Reviews

Tony is on fire!

Tony Jaa showed the world the fierce beauty that is Muay Thai in Ong Bak. It helps when watching this movie to recognize that Tony worked without wires, without CGI, and without stunt doubles. Fast, acrobatic, and incredibly limber he did moves that will leave your jaw gaping.

Plot? The story scaffolding holding up the film was exceptionally thin. Tony's Ting goes to Bangkok after his village Buddha's head called Ong Bak is stolen by a drug dealer. He meets up with a cousin and his female friend/"sister"/girlfriend who spend their time gambling or fleecing gamblers. The Big Bad loses a ton of money on the fights in his fight club when Ting accidentally becomes involved in them and defeats all comers. Unlike his cousin, Ting doesn't fight for money or gamble, all he wants is the Ong Bak back.

From start to finish, whether it was the villagers racing to the top of a tree or Ting racing through Bangkok leaping over cars, sliding underneath a moving car or flying up a wall (no wires, remember) the action came fast and often. The fight scenes in the club were brutal. There were no holds barred and everything in the room could be used as a weapon. Ting was even hit with a refrigerator! At one point in a different setting, Ting continued to fight with his pants on fire! Most moments of glorious flight ended in an acrobatic dismount. Even the pickiest judge would have given him a 10 for form and style.

I pity the stuntmen who took the hits in this movie, because even with padding there were numerous hits and kicks that were going to leave a mark afterward. Some of the falls were Sammo Hung hitting the ground hard falls.

The director made use of slow-mo as well as showing impressive stunt scenes repeatedly from different angles just in case you missed something spectacular or your eyes refused to believe what they were seeing the first time. Tony trained for several years in Muay Boran, a predecessor to today's Muay Thai, for this movie. To say he was dedicated to his craft would be an understatement.

Grading this movie was tough. Story: C- Acting: C- Cinematography: C Fight scenes/fight choreography: A

Most people know going into a movie like this you aren't going to see great acting or be entertained with a compelling story. This is a pure smash mouth, elbow hitting, shin kicking, pants on fire, good time with one of the most energetic and acrobatically gifted fighters of his time. No wires, no CGI, no stunt doubles. No problem.


5/18/23

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Reality x illusion

Attention: 18+ content!

This short movie is the sequel to Sex x Friend?

Yuto is still sleeping with everyone who asks and is halfheartedly being careful until his sex friend tells him he tested positive to HIV. Yuto takes the test and then goes to see his friend.

The movie depicts the utter recklessness some people are willing to do in order to find love and warmth only to realize that everything was make believe and that happily ever afters are few and far between. The crashing of one's illusions can be painful. And though they casually talk about doing the right thing sit is sad to see that good intentions were not completely sincere. Yuto, on the other hand, likes sleeping around and what happened to his friend was a huge wake up call!

These two short movies seem to have been made in the eighties. And though they are fairly recent, it goes to show that the human nature is so hard to change that people often think of themselves as invulnerable. Yuto, being miserable and depressed, seems to go back to making right choices for himself after the HIV scare!

I guess there is an educational message for gays her: cover yourselves, the virus is still out there!

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This short movie has 18+ content. Proceed at your own risk and peril!

Yuto is a deeply unsatisfied and envious man going to see his sex friend in a seaside town. He is crass and rude but is longing for warmth and love. His friend offers him that but Yuto refuses.

This short movie manages to paint the portrait of Yuto just by showing him walking through the town and enviously wishing all of it to break down and disappear. He loves having sex with his friend but does not want to date him. It is not clear why not? He probably does not love him.

The cinematography manages to show us the contrast between the overexposed surroundings and the darkness inside Yuto nothing seems to be able to move. Though the camera movements are sometimes rather shaky, and angles seem to be a bit off, it is well filmed. I was struck by the streets he goes through during his bus ride: they are ugly, dirty, only cars in site and they seem to be reflection of his inner feelings. When he arrives to this rich seaside neighbourhood it feels as if he is attacked by all the sunshine, wealth, cleanliness.

The movie just ends midway through a conversation. There is a second part.

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"Great Cast doesn't guarantee you a good movie" - babadook

"Great Cast doesn't guarantee you a good movie" - babadook (on his/her review of this movie)

Story 5/10
- honestly, there is nothing special in the story for me

Acting/Cast 10/10
- I only watch and finished this movie because of the actors and actresses, they did a great job, amazing actors and actress. I'm so happy seeing them in one movie, I'm really pleased.

