Luck-Key: So Many Favorites

The worst part of picking a favorite actor is suddenly you've demoted all the others to "not favorite" status. Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm a huge fan of Song Kang-ho. But do they know that I'm also quite enamored of Yoo Hae-jin, too? If not, let me set the record straight. He may have a more uneven resume than Song but he's been unforgettably hilarious in Pirates, amusingly creepy in Fatal Intuition, and irresistible in The Secret Mission. When Yoo is on, he's nothing short of fantastic. And Luck-Key might be Yoo at his very best. The story of an amnesiac pseudo-assassin who after a knock to the head thinks he's a failed actor with a talent for carving vegetables, Lee Kae-byeok's comedy thriller finds Yoo making the most of every moment. I dare you not to adore him. Really, I dare you.

His counterpart — a suicidal puppy dog (Lee Joon) — has the flashier new life, post-injury. There's plenty of takeout, lounging in a luxury apartment, fancy clothes, and getting protective of the pretty star witness (Lim Ji-yeon) who lives on the floor below. When the two worlds converge, it's ridiculous but Yoo's so entertaining that when you learn what his real job is, you're like "Okay. Whatever. What happens next?" Maybe marriage with the EMT (Jo Yun-hie) who brought him to the ER? Don't tell me she's too young. She's 32 to his 46. Love is for risktakers!

Sweet & Sour: Who Do You Love?

I like a movie that emphatically changes gears midway and Lee Kae-byeok's Sweet & Sour definitely does that. What starts off as a giddily silly rom-com about a chubby guy (Lee Woo-je) with severe jaundice and an overworked nurse (Chae Soo-bin) who's an irresistable flirt turns into a harshly realistic drama about a couple unable to find time for each other because they're so overtaxed by jobs with no security. Admittedly, the nurse tries even as the engineer (Jang Ki-yong) is diverted by a sloppy but talented co-worker (Jung Krystal). But eventually, you question whether the two even belong together. Either pair actually. It's then that Sweet & Sour takes a mindspinning twist, which elevates the movie to a whole other level.

Rather then give you the details on that front and rob you of the fun that I promise you lies ahead, I'll simply say that this feel-good/feel-bad/feel-I-don't-know-what movie ends up stitching together three genres instead of two: romantic comedy, workplace drama, and time-dislocating head-spinner. To Lee's credit, each section of the film contains hints of the other two so the final product (art!) doesn't feel disjointed. To the contrary, I'd say Sweet & Sour is a bit of a miracle, modest as it may be.