Night of the Assassin(살수) Korean Film Thoughts(2023)

 

   Night of the Assassin is a 2023 film that was written by Kwak Jeong Deok and stars beloved South Korean actor, Shin Hyun Joon. The film was a moderate success when it entered theaters. Somehow this film managed to still land at the fifth spot for the box office. 

    A famous deadly assassin learns that he has a health condition and decides to go into hiding. Even when you try to run from your past, the past always finds a way to come looking for you......

     Night of the Assassin isn't really an action film per say.  I would say it's more of a family drama with some action thrown into the plot spontaneously. The beginning sets the tone a little bit. Some promise was even shown in the first few opening scenes. However, the action slows down quite a bit after the intro scenes. Then your left to watch family drama unfold in the same old fashion that other films have down before. I didn't hate that the film changed pace. What I hated is that the film couldn't find a solid path to the conclusion of the story. A lot of other qualities where added to the plot as a way to keep the viewer from realizing how bare bone the story was. The character with the red eye was never explained and the ending was very predictable. 

    Kwank Jeong Deok carried this film on his back and shoulders. I know he had a ton of back pain from holding this film up. If he hadn't been casted in the lead role, Night of Assassins would have faded into the damn night like a ninja.    

Bullet Train(マリアビートル) Japanese Novel Thoughts

 

    Bullet Train is a 2010 novel written by Kotaro Isaka. The novel received rave reviews not only in Japan but internationally as well.  It's success caused a stage play as well as a 2022 American remake starring Brad Pitt. Other forms of media such as a manga was also created. Bullet Train is one book in a series of three. 

    A group of assassins all board one train with different goals in mind. Some of these men know each other while, others cross paths for the first time. They try to outwit each other as the train reachesit's destination. 

   I'm going to be completely straight to the point. I didn't love Bullet Train. No matter how much I held in there to keep reading. I even tried to make excuses for why other people loved this novel while I did not. The plot is shown from the perspective of several different characters. honestly, not every character is really all that interesting and I could care less about a man's love for a child's cartoon about trains. Every aspect of the beginning is slow. Then continues to slug along until about the middle of the book. Even then, the meat of the book isn't good enough to warrant me having to read such a slow detailed start. The only character that was really interesting was The Prince. He has a dark complexity that really gave Bullet Train flavor during an overall bland core story. I ended out skipping through the book after awhile because I couldn't take it anymore.  I've started reading Three Assassins which already seems like a major improvement from this novel. Only time will tell......

      Bullet Train would have been a better read had the story just focused on one character. Readers really don't always need to know whats going on inside every single character's head. several points of view works for some stories  but not for all stories.  

SIDE NOTE: I would love to see a Japanese live action version of Bullet Train.

Kim Sejeong(세정) - Door문(門) Album Thoughts(K-ballad,pop,Etc)

 

    I wasn't very familiar with Kim Sejeong before she started promoting her album. She's an actress thats known for being in pretty popular Korean drama that i've never bothered to watch... I know of the School series but I didn't see the hype. Anyways, she was also a singer from one of those produce 101 seasons that caused her to jump from girl group to girl group. After having a mini album, Kim Sejeong finally releases her debut album titled Door. 

Track List

01. 항해
02. If We Do
03. 바라던 바다
04. 권태기의 노래
05. 모르고 그려도 서로를 그리다
06. Top or Cliff
07. Jenga
08. Indigo Promise
09. 편지를 보내요
10. 언젠가 무지개를 건너야 할 때
11. 빗소리가 들리면

    I gave this album a spin about two times now and each time I listened, the music brought me to the same conclusion...  Either there's a whole lot of ideas being tossed around in the studio or she just doesn't have a solid musical vision. The title track(Top or Cliff) that she's promoting currently got me to listen to her album. It's a mid tempo pop number that gives hints of salutary beats led by an acoustic guitar. This would lead you to think that Door would have the same feel. Nope. Instead we get an album that's a mix of sounds. On one track she wants to be an indie singer. Next it's a jazz singer. Then she pull out the pop rock style before settling on ballads for the rest of the album. She doesn't sound bad at all- don't get me wrong. It's just that the album doesn't flow whatsoever. Kim Sejeong would have been better off just releasing Top or Cliff as a digital single. 

    Kim's airy tone that comes out when she sings in a lower key. She sounds like every other Korean female singer any other time. She doesn't have a voice that I would be able to pick out if a bunch of Korean singers sang one after the other. Her charm comes out the most on simples tracks such as If We Do.    

    Kim Sejong won't be an artist that you will remember unless you willingly seek her music out. Especially if you listen to a shit ton of Korean artists like I do. She doesn't have a bad voice. It's just the good moments in the album are weighted down by so much baggage.