Details

  • Last Online: Sep 9, 2022
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Springfield, MO
  • Contribution Points: 309 LV3
  • Birthday: December 04
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: March 10, 2016

JohnnyRobinson

Springfield, MO

JohnnyRobinson

Springfield, MO
Completed
Mr. Wacky
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Wasted Superb Cast On A Movie That Could have Been Better!


I have to admit my first viewing of this movie was not good; it had English subtitles superimposed over three or four Asian translations as well...not good!

I finally found a clean copy which led to a better experience.

Our story starts out with Woo Ju Ho (Park Gun Hyung) living it up around the night circuit of his city; later we find out that it is his grandfather's wealth that he is blowing!

His grandfather, played by Jung Wook, has a serious medical problem (I will let you find out what it is when you watch the movie), and he is adamant to give his wealth to charity; unless or course, Ju Jo reluctantly mends his ways and teaches school for two years to earn his inheritance!

Being a former top administration, (I guess) grandfather pulls a few strings and gets Ju Ho into a high school teaching sophomore math. I wondered if you need a special "teacher's certification" or not in South Korea, or did "grandpa" pull some strings and get this waived somehow; it never tells you what degree if any Woo Ju Ho possessed.

Anyway, without even registering with the school, Woo Ju Ho shows up for the first day of class as any other playboy would: arrogant, self-assured, and completely without a clue about the educational system.

Even though he is 'teaching' he is still playing the night life; he gets into trouble several times; due to his 'social ineptness' Teacher Yun So Joo (Kim Hyo Jin) decides to teach him the social skills necessary to navigate the social climate of a high school...little did she know what she was getting into!

The first half of this movie basically follows the above outline; however, even though this is not a 'bad' movie, it is not a great movie!

I saw Park Gun Hyung in the movie Innocent Steps (2005) with the great Korean actress Moon Geun Young (I haven't had time to review it yet!). Park Gun Hyung seemed like he was not really interested in acting in this movie, or the director isn't
giving him what he needs.

He was so much better in Innocent Steps!

It is as if someone is telling him to "suppose" something is supposed to happen without a script, then after filming that scene, him being told to "suppose" something else, but different, is going to take place.

The scenes don't seem to have go together; there is comedy and some innuendo, but it doesn't seem to all work together like a movie should.

If you want some laughs go ahead and watch this movie, but it doesn't seem to "fit together" well.

The second half is better, with Woo Ju Ho actually beginning to 'act' like a teacher and gives some good advice to the students coming to him for help.

In this segment, student Choi Jin Ju (the lovely Song Eun Chae) who plays a young girl who experiences an 'incident' which causes her to want to drop out of school, or at least 'that' school, and Woo Ju Ho attempts to help her with this problem: he also chooses (again kind of "out of the blue" to attempt to woo teacher Yun So Joo after she has been helping him: there was really little inference as her being interested in him, but again, the story seems to change all the way through with little hints or setup for changes.

I liked the scene where Yun So Joo sings for her ex-boyfriend and best girlfriend: one of the best scenes!

The music wasn't bad and the cinematography also is really good. The main cast keep the story going, except for the fact that the connections aren't there always; and the support cast is also good at aiding the two main stars in the movie.

Two kudos for support staff: 'Grandpa' (Jung Wook) and the side story with Ju Ho; and Song Eun Chae, whose side story basically saves the second half!

The other problem with my enjoying this movie is the fighting between the male students; I guess if I understood Korean culture better I would understand why the last fight occurred.

It ended different that I expected, but it still was good: not great, but good!

One final note: the support cast actor Moon Ji-yoon passed away from blood poisoning on the 18th of March 2022, about the time I watched this last.

Condolences to his family, friends, acting connections and others.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Only occasionally.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Eat Drink Man Woman 2
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 10, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

"I've Been Working All My Life...Now I Have Forgotten How To Do That"

First of all, my apology to Ang Lee...more later.

I put off watching this movie due to the fact that I figured it was a "copy" of Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) with a few changes, the same way Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) was basically a carbon copy of Scarlet Heart (2011) with a few plot changes...

Boy, was I wrong!

First the similarities between the two Eat Drink Man Woman movies:

Both deal with a father of 2 or more female kids, who are at ages where their lives are becoming less dependent on their fathers...

Both deal with a "getting old" father who has came to a turning point in his life, the first no longer to 'taste' the food he is preparing properly and the second forgetting the "small" details in his cooking, and his life!

In both movies, the single father has a problem with talking about important "issues" affecting him and his daughters (I said in the review of Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) that I felt the father's inability to 'talk' to his female daughters probably led to his pouring his love into cooking for them instead); in both movies their daughters are also better educated that their father's generation and also have a different outlook on life in general.

In the 2nd version, the father would not tell his daughters about his medial diagnosis, until it started making them worry about him.

There is no returning cast members or director between the two movies but they both leave you with a sense of tranquility and that "everything is gonna be alright" for the households of both movies.

Both movies had actors/actresses who made you feel they were part of a established family the way they responded to each other, in the range of the director's wishes.

Supporting cast in both movies were excellent in their individual side stories and their support of the main story being told by the main actors/actresses...

Let me get back to Ang Lee: I want to apologize to him since i am giving EDMW-2 a higher rating that his original movie, but only by 0.5 of a point!

Ang Lee is known for his 'twists' he throws in his movies just after you think you have figured out everything about his movie and you have already told your friends how the movie is going to end: EDMW is a typical example of this.

However, the 2nd version has a more melodramatic 'twist' one that is sure to send some women into their tissue supply!

Tang Shi Zhe [Wa Er's father/restaurant owner] (Kenneth Tsang) did an excellent job of playing the head of the Tang family; and an even better job of "remembering' something from the past that he thought would never need to remember again, and Gui Ya Lei (Bai Ping) played a magnificent job being a pain to Tang Wa'er (Huo Si Yan) the manager of an exclusive spa and the girlfriend of Gui Ya Lei's "son" Zhang Quan (Blue Lan), who gave Shi Zje the 'reason' for remembering his past at the most opportune time!

Blue Lan did an excellent job portraying the computer-nerd boyfriend of Tang Wa'er, to the point I was yelling at Tang Wa'er to dump the jerk! However, he did redeem himself in the end and saved his relationship.

The 'twist' that director Tsao Jui-Yuan placed his 'twist' just at the right location and I experienced a great emotional catharsis for the couple reuniting after many, many decades!

