Movie review: 1987 When The Day Comes

I like it! First I watched it because Kim Taeri starred in this movie, but then I really liked it because it was definitely my cup of tea. 1987: When The Day Comes is a patriotic historical movie released in early 2018, telling about June Democracy Movement in South Korea (or popularly known as June Struggle) that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987 (source: wikipedia). The demonstration forced the ruling government to hold a fair and democratic election. It started when Park Jong-cheol, a SNU student activist, died after being interrogated by official authorities because he refused to reveal the whereabouts of his fellow activists. This sparked many questions from reporters as his caused of death was said to be shock. He was a healthy 22yo man before this happened. The Seoul Office Prosecutor was forced to sign the permit to cremate the corpse as soon as possible, but he refused since it’s not 8 hours after death and his family needed to see him for the last time. The Prosecutor asked for an autopsy and the result showed that he died because of waterboarding techniques during his interrogation. Doctors were also asked to keep quiet but one of the doctors leaked it to a reporter when they accidentally met in the toilet. The issue blew up fast; people started to question about it. Authorities were told to find and arrest Kim Jeong-nam, the leader of democratic movement at that time so that the truth about Park Jong-cheol’s death would never be known. The story continued on how they would reveal the truth by the help of the prisoner guards, civilians, student activists, reporters, prosecutor, etc since this case involved higher authorities. There’s also Lee Han-yeol, another student activist from Yonsei University, who recruited people for the movement through his school student club. During the protests, he was seriously injured when a tear bomb hit the back of his head. His condition provoked another protest in the following weeks, which resulted in an agreement for direct presidential election by the Republic of Korea in June 29, 1987. Through 1987 I learnt a lot about Korea’s history as it was based on true story but still you need to confirm for the historical accuracy by browsing articles ok? If you are interested in history like me, then this movie is really recommended! All of these actors are Chungmuro movie veterans so no doubt their acting are the best. Enjoy!

Rate: 9.3/10

 

 

Official trailer:

Movie review: Little Forest (리틀 포레스트)

At first, this movie was not in my list but I decided to give it a try because of the positive reviews I read about it. Little Forest was said to be a healing movie, made you felt relax and peaceful. It's released in early 2018, starring Kim Taeri as Hyewon, a girl who failed in her university exam and decided to go back to her father's hometown. She has two bestfriends: Jin Kijoo as Eunsook, a banker and Ryu Junyeol as Jaeha, now a farmer. Hyewon was born in Seoul but then moved back to her father's hometown when he was sick and stayed till his death. She and her mother continued staying there but one day when she just came back from school, her mother disappeared without saying anything. Because of it, she hated her mother so much and learnt how to survive alone in the changing four seasons. Studied hard to pass the national exam, Hyewon was eagered to move to Seoul as soon as possible. She was back to her hometown again when her university entrance exam failed but her boyfriend passed. Tried to adjust to village life, she planted, harvested, and cooked by herself and didnt tell anything to her friends. Not to mention how her foods were awesome and portrayed aesthetically. It felt like she was having a vacation and taught us how to cook with her recipe. I was really amazed when she cooked spaghetti with some kind of flowers; in another scene she fried the flowers to make it looked like tempura. It definitely made people wanted to move to rural hometown and lived a simple life. Her friendship was another thing to admire: both her bestfriends are always by her side. They were also the one telling her not to run from her problems but she needed to settle it. Some of you may have known Kim Taeri from The Handmaiden which I hadnt watched (so dont ask me about it) but reviews were mostly positive. She's the rising new actress because of her versatility in acting. Currently Im watching her drama Mr. Sunshine and all I can say is it's really awesome! If you hadnt watched any of her works, this one is a must try. Little Forest teaches us a lot about life, probably one of my favorites because the storyline flows naturally and every scenes are just so beautiful. 

