Reviews

Run!

A Korean attempt at a Kaiju movie, a bad attempt, a disastrous attempt. Abandon hope all ye who enter here!

Before there was Jurassic Park, Dr. Kim Jin Young believed in the Prehistoric Dinosaur Resurrection Theory. In this movie, it meant he thought dinosaurs buried in the ice and earth would be set free because of global warming. He spent most of the movie wandering around the beaches and caves on a remote island looking for evidence to prove his theory. Part of the time he also ranted to the sky about how everyone thought he was crazy. Buddy, if you don’t want to be considered crazy, you might want to stop ranting everywhere you go. An intrepid reporter imbedded herself in his home as a housekeeper to gather information on his secret new theory. She ended up bonding with his young daughter when she wasn't sunning herself on the beach. I should mention, his badly dubbed daughter who took up a lot of the screen time. Actually, everyone was badly dubbed but the adult voice on the little girl was jarring.

After nearly three quarters of the film watching the scientist wandering and ranting in the rocks, the monsters finally showed up. Pretty sure none of these freaky creatures have been found in the fossil records. If birds are descendants of dinosaurs, thank goodness none of them retained the fire breathing, laser shooting abilities of these guys. The rubber suits were awful, even in comparison to old Godzilla movies. The monster sounds were even worse, and monsters appeared and then reappeared inconceivably. To top it off, most of the miniatures were subpar and they kept using some of the same sets only with different monsters destroying them.

The editing of this film was incomprehensible. The story bounced between characters with no cohesive plot development. The intrepid reporter’s main job was to change outfits between each scene and take care of the daughter. None of the characters were particularly likeable and there were only three main characters! The shots of the monsters made no sense. Actually, nothing about this movie made any sense. The ending was bizarre and abrupt as well. This film didn’t even have the courtesy of being so bad it was good. It’s one of the most poorly put together movies I’ve ever watched, and I watch a lot of old Kaiju and kung fu movies so that’s saying something. Only if you are a Kaiju movie enthusiast and want to add it to your list, or if you have a high pain threshold for badly spliced together movies would you want to watch this.

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Mind and body fall away

This 2009 film follows the spiritual quest and enlightenment of the Japanese Buddhist Dogen Zenj who brought Zen Buddhism to Japan in the 1200’s. I can only comment on this film as a non-Buddhist and one who hasn’t studied Zen Buddhism and the life of Dogen. My review is based on the artistic endeavor.

The film followed Dogen on his spiritual journey which took him from Japan to China to have his questions answered and in search of a true Buddhism. The scenery was spectacular as this lone man traveled in a foreign land. He found one master who was more concerned with politics and later, a sage who was a cook at a temple. All the main highlights were touched upon as he discovered Zen Buddhism, became enlightened, returned to Japan to share what he had learned and then inevitably ran up against the sect in power that didn’t like new ideas, and finally, the events ending in his death.

The performances were for the most part subdued as you would expect in a film about Buddhist monks. Nakamura Kantarou didn’t have much to do except look serene and introspective which he did well. Uchida Yuki brought a spark to the film as Orin, a prostitute, whose path led to Dogen which changed her life. Orin had the most obvious character development in the film which made it easier to be invested in her limited story. The monks practicing detachment also made it hard for this viewer to become emotionally attached to them.

The film suffered at times from choppy editing and storytelling. Characters appeared without any backstory to let us know who they were and time jumps happened without any warning. A segment involving headless ghosts and swarming CGI butterflies probably sounded better on paper than it looked and would have been best omitted. The moon played a large role (sometimes Earth destroying large!) and had to be interpreted symbolically. At times in a film grounded in realism, the supernatural CGI elements seemed out of place and didn’t really add anything.

To enjoy this film, it would help if you are interested in religious history or the life of Dogen. It is slow paced with many scenes of people sitting and meditating. I do enjoy these types of spiritual journey films, even at that, it could be plodding at times. Overall, I enjoyed it, and as a niche film could recommend it though I suspect the greater movie audience would not find it as interesting.

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Even with the Shadowless Kick it's important to remember to duck!

