Reviews

"Put the family first!"

Cue the violins and bring out the box of tissues because Ode to My Father will shamelessly and successfully pull at your heartstrings. This film is not only an ode to one father, but two, as you follow a boy from childhood to old age selflessly working to provide for and keep his family together just as he had promised his father he would do.

The film follows Deok Su as a child in 1950 fleeing Hungnam as the Chinese were overrunning the city. His only task was to hold his little sister's hand as the family sought shelter on a US ship, the USS Meredith, accepting refugees. In the stampede to find a way onto the ship, his sister was lost. When his father turned back to find her, he tasked Deok Su to be the man of the family and always put the family first if he could not return. Deok Su took his promise seriously when they arrived at his aunt's shop in Busan. Accompanying him on his various entrepreneur ventures was his best friend, Dal Gu.

Deok Su would later go to Germany to be a coal miner, a dark and dangerous job, in order to pay for his brother and sister's schooling. There he would meet his future wife, a Korean woman studying to be a nurse, Young Ja. He and Dal Gu returned home when the Germans stopped renewing their work visas. After his aunt's death, his uncle wanted to sell the Kkotbun Shop. Once again, Deok Su stepped forward, this time taking Dal Gu with him to Vietnam to earn money as "technicians". The two friends would face the same choice the Americans did at the North Korean port when as they were fleeing Saigon women and children begged for them to let them onto their boat. In 1983 Deok Su and Dal Gu would go to Seoul in the hopes of finding his father and sister when the Korean Broadcasting Services showed families being reunited through their programs.

Deok Su's grown children cannot understand why he won't sell his shop or change the old-fashioned name. Deok Su who so easily sacrificed his own dreams and took dangerous jobs to provide for his family, privately confessed to his father's image how difficult the struggle had been. After promising his father he would always put the family first, the last words he heard his father speak were that he would meet them at the Kkotbun Shop. Never saying his purpose aloud, Deok Su kept the shop open in case his father survived so that he could find his way to them.

This was a nostalgic look back for older Koreans who after surviving the Japanese occupation were devastated by the Korean War. Their country divided and some families divided by the new boundaries, dealing with political and economic upheavals, mothers and fathers worked hard to feed and shelter their families among the continuing changes around them. The main character in this film shined shoes, dug coal, traveled to Vietnam during that war, and later ran the family shop. He did all this to make things easier for his family and children. In a letter to his wife, he told her how grateful he was that it was he that suffered and not his children. And of course, his children, as children are wont to do, did not fully understand the hardships and struggles their parents went through for them.

Lest you think it was all melodrama, fear not for there were gentle moments of humor that lightened the mood. As much as the film was about family and sacrifice it was also about friendship. It was heartwarming to watch Deok Su and Dal Gu stand by each other from childhood to old age.

A small historical note: The USS Meredith was credited with one of the largest humanitarian rescues when the ship dumped its cargo and took on 14,000 refugees in a ship designed for 12 passengers and 47 crew.

I am not a crier, but this movie moved me to tears on several occasions. I knew the director and music director were setting me up for the big emotional moments and did everything but present a cue card that said, "Cry now!" It didn't matter, the milestones in this film though far removed from my life still reminded me of the sacrifices and relentless hard work my parents and grandparents went through to make my life easier. And like the director, who made this film as a thank you to his father, it reminded me to say thank you to those who went before me. The desperation during times of political upheaval for people who have nowhere else to run is truly heartbreaking. I cried for the families around the world who have been separated by war, death, and poverty and felt gratitude for the ones left behind who have fought tenaciously to hold the survivors together and refused (and still refuse) to give up.

The film could swell emotionally and had an ambitious overview. It helped that the acting was on point and didn't boil over into being overwrought which kept the characters grounded. With all of the time jumps it could have been easy to become lost as we were given a personal tour by Deok Su through pivotal points in Korean history. Though the story covered decades and several countries, Ode to My Father was at its heart a simple and intimate story of a man keeping a promise to his father. Unabashedly melodramatic? At times. But this film was also inspiring and uplifting and a lesson in the power of tenacity. If you are looking for a movie to touch you, look no further.