Rate: 8.5/10

 

Official trailer: 

Movie review: The Swindlers (꾼)

Here another movie review again after I went on hiatus watching movies since earlier this year. It’s a korean movie released in the end of 2017, starring Hyun Bin, Yoo Ji-tae, Bae Seong-woo, Park Sung Woong, and Nana called as The Swindlers. I watched this in flight on my way to Japan. It started with Hwang Jisung (Hyun Bin), a conman, who was searching for his father’s killer. His father was a conman too who worked with gang members to falsify their passport information. One day his father was found dead; he felt suspicious as his father was working on something secretly the day before and told him he would retire after finishing it. Because of his job (he falsified passport, used other people's face as masks, etc), Hwang went on jail and met Prosecutor Park Hee Soo who asked for his help to find another conman, Jang Du-chil (Heo Sung Tae). Jang has committed huge fraud and was rumored dead, but someone said he saw him alive. Hwang was also tailing the same man because he felt Jang has a connection with his father’s death cause. Prosecutor Park’s team consisted of Go Seok-dong, Choonja, and Ahn Se-ha together with Hwang tried to track down Jang Du-chil whereabouts through Kwak Seung-gun (Park Sung Woong), who was his righthand man. Hwang was told to befriend with Kwak and made a business agreement so that they could tail on him meeting Jang. Prosecutor Park has his own motive: he wanted to kill Hwang after all his tasks had finished. Hwang also has an ulterior motive: finding his father’s killer. This movie really gave a big twist in the end; I was stunned for a while thinking about how it can end like this. You might find there's no connection between Prosecutor Park and Hwang but it was wrong at all. Pay attention to the details in the movie because at first I found the storyline was quite confusing. The movie's vibe was similar to The Thieves (2012) so if you like the latter, you might like this one too. I liked the way they concluded everything in the end as sometimes korean movies didnt have a great ending. Just give it a try!
Note: I've done other movie and drama reviews before but because I changed my blog url a while ago, the links werent connected. in the left side of this blog you can see 'LABELS' section and just click movie, drama, or review. Thanks!

Rate: 8/10

Official trailer:

Movie review: 杜拉拉追婚记 (Go Lala Go 2)

 

This is the second installment of Go Lala Go and I didnt even watch the first one, simply because I wasnt interested with the story and the casts. When the news came out that Ariel Lin, Vic Zhou, and Chen Bolin would collaborate in this movie, my inner fangirl soul screamed happily! I had put this movie in my list after Our Times since the main leads were all my favorite actors. I like Ariel Lin a lot from They Kiss Again days and shipped her even harder with Chen Bolin after watching them in In Time With You. Vic was and is still my most favorite one of F4. A few years ago he ever worked with Ariel where she starred in his MV Make A Wish. So basically this is a reunion for everyone either for Ariel and Vic or Ariel and Chen Bolin. Having three of them in one frame means total eyecandy throughout the movie. Ariel is Du Lala, a 33yo career woman with a stable job and is highly competitive. She's the opposite of her photographer boyfriend, Vic as David Wei, who views the world differently. He thinks that one should enjoy his/her life with the money they earned. Lala doesnt think that way; she works hard to earn money so she could have a better life. She started to doubt her boyfriend's seriousness when he still doesnt propose to her even after 5 years being together. There comes Chen Bolin as Stanley Chen, a manager (Im not sure about his job) from another company that everyone's has been dying for to work with. The same goes to Lala's company; they tell her to pose as a vice manager to attract him so that he want to collaborate with them. Another character is Nana from After School as Sha Dangdang, Lala's assistant manager as well as a freelance model. She ever worked with David and is interested with him. Lala feels insecure with everything; her biological clock starts ticking but her boyfriend hasnt proposed to her, a younger girl wants to woo her boyfriend, and a financially stable guy wants to woo her. I really like the story because it portrays exactly the bitter reality in our life. For 30s unmarried woman like Lala, people keeps asking when she will get married. David feels inferior to her because she has a promising career and earns more money than him; he is a newbie photographer who has just had his own studio and wants to get married when he is ready. As for Stanley, I think he is just the right man in the wrong time. He appeared in her life when she is doubting her boyfriend and with his great qualification, no wonder she wavers easily. Im quite annoyed at Lala because she keeps on giving pressure to David, yelling here and there saying he isnt serious with her. How can she waver that easy when they have been together for 5 years? Anyway their acting are so good that I can stay to finish the movie. Nana leaves only slight impression to me; her acting is still too weak compared to theirs'. The plot itself is interesting for me since this kind of story may happen in real life. Im also satisfied because finally I can see my most favorite actors all in a movie and I hope they can work together again in the future. 

