Movie Review: My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009)

Yesterday we finally got to watch My Girlfriend is An Agent. It was great. In fact, I don't remember seeing a more hilarious movie for the longest time. It's probably also one of the more entertaining Asian films I have seen in years. Hong Kong movies have generally been crap and I don't know enough Japanese films to say. So this latest Korean offering gets (at least) a 7.5 out of 10 points from me.

Kim Ha Neul stars as a Ahn Su Ji, a top-notch agent working for the Korean secret service. She used to date Lee Jae Jun (played by the very funny Kang Ji Hwan), but because of the countless lies she told for her work's sake, their relationship could not take the strain. Eventually, Jae Jun broke up with her and left Korea without giving her a chance to explain herself. Broken-hearted, Su Ji tried to forget Jae Jun and subsequently began dating someone new. But as fate would have it (as is usually the case in movies), their paths crossed again 3 years later. The way they met again is really laugh-out-loud funny. A bit slapstick, but nonetheless hilarious. I won't reveal more; no spoilers in this review.

It turns out that Jae Jun is now a rookie agent, and is trying to make the cut for the elite Harimau team (did you know? Harimau is the Malay word for tiger and also the name of the company that produced the movie). IMO, Kang Ji Hwan is perfectly cast as the bumbling agent. Whenever he makes a blunder, his facial expression has just that right mix of serious goofiness, which is totally classic. And of course, making everything even harder, now he has to keep his identity a secret from Su Ji (right when their relationship seems to be picking up again). A series of misadventures soon follow. The nightclub and amusement park scenes with the two of them on field missions had me laughing till my sides ached.

This is a highly enjoyable movie. It's silly but in a good way. Besides the leading man and lady (who have wonderful onscreen chemistry, by the way) the supporting cast is also superb. And although it's supposed to be a sort of goofball comedy, the love story between Su Ji and Jae Jun is very emotionally charged, and has more to offer than your average Hollywood romance comedy. Mostly it came down to the star power and acting chops of Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan, who manage to pull everything off convincingly. Even the more ridiculous moments (for me it's the fencing sequences) will just make us audience go, awww. We are ready to forgive these two anything, as long as they end up together.

In the end, we all know true love will prevail. So I don't think that counts as spoiler. :) Don't expect something too deep or too clever. But you can count on having a rollicking fun ride in this movie. This is entertainment at its best. Guaranteed to make you laugh. HelloHallyu recommends it!

[Posted by mydaemon]

Food Review: Kobayashi Hangul

What would cheer up a pair of wet, sodden and cold couple who's into Korean stuff? Well, a nice hot Korean meal would certainly hit the spot. Yesterday, as we trudged along the rain soaked Somerset Road to Cathay Cineleisure, our sole aim being collecting our tickets for the movie "My Girlfriend is An Agent", we decided that a nice hot meal would be a great way to start off the evening.

None of the food places caught our fancy since they are mostly the run of the mill foodcourt stalls, fastfood restaurants and the franchised Japanese restaurants. By this time, we were ready to tuck into anything that will satiate our growling tummies when we chanced upon a resturant by the name of Kobayashi Hangul.

Upon closer inspection of the restaurant's menu, we were happy to realise that it served both Korean and Japanese food. What better way to start off the evening than to have a Korean themed dinner before catching a Korean movie.

Scanning through the menu, I decided to try their barbequed chicken hotplate with kimchi set while Yupgi ordered a seafood kimchi jigae set.

Yupgi's seafood kimchi jigae in the background and my barbequed chicken kimchi hotplate is in the foreground.

Presentation wise is 'ok'. Taste wise is really disappointing.

The food looked not too bad when I collected it from the counter, the restaurant being a self-styled 'fastfood' Korean/Japanese  restuarant. However, we were both sorely disappointed when we started eating.

Having eaten Korean dishes from various places, foodcourt stalls to expensive restaurants, the food at Kobayshi Hangul is really poor. My grilled chicken tasted just liked a plate of chicken that have been stirred fried with kimchi. It doesn't taste anything like the Korean food that I have eaten at other places. If Korean food is simple adding kimchi to the recipe, than this  restaurant would have passed with flying colours. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy the substandard quality of the this dish.

Yupgi shared my disappointment with her jigae. Her 'stew'was simply a mis-mash of kimchi (again), seafood, and fish fillet (those you find in Macdonald's fill-o-fish). Simply put, it doesn't taste like anything that a respectable Korean would serve on their dining table.

On a scale of 10, the food we had is simple a poor rating of 4. The only saving grace for this place, if we can even consider it as such, is its rather reasonable pricing, ranging from S$5+ to around S$8 per item. However, given the poor food quality, this would be the first and the last time I ever eat at this restaurant.

My Girlfriend is an Agent @ Level 7 Bureaucrat

En garde! Kim and Kang sparring in a scene from the movie.

A gala premiere of the My Girlfriend is an Agent, also know as Level 7 Bureaucrat, was held at the Cathay cinema last night. Both the leads, Kim Ha Neul (of On Air fame) and Kang Ji Hwan were both in Singapore for this event.

There's going to be another publicity event for the movie at the Heeren this evening at 6.30pm. Pity that I am most likely still stuck in the office. for fans of Korean dramas and movies, Heeren is the place to be this evening. Get your cameras ready as both Kim and Kang will be at the event.

We at HelloHallyu can't wait to catch it on the big-screens when the movie starts its run from 5 Nov!

Kim Ha Neul the All-Action Heroine

Agent Kim on her majesty's service. Shaken, not stirred.
(Source: Cyworld)

Who'd have thought that Kim Ha Neul, who recently appeared in SBS's On Air as the super-cool superstar Oh Seung Ah, would traded in her designer wear for the rough and tumble life of an agent in her new movie Level 7 Bureaucrat.

In this action movie, yup, you are reading it correctly, Kim stars as a secret agent, a la 007 James Bond, who rides horses, fence, take on baddies with karate chops and a gun that's strapped to her thigh which comes in handy during tight situations. Check out the photo above if you have any doubt about the gun being strapped to her thigh portion.

I hope the film will be released in Singapore since it also stars Kang Ji Hwan, whose character Hong Gil Dong gave me loads of laughs when I caught it on the telly recently.