Reviews

Are there limits to an emperor's power or simply limits to an emperor's love?

A black cat slithers sinisterly through the households of Changán's elite seeking out its favorite meal of fish eyeballs; a series of eerie inexplicable events in its wake. When it dares torment Emperor Xuanzong, palace official and aspiring poet Bai Letian (Bai Juyi) and visiting Japanese monk Kukai pair up to track down and exorcise the demon cat. These two historical figures must uncover the cause of the cat's resentment in this wildly speculative account of the inspiration behind the most renown Tang poem in history 長恨歌/Chang Hen Ge/The Song of Everlasting Regret or Sorrow.

Yang Yuhuan (Yang Guifei or Precious Consort Yang) is a cultural legend that stirred the imaginations of artists, poets and writers for centuries. One of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, she was the femme fatale that distracted a great Tang emperor from affairs of state and sent the empire into decline. In this opulent blockbuster, Chen Kaige conjures the fantastical sensuous decadence of the Tang empire at its zenith and the subtle decay of its decline. While Sandrine Pinna hardly leaps to mind,, she passes muster as this famous, captivating beauty that toppled an empire. I cannot rave enough about how masterfully this production evokes the famous poem, with its vivid, erotic imagery of an incomparable beauty, an intoxicating and toxic love story and the haunting intensity of eternal regret and sorrow. Are there limits to an emperor's power or simply limits to an emperor's love?

Where the movie falters is in the narration. Both the role of Bai Letian and that of Kukai are miscast and not well written. The movie dwells too much on Kukai's backstory, which is not interesting and peripheral to the plot. There is zero chemistry between Huang Xuan and Sometani Shota and neither actor conveys why their character is compelled to solve the mystery of this enigmatic and very spooky cat. In fact it is Liu Haoran and to a lesser extent Ou Hao's White Crane and Red Crane that resonate and absolutely steal the show. Liu Haoran's portrayal of youthful infatuation, betrayal, the terrible burden of holding a lasting grudge and the release of letting go leaves the strongest impression among all the performances. If the two lead roles were better written and articulated, I would easily rate this better than 9,0 instead of 8.5. Nonetheless this is one of the best ancient fantasy thriller mysteries I have watched in a long time.

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Eye candy galore

I enjoyed watching it; great casting, with Daniel Henney (Jack) as an added character. The comedy timing was perfect and I find Yoona hilarious here.

I loved the fight scenes, they were perfectly executed for me, that's why it was believable.

Story was cliche with drugs, revenge, chemical bombs and political inclination; but heck, it was an entertaining movie for me.

Hyun Bin is a well versed actor, and here you see that he knows his craft well, as he is very convincing with his actions scenes, they looked well executed and real.

YHJ as his SoKor detective partner is also as always a very good actor, he played his role perfectly.

So, definitely worth watching it. Their trio team, was a perfect combination.

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As much as I want to like this movie, I see so many shortcomings.

After watching this movie, I know that my expectations were too high. The story itself is emotional and moving, but this film lacks a lot.

I understand that the creators wanted to arouse sadness and sympathy in the viewers, but the dramatic, inconsistent music in almost every scene were too much. Some scenes were also overly dramatic. This made the movie hard to watch. The story itself was engaging and it seems as if the creators wanted to evoke too many emotions at once, which resulted in the opposite.

The actors who played the roles of So Wa Wai did a good job, but the performances of the others were worse.

One more thing bothers me after watching this movie. Briefly mentioned plots of side characters have been forgotten. There was no development. Without them, nothing would have changed in this film. One example is when Wa Wai's brother sold his medals. After that, during an argument with his mother, he expressed his feelings about his parents' treatment. After he left slamming the door, there was no further reference to this situation later in the film. There are more examples like this.

As much as I want to like this movie, I see so many shortcomings.

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Action but with heart

Not a big Action fan, but if you love driving you will love this one, the driving scenes will keep you at the edge of your seat. Loved the anti racism education, very subtle from the side character. A little to bloody for me, so you might skip those scenes. But well thought out Leads and characters. All in all a good movie to watch, The end was a bit unrealistic but this is just my opinion. The boys character was played amazing. Laughing or crying, he did an amazing job. The main female lead was not only beautiful but cool and tough with a heart out of gold. Best actor for sure was chubby, the cat. Probs to that.

