Reviews

a BL themed musical

Overall: this was an actual musical performed in front of a live audience and we are watching a recording of it. It had a slow start but I managed to make it through the first part and I enjoyed the second part more. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: suicide threat mentioned in song, manhandling, non con picture taking

What I Liked
- outfits/styling
- modifying the set
- music/choreo
- funny moments

Room For Improvement
- there were a lot of characters and it took me awhile to figure things out
- slow start, picked up halfway through the first part
- the stereotypical fujoshi character

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Inspirational and heart warming

It was great to know So Wa wai, his personal and professional life. This movie is a classic example of story writing done well. when real-life hits the screen (biopic) makers always sugarcoat reality, portray leads as nothing but good characters, and justify their wrongdoings. In this one, the audience is left to make their own judgments. The story starts on a strong note with mother's love for her child and her conviction to make him better. I cried and laughed at every So Wa wai's accomplishments like a proud mom. They shed light on the huge pay gap between Olympic and paralympic athletes when the effort they make is same. It is sad that potential sportsmen are unable to compete due to financial circumstances. Also validated Asian parents insecurities and their intervening nature accurately.
Everyone acted well and perfect fit for their roles. Actors who played So Wa wai in every phase of his life are brilliant to the point I had to search if they casted someone with disability.

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Short but impactful

In few words this was on current affairs. It showcased the intensity of emotions of two characters at the time of such unprecedence. Being quarantined was something we all experienced and to see it from others perspective felt so relatable. Soo-jin played by KGE is done very beautifully. Kim Joo Heon did a great job as well. I liked when they showed the couple together and how they miss the special moments they once shared. Pandemic brought up a sea of emotions for us all and the main leads were no different. I wish this was a full feature film but it was nonetheless a short master piece.

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Fragility and beauty

This is a gentle and poignant reminder to savour life and our own frailties.
The story plotline is sad and I shed a tear at the end, however, I recommend this drama for the beautiful production and telling of this sad story. I did not feel that there was any exploitation between the couple as his desire to be useful morphs into caring then love for this intelligent and beautiful older woman. The cinematography and dialogue alone make this very watchable. If you love books and writing then you will appreciate how the unfolding novel is like a metaphor for the inevitable sad ending of their relationship.

Showing Matsumura Ryouko's ex husbands stern and practical nature is a good counterpoint to her young lover So Chan Hae's more nurturing personna. At 50 she is attractive, intelligent and a respected teacher facing a known disease that will rob her of her humanity.

The creation of the random library is an act of love and displays how in tune So Chan Hae is with her. The fact that this library survives in its original form leaving a legacy of their love is one of the plot twists that I loved.

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Good movie for bignners

It's was a good movie... Specially for bignners..
As expected.. the movie was good...
The acting was so well done
And some scenes are scary for one who are like not horror fan...
After watching the movie..
I guess it's just highlights for the upcoming drama Chilling Cohabitation...
Atleast this movie make us curious to watch the drama to get to know the details and all..
Should watch atleast once...
As per me it was a good movie...
But after watching movie looking forward for drama to release so that we can enjoy the whole story in more details and properly...

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Is it better than the anime? No, BUT it doesn't HAVE TO to be Good

Before watching this I had seen all three seasons of the anime, the live-action movie and miniseries, and read the first volume of the manga, and to me, this story is literally one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the previous movie/miniseries so I had to watch this sequel. And I wasn't disappointed

This movie is a direct sequel to the first movie, leaving the miniseries to take place presumable during the first half of the first movie. It starts off by aligning the second half of the first movie (which had an original plot) to the starting point of the anime's 3rd season. From there on, it is very similar to the first half of the first movie: Following the manga/anime plot with some liberties. It also feels rushed at some points. Again, this movie gives the narrator little use. He only appears a few times in the movie.

A story plot that I wished had been explored but was left out due to time is the Ino/Ishigami relationship where they both help each other out without the other knowing. I really like that part of the story in the original plot and it saddens me to see it gone.

