Completed
Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 28, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 3.5
The base story and the script both are too short to enjoy the movie properly.
Story :
Shu Nian has a crush on his master who is homophobic but subconsciously loves him or is just in denial. When he finds out about the crush, he sends him far away but later confronts himself and gives in.
The acting was pretty good especially of the actor playing the role of master Xie Yan,but the direction has a good scope for improvement.
The toxic nature is very pungent of the master throughout the series.
Please ignore my music rating.
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Completed
Eternal Wave
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 28, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Weak story plot and plenty of anachronisms

This is the case of an obviously expensive production with great cinematography, that fails due to its weak and inconsistent and not particularly original and engaging story plot and the inability of the director to recreate the era that this story is supposed to take place.
The casting was good but the scenes look like they were patched randomly together making the film look like it is made by two different story lines that come together out of the blue. The film also suffers from uncountable anachronisms that make the movie look like Mission Impossible going into Dr. Who!

Spoilers below:

The ML goes as an agent in Shanghai to support the local resistance movement against Japanese occupation .
The FL though is just a student who ends up cooperating with the ML agent out of the blue. How these two ended up together to play the married couple is not explained. It just happens in the middle of the film. And then the film turns into something else.

Now as I said previously the film suffers from uncountable anachronisms. Early on in the film we see the ML character changing his appearance with the use of latex make up prosthetics that didn't exist not even as an idea back in the late 30s in Chinese Shanghai. They appeared first as experimental and very expensive make up options in Hollywood in 1939 because Hollywood productions had the means, the people and the budget to have such kind of prosthetics. Where the heck did the ML character find liquid latex in Shanghai? And who applied this thing in his face by the time that this thing needs to be custom made??

Another anachronism is the selfi photo that one of the agents takes at some point in the film with a manual 35mm film camera. This is impossible simply because the camera lenses of that era didn't have auto focus options. You couldn't photograph yourself by simply turning the camera towards your face! And the 35mm films were not rolled into plastic cases fgs!

The karateka pro Japanese lady is like she escaped from an 1980's James Bond film. Her appearance, her hair, her behaviour all about everything on her are out of the concept of that era. Same applies to the agents/spies guys that follow her who wore black coats that closed with zippers in the front. These kind of minimal coats first appeared in fashion in TV shows like the 1960s Avengers, Barbarella and such things. These are very 1960's fashion elements unheard back in the 1930s.

The huge aquarium with the large glass panels, the white super modern Yamaha grant piano, ( Yamaha didn't produce white pianos back then and it didn't use the logo that is using now ) generally whatever is shown in the ball room scene is product of the imagination of the director but didn't exist back then. Either because they didn't have the technology to have it or because it wasn't in fashion.

Generally speaking anachronisms might work and enhance the visuals of fantasy films, but they can destroy historical fiction films. If the director wanted so desperately to include them, ( I want to believe that it was intentional and it wasn't a product of his ignorance) he should't have had specify in the first place, the era that this story is taking place.

Anyway...

5 out of 10 from me. MDL suggested an overall rating of 4 but I 'm giving to this film another point just for the sake of the cinematography and the expensive production.





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Completed
Miss & Mrs. Cops
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 28, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

When women come to fight for women

Women are clumsy, bad drivers, physically weak, and many other things the world says. But it isn’t correct because NOT ALL WOMEN are these because there are women who had proven it wrong.

STORY -
This movie is led by a married and unmarried cop summing up as MISS & MRS COP. The scripting is done really well and fast-paced with a pinch of light humor. It is based on one case where women are drugged and filmed during rape. When a victim comes for a complaint and commits suicide, The two cops take it upon themselves to find out what happened. As the chase for baddies begins it gets beyond my expectations. The patriarchal society where male cops are celebrating their success doesn’t give any support to the female cops, forget the support they are fired. But as they are running out of time they still go after baddies without caring for themselves and fight them eventually catching them after a rigorous chase and fight.

the movie focuses on women but didn't put them like a MEN FIGHTING 5O which is so unrealistic. it is kept simple with a few shitty young men. And an innocent husband who tries to help despite being weak. it has a contrast of strong men who can't fight and physically weak women who can.

