Not much for us this week so I’ll start with the best of the few, The Battle Of Jangsari. The film might as well be called Korea’s Saving Private Ryan because it’s about a beach invasion and soldiers fighting a battle in Jangsari. Less than a thousand students stormed the beach with ten days of training to take control of the highlands. There was supposed to be help, but the weather kept planes and others from getting there. As an American we aren’t taught much about other countries’ battles and wars so this was new to me. I knew about the Korean War obviously, but not this particular battle or how students were the majority of the soldiers. It’s a pretty good movie with the typical characters you expect in a war movie. There’s the overweight guy who’s always hungry. The one guy who’s more scared than he’s letting on. One soldier was born in North Korea but his family moved and others don’t trust him because of it. There is some good action especially the beach invasion and it was nice seeing the real people at the end. I didn’t quite get the need for Megan Fox and George Eads in it. Fox is a journalist that wants to report about the battle. Eades is an American in charge. I guess without Fox’s character in real life (it was actually two women) maybe we wouldn’t know about the story here in the US, but ultimately they weren’t necessary beyond name recognition.
Second is the Australian series My Life Is Murder starring Lucy Lawless. Lawless has been a TV staple for decades and it’s easy to see why. She’s charming and easy to root for. This 10 episode series sees her as a retired cop sucked back into the lifestyle solving mysteries. She has a spunky friend that does all the tech stuff and the good looking guy she used to work with in the department. It’s a pretty lighthearted show with each episode having its own mystery and the series itself having one long story overall. It opens with a woman falling to her death and a male for hire “boyfriend experience” mystery. Follow up episodes involve a murder in a locked hotel room guest starring Danielle Cormack, a death in a high end cycling group, a hit and run murder might have more to it, the death of a former teacher at her private school brings her back to school, a cosmetic surgeon dies and much more. I’ve always enjoyed Lawless and she’s great here. It’s ten episodes so it took me a few days to get through it, but the show itself is an easy watch.
Next we have Gregory’s Girl. On the cover it says it’s one of most loved British films of all time. Watching it now, I don’t understand why. It’s from the early 1980’s so maybe it just doesn’t hold up over time or maybe I’ve seen way too many similar movies that this didn’t do much for me. It’s about Gregory who becomes infatuated with a young girl who joins the soccer team. Maybe some of the Scottish humor gets lost in translation, but I didn’t find myself enjoying the movie. It’s not terrible or anything, but I guess it’s generic by today’s standards. That being said I’m sure there is an audience out there that is going to go crazy over this new Blu-ray release so if you are a fan, then this one is for you.
Fourth we go back to Australia with The Merger. This is about a a former professional football player taking over the coaching duties of a small club that must merge with another small club. This one worked a lot more for me. Maybe it’s because it’s more recent, but I found it funnier and a lot more charming. There are a cast of characters that make you laugh while learning the game of Australian Rules Football. There’s also a love story and a kid documenting everything. Plus some of the people don’t like the coach because of his past and don’t think he should have returned. It’s a fun, little film that works because it’s not trying to be anything it’s not. Even if you aren’t familiar with Australia’s sport, the movie is easy to follow along and laugh with.
The Nerds Templar 