twist of Pokemon Apokelypse is - this is a trailer for a non-existent film! So why have a movie trailer when you don't have a movie to promote? Well, Canadian filmmakers Kial Natale, Dylan Innes and Lee Majdoub wanted to make a fan film about Pokemon and turning its cute world in to a darker and tougher one.

The trailer took 2 years to complete and the trailer runs close to 3 minutes. It is an interesting and original idea, I admire their efforts in producing this film. The trailer has exceptional sound, accurate wardrobe and great editing. The 3D animation of the pokemon are pretty cool too.

3D Pikachu doesn't look like the fluffy and cute yellow friend that we all know from the anime series - here he looks a bit like a retired wrestler, worn out and doesn't care anymore.

The film was promoted through a viral campaign. Fans have praised this trailer and given thumbs up. Despite the positive feedback, the film makers don't intend to make a full length film.

What do you think of this trailer? Would you like to see the full feature film?

Watch out for Cmovie 'Saving General Yang' this year

One of the most anticipated movies this year is 'Saving General Yang'.

If you're not familiar with Chinese History, the Yang family are legendary and their legacy still lives on today. For generations the Yang family served as generals in the Song Dynasty, they protected borders and won battles. Known for their unflinching loyalty, honour and integrity - Their story has been immortalized in film and television for generations.

They Yang family were brilliant on the battle field, and because of this many people in court didn't like them and wanted to do everything in their power to harm them. The Emperor himself was insecure and had unwarranted fears that the Yang family would commit treason and steal his crown. He knew if they wanted his crown they could easily attain it. The Emperor always questioned and challenged the Yang family's loyalty.

The Yang legend began with Yang Ye, he had 8 sons who all whole heartedly served the emperor. The Yang family were ill fated and most of the men died in battle to protect their country, their emperor. The Yang family became a house full of widows. They were resilient and to they continued to serve the Emperor and carry on the family's legacy and became legendary women warriors. If you are interested in finding out more about the Yang family, definitely read up about them. I grew up with their story, it's hard to sum up their heroism in a few paragraphs.

Now, back to the film 'Saving General Yang'. What's so exciting about the film is the AMAZING cast! It's mighty impressive. Screen legend Adam Cheng will play General Yang Ye. The actors who will play his sons are Ekin Cheng,Wu Chun, Raymond Lam, Vic Zhou, Li Chen, Yu Bo, Fu Xinbo and Xu Fan. Joining the male ensemble is the beautiful Ady An as Princess Chai.

This film is directed by Ronny Yu, the director of the historic film 'Fearless' starring Jet Li. You can expect some epic battle scenes in this film - I'll even go out on the limb and say that they will rival or even trump the battle scenes in the film Red Cliff starring Tony Leung and Takeshi Kanishiro.

I just have this feeling that this film is going to be HUGE - a big critical and commercial success - Just look at the cast and director! What a great formula for success.

The film is slated to be released in Oct this year, so there is a bit of a wait. Definitely keep an eye out for this one!

On SBS (Documentary) - Once Upon A Time in Cabramatta

Starting this Sunday at 8:30 on SBS, the documentary - 'Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta'

This in-depth 3 part documentary series explores the history of the Vietnamese community in Cabramatta, Sydney.

Here is the synopsis on the SBS website:

"Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta is the never before told story of Australia's first significant influx of migrants post White Australia policy. This groundbreaking documentary takes you behind the headlines of turbulent Cabramatta in the 80's and 90's as the Vietnamese people finally find their voice – speaking up to claim their rightful, democratic place in Australia against all odds.

Told by politicians, social historians, police and for the first time from the Vietnamese people themselves, these are the stories of a period that changed Australian migration forever."

Jackie Chan’s 100th film – ‘1911’

Jackie Chan has come a long way since starting out as a child actor and a stunt man in the film industry. He has become a heavyweight in Asian films and he paved the way for Asian actors in Hollywood. His film career has spanned over 4 decades and now the hardest working man in show biz has released his 100th film.

In recent years, Jackie Chan has expressed his desire to shed his kung fu star persona and become a serious actor. Jackie has been taking on more dramatic and challenging roles (e.g. Shinjuki Incident, The Karate Kid) to display his acting versatility. To mark his 100th film, he had chosen a historic drama ‘1911’ to mark the achievement.

1911, tells the story of the founding republic of China when Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary forces overthrew the Ming dynasty. An all star including Joan Chen, Hu Ge, Zhang Ziyi along with Jackie’s son Jaycee, accompany him in this epic movie. The film was filmed over 6 intensive months.

In Australia the film was released on October 13th at Village cinemas. You can check out their website for session details.

Congrats to Jackie for this incredible achievement. I hope to see his 200th film in the future *^_^*

Movie Review (Thai) – Yes or No (2010)

I enjoy watching Thai movies; their voice is really unique in the film landscape. My knowledge of Thai movies is quite limited - I’ve only seen a handful of films. However, all the films I’ve seen have been deeply memorable because they challenge how you think.