ACTING -
Ra Mi Ran (Park Mi Yeong) and Lee Sung Kyung (Jo Ji Hye) chasing and fighting the gang are WOW. Though they get exhausted and hurt they continue to take down the leader. LSK has a lean body and she really really suits the character who seems weak but has a lot of passion towards justice. RMR playing a middle-aged who has put on some weight after marriage suits well. Hawaiian shirts looked sassy on both.
Wi Ha Joon has wicked charm as the villain perfect fit with that blazing eyes and curvy smile.

APPRECIATION -
The action sequence is shot exceptionally well. I just loved them. The ladies are not the strongest but have a warmth of women who feel the pain emotionally and fight for justice. All the women, the hacker, the head Officer were just awesome.

My favorite scene from the is the LSK walking in the club and having eye contact with WHJ. I couldn’t get enough of this scene. The silent, slow and upbeat music, that club lighting was awesome. That setting, LSK walking, and guys watching are the appreciation of aesthetics.

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Completed
Heroine Disqualified
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 28, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

Typical High School Rom-Com

LIKES: The FXs (especially the one where FL head pops open and confetti sprays out) were really well done and funny. [I wish it was kept up the whole movie]. Kento did well in this role and the FL was okay too. She was a bit crazy, but not annoyingly so. I enjoyed the music too. The story is cliche if not typical, but it's a formula that works for an easy watch. Beautiful sky shots and scenery too, as well as locations picked.

DISLIKES: Production issues: Zooming in they didn't use a film stabilizer, so it was unnecessarily shaky. No real character growth in any of them, including supporting cast, except maybe the 2ML. I wish his story had been better developed. This movie would've been better as a short drama or series. They tried to tackle deep issues like depression, but it fell flat.

Overall an easy watch, best not to have any expectations for a real engaging drama. Solid 5/10.

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Completed
Drive My Car
0 people found this review helpful
by SKITC
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

A masterful pairing of writing and directing

Layers.

"Drive My Car" is a long movie. A really long movie and there's some sections where it seems like there's not a lot going on. But Ryusuke Hamaguchi is very deliberately and delicately creating one subtle layer of meaning and complexity and understanding and connection on top of another.

Yusuke and Oto are married and happily so. Or so it seems. And then Oto is gone. Yusuke, an actor with a peculiar method and a specialty in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" presses on with his professional life as if all is well. On the surface, so it seems.

And then, Hamaguchi pulls back a bit of the veneer and reveals a bit more. Very slowly, Yusuke and Misaki, his assigned driver, in their own stilted ways, reveal who they really are to each other. Their past relationships align as opposites, one mostly light but with a darkness hidden away, the other abusive but with moments of compassion.

And as Yusuke and Misaki become something other than driver and passenger, Yusuke's work assembling the production of "Uncle Vanya" at a festival in Hiroshima is assembled, slowly, piece-by-piece. There's a marvelous interplay between the play production as it slowly goes from audition to table reading to rehearsal to live performance and the primary movie narrative. And the final scene of the play with Park Yoo Rim brings the two stories together and it is incredibly powerful.

If there's a weakness, it's a sudden transformation of a supporting character from a shallow and impulsive charmer to an introspective and insightful thinker. The scene is necessary for the narrative, but it's jarring.

Long movie but absolutely worth it. Highly recommend.

