Windstruck (Korean, 2004)

Original Title: Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida
Directed and Written by Jae-young Kwak
Starring Gianna Jun, Hyuk Jang and Su-ro Kim

Whether you like it or not, one of the most highly revered South Korean movie was 2001's My Sassy Girl (Yeopgijeogin). The movie's director Jae-young Kwak, as well as actor Tae-hyeon Cha and South Korea's 'It Girl' Ji-hyun Jeon's fame skyrocketed. Before 2001, romcom (romantic comedy) movies were nowhere to be found in the South Korean film industry. Through My Sassy Girl's success, South Koreans started to appreciated this kind of genre.

Thus it was not surprising that people expected a LOT from Windstruck (Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida), after learning that it was the reunion of My Sassy Girl's director and lead actress. Surprisingly, despite being one of South Korea's highly successful movies, it hardly became a runaway success that its backers had been expecting.

Grave of the Fireflies (Japanese, 1988)

Original Title: Hotaru no haka

Directed and written by Isao Takahata

Base from the novel of Akiyuki Nosaka

Starring Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi and Akemi Yamaguchi

Movies are usually described as "moving", "powerful" and "nice", but Grave of the Fireflies is just one of the highly revered movies that perfectly fit those three aforementioned adjectives.

The sight of the two children caught in the peripheral effects of war makes Grave of the Fireflies a painful yet beautiful movie at the same time. It is indeed an allegory of the two children who struggled for survival after their parents got killed in the war. Produced in the late 80s, the animated one gave simple actions and focused on scenes that portrays beauty and innocence, enhancing the big differences from the harsh realities of life experienced by the two main characters.

Bangkok Traffic Love Story (Thai, 2009)

Directed and written by Adisorn Trisirikasem
Starring Sirin Horwang, Theeradeej Wongpuapan and Unsumalin Sirasakpatharamaetha

One can find love on any place at any given time. Take this Thai movie as an example. Who would have thought that one would found her one and only in a seemingly odd place - right inside Bangkok's sky train?

The Classic (Korean, 2003)

Keulraesik (original title)
Directed and written by Jae-young Kwak
Starring Ye-jin So, In-seong Jo and Seong-woo Cho

Most romantic movies that I have watched have lousy story lines. Such stories were already taken from other movies resulting to a predictable ending. But The Classic is different.

Directed by Kwak Jae-young, The Classic was a long-awaited follow-up to his 2001 smash hit My Sassy Girl (Yeopgijeogin geunyeo). My Sassy Girl became a smash hit, making the careers of actors Jeon Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyeon rose into the world of stardom. It wasn't really surprising that a lot of people tagged The Classic as My Sassy Girl 2.

But unlike its predecessor, The Classic, as the movie title suggests, is a classic Korean romantic melodrama. It is totally different with My Sassy Girl in every angle.

The Love of Siam (Thai, 2007)

Thai Title: Rak haeng Siam
Written and Directed by Chukiat Sakveerakul
Starring Laila Boonyasak, Mario Maurer and Witwisit Hiranyawongkul

The Love of Siam

To label The Love of Siam as just a homosexual teen romance flick is to misconstrue its intention and power to the viewers. Director Sakveerakul wants to show something deeper in one of his most successful movies. Aside from the strong attraction between the two young lead stars, the road towards to accepting a long-delayed reality was truly slow, painful and hard. The Love of Siam likewise makes us realize that to love and being loved by someone required sacrifice, which would lead to pain and a flow of emotions.

Top 10 Most Titillating Pinoy Movies

These are the movies that cannot help but make you hot. Alternatively classified as bomba, ST (sex trip), or TF (titillating…) films, these movies usually generated a lot of controversy in and out of the movie industry, and especially in the MTRCB. Although castigated for their sexual content, several of these movies did tackle Philippine issues relevant to their time. Of course, it IS the sexy parts that people will remember more. So, if you can’t wait any longer, turn down the aircon’s thermostat, prepare to be heated up, and read on to find our list of Top 10 Most Titillating Philippine Movies.

Spirited Away (Japanese, 2001)

Written and Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Spirited Away is one of the impeccable movies I have ever seen. The plot was fantastic and full-bodied. Each character was given so much personality, even the little soot spiders weren’t treated as two-dimensional!

This box-office hit Japanese animated movie reflects the culture and beliefs of the Japanese people. Even at modern times, there are still who believed in kami, a Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Even here in the Philippines, Filipinos also have this similar beliefs about spirits dwelling around the surroundings. Some them guard those century-old trees or even inhabit those long abandoned houses or buildings.

There are several significant themes presented in the movie.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Thai, 2010)

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love / First Love (สิ่งเล็กเล็ก ที่เรียกว่า..รัก)

Directed by: Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong

Release Date: August 12, 2010 (Thailand)

Runtime: 118 min.

Cast: Mario Maurer / Pimchanok "Baifern"Leuwisedpaiboon / Sudarat Budtporm / Acharanat Ariyaritwikol

I first heard this movie from Juan and I got curious since he had written a good review about it. This Thai movie was released last August 2010 and I just watched it on YouTube.

The movie is all about puppy love. Nam (Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol), a young and ugly girl had a huge crush with Chon (Mario Maurer), the school’s heartthrob since her freshmen year. With the help of her supportive friends, she somehow got the chance to have some brief, close encounters with her knight in shining armor. It was not an easy road for Nam, though. Some girls were more beautiful and more talented than her. She thought that she will have no chance to be with Chon. Eventually, she grew up and became beautiful and discovered something more about Chon.

Ni hao!

Hey guys, I know a lot of people love to watch Asian films and series. Even Americans and Europeans are now starting to watch some of Asia's best movies and TV series. In fact, Hollywood had made several remakes of Asian movies like Ring (Japan), Lakehouse (Korea) and Sigaw (Philippines). More so, Asian films have already conquered the international film festivals and even bagged numerous awards.

Asian movies are quite different to American and European flicks. One of the reasons is the main cultural differences between the two. But either way, it is the script and the storyline that matter the most.

This blog aims to promote Asian films and TV series. Although, I won't be providing download links since it's illegal. LOL. But yeah, I will try my best to update this blog as often as possible.

Cheers and have fun!