Me Beije, Me Mate

There are many guilty parties in the making of this 'comedy'. However, after much (not really) thought, the writer gets my nod.

A comedy does not need to make sense, but the closer a story gets to being plausible the funnier it gets. There are just too many cutesy devices to complicate the story. If the story line stayed simple, then a bunch of funny sketches would have made a satisfying film, but the attempt to make a complex story to set up funny situations really doesn't work.

Also, reworking scenes to show you didn't see what you thought you saw is a really cheesy device. Especially, if it doesn't contribute to the humour.

The KISS principle would have made this a better film.

There was a story in there somewhere... with some decent action, and the acting was adequate. However, that was all at the cost of some amateurish editing that made this film a bit disjointed.

Not as lighthearted and fluffy as you might expect of a tale about a contract killer falling in love with his potential victim -- a lovesick, suicidal girl. The film focuses too much attention on the killer agonizing over the choice of his career (imagine that!). But I have a suggestion for him: why not retire AFTER offing the producers and writers of this film who put the wonderful Kang Hye Jeong in the secondary role.

Shin Hyeon-joon as the killer does a good job (as an actor) with the usual array of good supporting actors. Hye Jeong's role is too limited for an actress of her caliber -- but she doesn't disappoint. Cinematography is either pathetic or the transfer to disk is. Due to the presence of some bright, sunlit scenes, I blame the DP and director.

This one's very funny, one of those films in which the director and the actors do a dance of comic timing. Hye-jeong Kang is always good but Shin Hyeon-Jun turns out to be a real comic treat. This is an action flick with lots of humor.

Jin-young (Kang) is devastated after a breakup with her long time partner and wants to kill herself, but she wants to do it with flair so she hires a hit man to take her out. Hyun-jun (Shin) thinks he is hired to kill someone else and is surprised to discover Jin-young has slipped herself into the place of his intended target. Yeah, it's an "assassin falls in love with his target" story but the performances of the two leads makes this one a winner. The script is a little chaotic at times, lots of coincidences that challenge a suspension of disbelief, but if you just go with the flow it's a fun ride.

The film's ending unravels instead of tying things up but it's not a deal breaker. In a way, the whole film can be seen as a series of sketches that just parade by instead of building upon one another to form a cohesive whole, and that may be a valid criticism depending on the angle of entry the viewer chooses. Thriller? Romantic Comedy? Action flick? It's all of those, and it's one of the things I like about South Korean cinema. They do mashups, and they do them well, always playing with expectations and throwing in surprises.

If you are a fan of either of the two leads you will enjoy Kiss Me, Kill Me.