4/24/23

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Master-Servant BL platonic story, angsty and enthralling despite the bad subtitles

The movie depicts the very peculiar master-servant relationship between 2 men, one being entirely devoted to the other. The plot is quite simple in itself but manage to captivate thanks to their relationship feeling super taboo with its fair share of controlling and unhealthy aspects. Despite some rather caricatural arc (once again the female protagonist is atrocious), I was properly fascinated by the story.

I loved the chemistry between the two main male leads. It was totally believable, they took my breath away a couple of times with all the angst they were living through. I had to pause the movie at some point because it was so painful. The remainder of the cast is more average, they do a suitable job but nothing exceptional.

The music is quite atmospheric with some classical piano tunes rather well balanced with the story. The production value is good but more in line of what is expected from a series rather than a movie.

I would recommend this to people looking for an angsty BL story centred around a gut-wrenching Master-Servant relationship. Despite its short length, the movie manage to be enthralling despite the horrendous subtitles. Be mindful of the tags as the movie can be triggering.

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Movie does not live up to the manga due to the format constraint but is still quite entertaining

The movie is an adaptation of the manga "Silver Spoon" from the great Hiromu Arakawa. It is a slice-of-life story in an agronomic high-school in the rural Hokkaidō region.

If you have not read the original story, you might get a bit confused by the story as it a "collage" of scenes from its first narrative arc, there is some kind of conclusion but a lot of aspects regarding the development of the various characters and their future are missing from the plot. It is more than likely due to the format constraint in addition to the fact that the manga was still ongoing at the time of the release of the movie.

The acting is quite good, the actors are able to interact naturally with the farms animals. I found the adults casting a bit lacking in terms of charisma, there are much less colourful and inspiring than their "paper"-counterparts.

On one side, the music did not left a lasting impression on me. On another side, I found the film-making quite good with some nice shots of the "Ban'ei kyōsō" (= draft horses racing very specific to Hokkaidō).

I would recommend this to people that love the manga from which this movie is adapted. If you are nostalgic of it, you will enjoy seeing "live" some of the iconic moments of Silver Spoon. Be aware that the story depicts some less glamourous sides of the farm life, with the more realistic / gruesome aspects of it all (including a visit to a slaughterhouse), so you might want to skip it if it is triggering for you.

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The way they jump! "jump around. jump around... jump up, jump up, and get down!"

To start this off, I have a question: how come no one has reviewed this YET?!
(because it's old C-production, over-the-top acting Hong Kong lame movie)
I LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT.

Firstly, I have to admit: I have first seen it when it came out (being that old and all) :)
Secondly, my review is heavily influenced by my personal preference in horror-comedy and all thing weird,
Thirdly, it's the fact that this is sorta film you better watch with a buddy - to enhance the giggle factor.
Lastly, if you can: watch with Cantonese audio and not the dubbed versions.

WHERE, you ask: It's been on YouTube for the past 10+ years.

We found it funny. Not only the first time we saw it.
We came back to watch it again.. and as time passes, we come back for it as it provides the type of joy we need: IT'S A SILLY master & disciples (Nightwish, anyone?) vampire fighting story with a lot of hissing. (no, not KISSING, hissing)

What is this about, as the opening screen on flm itself will tell you:
"In 17th century rural China during Ching Dynasty, Zombies roamed the land feeding on human flesh, a nasty habit that turned them into vampires. Only a handful of skilled warriors dared to challenge these mythical demons of the night. this is their story"
(no spoilers: but there's ROMANCE and the second couple is hilarious)
To put it as simply as possible: there's a New Bride in red, there's melting vax (you've been warned), there's kung fu, there's quirky humor, there's eye-sucking demon power (you've been warned), there's bad blood between family members and a great brotherhood.
It feels old-school cool, like those old time kung-fu master kind of films (which makes sense).

What I liked (despite being BIASED) is the fact that the story is balanced in a perfect way: sure, there's gore and horror, with lot of night scenes, but it's mixed in with some wonderful shots of daylight (coming through the slightly opened door thus illuminating the viewers screen only partially, leaving the image light & dark in a diagonal cut - we liked that detail!). What we also liked it is the mystery enhanced by fog , giving a possible shapes to things that moat possibly aren't there (as viewers we just expected something to jump out of.. anything, and it felt thrilling). and the fight scenes are choreographed PERFECTLY. They dance on screen, I tell you.

