Reviews

Welcome to the Korean Matrix

This movie tries to incorporate multiple genre into one single movie. It had elements of historical Korea that was under Japan, underlying suspense, horror elements and school drama. The majority of the cast used Japanese and Korean to underline the historical situation. The big reveal for the underlying suspense was underwhelming. I was expecting a big gang or organization controlling everything behind the curtains but was disappointed and it didn't seem grave enough.

The horror/spooky elements felt unnecessary and fell flat. Lots of repetitive scenes that didn't add much value to the story nor did they help move the plot forward. It felt like a drag a lot of the time. The entire movie can be portrayed in a matter of 45 minutes to an hour at best. Many plot holes didn't help either.

Many of the young cast including the FL looked a lot like each other and many a times it ended up confusing me. Especially, when they were using two sets of names (Korean and Japanese). The uniforms and hairstyles made it worse. The girls were at the dormitory due to being sick but apart from FL and Kirra, I didn't see any of the other cast display any symptoms or being under IV/Medication. The FL had IV drips for half of the movie - repetitive for no particular reason.

Some of the most inane scenes in the movie were the school drama between the girls. The rivalry and bullying for the top two "healthiest" girls in the class was uninteresting. Lots of "slice of life" type of scenes between the FL and her friend including the one at the lake, with the diary, in the basement, in the dorm, etc. only contributed in increasing the screen time of the movie. I really wanted to increase the playback speed to 2.5x.

The action scenes during the climax were childish, maybe funny(?). It felt like I was watching the Korean matrix. Half expected Keanu to show up.

Some mysteries were left unanswered. Like what the hell was that sticky liquid that the older Shizuko or whatever dropped all over the place?

Overall, interesting premise. Bad execution. Worthless dragging. Pointless drama. Lots of confusion. No Keanu.

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Whaou

I actually watched it because my friend wanted to watch it. I came with no expectations and didn't even knew what it was going to be about.
I am not a fan of bully stories but I think the way the actors really portrayed EVERY emotions made me so vunerable and I felt every single sensation. They are making us swim into our cruel reality. They trust, help, love each other through everything. They are here for the other, not alone.

This movie is art. Visually it is amazing but we can't stop only at its beauty. They are putting meaning in everything. Even tho i am not a fan of long movies, the thought of it ending never occured to me once.

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Romance with a twist!

This short story starts with some light comedy as Zhao Xiaoyu cheerily goes about her Shixiong-given mission to stick as close to Sect Leader Ye as possible and defeat any perceived challenger for her affection. It soon develops into a light romance montage of beautiful cinematography, pretty special effects, and a quick but fun fight scene which propels the two together. The costuming and atmosphere are gorgeous enough to pull you in before you even realize that the feelings have crept up in such a short amount of time. The characters have such natural chemistry that it's easy to believe a romance has been brewing and the twist ending is the cherry on top of this wuxia sundae.

With such effective storytelling and visual appeal, I don't even mind that it's not a full-length series.
That being said, I would absolutely watch a full-length series about these characters in a heartbeat.

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Memorable.

Only half an hour, but it was succinctly utilized and on point. I have no knowledge about the original novel and have never watched any adaptations.
For a clip that was released as a part of a variety show, it had more impact than many billion dramas that China releases every year.
It has an overall simple production, and I've come to slowly recognize the directing style . The cast did an excellent job, particularly the two male leads as it was between them the game of 'throw-the-ball' was fought. The Female lead was good to, but as the story centered around her without her being aware of anything happening, she had only a few emotional moments.

The ending is what I find truly unforgettable. I paused for a moment and it made me confused. What or who exactly was the demon after? Why was he so cruel?
Definitely a must watch if you just need an escape from reality.

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An interesting concept. Could have been explored a little more.

This short film got off to a solid start. We can assume the scholar's reason for crossdressing and the actor does a fantastic job of showing her nervousness as she tries to keep a safe distance from the courtesan's advances, lest her secret be discovered. The courtesan meanwhile exudes so much natural charm; she is able to convey every unspoken thought with a single look, making it easy to understand her motives. I think maybe the scholar did too good of a job keeping her feelings in check because I wasn't entirely convinced by the end that she reciprocated the clear attraction the courtesan was putting on full display.

The subtle way the courtesan learns of the scholar's secret and how she processes it is a nice touch for a delicate subject, the handling of which is something I personally appreciate. Admittedly, I wish there had been at least another scene or two between here and the ending to provide more context for the lead up to the reveal, especially because the ending kind of lost me. Instead of repeated shots of the characters running into each other's arms - which felt like unnecessary filler despite being pretty to look at - the story would have benefited from perhaps a little more tension between the two, a moment where the scholar realizes and accepts her own feelings, or even a scene showing how and why the scholar decides to entrust the truth to the courtesan.

As it stands, the final shot is gorgeous and it's a nice short story despite my nitpicks.

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If you can survive the painful sound mixing, you may enjoy this one.

Right away, it's clear that the sound mixing isn't great and that makes it hard to sit back and enjoy the ride. The music is louder than the dialogue, yet somehow the cutesy Xiaoshimei's screams were more piercing than the music. Combined with the dissonant sound effects, it just made my head hurt, which is a real shame.

That being said, it's still a cute story with a fun concept. We have seen the stoic/serious character partnered with the childish/cutesy character many times before, so it's at least nice to see a hint or two that the childish/cutesy act is being played up more than usual to gain sympathy and affection. By the end, I found myself wishing that this short film had been given a slightly longer runtime so that aspect of the plot could have been fleshed out even just a little bit more. Maybe then there would have been a bit more chemistry between the characters, although the actors both made a very commendable effort with the limited time they were given.