Wong Fei Hung’s father, Wong Kei Ying takes on opium dealers and a corrupt official in this made for TV movie from HBO Asia.

As with the other HBO Asia offerings, the production values are quite high. And also, as with other HBO offerings there is a lack magnetism from the main star. Having said that, Shadowless Kick has been the best of the lot for me. The fights were better, though more gruesome. Body parts flew and spewing arteries abounded.

Once again, the opium trade is front and center and the main enemy as various factions fought to control the lucrative business. Wong Kei Ying makes friends with an enemy and is tricked by a friend as the dutiful physician is drawn into the drug battle. When all seems lost, he is given a secret manual (there’s always a secret manual!) and learns the Shadowless Kick to supplement his Southern Shaolin style. The final battle against three separate opponents was entertaining, if a bit long, detracted only by his child screaming and crying through the whole thing. I finally muted it, and just watched the action. The story was more coherent in this movie with the overt melodrama dialed back a notch.

Chen Zhi Hui, as the Big Bad, was perfect as a foil for the bland Sun Hao Ran’s Wong. He did everything but twirl his mustache and made for a proper menacing villain. Sun Hao Ran did fine in the fight scenes, but lacked charisma and energy as the protagonist, even when in an attempt to develop a cure for opium addiction Wong became addicted himself. Jiang Ming Yang had potential as a converted good guy, but didn’t have enough screen time. Zhou Xiao Fei, who played another baddie who throws in with Wong after he saved her son, is a martial arts actress and stuntwoman who made the most with her small role.

The fights were well choreographed, but nothing really new. Plenty of wire-fu but not over the top for a wuxia.

Master of the Shadowless Kick is a perfectly fine made for tv wuxia movie, if keep your expectations low, you may find it entertaining.

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It’s only 80 km long but a lot happens here!

Mr. Thank You is a charming movie that while at times was lighthearted and comic was also not afraid to highlight the social and economic problems of the time.

Mr. Thank You drove a bus serving a rural mountainous area, on the 80 km road linking the rural area to a train station where people could travel further to Tokyo. Most travelers on the narrow, dangerous road were on foot. As he honked his horn asking them to move over, he always yelled “thank you” in a cheerful manner as the pedestrians made room for the bus, hence his nickname from the locals.

Most of the story took place on the bus which showcased a generally genial cross-reference of people from the region during The Depression. On the surface the passengers were friendly and happy. Dig a little deeper and the effects of the times became all too present. A seventeen-year-old girl was being taken by her mother to Tokyo to be sold into prostitution to help the family. Other people on the bus had experienced serious financial setbacks. Along the way people talked, sang, drank, ate, and smoked. Mr. Thank You treated everyone equally and affably, offering to carry messages, visit gravesites, and purchase records for those who asked.

Most of the passengers weren’t afforded much time for character development, but each made the most of the time offered. The small gathering of people on the road trip revealed layers of themselves and for the most part kindness and generosity toward each other.

Given the era, one scene in particular stood out to me as particularly moving. Mr. Thank You encountered a young Korean woman he had come to know who had worked on the road he drove on. He treated her with dignity and respect even though she was among the most marginalized people living in Japan at the time. Whether it was the writer or the director who found a way for that scene to slip through, it showed a subtle criticism of the government’s policies.

In addition to the subtle commentary on political and foreign policies, it was repeated many times how girls forced to go over the mountain to enter prostitution never came home. Boy children often became vagrants. The smiling characters were all too aware of the reality most of them were living in yet still willing to form temporary and perhaps longer-term relationships.

The music was perfect for a traveling story, just like Mr. Thank You, it was light and lively, keeping everything moving forward. Though faded by time, the black and white cinematography and choice of shots was stylish and creative. The scenery along the road gave a time capsule’s view of the area.

During this bumpy road trip, the viewer is treated to heartbreak, hope, kindness, and a little humor. It’s a film that will leave you feeling better, but also a little unsettled.

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Memories can be forgotten, but emotions will never disappear

Even if every day started with a hello and an introduction, she still loved the him of now and would continue loving the him of tomorrow.

