Tree of Heaven / 천국의 나무 / Chun-kook-eh Na-moo

Hana (Park Shin hye) is Korean but lives with her parents in Japan, owning and operating a hot springs resort.

She is a young girl when her father dies, and for years she is filled with loneliness while she remains an upbeat and pleasant girl, always smiling and finding the good in everything around her.

When she is 18, her mother remarries a Korean man with a 20 year old son name Yun suh (Lee Wan).

They return to Japan and the hotsprings resort, where Hana's mother's dead husband's sister and her catty daughter, Maya, work to exist.

They are responsible for Hana and Yun suh during the newlywed's honeymoon trip, and because of gambling debts incurred by the aunt and Maya's strong desire to attend college, they treat Hana like sheizen while plotting to sell the resort for the money.

Yun suh is 'autistic' because his mother died on his 10th birthday, and he refuses to open up to his new sister or anyone else, preferring to walk barefoot in the snow and daydream about a promise his late mother made about returning to him when the snow falls.

He's gorgeous and she is pretty - and her genuine need for comfort, love, and the warmth of human kindness brought me to tears almost every time she made tireless attempts to bring her new brother around and force him out of his shell.




Early on at school, the boys taunt Yun suh and call him names while he lays in the snow staring up at the sky.

He's wearing a dual-cross necklace that the boys snatch from his neck, and that sends the silent man-child into a red rage.

All the while the boys are tossing that keepsake over his head and he's trying what he can to get it back, Hana is on her knees and in tears, screaming at them to stop; that its a gift from his dead mother and they have no right to do something so cruel.

I should have said earlier that this is a box-of-tissues drama.

This incident is what helps Yun suh to let down his guard and begin to warm up to Hana.




The reason he walks about in the snow barefoot is because he has totally misconstrued a saying: "Cold 'feet', warm heart" when its actually "Cold 'hands', warm heart"

Poetic license I suppose, since it'd be kind of hard to ask an actor to walk on his hands for 10 episodes, wouldn't it?

Anyway, Yun suh starts to have feelings for Hana, and while Hana is initially fond of having anyone like a big brother in her lonely life, she is afraid of the repercussions that come with falling in love with her 'in the eyes of the law' brother.

At the same time Yun suh begins to emerge from his 10-year shell, senpai Fujiwara Ryu (Uchida Asahi) returns to the constant cheers of the crowd of high school students who think and treat Ryu like a god.

Of course, Senpai is not only handsome and tall but wealthy as well, so what's not to love about the guy?

Hana actually always had a crush on him, and he always had a crush on her, so his real reason for returning to the high school is to move in for the kill.

His parents own and operate a chain of hotels that he is destined to inherit as an only child, and he wants to make Hana his bride as soon as she has her 'coming of age' ceremony (age 20 is it?).

While having to put up with the constant misery of her aunt and cousin's jealous spite, Hana is also left to spurn the doggedly hot advances of her suddenly awakened and now horny stepbrother.

Hana wants the love of a big brother as much as she wants to be able to admit to feeling for Yun suh the way he openly and unashamedly feels about her; but there is always that public humiliation thing looming overhead that keeps her from reacting to her own desires.

In a stunning climax on graduation day, Yun suh begs Hana to acknowledge her feelings, and in a torrent of tear she refuses, and then Senpai Ryu comes to the rescue, decking Yun suh in front of the entire student body.

Yun suh walks away, vowing never to return or bother Hana again.

Fast-forward two years later, when Hana is about to become 'a woman' in the eyes of the law, and she's working as a maid at Ryu's hotel in Tokyo - and her cousin Maya is now head madam at a high-class hooker joint.

Yea, they sold the hot-springs resort out from under Hana and Yun suh almost immediately after the aunt found out that her sister-in-law and new husband died in a car accident on their way home from their honeymoon.
Hana and Yun suh don't know about this, though.

There is a mysterious guest in a penthouse suite who insists that it be Hana who caters to him, takes care of his room, and delivers his meals.




I knew who it was right away, but it takes Hana a long time to figure it out.


He also cut off all his glorious hair, which was a big disappointment - and instead of reminding me of Kim Bum, he suddenly gave off a Jet Li vibe that I wasn't expecting AT ALL.





His left ear also stuck out, bugging the crap out of me for the duration - but whatever.

A lot of the comments at aznv.tv were favorable, and some of the girls listed Tree of Heaven as one of their top-five dramas of all time.





