Completed
The Handmaiden
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Watch it without reading/watching any reviews beforehand!

I made the mistake of watching some YouTube reviews before I watched the movie, so the plot twists were spoiled for me. Watch it going in blind and with an open mind.
I think Kim Tae Ri was brave as a rookie actress taking on the role when she knew that full nudity (and more) was required, and she is amazing. She fully deserves all the awards she got afterwards.
The chemistry between Kim Min Hee and Kim Tae Ri was great and it's a pity that the controversy about Kim Min Hee's personal life overshadowed her acting in this film.
This is the first film I've seen from director Park Chan Wook, so I'm curious to see his past works and his latest one, Decision To Leave.
The Handmaiden is a masterpiece movie and highly recommended.

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Completed
Socialphobia
0 people found this review helpful
by sese
Jul 23, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

Plot twist, or not

I liked this movie okay enough but as another user mentioned you really do just watch a bunch of dudes try and solve the murder of some girl they just bullied online.

One thing I don't get though is the users in defense of the Becca, she seemed like a piece of trash. The main characters were pieces of trash, everyone in this movie just sucks and you root for them at the beginning kinda because she was also flaming people online but it quickly just ramps up to caricature tier characterization and while it keeps you engaged it's not anything impactful. I watched the movie and didn't expect that ending so I was surprised and was even like "ouu" for a minute but after the movie ended I didn't care anymore.

Anyone with common sense has long been aware the internet is full of narcissistic terrible people and ruled by mob mentality. Witch hunts are commonplace and innocent people are doxxed for stupid reasons.

I feel like even if high-school self watched this when it first came out I'd still be unimpressed. It's like me pointing at some universal common fact and going "isn't this so true?" yes. It is. We get it, moving on

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My Chilling Roommate
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Personal Review

I personally watched this because I am a fan of GFriend. Didn't expect much, to be honest. However, it was generally good but of course there are downsides for me. Feels a bit rushed. Many unanswered questions. Personally, I think it would have been explained better if this was a series, unless otherwise there's potential plans for a second movie. Lastly, as a person who avoids horror movies very much and is SUPER scared of them, I recommend this one. If you get through the half of the movie, it will not be that scary and you'll also start to anticipate more.
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18 Year Old Model Rika's Fancy Walk
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 23, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

63 Minutes Of Erotic Fun!

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12 Suicidal Teens
0 people found this review helpful
by sese
Jul 23, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 3.5
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

Not a mystery

This is a bad mystery movie, terrible even, however the mystery is there to push the plot along and to get the boll rolling so to speak. I would also say that at times, it can be a tad slow, which can be rough with a mystery that doesn't build suspense and I also felt at times the movie may have been a bit to heavy handed in it's message of not committing suicide.

The anti suicide message is also very insulting, at times you kind of get the feeling that the writer clearly does not condone or approve of it and so he uses the characters bashing each other as a sort of way to knock it and take jabs but some of them have very unordinary reasons for commiting suicide to the point it seems like a strawman for the sole purpose of bashing it?

I didn't like that, at all.

Though some of them had some very good reasons too, you never really see them properly looked at and given a decent commentary on it. All that said and done, I did enjoy the end but felt like it was the writer getting away with conveying a sloppy message. But I liked it, what can I say. I liked the characters, they aren't all very fleshed out but I did enjoy getting to know them little by little and liked that they all reached a decent ending however, all of that could have been done in a far shorter movie I feel and it drags too much it is a large fault in this movie.

The ending scenes had me smile, I was thinking to myself "Hey, good for them I love that for them." But that was a few fleeting minutes in a SLOG of a story. It takes too long to build up, the mystery itself is severely ridiculous and silly, and they use Nouburo and Shinjiro to magically solve the mysteries, I still do not understand how they solved anything and pieced things together, or how they got away with this and that.

Liked the movie though, just wasn't well written. 5/10 if I'm being technical about it. 6/10 based on my own personal feelings for the movie.

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The Con Artists
3 people found this review helpful
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers
As an episode of the television show Leverage, The Con Artists would have been an average episode without any character development. As a stand alone movie, it failed to deliver the fun adrenaline rush a heist movie should give.