The past is completely wiped out, every day. Memories only stayed for the present day. Emotions lingered in the future. That's what makes this story so sad--no matter how clear the memory was, he could never remember. What is clear though, is that Lu Yao never forgot the love he felt for Xingyue.

Lu Yao lives a very painful life, it's hard to imagine what it'd be like to be in his shoes. He feels the emptiness, the love, and the longing, but he doesn't know from where, how, and when he got it. At the same time, it's beautiful that no matter what day it is, he still finds Xingyue again and again and comes back to her. Xingyue kept her willingness and her courage to keep coming back to him too.

Tragic, but beautiful. I wasn't expecting the sudden twist, but because of it, the beginning made so much more sense to me. Pay attention to the smallest details and you will understand.

Also, I just want to emphasize that the actors did an AMAZING job. I could feel their emotions right through the screen and that's why it felt so real and I felt so touched. Jasper Liu always manages to take roles from the saddest movies, I associate crying with this man now (in a good way, he is so so incredible at this genre). What can I say, I cried for a good 30 minutes straight after that ending. BRING TISSUES.

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Crappiest movie ever seen

Waste of time, waste of energy. The movie has no firmness in the story, not a strong plot. It jumps from one timeline to another without any reference. The only thing highlighted the most are the bre@sts of Christine Bermas. Nothing is intriguing in the movie it is just a bunch of crap with loopholes collected and made as a movie, I think the directory should stop running his wild brain it is just showing how stoopid his level of cognizance is. One star because of the breasts and there isn't any option of giving Zero star after all this movie doesn't deserve one nothing much is worthy in this movie, personal advice don't watch!!

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Remember 1987

This movie is based on actual events called June Democratic Uprising in Korea which happened in 1987.

It all started when a college student was tortured and killed by anti-communist group and they tried to conceal his death.

I love how the director was able to tell the story through different people, starting from the prosecutor who demanded autopsy, to jail guard who passed on info to the opposition, the reporter who tried to reveal the truth to the public, and to the students who bravely rallied against the government.

Not for the faint hearted. It’s moving, horrifying and inspiring. The extra romance between the two college students slightly felt out of place but the end made up for it.

Rating: 8.5

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Fun Heist Movie

The movie is about a grave robber trying to attempt a big heist in the middle of Seoul.

I liked the first part where they were showing how good the lead was in pulling off heists (which felt like the setup of the story) but the second part dragged when we find out what the real intention was. There were also too many characters to follow. There were also more action in the first part. The comedy also fell flat sometimes. I didn't like Hyesun's character, all she did was raise her eyebrows or do her smirk. I love Jae Hoon, he always looks like a fun guy. I like the twist at the end where they showed how they successfully pulled off the heist.

Rating: 8/10

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A cleverly crafted romance that works despite itself.

The Beauty Inside tackles the old adage of “beauty is in the inside” with a compelling and refreshing take well worth its course .

Caution : if you poke at it too much , it will definitely fall apart but for what it’s worth which is : a soft focus on a topic infused with romance ; it nails it .

The Beauty Inside doesn’t aim to be its predecessor as a social commentary and it’s quite clear from the get go that this movie just wants to explore what romance could be for someone who changes their body everyday . You will not get profound quotes on acceptance and image . Far from it . However, one gets a portrait of loneliness from the male lead and a tour de force from the female lead .

And that leads me to the standout here : Han Hyo Joo was terrific in this ! Her character portrait and her portrayal which is refreshingly far away from the infantile rom com woman was astounding ! She helped with the gravitas , nuance and emotional resonance of this movie that this was a total tour de force of talent !

This movie is also very well crafted . The hues and tones were just right and the motif of furniture was cleverly built in with the whole theme . The cameos of top Korean stars makes the movie super cool too.

OVERALL- A cleverly crafted romance that works despite itself. I say “despite itself “ because it really could have knocked it out with a more punchy social commentary and shorter run time . Those were just cons working against the movie. However , if the story compels you , go for it .