It was a really interesting story, and I loved both the male and female leads this time - actually even preferring the girl to the boy on occasion, she was that likable and pretty without any of the overly done melodrama, childish behavior, or whining associated with ALL of her fellow actresses - but I can't say this was or ever will be one of MY top-five picks.

Maybe because I hate predictable endings - which, by the way, no one liked, including moi.

I have pictures to show you, so let's just get to that now, shall we?


Takasugi Ko as his bodyguard / chauffeur Iwa


pretty shoes Yun suh bought Hana for her graduation


Older Yun suh with eviler cousin Maya


Hana is eventually reunited with Yun suh, and things seem promising for awhile, but then reality sets in for dear, tormented Yun suh and he ends up having to beg Senpai Ryu to take confused Hana off his hands by marrying her.


Senpai knows how she really feels, but he's totally in love, so I guess he's willing to overlook a lot of things, including her true feelings for another man


Yun suh looks on


sorry so blurry - but, Yun suh had an eerie habit of being there every time Hana stood at a window to reflect on her past - weird in a cool sort a way



pretty window of her room at the old hot-springs hotel

pretty view inside the penthouse suite - cute thing is, Hana doesn't like that Yun suh always wears black, being naive about his 'career', and he's not happy about her choice of suit, but because he loves her ...

this is NOT a spoiler by any means - you know I would never do that to y'all, so don't be shocked by this ...


She really and truly loves him, for crying out loud - how could she NOT run after him when she finds out he's sneaking a peek at the wedding ceremony to make sure Senpai keeps his word???


poor, devastated groom on what was supposed to be his big day


Intermittently, there was music that I found appealing, and here is a sample:




Yes, somebody dies - but not the way you think - it's a Korean drama, for heaven's sake!

I hated the ending like most everyone else - and if I had my way, I'd write a new ending to make this one a better drama - perhaps even a 'top 5', eh?

If you haven't seen this one yet, I highly recommend Tree of Heaven.

I'd also be curious to know if you might list this one in the top-5 or even top-10 list of all-time greats, too!

Read More

When Romance Meets Destiny / 언제 로맨스 운명을 만나다

2006 Korean movie about two brothers who have issues with love, romance, and 'words'.

The eldest brother meets a girl he falls instantly in love with and proceeds to drool every time she is around - but, that's all he can do - stare.
Meanwhile, a hot boy who works with him at the photography studio also thinks she's something special and moves in almost immediately to try and win her heart.
She likes the eldest brother, but she's waiting for him to make the first move - an unlikely occurrence since he's totally clueless and has no guts.

His little brother is involved with a really beautiful girl even when he's nothing to brag about, and they have a lot of sex, but there is nothing in the way of a substantial or lasting relationship, so it inevitably ends in a break-up that takes him completely by surprise and causes him to step back a bit.

He's an irresponsible drunk whose only concern is whether or not she 'liked' it, and after she dumps him, he starts to clean up his act while thinking about all the stupid sh*t he put her through.

He also realizes a stupid mistake he made with his older brother and the girl, but it may be too late for that relationship to ever take off.
She ends up on the altar with his co-worker, and its the younger brother who is the MC, and the eldest brother interrupts the ceremony by walking right up to the bride & groom.
It's anticipated that he take her by the hand and drag her away from the wedding hall, and its obvious that's what she'd like him to do, but like always, he gets cold feet, grabs a mic, and starts to sing a love song about unrequited love instead.

The ending comes as a bit of surprise though, and this movie was worth the watch, so give it a chance if you have a few hours to kill.

Read More

Mom Never Dies / 어머니는 죽지 않는다

2007 Korean movie that, again, stars no one mega-popular but with a storyline that is both touching and disturbing.

Choi ho is an aging but famous novelist who sneaks into a cordoned off area of an old town that is soon to experience the destructive affects of a detonation switch in the name of progress.

While the demolition crew and his granddaughter run around trying to find him, he finds his childhood home and immediately slips back in time, reliving his past through a series of vignettes and touching time-line incidences that explain his and his dead mother's personality.

I say disturbing because while I may have misread what I saw and heard, I got the impression he left his mother without a word for more than 30 years because of something as gross as incest - but, I can't verify nor say its for certain.

She was the 'typical' movie/drama mama who lives in a poor neighborhood with a sick husband while doing her best to raise her three children.

