Gwoemul

Gwoemul
Those of you who haven't watched the movie The Host (aka Gwoemul), you guys don't know what you're missing... it's probably one of the best movies to come out of Korea (land of BoA and kimchi) ever... What grips you is that it goes against your expectations, surprises you and at times, frustrates because it keeps going against what you want to happen (and that can actually be a good thing). What surprises the most is actually the laughs. YES, laughs! It's a thriller-drama-comedy. An odd combination but it works... This movie's rather different and it's entertaining.

The storyline starts with the rather stereotype "dumping of toxic materials into the river"... and years later some fish gets really mutated... but the overall storyline is rather original with lots of twists. The opening scene where the daughter Hyun-Seo (brilliantly played by Ah-sung Ko, really cute lil girl) of lousy father Kang-du (excellently played by blond-haired Kang-ho Song) gets abducted by the giant fish monster has gotta be one of the most disturbing scenes ever... giving hints of things to come. The scene in which the family gets together after they suspected Hyun-Seo died was emotional at 1st, but takes a quirky twist as everyone in the cinema ends up bursting into laughter (watch the movie to see why... lol) and was one of many odd comic elements in the movie. The US as usual will interfere and take things into their own hands... the plot thickens and the monster gets more and more disturbing. Ok I won't give any spoilers... The family members, wise grandfather Hie-bong (brilliant acting by Hie-bong Byeon), drunk and hot-tempered uncle Nam-il (played by Hae-il Park), slowpoke Olympic medallist archer aunt Nam-ju (played by supercute Du-na Bae) are well portrayed, and you can't help but feel for them, as they go all-out in search for Hyun-Seo.. The monster is so alive... it likes, breathes, crawls, swings, swims, eats, vomits... um... you get the idea. Kudos to the animation team for a wonderful job on it. It may not be perfect, but it's as good as Korean movies get. The messages spread in this movie are clear and good, reflecting much of things going on in the world today... and the bond between family members, the emotions are all well displayed. The acting is good, the special effects top notch... what else can I say?

This is a MUST WATCH!

Gwoemul Trailers
Trailer - Korean Version


Japanese Version (This version's rather good)


Trailer - UK Version

Gwoemul Movie Posters

Teaser Poster

Dunno what version is this, but it's drawn...

Original Korean Poster

Another Original Korean Poster

Ok this is the one that we received...

Gwoemul Characters

Hyun-seo

Kang-du

Hie-bong

Nam-il

Nam-ju

Nam-ju again... what can I say, I find her cute XD

Gwoemul Screen Caps

A rather funny scene early in the movie

Hie-bong, Kang-du and Hyun-seo watching Nam-ju in the Olympics

Probably one of the most gripping scenes in the movie

Monster carrying victims to lair...

Mourning scene... (rather silly... lol)

The US taking over the situation...

Family kena quarantined...

Ironically all the incidents brought the family together

Searching for Hyun-seo...

Adorable Nam-ju...

Nam-ju taking aim at the monster (watch the movie to see what happens...)

Nam-ju again (yeah, she's looks dirty throughout 90% of the movie)

A rather emotional scene towards the end of the movie...

Interesting Trivia: The event described in the beginning of Gwoemul is based on an actual event. In February 2000 in a US military facility located in the center of Seoul, US military civilian employee Mr. McFarland ordered to dispose formaldehyde into the sewer system leading to Han River despite the objection of a Korean subordinate. Korean government attempted to prosecute Mr. McFarland in Korean court but US military refused to hand over the custody of Mr. McFarland to the Korean legal system. Later, a Korean judge convicted Mr. McFarland in absentia. Public enraged at the Korean government's inability to enforce its law on its own soil. In 2005, nearly five years after the original incident, Mr. McFarland was finally found guilty in Korean court in his presence. He never served the actual prison sentence, however. No sighting of mutant creature has been reported in Han River, yet... XD

PEACE & God Bless,
Aris

Crash and Burn

Crash and Burn
Things haven't been so good lately... been tryin to keep things off my mind... in vain. Well, watched The Bodyguard on TV the other day. Yeah, old movie, watched it numerous times, but I still find it a real classic... a tale of love that just can't be... and there's Whitney's really awesome yet sad version of "I Will Always Love You"...