Music 4/10
- I didn't even remember the music so I search for it and listening right now while typing, it's just okay , not a fan

Rewatch Value 2/10
- I don't think I'll rewatch this, I had a good laugh, good excitement between lovers or sort but I don't feel like I would want to watch this again, would I recommend this? well kinda because I want the efforts to be appreciated but I won't talk about it enthusiastically.

Suggested overall: 5.5 but I will rate it 6/10
- I expected much because they combine great actors and actress, which I love, but sadly got dissapointed with the plot, there wasn't special in there, the only special here is the acting, casting, fight scenes, overall the actors and actresses only.
- love the characters ; I'm inlove with the character of Chae Soo Bin, Han Hyo Joo is actually my all time favorite but come on Chae Soo Bin, you can't ignore her. Also Kang Haneul & Lee Kwang Soo are just amazingly funny and all especially Kwang Soo. Sehun has a cool character. Kwon Sang Woo is amazing too. I'm really happy they are in the same movie I'm just sad that I don't like this movie at all.
- I'm a fan of movies with great plots so yeah even I love the casting I won't be bias on this, but the efforts should be appreciated, then the making of this should be appreciated so that's 6 overall

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What if he pulls 3 kings?

Godfrey Ho stitched together a Frankenstein's monster from the 1982 film Dark Trap starring noted Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and new Hong Kong footage starring Richard Harrison as a ninja extraordinaire. I'm not sure if Ho's notorious dice and splice ninja films were ever supposed to make sense, this one sure didn't.

Around 70% or more of the movie was footage from Dark Trap, a Taiwanese gangster film. But when Godfrey Ho waves his magic scissors and needle, now Harrison and Paulo Tocha AKA Bruce Stallion are pulling the gangsters' strings in a deadly game with each other. After Harrison's Gordon beats Tocha's Paul and a bunch of his cronies in a game of cards, Paul has Gordon's gangster friend murdered. The gangster's daughter, Phoenix (Lily Lan), takes over with a little help from Dragon (Chang Kuo Chu). Fox Chan (Miao Tien) decides this is a good time to try a takeover and the gang war is on. Interspersed in the dark film are ninja scenes where Gordon in his camo costume and heavy-duty guyliner confronts individual bad guys and takes them out ninja style. Chiang Tao wasn't in Dark Trap but was brought on as bad guy victim #1 Black Tiger in this flick.

This is one of those films where maybe once upon a time you were watching a boring or run-of-the-mill gangster film and thought, "I wonder if ninjas inserted randomly into the film would make it better?" Better, no. Hilarious, yes. It was apparent aging beefcake Richard Harrison with his graying porn stache was not performing any of his stunts. He'd pose shirtless and then cover up head to toe and let the stuntman take over. This is around the time Tocha starred in Jean Claude Van Damme's Bloodsport as the fierce Muay Thai boxer, but he was covered up, too, when he finally faced off with Harrison. I wish they'd showed him in action sans ninja costume.

Dark Trap was its own brand of demented fun. It was difficult to tell the gangs apart as nearly everyone wore dark suits and hats as if they were in 1930's Shanghai. There were not one, but two suicides committed by the victim bashing their own head in. The television version I watched blurred out the gore and gratuitous nudity, thankfully. There were numerous double-crosses and "surprise" murders. Lily Lan did make for a proper mob boss and Miao Tien seemed to relish his devious role.

The Dark Trap part of the movie was all gun play while the magical ninjas appeared in puffs of smoke and wielded throwing stars, darts, swords, and chains. I couldn't tell you which was better, both could be comically bad. The dubbing was awful, even for the English dubbing for English speaking characters! And here's a sample of the atrocious dialogue, "You must use the Chinese against the Chinese. You're playing the Game of Death!"

If you are looking for something completely absurd to watch and have nothing else to do, or love Ho and Harrison cheap ninja smash-ups, this is for you. Otherwise, it might be best to change the channel and see what else the late, late, night movies are offering.

5/17/23

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It is a comical gangster love story that was a bit dull but watchable

"Ash Is Purest White" is a violent love story from 2001 to 2017. By Western standards, it was not a violent love story because there was no killing.

Qiao Qiao (played by actress Zhao Tao) hangs around with the wrong crowd and falls in love with a gangster named Bin (played by Liao Fan). During an altercation between the gangs, she fired a gun in the air and got arrested, and went to jail for 5 years. After she got out, her lover moved on.

She was on a quest to look for him and eventually found him. They broke up but got back together after a stroke paralyzed Bin. There were a few comical moments, but overall the story was slow and dull.

I give it a 6.5 rating because it was not exciting. The acting was mediocre as well.