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Ian always love Kelly

Xiao Xiao is not the same person anymore when Jian Qing wanted her to be with him. Sad that they couldn't be together - what she wanted he couldn't give to her. Not destined to be. Their hopes were not the same anymore. He wanted to provide for her, and she won't let him when he had the money and home. She wanted a different kind of love I guess, or I am speculating she wanted him to be happy and successful not as a husband and wife, but just being friends at the end. He has his own family now as a father and a husband to his new wife. His regret is that he doesn't have that right to be friends with her anymore. I cried for them when they were in the rental car. That scene was so sad, my heart was heavy. So real.... regrets in life and separation were too much.

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Gorgeous visuals make up for everything.

If you read "set within the universe of the martial arts MMORPG Justice Online" in the description and worried that you were missing important context, fear not!

I have never played Justice Online - and I hear that it's a premium only game anyway - but if you've played one wuxia-themed MMORPG before you get the basic idea. It is an eye-catching world of fantasy and martial arts, where the characters belong to sects that compete in trials/competitions and train to be the very best so that they may one day be harbingers of justice.

Fortunately, you don't need to know anything about Justice Online or the novel it is based on to get swept up in the atmosphere of this short story. Instead, you can sit back and treat yourself to a collection of scenes where a student and her teacher bicker about anything and everything. The dialogue seems to hint at some kind of emotional love triangle with another character that isn't featured - perhaps a reference to an NPC or an in-game mechanic, but it didn't affect the narrative beyond piquing my curiosity a bit.

Overall, the hair and costumes are immaculate, making this non-story worth every second of screen time and honestly I would recommend it for that alone. The short film itself has the same energy as a fan project and I can't help the nostalgia it gives me for the days when I enjoyed playing games like this with my friends.

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Great visuals for a cute teaser.

Have you ever crushed on someone so hard that the only way you could think to end the pining and get their attention was to be as dramatic as possible?

This extremely short film is a sweet music video with some light fanfiction romance vibes. The titular Tea-Picking Girl saves the Young Master's life, they grow closer as the Young Master recovers, and then eventually the Young Master must leave. There isn't much to grab onto, but the subtle framing of certain scenes - a look here and there - leaves behind fascinating implications (intentional or not) about what might have led up to their first meeting on the road.

Unfortunately, the whole story is left up to the viewers' imagination, but for a quick online project this is pretty fun! It is written and feels like a teaser for a longer project (or like a fan trailer for a well-loved work of fiction), though it can be appreciated on its own humble merits. For one thing, even though the characters barely speak, their mutual attraction is undoubtedly clear and the ending does have a slight bit of closure. For that, I think we can be grateful.

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Good

I like this movie. It has an interesting story about gambling. And gambling is all about trust and luck, and they portray that really well in this story.

Now to Kaiji. He is a gambler, has no money, has a bad life and is in debt. He runs from one misfortune to the next misfortune. He is too nice and people manipulate him with the idea that he can change his life. In reality, bad people use his desperation for their own entertainment. He is smart and that helps him a lot. And what I really like about him is that he fights for others. He is too nice and complicates his life when other people would make different choices. It is interesting to see what he does next. But we don't know much about his life at all.

People often complain that the actors are overacting, but I don't understand that point. This movie is an adaptation, so the actors act like the characters in the manga. The acting is good most of the time.

Overall, I can say that the movie is very well done and I can recommend it to everyone. The games are also great and very interesting.

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There is an extremely cute rabbit. Need I say more?

While it helps to watch the prequel first for the extra bit of context it provides, the opening line is meant to fill the audience in on how the characters ended up working together, so you can follow along just fine without it. Regardless, I would still highly recommend it for the beautiful cinematography and strong meet-cute vibes.

As far as character dynamics go, the rabbit spirit is cutesy and the doctor is cool as a cucumber. The story starts in media res with the rabbit spirit apprenticing under the doctor, treating the audience to a sweet collection of scenes that establish how much she cares for humans. Over time, we see her grapple with her own heart as she learns how humans feel about spirits bringing tragedy to their mortal lives. As the doctor steadily puts the pieces together, she is able to offer her own perspective as a human and a physician who is tasked with protecting human life.

In the limited runtime this short film has, it is able to use these character interactions and limited exposition to effectively weave a story about the importance of trust in a relationship and how love breeds the desire to keep our loved ones safe.

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Unfortunately sequel not living up to my expectations: disappointing

I really loved the first movie and I am quite disappointed by this sequel. The story took a turn that I did not appreciate as it focalised much more on external events and people being obstacles to the main romance, as well as some over-the-top melodramatic tropes than on the development of the master-servant relationship itself.

The plot lost completely its appeal to me mostly in the second part of the movie, as the angst was coming foremost from quite soapy elements and much too quickly. There are 2 endings to this movie and I'm not fan of either of them due to the scenario becoming quite bonkers.

The main actors kept doing a good job but I was less invested in their couple. I think it is more likely linked to the scenario than to the cast but I was less enthralled by their chemistry together as the script gave them what felt like less opportunities to show nuances.

The music did not really stand out to me and the production was quite in line with the previous movie: standard and more what's expected in a series than in a film. As in the first movie, the subtitles unfortunately keep being appalling.

I would not necessarily recommend this to people unless you have seen the first movie. If you loved it and are curious about what happens to the characters, and do not mind some over-the-top narrative choices, you might give it a go to and see for yourself!

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