The daughter gets preggers and has to leave first, and then the eldest boy gets engaged to a woman above their status, so therefore he's unable to bring her back to the house or take their mother with them, so its the baby boy who is left 'holding the bag' if you will.

She's also the typical, overbearing and smothering Korean mother who lives for her baby and actually shows her jealousy when he becomes involved with a popular girl at college.

She succeeds in scaring away the pretty girl when he invites her to the house for a dinner and mama instead is out in the courtyard preparing the tedious ingredients to make Kimchi.

The pretty girl surprises the mother and her embarrassed boyfriend when she changes into his clothing and proceeds to help with the 'typical' Korean family get-together event.

She then dumps the boy, breaking his heart and leaving him devastated for a time.
It also leads to his decision to walk away from his mother, never to return again.

There's a local man who thinks the old lady is still sexy and wants to get together with her, but she snubs him while awaiting the day when her boy returns to her.

As a mom with a boy, I worried as I watched this one, hoping I'm not, that clinging or insecure about losing him to another woman.
I still can't see him dating, much less getting hitched and bringing new life into the world, but that IS my problem and something I, as a mother, need to work on if I want to see him happy.
He keeps promising to take me with him wherever he goes, offering a room with a view in exchange for babysitting, cleaning, and cooking services, and while I hope it comes to fruition, I know in my heart the reality is less than likely it actually will.

Despite the possibility of my misconception of the underlying message here, I think Mom Never Dies was a good movie, and I recommend it highly as a rainy-day view.

Read More

Radio Star / 라디오 스타 / Radio Seuta

2006 Korean movie that stars no one spectacular but with a storyline that was amazing in its simplicity and realistic detail.

A mega-popular folk singer from the late '80s and early '90s who became dubbed 'the Korean Elvis' ends up tossing the fame for drugs & alcohol, thus cutting short his career and popularity with such a fickle crowd as groupies or 'fans' of anyone they can only dream about becoming an equal to.

Save his adorable manager, who remains by his side through the good and the bad times and inevitably helps with his come-back of sorts.

Kids in their teens & twenties have no idea who he is, or recognize him as the dude their parents liked back in the day, and his aging fan base dwindle to nothing because of his lifestyle choices that ruined him earlier than they would have liked.

A higher-up at a big radio station offers him a job as a dj, and at first the singer is totally insulted; refusing to discuss the situation with his always-pleasant manager, but inevitably, the two end up in the one-horse town along with a young PD (oh, excuse me - what was I thinking calling a 30ish female YOUNG. Der!) who was transferred from the big station because of her 'differing' personality with the men who tend to dominate the arena.

The aging but still hip rocker at first blows off the assignment, shows up late for work, and he ignores the PD's queue's to talk or play a song. Shiftless and spoiled can't, even find a party store to buy a pack of cigarettes, and then he can't light one up without the aid of his manager, he's that useless without the guy.

All they do is fight, argue, fuss, and carry on like an old, married couple, but the manager never loses his cool or patience with the brat going on fifty.

Things finally start to settle in for everyone though, and then they eat together at a tiny restaurant in town, where the PD gets drunk and proceeds to rip the rock-star a new one in front of his colleagues and the townsfolk by putting him in his place by reminding him about his mistakes, and rubbing it in about his washed up career as a singer.

The kindly manager tries to smooth things over, but while the singer broods in their tiny hotel room, the manager runs about town spreading the word about their new DJ and could you please turn off the plasmas and turn on the radio to give the show a chance?

Meanwhile, there's a grassroots rock band (garage band in the states) who are totally into the '70s and '80s sound, recreating it while sticking to their modern style for a revamp of the oldies.
These guys are hilarious and spend a majority of the movie chasing after the rock star, begging him to listen to their mix-tape or at least play a tune on his show.

Townsfolk start tuning in, and soon people are calling the show for advice on everything from a granny who always cheats at go-stop to a shy boy needing to find the courage to let a girl at the bank know he's in love.

The band boys record the show and post it online so everyone in Korea can hear it, which brings a sudden and huge boost to the ratings, which impresses the big guy back in Seoul, who decides its time to bring the has-been rocker back to the city for his grander debut as a grander DJ.
While this is in the works, rocker and manager get into a big fight, and then something sad occurs at the station in Seoul - leaving the rocker devastated and useless.

It has a happy ending, though!

Highly recommend you give this flick a chance.