Full disclosure I like Kim Woo Bin. Sadly, his performance, for me, lacked the sex appeal and energy required for the leader of the con artists. This movie almost solely focused on his character, Ji Hyuk, putting a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. The other two members of the team were relegated to comic relief and subterfuge. Ko Chang Seok made the most of his role, but it felt like he was there simply to give credibility to Ji Hyuk. Lee Hyun Wu as the hacker didn't have enough to do to make me care about his character. Kim Yeong Cheol as the villain lacked the menacing presence to be threatening. All of the police were cardboard bland and lent little to the story. The characters overall were thinly drawn, even Ji Hyuk which left me unable to connect with or invest in any of them. The FL Jo Yoon Hee was thrown into the mix as an ill conceived love interest. The romance had no development and just felt thrust into the story like, "wouldn't any woman instantly fall in love with KWB?"

The plot twists could be seen from a mile/km away, it wanted to be more clever than it was. The OST felt generic and uninspired. Basic is the word that comes to mind when I try to describe the plot. It's a heist movie, there should be biting humor, a certain cool factor, and a sense of urgency to the unfolding plot. Instead of a rollercoaster ride I got a merry-go-round.

There was never any sense of danger or excitement, the Con Artists was a perfectly fine tv episode, but could not measure up to the plethora of heist movies on the market. Sorry, KWB, I'm still rooting for you.






7/22/22

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My Love
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 1
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

there is no bond like first love❤

from the start only i started seeing the red flags in main lead he was a very flawed character like that guy did the same thing that female lead ex did he tried to kiss fl when he was in a relationship uhmmm if thats not enough..guy literally was being a creep when took admission in university for his first love...and last but not least he words he said when he was in his lowest and blamed it on fl was pathetic...i was annoyed by the ml so much but then i got it what the movie wanted to interpret...we do stupid things in our youth,we all think that we will endup with our first crush and wil be happy forever , we are silly and young and does not worry about future,nothing is forever everything is momentary and its not even a bad thing,some people come our life to teach or lead us a lesson that one person can change our entire life...instead having hatered we should cherish the moment we spent with that person ❤
atlast i would say i like how realistic it was..i would say wont like to rewatch it its a one time watch movie coz there is nothing but reality :)

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To Each His Own
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers
This Fukushi Sota movie is labeled a bromance but let me tell you, the B in this bromance is very, very, VERY silent. Probably the most silent B in the existence of bromance.

It's a truly beautiful but also a very difficult movie to watch. It deals with themes like power harassment, suicide and depression. Takashi's (Kudo Asuka) road to peace and healing is long and ugly, luckily he has Yamamoto (Fukushi Sota) by his side every time he needs a shoulder to lean on. And it's just so wonderful!

Most of the movie is told from Takashi's POV, it's not until the end that Takashi delves into Yamamoto's life and the terrible tragedy that Yamamoto had to live with is revealed. The scene where Takashi goes digging into Yamamoto's life and finds out the truth is so, so beautiful because we finally get to see Yamamoto's POV, at least a little.

And the ending is just... fairy tale like. It's the happiest of endings, it truly is.

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Extreme Job
1 people found this review helpful
by sese
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

Them boys like chicken fr

I really like this movie, the acting is kind of hammed up and cheesy at times which plays in it's favor. The way they get so immersed into their side job that and even straight up ignore the stakeouts was pretty funny, as well as realistic. They seemed kind of downtrodden and like they had given up until that final arc. I was even rooting for them to keep the store and hoping it would be their main job since it brought them some amount of happiness even though the work was getting to them. Really happy with how this movie ended, but all in all I'd say it's in a weird in-between of being a good and really good movie. But that's entirely up to my own personal tastes and not at the fault of the movie itself. I recommend it, and can see myself coming back to it in the future for a rewatch which is cool. I don't normally feel like movies have much rewatch value

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A Girl on the Shore
5 people found this review helpful
by mya
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 1
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

I'm slightly confused … and uncomfortable.

I feel like I've seen this plot quite a few times - two young people get into a toxic relationship where they just use each other

For the ML, he is dealing with grief and is very closed off, and because of that, he is outcasted. For the FL, truthfully, I'm not sure what her backstory is. Somehow, these two characters form a sexual relationship. And although he claims to like her, he treats her like shit. And she denies liking him for a while.

I feel like this film is hypersexualised. From what I know, the source material involves a lot of sex. And this has quite a bit as well. But I need I remind you, these kids are MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS!! They're not even in high school. They're around 14-15 for a majority of this film. And I'm watching them have sex... It's weird, and honestly, feels unnecessary. They could have aged them up to at least high schoolers

Like I already mentioned, the plot feels stale and overused, and doesn't add anything new to coming of age films. I have given it a high re-watch value because I do want to eventually watch it again and try to understand it better, and maybe gain a new perspective.