Judging by the movie poster for ‘Yes or No’, I was expecting a typical teen comedy romance that is so prevalent in Asian cinema (e.g. Korea, Japan, Taiwan). When I started watching it, it was nothing I expected – which I found incredibly refreshing.

The first surprise of the film was to learn that the male actor on the movie poster is actually a female who has masculine features. The love story is actually about two females.

Pie is a wealthy girl who moves in to a college dorm and learns that she has to share her room with Kim, whom she initially thought was a boy. Kim quickly proves to Pie that she is in fact a girl, who dresses and behaves like a male. Pie is initially uncomfortable with the arrangement and tries to move to another dorm, citing that she didn’t want to share her room with a ‘tom’. Her request is denied and she gives Kim a hard time by setting out all these rules that Kim has to follow.

Their friendship organically develops as Pie slowly sees that Kim is a caring person. However, Pie is reluctant for her mother to visit her dorm room because she has negative views on ‘toms’. Her mother believes ‘toms’ are freaks and they are ruining society. Things get complicated as Pie discovers she has feelings for Kim and they start a secret relationship.

Secrets never last and their relationship is exposed by a girl who admires Kim. Many people get hurt along the way. The question begs - will their love survive?

The film works on so many levels - with the two talented leads, and a story that was beautifully written and not melodramatic. I found the film reminiscent of Brokeback Mountain, but with humor fused in to the plot.

This is a great romantic dramedy, I give it 4/5 stars.

Movie Review - Lost in Beijing (2007)

This movie aired on SBS a few weeks ago, I have been meaning to write a movie review and I finally have some time to do so.

This film caused a lot of controversy for the themes it explores (blackmail) and gratuitous love scenes. After delays in the film's release, the film was then banned by Chinese Authorities.

Lost in Beijing, follows the lives of 2 couples and how their lives are forever changed when they cross paths. Liu Pingguo (Fan Bingbing) and her husband, An Kun (Tong Dawei) are a young couple who have moved to Beijing to seek a better life. Liu Pinggao works as a foot masseuse, An Kun works as a window washer. Liu Pinggao works for Lin Dong (Tony Leung Ka Fai), the owner of the massage parlour, his wife, Wang Mei (Elaine Jin) practices Chinese medicine.

One day, Liu Pingguo is incredibly drunk at work and her middle aged boss Lin Dong takes advantage of the situation and rapes her. Her husband witnesses the ordeal and he thinks that she was having an affair. An Kun is furious with her and takes revenge by sleeping the Lin Dong's wife. Liu Pinggao blackmails her boss for a sum of money, telling him she won't report him for rape or tell her husband what really happened. Lin Dong agrees.

There lives get more tangled up when Liu Pinggao finds out she's pregnant and she doesn't know who the father is. Surprisingly, the middle aged couple really wants a child in their lives. They agree to support Liu Pinggao through her pregnancy in return for the baby.

This is one intriguing film. It was fascinating to watch how the dynamic of the relationships changed and evolved throughout the film. We see the barbaric rapist acting like Liu Pinggao's husband, being overly concerned during her pregnancy. Lin Dong desperately wants a baby in his life. We watch An Kun having hope that the baby is his, he starts to regret his agreement in giving up the baby.

I found myself glued to drama that was unfolding between the 2 couples. It was refreshing that the film was not predictable at any stage. It explores the complicatons in life and hard decisions people make in order to survive. The four leading actors took on the roles fearlessly, especially Tony Leung. I started out detesting the character and somehow found myself empathising with him later on in the film.

This isn't a love story, it's a film that will challenge your values.

4/5 stars

Cmovie Review: Mr & Mrs Incredible (2011)

In this Hong Kong superhero flick, Louis Koo and Sandra Ng play two retired superheroes living in a small village as normal civilians. None of the villagers know of their crime fighting past, and they work hard to hide their superpowers. It's been 10 years since they retired and sometimes they miss their glory days.

Now Mr and Mrs Flint are starting to feel a bit bored with their ordinary lives. Interesting events unfold, causing the couple to think about coming out of retirement.

I didn't know what to expect when I watched this film. From memory I haven't watched a Hong Kong superhero before (It's always been action, crime, romcom). It's always good to watch a movie without expectations and be open to wherever the movie takes you.

This is a very funny film, Louis and Sandra are equally funny, they have great comic timing and chemistry. They both played the characters so well that I can't imagine anyone else in the role. I really enjoyed watching them on screen and banter each other.

There isn't a lot of action or violence in this film compared to Batman, Spiderman. This is more of a comedy, an exploration in to the lives of retired superheroes. I felt the villains could have been introduced earlier in the movie to create more suspense. Also, the film was too neat for my liking, I would have liked to see the heroes sweat it out a bit more.