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Lift the veil

Veils is a short movie about two women in a relationship who would like to have proof of their commitment to each other in a form of wedding photos. They have trouble finding LGBT friendly photo studio and those they do find offer single photos. While one of the women would like to drop it , the other one is fed up with the sort the japanese society leaves to them and decides to complain. And it works and they have their wedding photos taken.

This was a nice short movie about ordinary people facing daily challenges because of who they are. They are both more or less closeted: one does not dare come out to her parents and the other is reluctant to talk in public about her partner. But that is the result of deeply rooted cultural prejudices, as far as I know. Even though marketing yourself as LGBT friendly commerce (photo studio) is good selling point in today's more tolerant and open societies, there is usually nothing behind it, as the women find out. To bring the change about in a society, one needs to be willing to fight for one's convictions. And that's what they end up doing. By taking photos in wedding dresses, the women wanted to lift the veil off of their own relationship.

The movie is a slice of life kind, where we find out a lot about the characters through conversation and simple remarks and glances. It was well produces, though toned down colours and shaky cameras are things y=they could have done without.

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Restrained & soothing slice-of-life story: expected and not that memorable

This short slice-of-life movie (about 45 minutes) is centred around a young aspiring mangaka and his cat. It is a soothing and sad picture: the flow of the script is kind of slow and lenient, not a lot is happening on the surface but it has deeper meaning than it appears. I found particularly interesting too see the main character living a solitary but purpose-driven life with his cat being his lifebelt.

The filmmaking was very appropriate in making us understand the key message, but maybe this was a bit too expected. Indeed, nothing surprised me and I did not find myself emotionally invested in the story. The music was subdue with some peaceful piano notes. What I enjoyed the most was the drawings showcased at various steps of the film and in the ending generic: those were totally relevant and fitting overall.

Still, The main actor performance was satisfying, it was full of nuances and he manages to work well with the cat, which was the central figure of the show. The cat had himself an internal voice and I'm still hesitant about this choice. I'm wondering if it is not a shortcut in trying to provoke emotions to the viewer who is told what to think rather than to show it and letting him free of interpreting it.

I would recommend this to people that like more restrained and quiet slice-of-life story or shows that are involving cats. It is really short, so you will not lose much time trying it.

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Don’t waste your time. I didn’t even finished it because it was so bad.

The movie is so stupid and the acting is terrible both from the CP. the movie so slow and boring The CP dated 7 years, and finally her BF proposed. He didn’t know that she had a fake marriage 10 years ago. She wanted to get the divorce but can’t fine her precious husband because he disappeared.

I am dropping it and give it a 2.0 rating. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad movie. How much I can write more about it since it was so bad. The acting is bad, the script is bad, and the onscreen chemistry between the main CP also bad.

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A pink nightmare

A Dream in Pink was an early Cai Chu Sheng film about learning the grass is not always greener on the other side, even in a black and white movie.

Luo Wen is a struggling novelist with a dutiful and loving wife. Along with seeing to his needs, Su Yun cares for their daughter and teaches students in the room next door. He becomes petulant when Su Yun is not happy about him bringing home several expensive hair combs for her. Cue the cranky landlord who is upset about their late rent. Angry that his wife doesn’t appreciate him he heads out to a fancy club and meets socialite Hui Lan. Hui Lan takes an immediate liking to him and before long he is spending not only nights in the club but also Hui Lan's bed. Su Yun tries to be sympathetic to his writerly needs and ends up being handed divorce papers as payment for her patience and kindness. Luo gains custody of their daughter, something Hui Lan is not thrilled about.

Su Yun finds a job teaching on the outskirts of Shanghai. She misses her daughter and see her everywhere. Likewise, her daughter misses her. Luo becomes immersed in his writing much to Hui Lan's chagrin but it doesn't stop her club hopping ways. Soon Luo understands the meaning of debt and a spendthrift wife. The roles are reversed as he tries to keep their heads above water. When he does earn money from his book, she runs off with it and another man.

I wish that this was the karmic ending he received, but in 1932 China, it would not have been considered a happy ending. And this film was determined to have the cutest ending ever.

The film was faded and though not on purpose was in shades of pink and purple. Unlike many silent films I've seen from this time there was a plethora of intertitles. I had no difficulties following the story. Even with the pocking and fading, you could tell the director had used some beautiful scenery and settings.

My biggest problem with the film was the finale.

Ending Spoiler ahead
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When she found out that Luo was broken financially and emotionally after his second wife left him, Su Yun wrote a book under his name titled "Tears of an Abandoned Wife" which the publisher loved. In fact, when the publisher found out the truth he told Luo, "No wonder the story is so moving." Ouch! Even when he reconciled with Su Yun it would have been surprising if this man's fragile ego could handle his wife being a better writer than him.

