Two years after, Hee Soo was advised by her long-time publisher to stash herself in a rural cabin. She brought along her daughter Yeon Hee (Park Sa Rang) with her. She hoped that she’ll find inspiration there.

And the trip did the trick, as Hee Soo managed to write another Bestseller. Just when everything is turning around for her, she was hit with another plagiarism charge for her new novel because an old book had the same subject as her novel.

Bestseller might be a mystery movie but it had some elements of a good horror flick. Hee Soo’s new novel was about the murder of a girl in a small town. This was also the topic of the old book. What brought about the plagiarism charges was that both books had the same details of the murder. It was as if the authors were there when the girl was killed. Hee Soo was helped by her daughter while the other author supposedly got help from his dead wife.

Uhm Jung Hwa shined as the deranged writer. Most of her emotions were triggered by what her daughter did. You’ll be left guessing as to whether Yeon Hee told the truth or everything was just her imagination.

Now Hee Soo became obsessed with who or what was feeding the information to Yeon Hee. She returned to the cabin to find the truth behind the murder. From this point the eeriness of the first part was exorcised and Bestseller became a straight mystery movie.

From this part on of Bestseller, Hee Soo stumbled upon the real killer of her Bestseller. He was not who I suspected him to be. Though Bestseller is unpredictable, the ending was a bit of a letdown. It felt that I saw two different movies. The first one was a chilly horror and the second one was a mystery thriller. You could actually sense the gap between the two parts.

As always, Uhm Jung Hwa did well in Bestseller but it was not enough to save it. It had a good start but it wasn’t sustained until the end. Bestseller is not a bestseller in my book but if you like an unpredictable mystery then you should watch this one.

The murders were not so random at all when the police, with the help of Soon Jeong’s ex-husband Detective Oh Seong-ho (Moon Seong Geun), found how the victims are connected to the death of her daughter Min-ah.

Princess Aurora is a twisted story of a mother’s love. Uhm Jung Hwa is perfect for the role as she plays the deranged mother who was driven to do evil things for the love of her daughter. It shows that our world is neither black nor white and how thin the line is between just and insanity.

If you don’t want to be spoiled then don’t read beyond this point.

The first victim in Princess Aurora is the step mother of Min Ah’s friend. She is a mean step-mother and mistreats her daughter whenever the dad is not around. Min-ah told this to Soon Jeong the day before she died.

The restaurant guy bumped her car when she was on her way to fetch Min Ah. It was his fault because he went the wrong way in a one-way street. He was mean and sexist. He’s lucky because he’s the only one to survive among the victims.

Choi Sin Ok (Hyeon Yeong) is Soon Jeong’s co-worker who left Min Ah outside of the shop because she didn’t want to be late for her reservation at the spa.

Min Ah rode a taxi but when she told her that she’s short on the fare, he stopped the taxi and dropped her off. This was when the killer got Min Ah.

As you can see, the victims deserved what they got. As a mother, she wants to avenge her daughter’s death that drove her to her current state of mind. She was caught when she was torturing the killer’s lawyer and was sentenced to serve her time in a mental institution.

But this was all part of Soon Jeong’s plan. Min Ah’s killer is also in the mental institution because he pleaded insanity to escape jail time. Her ex-husband was also part of her plan and helped her by bringing in a blade hidden inside a bible. Her final act was killing Min Ah’s killer and then committed suicide. Then in the final scene of Princess Aurora we see the ex-husband detective stalking the lawyer.

Their love story began when Min-joon bumped Robin’s car on the way to work. To get out of trouble, she pretended not to speak English. But luck’s not in Min Joon’s way because it turns out that Robin’s her new boss.

Robin then picked her to be his assistant for an important project. Now I don’t get why he did this, especially after what happened earlier. No matter what the reasons might be, we all know where this will lead to.

Robin and Min Joon are complete opposites of each other. Min Joon tries too hard to please and care for her boyfriend, which in turn makes him feel suffocated and drives him away. Robin on the other hand is a confident but arrogant guy who is successful in his career and could probably get any girl if he wants to.

