Good Enough
Japanese Movie " Sakura " is a family drama.The one thing it has it going for it is the performances. All the actors and actresses of the cast did a great job, but the performances especially by main leads were exeptional.
The mood of the drama was spot on as well, with clean shots and nude light.
The pace, however, was a bit off and the progress of the events was clumsy. Thus, the story tended to focus more on some characters, especially the sister, and left out other, like the narrator.
So, overall, five out of ten.
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Good Enough
Japanese Movie " Not Quite Daed Yet " is a comedy- action drama with fantasy element and a father- daughter relationship at its core.The movie has a messy pace, with things happening out of nowhere and their progress being all over the place. The twists and the main idea behind the story weren't explained either.
On the other hand, the film is entertaining and the story original, thought predictable. The relationship between the father and the daughter could have been handled in a better way.
The performances, finally, were all great by all the actors and the actresses of the cast.
So, overall, six out of ten.
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Not Good Enough
Japanese Drama " Love Me, Love Me Not " is a film based on the popular manga series.The story starts out quite smoothly, but soon it is evident that the creators were trying to squize into a two hour film a whole manga series. And that was the film's crucial fault. The pace, due to that, got messy, and the relationships were progressing in an unconvincing rate.
On the other hand, the performances were all great by all the actors and the actresses of the cast. The couples had chemistry as well, which aided a the movie a bit.
So, overall, two out of ten.
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Frankly, a mess
All I can say is yikes. This movie was really all over the place. I get the feeling there were a lot of different ideas going into it that just didn't end up fitting in the end. I'm certain a lot of the things I'm about to critique are things done for artistic distinction or some other reasonable sounding excuse, but I'm here to tell you whether I liked the movie, so that's what I'm going to do.I didn't. I didn't like the movie. I was very excited for the movie; I thought the premise was great! (The premise was adapted from a manga, so we can't even give them credit for that, though.) What I got was some of the worst of Jdrama and some extra bonus garbage just for fun.
Firstly, a lot of the usual: egregious overacting, intentionally shoddy effects, awkward layout and timing, and lackluster comedy. It feels like they're trying to make an anime, everything cartoony and exaggerated. The problem is, that style just doesn't translate into the live action.
But, okay. That's Jdrama. We're used to that. Why the low score? Well, dear reader, let me impart some wisdom. In order to distinguish themselves as a creative talent, artists will take risks in their work in the hopes of producing something new and exciting. In many cases, this is the birth of something amazing, a new genre or an acclaimed masterpiece. In other cases, you're left with something that makes you wince a little bit, something you're sure probably shouldn't exist. Here we are.
Violent Action made a couple of baffling directorial and editorial choices which are immediately noticeable and immediately off-putting. They won't. Stop. Cutting. It feels like there's ten new shots every second. Not only are the cuts fast, they're disorienting. They camera bounces around room, cutting rapidly between closeup and wide shots, moving so quick I felt out of breath just watching it. It was the worst during action scenes. I'm certain I didn't comprehend a majority of what was probably (maybe) a decently choreographed fight sequence because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. And this isn't even a Liam-Neeson-shaky-cam-ten-shots-to-get-over-a-fence situation. It's just crazy fast, which as I've just learned is way worse.
There is a tonal dissonance with the pacing of the editing, the intense action scenes, and the general silliness the movie is shooting for (heh, shooting). We go from nauseatingly quick "assassinations" to jokes about bulletproof wigs and bad cooking. It feels out of place. Pick a side: cool or funny. You can't have both.
You may have noticed I put quotations around "assassinations." How observant of you. Allow me to explain. None of the supposed hits felt like assassinations at all. Perhaps they technically are (the definition is just surprise murder, basically), but it doesn't fit the connotation ascribed to that word. We don't get any poisoning, sniping from the next building over, sneaking around in the dead of night. Instead it's more like premeditated murder. Frankly, I think assassinations are less violent than murder, which ironically would have helped them hit the silly vibe they were going for, instead of the weird hybrid they ended up with.
So, what about the story? Uh... right, the story. What about the story? Um... I sure it had one. Well, it's all a bit hazy but... I guess there was a villain, some henchman, yadda yadda, so on and so forth. It was forgettable, okay. Point made.
So, to wrap things up. Acting: bad. Directing: bad. Sound track: meh. Action: I literally couldn't tell. Overall: yikes. I don't recommend this movie.