If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.

Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.

You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.

And the following day I heard Clay Aiken singing his version of "Without You"... simple lyrics, but message well said...

No I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way
The story goes

You always smile but in your eyes
Your sorrow shows
Yes it shows

No I can't forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrow
When I had you there
But then I let you go
And now it's only fair
That I should let you know
What you should know

I can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give anymore
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't give
I can't give anymore

Well I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way
The story goes
You always smile but in your eyes
Your sorrow shows
Yes it shows

I can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give any more
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't give
I can't give anymore

Yeah I know... I should be moving on instead of letting such songs affect me (dun get me wrong, I've always loved those songs, it's just the timing... and If you haven't, you'd better give them a listen...), but it's just so hard to do. She has taken the next step with her guy, and honestly I'm happy for her. If it makes her happy then I should be happy for her... even if it hurts me so much in the long run. Why? Because I love her... perhaps more than she'll ever know. But does it matter now? It's part of life... perhaps we just were never meant to be... I'd be lying if I say I never hoped that things would turn around in the end... hard as it may be, it's time to move on, and perhaps all these events are meant to make me do so... I just want her to be happy.

But I still wonder, how... oh how... can time ever mend this soul who has crashed and burned?

PEACE & God Bless,
Aris

*Filled with Emptiness*

*Filled with Emptiness*
Sometimes you just feel like the whole world is against you... it feels like the skies are gonna fall upon you. I don't understand why I must go through all this... at 1st I thought, nah, must be one of those days, the problem is it just obviously isn't, and I'm gonna feel like this for quite some time... all the confusion and all the mess... why... just why? :(

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris

The A1GP Entry

Haven't got the chance to post my entry on the A1GP... mostly due to being busy, and recently falling sick too. Anyways, despite one week late, here's The A1GP Entry... Be warned that there's gonna be a lot of pics... well, not all that there is, as they'll be posted in the Photos section later...

The A1GP Entry
I invited Jill along for the A1GP... got free tickets from the company, seats at the main grandstand. Just thought that it'd be a wonderful experience. Jill agreed, and on race day itself, lil Myn asked if she could come along too. Well I told her she can if her parents are ok with it. So soon enough she hopped into the car and we set off to Sepang. Received an sms from her sis asking to take care of her. Of course I'll take care of her Fifi... she's like a sister to me :)



We dropped by McD's drive-thru at Puchong while on the way. Jill was very excited to finally see a drive-thru. Hee hee... When we arrived there there were so many cars... goodness... all the lots were full... we had to park approx. 1-2 kms away, and walked to the grandstand. Found out that the Sprint race was over, so we had to wait for the feature race. And what a long wait it was...


Satria Neo A1 Edition & Savvy Facelift

Mari bawa kompang...

Lovely ladies holding signs of the 25 nations...

Budaya Malaysia...

Tengok apa tue...

"I wonder if..."

Myn taking a look herself...

"Whoa~"

Audi A4 Safety Car

Heavy rain...

Striking a pose...

Smoking car...

Team.Malaysia - Alex Yoong

Team.Ireland

The chopper flew so low...

Hazardous conditions for racing...

Team.Pakistan

Team.Germany (eventual winner) proving too loud for this kid

Myn & Jill

What a crowd it was...

Another group pic...

Adik comel~

Misty...

Satria Neo Symphony

The car parks were full...

The car was parked this way...

After the A1GP, Myn wanted to go to the curve... so we went there, I belanja-ed her a nice Baskin Robbins ice cream and we went around for a lil jalan-jalan... The Curve was all decorated for Christmas. Pretty nice...


Nice decorations...

Wet bazaar...

Soon after that, we had to head back home. Myn has to be back before 7pm. So sent her home and went for dinner with Jill at Jasima. Ordered one of those pizzas... lol... quite nice. After makan and chit chat, we decided to call it a day...

And there you have it, my A1GP 2006 entry...

PEACe and God Bless,
Aris