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Norwegian Wood
0 people found this review helpful
by mya
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 4.0

A disappointing book-to-film adaptation

Unfortunately, I don't think I can recommend this film to anyone. For the people who have also read the book, you'll be disappointed in the execution. And for the people who haven't, you'll be confused with most of the scenes.

It's a film following Toru, a reserved university student who finds himself liking two girls - Naoko, who is dealing with mental health issues; and Midori, a fellow student who is a bit of an enigma. Whilst in the book Toru is very introspective and is able to analyse the relationship dynamics he has with the other characters, film Toru is mostly just a bit contemplative. Clearly, it is very character driven.

Despite that, it seems as if some characters have been toned down a lot. So we end up with a bunch of characters that more or less feel the same in terms of tone, mannerisms, personality, etc. This makes quite a few of the interactions slightly bland at times. Toru, Natsumi, and Midori were probably the most true to the original source material, and were best cast in my opinion.

The problem with this film is that it is very disjointed. From the perspective of someone who has read the book, it feels as of I'm in a literature class and have been given a handful of extracts of the book and I've been made to try and decipher what is happening. It lacks I'm both cohesion, and coherence.

The problem with the lack of structure means that a lot of scenes don't make sense. Since some scenes are cut out to not be too long, we're left with shortened scenes which don't add anything to the plot. For example, a scene between Toru and Midori's father is cut. Instead, we're introduced to him, only for him to stop being mentioned after 3 or so minutes. This leads to a lack of development for many characters, including Naoko's friend, Reika, making their presence seem pointless. The lack of explanation for many scenes invoking certain characters just leads to confusion. And for the scenes included from the book, the dialogue is a carbon copy from the book, not adding anything new, once again, leading to many gaps which are not explained.

And despite leaving a lot out from the book, it is a painfully long film. Since not much happens in the book, the film wasn't able to capture enough of the characters' situations and feelings well enough in order for the film to be the least bit engaging. And mentioned before, some of the characters felt the same.

Although the music fit, it easily could have put me to sleep, especially during the scenes where the characters are having a quiet and slow conversation.

Another thing to note is that it's a particularly quiet film to the point that I can hear the wind and trees more than the characters' voices. However, there are few moments where suddenly, characters are shouting, which caught me off guard since I had turned up the volume quite a bit in order to hear them.

If this was remade today, I do think that it would be a lot better. The only problem is that the author has very sexist views which bleed into his work (including this one), so it would be interesting to see how those aspects (i.e. the male gaze) are improved upon or changed without taking from the overall meaning or plot. Also, as a heads up, Toru has sex with nearly every woman within a 5 mile radius of him, or at least thinks about it. The only exception is Natsumi, who in my opinion, is someone Toru respects and sees almost as a sister in my opinion (at least in the book).

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Under Your Bed
7 people found this review helpful
by mya
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5
This is actually a hard film to watch and recommend. Because of that, please do check the tags before watching. This is a complicated film to talk about since is deals with domestic abuse. However, it's an important film.

It follows a man who starts stalking someone he previously went to university with, only to find out that she's a victim of domestic abuse. The ML (Naoto) isn't necessarily a great character. For one, he stalks her, and invades her privacy, and even befriends her. Whilst this isn't told from the perspective of the victim (the FL - Chihiro) , we are still able to catch glimpses, from the Naoto's perspective, where you can see how her trauma affects her. And the abuse does get very graphic, which is why I tend to skip over those parts if I do re-watch it. However, the choice not to censor it is important in my opinion, because it shows what victims experience, and it shouldn't just be sugar-coated.

Another thing I would like to mention is memory, and one's perception of their own memory. Without going into much detail, we see many flashbacks of their university days and the interactions they had. Seeing the importance of those interactions explains why (not justifies) why he chose to stalk her after seeing her all those years later.

There's also a slight plot twist at one point which I thought was interesting and engaging. There is also another side character whose is slightly eccentric. In my opinion, the importance of his character is to show he people (including him and Naoto) latch onto something in times of need and in turn, they provide an emotional anchor for them. However, in this case, it isn't as simple as finding a band through a song that means a lot to you. Here, we see the extreme version, along with the extreme choices some people will make, especially if that anchor is being threatened to be taken away from them.

If this is something you are interested in, please check it out. Because of this film that I first watched last year, I have gained an interest in the main characters. Also, I hope you like my analysis in the paragraph above and are able to take away your own meaning from this film in the same way I have :)

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The Door Lock
2 people found this review helpful
by mya
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

A good remake

This is a solid remake. I know it's originally based off of a Spanish movie, but I've only seen the Korean one. So, first things first, in terms of the two, I definitely recommend the Chinese version.

