Movie #1911 ........................."Self Made" (Netflix streaming)

Movie #1911 "Self Made" (netflix streaming)  This is a limited series (only 4 episodes, 45 minutes each) about the first female entrepreneur starring Octavia Spencer -- she had Blair Underwood who plays her hubby really do a fine job bringing these people to life on the screen.  There's good music in the background, and interesting casting with Tiffany Haddish playing her daughter.  It's nice to see her in this kind of role (instead of the broad comedy we usually see her doing), but I wasn't totally convinced that this was a bit too challenging for her in her first step out into drama --- she seemed not to work through the moments, but it's a smaller part than some of the others, so it didn't ruin the film at all --- and her smile is reassuring throughout.  But what a story --- the viewer can gain so much information on the place women had at the time (eg, when she is trying to persuade a room full of men to lend her money so she can make a factory, they won't listen to her and insist on talking to her husband because he's a man).  Also we see Booker T. Washington (hm, he wasn't very supportive) .  The show makes you think of the place women's hair has with their identify, esp. black women's hair which needs different styling and its own products. And no one had really offered that before.  Madame C. J. kind of falls into the job when she is judged as not good looking enough to sell hair products for another woman --- she is so brave, relentless, independent, confrontational, etc.  Fun character to watch.  And the love story is interesting when the conflict concerns love vs. both of their egos.  Finally, the importance of a legacy if you have built something from the ground up --- that was found in this series, as well.  I'd give it 4 stars out of 5 and recommend it.  Good story, and good production value of the show, including sets, costumes, wigs and makeup, etc.

"SELF MADE"   3 hours ands 11 mins     2020

The inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker who built a haircare empire that made her America's first female self-made millionaire.

Stars:

 Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo , blair underwood

Movie #1910 ........................."Wedding Palace" (HBO on demand)

Movie #1910 "Wedding Palace" (HBO on demand) this film was pretty broad in its comedy --- it opens with a tiny south korean baby celebrating his first birthday, and he's supposed to pick something from the table in front of him that will foretell what is in store for his life --- like money, jewels, etc.  But this kid gets something out of his mother's purse right next to the table and the family yells("cursed")  And the curse is he has to marry by age 30 --- well, by age 29, he hasn't found anyone and his parents have been working on it fast and furious, and on one of these dates, he mets a wonderful girl.  They spend time talking (they have minimal time because he is in Seoul for just a short time)  he goes back to work and they date on the internet and because he needs to bet married (remember the curse?) he proposes rather quickly on line and she comes to visit ----- with a surprise that throws a hitch in the marriage ceremony plans.  The surprise that is thrown at us in the last 20 minutes or so is a bit controversial, esp. with the casting -- I don't want to say too much more about it, but I was uncomfortable watching the last part --- Yes, like Hallmark movies, the guy learns that the surprise thing isn't all that important because of being in love with her, so the theme is strong, but for that reason and that it was a bit too silly for me, I'd only give it 3 out of 5.  And I don't recommend it. (unless I piqued your interest and you want to see what the surprise is!  ahah!)

'WEDDING PALACE"    2013    1 hour and 38 mins

After being abandoned at the altar, Jason courts the girl of his dreams in cyberspace. When she arrives in LA for their wedding, she turns out to be completely different than expected.

Director:

 Christine Yoo

Writers:

 Derek Draper (story), Robert Gardner (screenplay)  

Stars:

 Brian Tee, Hye-jeong Kang, Bobby Lee

Movie #1909 ........................."Always" (Amazon Prime streaming)

Movie #1909 "Always" (Amazon Prime streaming)  this was a really nice love story between a blind girl and a very quiet guy with a violent (boxing) background.  When she needs an operation, he goes to extreme to get that for her.  The film proves the quote:love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.  These two have good chemistry together and really talk a lot with each other without saying one word.  The film, once again, could have had some scenes edited a bit more , but really this is the best film/t.v. show I have seen so far in the south korean romance genre.  I give it 4 out of 5.  (warning --- there's a very violent scene and I turned away from watching it)

"ALWAYS"     2011   1 hour and 45 minutes

A love story centered on ex-boxer Chul-min and a blind telemarketer Jung-hwa.

