Mr. Socrates

2005 Korean movie that stars Kim Rae won as Ku Dong hyuk, a street dog with mad fight skills and no conscience who even has no issue with his begging money off his old man, a wastrel behind bars for a string of petty theft crimes.

Oppa Kim is great, though, and despite the feral character he portrays, one can't help but smile and insist it can't be true of a guy like him - because he's got that kind of a face.

You know, the eyes with a hint of a smile behind them, clean-shaven handsome mug, and even in scruffy garb, you can't help but get the feeling that he reeks of suave sophistication.

Early in this movie, and after he's beaten down a number of no-accounts, Ku is kidnapped in the same, abrupt and violent fashion as he's been living since they put away his father.

This is where the title comes into play.

Guys at the top with lots of money and little in the way of brains are doing shady things, like recruiting thugs and transforming them into upstanding citizens who will work for them or suffer the consequences.

They've chosen Ku as their latest disciple.

Being stubborn, he refuses at first and is beaten horrendously while also being made to suffer some pretty intense forms of torture until at last he acquiesces, studying daily to pass a high-school equivalency exam before going on to become a street cop.

This was actually kind of funny in places, and like I mentioned earlier, Kim's eyes make you want to giggle anyhow.

After studying his profile, it surprised me to note that this was the first time I ever saw him act - but that ...ing, Love Story at Harvard, Say You Love Me, Attic Cat, What Star Did You Come From, and My Love Patzzi are and have been on my list of 'watch' for awhile now at aznv.tv.

I like him, too, because for one thing, he's no Ken doll, and for another, I think he'd be the type of guy to make me laugh for no, other reason than to see me smile.

I worried, too, that Mr. Socrates was going to be one of them bloody messes filled with violent gore that turn my stomach and make me regret having watched, but it wasn't - despite the violence, torture, and seemingly mindless death scenes interspersed throughout this interesting movie.

No random sex scenes or the down-n-out hot chick for our leading man to mess around with, either!

The ending didn't come as much of a surprise, but it was still a good one.

I recommend Mr. Socrates to anyone with a few hours to kill who has the time to concentrate on the movie and nothing else, or you're liable to miss the whole point.