Coffee Prince (커피프린스 1호점 2007)

Five summers have come and gone since my heart was all fuzzy with love and a sweet feeling of fullness. The main actor and actress's acting was brilliant and their relationship looked genuine. My summer that year went by with this drama that I got hooked on. This is one of THE best dramas I've ever seen.
Unlike other drama characters who look like coming from a picture card, the Hangyel+Eunchan couple have breakfast together with their shaggy hair in comfy clothes. Hangyel, who have struggled to deny his love to a boy, Eunchan, takes up his courage and confesses, "It doesn't matter whether you're a guy or alien. I'll go for it as far as it goes."
Since the director is female, she obviously knew how to depict the chemistry/relationships and subtle feelings between the characters. She knew what female viewers like to watch.  

Big; Body Switching (2012)

I like the chemistry between Gongyoo and Lee Minjung. It looks as if it's real. I love Gongyoo's sadly-looking eyes that tears are about to well up. I have been rooting for Kyungjoon and Daran to be together. It's because the body belongs to Yoonjae. Basically I like Yoonjae's body with Kyungjoon's soul. It's unfair to Yoonjae, though. 

I was disappointed and confused when Daran ended up being with Kyungjoon. I hoped there's a twist or some kind of ingenious ideas to untangle the relationships. There should be something. But it ended just like that. What is the story about? Is Yoonjae forgotten and forsaken? Doesn't Kyungjoon's soul get out of the 30 year old body? Anyway, Yoonjae and Kyungjoon are brothers. How will Daran have a relationship with Kyungjoon which has his brother's body? Worse yet, Daran had gotten married to Yoonjae beforehand. It's not illegal, but it's hard for the family to accept. The Hong sisters want us to believe in true love that overcomes family disapproval and age gap. What is their intention?  

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1. Summary

Carl Fredricksen and his wife, Ellie, had been a big fan of adventurer Charles Muntz since they were little kids. They had always wanted to go on an adventure to Paradise Falls in South America. Carl, who led a solitary life after Ellie's death, took off for the destination with thousands of colorful helium balloons attached to his house. A boy named Russel, who eagerly wanted the last badge to become a senior wilderness explorer, helped Carl carry the house and eventually reach the location. Along the journey, they built a special bond while collaboratively rescuing a big bird and talking dogs from the mean Muntz.

2. Reaction

I had thought this book wasn't that special in the first place. The story wasn't as interesting and moving as Lion King. I had bothered to watch the DVD to better understand the book. It sounds a tad bit exaggerative, but the only pleasant thing I found out about it was the scene where a bunch of colorful balloons appeared behind Carl's house. I could immediately recognize the scene because it's part of the iPad commercial.

My views on the book, however, totally changed as the discussion was developing. I came to a realization that the adventure this story was trying to convey was not the big one which is reserved and exclusive only to a handful of extraordinary people. Everyday life I live can be considered as an adventure. What matters is not how far or exotic place I go to, but how well I cope with everyday routine with an adventurous spirit.

I have been so far busy complaining either of the same boring days or of stressful behavioral problems I have to deal with at work. On second thought, surprisingly, black sheep students kindly put me into an adventure and made my monotonous day exciting. Everything depends on how I look at them. Scarlett O'hara said, "Tomorrow I'll think of some way. After all, tomorrow is another day." I wonder what new things are ahead of me tomorrow. 

The Bridal Mask (각시탈 2012)

A hero appears in the dismal times when the Japanese ruled Korea. 
It is REALLY thrilling to see the scene where the Bride-mask Man knocks down a horde of Japanese policemen and slashes up the banner that reads "Congratulations on Japanese annexation of Korea" hung over the podium of the celebrating ceremony. The festivity of their own ends up falling into total chaos. They deserve it. 
The one who has done this job is Zorro or Robin Hood-like figure who helps Korean ordinary people who are repressed by Japanese people. He also retaliates on pro-Japanese traitors. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

난 로알드 달의 안티임을 선언한다. 그의  이야기를 좋아하지 않는다. 밝지 않고 뒤틀림이 있어서다. 단지 작가가 유명하다는 이유만으로  그의 비정상적인 캐릭터들이 정당화될 수 있는 상황이 싫다. 

마틸다.. 재미있고 유쾌했다. 하지만 교사가 너무 바보같지 않은가. 꼬마아이도 해결할 수 있는 문제를... 성인이 너무 무기력하고 부족하며 교장은 악질이다. 