This film felt purposeful. There is a motive to wanting to tell this story. If you wait until the end, there are some comments made about how women constantly feel unsafe living alone because of the possibility of bad things happening. And this film chose to help audiences understand this.

In terms of the plot, there was a lot. The Korean version felt a bit too obvious, But this version had quite a few red herrings, and there were so many people the main character (not the audience) could trust. The stakes were higher because of this.

Additionally, it was actually quite terrifying at times. Just thinking about the possibility of being in her position is enough to make anyone scared. And this film really captured that. At times, you see her do small things to make it seem like there's a man home because she already felt unsafe. And despite that, she is still targeted.

All in all, it achieved its goal and in my opinion, was a successful adaptation that didn't follow its Korean counterpart

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The Last Blossom
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Beautiful ordinary people family story

Wow, I really enjoy watching "The Last Bloom", it is truly a beautiful ordinary family story. My heart goes out to Kim In Hee, the daughter-in-law/wife/mother/sister/sister-in-law that does everything for the family in her unsung heroine manner. it tells a story about a woman, Kim In Hee, that has a doctor husband that loses his medical license when his patient dies, she also has two adult children. Her daughter is dating a married man and her son's fiancee that thinks she is pregnant. I love her sister-in-law, Shin Sun Ae that really cares about In Hee. When In Hee knows she is dying, she tries everything to make sure her family could live comfortably when she dies. I recommend watching this film.

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Incantation
22 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Jul 22, 2022
Completed 4
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Immersive experience that makes you part of the plot.

Incantation is a 2022 found footage horror movie directed by Kevin Ko, loosely inspired by a real life case that happened in Kaohsiung in 2005. That said, the real events give more of a framework for the plot, and nothing that actually happened in the movie was related to real events. Apparently, it’s not easy to find any truly reliable info about it in English.

Incantation might have one of the best opening sequences of any horror I have ever seen. By directly addressing the viewer, presenting the optical illusions in the context of the power of will and personal framing, and by asking the viewers for help - it’s hard not to feel the immediate immersion. Breaking of the 4th wall is an aspect that comes back quite a number of times during the movie, which made me far more engaged than I initially thought I would be.

What about the plot? We are presented with two different timelines - present time of Ronan trying to gain the custody of her daughter and the bond with her, and the past timeline explaining the fear and ritual she was a part of a few years ago. As much as it’s a horror, it’s also a drama - showcasing the variety of emotions a parent can feel in relation to their child, and the actions they are willing to take to help them.

Are the scares actually scary? Truth to be told, the few jump scares I’ve got were a bit disappointing? The core value of the show is the eerie atmosphere, which was built in a perfect way. From the start we know, the plot is leading to some awful events, so even the happy and warm moments between the mother and daughter feel bitter.

Incantation is a movie that obviously cares about the details of world building. The Buddha-Mother, hand gestures associated with it, chant, symbols and rituals were well designed and planned - created a cohesive picture of that fictional spiritual belief. That’s why, even though I knew it’s not real, it was impossible not to feel affected by what's happening on screen - especially during the “directly addressing the audience” moments. The minor detail I was especially impressed by, was the use of the after-image closer to the end of the movie. Small, clever trick that felt like the last nail in the coffin for me.

The acting was perfect. While all the adults did an amazing job, with Ina Tsai portraying the conflicted emotions, fear, desperation and hope in a clear and realistic manner, the one that surprised me the most was the little girl Huang Sin-ting who played Dodo. Not only was her performance great, it was amazing to see a child act like a child in a horror movie. Why they always try to present the kids as demons incarnated with cold and detached behavior is beyond me.

Any flaws? I do believe the movie was slightly too long. Keeping it around 90 minutes instead of 110 would be preferable for the pacing to feel more tight. While I understand it was important to present the relationship between Ruo Nan and Dodo in great detail, the moments diluted the tension quite a few times. Personally, I could do without a few jump scares, especially the “cheaper” looking ones - the movie just did not need them.

Best to watch for scares: alone, evening/night, headphones on, no distractions.
Best to watch for the analysis: buddy watch, talking about the symbolism as the movie progresses, trying to predict the outcome.

Trigger warning; trypophobia, child neglect/child harm, body horror, gore.
The movie has some rather… gross moments. Also, might be too much for people who strongly believe in the supernatural - I can see it messing up with someone a bit.

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