Biased as I am (hence writing this review) I can't say that I dislike anything.
I prefer old school film, with less CGI and dance-like combat, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

If nothing: watch it for the fight with Final Boss
...and maybe for the fact that not all zombies run for you: some HOP AROUND.

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Have to be a fan

I don't think this show deserves such a low rating. It is a simple story but with an innovative storyline, not the trope Kdrama or Kmovie plot that we see so much of. A Kdrama-loving Ahjumma who speaks no Korean is lost in SKorea. It's more than just a-fish-out-of water story. It deals with deeper issues of living in a big city - the dislocation and isolation that elderly parents feel - experiences that both people who live in big cities like Seoul and Singapore can similarly identify with. [Aside: I certainly wouldn't call her relationship with her son "estranged" as the synopsis describes. It's just a normal mother-son relationship in a busy big city.]

However, you really have to be a fan of Kdramas and perhaps more importantly, identify as Singaporean to really fully understand the in-jokes and appreciate the context of the movie. There's a real kick from watching a Singaporean actress, who is a household name that many of us grew up with, acting in a Korean production starring a few stars that many of us are now fan-girling. In particular, I get a real kick out of listening to Kang Hyung Suk speaking rather impeccable Mandarin for a non-native speaker.

Would I watch this again? Probably not. It was good enough but certainly not an Oscar-winning movie. It gave me a sense of home and also fun to see a linkage to my self-professed adopted culture. It is a good fun ride if you leave your heart switched on but switch off your brain. Just go for the ride.

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You shouldn't watch at night, you will sleep midway

A litte disappointing, I was expecting something more trash movie vibes with all the crazy historical aliens and androids theme. The movie try to be serious in the first half, but the drama isn't really good, actually, it's very easy to get upset or annoyed with all the key characters who either are too shallow or extremely annoying.

In my opinion the fight scenes in the second half are where the soul of this movie rests, I mean, a historical korean movie where a female lead from the future shoot to death alienoids along with an overpower shaman from the Goryeo Dynasty??? This movie is the perfect setup for a bloody and violent story like Versus (2000) and Bullet Train (2022) that doesn't take itself seriously.
Unfortunately Choi Dong Hoon doesn't seem to notice it and try to follow the example of "Along with the Gods" that succeds to deliver a good drama while conciliating some epics battles, but Alienoid stays in the middle of these 3 movies...

P.S: It took me 3 days to finish it and I slept watching on the first day.

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I will defend this movie with my WHOLE HEART... and with my credible degree in Literature.

I just finished it and came here to look through the reviews, expecting more people to understand how brilliant Kill Bok Soon is but alas, not many have interpreted the intricate plot and characters as positively. Now, let's look at what this movie was actually aiming to portray.

The characters are quite well-written. They have justifiable motives that drive their actions. Their interactions with Boksoon are not only complex and multidimensional but also reflect the realistic strained relationships one would encounter in professional and personal life. The dialogues very much support their respective obligations or responsibilities or values and function to corroborate their further actions. You could say, it was all so carefully crafted because each plot point, character, and dialogue served its intended purpose.

A major portion of this movie revolves around a mother-daughter relationship and while people would say that it depicts the struggles of a single mother, I think it goes way beyond that. It shows the juxtaposition of the mother's struggles as opposed to her daughter's, indirectly expressing how they both can only partially fathom where the other comes from. At the same time, over the course of the movie, you would see them communicating yet, also delivering so much more nuance by just being there, waiting for the other to open up, and eventually, hearing each other out. They both make space for each other and also respect as well as encourage what the other values. This movie is very much about the unspoken secrets and truths that linger in familial relationships. It is also about staying true to yourself despite what a harsh world's norms expect out of you.

Beyond that, it minimally shows the boundaries and expectations drawn out for women but nothing we don't already know of. I am glad it does not spare too much time for it because there was so much to show rather than simply recounting the ever-existing and glaring sexism. A more specific example would be the fact that Boksoon kills some very unlikeable characters for very clear reasons. She severed toxic professional relationships for positive and valuable ones which shows her development as a character who kills not only for a purpose but also to uphold her principles and morals.