When Mn Joon was dumped by her boyfriend, Robin told her that she’ll be treated like trash all her life if she doesn’t change her ways. She then asked him to teach her how to handle guys. Will the student fall for the teacher and vice versa? This part of Seducing Mr. Perfect felt like Ugly Truth but the Korean movie came out first. Does this mean the Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler film was inspired by this one? We’ll never know the truth.

Uhm Jung Hwa and Daniel Henney have a good on-screen chemistry that their age difference is not even an issue. Seducing Mr. Perfect is Henney’s first movie and this is the reason why he seems lost in some scenes. Good thing Uhm Jung-hwa’s there to save him.

Seducing Mr. Perfect is a predictable movie where Robin and Min Joon kiss each other in the end. It has its share of cheesy quotes and funny scenes and would recommend it for those wanting to watch a fun romantic comedy.

His Concern

This is an urban romance about love at first sight and how the romance unfolds through the eyes of the guy played by Jang Hyuk. Although it felt like a rip-off of Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, I’m not complaining since it featured a seminal performance from Cha Hyun Jung as the girl being chased by the guy.

I’m Right Here

This is a story of never-ending love. Hye Rim (Cha Soo Yeon) is terminally ill and her husband Hyun Woo (Kim Kang Woo) wants to spend their last moments together with happy thoughts by playing hide and seek every night when he gets home from work. For me, this is the best short movie in Ogamdo. The husband worries about his wife being alone during the day when he’s at work, while the wife worries that she will leave her husband soon. Something about undying love has a special place in my heart.

33^rd Man

Now this is my least liked segment of Ogamdo. I guess the director wanted to have a campy feel and went for a vampire story. Director Bong (Kim Soo Ro) is a control freak and this irritates veteran actress Hwa Ran (Bae Jong Ok). She decides to take rookie actress Mi Jin (Kim Min Sun) under her wings and shared her secret of eternal beauty. In the end, Mi Jin seduced the director and got into his head… literally.

The End and the Beginning

I’m excited when this segment started playing because I’m a big fan of Uhm Jung Hwa. She plays Jung Ha, whose husband Jae In (Hwang Jung Min) has recently died in a car accident. She had the shock of her life when she finds out that her hoobae Na Ru (Kim Hyo Jin) is his mistress and they were together when the accident happened. To make up for her sins, Na Ru asked Jung Ha if she could live with her and here starts the fight of hate and desire. The story is a bit unbelievable but so is Uhm Jung Hwa’s beauty.

Believe in the Moment

It tells the story of three young couples and their impulsive behavior. I forgot who suggested it, but they switched partners for a day and this is where the conflict and passion comes in. Playing the teens are Kim Dong Wook, Jung Eui Chul, Song Joong Ki, Sin Se Gyeong, Lee Si Young, and Lee Sung Min. Although they depict teenagers, this segment deserves an R-rating.

Overall, Ogamdo or Five Senses of Eros is a good movie to pass your time. It brings nothing new to the table except for recycled ideas from a bunch of movies that I’ve already seen before, porn included. But don’t get me wrong. All five short movies were well made and the actors and actresses did a pretty good job. But take out all the love scenes and what’s left is not worth remembering.

It tells the tale of people who at that fateful day were in Haeundae and how their lives are before and after the tidal wave strikes.  In the beginning we see Man-sik (Seol Kyeong-gu) part of a fishing boat where one of its crew died during the December 2004 tsunami.  Fast forward to the present and he’s still blaming himself for it.  He looks after the dead man’s daughter Yeon-hee (Ha Ji-won).

A few days before the tidal wave, Man-sik’s younger brother Hyeong-sik (Lee Min-ki) is a lifeguard who saves Hee-mi (Kang Ye-won).  She’s a college student on vacation in Haeundae with her friends.  Their feelings for each other went from zero to a hundred in a couple of days but it is not without any hitch, which is caused by her rich admirer who owns a yacht.