미스터 팍스는 도둑일 뿐이다. 세 농부가 나쁘지만 도둑질 역시 나쁘다. 정당화될 수 없다. 

1. Summary

Charlie who was born into a poor family filled with love lived in a ramshackle house with his parents and two sets of grandparents. Since the family didn't have enough money to buy food to live on, Charlie had little or no chance to win the golden ticket to tour the mysterious chocolate factory that is owned by an eccentric chocolate maker, Willy Wonka.

Charlie became the last lucky kid to obtain the fabulous opportunity following a fat glutton Augustus, a spoiled brat Veruca, a gum-chewer Violet, and a TV addict Mike.

Inside the factory did they meet cacao-loving little Oompa-Loompas who used to primitively live in tree houses in a thick jungle and visit various special rooms such as the chocolate room, the inventing room, the nut room, and the television-chocolate room. The kids one by one, doing what they were not supposed to do, fell behind and only Charlie remained in the end. Charlie became the successor of Willy Wonka to run the factory and sent the good news to his family by boarding a glass elevator rocketing through the roof of the factory.

2. Reaction

I admit that Roald Dahl is such a story teller and no one is as creative to generate children's fiction as he is. It's scrumdiddlyumptiously fun to read his puns. (How can you whip cream without whips?; A poached egg isn't a poached egg unless it's been stolen from the woods in the dead of night!)

I don't think Charlie is eligible enough to be a hero. He is neither honest nor brave. He didn't turn it in to the police when he found a dollar bill. But rather he used it to buy chocolate for his benefit. His character is disappointing, compared with the mischievous but adventurous Tom Sawyer. He didn't take risks on anything. He just followed around and waited for the other kids to disappear. I guess at least he is patient. The author embellishes an antihero and justifies that a poor kid can't be mean or evil. The poor are not always good people who are deceived by greedy rich people. What lessons does this story give to children?

I've recently seen a significant number of poor students who are helpless and lethargic not only in class but also in everything except for being hooked on games. They just seem to be blaming their poor backgrounds and not trying to achieve anything on their own. I do hope that poverty doesn't give any excuses for their behavior and they also have a dream to fulfill.

I'm not sure whether I'll recommend this book. It's like a double-edged sword. 

Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

I guess those who seek the truth in this nonsensical world are eligible to become Alice. 

At the beginning of the movie, The Matrix, the protagonist is depicted just like Alice following a symbol of a white rabbit. This was the very first moment that Alice in Wonderland, which I had considered just another children's fiction, got meaningfully imprinted on my mind. 'Is the story that common to be in pop culture?' was my impression, and it further led me to want to find why. Since then, this book has been on my reading list for a very long time. But the forgotten copy which has been faded in color and coated with dust comes alive now in a decade.

There have to be reasons why it is considered so-called children's classic and is occasionally recounted by grown-ups. Sadly enough, however, I felt like a loser from cover to cover. I was quite frustrated while figuring out what an array of inexplicable occasions were trying to convey. It was too weird to understand. It didn't even sound timeless. There was one thing clear, though; I didn't want to give in, nor brush it aside.

A ray of hope came only after googling and reading significant number of related web pages. The prerequisite keywords for the story are linguistic pranks, children's innocence as well as cultural stuff which reflects the British society of the time the book was written.

The author enjoyed making use of puns and playing on multiple meanings of words throughout the text. (Mock Turtle: The master was an old Turtle. We called him Tortoise because he taught us. Gryphon: 10 hours the first day, nine the next and so on. That's the reason they're called lessons. Because they lessen from day to day.)

Alice's constant growing and shrinking into different sizes could reflect the ups and downs of adolescence. Young people get confused feeling sometimes adult and other times quite the opposite. The whole book illustrates how confusing the adult world seems to innocent children.

Last but not least, I'm also very happy to know part of the contemporary culture behind the story through new vocabulary such as bathing machine, powdered hair, mock turtle soup, etc.

Much to my relief, now I can understand the story and find a peace of mind. Mr. Yoo said in his million seller travel book, quote, 'Once you love it, you get to know about it. Once you know about it, it'll never be the same again' unquote. The more I'm able to understand, the more I get drawn into the wonderland. Sorry for little knowledge. Sorry to judge that it's just children's fiction. 
     

My favorite hookah-smoking caterpillar in the moive