Rate: 8/10

AAAAA MY FAVORITE

Official trailer:

Movie review: 我的少女時代 (Our Times)

THIS MOVIE IS SOOOOO GOOD. I just finished watching it an hour ago and decided to make the review directly. The movie, literally translated as "My Teenage Years", is the biggest hit movie this summer. I had put this in my must-watch list when I saw the preview for the first time. Both main leads, Vivian Sung and Darren Wang, are newcomers and made their breaktrough roles through this movie. Our Times starts with adult version of Lin Zhengxin (Vivian Sung) telling the story of her life now and then reminiscing about her teenage years. She was an ordinary highschool girl having a crush on the school's most popular guy, Ou-yang Fei Fan. One day she got a letter containing a chain message saying that she would get bad luck if she didnt pass the message to 5 people. When she was confused about who she should pass the message to, she saw her crush was being cornered by school's gang leader, Xu Taiyu and decided to secretly put the letter in his bag. That day Taiyu was hit by a car and searched for the person who put the letter. Zhengxin was found to be the culprit and that was the beginning of her nightmare. Taiyu made her as his "friend" which meant his slave lol Accidentally she found out Ouyang and the school's prettiest girl, Tao Minmin, were dating secretly. She and Taiyu, who liked Minmin, decided to work together to separate both of them. As the time goes by, they started to like each other whithout realising it. Taiyu has stopped fighting and started to study again because of Zhengxin. Then one accident happened and Taiyu disappeared but this is not the end of the story. I had high expectation before I watched the movie and it's even beyond my expectation. The storyline, characters, main leads, and OSTs are just perfect. I smile, I laugh, I cry when I watched the movie. I really like the main leads' characters. Lin Zhengxin was ugly and no self confidence at first; after she befriends with Taiyu, she gains her confidence and also helps him to forget his pain and be a better person. Taiyu himself is a school's gang leader but then the story tells he wasn't like that before; a scar deep inside his heart has changed his personality. Not to mention his retro hairstyle that I like so much since not everyone suits that kind of hairstyle. Vivian and Darren are so great in portraying the characters; you know they aren't the pretty boy and girl type but rather the charismatic actors. Many people compare this movie to You Are The Apple Of My Eye because of the similar storyline. As for me who watched both of them, I would say this one is better. First, I like this storyline more. Both people are friends by accident and they helped each other to get their dream guy/girl but something happened. YATAOME has a more depressing story; he likes her and she likes him but because of misunderstanding each other, they separated. Second, the leads here are better; their chemistry is sooo good. Third, the confession part really touches me and the ending is a clean finish. As a bonus, there are also cameos of Qiao En as adult Lin Zhengxin, Jerry Yan as adult Xu Taiyu, and Andy Lau. They try to find actors with the similar features to portray the adult version. This movie is definitely worth watching! You can watch it HERE
NB: If you are curious why Lin Zhengxin is called as Truly Lin, it's because her name in Chinese is 林真心 where 真心 means "truly".

Rate: 9.5/10

 我們說沒事, 就是有事。

When we say nothing's wrong, it means something's wrong.

沒關係, 就是有關係。

When we say it's ok, it means it's not ok.

 

 

Official trailer:

Movie review: Love Forecast

This movie is up on my list after I saw they casted Lee Seung Gi and Moon Chae Won as the main lead. Both of them have been one of my favorite OTP ever since they were paired in Brilliant Legacy. At first the title was Today's Love and as you know, Korean movie/drama often has lots of names until they fix it to the final one. Love Forecast was released around January 2015 so it's still kinda difficult if you want to find the eng sub version. Lee Seung Gi is Kang Junsu, an ordinary elementary school teacher who has been dumped lots of times by his girlfriends. Moon Chae Won as Kim Hyun Woo, a pretty and popular weather reporter who has been his bestfriend for 18 years. Junsu has always been around her, helping her when she was drunk or taking car of her household cores. Even his family considers her as their family member. In the other side, Hyun Woo dates her producer, acted by Lee Seo Jin, who is actually a married man. Im pretty confuse at first; in the movie they didnt state he has married but in the middle suddenly there's a scandal saying Hyun Woo entered a hotel with a married man. Actually Junsu has fallen in love with Hyun Woo since 18 years ago and he has confessed to her before but she said she didnt feel any vibe when she hugged him. So basically this is a movie with the concept two bestfriends dont realise that they are actually each other's soulmate and you can even guess how the ending will be. To be honest the story is very very ordinary; even I find it similar to a Taiwanese drama named In Time With You (I will review it when I have time) and I should say the Taiwanese version is muchhhhh better. Junsu is portrayed as her daddy long legs but I feel he didnt give his best performance. Many people anticipated this movie because it's the first movie for Lee Seung Gi and he acted with Moon Chae Won. I've read some reviews and most of them say this movie is rather flat and I have to agree with them. They tried to make jokes in some parts but it didnt pull out well. The progress of the story is also a bit weird; at the beginning mostly they tell about Hyun Woo dating his producer and in the middle suddenly she and Junsu agree to date each other but never state themselves as couple. If the main couple isnt them, I dont think I will watch the movie. The poster and teaser are actually very interesting but too bad they fail in the execution. But perhaps you can give it a try. Maybe we have different taste ㅋ
PS: In Time With You is VERY recommended. Starring Chen Bo Lin as Li Da Ren and Ariel Lin as Cheng You Qing. 

Synopsis:
Weather reporter Kim Hyun-woo (Moon Chae-won) is known for her beauty and elegance on television, but off-screen, she drinks and swears a lot. Hyun-woo has been friends for 18 years with Kang Joon-soo (Lee Seung-gi), a mild-mannered elementary school teacher who gives too much of himself in his relationships but always ends up getting dumped. Joon-soo has secretly loved Hyun-woo for years, but she claims she doesn't feel any sexual attraction between them, and he's had to stand by and watch while she fawns over married colleague Dong-jin (Lee Seo-jin) and goes on a blind date with nice but boring photographer Andrew (Jung Joon-young). (wiki)

Rate: 6.5/10

 

Official trailer:

Movie review: 那些年，我們一起追的女孩 (You Are The Apple Of My Eye)

Yes just finished watching another movie again. if you are wondering how I can watch drama and movie at the same time, no I didnt watch the drama at once but I follow each episode so I only watch an episode per week. This movie, literally translated as " Those years, the girl we chased together", is a big hit Taiwanese romance movie. Released in 2011, I've heard it from my friends since a few years ago but I wasn't interested in it. Now just because of some random interest I watch it and I regret why I didnt watch it earlier. Starring Kai Ko as Ko Ching Teng and Michelle Chen as Shen Chia Yi, YATAOME tells about a pure and light love story between two people in high school. Chia Yi is the most clever student in her high school in contrast to Ching Teng who is a troublemaker and lazy ass in studying. He keeps badmouthing about clever student and confuses why they are always studying. He and Chia Yi have been classmates since junior high school yet they didnt like each other. One day she forgot to bring her book but he lent her his book and instead took the punishment. She was touched and wanted to thank him; she decided to teach him even though he rejected at first but later on it became their habits. Through some time, their feeling develop towards each other. They didnt dare to know each other feelings and that's the bomb. They still keep in contact after entering the university in different city but then something happened and that makes them started to fall apart. Dont expect too much about this movie; this is a real story based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko. It is made as real as possible and that's what makes me love this movie more. I never thought Kai Ko was this good since this was his debut movie and he was only 20 at that time. This movie shot him to stardom; he was an A-list actor before the drug scandal back in August happened. Luckily he was not jailed and he decided to go on rehabilitation by himself. Im happy and sad at the same time for him because he is still so young to have had a scandal in his early acting journey but it's better he was saved early. As for Michelle Chen, I never watch her movies or dramas before but she was great in this movie. She successfully portrayed the soft, kindhearted, and strong Shen Chia Yi. I even didnt noticed that she and Kai have 8 years gap! YATAOME worth all the awards and fame they've got. It tells what most of us have seen in the reality that sometimes when people have feeling towards each other, they just dont dare to confess and that can makes them lose the chance forever. Even though my preference is always a happy ending doesnt mean a sad ending can make a good story. To be honest I seldom watch a sad ending drama/movie but when I watch one, it should be a good one that I dont feel my time was wasted lol

Rate: 9/10

 Official trailer:

Movie review: 君に届け (Kimi ni todoke)

