Reviews

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
-
-
-
-
-
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

Read More

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!

Read More

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%

Read More

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.

Read More

… Captivating…

I was looking for a romance. Somehow, I ran across this, read the first two lines of the summary, and thought it sounded fun. The first five minutes I thought maybe it was some sort of gothic romance, but no, it is the most gruesome graphic violence I have seen in my life. However, the fact that I came in looking for romance, but ended up watching all 1 hour and 20 minutes of this horror says a lot. I screamed and writhed around every five minutes. The plot was awesome, and it somehow managed to have a satisfying ending. Anyways, very much not a romance, and I think I’ve sustained genuine trauma. Would watch again with a blindfold and earplugs.

Read More

"Each must live his own life"

In Samurai Rebellion, there was a rebellion, but not of swords and muskets, a rebellion against the rigid samurai code that the local lord had subrogated with tyrannical orders levied according to his whims. Three people stood up for the injustice done to them in the name of order and tore down the societal walls suffocating them in order to be individuals with their own wills and to fight for their basic human rights no matter the cost.

The film begins with samurais Sasahara Isaburo (Mifune Toshiro) and his buddy Tatewaki (Nakadai Tatsuya) grumbling about how boring their lives are in the equivalent of middle management jobs for the local lord. Isaburo is in charge of cleaning and counting the weapons in the local artillery while Tatewaki is a glorified gate guard. Isaburo has been stranded in a loveless marriage for 20 years to a harridan who rules the household with a sharpened steel tongue while he plays along to keep the peace. Upon arriving home, he receives orders from the lord that his oldest son, Yogoro, is to marry the lord's dismissed concubine. Lady Ichi was rumored to have gone wild when she saw the lord with another woman even striking him and tearing at his clothes. Isaburo seeks a way out for his son, not wanting to relegate him to the same marital hell he's lived in. Yogoro realizes the penalty for refusing and acquiesces. In a turn of good luck, Ichi is actually the perfect wife and she and Yogoro fall in love and have a daughter, Tomi. When questioned about her behavior with the lord, it turned out that the lord had given her no choice and forced her to be his concubine even though she was engaged and 30 years younger than he was. Their marital bed was torment for Ichi, "like dragging a pure silk kimono through the mud".

Isaburo retires and makes Yogoro the head of the household. Just as everything is going well, the lord's son dies leaving only Ichi's son she had to leave behind as an heir. The heir's mother could not be married to a vassal so she was ordered to return to the castle. Isaburo had gone along with his wife and lord in everything they'd ever asked no matter how degrading. Seeing his son and daughter-in-law having the kind of love he'd never experienced lit a fire in the retired samurai. Breaking up a loving family at the lord's capricious notion was cruel and barbaric and one too many slashes against the family's honor. Though there were family councils and political councils held advising them to comply, the three stayed strong in refusing until Ichi was kidnapped and returned to the lord. At this point, Isaburo and Yogoro knew the score. The lord's actions would be frowned upon by other daimyos and the shogunate if discovered but getting the information to Edo would be perilous. The lord's men approached Tatewaki and asked him to kill Isaburo, knowing he was the only man who stood a chance against him. Tatewaki told them to negotiate or there would be a mountain of dead men.

The gun on the mantel at the beginning of the film was the lord stating that Isaburo and Tatewaki would never fight because it would hurt the family of whoever lost. You know before the final credits, the two will battle. And by the time the fight against the lord's men begins you will also be blood thirsty for the mountain of dead men after all of the sorrow and suffering.

Tsukasa Yoko as the Lady Ichi was the emotional glue holding the story together as she finally found a safe and loving place to call home and also had to show determination in the face of insidious threats. Mifune Toshiro gave one of his best performances. Initially, he was the henpecked husband with little to live for and slowly gained the fire and fierce attitude we are used to seeing in his samurai characters. Not only true love, but human honor beyond the samurai code was worth fighting for. As he determined to break the rules, he was seen walking on the carefully raked sand in the courtyard instead of on the path. The symmetrical and even lines in the house were purposely carved and nailed askew in defiance of the classic norms. Isaburo also gained a self-confidence beyond his skill with a sword. "For the first time in my life I feel alive!"