Read More

Hana Yori Dango / 花より男 / Boys Over Flowers

We all know the details about this one, eh?

2005 and 2007 drama based on an Anime about four, rich boys who rule an upper-class high school, where a poor girl is fortunate (or not) enough to be able to attend because she's smart, and when girl first meets boy, there is no love - that's for sure.

The cast for the Japanese version include Inoue Mao as Makino Tsukushi, Matsumoto Jun as Domyoji Tsukasa, Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui, Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Sojiro, and Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasaka Akira.

Sorry fans, but I still think that Meteor Garden had the best cast, the best storyline, and the neatest way of telling an over-done and blown-totally-out-of-proportion anime.

However, despite the fact I think Matsumoto Jun isn't handsome at all or even a great actor, he managed to pull off the Domyoji character best.

I'll always, ALWAYS love Jerry Yan the most of the three, different versions of the F4 leader of this far-fetched tale, and poor Jun will always be at the bottom of this list, but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate his efforts, because he nailed it afaic.

The fact that I hardly remember the rest of cast says something about Japan's version of this story, too.

No one is capable of pulling off ruthless bitch like a Taiwanese girl can, and no one can pull off macho supremacy the way a Korean dude can, which leaves our poor, Japanese grass-eater actors hanging, so to speak.

I hardly recall the bitch mother in Meteor Garden, and I'm still trying to figure out who won the bitch mother award in the Japan vs Korean versions, too.

The jury is still out on this one.

I can say that Barbi was just, too beautiful to portray the poor, picked on girl, and that the differences between the Japanese and Korean versions of the same character weren't, all that significant, either, but I can tell you that Barbi's character left the biggest impression on me, but that doesn't mean I didn't like all three or prefer one over the other.

I never was like most girls who have no qualms about falling in love with female actresses.
I, for one, think it's creepy and just, plain wrong to gush over a chick when I'm one, too.

I'm in it for the gorgeous guys, and that's basically all I care about - unless the female lead is a whining, sniveling beotch with zero personality or no reason under the sun to have hot dudes after her scrawny ass. It's only THEN that I'm likely to go on about a female character.

Regardless of which version of this surprisingly popular tale I watched, it has to be said that the only reason it became as popular as it did was because of the male leads from each, respective country who generated the hype; not the story.

As an aside: I think the girls who gush about female actresses are actually jealous and wish they could be that close to so, many hunky guys - but to keep from having to admit their inner demons are real, they compliment the female stars like they are talking about a popular girl in school they wish they were cool enough to be able to hang out with.

Read More

Driving Miss Wealthy

Not that this 2004 Cantonese (Hong Kong) movie was bad or anything - and the stars are Gigi Leung and Lau Ching-wan, but it wasn't a 'great' movie.

It's the story about a spoiled rich girl who lets people take advantage of her so she will feel loved and wanted.

Her father wants her to stop spending all his money and get a grip on reality, so he hires a guy to drive her everywhere, and then he fakes his own death (I know, creepy) in order to force his daughter to take responsibility for her own life.

Lau's character is happy to play along and especially likes the big money he's making, and Leung's character refuses to budge at first until gradually coming to terms with her reality and then making the most of it.

The two leads end up with romantic inclinations toward one another, and then there is the sad climax followed by the fairytale ending.

Trust me, it's a movie you have to see to be able to fully appreciate or gain anything from, but it isn't the best thing to come along - which is not, really such a big deal this time.

Read More

By the Book / 바르게 살자 / Ba-leu-ge Sal-ja

2007 Korean comedy that took something as totally serious as bank robbery with death & hostages and turned it into the most hilarious thing I've seen in awhile - especially from Korea!

Jeong Jae yeong plays Jung Do man, a traffic cop who ends up being assigned to a special task force created by an opportunistic police chief meant to help crack the mystery surrounding a string of daylight bank robberies occurring without effective police control in the city.

Do man timidly insists he's not the man for the job, but the new and cocky police chief insists that he is, so when the time comes for Do man to 'fake' a bank robbery so the chief can have captured on live television the police force's response, that's when the real fun begins.

Do man is like the movie title suggests: a man who goes strictly By the Book; even handing out traffic tickets to city officials who break the laws since they presume to be above them.
Do man doesn't care, though, because regardless of who you are, the law is the law.