Director:

 Il-gon Song

Writers:

 Il-gon Song (screenplay), Roh Hong-Jin (screenplay) (as Hong-jin No) 

Stars:

 Ji-seob So, Hyo-joo Han, Shin-il Kang

Movie #1908 ........................."Tune in for Love" (streamable Netflix)

Movie #1908 "Tune in for Love" (Netflix streaming) This is the first south Korean  romance MOVIE that I saw (in comparison to the two t.v. shows I experienced) , and I liked it.  It was a bit long (again, could use better editing like the t.v. show episodes), but it had a strong theme --- it reminded me that everyone needs at least one person in his/her corner for life --- in this case it is a girl he met when he was a teenager, and he keeps running into her the rest of his life, until he can't live without her.  It's a haunting story, and it was very believable how they kept running into each other --- the bakery and the woman who works in it are the constants; they keep in touch through her or the place.  Once again, a couple of moments I missed, and again not sure why, but for the most part the story was easy to follow, but not handed to you on a platter --- sometimes you have to work for the meaning behind the scene, and I like that about the style.  I would give this a 4 out of 5 and recommend this, esp. as an example of this south korean romance genre.


"TUNE IN FOR LOVE"    2019     2 hours and 2 mins

In 1997 during the IMF crisis, two people meet while exchanging stories on a radio program. They fall in love, but can't quite seem to get the timing right.

Director:

 Ji-woo Jung

Writer:

 Ji-woo Jung

Stars:

 Go-eun Kim, Hae-In Jung, Hae-Joon Park

Movie #1907 ........................."Crash Landing on You" (streamable Netflix)

Movie #1907 "Crash Landing on You" (streamable Netflix) So this is South Korean t.v. show #2 --- this one I found silly from the beginning.  I once again sat through 2 episodes , and I just didn't warm up to either of the leads at all --- She was some shallow Ivanka Trump kind of person who ran a  makeup and accessories -type corporation and not sure why, but she decided to hang glide and ended up in North Korea (from S. Korea) --- that part was interesting to me knowing how big of a difference that is --- but instead of seriously showing the problems, the story plays out like a farce --- she running in her expensive clothes and shoes, trying to hide from (of course) the good looking No. Korean soldier who is supposed to capture her.... Once again , I had enough after  the two episodes.  Her family was all stereotypical and played like big broad characters who are hard to believe  -- she is a smart alec you want to slap in the face sometimes - she , of course, will change her ways, but I saw very little to like after the first two episodes.  I''d give this one 3 out of 5, and will continue my search for something better to recommend.

"CRASH LANDING ON YOU"   2019 --- again 16 episodes, these run mostly 85 mins. each

Plot is above

Creators:  Lee Jeony -hyo, Park Ji-eun

Actors:  Hyun Bin, Son ye-Jin

Movie #1906 .........................Chocolate

Movie #1906 "Chocolate"  (streamable on Netflix)  this is not the wonderful French film "Chocolate" with Juliette Binoche, but the South Korean t.v. show.  Why am I all of a sudden studying  South Korean films?  Okay, so I made a bet with an ohs alum that I would watch at least 6  South Korean romance films (because they are supposed to be a lot like the Hallmark xmas movies that are my guilty pleasure to watch ) --- anyway, I took to netflix and found that there are tons of choices. When I went back to the alum, she suggested several titles --- but when I went back to Netflix, I found they were t.v. shows with at least 16 shows in each season, and each show runs about 75 mins or so.  This all of a sudden became an overwhelming undertaking --- I don't read series books usually, I don't support movies in a series (except for "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" ) and I just don't do well with watching one after another after another.  But I thought I would try, and I picked the show "Chocolate" mostly because I like chocolate, and it seemed to be a series that might be sustained because the guy and girl meet as kids and their love story had a lot of time to  develop as they grow up.  I watched episode 1 and 2  and must say, I wasn't ready for the differences in this genre from our Hallmark romance films.  1) they are much faster (and even more so if you think that everything for me has to be  read in subtitles) 2) I don't know one actor from another and their names are so different from ours that I had trouble following who was who, along with the rather detailed plot with lots of what I would call soap opera curves along the way.  3)  acting is very broad --- there's a brother in this show that screams and yells on all his entrances and flails his arms...... kind of silly.  But I must say, I see glimpses of   Hallmark a lot ---the sweet opening scene between the high class little girl and the lower class little boy who feeds her homemade noodles and esp. chocolate , their separation, their constant meetups periodically in their lifetime, him not recognizing her, but her recognizing his name on his Dr. shirt when she sees it, etc... His best friend falls in love with her, and the plot marches on.  But slowly, because I am convinced at this point that editing is not fine tuned in these films.  So, overall, by the end of episodes one and two, I really didn't care all that much about them or the story .  I have to admit, I got lost in some parts (and that's been consistent in all this watching of South Korean cinema),  but I haven't figured out what that is yet --- it could be me.  So after about 150 minutes (more than one film), I decided to move on to another one.  I give this 3.5 out of 5.

