Secretly Greatly (2013)

Honestly this was probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. While the film had just about every genre in it, the most memorable was probably the comedy.
The action scenes were fun to watch and well executed but I was blown away by the comedic acting that Kim Soo Hyun presented. I never thought I'd be laughing so hard when I went to see this. Park Ki Woong was perfect in his role as a aspiring musician and also provided a lot of laughs. Lee Hyun Woo really was definitely the right choice for the role of the high school aged spy and his character's back-story was my personal favourite. Also the movie really showed the difference between idol actors and "real" actors in my opinion. I just can't imagine the movie being so good if they had used idols. The acting by these 3 rising stars was amazing and they just proved yet again how talented they really are.
Although I would have probably liked a different ending, I walked out of the theater happy. In fact, when the movie ended I was simply left wondering when it will be released on DVD because it has a huge rewatch value in my opinion - and is the type of movie that I would make everyone around me watch ^^

I'd recommend this movie to anyone looking for a good action film or a comedy. While there is a little bit of romance, it is definitely not an important/big part of the story.

Warning: this movie contains a lot of eye candy. not recommended for the weak at heart ;)

Leggi di Più

******DO NO READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS MOVIE. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.******

I actually loved this movie for many of the reasons I've seen others criticize it. It is not a static movie. The tone, the atmosphere, and even the genre changes very quickly. I personally get very bored with most movies today because the moment it pops up, you can tell what the ending will be. Cliches upon cliches have been piling up in the movie industry lately. But this movie took an amazing risk by challenging that. It took what would have been yet another light hearted comedy and made you smile and feel good about the characters, and then twisted the situation. (Which is actually realistic. Imagine being a sleeper agent, getting used to being in a certain situation, living as normally as you can, and then your whole world is turned upside down with one order.) I liked that not every decision was spelled out. It felt more real that way. Instead, it makes the audience think, it makes them put themselves in the characters' positions. And damn did I cry, because I never dreamed it would end the way it did. And that is what I call a good movie.

Leggi di Più

My score is all over the place and so was this movie. From the beginning until the last 1/3; it was very, very good and this is where my high score comes from; however, somewhere, the story kind of lost me for a few frames and I wasn't sure where they were going with the story. However, the acting was great! A good actor works with what he has. I must say, thanks to this movie, I'll look at Kim Soo Hyun a lot closer now. When he was playing his Dong Gu , he was absolutely phenomenal! The rest paled in comparison. Park Ki Woong, was good but I just couldn't take my eyes off that freaking orange hair! Lee Hyun Woo as the youngest was badass from the beginning.

The action in this movie was well-orchestrated. Every action scene was definite and distinctly different. All of these actors should do more action movies or dramas; they really excelled. Again the biggest hole in the movie was the story towards the end. But be warned. If you are looking at this movie strictly for the actors, I think the ending might be a big disappointment for you but otherwise well worth the 2+ hours. BTW, starting to wonder if the Korean film industry just think SK police are stupid. Just saying.

Leggi di Più

Must Watch!

Ah, I just can't explain my feelings just finished watching it and wanted to write down everything what I felt about this masterpiece but the thing is I'm not great at writing but anyways I'm trying to convey my true feelings....

This movie is definitely gonna among the my most favorite that's for sure, it has every genre, It started with comedy but ended with tragedy. I laughed a lot, a lot but then I cried a lot. It's something that you should definitely not miss. The acting was great, the story was well executed and you could feel the emotions of every characters, backstories of characters were strong. But this is something that softhearted person should not watch it will broke your heart.

Ending was heartbreaking but I won't say it was sad ending, it was real ending but they definitely gave us hope in the very last scene that somewhat different might have happened so it was open ending. It was very interesting, funny and also sad movie to watch. I have never given such high rating for re watch value but it's definitely worth it cause I'll watch it again and cry harder for sure.

It's must watch movie, trust me you won't regret it! it's memorable watch....