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Worthy Premise, Good Execution, but Slightly Lacking Somehow (MIld Spoilers)

I eagerly awaited to see this film because THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN makes anybody a fan of Huang Yang Tian Tian. She is one of the young leads here and I was willing to forgive the TV movie budget just to see more of her.

In CRAFTSMAN Tian Tian was a dynamic character that demanded your attention and fellowship. Here she's kinda wasted as one of two girls with physical ailments. Anyone could have played either of the female leads. I actually found the Dad and Mom giving the most nuanced performances.

Don't get me wrong. If the trailer entices you to try this movie, your instinct is correct. But I felt they got lost in some unnecessary subplots. The violent man in the hospital, the 'Carrie' apartment, and the helicopter sequence were all 'alarms' to keep the audience awake. The Mom's Dad was so unnecessary the story itself removed him midway.

I think the better story would have been to have the Dad pursue the Mom romantically, only to learn he had an additional motive. And everyone involved, including the audience, would wonder did he actually love her... and suspect 'yes'. In this way the four leads could have become this lovely accidental family and therefore make an important family 'decision' together rgarding the daughters.

I'm not saying the film doesn't drift towards that idea. I'm saying it would have been a much stronger movie if it had committed to that idea.

One last thing: this is the DEFINITION of a weepy cry cry flick. Oddly it didn't pull as many tears as the premise warranted. Maybe if the Doctors didn't seem so aloof.

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Cute, easy watch

There was nothing earthshaking here. The story was simple, the acting was okay, I don't even remember if there was music in it, and based on the fact that I have a "to watch" list a mile long, I won't watch this again. Having said that, it was a cute movie, taken from the young man's point of view. He's loved this girl forever and they run into each other again when he transfers schools (in this day and age of technology, how and why they lost track of each other is a mystery). There's the obligatory second ML, but not really much drama there, either.

What I liked about this movie was everything he was willing to do for her to make her smile, to further her career, etc. He often found himself being swept WAY out of his comfort zone. That was fun to watch.

It was a low angst movie and enjoyable to watch.

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A Masterpiece

Absolutely hated the ending.

But I cannot deny the fact that it’s a beautiful journey, with a very deep philosophical meaning if you sit and think about it.

For that I give it 10/10 …. Very reluctantly.

The comedy, drama, romance and every other aspect was woven together so nicely, I didn’t see the heartbreak coming till the very end.

I held hope , that the gods, nay, THAT THE UNIVERSE, won’t be so cruel until the moment he jumps to present time, and comes out the cave to see the two sisters happy with uncle tat.

I want to feel angry , but I cannot seeing them happy. I want to cry foul when I see zixia with the dude at the end, but I cannot , knowing they are happy.

The ending reminds me of the butterfly effect( the movie starring Ashton kutcher) . Spoiler alert for that movie.
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At the end he realises that removing himself from the lives/timelines of others entirely made more people happier , than any of his attempts to deliberately make them happier. It’s a sad truth to face, just like monkey king sees, and walks away.

I hate it.

But deep inside, I appreciate it.

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Respect the Audience

When you offer a love story about two really sweet people who take care of others and are devoted to one another, you do not then tack on a deliberately hurtful ending without explaining anything at all. Nothing. We don’t know why it happened. We don’t know why the writer did it almost immediately, and we don’t know why his beloved never tried to find him, ask about him. For so many years……Nothing. Yet the couple the writer and crew taught us to love never would have done that to one another, nor would a good writer have done it to the audience who loved them.

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It was only 26 minutes but it was so intense. I wasn't expecting that ending at all. This was definitely the shocking part of the film.

The atmosphere in the first part of the film was tense but mixed with some seemingly peaceful moments. The first part also focused on finding a way to determine who the family of the deceased is. The second part focused on presenting the solution to the argument. And the ending was an unexpected culmination of the whole film.

Park Chan-wook made sure that the viewer felt some discomfort while watching this film. It is provocative.

"Judgment" is a really good short film.

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Tissue Warning should have been issued

I was excited to see this as two of my favorite actors were in it: Cha Eun Woo and Lee Jung Suk. Both really flexed their acting muscles as this story was outside their normal genres.