I don't want to spoil anything beyond this but please look out for the underlying messages that the movie delivers.

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Hilarious Thai comedy with a charming cast

If you love Thai humor and movies like Noodle Boxer you will for sure love and laugh a lot. From the same director Yacht Rergchai Poungpetch is this light hearted, funny, action romance.

Hilarious nonsense conversations (I can't get enough of them) like - Why are they after Buddha statues? How should I know? That's why the called crazy Sakura gang.

Or hilarious quotes like - I lost my nipple virginity to a gecko - will for sure make your day. But of course the full experience of Thai humor you only can experience when you speak Thai. Some of the wordplays and jokes are lost in translation.

Gulf Kanawut - it's his first movie role and Anne Thong - queen of Thai entertainment industry are a odd but very charming couple. I was in awww with Gulf's charming performance and loved all the action scenes of the movie. The little love story melted my heart. First love but with age gap - I grinned from ear to ear. They both had major Golden Retriever and Cat energy. Cuteee.

Perfect for a funny family movie Sunday!

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HiraKiyo Eternal !!!

For disclaimers, I am not a fluent Japanese speaker, but simply someone who understands a level of Japanese to understand the context and translate contents sometimes, so I might have gotten some details slightly wrong. I fell in love with Season 1 first after it aired, and went on to listen to the drama CDs.

The movie essentially focuses on 3 conflicts. One, HiraKiyo has to go apartment hunting after Naho and Tomoya prepare to move back to the house the couple is currently staying in. Two, Hira prepares to graduate from university and enter the adult world. He's chasing after Kiyoi who seems to be walking a step ahead by starting work earlier, and loses his confidence to shoot Kiyoi beautifully after seeing Noguchi's work. Third, Anna and Kiriya's story, which Kiyoi finds himself tied up in. This movie overall, focuses on Hira's growth as a character.

HiraKiyo does feel more like a couple who has dated for a while here, compared to Season 2, from their domestic acts to ways of showing affection. HiraKiyo has learnt from their past in the previous two drama series and have grown a lot in terms of intimacy. Kiyoi is a lot more direct with his affection and doesn't hide behind his tsundere ways, and Hira takes a bit more initiative this time. Hira does still idolise Kiyoi by calling him a "king" and himself a "fan", but the "God" nickname and treatment (in the extreme end at least) has stopped. I do think that compared to the drama seasons, there's nothing people will be able to call "toxic" and in a sense, I think they are turning into a more "normal" couple (or as normal as they can be with HiraKiyo lol) like what Kiyoi wants without Hira's extreme worship and Kiyoi's tsundere manners.

Noguchi was definitely the MVP here. He's the only one apart from Kiyoi who really understands Hira, so he's the only one to truly get through Hira's brain and see through what Hira is trying to deny. It's because of him that Hira can grow as a character. I think most of the important scenes with him were kept so everyone can also feel how important he is when they watch the movie. Also just a note for the Koyama fans who didn't read the original work, he only has two relatively quick scenes.

I absolutely loved how the soundtracks and flashbacks to Season 1 and 2 were used throughout. They're both effective in bringing nostalgia to fans of the drama series, as well as to provide context for those who only watched the movie. The soundtracks, paired with the beautiful cinematography, gives you goosebumps no matter what scene it is. Bitter was also unexpectedly used in the climatic scene, which I think was really smart of the crew, considering how well the lyrics and Hira's emotions there paired together. My favourite soundtrack of the movie would be "Time to Forget Myself" (恍惚の時間), as it's used in a particularly gorgeous and touching scene (both in terms of the movie and behind the camera since Riku is the one holding the camera there) with little words.

Considering how the movie was 103mins long, I think they managed to include all the important scenes from Nikurashii Kare, rearrange the scenes and make everything flow well. Having known the novel plot, I do think there were some scenes I would have liked to see in the movie or preferred the novel version, but watching the movie as it is was amazing nonetheless. I'm also glad they scrapped certain parts from the novel and rewrote it. Something I want to point out though, is that I feel fans of the original work should probably try to judge the movie as a separate entity rather than compare it to the original novel.