Kim Hwi (Park Joong-hoon) is the scientist who has been warning the local officials of the impending danger only to be met by deaf ears.  His ex-wife Yoo-jin (Uhm Jung-hwa) is in charge of an expo event in Haeundae.  She’s in town with their daughter Ji-min (Kim Yoo-jeong).

Typical disaster movies are like roller coaster rides where you anticipate the dreaded event to happen.  This wait can be boring at times.  Haeundae managed to entertain the audience right from the beginning by featuring the stories of the three pairs mentioned above, as well as the people around them.

And just when we think that we’re watching a romantic movie, the tidal wave shows up.  The CGI-generated tidal waves and other special effects were a delight.  It can make you forget about logic for the time being.  But once the end credits are rolling, you’ll be asking yourself why the divorced couple died when they were perched on top of a tall building while Man-sik, Yeon-hee and the rest of the supporting casts survived swimming at ground level.

One memorable scene from Haeundae was the one involving Hyeong-sik and Hee-mi.  During the tidal wave, Hee-mi was at sea in the yacht with the rich guy.  They called for help and Hyeong-sik was one of those who responded to the call.  The cable can only hold two people at a time so Hee-mi went up first.  When it was time for the rich guy and Hyeong-sik to go up, cable started to break.  Hyeong-sik sacrificed his life to save someone he despised.

Another thing I like about Haeundae is its humor.  It was like watching a cartoon when Eok-jo was lucky enough to dodge the falling cargoes.  And just when he thought he’s safe, he started to light a cigarette, which accidentally caused a large explosion that brought down the bridge.  What’s funny was that in the end he was given a Courageous Citizen Award.

Like what I’ve said before, Haeundae was more about the people than the tidal wave.  This made it different from the rest.  After Haeundae, next stop is 2012.

Right from the start you’ll have the feeling that Lee is up to no good and you’ll anticipate every move he and his gang will do next.  Insadong Scandal does feel a little bit like Ocean’s Eleven and The Thomas Crown Affair but that should not stop you from watching this movie.

But the similarities stop there.  The characters were well developed. The story explained why Lee and the others turned on the scheming Bae.  Kim Rae Won was successful in his portrayal of the mastermind of an elaborate plan to take down the Queen Bae.

Uhm Jung Hwa in Insadong Scandal was completely the opposite from her role in He Who Can’t Marry.  As Bae, she was fierce and totally dominated everyone in the movie.

Insadong Scandal shows the dark side of the Arts industry where forgeries are rampant.  There might be an instance where forgers are copying a fake without their knowledge.  Hopefully nothing like that is happening in the real world or else what we take for an original work of art might turn into a brilliant counterfeit.

Insadong Scandal might have borrowed some inspiration from Hollywood movies but it maintained the unpredictability factor that I enjoy from most Korean movies I’ve seen.  The twist in the plot surprised me and hopefully I didn’t spoil much of the plot for you to enjoy it as well.

The Korean Drama is based on the Japanese TV series Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.  They say that the Korean version didn’t sway from the Japanese original.  I watched one episode of the original and found the Korean version to be a direct copy, from the set to the characters.  Except in the Japanese version the dog is a pug instead of a Chihuahua.

A person that’s so socially inept is lucky to still have three beautiful girls fall for him.  There’s Yoon Ki Ran (Yang Jeong Ah), his colleague at work who had to keep up with his strange ways.  Then there’s the young Jeong Yoo Jin (Kim So Eun).  It’s good to see her right after Boys Over Flowers has ended.  Hopefully she’ll have another drama soon.

But the person who made him change his ways is Dr. Jang Moon-jeong (Uhm Jung Hwa).  She made the man who can’t get married think about going into a relationship.  Jae Hee said that after meeting her, he suddenly learns how it was to be lonely.  Dr. Jang in return stole his loneliness from him.

He Who Can’t Marry has the perfect ending.  I like the fact that it didn’t end with a cheesy wedding scene.  Jae Hee learns how to compromise and it’s the happy ending that everyone was hoping for.  This is one Korean drama that you should not miss.