Overall, this is a fun and enjoyable film.

3.5/5 stars

KMovie Review - Man From Nowhere (2010), Starring Won Bin

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KMovie Review - The Man from nowhere 2010 by CherriiPOP



Korea is making a HUGE mark in the film industry, producing many brilliant, original and exciting films. The first film i’m going to review is - ‘The man from nowhere’ starring Korean heartthrob Won Bin. This movie was Korea’s highest grossing film last year. It has won numerous awards including: Best Actor, Best Movie at the Korean Film Awards, Grand Bell Awards to name a few.

It was about time that I check out this movie. Won Bin plays a Cha Tae-sik, a mysterious pawn shop owner disconnected from the world. So-mee a young school girl sees Cha Tae-sik as her only friend. She likes to talk to him a lot, even though he is a man with few words. She hides out at his place when her mum’s boyfriend is around. On the surface Cha Tae-sik appears to be a cold person, So-mee brings out a softer side in him and makes him care again.

So-mee’s mother steals drugs from the mob and stashes it in a camera bag and pawned it at Cha Tae-sik’s pawn shop. The mob got very angry and kidnaps So-Mee and her mother. Soon they go after Tae-sik for the drugs. Tae-sik hands over the drugs in exchange for So-Mee and her mother. The mob has other plans for Tae-sik. Tae-Sik complies and finds out that the mob set him up. Now the mob and the cops are after him. We soon learn about Tae-Sik’s shady and deadly past. All hell breaks loose in his quest to save So-Mee and her mother from the mob.

I found myself glued to the screen while watching it! I was on the edge of my seat hoping that Tae-sik would find and save So-mee. There are a few disturbing scenes because the mob are in the organ harvesting trade - it’s not too graphic but it is still disturbing. I have to say this is an incredibly violent film. I think it is the most violent film I have.

Won Bin really impressed me in this film, especially in the fight scenes. The fight scenes were so rough, so realistic. It looked like they were getting badly hurt.

In moments when his character was feeling vulnerable, you really feel for him. It’s really easy for you to feel disconnected from a character that is so dark and has little to say, but Won Bin made his character likable for the audience. The dynamic between Won Bin and the young actress that played So-Mee, Kim Sae-ron, was really moving. They are 2 lost and lonely people that needed someone to care about them. So-mee saw Tae-sik has her father.

This is Won Bin's best performance to date. After starring in the Korean Hit Drama Series 'Autumn Love story', Won bin was cast in many leading men roles in romantic dramas and movies. Whilst his stardom was sky high, he had to take a break from his career to complete his compulsory military service.

When he was discharged in 2006, Won Bin wanted to depart from his heart throb image by taking on more challenging roles. He has been more selective of the roles he plays: since 2006 he has just starred in 2 movies: Mother (2009), Man From Nowhere (2010).

It was really interesting to watch Won Bin play such an intense, dark and complex person. He really owned this role. He has definitely shed the romantic comedy leading man label.

I was fascinated to find out that his role was originally written as a 60 year old man. After Won Bin read the script, he fought hard for the part. The script was re-adjusted to fit his age and physical ability.

I highly recommend this film to all action fans. And, I can’t wait to see what Won Bin does next. 5/5 stars

Deathnote movie - US Remake with Gaspard Ulliel to star as Light

The highly successful Deathnote movies are getting the Hollywood treatment. Handsome french actor Gaspard Ulliel will star as the power crazed Light Yagami.

Deathnote is a popular manga series about a powerful notebook that kills people whose names are written in it. This book was accidentally dropped in to Earth from a different world by a death god. Light, a uni student stumbles across this book and sees the instructions on how to use it. He doesn't believe it, he tests it out by writing a criminal's name and finds out the criminal dies from the news. He tests it out again and finally believes the Deathnote's power. Light become crazed and wants to create a new world with no crime. He starts killing people like crazy and the genius detective L is on his tail.

I always shudder when I hear Hollywood is remaking a Japanese anime/movie. The Japanese Deathnote movies were brilliant! From script to set design and casting. Everything was believable and intelligent. I thought Kenichi Matsuyama and Tatsuya Fujiwara were brilliant in this cat and mouse game. Hollywood hasn't got a good record with Japanese film remakes, look at Dragon Ball Z, Speed Racer...

But! With the announcement that Gaspard is playing Light, I have hope that this film might be just as good as the Japanese one. Gaspard is a brilliant actor (one of my faavourites). He absorbs himself in the role and takes his art seriously. I have loved every movie I have seen him in. Gaspard can play complex characters (e.g. Hannibal) so I think he will bring an interesting dynamic and darkness to Light Yagami.

Now I'm quite curious to find out who will be playing the oddball genius detective L. I have no idea who they should cast. Maybe Johnny Depp. That would be an interesting combination.

Production hasn't started yet but they plan to release this film in 2012.

Let us know what you think about Gaspard being cast as Light.