It left me with such a sense of emotional euphoria and well-being that i wanted the movie to go on and show more of the three couples as they grew together in their personal lives!

I recommend a full box of Kleenex, especially for the last half of the movie.

I am going to look for more Tsao Jui-Yuan movies online as well.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes, especially with a good female friend

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Windstruck
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 1, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10

"You Have The Right To Remain Silent...But If You Do, You're A Dead Man."

Part of the "My Sassy Girl Trilogy" by Kwak Jae Yong

This is the second movie of the "My Sassy Girl Trilogy" by director/screenwriter Kwak Jae Young.

The first movie is My Sassy Girl (2001).

The second movie is the film Windstruck (2004).

The third movie is Cyborg She (2008), a Japanese movie.

They are unrelated except for having a 'sassy girl' theme

Kwak Jae Yong served as screenwriter & director for all three above films.

The main male lead for My Sassy Girl, Cha Tae Hyun, appears in a bit part in this movie.

"Windstruck is a comedy/romance/drama/fairy tale/

I had White Valentine (1999) recommended to me: my late fiance was into Asian movies and knew that White Valentine was available online with English subtitles (She introduced me to My Little Bride (Moon Geun Young) and saw all the movies she had with English subtitles. After that list dried up, my fiance started me on White Valentine, with Jun Ji Hyun, a great little sleeper so I started on her list of movies then.


Movies do not have to be "real", as in everything in a scene being scientifically possible or probable! They are made, and should be viewed, with your imagination and mind being allowed to wander. That is why this review is longer than my normal movie review.

There has been so much written about how you cannot ride a large balloon through the sky without being killed; this is a 'fairy tale' about the love of two people: a 'sassy' girl and a physics teacher. It is not supposed to be 'real' in its being told! No police officer in real life would do, or even TRY TO DO what Officer Yeo Kyung Jin did in this movie: they would be kicked off the police force if they did survive the gun battles portrayed in this movie!

When "My Sassy Girl" came out, every high school and college girl "wanted" to be "The Girl"; but being "The Girl' would turn many guys off, especially wearing a female's high heels shoes! Like "Windstruck" it made females believe in themselves and it drew woman back, year after year, watching a 'sassy' girl in control of her life!

It is a feel-good movie which people watch over, and over, and over and ....well, you get the picture!Women, and even men, go from laughing until they cry, then crying in the next part and wanting to enter the movie and change the story!

This is one of the cutest movies from Korea! I saw it about ten years ago for the first time, as I was going up the movies list of Jun Ji Hyun, starting with a chance reference to her "White Valentine."

The first part is very comical and you will be sh*tting in your pants and rolling on the floor from the hijinx of Police Officer Yeo Kyung Jin (Jun Ji Hyun) who accidentally "bumps" into all-girl school physics teacher Myung Woo (Jang Hyuk), who is doing his 'Boy Scout' duty by trying to catch a purse thief (Kim Young Joo) running ahead of him.

Yeo Kyung Jin, as it turns out later, bumbles this case as she does most other cases she is involved in during the first half of this romantic-comedy movie; but she finds a 'boyfriend' this time out of her 'bumbling'!

That is in line with the "sassy girl' motif that My Sassy Girl, Windstruck and Cyborg She have in common! This is a movie, not a documentary of hos police are 'supposed' to run things when they are on the beat... it is 'make-believe" so quit comparing "Officer" Yeo Kyung Jin with a REAL police officer! It is a comedy like the Mr Bean character from England.

The second half leads into a more drama-comedy, as a major mishap ends her romantic relationship she just found; she spends months in grief and second-guessing herself, until a miracle happens to reconnect her with her Significant Other.

Coming from a Religious Studies and former EMT (ambulance) background, many have said that Yeo Kyung Jin "cried too much" when Myung Woo dies: Russell Friedman and John W. James of The Grief Recovery Institute will tell you that whether you’ve known your partner a few months or been married for 50 years, when your significant other dies, it may feel like part of you is gone too. It can have severe psychological and/or physical attributes on a person.

The death of a loved one can lead to a stroke, heart attack or even death (without using a weapon!).

The director does not say how long that the new couple were together before Myung Woo died; In the first of the trilogy (MSG), it was at least 4-5 years between the time the two main cast members did not see each other after planting the letters under the tree.

"Death" affects each person in different ways, so I personally saw no problem with Yeo Kyung Jin's crying as much as she did!

Also, too many people keep talking about this movie being a 'prequel' to MSG: it is not! Quit thinking that way.

Kwak Jae Yong in this movie used flashbacks, story and scene repetitions from MSG to elicit an emotional response to the movie; he also used scene repetitions (first and last commentary) to link the beginning and the end of the movie together, and he did it brilliantly! I loved it so much..a stroke of genius on his part!

If you have never seen MSG, you can enjoy this movie and all of its ups and downs and its emotional roller-coaster ride without ever have seen MSG before.

There is talk online about 'Windstruck' being 'two different movies edited together': that also is false!

The first part is about the meeting and pairing of the two love birds; the second is the death of one and the recovery of the other; EVERYONE has lost a significant other and gone through the agony of recovery, one way or the other. If and when one of your loved ones die, you too can have your world tuned upside down in an instant!

Plot Twists...You will enjoy the movie more if you pay attention to:

Officer Yeo Kyung Jin as she is waking up and stretching the morning after (still) being handcuffed to Myung Woo...

Officer Yeo Kyung Jin having a man "get down" and squat so she can go over the wall in one of the chases...

Watch for the parts of [Assistant Inspector] Kim Yeong Ho (Kim Jeong Tae) in this movie: he has a major contribution to the story.

The main male/female characters are really great here: they interact like they were a real couple!

The support cast also did an excellent job at making the main and side story believable, supporting the main cast and the story excellently.

This movie, alth9ught many do not see it as that good, does what any GREAT movie does: it makes people laugh, cry, wince, say "WTF" to something that happens out of the ordinary! That why I was so surprised at all the negative reviews on MDL.

There are several copies pf "Windstruck" online, and each one has counted MILIIONS of views: that in itself should tel you what great of a movie this is!



Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
The Surrogate Woman
0 people found this review helpful
May 25, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

“No, we are not {human). Even if we look like human, we are not treated as human.”

Ok Nyo: ”I am human..so are you!”

Mother: “No, we are not. Even if we look like human, we are not treated as human.”

Why is the first 55 minutes of this movie on DramaThis, yet the last 38 minutes on MyAsianTV?