Leggi di Più

The plot of "Secretly, Greatly" is- in no uncertain terms- a hot mess. It starts out as sort of a funny action movie (Like the "Rush Hour" franchise) and then sort of turns into some high stakes action movie and finally ends up as a really sad melodrama. By the end, I felt a little like I had watched 3 different movies instead of the one. The transitions are a bit rough, but overall I found "Secretly, Greatly" to be pretty enjoyable.
Story: Like I said, the story is a bit rough around the edges. I figure the only reason it got so much box office recognition was because of Kim Soo Hyun, otherwise this movie probably wouldn't have made so much money. I have mixed feelings about the writing, but I still loved the overall product- warts and all. I especially loved Park Ki Woong's character- seriously one of the best supporting characters I have seen anywhere. Can he please have his own movie? Also, the bromance between the three boys was adorable, as well as the relationship Dong Gu created with the people in his neighborhood. And what about Lee Hyun Woo's character? Can I buy someone exactly like him? Please? T_T
I didn't really "dislike" any part of the movie, but there were things I found really confusing- like the random tone shifts in the last half and the fact that CG had a *lot* of plot holes and plot threads that were never tied up.
Acting: The cast was pretty solid, with Kim Soo Hyun leading the pack and Park Ki Woong stealing scenes left and right and Lee Hyun Woo being adorable. Special shoutout to Kim Sung Kyun, who played his completely one-dimensional character with a lot of heart.
Music: Nothing special, in my opinion.
Rewatch Value: Maybe? Not the *whole* thing, but parts of it? As of right now, I'm not too sure.
Overall: Not the best movie ever, but I still loved it. "Covertly, Greatly" might not work for you, but it's still pretty enjoyable.

Leggi di Più

This movie had an odd effect on me. It worked like a punch in the stomach: it hurt a lot and for a moment there I was stunned and couldn't think of anything else, it was pure feeling. After a while, however, I began putting the whole experience under a more rational light and I was left a little puzzled.

Like someone else here pointed out, I too fail to see a logic in the actions of all involved. The title of the movie, which is not randomly chosen but should explain the whole film, promises something that wasn't fulfilled. If the intention of the writer was to create a story of secrecy and greatness, it excelled at the first and failed at the second, since there isn't anything heroic, or shiny in the order they are given and the way they handle it. This dichotomy would work if the whole film had been built on the futility of nationalism, if it were a big, sarcastic accusation, but it isn't. It talks about three young guys and the way they deal with facing a different reality from the only one they have known and learnt as kids. I wish we had had the chance to see that bond with the 3 spies and the village building up, but we don't. We are left to imagine whys that never get a because.

My reason for the high overall mark is the acting, which in my opinion fully deserves a 10. Kim Soo Hyun in particular does a fantastic job in portraying this double version of himself. And here's the rub: the movie works only on a visual and pure feel level. Once the plot has been dissected and your mind fills with question marks, what lingers is the beauty of all three guys, particularly enhanced by ultra smexy combat scenes, murderous looks and a few very effective friendship scenes. My desperate attempt at reasoning miserably failed when confronted with the three of them on screen, just like any other adolescent viewer - problem is, I'm no adolescent anymore.

I feel there wasn't enough music in the movie to speak about it in detail. It was there, but I forgot.

I'm still debating about ever re-watching this movie. I won't be thrown a second punch, that's for sure, so I wonder whether it would be of any use to re-watch something that was pure feeling in the first place, once the feeling is gone.

Leggi di Più

In my memory, this movie was marketed very much as a comedy that happened to include an element of spying. Or at least that was my impression.

The first part of the movie was relatively charming, as we were introduced to the main flower boy trio, and the mundanity and charming qualities of rural village life. But the movie took a very strange and unexpected turn into rather dark territory, some of which touched on themes like loyalty, and I just didn't understand why the characters took the actions they did.

There were a number of themes that were so underdeveloped that could have made the movie more whole - the spies' relationships with the villagers, Sohn Hyun Joo's commander character, who I was expecting to have more significant screen time, but again, a waste.

You can call me a bitterly disappointed viewer.

Leggi di Più