Reviews

The ending made me felt like I wasted my time watching it

The jumps between the time lines through out the movie was horrible ,,made me confused at first ,, thought the story would go somewhere unpredictable but it's worse ,, it was actually as it showed
It was a Bromance between the police officer and the gangster but I didn't like the ending at all
the male lead was used from every side and he became the thing he was hunting at the first place
the movie is ok but not perfect
the acting of the leads was the best
Im Siwan is my favorite young actor in this genera but they didn't use all his potential too

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This was one of the best Korean movies I have watched so far, and currently my favorite movie. It started of nice and slow, but build up in such a way that it would keep me on the edge of my seat.

I loved the two main charecters and their chemistry, especially the quirky bits from Jo Jung Suk. He really deliverd his character well and gave the stroy a bit of comic relief.

About the stroy, would I call it a thriller? No. It was more of a comedic action movie with thirlling scences. Also there were a few holes in the plot. The stroy sometimes skipped forward a bit, which is understandeble, but this left some questions as to how they got there as in the scene beforehand it seemed as it it was impossible for them to make that jump or continue on that path. Also at the beginning they introduce Jo Jung Suk's character as someone who's girlfriend died, but it does not add anything to the story and it is not eleborated any further so this was just an odd remark. But luckely, for me this did not take away from the enjoyment of watching the movie as these were not massive things and the story even with the holes made sense as a whole. The story builds the suspense really well. Throught the story there are multiple points where you are wondering if they are going to survive.

In short I would definetly watch the movie if you are looking for a disaster movie without all the cliches

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I thought I liked it, and I don't hate it, but like what did I just witness?

First of all, this movie had me experiencing whiplash at least 2 to 3 different times. It strangely feels like I went through some type of trauma even watching the movie in its entirety. And yet it really was nearly perfect.

I think the only thing I would have to reprimand it for is the fact it probably did not need to be almost 2 and a half hours. Just when you thought everything was over and wrapped up, they really said but wait there's more.

I would say if you're curious about this movie, know that it is dark (trigger warnings for attempted rape and extreme violence), it is gritty, and you might be confused for at least part of it. However, everything slowly starts making sense and you'll be able to get a better grasp on what's happening from there.

As for the ending, regarding the grandfather, uncle.. whoever the fuck he was...I did not expect him to be that much of a psychopath. It really took me aback. And as for what's his name, even with him being an attempted rapist, a liar, a con artist, and a weirdo, I still thought his ending was a bit extreme. But to each his or her own.

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I watched this movie for Park Jin Young who played a supporting part in this movie - and who was as awesome as always, of course. And to watch him kick butt and be all ruthless and smart and cunning was a pleasure, too, of course.

I loved the action and Yaksha's core team, their loyalty to him - but I simply couldn't stand Prosecutor Han aka Nike. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because of his need to uphold the law, not at all. But I hated that he behaved like a bull in a china shop once he joined the team in the field, getting them almost killed time and time again. When I'm dropped into a situation I don't know anything about, I don't behave like an arrogant power hungry know-it-all. I keep my trap shut and follow the lead of those who actually do know what's going on. He irked me so badly!

But I did love the ending, the scenes while the credits were rolling. That was awesome. And if there's a sequel - which is quite uncertain now, considering Netflix's current money trouble - I will watch it because I want to see Yaksha's team again!

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"They may act kind but will kick us into a ditch"

The Masseurs and a Woman is a gentle slice of life "seen" through the experiences of two blind masseurs. A scenic mountain getaway reveals deep loneliness and even desperation among the guests who visit the inns.

Fuku and Toku walk along the mountain road to the mountain inns for the spring season after spending the winter working at the beach. The blind masseurs relish in counting the people they pass along the way. Both use their sense of smell to help them, with Toku seemingly more aware of his surroundings. At one point when a carriage passes, he can smell "a woman of Tokyo" as one of the passengers, a woman he is soon to become entangled with.

The setting for the inns is idyllic nestled in the mountains with waterfalls and a stream nearby. Students hiking in the mountains visit and are attended to by the masseurs. Fuku takes good care of the female students who bouncingly approach the road the next morning. Toku is less gentle with a rude group of male students who can barely walk by the next morning after his treatment. Toku is willing to get physical with those who carelessly run into him.