The side characters (notably Anna and Shitara) and Kiyoi's own more minor storyline (since the main focus in the book for Hira's) as an actor were definitely more developed in the novel, but having their scenes cut didn't really make anything feel like it was 'lacking' while watching, at least to me. Such scenes would perhaps have added more depth, but I do think, after all, there's only so much you can squeeze into less than 2 hours of a film, compared to a whole novel. So, I would think it's more important to focus on HiraKiyo as a relationship during that limited duration.

In terms of acting, I've always thought Riku and Yusei were impressive as actors but they genuinely outdid themselves here. Their chemistry has always been amazing, for if you know these two outside of Utsukushii Kare at all, you'll know they're extremely close friends as well. Both of their facial expressions just screams HiraKiyo's love for each other while somehow still showing its subtle complexities. Their range of emotions, with Riku showing Hira's devotion, insecurities, possessiveness, etc and Yusei showing Kiyoi's "ore-sama" side, adoration, hurt, etc, is just insane. There have been multiple directors going to watch the movie, so I do hope they take a liking on RikuYuse's chemistry and acting skills, and somehow pair them up again in a vastly different show. I would love to see them co-star again, as the two have also mentioned wanting as well.

Of course, the supporting actors were amazing too. I especially wanted to point out Nimura Sawa and Ochiai Motoki's facial expressions and the way they delivered their lines. I can't point out which scenes in particular made me feel this in particular without giving out major spoilers, but they were absolutely great. The entire casting was perfect. I wouldn't be able to imagine anyone else in the current roles they're playing.

The movie, like what I believe many Utsukare fans feel for Season 1 and Season 2, is very rewatchable. Heck, if a fan can go to the cinema and watch the movie 53 times within 2 weeks of the movie showing, I don't see how it's not rewatchable. The staff put in so much thought into each design, be it regarding the set, costume or story (e.g. https://bit.ly/3qMBLeT), and the actors outdid themselves in playing their characters as well as they did. There's just so many little details to catch, from both the background in each scene, to the acting and story.

My bit of criticism though (even though it didn't really affect my experience with the movie), is that I wish that they could have shown how they resolved the conflict better. To me, it just felt like after the incident with Shitara, everything was just resolved? I didn't expect the Hira's confidence issue to necessarily be fixed, since that is who he is, but it did feel like a spur of the moment thing, both when he promised to stay by Kiyoi's side because of the impact of the incident on HiraKiyo, and when he took Kiyoi's pictures. I guess they could have talked it out after Hira returned home like they had planned to before Shitara happened, but it's never shown so it's kind of left as a '?' for me. I don't really remember whether the self-confidence part was in the novel, so this could either be me criticising the novel and the movie adapting it as it is, or the movie itself.

Still, it's also because of this that I want to see more from Utsukare. The movie ending was good, but there's still slightly more content I want to see, notably Kiyoi releasing a photobook with Hira's name on it beside his as his photographer, and Kiyoi's growth as an actor. I don't really expect a new drama series season (despite how welcome that would be) nor having Nayamashii Kare adapted as well (which would be especially hard to adapt knowing the main plot), but a drama special would be nice...

What I can conclude though is, if you love HiraKiyo solely because they are HiraKiyo, you'd absolutely love the movie. Or even if you don't know HiraKiyo at all, this will be a lovely story to witness of two people who are so different, but somehow love and understand each other better than anyone else and will always return to each other.

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Different and disappointing

The reason I started watching the High&Low series was because I heard yuta from NCT was going to be in a japanese gang movie so I just HAD to start from the beginning and watch all the content one by one. I totally fell in love with the series and characters, it's just so fun when it needs to be and so stupidly emotional at the same time. It took a year but now I finally watched this movie and wtf?

The first hour of the movie was full of shit, new characters we've never seen before, with seemingly no purpose other than existing (now that I've finished the movie), no mention of any of the side characters that we know and love; unlike all the other H&L movies where we get a recap of all relevant events, this movie seemed irrelevant so there was no recap.

The hurried change from introducing the suzuran school to getting context on the actual "villains" the senomon school, it just felt like they had too much to do but wasted an hour doing a not-so-good job on the suzuran school (I didn't watch crows and dk if that changes anything) and suddenly ending that storyline and moving on to continue to the next school. There was also the school that only wants to fight todoroki, and another school I think? idk it seemed like there were a couple schools mentioned. Like who tf are these people? backstory anyone? what am I missing cuz I don't remember them at all??? then we just hear they lost the fight and move on, it was just lacking so much.