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This review may contain spoilers
I enjoyed this slice of life story. Hye Won was going through a quarterlife crisis. She's struggling to know what she really wants to do with her life after failing her teacher's exam. She's also still feeling abandoned by her mother. She heads back to her home town and through some memories of her mother and time with her friends she finds the answers she needs. What I loved the most about the film is the storytelling through food. So many interesting dishes. Things I would definitely try and some I wouldn't. The cabbage pancake with egg looked strange but somehow delicious. I am always envious of people who can cook and especially cook from scratch. I loved those scenes the most.
The cast is really good to. I particularly loved the performance of Moon So Ri, the actress playing the mother of Hye Won.
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This is a hidden gem, and I would label this series as a diamond in the rough.
Although this wasn't a high budgeted film the acting and the story line kept me happily entertained and I enjoyed it. I know the technology wasn't as current as it could be, but those minor things did not bother me, and I was still entertained and enjoyed the story and the characters acting skills. I felt completely satisfied and happy and that is why I rated it a 10. I liked how it kept me interested and kept me unable to predict how the story would end. The pace of the movie always kept me engaged and delightfully entertained. This is a hidden gem, and I would label this series as a diamond in the rough.Was this review helpful to you?
'wait for me'
intense, dark, with a lot of upsetting themes but i found this movie beautiful.before you read this review or watch keep in mind the trigger warning for rape, violence, murder and multiple types of assualt (including that of which includes children) as i know there are some scenes that would be very triggering to some.
i don't want to write much as im not one who writes reviews but i waited for this movie for a long time and was not disappointed (though it was not what i expected it to be).
the story follows a elementary school teacher who goes through a traumatic event which leads him to being entangled with a rogue youth who goes by kai just as the synopysis states. both of these characters are very complex and their actions make the audience wonder about their backstories and intent. the story itself has a lot of plot twists and scenes that seem almost impulsive that take the viewer by surprise. there was a large amount of plot points that i did not anticipate at all. the way it is written and plays out is so interesting and very easy to get invested in, the viewer is able to immerse themselves in this world and the fucked up beauty of it. it did get quite confusing at times and im definitely didn't 100% understand everything that happened but that will come with more rewatching and being able to rewatch it with the full context of their backstories etc, plus the subs were quite rough. even if you don't understand everything you always get the gist of what's happening.
the casting was PERFECT. inuba yu did an incredible job as usual and the actor of kai (kenshin endo) completely embodied the role, i found his performance completely mesmerizing and couldn't tear my eyes away from him when he was on screen, both his voice and mannerisms when in character were hypnotic. i hope to see him in more roles asap his acting was phenomenal. i cannot praise it enough.
the relationship between the characters is so so complicated but there was something incredibly alluring about it too. they saved eachother in more ways than one. they were clearly soulmates, half of the same soul. two fragile people finding the one person who they would live and die for over and over again. i could talk about their relationship for hours. the chemistry was INCREDIBLE, the want, need and pure love was clear even if a lot of the time it was never verbalized. watching them made me feel a bit insane. i would give my kidney to see the actors play love interests again.
i could talk about the cinematography, set design, direction, and sound/music for hours. this movie is easily one of my favourites i've seen this year in all those factors. the cinematography is SO visually pleasing, all the colours come together so well and the way it is filmed really makes the viewer feel as if they are IN the scene along with the characters. the set design was beautiful, especially the set of the place where they rapped/seemed to live. the colours, the lighting, all the additions of graffiti and junk came together so well i adored it and couldn't help but appreciate it everytime it was on screen. the sound GOD, i have such a deep appreciation for this movie's use of the affect of music and noise. all the music that was used fit perfectly and always stood out to me, the rapping included. something that reallyy stood out though was the use of background noise, there was always chatter or some type of noise happening in the background in most scenes and it added so much to the realisticness of the movie.
as a whole it was messy and this is definitely not for everyone. you have to go into it with the knowledge that it is supposed to be as messed up as it is, one of the main genres of this movie is pyschological. you aren't supposed to like it you're supposed to understand it, supposed to come away with complex emotions and your head spinning. to me, it had so much meaning (and probably more than im aware of which i will figure out when i watch it again to consolidate my feelings) , and it was just simply beautiful. watch it.
[edit: the more i thought about it and rewatched scenes the more obsessed i became it went from 8.5 > 9. i completely agree with a comment describing it as artistic brillance rather than something that caters to 'usual' audiences. i still levae out that one star just because i wish it were longer. 2 hours is long for a movie but i still wish this much much longer, i could watch kenshin/inaba act together forever, their chemistry is just so incredible]
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On the third year of this movie, yet again being recommended to me, I finally gave in.
Thank you to all those who keep pushing this movie, and the AIs that serve it up lol. I honestly would have missed out on a gem. It definitely deserved all the awards it got.