Luo Wen learned that the decadent and frivolous life of the clubs was not a sound foundation for a life. He also learned his wife was not lacking the ability to have fun, she was simply providing for her family at the most basic level and always seeking ways to please him as well. The spoiled socialite, like himself, had only been looking for self-gratification. Perhaps, he truly learned his lesson. For his wife and daughter's sakes I hope so. I have trouble shaking my 21st century opinion. For me, although A Dream in Pink was an interesting silent film, it would have benefited from a wife who wasn't a martyr and could have thrived on her own as a successful writer. Instead, just like a wayward dog that left the safety of his food bowl and porch, Luo Wen went back home where Su Yun gratefully accepted him. He may have gained something from his arduous life lessons, but I'm not sure she did.

5/16/23

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What makes us human?

Nowadays, good psychological thrillers are like the money you have left at the end of the month; not enough.
And here we have Lesson in Murder that not only managed to be compelling from beginning to end, but also had the ideal dark atmosphere that a film in this genre must have.

As a fun of ''darker films'' (and as a way to defy my parents when I was young) I have watched my fair share of disturbing/bloody scenes and I no longer get shocked easily.
However, in some peculiar way this film managed to disturb me, even though it didn't have neither the most bloody nor the most disturbing scenes I have watched (especially make-up wise).

Is the blood and human despair enough to make a good psychological thriller though? Certainly not. There is also acting, directing and an actual -non bloody- plot. But let's start from the beginning.

Abe Sadawo that portrayed the serial killer Haimura was simply phenomenal. His facial expressions in combination with his emotionless eyes was just a disturbing image in itself. It literally felt like I was watching an emotionless shell trying to be compassionate. Mizukami Koshi also did a pretty good job in his role as well as (most of) the rest of the cast.

Plot wise the movie was complex and intriguing enough without being hard to understand. It managed to explore the darkest corners of the human mind, without trying too hard and it had a great balance between plot and characters. I would definitely recommend to anyone that may be reading this to not watch the trailer or read the whole synopsis before watching it.

And there is something else I personally loved and I know that most of the times it can end up being a disaster. I am talking about the so called ''filler scenes''. The movie had some scenes that seem unecessary at first, but as the film progressed everything ended up being equally important.

Last, but certainly not least, the directing and cinematography were great. They gave the film that last spice that was needed to make it better than your average psychological thriller. It was dark, but not too dark, disturbing without trying too hard, symbolic without being too on the nose.

Even though it is not flawless, mostly when it comes to the make up/hairstyling department and some deliberate misdirections, the film ticked all the right boxes -dark atmosphere, engaging plot, good acting- that definitely differentiates it from many movies in the same genre and personally speaking it has just been way too long since I watched something this satisfying.

P.S. To my fellow Through the Darkness and Beyond Evil lovers, you will enjoy this a lot!

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It has been so long since I watch such a funny comedy

When wasthe last time you enjoyed and lol-ed at a comedy the whole watch time. For me it has been so long ! But Secret Zoo made it all up!
This movie might have it's "too silly" moments but honestly never for a second did I doubt my desire to continue watching, it's actually the opposite! The movie is so light hearted and fun to watch that you would find it too short.
The comedy is topnotch!!! I laughed almost the whole time!
For once not knowing more about the characters was actually a good thing, since the movie doesn't discover much of the staff outside the zoo situation, we didn't have to carry the burden of sympathy and sadness so the movie kept this fun light flow of it.
Recommend: 100%

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Being bullied and liking it?

All I could think of was Stockholm Syndrome. He approaches her, says that she is his slave and must do whatever he wants, she puts up with it and falls in love. Why? Japanese dramas often give the ML a tsundere personality, but that concept really needs to be able to show that the ML actually has a humane and "soft" side to him. That was not in evidence here. He was just mean, in his words and his actions. Then, suddenly he frees her, saying she bores him. The constant manhandling by him, she would have had bruises all over her face from the way he was grabbing her all the time. So, this was not a character I could root for.

Then there's the FL. Grow a spine! I know that we often like to watch things that are not realistic, it's part of what makes us watch dramas, to escape from real life for a while. But she would have had to had absolutely no self-esteem to put up with and actually be drawn to his behavior. She would have had to fall in love with him BECAUSE he treated her badly, because there was certainly nothing else going on in him that was likeable.

Then there's the 2ML, sweet and gentle, that likes her too. All I could think was that if he really liked the girl, he would have insisted that his friend treat her better. Instead, they bet on the outcome of a one-on-one basketball competition for the honor of being with her.

I did like the idea of him showing his feelings in his music, but that didn't happen often enough to make up for his poor treatment of her.

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