Before the day of the 'fake' robbery, he studies religiously by renting movies about bank robberies, news footage from past bank robberies ... even reading up on the psychological aspects of the criminal mind in order to do his job to the best of his ability.

It isn't that the police chief or Do man's comrades DON'T know what he's like - it's that the chief thinks he's the ideal candidate while the others keep shaking their heads in dismay, wondering "Why him?"

Everyone at the bank knows what is about to happen, and a few of Do man's comrades are there posing as customers, the cops, and so-forth.
Do man is the master-mind behind the heist, so he is in control from the word go.

In just under two hours, he manages to pull the perfect heist, even 'fake' killing a few people and raping a loud-mouth teller by first doing push-ups at her feet, and then hanging a 'raped' sign about her neck so she can't 'play the game' anymore.

hehehehehehehe

What was supposed to be a ten-minute occurrence ends up taking an entire day to unravel, with the police ending up looking much worse on camera thanks to the ever-vigilant and ever-faithful Do man.

He is always a step or four ahead of the cops, and its his ability to outwit them that has the entire town in an uproar, not to mention the fact the men inside the bank have grown frustrated with his regimented style and want to go home to eat.

Jeong Jae yeong is an amazing actor and not half-bad to look at, either.
Throughout this movie, it was difficult to decide what was serious and what was a joke.
Even when he did something hilarious, it was his deadpan expression and serious eyes that made me feel a tad on the uncomfortable side for giggling at him.

Its my understanding he's a late-comer to the movie/drama world, and the fact that he won an award for his performance in Silmido back in 2003 makes me want to see more of what he's done.

The list is long, so I hope I can find them at aznv.tv

Check this one out, as I'm sure you'll like it, too.

Read More

Kougen e Irasshai / 高原へいらっしゃい / Welcome to the High Plains

2003 TBS drama that stars Sato Koichi as Omokawa Seiji - a man with 'hotel' in his blood.

I had a feeling when I chose to watch this that it would make me cry, but it didn't happen quite the way I had expected - and not as helplessly as it turned out, either.

This is one of them 'feel good' dramas with no one ultra-cool, super-hot, or entirely too popular starring in it, and probably because of the simple storyline, and the fact that it didn't hail from an anime or manga series, it flowed brilliantly while remaining true to itself.

At the moment, I'm stuck in my writing, so I took a break to watch another drama online when the idea to steer clear of anything dopey, sappy, or kitschy made me choose Kougen e Irasshai.
It's sometimes easy for a writer to get sucked into someone else's tale, and we'd never want to 'borrow' when we put so, much effort into what we truly believe to be our own, best work.
In this respect, I'm glad I chose this drama - because it helped me to understand that what I am trying to do isn't a waste of effort at all - and it certainly isn't the residual effects of someone else's ideas, either.

Kougen e Irasshai was written by a man, and not for the anime crowd, either.

Omokawa is a Japanese businessman struggling to find himself after failing miserably at a previous attempt to run an upscale hotel in the big city.
He had the rules, regulations, and protocol down pat, but he ignored the human aspect of the industry, and that was what caused him to lose face, so to speak.

He's married to a woman whose father buys property cheap and then sells it for a profit, and that includes hotel chains.
The marriage failed, but the wife still believes in her husband's inner potential for greatness, so her father offers Omokawa a position at a small chalet in the foothills of a beautiful mountain.

The chalet has been vacant for awhile and in bad need of repair/renovation.
Omokawa has already scoured the city in search of the perfect hotel staff, and now they converge on this peaceful dale only to have their expectations dashed upon first glance.

The staff want to do their job and not scrub floors, dust cobwebs, paint wood, and struggle to master carpentry in a few days' time.

Omokawa, being charismatic, determined to succeed, and humble after his past failure manages to convince everyone, including the locals, that he means business and that they are all a part of a special team designed specifically with the hotel in mind.

They struggle at first and have to get used to living together, but eventually, things start to run smoothly until the hotel gains a reputation for being hospitable, warm, and with delicious food as well as a magnificent view.

Looming over the stodgy accountants head, however, is the private and unexpected news of the front office' decision to sell the chalet in the fall.

There was a line from one of the guests that helped me to realize that my dream is still possible:

"Most hotels cater to young women today, but this is nothing like that."

Most stories today cater to the young set as well, but what I'm trying to do is nothing like that, either.

This was a refreshing change from the norm in every sense of the term, and I highly recommend it if you have a day to kill.

Read More