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Completed
Orange
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

Friendship & Regrets

LIKES: The main message of living without regrets and taking action even if the outcome of others doesn't change. ML Yamazaki Kento did a great job acting for his character Naruse Kakeru. The supporting cast also did a great job acting. Production was smooth, with no camera shakes and good scene transitions. Directing was okay too. Music I liked and for the most part didn't overpower the dialog of the characters. No FX that I noticed, unless that's the fireworks, lol. LOVED all the scenery shots, especially the cherry blossoms! The focus on how friendship is important and can help someone who is depressed, feeling isolated and suicidal. I also liked how they showed that sometimes what we think is going on, isn't the truth and running away from it, solves nothing. They showed us how important communication is in all relationships; friends, family, loved ones, etc.

DISLIKES: FL (Tsuchiya Tao) as Takamiya Naho, her voice was annoying in that it was very whispery or breathy (as if she was always running a marathon and then tried to talk).. The director failed when it came to this character too, as her reactions to situations were WAY TOO SLOW. So instead of making her seem shy and indecisive, they made her seem mentally handicapped. It became very frustrating to watch her scenes when alone with the ML. There still didn't seem like FL had any character growth, where as the ML did have moments of growth. The way ML depression was handled towards the end, seemed a little too quick or rushed.

Overall it was okay to watch, even though pacing was sometimes too slow and other parts too fast. I did tear up in the end, so you might want a box of tissues handy. I wont rewatch it, but others may want to. A solid 6/10

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Completed
Love Advisor
3 people found this review helpful
by Shiro
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Frustration at its finaet

Frustrated, more frustrated, most frustrated...

This short film does a great job portraying two men who are really, really frustrated... A feeling that grows as the film progresses.

This film also manages to insert a whole lot of twits and made me change my mind more than once about the characters again all in less than 30 minutes and without actually leaving their seats... So I am pretty impressed by the pacing, dialog and way it is written. This film does a great job showing the frustration one can feel while having a long time crush on your friend without actually getting anywhere as well as getting mixed signals or just not being seen... or whatever other reasons there may be this film is just so relatable . I could truly feel the frustration grow... Bringing back memories and reminding me of just how frustrating some people can be... Did I mention it is frustrating?

So in short if you are in need of a dose of frustration, a short but interesting story with twists this is definitely a good choice, just make sure it is frustration you are looking for...

Now count the amount of times I mentioned frustration to see if you are up for the frustration in this film, All the best and good luck to you!

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Completed
The Fatal Flying Guillotines
4 people found this review helpful
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers

I was born to be cruel you fool!

Carter Wong gives mama’s boys a good name when he takes on Chen Sing’s flying guillotine wielding baddie. Decapitations and amputations come steadily at the hands of kung fu’s most bizarre weapon.

The plot is thin and has numerous confusing plot developments, many never explained. The basic structure of the story is that Carter must go to the Shaolin monks to borrow a mystical healing handbook to save his ill mother's life. In order to gain access to it he has to fight his way through three levels of shaolin fighters. When he ultimately succeeds, he and the monks are betrayed. In order to retrieve their special book stolen by the 4th Prince who has grand ambitions they are set on a collision course with the master of the guillotines.

The guillotines and other secret weapons as well as hand to hand combat are employed to deadly ends. Some fight scenes are better than others, many including a healthy dose of wire-fu. Carter Wong wasn’t as stiff in this movie as he has been in some. Chen Sing always makes for a compelling bad guy, even in a bedraggled gray wig and beard.

The Fatal Flying Guillotines looked like it had been mostly remastered. Even at that there were scenes which went from clear and wide screen to grainy full screen images. The cinematography was pretty decent for the budget and era. Much of the fighting took place outside in some very nice scenery.

Guillotines kept the action going almost non-stop with double and triple crosses all in the name of gaining the knowledge of the spinning weapons. Many kung fu films suffer from an abrupt ending, and The Fatal Flying Guillotines was no exception, but not as bad as some. Overall, it was an entertaining 1970’s kung fu film, though maybe not the strongest of the guillotine movies.

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Completed
A Woman's Sorrows
4 people found this review helpful
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Since I cannot marry someone I love, anyone will do

A Woman’s Sorrows sounds like a tragic film but instead it’s a movie about one woman’s self-discovery. Set in 1937 before WW II, some nascent progressive ideals about women’s place in the world and marriage were explored.