Maybe this is the second or third Jmovies I've watched because I never follow updates about the latest one. I was bored and randomly found this one in the popular movie list. Translated as From Me To You, this one is also an adaptation of the same name manga. If you've ever watched Jmovies or doramas, you will probably know that their style is more into teaching morals not only lovey dovey scene. Even their romance movies are not as lovable as Koreans but still I like their style. The same goes to this one. It's a romance movie but I didnt put my expectation as high as I watch Korean one. The story tells about a girl named Sawako Kuronuma, an honest and kind girl who have no friends. Her friends called her "Sadako" because of her similar appearance to the ghost in movie "The Ring". Everybody is afraid of her; there's a rumor said that when somebody looks into her eyes, they will get cursed. I feel pity for her at first, but her appearance is somehow scary with long hair and always looking down. Her world starts to change when a popular boy in the school, Shota Kazehaya, befriends with her. Mostly the movie tells about how she changes her personality from an introvert to the bright one. The self changing journey is really amazing because we all know it's not easy. I cry a few times when watching it especially when her friends defend her while she was being attacked by other girls inside the toilet. I cant say much about this drama; it's good to be one of your reference if you like heartwarming movie.

Rate: 7.5/10

 

 

Trailer (eng sub):

Movie Review: 愛情無全順 (Campus Confidential)

the first post in August dedicated to this movie I watched in a long flight on my vacation. I've been searching for this a long time ago and good to know that they had this movie in flight. The title in Mandarin is "Ai Qing Wu Quan Shun" which is literally translated as "Romance Wu Quan Shun". The leading man is Chen Bo Lin who is one of my favorite taiwanese actors and starring as his lover is Ivy Chen. These two Chen have worked together several times before so Im looking forward to watch this. Story starts with Chen Bo Lin as Wu Quan Shun, a nerd in campus who is very genius; he can provide unlimited internet quota for the game freak in campus, hack some private internet websites, etc. Ivy as Liang Xiao Qi is the it-girl in campus that every man wants and every woman envies. She really hates the nerds. Her bestfriend is also another it-girl who just happened to fall in love with another nerd. She tries to convince her that it's wrong and makes her embarrassed but her friend says even though her bf is a nerd, he is kind and loves her sincerely. One day they accidentally fall together to a lake in their campus (I forgot the name) which is a legendary lake. People said if a man and woman fall together into the lake when it suddenly dried, they will be a couple forever. At first she didnt want to believe the story but then she searchs for the news happened in the past with the help of her new roommate. She meets with couples who have the same situation as her. At that time, she also starts to be friend with Quan Shun since he helped and protected her when she was being dumped by her bf. As time flies, she realises that actually the nerds arent that bad as what she thought before. Find a way to break the curse, she goes to China to find the ancient things which was said to be the curse breaker. There's a twist close to the ending which surprise me because it's something I've never thought before. Initially I thought this would be like other romance movies I've ever watched since you already knew mostly romance genre has the same formula. As usual Chen Bo Lin never disappoint me and he did reach my expectation. He is perfectly matched in this movie; he succeeded in portraying a nerd which is totally nerdy. As for Ivy Chen, I never watched any of her works and in this movie she's just a soso for me. I like this movie even I cant say this is one of the best I've ever watched. Put this on your list if you like romance movie.

Rate: 7.5/10

This is how different he looks.

The official trailer:

Movie review: Montage (몽타주)

\

I should say Im TOO active in writing reviews these 2 weeks. ignore this I've just finished watching a korean film Montage, which is ridiculously good. This is a 2013 film and I've been searching for it for a long time. The genre is thriller and stars Uhm Jung Hwa as a mother whose daughter, Seo Jin, was kidnapped 15 years ago and died while the suspect is still around. Kim Sang Kyung stars as Detective Oh who was signed for this case and it'll reach the statue of limitation (SOL) in a few days. 5 days before the SOL, somebody put a flower in the crime scene where no one knew this place except the mother, detective, and police. Detective Oh try as fast as possible to search for the suspect using the evidence that's left. At last it reached the SOL and I thought it has ended but the story actually starts here. A few days later a similar case happens where a child was kidnapped while being left alone in the playground by her grandpa. The kidnapping style is reconstructed of what have happened 15 years ago and this time, the investigation team decides to search for Detective Oh since all the information in the secret room has been burnt. At the same time, mother is also searching for the suspect by her own using the evidence they found a few days before reaching the SOL. In the beginning of the movie, we're served with a scene in a highway where the mother is inside the car with her head being wrapped with a plastic bag and the next scene is the detective having an accident in not far from her car. I was confused with this at first but as it flows, you'll finally connect to the what happened in the first scene. I enjoy this movie from the beginning till end and the satisfying ending is indeed a plus point for me. I was thrilled all the time, especially for the twist in the middle of the story which I didnt predict it at all. Uhm Jung Hwa is way too good in performing as a mother who has suffered for 15 years because of her daughter's death and her kidnapper is still not being caught. I've watched her movies before where mostly she starred in romance movies. This is my first time watching Kim Sang Kyung's acting and he's freaking good. Montage didnt disappoint me where sometimes korean movies had a great storyline but the ending ruined everything.