A melodramatic movie set during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea showing the inhumane treatment of the young, virgin surrogate mother Ok-nyeo (Kang Soo Yeon) by a system which values male “heirs” over female, and a culture steeped with so much “wives tales, useless pomp and circumstance, and ritual”…most of the which is useless for anything except keeping all, rich and poor, in their proper place in this, and other, society.

Most of the movie was on Ok-nyeo and her being in complete solitude between visits by the young Master, and no Internet in those days to play on while in solitude!

I loved the music, scenery, cinematography, and costumes of the period; I also appreciate the director allowing the young girl the chance to be ‘consoled’ by the young Master more often than the Matriarch and the house staff would allow.

I dislike the lack of emotion and feeling that prevailed in everyone, save for the Master and surrogate woman. It seems that 'emotion' was set aside for women during this time period; however, the young Master also seemed to have no one worrying about his emotions as well! As I have studied religion and myth for years, this is typical not only for Korea but for most cultures before the modern era.

I loved the ceremony just before the birth, where all the poor community were enjoying themselves.

Everyone, except the Master and the young surrogate, treated her surrogacy as nothing more than a business contract, allowing very little ‘humanity’ in this movie.

The director showed the attempt society has always had for emotional contact between humans of different social classes; that is why media (printed, audio and visual arts) is full of successful movies and stories of a man and a woman from different social-economic classes falling in love and successfully ‘beating the system’.

I enjoy being able to see a microcosm of traditional societies in movie form, such as this movie.

This is a service both for those wishing to be entertained and for those who want to see a slice of life in bygone eras, which isn’t that much different than a slice of life if taken from any society today!

The system of separation even extends to the ‘raising’ of of rich people's children: Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was raised by servants but not her parents (as she allowed the same for her children as well); she was cold and removed from her children as Queen Victoria, Elizabeth II and most of the other elite members of out society, those who control the rest of us!

What was revealed later in the movie is that Ok-nyeo's mother was also a surrogate until she, a female, was born accidentally.

What is sad it that much of the poor also believe that tradition and useless ritual is necessary in order for society to continue: it is, is you want to continue the separation of people as this movie shows.

I would recommend this for anyone who wishes to watch a great movie,or anyone interested in the movies of Kang Soo-youn or interested in Korean movies in general.

What is sad is that I watched this great movie on the same day actress Kang Soo-youn died in Korea…she was scheduled to film the movie “Jung_E” during the last part of this year (2022)

My kudos to this great movie and condolences for her, her family and all the friends of Korean films!

https://news.yahoo.com/veteran-actor-kang-soo-youn-175505996.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Wet Dreams
0 people found this review helpful
May 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

"But I Think He Is a Dull-Looking Dork! Can't You Tell The Difference Between 'Dull' and 'Natural?'"

Known locally as South Korea’s first “American Pie”-like comedy, “Wet Dreams” is relatively low on gross-out visuals and rather higher on innocent romance. Produced by “Shiri” helmer Jacky Kang’s KangJeGyu Films and directed by NYU grad Jeong Cho-shin (who made clever crime comedy “Jakarta”), the well-packaged story of a hormonal teen who decides he’ll lose his virginity only to a woman he loves has done robust biz since bowing early November and would make an amusing curio in Asian-themed events.

Inspired by "American Pie" which did not sell well in South Korea, this movie was very successful in Korea which led to its sequel!

This film is available for free on Dailymotion, but is broken into 5 parts for viewing. Its companion sequel Wet Dreams 2 is available for free at Dramacool.

Kim Sun Ah wasn't bad on her comical timing; since I don't remember her in another comedy before, I cannot compare her in
any other comedy movie.

So Jung (Kim Ki Yeon) was also great as far as her comic timing and her supporting the main stories!

This movie is basically two love stories in one, with a bunch of pubescent stunts from the three younger male cast members, Seok Gu, Sang Min and Young Je filling in the scenes between the two love stories.

Dong Hyun (Noh Hyung-wook) is a middle-school student who is beginning his journey as a boy becoming a man; his object of affection is the new student-teacher (trainee student) Yoo Ri (Kim Sun Ah).

I love the way that Yoo Ri 'handles' the boys' pubescent yearnings in a professional yet caring way, the same way that she handles the teachers who also are interested in her.

I also like the sex jokes, as I was that age once and they remind me how "getting laid" and finding out about women pre-occupied most of my free time (which, living on a farm, was very little time at all for me!).

What I loved most, though, was the one scene where Dong Hyun's mother (uncredited and I cannot find the actress's name online) showed Dong Hyun that she was a great mother to him!

Yoo Ri, it turns out, is a former student of Byung Chul under which she is student teaching (Lee Bum Soo), also a bachelor who gave up years ago on women and comes to school looking like a bum instead of a teacher. he rejects Yoo Ri's advances, and still treats her like his former students, making her drink soda pop instead of saki when eating together.

Yoo Ri is persistent though, and gradually convinces her love interest since high school, Byung Chul, that she is both a good teacher and that she is a woman of legal age who likes him!

Dong Hyun and Byung Chul have a lot in common, besides their love for Yoo-Ri: both men also "grow" through their association with Yoo-Ri.

The teacher Byung Chul finds that he can be loved by a woman, who he finally grows to see Yoo-Ri as, and not just as one of his former high school students. He is given a reason, the love of a woman, to start actually dressing like the good-looking man he is, and he also begins to see a future with someone he finally found to love him!

Dong Hyun actually grows more than his male teacher; first interested in touching and sleeping with his female teacher, he matures rapidly and realizes that Yoo-Ri's wants and needs are more important than just his need of a night in bed with a female.

While he tries unsuccessfully tried to admit his love to Yoo-Ri, he finds that she is actually is in love with his original teacher, Byung Chul.

Knowing the truth about Yoo-Ri's love, Dong Hyan matures quickly into adulthood, rigging the outcome the way Rick [in Casablanca (1942) American romantic drama film] did with Ilsa and Laszlo.

I loved the atmosphere of a high school setting, which made it seem real enough to lose myself for awhile. I felt that I was back in high school; the only difference is that us guys back then made bets about getting to see the high school girls' panties, bras, whatever, but not the teachers!

The music and cinematography was good, but lacking somewhat in editing I thought.


I cut the score for this movie for a couple of main reasons: excessive (probably for some) sexual jokes and the editing lacked that of Seven Samurai (1954) Caijin (2012) or Xuan Zang (2016).