"CHOCOLATE"  16 episodes on Netflix --2019  ( ca 74 mins each episode)

Story of  Lee Kang (helps mom in restaurant as sous chef as a little boy) and Moon Cha-young and the ups and downs of their relationship through the years.

Creators:  Lee Hgung-min, Lee Kyeong-hee

Cast:  Ha Ji-Won, Yoon Kye-Sang

Movie #1905 .........................Films in Competition 3 (

Movie #1905 Films in Competition 3 -- bundle of short films....... Due to the virus, the Ann Arbor Film Festival offered their films live streamed on line and I got to see this bundle.  I picked this one because one of the films was put together by Alison Nguyen, but not the ohs theatre family Alison Nguyen, but it motivated me to pick this one out.  When I am choosing films at a festival, I don't look for the ones way out there --- I look for good, original storytelling.  This would not be a festival I would probably go out of my way to attend, because the films seemed really what I would call "arty" and way out there.  Some of these films in the bundle, were just plain strange.  I took notes, well, just to keep me from nodding off, to be honest,.

1) "Darwin's Nightmare" Part 1 and 2.  Here's what I saw:  two guys dressed like turtles , annoying sound in the background ; they make minimal movements on a beach, while a man with a black costume walks out of the water and around them as they hide.  okay ---- missed me.

2) "Bearing" (3 minutes)  a drone in the shape of a bearing shows the reflection off of the land and buildings, etc. that it travels by.  The first few seconds, I said --- well, that's kind of cool --- but to me, it didn't go anywhere --- to meaning, I mean, not to land and buildings.  I got that! The whole time I felt if a viewer stared at it, the film could hypnotize you.

3) "Feminism in a browser" -- I don't get this one at all ---- graphics people made a woman in her environment and try to materialize her ------ ?  I am not technologically advanced enough to understand this or appreciate the film...

4) "Mirage" -- 6 mins. - just Black and white shots of things you'd see going up a mountain and coming down --- juxtaposed with up and down a skyscraper, a billboard ad , a marquis, hotel sign. And that was kind of it --- when the guy was asked in a Q and A afterwards, he said he was trying to show rural vs. city life ---

5) "Every Dog has its day " 7 minutes and this was the Alison Nguyen one --- it was a film  that showed how various people have made films in the past and present --- underdog theme was the focus --- this film was way too scattered for me  --

6)  "Goldfish" -- this is one of those films that if I were teaching, I would like to show it to a bunch of students and have them write or speak on what they thought the theme was.  Here is what I thought from the ink drawings shown one after  another:  we are all goldfish in the bowl/internet.

7)"The Lake" - 39 minutes -- this was a waste of celluloid --- just shots of lakes --- I think there must have been a point --- after all, it was 39 minutes, but it didn't sustain my interest at all.

8)  "I'm not a robot"  - 2 mins --- when the Q and A came on, I was upset that I had missed this one --- but then as they  talked about it , I realized I had seen it and thought it was asking us to log in and put our names  and email addresses and an extensive list of those robot testings  --- mark off the boxes that have street signs, or whatever --- too funny because it was actually the show film --- so it fooled this viewer!