Score: 8/10

Synopsis:
A kidnapper disappeared 15 years ago without a trace. Five days before the case's statute of limitations expires, someone anonymously leaves a flower at the crime scene. A few days later, another kidnapping takes place using the same method on a similar target. Three people team up to solve the case before it's too late: the grandfather (Song Young-chang), who lost his granddaughter right in front of him, the mother (Uhm Jung-hwa), who has been searching for the person who abducted her daughter 15 years ago, and the detective with a guilty conscience (Kim Sang-kyung), who puts everything into this long-unsolved case. (wiki)

Movie review: The Face Reader

One of my most anticipated movies in 2013. I finished this today and it did satisfied me. Starring Song Kang Ho as the face reader, this saeguk film tells about how he can accurately read everyone's character through their face because everybody has different face line. The other main leads are Jo Jung Seok as his brother-in-law and Lee Jong Suk as his limp son. The family has been exiled because of his father who was a traitor to the king and their lives are dull. LJS once saw an injustice towards the poor so he wanted to be a government official to set for justice. At first SKH didnt agree because he didnt want his son to face those political things but his in-law supported his son and finally he agreed. The story continues as they went apart; SKH and JJS made it to the government as an unofficial official because of his face reading ability got recognised widely and his son made it through although he changed his name. The rest would be the political problem, mostly about the king's uncle who wants to dethrone the new young king. I like how they bring the face reading ability as the main theme here. The way they describe it when he was reading people's face is just awesome; I was awed for a few times. The plot is still about Joseon dynasty (if Im not mistaken) but the King is not King Sejong. Jo Jung Seok also did it very well; his character is talkative but not overacting (not like what he did in Architecture 101 where I almost didnt recognise him). As for Lee Jong Suk, his hairstyle is wooooorse yet his acting is okay. I wont make any spoiler here; I myself think the ending suits it the best. The Face Reader also became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea in 2013, with 9.1 million admissions. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang Ho. Very recommended one!

Synopsis:
Nae-gyeong, the most skillful face reader in Joseon dynasty, was living in seclusion when he was offered a lucrative partnership by Yeon-hong, a gisaeng. Nae-gyeong accepts the proposal to read the faces of Yeon-hong’s guests only to get involved in a murder case. With his face reading skills, Nae-gyeong successfully identifies the murderer and his skills are soon acknowledged by King Munjong who orders him to identify the potential traitors who threaten his reign. However after the unexpected death of Munjong, Nae-gyeong is courted by Grand Prince Suyang who yearns to become King himself by killing the young successor Danjong. Nae-gyeong decides to keep his loyalty to the late King and help Kim Jongseo protect the young King which forces him into the biggest power struggle in the history of the Joseon dynasty. (wiki)

The 24 hours quality time.

I've arrived at hometown since thursday and the next day we (I, makjul, asoi, ceha, pinle) did a sleepover at ceha's house. We went to eat at Pizzaboy at first and I could say the foods were delicious. Met at ceha's house, we talked as we havent met for years. I was having fun talking with my girls. You know you can always talk about everything with your bestfriends. We bought some dvds, watching it until past midnight and continue gossiping till dawn. The next day we had lunch together and went to watch movie as well, The Conjuring, which I should say scary as hell. But I had a lot of fun, especially for the 24 hours quality time. It's my first time to do something like that and we have planned for the next one. Im happy that we're still be able to do everything like what we used to do in high school`^^