The Naked Kitchen

The Naked Kitchen (키친/Ki-chin) is a 2009 Korean movie of the romantic comedy and drama sort. It stars Shin Min Ah, Kim Tae Woo, and Joo Ji Hoon. The summary is as follows:

Today is Mo-rae and Sang-in’s one-year wedding anniversary. After a busy morning preparing for the celebration, Mo-rae goes to an art gallery to find a gift for Sang-in. At the gallery, she meets a complete stranger and the two unexpectedly have sex. Mo-rae returns home feeling anxious and guilty about the incident and cannot help but confess it to Sang-in. That night, a visitor arrives at their house; Du-rae, who came from Paris to help Sang-in with his new business. To Mo-rae’s shock, he is the man from the gallery. He temporarily lives with the couple in their house and a risky love triangle begins.

I found this movie refreshing, even given its subject. Perhaps it's because of the subject and how it's portrayed and dealt with. I mean, for a majority of people, if your spouse cheats on you, they would not be as accepting as this. In fact, the movie makes it into an even comedic affair. OK, well the fact that it happened is not quite hilarious, but it's put in a more light-hearted way and once it's all uncovered, there's a scene (or two) of some rather tense interactions and rocky parts. However, it ended in a sort of happily-ever-after fashion - OK, not quite "ever after" but it was a sort of a content type of ending.

Another reason why I watched it was because Joo Ji Hoon was in it. He seems to be taking roles in movies that address somewhat controversial subjects. Anyway... I thought it was pretty good. :) Not to mention it also revolves around food for a section of it - all of which looked absolutely scrumptuous. ^_^

You can watch it here.
Picture taken from here.

Antique Bakery

So I just finished watching Antique Bakery (서양골동양과자점 앤티크/Sayangkoldong Yangkwajajeom Aentikeu), or here, a 2008 Korean movie based off of a manga series of the same name. It's a tale of friendship and love between a group of men as well as their respective backgrounds - and yes, there are gay themes in it and there is kissing. Only one is a homosexual, though. :) It stars Joo Ji Hoon (of Goong), Kim Jae Wook (of Coffee Prince), Yoo Ah In, Choi Ji Ho, and Andy Gillet. The summary is as follows:

This story is about four men who work in a confectionary. Jin Hyuk is the owner; Son Woo is the superb baker that has a mysterious and mesmerizing aura; Soo Young (Choi Ji Ho) is the waiter and close bodyguard of Jin Hyuk; and last but not least Gi Beom (Yoo Ah), the ex-boxer who loves cake so much that he becomes a waiter at 'Antique'. This is a refreshing, yet heartfelt comedy about the 4 very unique personalities that work until the wee hours of the night at the small confectionary. The series follows the romance, family life, and most importantly friendship that these 4 men from different generations experience.

What makes this interesting, is obviously the cast. I mean, Ji Hoon from Goong and Jae Wook from Coffee Prince?? What also makes it interesting, and also makes sense at the same time, is how [slight spoiler here] Jae Wook plays the homosexual. With his effeminate features, it does make sense. What really takes the cake (haha), though, is how there's no English in it. Instead, there's French. Sometimes, even entire conversations in it. This appeals to me because I had taken three years of French in high school, and though it's about four years since then and I've lost a lot of what I learned, I still retain a fascination for the language. It's pretty interesting. Not to mention the sweets and cakes of all kinds.

Now, if you delve deeper, every character has a different personality and a different story unique to himself. Even the customers have their own stories. It makes it more interesting as the movie progresses and you find the reason as to why so-and-so does a certain thing. So, instead of just a rather 2-dimensional movie on four guys who work together at a Bakery and how they get along, you also get a little bit more... personal, I suppose you could put it. It's somewhat refreshing - not to mention the fact that it also gives you a few laughs here and there. :) It's not all dramatics and the smidge of romance. There are some interesting graphics as well. This, all in all, is a pretty good movie.

Then again, I may be biased. ;)

You can watch it here.
Photo taken from here.

Goong

My sister and I just finished watching Goong (궁), also known as Princess Hours, Palace, and Imperial Household in English. It is also my second Korean drama to date. :) I'm still getting used to the language, but I'm starting to get a feel for the romanised Korean. Anyway, it stars Yoon Eun Hye from Coffee Prince, Joo Ji Hoon who is a model (and rather cute, if I may say so myself), and Kim Jeong Hoon (who I took a great liking to - his character was tragic though). The following is the summary from DramaWiki - the one from Wiki has a lot of spoilers.

Goong is a story about young love in face of tradition, politics, and intrigue. In the imaginary world, modern-day Korea is a constitutional monarchy and the Royal Family lives in a grand Palace, the Goong. Story opens with the sudden death of the reigning the King. Faced with the decreasing popularity among the public for the Royalty, a grand wedding for the Crown Prince, Lee Shin, is decided to be the best publicity move to improve the image of the Royalty and at the same time prepare Shin for immediate succession. The intended bride? The headstrong, awkward, and sweet spirited Shin Chae-kyung that just happens to go to the same exclusive art school. Chae-kyung was betrothed to become the next Crown Princess by her grandfather and Shin's grandfather.

After 14 years of living in England with his mom, Lee Yul appears all of a sudden. He is Shin's cousin as well as the former Crown Prince. Everything seemed to be going normally until Chae-kyung's optimistic spirit wins the heart of internally lonely, Yul. As the Crown Prince Shin and simple-minded Chae-kyung's relationship appear to developing deeper feelings, a series of scandals are exposed to the public right after the pair were officially announced married. Will love prevail all in a world of political pressures and martial hardships? Or will being in the spotlight of the public be too much for the young newlyweds to endure?

This entire drama spanned across 24 episodes (my longest drama to date - I never watched Meteor Garden) and I found it painful. Not in the bad way though! Eun Hye's character was very embarrassing to watch at times and it made me cringe. Also, the heart wrenching that is mandatory in romance dramas was present throughout the drama. It was well-done, though, and was cute and sweet at many times - not to mention funny! If you have time to spare and is up for a bit of drama, go for it! Also, it's interesting to see Eun Hye as Chae-Gyung as opposed to her character in Coffee Prince - they're completely different!!

Oh yes, and the soundtrack's pretty good as well. :)

Now... my dilemma is what drama to watch next.

Note: it is hard to find this drama online because it is copyrighted. Even so, you can find it here.