I was totally hooked on the FL within the very first few minutes, and then the ML when he was introduced. How they’re both basically just kids, who are forced to grow up way too soon, with no adults or safety nets to help them. But luckily, they find each other and do their best to one day reach “Better Days”.
The emotional rollercoaster I went through watching this. The slow and steady rise in the first half, and then the twist and reveal in the second half of the film that broke my heart for both them, and had me dreading over what would happen next.
The ending is a marvelous work of art in storytelling. It’s after the credits. Don’t miss it, because I almost did.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is what they sent to international film festivals?
I think I can say with total conviction that this was probably the worst 80s revival splatter movie I have seen, well since the 80s.What was that? And even more important, why did several really fine Korean actors take part in this? And most important: there is tons of really fantastic Korean movies that could represent the unique quality of storytelling and actors abilities to the world to be send to international film festival and of all the great stuff that is there coming from Korea they chose this movie? Why?
But let me sum up why I am saying this:
Storyline:
well, there is none really, and I mean none. A short glimpse back to 2017 where some severe criminals should have been transported back from the Philipines to Korea. And there it starts to get funny. So they plan to transport the most severe criminals fom one country to another and do what? They showcase them like on a red carpet in front of non-checked audience and one of the audience members has a bomb? Ok, totally unrealistic.
Cut, it's 2019, they make another try to transport the criminals back to Korea. And what would you do if you would plan this? I tell you what you would not do. You would not just put some little handcuffs around their wrists, leave them all together on that ship with no restrictions? If you would plan to move so many of the most dangerous cirminals you would, in the year 2019, not 1959, of course have them heavily restricted, not only with handcuffs. You would have single closed cells on that ship where every single one of them is confined for the whole trip, just a small box opening to get them food. But no, here we see how they are just let them onto the ship, they can all sit together on the ground just their hands cuffed, and waiting to get loose. How ridiculous is that?
The police staff, I really had to laugh at some point. Most of them don't have guns to start with (very unlikely again on such trip) and those who have them, esepcially Jung So min, an actress I normally adore, is probably doing the most senseless and unable things imaginable. She is a times standing around like a deer in the spotlight, awkwardly holing a gun and - not shooting it when all hell breaks loose =D
The movie has no real dialogue except for foul mouthed slang and cursing and hissing all the time, very chliche, and the movie very soon turns into the most ridiculous splatter festival. And not even that is good! They totally overdid it for the sake of being supercrass which I found totally annoying. So there is like single blows to body parts and the next moments around 200 liters of blood spread like heavy rain through the whole room=D And very soon there is nothing else anymore in that movie, just lots of unrealistic 'i want to be so crass' splatter nonsense.
I started fast forwarding at some point and all of a sudden some super human blood covered 'thing' shows up and simply kills everyone in the most gory way, I didn't even get why but I really started laughing.
conclusion:
there is at least four actors and actresses in this movie I normally really like a lot and all of them are excellent actors in other productions. What made them think to say yes to such a trashy scipts is beyond me, I really can't understand it.
I seriously hope I can see all of them in better productions in the future, where they can show the quality acting they are all able to deliver easily under other circumstances.
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Good Movie!!!!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
It was a good movie. Prepare for a box of tissue!
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Not comedy or romance, it's a drama!
I'm not sure how I'm feeling after watching this movie. But the first thing I have to say is that comedy and romance as film genres are not even close of be right, it is a psychological drama, sometimes sad, sometimes chaotic and sometimes scary.A lonely young woman rejected by society and her first love and a depressed widower meet each other and become emotionally involved in a torturous and often self-destructive way. There are no comic moments, just a lot of pain and disappointment. With a partially comforting ending, but that let me feeling sad.
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This review may contain spoilers
"Of all the poisons, men are the most dangerous!"
Monkey King 3 took up where Monkey King 2 left off. Aaron Kwok returned as the Monkey King along with Feng Shao Feng, Xiao Shen Yang, and Him Law. Zhao Li Ying joined them this time as the Queen of the Women’s Kingdom.Wu Kong, Pigsy, Sandy, and Tang Seng are heading west on a river when a river demon assaults them. There’s an old joke, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him ski.” This was as close to a skiing horse as you are likely to see! With the help of the goddess they escape and go from the frying pan into the fire. They crash through the portal into Woman Land where Tang Seng and the Queen seem to fall in love as they plummet down a mountain. The Preceptor, a very uptight woman dressed in white, declares the men must die because they have made the cardinal sin…of being men. Men’s love is poison to a woman and it’s looking like the Queen might have been infected. She rescues them during their execution and they seek to find a way out of the spell dome over the land.