The film shows the audience that there is more than one way to experience life through our senses. Aside from smell, the sense of touch is also shown when Toku massages the Tokyo woman's shoulders and can tell she has worries. At one point, she tells him he sees too well into her. This woman with a mysterious past and haunting expression evades him as he sees too clearly.

Aside from the Tokyo woman an uncle and his nephew have come to visit his parents' graves. The boy is particularly precocious but takes a liking to the Tokyo woman. He has to stand in line because his uncle is also attracted to her as well as Toku, against his better judgement. The child's parents had recently died, and his uncle also seems melancholy.

All is not well at the inns when a string of thefts occurs. Thefts Toku fears the Tokyo woman is committing. A sense of sorrow and desperation hang over the people in the beautiful, quiet setting.

Filmed during the second Sino-Japanese War, the only comment that might refer to this time of Japan's invasions would be when one of the men comments how more women are working. I wasn't aware that at the time, masseur jobs were reserved for the blind so that they would have a way to provide income for themselves. Something that caught on in Taiwan and Korea after the invasions there.

The Masseurs and a Woman glided over the loneliness and sadness in the people at the inns without delving deeply enough for me to feel emotionally connected to them. Stories ended abruptly; secrets were revealed abruptly without the time and room for me to process them internally and unable to have the emotional reaction the music seemed to be cueing me to have. Even with that, this film is worth checking out if you are a fan of older films or of the director Shimizu Hiroshi. The scenery and themes of love, loneliness, and the need for human connection made up for some of its shortcomings.

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The Righteous Fist is an old school kung fu movie with lots of action. It's rarely one-on-one fighting, usually a good school vs bad school all out brawl with bodies flying everywhere type of movie.

Kong Yin Ho returns home to start his medical practice, or is he? The bad guys know him to be CID, perhaps an anachronistic term, but blame the dubbing. He comes home to find the town in disarray and his sister kidnapped. He seems to forget about her as do the baddies for a long time. He visits his old school that is under threat from Boss Yu who is the Big Bad and a smuggler in league with the Japanese. Before you can say "hi-yah!", the baddies have nearly decimated the good school. Kong confronts the Big Bad but is overpowered and his hand is crushed. He finally remembers his sister and easily rescues her. He and his old master's daughter (and his love interest), with a handful of students, hideout in a cave. He performs the quickest revenge training session I've ever seen. After that it's time to rampage.

There were some bonkers elements to the story. One bad guy is literally scared to death by the good guys. The Japanese fighter brought in to bring everyone into submission has the gross habit of snorting and spitting. He shall henceforth be called The Spitter. After Kong learns the Iron Palm in one easy lesson some of his moves were gruesome. And a boulder fight took things over the top.

I found Wang Jung's acting to be rather stiff. Chiao Chiao played his love interest, Sam Mai, showing her gentle side and her ferocious side. Big guy, Cheng Fu Hung, played a character named Sham Poo with the dubbing. Pretty sure that was an error.

The fights, with the exception of the final duel were usually group against group. There were kicks and hits that missed by a mile, but most of the time the grand fights were well timed and entertaining. A couple of fights had some bad editing, chopping off key sequences, whether that was done in the initial cut or bad editing by a censor later, I don't know. Chiao Chiao acquitted herself well as she used her fists, feet, and any available weapon to fight greater numbers when the hero ran off to duel with The Spitter. Kong and The Spitter fought near and in a river, some parts were unbelievable, others brutal.

The Righteous Fist had everything an old school kung fu movie should have: A righteous hero, an evil Big Bad, a worthy evil opponent to duel, a beautiful love interest who could take care of herself thank you very much, a traitor, high stakes, and lots of action. Despite some lapses in story continuity, sloppy fight editing at times, and stilted acting, TRF is worth trying if you enjoy old kung fu movies.

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AMAZING!.... thats all

First things first... this film is STUNNING! ?✨

Everything about it is beautiful and really brings the manga/anime to life in this adaptation. The ACTING is impeccable, every scene flows beautifully and is so believable for me as a viewer.
Next, I love the COLOR, and lack there-of. Every color that is present in this film provides so much purpose and passion for the story, from the boxing gloves all the way to the dresses and suits. Which leads me to the costume&design, that is simply perfect for placing the audience in that time period.
Lastly, the CINEMATOGRAPHY, which again contains amazing angles, close-up shots, and rack focus throughout the entirety of the film.
It's really for these three reasons that I think this film is sports masterpiece!