This movie reminded me of Beautiful Teacher in Torture Hell (1985), as far as the classroom scenes; Caijin (2012) as far as the students working together; Crazy Little Thing Called Love (2010) as far as 'first love'; Cry Me A Sad River (2018) as far as the students bullying each other; Ditto (2000) as far as student life; Middle School Student A (2014) as far as students interactions; Sex Is Zero 1 and 2 (2002, 2007) as far as campus hijinx; Su-ki-da (2005) as far as old/young romances; The Classic (2003) as far as high school romance; and Virgin Snow (2007) as far as impossible romances.

It especially reminds me of Middle School Student A (2016) as far as boy/girl relationships; Jenny & Juno (2005) as far as teenage relationships and maturity; Marbling (2014) as far as inexperienced lovers; My Love (2021) as far as adolescent romance; Nisekoi (2018) another high school comedy with loads of inuendo; On Your Wedding Day (2018) as far as adolescent romance; Samaritan Girl (2004) as far as old/young relationships and Who Slept with Her (2006) as far as high school sexual tension.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Ooku
0 people found this review helpful
May 19, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

"Never Shall I Speak Of Things I Have Seen Or Heard Inside The Inner Chambers"

Alternative title: Lady Shōgun and her Men

This story revolves loosely around the Ejima-Ikushima affair of 1714, the most significant scandal in the history of Ooku, the shogun's harem, during the Edo period of the history of Japan...but with a twist!

In a 'reverse' timeline history, the Japanese Edo period is ran by powerful women instead of men.

In 1716 a contagious - for men, that is - disease hits Japan changing the ratio of men to women to 1:4 .

Women become the dominant part of society and men dress up like geishas to attract women.

With the drastic reduction of men, the gender roles have become reversed in Japan. Woman become the dominant members of society and males are sought out for the ability to produce children.

A young, handsome member of a poor family, Unoshin Mizuno (Ninomiya Kazunari) is at the age he must make major decisions about his future; he has several things going for him, but his social status presents him from taking advantage of them:

He is skilled in kendo, has a beautiful girlfriend and is 'giving' to those around him who have less.

But his girlfriend Onobu (Horikita Maki), even though they love each other, is beyond his social status and he is not interested in the marriage offers he is given through his family. He also is worried about his younger sisters marriage dowry.

He decides to join the Ooku, kept men (think of royal 'male concubines') who are at the service of the Lady Shōgun of the clan; even though the present one is only seven (7) years old at present. This decision is heartbreaking news to Onobu who longs for him and no other.

Inside the Ooku, Mizuno writes Onobu that even though the men are all handsome, their hearts are 'all dark'; this is shown through a kendo match between him and Tsuroka (Okura Tadayoshi), who loses his prominence in the ooku by being bested by Mizuno.

However, the unplanned and sudden death of the child shogun brings to the position a more mature, no-nonsense and powerful woman shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune (Shibasaki Ko) who is seen by the Ooku members as a chance for rapid promotion and fulfillment of his personal power ambitions!

Matsushima (Tamaki Hiroshi) the senior 'man' in the Ooku, elevates Mizuno above others, but not necessarily for his own good!

However, the powerful but non-traditional new Shogun has her own ideas about what should be done and how, and several plot twists leave most with a satisfactory outcome!

Some do not consider this ' Sci-Fi' for this movie: however, SciFi has to do aas much with mutant diseases as well as futuristic scenarios as anything else: why can't this be considered SciFi i that it introduces a zombie-like disease and change Japanese history? That is what this movie does!

I also love the depth to which this story for this movie is written! I also like the very colorful artistic cinematography, music and the depth of the 'detail' used to bring this scifi/historical movie to fruition!

Care was taken to make each and every passing season and scene just as colorful and brilliant as the last one shot for this movie!

And even more, the acting was superb! The main and support cast worked together as if they actually lived in such an environment with superb support from the theatrical, lighting and other unmentioned departments.

This movie was also very emotional at times witht eh cast pulling off the emotion emphatically and on cue. Personally, I think that the characters are very well developed because they are complex, deceptive and quite multi-dimensional in their basic human drives.

They make sense within the constraints in which they are cast withing the Ooku. We get the full spectrum of emotions within this movie; varied scenery and ambiance in all the right places, multiple stories occurring at the same time but not overpowering the main story at the same time; realistic characters, with a realistic society portrait of the period, and so on.

Certainly, this movie has strong characters, but like the inner chambers of any Shogun's castle, they are puppets vowing for more power. Along with intense & emotional moments, it concludes with a mind blowing twist by the female Shogun that I personally didn't see coming!

The set and costume designers should take a hell of a lot of pride in what they did with this movie!

You actually believe that you are in the Japanese "Forbidden City" and being a welcomed voyeur into the intricate machinery of its operation.

Overall, it's an entertaining movie with an understandable story and believable characters that no Asian movie lover should miss!

My only problem with this movie is that the director, after making sure that the movie was built on a firm and lasting cinematogrpahy, music and such, tended to rush the scenes and story a bit.

Had he pulled a " Kurosawa Akira" and spent a little more time on developing the characters and back story, we might just be looking about another epic movie from Japan!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A ten episode drama, 大奥〜誕生[有功・家光篇] aired on TBS between October 12, 2012 and December 14, 2012, starring Masato Sakai and Mikako Tabe is also available for viewers.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is set in an alternate Edo period of Japan, where a strange disease that only affects men has caused a massive reduction of the male population, changing the Japanese social structure as women have to fill traditionally male roles. Eighty years after the initial outbreak, with four women for every one man, Japan has become completely matriarchal with women holding important political positions and men being their consorts. The most powerful woman — the shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate — keeps a harem of handsome yet unproductive men known as the Ōoku inside Edo Castle.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
My Secret Cache
0 people found this review helpful
May 17, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

"I Wish Someone Would Rob The Bank, Preferably Taking Me Hostage...A Tragic Heroine"

There is a drama series, unrelated to this movie, with the same title...hope that it was as HILARIOUS as this movie!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This was HILARIOUS movie! From the beginning I knew that I was going to enjoy it!

Suzuki Sakiko (Nishida Naomi) is the oldest child of a middle-class family whose 'obsession' is M-O-N-E-Y!

Unfortunately, she wins no friends when she shows them her savings booklet (her prize possession!), and she would prefer money from a guy rather than him using the money to buy her snacks or a meal.