The story itself was incredible. I went into it expecting it to be like the US movie Speed; instead of going over 55 mph now the bombs were set to go off if they reached a predetermined Decibel level. While the last part was true, there was a very distinct reason and not just random, wanton destruction because someone is mad. The story moves along quickly, not a dull or slow moment. It is heartbreaking. This aspect I wasn't expecting so I warn others. Tissues are needed. Halfway through is when all the threads get pulled together. You gasp and then hold your breath as the realization dawns on you as to what is going on.

This movie was extremely well done. Nothing over the top as far as violence, stunts or special effects. They fit the scenes and what was needed. The music chosen worked, just didn't really catch my attention as far as OSTs go but wasn't horrible. This is one I will re-watch multiple times to catch the subtle clues that were dropped earlier that were missed due to subtitle reading.

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WHY THIS IS A MUST WATCH MOVIEEEE

I've never laughed this much while watching something honestly! This movie was amazing and I'm getting ready to watch it again guys. The main leads put the H & I IN HILARIOUS I swear. Their friendship is amazing, and they click well together. They are so passionate and kindhearted as well, when they are doing the right things and even though others are urging them to stop, they won't give up until the end. This movie was truly amazing, it showed teamwork, endurance, happiness, friendship, hope and last but not least faith. They made a promise to save these girls and they did!!! Midnight Runners is a must watch because it is truly worth it trust me. Also, Park Seo Joon works are always amazing. GO WATCH IT NOW!!

xo
nicki

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A few too many boobs shots.

That’s your typical, dumb and sexualizing women comedy… That is not funny. Such a dumb jokes I don’t even know how to comment on them.

I was watching and I felt my neurons dying and IQ decreasing. I’m not even against dumb parody movies - which this tries to be. The execution must be good though and the jokes take a jab at the well known cliches in a clever way. This had none of it.

I guess the best part of the movie was the relationship between the brothers. It was well established, had some nice moments and a solid conclusion. The acting was also decent. Not from all the actors, but the main cast did fairly well.

That would be the end of compliments I have.

Sure the scenery and views were pretty and the makeup for zombies was not that bad. But it also was not good enough to recommend anyone to watch the movie.

Basically speaking - you won’t miss anything if you skip this movie.

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Karma is a b*tch, but I guess she is just.

Haunted Car
It’s more unnerving and uncomfortable than scary, especially with the close ups of the taxi driver’s face. It kind of tries to deliver a morality lesson and I would not even say they do a bad job, especially for a short story like this. It’s just a really basic one, nothing that will truly inspire you - we all heard it at least a few times in our lives.

Reborn
Really strong mystery/investigation ghost story. I like how the past is presented and the main character does a great job leading the story. It has an actually interesting plot with great performances and spooky atmosphere.

The Book of Truth
Probably the most complex plot wise, dealing with many elements that kind of fit nice together? Not gonna lie, I struggled to focus during the first half of this story, nothing truly grabbed my attention. It got better as they explained everything, but the not engaging beginning was a letdown.

Overall, all 3 stories dealt with topics of karma, afterlife, past life and all that spiritual stuff. All had more or less the same conclusion and message. Out of the 3, 2nd story - Reborn, was for sure the best.

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I felt something therefore I scored it highly.... Probably too highly...

This is the story of the very innocent girl who got lured in to the miss understood bad boys bed and well after that life went all bananas. The acting is kind of off, the story predictable and packed with a bunch of cliches but honestly this movie is from 2007 so it actually came before all those other movies and dramas I have seen with similar plot lines so I really should not complain and I am pretty sure that MEME (thai writer) has seen this movie a long side a bunch of K-drama writers and of course a few J-drama writers too...

The first half of this movie was a bit like a rocket launch fast paced and had me thinking over and over again well that escalated quickly.... Just for the rocket to run out of fuel about 30,000 km up and fall in super speed right to the ground... Still pretty faset paced but all goes to ****. So basically In a short period of time we experience a lot of more or less interesting situations. Do they handle any of them remotely well? Probably not? But at least something happens...

And even if I did not fall in love with the characters acting skills there was something that got to me... If you are the type easily prone to tears you may cry in this. For me it was just light fog at the corner of my eye. But I can definitely se people crying while. watching this.

So if you are looking for the beloved guilty pleasure of bad boy takes good girl and turns her bad, or just looking for a bunch of fluff... You may just wanna look somewhere else but if you can handle a bit of everything and want to see soemthing pre smart phones this is definitely a decent place to find it.

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