Hiroko was a shop girl who came from a poor family. Described repeatedly as “conservative and indecisive” she found herself unable to marry the cousin she loved and decided any man her mother chose would be acceptable to marry. She ended up married to a man from a wealthy family but soon discovered she was little more than an unpaid servant and one who worked longer hours than the employed maid. When any task needed to be done “Hiroko” was the first word on the family’s lips. Her husband viewed her as a pretty doll to take out and look at occasionally when he wasn’t partying with his friends after work.

Her sister-in-law, Yoko, married for love, but her husband could not provide for her in the way she was accustomed, and she came home to her family. He refused to give up on Yoko creating conflict by using Hiroko as a messenger.

Both Hiroko and Yoko had to come to terms with what they wanted out of their lives and marriage. Both were bound by the patriarchal system and well-defined roles they were expected to follow even if some of the rules appeared to be bending. For instance, Hiroko’s conservatism was viewed as a mark against her when looking for a match. Her new family loved her submissiveness but did not respect her for it. Yoko, though refusing to become submissive like Hiroko, could not free herself from her perception of what marriage should be and was also trapped.

Hiroko slowly began to understand she was more independent than even she knew herself to be. I have never wanted to stand up and cheer for a Japanese film as I did for this one when Hiroko stood up for herself and her beliefs rejecting the emotionally unfulfilling life she had entered into. I found A Woman’s Sorrows to be surprisingly progressive for a 1937’s film on marriage bolstered by a satisfying ending. For anyone not put off by such an old film I could easily recommend it.

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Completed
One Night
5 people found this review helpful
by Kay
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 1
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.5

One word: beautiful

Everything about this short felt so raw and authentic. I came into this expecting something completely different, and quite frankly much worse, but I am so glad my expectations were exceeded.

The acting isn't oscar-worthy, but it's convincing and by no means subpar. During every word of well-written dialogue, I felt the characters' vulnerability. The slow, calming background music throughout the short added to that effect. Whether intentionally or not, the actors portray a certain degree of caution during every scene, which I thought was a nice touch. The lighting choice was perfect, acting as a clear contrast between moods as well as a convenient censor of sorts during the more intimate scenes.

I appreciate that not everything revolved around sexual intimacy, as I thought it might. The story went deeper and we actually got to learn about the characters and their emotions as well as their past. Also, bravo for including explicit consent. We need more consent in BLs.

The ending was not what I expected at all, but that's what makes it satisfactory. Overall, the realism of this short is what gets me. I didn't feel like I was watching a fiction piece - I felt like I was watching a genuine relationship play out. It's not often that a drama makes me feel like I'm intruding. Big kudos to all of those involved!

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Completed
Love Like the Falling Petals
5 people found this review helpful
by Qyu
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 4.0

'Art isn't supposed to look nice; it's supposed to make you feel something'

As someone that stepped into this movie having known nothing about it and nothing about the storyline, I would have to say that it left me speechless. Often times people think that melodramatic stories get a lot of recognition well because they are melodramatic. "Nothing could go wrong with a good old sob story! The viewers will love it!" Well then , of course there are those people that manage to pick up on it and bring our attention to it. However, I like to look at it in a different light.

This movie managed to make me smile, cry and reflect all in one sitting. Watching these characters that I am only seeing for the first time and yet still managing to empathise with them, cry with them, and understand their pain with them. Isn't it a beautiful feeling? Isn't it extraordinary?

I do not know of any of the Chinese idioms and I do not understand the implied meanings that are continuously being suggested, although one thing I know for sure is that this was a heart-warming experience.
I would not want to rewatch this and bawl my eyes out ever again but it would be wholesome to remember this Sunday afternoon that I sat down to watch a movie over all the other productions. that seemed uninteresting to me on my Netflix explore page.