The last time we see this cast and it has to be said: They were perfectly cast for the characters. They are great actors going through some great roles perfectly. They truly feel like new versions of the same characters.

At this point, I just want to go back and rewatch all of the live-action contant for Love is War together.

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Don't Watch If You Cry Easily

Maybe I'm scoring this so high because I'm emotional right now, but all I want is an ending where Bridy and Jia-han end up together ㅜㅜ! Though it takes a bit to get me crying, I got misty-eyed for a little with this movie. The soundtrack was great, and the movie was amazing! It was a little hard to follow at times, but when I got confused, it was explained quickly. When Jia-han called Birdy and played him the song through the pay-phone, it was heartbreaking yet so tender. I was often talking to the characters as if they could hear me, and the scene with the old man and Jia-han made the protective older sister in me scream! In the bit where the boys were sitting on the rock together, the narrator says, "We agreed to study for the entrance exam, and then never saw each other again." It had me yelling at my laptop, "No, let them be happy!'. As a Canadian, it was cool to see the ending bits be in Montreal(?)! (Even though I'm from BC). And at the end when Jia-han invites him up for a drink at the place he was staying at and then birdy declines; just heart-shattering. I kept saying, "Don't run away again!". And then when they kept saying 'Goodnight' and I remembered when that other girl had said it meant, I (wo), love (ai), you (ni), love (ai), you (ni), I gasped out loud. The first 15 minutes with Jia-Han's friends beating up that other boy made me pause the movie and say out loud to myself, "I don't know if I'll be able to make it through this." But I did. In 1987 I know it wasn't uncommon for things like that to happen - hell, it probably still happens now - but it still kinda shocked me. I would 100% recommend this movie to people!

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Very powerful

Wow what a good movie. I wasnt expecting too much out of it but i really loved it. I'm ecstatic to see bi representation, even though he was claiming to be straight for 90% of the movie.

The sex scenes were steamy and really well done. The two lead actors had major chemistry. The ambiguous ending wrecked me, i probably should read it to see if there's canonical closure.

It would be awesome to see more idols take on roles like this. It was a breath of fresh air to have a movie tackle issues like this, Okura's character was a huge jerk but he finally grew at the end, however not without the expense of others. Overall, its a favorite of mine now.

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A different kind of love actually.

Yes, lots of good reviews, if you like xmas movie. No need to tell all the good parts. Just watch it yourself.

Here keypoints that you should consider:
Good story?
Checked. Yeah, classic xmas story with easy to understand and predictable.

Good casts?
Checked. Yeah, handsome and pretty casts, from old to young.

Good music?
Checked. Of course, good movie must have good ost too.

For me, personally, this movie (Korean version) is like a variation of Love Actually (2003, Hugh Grant), even it has extended version too. The best xmas movie up to this day.

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The beautiful closure we all needed!!

Wow just WOW, I love the manga and the series wholeheartedly, I expected the best in this movie and I was just completely blown away!! This was just 100x better than what I expected!!

First off, this review wouldn't be focusing on the story, this is mainly dedicated to the whole prod team who created such an amazing job of bringing Marikudo-sensei's work to life. I have to be honest I love the manga but Takezai, Izuka and Yoshida made the whole series unforgettable for me. It's rare for an adaptation to surpass the original, but the series did that and gave us more than we could ever ask for, so thank you so much for bringing the characters to life.

The movie gave us yet another spectacular performance between Takezai-san and Izuka-san (especially Izuka, the man probably gave the acting of his lifetime here, my heart breaks in every scene he's in, seriously this man is a gem, I'm just stunned by his range!!) All the passionate erotic scenes were amazing here, they completely outstand the erotic scenes from Mood Indigo (seriously I never thought the day would come that Kuzumi can beat Kido in terms of erotic scenes with Kijima but damn, I was stunned, speechless and blushing like a complete fool).