Her mother suggests that she become a bank teller since she loves money so much; this is where we find her as a couple of robbers stage a robbery and take her as a hostage!

The rest of the story follows her as she is found, goes back to work and finally starts on her quest to recover the suitcase loaded with money...somewhere in the Aokigahara mountains (near My Fuji). The movie is loaded with

I loved her tenacity in learning the skills necessary to recover the suitcase. She 'acts' as a young female who has a goal in life from recovering from the ordeal and meets every obstacle with determination, motivation and careful planning. Yet at the same time, she seems to really to get into her character, showing an adolescent playfulness that becomes light comic pleasure onscreen.

She 'makes' opportunities by applying herself and being in the right place at the right time!

The support cast, including her family college faculty and staff, add greatly to the story and allow her to reach the goals she needed at the right times. They all become her obstacle at sometime but she is able to navigate their interference.

What happens as she becomes involved with other people and learns new skills, is her moving from loving money to loving adventure for itself! When you watch the movie, you will understand what I am talking about.

The music was placed where it was needed and appropriate and the cinematography was fantastic. The site for her journey down the river was beautiful, with a return to the same lovely scenery when her actual search begins. The landscapes and atmosphere are worth watching the movie in itself!

Although this was a low budget movie and her actions were sometimes foolish (as the director wanted them to be), you cannot help but start but wanting this dreamer and her antics to win the day!

I am going to have to find more films by Nishida Naomi and this movie's director, Yaguchi Shinobu.

By the way, the reason she got into college finally is typical comical gag, but it was done superbly by the bit player that pulled it off!


RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely, especially with friends!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Cash on Delivery
0 people found this review helpful
May 9, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Hong Kong love triangle with a "Fatal Attraction"-like ending!

First of all, "nudity' is not a big part of this movie: you see the back and butt of Veronica Yip in one scene, the rest is women in (very nice-looking) lingerie, two girls in small bikinis, and a dress or two ripped open but no nipples revealed. There is also 'simulated sex" but no visuals.

This is a hilariously funny but dramatic movie!

An antiques dealer Simon (Simon Yam) plays the boyfriend/lover of a leading Hong Kong lawyer Sandy (Sandra Ng) but gets involved with a married woman Mrs. Lau (Veronica Yip) over an antique watch which he desperately wants to get his hands on!

Simon and Mrs, Lau begin a passionate love affair on land and sea, culminating with Mrs. Lau becoming obsessed with Simon, and the death of her husband. Simon's trial is very dramatic yet ends with a fabulous twist to the ending!

The main three cast put on a very convincing show of being in love or lust with each other, with Simon playing a suave 'lady's man' who makes all the right moves and says all the right things to keep his libido and the two ladies satisfied throughout the movie.

Sandy, played by a known comical actress, keeps her relationship with Simon on edge through the movie, with several funny scenes to keep you awake for more! Mrs. Lau portrays a nymphomaniac when it comes to passion!

The two-support cast also do a great job in their roles and allowing the main cast to complete the story: I would like to mention
Valentino (Michael Chow) in his support role and one off-the-wall scene with two bikini-clad beauties; you will laugh your head off during and after the scene!

The music and cinematography were excellent for this time period, and the locations shows off some of the best scenery of Hong Kong for this time period

I like the way that the movie flowed around the type of dialogue that ordinary people would have in their daily lives.

I like the scenes of the antiques mall and the high-end dresses worn by the bidders and lady friends of the other bidders.

The food presented envisioned high-class society members enjoying the best food as their normal meals; everything reeked of high society Hong Kong in the 1990s.

I did not like the 'rushed' buildup of the plot/story; it could have spent a little more time on this aspect.

The ending was a surprise; I didn't think that it would turn out the way it did, but I was hoping for a happy ending for Simon and Sandy!

It had the right combination of comedy/drama/and a fight scene as well!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Three Days of a Blind Girl
0 people found this review helpful
May 6, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

"Don't Even Fight With Women Anymore"

First of all, it only shows the back of a woman's body when it comes to nudity, so don't let this keep you from watching this great, spellbinding movie!

I was on the edge of my seat from about 10 minutes into the movie all the way to the end!

The director kept the pace quick with continuous changing twists in the movie, which also involved the couple's dog!

The husband disappears in about 10 or so minutes of the movie and only comes back for even less time, the male villain Sam Chu (Anthony Wong) and the blind wife Mrs. Ng (Veronica Yip) carry the rest of the movie with small appearances by support cast, but HOW they carry it!

Their performances opposite each other couldn't have been better!

Veronica Yip plays a 'kept' wife whose only decisions revolve around which clothes she wears each day; she at the beginning of the movie couldn't fight he way out of a paper bag! But the physical and psychological terror that she endures during the time of her temporary blindness gives her the backbone and tenacity to stand up for herself.

The cast all do a fantastic job in this movie, even if the support cats' scenes were brief! Great actors and actresses all around!

I like the fact that the wife finds the ingenuity to try to get help and also the fact that she developed the ability to defend herself against her intruder: I also love the ways she used what she had in the house to create chaos for the intruder.

The cinematography was great as well as the music!

I don' t know what else to say, except don't watch this unless you have the time to be completely entertained and mesmerized!

One comment about the support cast: The lone Hong Kong cop got what he deserved by not calling for backup.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Caijin
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Name given by adoptive parents: Căijīn 彩金refers to money won in a lottery, lotto or other game

Name given by her adoptive parents: căijīn 彩金refers to money won in a lottery, lotto or other game, hence the title of the film: Xiaonü Caijin (《孝女彩金》), Cai jin, 'model of filial piety.'

Main Cast
Feng Yingying (冯莹莹) as Peng Caijin (彭彩金),

Sun Jifeng (孙继峰) as (adopted) father Peng Xiaocheng (彭孝诚),

Liu Chenxia (刘晨霞) as (adopted) mother Liu Chuntao

Support Cast:
Deng Dingwei (邓丁玮) as Caijin's half-brother

Bai Li Wei as Uncle Wu

Xu Jinger as Yang Yunmie, Peng Caijin's mother who abandoned her

After the village's Lantern Festival and their accompanying wedding, , Peng Xiaocheng (Sun Jifeng) and Liu Chuntao (Liu Chenxia) are awakened by the sound of a baby crying. Not able to have their own children, they pour their heart and soul into raising the young female baby the found , to whom they give the name, Peng Caijin.