I feel like there should've been a series to establish all these new characters and bonds instead of just jumping into a movie where we're forced to watch these random characters we've never seen form a random alliance and act like their fights mean anything to story. It also feels like there was supposed to be a series before this movie to set up the scene, but we didn't get it so it all felt shallow.

Yeah it was like 5 for me but I actually enjoyed the 2nd half with housen so 6.5/10

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What an Innocent Love Story

One thing that's definitely gone over-saturated in the medium is how over-the-top and over-dramatic everything is acted out. Sue, it makes for bugger stakes, larger-than-life storytelling, however, in today's world, there is so much like that's it's daring to stumble across an unassuming, unadulterated adaptation like Kimi Ni Todoke.

Kimi Ni Todoke is an innocent, wholesome, and pure romance told through the lens of a high school outcast, Sawako, buried deeply under stacks of rumors and deep-fried gossip. And you know how superstitious some of those remote rural Japanese towns can be. Until that is, she meets this pleasant, loved-by-everything high school sweetheart, Hazehaya, who breaks through the social cage keeping the FL away from any meaningful interaction.

The synopsis seems generic enough to pass you by in an instance, however, the approach and the execution are what kept me engaged. This is a family-friendly showing of innocent, coming-of-age romance with no vulgarity to show. Not even a single kissing scene and you know what? That's fine, in fact, it's what makes it stand out in my opinion because even without any intimacy of that kind, the direction of the movie makes it work, and beautifully so.

What drew me originally to watch this is Tabe Mikako herself, I'm so in love with her acting, she has such a way of expressing emotional frequencies through her talent as an actor but nobody told me I was in for discovering such an amazing male lead, Miura Haruma who stole my heart in this role. Unfortunately, I was hit by the news of him dying a couple of years earlier at such a young age of 30 too.

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Very slow and dare I say boring

The actors were great and the tension and music and cinematography were all done well. My gripes from the plot and HEAVY SPOILERS TO COME. And I also slipped through the second half of the movie cause I just lost interest.




Nagisa coming unexpectedly like that and the wholeeeee thing that came after put a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I missed something but the fact that what he did was absolutely outrageous and never properly called out is kidding me. Maybe I'm too aggressive but the fact that he suddenly arrived with his KID, stayed over, and not even a finished divorce would have is fighting outside. Like are you NUTS. He doesn't get dragged enough for that in the movie which gives me the ick

Like I said I got very bored around 37 mins when I realized we were that deep in the movie with no proper excuse for nagisa showing up. I knew the movie would be unserious from that point. I did thinking the ending scenes were quite cute.

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Very underrated but there are some flaws

Story :
I like the overall concept of the story but it could have better execution.. I felt like there were alot of plot holes and the story didn't really feel complete☹️ I also felt the romance was a little rushed and it didn't really make sense but oh well
Acting/cast :
All of the actors were SO good and the main couple had amazing chemistry?
Music :
There isn't a particular song that stood out but I do find that they did a good job in putting the music at the right time. Like the times where there wasn't any music you could really feel the tension between the actors, but when there was, I found the music fit the atmosphere well.
Rewatch value :
I put low because I don't usually rewatch shows let alone movies so I couldn't really see myself rewatching this but maybe since it's so short I might forget abt it and rewatch it..
Bonus : cinematography
I just wanted to point out how good the cinematography was!! The coloring is amazing and I also love the camera work.
Overall:
I think it's worth the watch If you don't mind sensitive topics like rape, prostitution,SA, etc.. so yh watch out for that if ur not comfortable but it's not bad and you should give it a watch!!

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watch it now!!!

omg what a film. i;'ve seen this on reccomended list, but i haven't watched it, because of multiple issues, but i am glad i did now. about the film now: i literally cried. it's so emotional and is a roller coster of emotions and it's just wow. you have hope that it's gonna be a happy ending and she us gonna live happy with her father, but it's heartbreaking to see that it doesn't. all the scenes where she cried just made my heart shatter. i recommend the film, but prepare tisues. there is one more thing i want to say: don't let yourself be manipulated and stand up for youself, i love you.

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