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Completed
Perhaps Love
2 people found this review helpful
by Mee
Mar 27, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Not your ordinary romcom.

I did not really read the plot when I started the movie because it's Ryu Seung Ryong. What other reason do I need, right? However, after a few minutes, it made me go back and read Viki's summary for it.

Warning! This movie is a romantic comedy. My review is not because I want to focus on what made me talk to myself while watching it.

This thought-provoking film made me realize that sometimes, two people have different opinions, and both may have a point. I felt particularly torn when Yoo Jin expressed his love for Kim Hyun. He only wants to let it out of his chest, not expecting anything in return. However, this might be burdensome to Kim Hyun because he did not feel the same way.

Overall, it's a feel-good movie. It did not have a dull moment, and I laughed most of the time. If you like to watch a one-sided BL movie, this is worth your time.

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Completed
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku
0 people found this review helpful
by Soki
Mar 26, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Expected more

Admittedly, I haven't watched the anime nor read the manga. However, I have seen bits and pieces of it from social media, so I had some expectations but not too many.

I thought it would be a funnier movie with more comedic elements. It got a bit slow in the second half.

I'm not sure why they made it into a musical and it definitely distracts from the flow of the movie. They could've added more scenes of Hirotaka and Narumi instead (making it more a rom-com than it tried to be).

I thought the FL (Takahata Mitsuki) was super cute and did really well. YamaKen's performance was good too, but didn't really stand out to me. But I blame that on the fact that they gave him too many serious scenes and no chances to act more dynamically.

The best part for me was seeing all the FGO characters and merch haha.

Can't say I really recommend this movie unless it's enough for you just to see YamaKen in glasses and Takahata Mitsuki being adorable.

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Completed
The Swindlers
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 26, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

THE SWINDLERS doesn't swindle and gives full entertainment

I thought I had seen this movie with the first scene of a scam. But then Hyun Bin appears as notorious thief tricking the cops and fleeing, I was like Nahhhh, I haven't seen this one.
Then appears a group of swindlers, corrupt politicians and an attorney. All this in first 15 minutes, I mean who wont be curious to know what is going to happen next. This movie movie creates an enticing impact and doesn't let the audience bore.
Making Hyun Bin a mega swindler who only swindles the swindler is the like giving a cherry on cake. As The movie fast paced, its hard to tell who is getting swindled, everyone runs their creative mind with 1000miles of speed to swindle and I am jumping on my sofa trying to figure out whats happening. I enjoyed the whole process of these conning people. the end its truly surprising, and emotional.

The acting is delightful, and engrossing. Hyun Bin is flawless throughout with each scene my heart stops seeing his intense fight sequences. The action sequence are well shot. The guns, fights, jumps are superbly captured.
Every character had their spark and made their presence felt. I enjoyed their incredible performance.

Am totally up for rewatch of THE SWINDLERS. It doesn't swindle the audience but serves its purpose to entertain the audience to the fullest.

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Completed
LOVE+SLING
1 people found this review helpful
by oriii
Mar 26, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.5

a lesson to not live our lives for anyone but yourself

I generally have a low standard in terms of comedy, anything that's light and funny will almost always be a 10, but this film is both good and bad at the same time.

It had good comedy and started off with an interesting light story we can follow, but it starts going downhill.

Love+Sling follows the daily lives of 2 familes experience love and friendship while trying to figure things out in the process. I'd recommend people to watch this blindly without reading the synopsis or watching the trailer, It would be more ridiculous + funnier.

the film failed miserably on pacing, 1hr 48m was too much, despite the occasional laugh out loud moments, it couldn't suffice the bad storytelling.

Acting was above average at best, the film is surely not the best performances of the actors, but I wouldn't blame them, they just sinked along with the bad script.

Unless you have a lot of time to spare or have nothing to watch, I do not recommend this. Luck-Key, Midnight Runners, or Okay! Madam are movies with better storytelling whilst having the same great comedy.

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