Once Upon a Time in High School (2004)

Impacting and moving, this film creates a feeling like you're right next to the main character Hyeon-su and you need him to do well you want him to be your friend and to have him around. He makes this movie amazing, and might be my new favourite protagonist in any movie. he gets my rating to a instant 8 before considering the movie itself, giving it that extra boost.The movie makes this film identifiable as everyone has had that in between time when they weren't settled somewhere yet, a new home, school, moving up to high school most people know what its like to have to find a click or people you can be yourself with and that's the journey this film starts with. The films then becomes more coming of age with love and the trials of youth affecting how Hyeon-su behaves and acts towards people. This film has relations to Bruce Lee with the main characters bonding through enjoyment of his movies however it doesn't rely on it or abuse it, its just there, and I like that, without the Bruce Lee element it stands on its own as a solid movie, but its a nice addition to tie the movie up.Now the fighting, Jesus this film has some good fights, nothing technical like jet Li or any of the bigs, but realistic in ways and more like school yard scrapping with some insane impact and amazing use of feeling and emotion before and during each fight, the final fight has you seriously glued to the screen with your mouth open hungry for more and more until boom, you want to un see it to experience it again. Also, nunchaku, do I need to say anything else.Ha Yoo knows how to write, A Dirty Carnival, Gangnam Blues, this guy knows drama and has you pulled along by your heart strings and adrenaline pumps throughout the whole thing. I don't know if people will even read this review but if it makes even one person watch the film then I'm content, because I do think its a really good film, definitely in my top ten.

Once Upon a time in high school is a very good film despite the horrible title, it takes place in Seoul 1978, Hyeon-Su a Bruce lee fan whose father is a Tae Kwon Do coach moves to a new military school where he meets Hamburger a classmate who sells pornography in order to make a buck and Woo-Shik a trouble maker who is also a Bruce lee fan. along the way our protagonist is faced with bullying, but thanks to Woo-Shick he manages to avoid trouble because the latter is a nut case who roots for violence, and the tyranny of the high school regime. this may make the movie look sad but it's not, well it's not exactly funny but the characters had great fun together for instance in one scene the three friends were partying in a disco and hamburger was hitting on a girl and he was being rude unfortunately for him she was a Tae Kwon Do champ so i don't need to tell you what happened to him. on top of all that this movie has a great love story between the Shy Hyeon-Su and the very beautiful Eun-Ju, but she becomes Woo-Shik's girlfriend which will complicate their friendship, i personally think(IMHO) that this is one of the best love stories i have ever seen in film history, it felt realistic(maybe because i met my first love just like Hyeon-Su did). The writing was very clever it manages to keep you entertained and at the same time emotionally moved with well developed characters and the relationship between them, the actors did a great job not even a single one of them failed to deliver his character besides they had a good chemistry together that they make you feel like you are living near them. Overall this is a movie not to be missed,it can be described as a movie for all tastes, there's enough fights to call this film an action film but don't expect something like Takashi Miike's underrated high school fight club flick Crows Zero (1+2).

Surprisingly good coming of age movie about a young adult / teenager in military school in South Korea, and the bullying, unrequited love, parental pressures etc that has to deal with. The movie gradually hooks you in - the characters are endearing and believable - and its surprisingly touching. There are some Blue Lee elements in it but isn't a "kung fu" movie. Although the film is set in Korea, its crosses cultures very easily - this could easily be a school in the US for example. If you want an intelligent, touching, coming of age movie with characters that you can relate to, and well as some occasional action to crank up the tension, this is well worth watching. 8/10

"The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do" is a misnomer for the title of this movie. When I saw that and watched the movie, I was expecting to see a martial arts movie all about Jeet Kune Do.The actual translation of the title, I later learned, is "Maljuk Street's High School." And that's what this movie is all about actually. It's about a high school student's experiences at a high school. It's not a military school, by the way.I thought the movie had a good story line and great acting. I especially enjoyed the lead's and "Hamburger's" acting, very well done. The cinematography was good as well, and the fight scenes were realistic and well choreographed.People not experienced with Korean movies and dramas will note the "weak" ending in this movie. But I've come to find that almost all Korean movies and dramas do not have as impactful an ending as American movie-goers are used to seeing. Perhaps it's a cultural thing. Either way, I really enjoyed this movie. It's also a great periodic film, in my opinion. If you want a look into what Korean high schools were like from WWII up until recently in the late eighties, then this movie will give you an insightful look. Non-Koreans may be believe that this movie exaggerates many aspects of high school life, but it doesn't at all. My father (born and graduated high school from Korea) loves the movie, and thinks it portrayed some high school experiences very accurately.