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Depressing and messy

I am honestly trying to grasp what I actually watched, I do not really know what I was expecting and am not really sure what I got as the story seems a bit oddly cut and left a whole lot of blanks for the viewers to fill in on their own and they go back and fourth in time have and have a lot of quiet thought. Honestly rather they are deep in conversation or completely silent... though the issues are relatable I find it hard to connect to the story, the acting is inconsistent, sometimes it is mind-blowing other times I am not sure if it is the dialog, the sound or the action but it feels forced in a way and comes of very unnatural.

The whole movie loses depression and darkness as it should considering it's subject, there're some good and interesting lines about who to blame in the event of a sueside others about dealing with an inevitable death near by... Unfortunately these were cut short and could have been done better, but they do get points for actually showing this and attempting to approach this not so very happy subject.

All in all an ok watch, not very entertaining and kind of lacking but it has something in it that still makes it worth a watch, I just can not really put my finger on what it is, maybe you will? O r I may just have to watch it again to understand it. However it was not very entertaining so I probably won't (actually I did re-watch a few scenes just to check if I missed something, I didn't)

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Nostalgic!

I remember reading the novel when I was in junior high school and I'm really into it. One of the most memorable novels I've read. The story was just perfect, with no other complicated background and ending.

Song Joongki really did a great job to portray a wild werewolf boy that has a warm heart and sincerity. It's more than a romance story.
Park Boyoung, her acting always had a way to make me cry a river. Her 'Sun Yi' was just perfect.

When I read the novel at night, I remember going to school with swollen eyes in the morning.

One of the things that I won't regret in my life was deciding to borrow this novel from my school library and decided to watch the movie.

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Multinational direction mixed bag

When a movie seeks for a multinational direction, it doesn't always produces effective results, and this movie has not escaped the fate of being sluggish in it. South Koreans hunting for North Koreans and at the end having a war with Japanese all done inside of China, this mixed bag couldn't get any weirder. However the main problem with this movie is how things are always getting done miraculously and in favor of them without much explanations. It all feels like the writers tried too hard to impress the audience out of their wild imaginations of how an international threat would be, which makes it very hard to believe how it could all happen that way.

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Watched for Park Jinyoung but stayed for Sol Kyung-gu

First of all, it’s a great movie and it has what most people like to watch in a action movie. Some small comedy relief parts and a lot of great sequences of action. The storyline makes sense and there’s no holes in it for my point of view since I didn’t have any questions about what was delivered in general. The acting was great and the CGI too, even though that one scene of the rats made me question a little if it was that good (lol).

I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if you don’t like those spy sequences movies that hollywood produces all the time because this is exactly what it is with the plus that it’s korean not american. Since i’m into those i actually enjoyed watching this. And it’s also the type of movie I would recommend my parents to watch since they’re so into action movies and this is a good one.

I should add that you shouldn’t really expect much more than the plot about spies for this story since they don’t really get into any other stuff than this, even if there are some dialogues about decency and justice.

I was surprised by how much i liked Kyung-gu’s character. Both actor and character are very charismatic to me in their own way, as someone who was looking forward for this because of jinyoung that was a pleasant surprise!

and btw park jinyoung and park haesoo both are hot so yeah

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Badly done but had potential (ending made it worth it)

The movie is short 30 minutes and had to watch on a dodgy site. I love dark BL's, but this was just done wrong, comedic, strange and bad acting/script for the protagonist. The end was the only redeeming quality.

*SPOILERS*

Half the movie was about ML protagonist struggling, losing his job and then later planning to rob from the second male lead (wealthy), but it was done in almost a comedic way, which was strange.

Even stranger after the comedic stalking, a weird/disturbing sexual assault takes place. The grapes made me laugh and then I was like WTF. The end was pretty epic though, I really like the calculating ML troupe. The storyline reminds me of the manga 'killing stalking' but way less dark

Ending made it worth it, but would't re-watch this ever

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Pleasantly surprised!

I don’t really like action/ spy films like this but I actually really enjoyed this film! I thought the story was interesting and I liked how all the characters interacted with each other. It is also such a visually pleasing film, every shot looked so nice, especially the lighting. The acting was all great just as I expected.

Honestly this film could work as a stand-alone-film but if my suspicions are correct and they’ve planned/ are planning sequels then I’d definitely give them a watch and I’m interested to see how they would turn out.

Pleasantly surprised!

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