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Sadly ending of a majectic tiger and the extinction of tigers in Korea

"The Tiger" is a beautiful movie with amazing cinematography with Mt. Jirisan as its "spine" of movie theme. The character Cheon Man Deok (portrayed by actor Choi Min Shik) is a tiger hunter that killed a tigress, however, he saved the tigress' two cubs and let the forest take care of its cubs. One cub died and the one eye cub lived and grew up to be the majestic tiger that roams Mt. Jirisan. I do not want to tell this sad story about the extinction of tigers due to over hunting. I would recommend to watch the movie to be mindful and to educate us to stop hunting that include their preys to preserve tigers, a key role in the conservation strategies of tigers.

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Time Travel, Romance, Fantasy and Drama

This short film has really unique storyline it's really a must watch short film which is filled of emotions imagine how it will feel if any stranger comes to you at young age of yourself and claims to be your son what will be your reaction? I don't know from where they got such an unique idea the storyline will keep you engaged and at end you will want to know more about what happened next? The acting of all the actors is really amazing and music compliments to the scene. Overall you will definitely love this movie and will want sequel or part 2
Enjoy the film!!!

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Lust, Love and this pain engraved here in....

This movie depicts one of those moments in time, and it does it painfully, bruttally and beautifully. The story is that of a boy who is struggling with himself, his surroundings and living in a world that treats people like him like dirt. Can he dare to love? Will the one he loves love him back? If So will ha dare to love him back in a world where men who love men are beaten, arrested and not oney treated like***** but also taught that they will go to hell.

The pain in this movie is so powerfully conveyed that it went straight to my gut:

As this boy finds himself in so much pain that he practically beggs the "father" to be sent to hell:

"Don't all homosexuals deserve to go to hell? Maybe more people would understand me in hell"

These lines are accompanied by beautiful cinematography, well thought of accompaniment music and a variety of shots of happiness, youth, pain, insanity, hope, violence, pain, more pain. As well as a very clear depiction of the difference between Lust and Love as well as people crossing, no crushing other peoples boundaries.

The intense way of showing this boys struggles is very well made but I must warn you that some of the scenes here do cross the line between acceptable longing/loss of control and what should be seen as non consensual behaviour/assult, actually this movie has what one could understand as several scenes with different shades of sexual assult . So beware!

As you may guess this movie will probably make you feel something, it will not make you feel good, or have your heart fluttering but it will probably make you feel something...

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Eerie, dreamlike and thought-provoking.

At first this movie disconcerts, as it depicts the blurred reality of the heroine: dreams and awake moments flowing together, laced with nightmares and buried memories. The events follow a dreamer's logic: out of sequence situations, surroundings changing suddenly, people appearing and vanishing from one place to another, bits repeating, strange and surreal conversations... once it is understood, however, one appreciates how deftly this is conveyed, alternating between troubling imagery and touching instants. Wonderland, indeed.

Dark truths lies in the heroine's subconscious and cause her nightmares; yet, strikingly, the story never stoops to voyeurism. Elsewhere, it would be a straightforward and sordid affair, laid out for cheap shock value - here, it is handled with empathy and delicacy. Instead of revelling in its most controversial elements, the movie employs them as vehicles for further characterisation. From a disturbing tragedy, it achieves actual beauty.

The last point I would laud most; and I will strive to remember how moved, how inspired I was left by the end, both as the audience and a potential creator, for it is far from easy to elevate a story like so.

A few flaws have to be mentioned, though.

In order to replicate the heroine's dreamlike state, the movie sacrifices her agency and emotivity in a way that slightly hampers our connection to her. It also has her - and the handful of secondary characters, such as her aunt - meander a little too much, especially in the lengthy introduction before she finally arrives to Wonderland. I believe giving her a clearer goal, as well as stronger emotions, wouldn't have detracted too much from the narrative and could have lent a needed punch to some scenes.

Moreover, I found the secondary characters clumsily grafted to plot: the aunt is moving in her worry, yet ultimately superfluous to the heroine's journey. Similarly, the individuals involved in the backstory appear so late, they aren't as fleshed out as they could - and should - be. An unifying thread misses still: those characters, as well as the ones featuring in the introduction, fail in neatly wrapping together all of the movie's layers.

These aspects prevent it from being a complete success in my eyes, but not from being a very interesting discovery.

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