Samurai Rebellion blended low key romance, family drama, and political drama in a battle against corruption and a rigid, unyielding system that demanded complete obedience even in the face of abuse and cruelty. There was no cathartic ending, the three main characters were aware where their fate lie and embraced it. They knew the consequences for their act of rebellion for themselves and their families, they simply could no longer tolerate being treated as inhuman. This film was a story of love and the need for dignity which also happened to also be a samurai film. Well worth seeking out if you like old films or Mifune Toshiro.

5/15/23

Read More

Singing cookies

This is the second weirdest short movie I have ever seen. The first being Satyriasis (look it up: it is extremely bad weird). Something Crunchy Crunchy is weird but in a cooky, quirky, funny way.

It is a story of three packets of biscuits that, being unsold, find themselves thrown into the shop's cellar. These cookies sing their earnest wish to be eaten slowly by someone who'd buy them. The first cookie mocks the third one so the second one abandons him and goes to be with the third. They are eventually taken home by shop's clerk and eaten with gusto.

First of all, this is a full blown musical: the cookies sing about their feelings and aspirations. The music is not bad, just run of the mill ordinary musical numbers.

Second of all: this is also a cookie bl about love triangles (polyamory?).

And finally; there are animated sequences showing the life of those cookies on shop's shelves. Cute and unexpected!

To be frank, I really do not know what to think about this short movie. I guess it must be an allegory on something with cookies representing people being neglected, overseen and yearning for recognition and acceptance.

Or it just could be an ad to make you choose those biscuits?

Or an original way to have a hot bl in Korea 10 years ago?

This short movie is practically an obligatory rewatch if you want to figure out what the author wanted to say.

Anyway, it was an original watch, musical bls are very rare (another one I can think about is Just Friends? made at about same time!). Characters bursting out in song is really not something you see in dramas here...

Read More

Boring

I am a big fan of military dramas/movies and I really liked the Chinese military movie 'The Eight Hundred'. Hence, I felt that this movie would be worth a shot. WRONG!!! Although the idea of a movie centring around test pilots is novel and refreshing, the execution was below average.
The pace of the movie could be faster. There were many scenes that I felt were redundant or overly propagandistic and were of no help in moving the story forward. These redundant scenes only made the movie seem draggy and boring. 20 minutes into the movie and a man sitting a row behind me in the movie theatre was already snoring in his seat. I was also starting to get a little fidgety in my seat but decided to persevere thinking that the movie would get better. ANOTHER WRONG!!! The CGI in the movie was just giving me 2000s (or even earlier) Hollywood CGI vibes - looks fake and hilarious, especially when I had just watched Topgun Maverick so there was naturally some comparison going on in my brain. Okay, but the bad CGI was not as bad as how fake or unprofessional some scenes looked. There was a scene where a flock of birds crashed into the plane of the ML and Second ML. While the SML had to be stretchered down the plane looking battered, the ML walked out looking almost completely unscathed - no cuts, no bruises, nothing. There was also a scene where a metal pole stabbed through the ML's chest like a skewered kebab and borderline cookie-cuttered his chest. But in the next couple of scenes featuring the ML, the wound on his chest has completely healed, not even a scab.
1) The movie would have been more exciting if there were an antagonist or antagonists, rather than having some English-speaking faceless pilot as the 'enemy'.
2) The propaganda could be better incorporated into the movie plot
3) The CGI quality was not able to 'carry' the supposed high-tech and advanced air force scenes.

Read More

it is what it is

i watched this movie with my best friend when the movie started going viral and honestly, i expected much better.
i wasnt expecting the guy to die but also when he did, i didn't cry at all. everyone ive talked to about this movie has said they cried at this movie, but i was just like "oh..." throughout the movie. im usually a big crybaby but his death just felt so unnecessary and out of nowhere. they don't even elaborate how or why he died, hes just dead. it just feels so stupid, i think the ending could've been done better but the starting of the movie ropes you in definitely. it has rocky relationships and sad moments, frustrating moments as well. i guess this whole movie is just a big frustration fest.

Read More

I feel like this movie will hit harder once you rewatch it and you know everything thats happening, and you start seeing signs of what the reality really is. Its just so fucked up and mind boggling and leaves you with an empty feeling once you finish it because then you're left wondering...could all of this been avoided and done in a more proper way? Both of their deaths were symbolic but it hurts so much. Both of them never intended on hurting anyone and their fucked up fates just seemed to clash together which breaks my heart for the both of them.

I recommend this if you like movies who fuck your mind up a bit...

Read More