I hate to admit this, but I cried through most of this movie.

The young actors did a monumental job on this movie; especially with young actress Feng Yingying, starring as the young girl Peng Caijin, abandoned by her birth mother, who later returned and found her again. I am not going to tell you what happens next, but i think that you will love it!

The scenery, cinematography and music was all great! I personally would love to live in such a village myself.

The support cast, from villagers to fellow students to her teacher all did a great job in their parts, and showed us how a community should come together and support those who have less material goods but a good heart; I especially liked the daydreaming scene, where Cai Jin imagined her two parents healed, and able to give her a normal life.

However, as much as they loved her, unconditionally, they were a burden to her all of her young life.

Even though she dreamt this, I don't hold it against her in the least. Her parents sacrificed all they could give, until their bodies struck down and no longer can give.

Almost every scene in this movie shows love...the kind of love where hate cannot find a place within.

This movie from start to finish, is a perfect example of how a husband and wife should treat each other; how a couple should treat their child, how a community should treat each other and love and stick to each other; and yes, how a child should support and love their parents, even if they cannot give you riches!

Learning character piety and filial, as Peng Caijin graciously learned, is the most important lesson in life!

Peng Caijin did not desert her parents, even though they tried to give her what they couldn't in life...

You can feel the love as the three main cast probably put on the best performance of their lives!


Although not mentioned in the movie, another true story associated with this movie is the appearance of Mr. Xiong Delong, or Ted Sioeng, an Indonesian businessman, who also was adopted as Peng Caijin...in China but was raised in another country
by such parents as loving as the couple portrayed in this movie.

Mr. Delong has given away hundreds of millions of dollars to help others, and upon hearing the story of Peng Caijin, left America and came to the village where the real Peng Caijin and her disabled parents lived...he appears as himself near the end of this movie.

https://inf.news/en/world/29464aab93bdf43b157d66dd70228adb.html

Link to movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0ofsCRCmM

This is definitely a two to two and a half box of Kleenex movie; if you want to impress a new female friend, watch this movie with her!

My major problem is that is no mention of Feng Yingying as an actress after this movie.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Katasumi and 4444444444
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 30, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

1998 shorts that were two of a four-part as part of Gakkō no Kaidan G

Also Known As: Katasumi (In a Corner) and 4444444444 (Ten Fours)

The short films that started the Ju-on/The Grudge franchise.

The original was part of a four-story shorts by Takashi Shimizu; he impressed Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who arranged for him to make the first two movies:
Ju-on: The Curse (February 11, 2000) and
Ju-on: The Curse 2 (March 25, 2000).

Shimizu was taking a film-making class under Kurosawa at the time.

The combined films are 6 minutes, 42 seconds long, but can be found online in shorter versions.

There seems to be a confusion over the 'names' of the two girls. Yoshida Hisayo (Omura Ayako) is fine but some list the second girl as Kayako Saeki or Kanna Murikam and played by Fuji Takako or Kanna Kashima...and to think some people really do care!

This short is also available on the Grudge 2 dvd extra disc.

The plot is so short and simple that I am skipping this part.

First off a little history...

In both films we have a Eastern concept of onryō, which can be more than a ghost if you want to study up on them.

Being a Religious Studies major, with a lot of reading also in mythology, folklore, et al, onryō are only a tiny portion of yurei, or 'dim spirits'; the most dreaded type of these are onryōis or onryō, vengeful spirts that can be found in cities, shopping malls, any type store, or anywhere else.

They are vengeful spirits usually born when people are wronged: a husband kills his wife, a walker is intentionally ran over by a driver in a car, a soldier is offered to live if he surrenders but us killed instead. Most are female spirits, but many exceptions exist

Instead of just wandering, they transform into powerful, wrathful spirits who seek vengeance on everything they encounter. Often they were victims of war, catastrophe, betrayal, murder, or suicide—and they many times display wounds or marks received at the time of death.

The stories of onryō go back to at least 8th century Japan and are found in all areas where people have lived and are especially are prevalent during bad times and times when there is no justice for the poor and weak.

The important thing you should remember is that "vengeance." is what all of them want, and "strange sounds" are characteristic of all of them as well!!

I enjoyed this but it wasn't scary to me. I sat laughing at the characters as they were acting!

Good short for a person's first try or so. I had heard about the Grudge movies before but had never had the time to see them.
I will try to catch them in the future!

444-444-4444, second part

As I just explained in my review for Cursed (2002), numbers has significant 'meaning' in Japan and other Asian countries

Again, a little history,...

"Numbers" are very important in Japan and most of everywhere else in Southeast Asia, full of symbolism for both young and old alike; there is even a full page of the similar ways that the number '4' is pronounced in different SE Asia dialects, but basically the kanji for 4 四 can be pronounced "shi," which in another kanji 死 means death


While he's an onryō, he is still a child as well. Keeping his childish disposition makes him more eerie

Again, it wasn't as so scary as it was humorous, but I will try to watch some of the sequels if I can find the time!


RE-WATCH VALUE" Yes!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Cursed
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 30, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

"I Can't Go..I Can't Go Inside...I Cannot Go Inside That Place...Because...Because This Place Is..."

Since whomever uploaded this movie information refused to add all the main and support cast, I am listing them here in my review:

Kyôko Akiba as Ryôko Kagami, the rep for the convenience store chain taking over this haunted one

Takaaki Iwao as Komori, the male night-shift clerk, also called "Paulos"

Hiroko Satô as Nao Shingaki (female part-time store worker/clerk)

Osamu Takahashi as Store owner

Etsuyo Mitani as Store owner's wife

Susumu Terajima as Akira Tejima ('no legs', bit part)

Yuko (actress name unknown), young female able to sense presence of ghosts/tortured souls in the store.

This movie started out with a fast and bloody surprise which most people won't be expecting!

The simplest methods to scare people are usually the best! This under-rated movie combines horror with mystery. The director gets well-deserved kudos for the simplicity of this flick!

The 'scares' are not overdone in this movie, as in many Asian horror movies (The Ring comes to mind as one!).

Even though this looks like a low-budget movie, it has some great scenes in it!

There are a couple of places where the action is very, very slow, but I personally believe this is made up in the scenes where they surprise you with eerie situations; there were even a few funny parts as well!

I also thought the 'refrigerator' scenes were different for a change. I never expected it!