There were just some parts from the manga that would have been nice to see in the movie, like them having couple rings and finally living together (they celebrated Kijima's bday too!!) But all in all this was a beautiful adaptation of the most complicated yet interesting life story of Kijima. There's nothing that I could've asked for more, the series has become very dear to me that it's hard to accept that their story is finally over. It has been a wild ride, and my adoration for this series will never fade, they left such a huge impression on my mind that I will think of this for years to come.

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"The Power Of Love Seems Limitless" - Guanyin Bodhisattva, in Madam White Snake (1960)

This is the best version of Lady White Snake I have seen yet!

Also, I have already read about the 1978 abduction of a South Korean actress and her husband director (screenwriter for this movie) Shin Sang-ok, by Kim Jong-il of North Korea but i didn't realize she was the main female lead in this movie until I did a search for her and her other movies!

The main and suport cast were great together; their timing was really good and the entire film flowed easily. Of the support cast, Guanyin Bodhisattva (Han Eun Jin) reminded me of some of my old Buddhist classes in college!

I learned that this character, although starting out male, is usually portrayed as female in China. However, this version portrays the deity as truly caring for others.

Korean horror has a long history; there is always an audience for it. many would consider this a horror film, but this isn't a horror film. It is a classical story about a demi-god and her mortal love.

You can actually see the flying wire for madam Whie Snake if you are very observant, but that is a minor detail for this time period of moviemaking; otherwise the cinematography is great! The music is also fitting for this movie.

I especially liked the portrayal of Madam White Snake in what most would call "Heaven" where Master Beop Hae (Ji Bang Yeol) and Guanyin Bodhisattva reside.

While searching for the female lead in other movies here, I realized that many of the support cast also appear in the same movies as her during her career.

I am looking forward to seeing the casts' other movies as well!

My only complaintabout this movie is the "self-righteous attitude of Madam White Snake's detractors. I know they had to take this stance in order to be the 'villians' but this is not something that should be tolerated in any religion in real life.

Surprisingly, I have already read the book on the kidnapping and enslavement of Choi Eun Hee (Madam White Snake) and her husband, Screenwriter Choi Kyung Ok before seeing this movie.

The movie about their abduction and forced servitude in North Korea is available online for anyone interested.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/kim-jong-il-kidnapping-south-korean-film-star-lovers-article-1.2099084

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lovers_and_the_Despot


RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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Quite hard for me to give score to this. Because I quite like the story, but I also quite hate this kind of story....

For me the dependency between Wen Heng (WH) & Yan Xi (YX) quite hard to grab. OK maybe they just find the right person at the right time. Like when WH just find new environment & family, where she still not belong, YX give her place of belong or their word 'home'. But being depressed & wait for him to come back all that years kinda BS. And after that the turn over kinda too fast too....

And also YX being depressed & got PTSD just because he see his mom suicide is also kinda BS. & the time he need to recover himself quite long.... I more buy the story in the drama summary, where YX got cancer & have to go to America. It's better I think

Yeah I know this is a movie & everything kinda happen so fast. Really hopping I can watch the drama version & finger cross the drama cast won't disappoint me.

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what a mess

Another messy movie I've watched. Opposite with Terrica18, I quite agreed with the low rating here. Quite a headache watch this movie, sometimes so hard to differentiate the imagination or dream of Sha Sha (SS) with the reality and also the past and present all mixed together into one. It's like one scene is the present day, but the next scene suddenly the flashback of her training day, and we back to present day. See... Mixed together make me got headaches watching this movie.

And the worst of all I think this movie take the stewardess job as something so easy to achieve. It's like we can see how messed up SS since the training day, but she still got the job. And the first day of her job, she can take care the business class...??? I don't think that supposed to be like that.

And to make it worse, yeah I don't think it can get worse too.... They make it like when you be stewardess you can get rich man to be your man. Like the 'friendship' SS has with Mr. Lin or her friend that got the fat man that follow her everywhere... See that easy to get your hands on rich man. So degraded the job of the stewardess.

Overall this just one messy movie to watch. Just pick another movie for you to watch.

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