Reviews

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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!!

Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

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 .

Read More

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)

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More

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

Read More

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!

Read More

cheesy teen romance

I haven’t seen the 2014 L-DK, so my review is based on this movie only. It was a typical Japanese teen movie where two high schoolers Aoi Nishimori and Shusei Kugayama live together, since they are underage they do not reveal it to anyone at school. The problem strikes when they fall in love and ML's cousin appears.
The plot is really fast-paced, the story presented a background really quick with some flashbacks and runs onto the teens lives hiding their secrets. it is like a teen fantasy where the most popular and handsome guy falls for the average-looking girl. Living together with your crush and doing everything except sex (because you have just gained knowledge about it), is what a common girls dream of. But at the same time stopping others from pursuing their dream is quite selfish. You can separate from your parents and live but you cant stay distanced from your beloved, It was teenage first love hormones. That was way too childish.

I have always been curious that, Japanese teens stay alone without any guardian supervision is that really their culture. The girl didn’t have a dream and just focuses on taking care of her partner, that point actually irked me. Everyone should go for a good higher education, and if one doesn’t trust their partner then it's really a matter of concern. she must have seen her mother doing house chores and her parents living happily together. IMO if they didn't live together love wouldn't have happened. more than the love they were each other habits and the girl wanted to cling to her habit.

The acting of the main cast Sugino Yosuke, Kamishiraishi Mone, and Yokohama Ryuse was mediocre. The visuals though were nice.
The music was good. The song 'Happy End' shows the happiness of Aoi and the song 'Every time' shows me the emotions of Reon
I wouldn't rewatch this because it is too cheesy. And I had more than enough of these typical Japanese teen movies.

Read More

Cast in action is worth it!

The cast is the main reason, I've been waiting for this movie for a long time and couldn't wait to watch it the moment it came out. Well, I was kinda disappointed but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Story:

Tbh, the story is a mess. They've touched on a wide and complex topic, added in too much only to deliver a portion of it. The first half was a complete mess and I had a difficult time making sense of the story while it straightened out in the second half.
Ji Kang In operates a black team in China and our main lead, Han Ji Hoon is sent there to make a report on him. Well, imagine an office guy stepping into the world of spies and war. He has no choice but to become a part of the team and gets dragged on their missions while making sense of what's going on.
What I didn't like about the story is, that it's too predictable. This pretty much killed all the thrill one can feel in such movies. A couple of twists could've been nice despite the story being too simple.

Acting:

With Park Hae Soo, Lee El, Song Jae Rim and Jinyoung (these are the only familiar faces in this movie for me =D ) in an action movie, how can the acting not be great? They're best suited for such films, especially JaeRim!

Rewatch value:

Nah, not going to watch because the story is all over the place and the action scenes are the only ones worth watching which are too short as well. Yeah...

Conclusion:

If you're up for good action films, do watch it. But be prepared for the story to make a mush of your brain in the first half of the movie!

Read More