The whole movie is very dark, and the director used dark scenes in this movie to portray the impending ghost activity here, but it also made part of the movie hard to watch. The girl being stalked in the hallway also looked a lot like the main female character; only by watching it that scene a few did I realize that it was the customer rather than the new manager.

Even time is subject to change in our Japanese "konbini/conbini" where this movie for the most part takes place.

As a Religious Studies major, I have read about religion, mythology and other countries' folklore (religion, myth and folklore are all related, but this is not the place to discuss that!)...I had to go back to my school books, but found the story of the "girl between the gap", which was referenced here; also, the numbers '334' '444' (if you want to make a Japanese person mad, use this number in your conversation or such with them!) '666' and such. I even believe that the '999' may be just writing the '666' upside-down in this movie..there you have to have some knowledge of Japan, China, Vietnam, et al. These numbers occur frequently in this movie, especially just before incidents!

What I am trying to say is that some knowledge of Japanese culture will make this more scarier for you!

I liked the scenes where the different ghosts exhibited their unique ways of haunting; the acting was really good, and the "gotcha" moments were interesting. The parts which were left for your imagination also made this movie worth watching.

Since this was a horror/ghost movie, i intentionally paid more attention to the music. which surprised me as being synchronized to the acting/upcoming incidents here.

The camera angles were used to add to the 'bizarre' feeling that the movie tried to portray; and the rest of the cinematography was also good.

This, however, was not a big-budget movie, but did well for what it tried to do: scare you just a bit!

The movie shot around the female lead Ryôko Kagami (Kyôko Akiba), hence no love story for her; but there was a side love story between Nao Shingak (Sakata Memeko,/Sato Hiroko)) and Komori/Paulos (Takaaki Iwao ), which was cute!

The actors did an excellent job through facial expression and dialogue making this a really good horror movie; all the support cast also did a great job supporting the main female actress and the stories that unfolded.


The major downside is that this was a low-budget film; although the camera angles were good and such, you could tell that money was tight on the set.

All in all, it was a great little movie, not Golden Globe- or Oscar-quality, but I would re-watch it occasionally, if for nothing else, the weird characters and their interactions occasionally.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!




Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 17, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

"All Of Us Have Someone Who Is Hidden In The Bottom Of The Heart...We Will Feel Like 'Umm'""


I glanced at some of the other reviewers and they said that it ended 'badly'...how do they come to this conclusion?

In a coming-of-age movie, Nam (Baifern Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul) has a crush on Shone (Mario Maurer) since around 7th grade; he is a10th grader at the beginning of the movie. handsome, good at sports, and all-around nice guy to the school girls.

However, as many young inexperienced girls having their first crush, Nam doesn't believe that she is 'pretty enough' to be Shone's girlfriend. so she admired him from afar but still tries to arrange to see him and be around him at school as much as possible.

Knowing that she is interested in Shone, her girlfriends, who have hung together since 1st grade, do home 'beauty treatments' on Nam, which adds to the comedy of this movie!

While name is occupied with her crush, Uncle Chang (Jaturong Mokjok) arrives from America, where her father (Off Pongpat Wachirabunjong) is working to feed his family and get ahead. Uncle Change tells Nam and her sister, Paeng (Kajathaneeya Srirotwattana, not listed on MDL: last column on cast at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Love_(2010_Thai_film) that their father will pay for their ticket to America if they score at the top of their class.

Although she is ranked mid-class, Nam starts giving her all to be able to go and see her father!

The majority of the story centers around friendships, normal school activities, et al (I will let you watch the movie for that part!) and Nam being chosen for the part of Cinderella in a school play, which makes her become more visible to the -pubescent boys.

Of course, a new girl enters the scene, Pin (Wittawat Arisara) who becmoes nam's adversary for Shone's affections, and Top (Not Akkaranat Ariyaritwikul) another friend of Shone, who becomes an adversary for Nam's love during the last year and a half of high school.

The side stories are also interesting; but I will let you watch them yourself as well!

The high school year for Shone ends with Nam confessing her love for him, and being heart-broken when she finds out that he started dating someone else just before she worked up the nerve for her love declaration. She gives him a momento of his (which becomes another misunderstanding) that she had kept since an altercation between Shone and another high school boy a few years earlier.

A unexpected 'twist' happens just as Shone is going away for training as a professional soccer player; it seems that Shone, an amateur photographer has been secretly been photographing Nam throughout the years; I haven't the faintest idea why some high school boy like Shone would be taking copious photos of Nam, especially since Nam doesn't feel "pretty enough' to be his girlfriend, would you?!

Fast forward - 9 years; after Nam has graduated high school in America's I believe and made a name for herself in the fashion industry as well here.

I was so heartbroken when I saw Shone taking a baby to Pin's place of work, but breathed a sigh of relief when Pin said she wished her baby's father loved the baby as much as Shone did! He hadn't married her!

Returning to Thailand, Nam is honored by a television show for her contributions to the fashion industry in the States and promoting Thailand as well; the hostess of the show has a special guest waiting backstage for Nam, someone who waited 9 years for the 'love of his life' to return from the States, where she went to live with her father and study fashion...

He is now a professional photographer after playing professional football for some years in Thailand...
I don't think that your eyes will be dry when the two get back together!

('Soccer' outside of America is called 'football')

I don't understand how some reviewers thought that this ending was so terrible!


I loved the attraction that the two main cast members portrayed for each other; perfect acting from both of them!

Baifern Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul portrayed the young Nam, who considered herself ugly, perfectly...she went into squealing, and congratulating herself every time Shone gave his attention to her, or when Shone smiled or spoke to her...all are well done, making the screenwriter and director portray Nam as a real girl who goes bananas when Shone communicates with her.

Mario Maurer also portrayed the young man very well, showing that he also was interested in her, excellently. However, the director didn't allow him to show his interest in Nam until near the end...this story reminds me of Su-ki-da (2005), and the laborious time it took for the main cast in that movie to proclaim love to each other.

The support cast, as well, were excellent both in the side stories and also supporting the main story that the lead cast were telling.

The music was different, but nice, and the cinematography is excellent, as far as I am concerned. I do like th4e 'twists' that the directors added in places, both for the main and support cast' stories; this movie si romantic, comical, and dramatic, all wrappe d into one movie!

I want to give an extra kudo to Teacher Inn (Sudarat Butrprom), who was a great comic relief in the movie. She has to either be a comedian or have comedy training in her past! Her 'exploits' during this film filled in the segways between the main story and side stories as well.