The CGI was good for the most part and there was a lot of it. Woman’s Land had beautiful dwellings and strange monsters abounded.
Aaron Kwok is the best Monkey King I’ve seen. Too bad he had very little to do in this movie. This story was more of a romance and spiritual trial than adventure. Even the “villain” was just misunderstood and hurting. Tang Seng and the Queen had to decide between love and duty as did the Preceptor. Even if you are like me and only know the story from the movies, the ending was inevitable.
I had reservations about certain aspects of the story. The one whom the Preceptor had loved during her youth was an androgynous river god. Years before because of her duty to the new queen, the Preceptor had to reject the river god who then became unproductive, obsessive and wrathful. The spirit who could cause miscarriages appeared to be a man in woman’s clothing which was played for laughs. Not very 2018 of them on either count, neither was portrayed positively. The men ended up pregnant, very pregnant after accidentally ingesting the water from the river of womanhood. Setting aside the biological issues, and regardless of your stance on abortion, there were forced abortions. Finally, though the women seem to be well trained warriors, they still had to rely on the men to solve their problems and ultimately decided maternal love was greater than romantic love. Seemed like this movie could have at least tried to give them more agency and views on loving. There were also a couple of deus ex machina moments that took the tension out of volatile, dangerous moments.
Tang Seng wrestled with wanting it both ways. He wanted the Queen and he wanted to save humankind from suffering. He believed sensual love would weaken his soul. Ultimately, he and the Queen were able to live with their decisions because they faced the problems head on and made their choices freely. Perhaps the Goddess sent him to Woman Land, because just like heartache, you can’t understand love unless you’ve felt it and lived through it.
If you are wanting to watch a movie featuring the Monkey King, this is not it. He is a supporting character to the love story. The love story was hard for me to accept as they fell instantly in love as if they’d been poisoned, knowing nothing about the other person. Zhao Yi Ling and Feng Shao Feng did their best to convince me, and it almost worked. They were lovely to look at and capable actors. Ultimately, this felt more about duty than love even if Tang Seng believed loving one was the same as loving everyone.
11/19/22
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2 wonderful actors, 1 mediocre story
Both the FL and ML are stellar actors with a good body of work. So one has high expectations when they are paired up. But the story is so mediocre. It tries to be funny but falls flat. The various flings are tiring to watch. The excessive alcohol makes one want to puke.Their own chemistry feels warm in some places but falls flat most of the time.
Clichéd, dull, mediocre, tepid. Nothing special.
In fact it's irritating to watch middle schoolers cheer their teacher to follow his heart.
Sigh.....disappointing.
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It lacked a big brain energy.
It’s not like I expected realism - I went in to watch a fun action flick and it is more or less what I’ve got. Yet, it still bothered me how little it took for the main character to infiltrate the scammers and how the scale of their project did not match their security.What’s more, the movie lacked interesting characters. Gwak Pro had some personality and that’s where the list of interesting characters ends. Everyone felt painfully flat and boring.
Truly the best part of On the Line was the behind the scene of how voice phishing works and how many victims may there be with just one fake call center. It’s a good watch for everyone who is on the more gullible side.
That said, the movie serves more as a criticism to the government and the lack of effort and work put into catching the criminals, over a valuable lesson for the viewers. There are no real hints on how to deal with similar issues if they happen in real life, except “hang up” - the issue is, you only hang up when you know something is a scam, and figuring it out is usually the problem.
Acting was fine. Since everything was rather flat, it’s hard not to deliver decent performance.
Overall, I would say a documentary on the similar subject would be a more interesting watch.
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Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: The Movie
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This review may contain spoilers
A Satisfactory Ending
The wait was worth it. The actors still managed to hold the spark and chemistry with each other.I was completely smitten and excited to see Adachi and Kurosawa back together again.
SPOILER FROM HERE ONWARDS
My favourite scenes from the movie in no particular order
1. When Adachi reached out his hand to feel Kurosawa's real feelings about him transferring, it was heartbreaking to see both of their faces. But I'm so glad they were honest with how they felt and did not keep their feelings bottled up. Communication is important in a relationship.
2. That very cute moment when Kurosawa made Adachi wear all the clothes he'd bought for him
3. That scene in the kitchen when Adachi wanted to let the people close to him how important Kurosawa is to his life
4. The talk that each of them had with their respective parents. I completely understood where Kurosawa's mother was coming from. Living in a society that does not accept people for who they are is difficult
5. I loved the scenes in the office too. Especially the one with Fujisaki and Rokkaku. Even Adachi's scene was Urabe nailed the way people communicate their love for each other.
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