This movie was slow in the beginning but picked up speed during the 2nd half; probably to fully develop the characters in the first half. This movie is also family-friendly, as Nam's parents are both hard-working and seem to care about their daughters; and Nam mentions her mother as one o f the reasons for coming back from the States.

This movie is geared toward the 12- to 18-year old range, but would make a great after noon or weekend movie for the entire family...

This is a half a box of Kleenex movie, by the way.

I am looking forward to watching more of Puttipong Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn's movies; however, i think I have already seen his "Yes or No (2010)" already!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!

If you like this movie, may I suggest Su-ki-da (2005) or By Stealth Like You (2021, available in one combined film at YouTube movies).

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
The Bow
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 14, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

"...Beautiful Sound Like In The Tautness Of A Bow. I Want To Live Like This Until The Day I Die"

Any movie which you watch directed by Kim Di Kuk has to understand his (I don't know whether to call it 'idiosyncratic' or 'eccentric') outlook on making movies. You have to use your vision; watching the faces and actions of his characters, and you also have to watch how the character acts, or doesn't act, as a normal person would in the situation in which the director places that character..

Kim Di Kuk uses the full abilities of his actors and actresses when they appear in one of his films. Being a screenwriter for many of his films [or not, he only directed My Mother, (2013)] he gives them very little dialogue to use to portray their characters or their emotions here, or his other films.

It was the third time I watched this movie that I realized that absolutely NO ONE had a name in this movie!

Every time you watch a Kim Di Kuk film, you will notice something 'different' that you missed before!

Also, until you see the film yourself, don't believe what others say about it; one reviewer said that the 'young man' became interested in the young girl first, which is not true. It was the other way around.

An old man, who many called 'Grandfather' (Jeon Sung Hwan) brought a young, 6-year-old girl (played by Han Yeo Reum, 10 years later) to his boat off Korea's coast. 'Grandfather' charges fisherman to come fish off of his sanctuary from society; after a visit or two the fishermen start gossiping about the relationship between 'Grandfather' and his supposedly 'grand-daughter.'

Both the grandfather and young girl have grown fond of each other; this is shown in various scenes in the beginning. The grandfather has told others that they will marry on her 17th birthday, just a few months from when our look at their lives again. The grandfather uses his bow and arrows to protect the young girl from other men trying to take advantage of her, and she herself is capable of using them as well to protect herself.

Grandfather also tells the fishermen their fortunes, in a very eccentric way!

Unfortunately, grandfather brings to his fishing business a father and his young son, a student (Seo Ji Suk); the girl's eyes light up and she takes an immediate liking to him; also his headset which she has never seen before.

The young student also takes interest in the young girl, and senses that she has been isolated for years in her predicament.

"Grandfather' sees this and does not approve, but the two younger people develop a friendship; and things start to unravel between grandfather and the young lady, who no one believes is his grand-daughter. Plot twists from here one lead to an un-imagined ending to the story!

The main cast are great in this movie; the two main characters effectively portray their affection to each other in their somewhat bizarre relationship; and also effectively show the strain on the relationship as the third character is added.

The third main character, Seo Ji Suk, although his role is limited, shows believable concern and passion for the young girl and disdain toward Grandfather.

The support actors play their limited roles convincingly, which allowed the development of the story between the main characters.

Most of the 'story' is nonverbal, in that it is small details of interaction between the main characters, primarily the grandfather and young girl, that have to be watched and interpreted by the viewer; making the emotions of the film come from visual rather than auditory emotions.

The cinematography was excellent, IMO, but the sound from the bow instrument irritated me. Nothing personal, but it made my skin crawl some. I wonder if this was the 'effect' that Kim Di Kuk wanted, or not?

I like how you have to use all of your senses, except olfactory, to watch and understand this film.

I also like the portrayal of a bathroom onboard a small boat; many people do not realize that this is the 'traditional' was of relieving yourself on small craft!

The young girl grew to hate the grandfather after the many truths came out about her life, but she could not abandon him in the end! She found out what she was missing from life with him, but still had the love of his being her one and only mother, father, brother, sister, medic, confidante and 'grandfather' for ten years of her life!

Try abandoning someone who you love for a decade, even if and when you find how much they lied to you.

I also, the first time I was this movie, realized that the grandfather's last 'act' was the only one he could take; he had been found out as being a kidnapper and also marrying a female under the age of 17...and he couldn't get his (main) boat engine started or fixed.

One of the most 'eerie' things about this movie is the boat itself, in the end; although I am not going to tell you what happened!

This film is 'eerie' but 'tantalizing' at the same time! I keep telling myself that I am never going to watch it again; and also tell myself the same thing halfway through the next time I watch it. Oh, well...

If you are smart, don't ever watch ANY film directed by Kim Di Kuk to being with; you won't be hooked then!

No tissue are needed for watching this movie, but clip your fingernails first, so that you won't make fingernail scratches on your chair or couch as you are glued to your seat, as this movie slowly messes with your mind watching it.

RE-WATCH VALUE: no comment!

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Street Stall
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 10, 2022
Completed 6
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

This movie is listed under the name "Food Stall" at Dailymoton...

This movie is listed under the name "Food Stall" at Dailymoton, but the Korean name for it is the same.

There are actually more cast for this movie, but it seems no one really cares about an accurate display for those who do porn movies...

Dae-ho, Man-soo and Jae-kyeong get stood up by a mutual friend, the groom on an 'after wedding' drinking party he promised.

Instead of talking about the groom and his new wife, they exchange sex fantasies about women they have met or have seen; Two make fun of the one who is into "dominant women" as his fantasies indicate. He leaves only to come back and continue the night of food, beer and fantasies!

What is hilarious is this is also a comedy; a major twist at the and shows you the reality, rather mom-reality. of their fantasies as the woman they are fantasizinng about comes to collect their bill!

The music was really appropriate, especially when the one female lead is stripping! Lee Chae Dam does an excellent performance at making the men's fantasies become real on film! Lee Chae Dam is also part of the "twist" as the end as she gives the three men the night's bill!

There is another female cast as well; and as soon as I find here I will add her and her name. The second female main did the most nude scenes.

The atmosphere is that of a "working man's bar" I experienced in Japan when I was stationed there; only difference was the symbols ans writing on the wall (I could have read the bulletins had they been in Japanese).

No support cast as the only scenes outside of the drinking establishment is very late at night, past everyone else's bedtime.

Filming was good;

RE-WATCH VALUE: Occasionally in the future.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?