Reviews

A typical disaster movie (but that's not a bad thing!)

I was lucky enough to see this at an actual cinema here in the UK, and I'm glad I did.

It had everything you expect from a disaster movie, including grand heroic gestures, last-minute relationship reconciliations, and a rousing speech to convince a group of people to do the right thing. It also had some great acting from Zhu Yilong (although that was also to be expected) and just enough actual peril to keep me questioning whether he would survive or not.

Some of the plot aspects were a little formulaic, but that's pretty much the genre. Not a lot of re-watch value once you know how it's going to end though.

Overall, it was a fun watch and was great to be able to see a Chinese movie on the big screen.

Read More

First of all its a dreadfully slow tale, and if you have a short attention span like me you might not finish it in one seating, there is not much that is going on other then that its a beautiful movie, coming from the same director as rurouni kenshin, here  he pairs up with Kamiki again. Kamiki is a really really good actor, i have been really impressed with him in the kirishima thing. it just wasnt very memorable that is all, i cant recall most of the plot except the adopted sister's envy, the relationship with the three sisters, and Kamiki being a genius shogi player, what i do remember is it was beautiful while it lasted.

Read More

Damn. Damn Damn Damn.

Excuse my language. Well for starters the story was amazing. Lot of people kinda guessed who Mr. Lee was half way through the story. It isn't one hell of an original plot. It was an ok plot but that's not what made me give this a 9.5 rating. It was the acting. Every. Single. One. were on point. Not a single actor did bad. Now let me get to the main point of this movie.

RYU JOON YEOL!!!

This is my first drama of his. I've heard raving critiques of his acting saying how good he is but for the first time I saw it. This boy can show so many emotions from his face without uttering a word. As the summary says he is quiet person but the amount affect he has on the story is amazing just by portraying his emotions. At first I wasn't that interested in him cuz he does not possess the typical K-drama boyfriend look but boy wasn't I wrong. I'm in love with him now. I wanted to watch Reply 1988 but after hearing who's the real husband I kinda didn't watch it. I love Park Bo Gum but after watching few FMVs I felt as if Hyeri had more chemistry with our sunny boy here XD But thank god they ended up together. Ok I'm going off topic but I hope we can see one of his dramas again. From here onward I will be watching all of his movies and drama. Mr. Ryu, you've found a fan here
The thing that got my attention the most.

HIS GODDAMN HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT LOOKS FREAKING GOOD> Am I the only one who noticed that?

Read More

STORY: 9
I greatly enjoyed watching how deep their loved each other from just the brief momemnts they shared with one another. They love is even grows even more beautiful once she becomes the queen. I loved the fact that they stayed loyal and strong when carring out their responsibilities (as a queen and soldier). Always knowing they boundaries despite how much they may have wished to be together. The momemnt they finally end up together is so touching and beautiful (best moment of film)

GRAPHICS: 6
Am probably right to think that film was meant to be in 3D due to the in your face effects during the fights (beside the last fight scene). Due to this the fight scenes did not look as eligent as usual bt they still managed to meet their purpose within the film.

ACTING: 9
Cho Seung Woo and Soo Ae pulled off their roles well enough that the other actors acting did not need to be great :)

MUSIC: 10
The one song in the film summarises it well

Read More

If you're doomed either way, is it better to have hope or be hopeless?

intro:
The movie's native title, "화란," is an old-fashioned transliteration of the word "Dutch". Yet, in the movie, the Netherlands symbolizes Yeon-gyu's hope for a better life, alongside his mother. At first, it seemed almost paradoxical that the English title of this film should be "Hopeless," when the original title came closer to "Hope". Perhaps this is because Yeon-gyu's utopic version of the Netherlands is in and of itself a form of false hope: the Netherlands is not the idyllic, free of economic inequalities, country Yeon-gyu makes it out to be.

"Hopeless" follows Yeon-gyu, who still has hope, and Chi Geon, who has hope only for Yeon-gyu. It is a story of tragic kinship between a boy and a man who never got to be children.

acting:
The acting from all cast members was stellar. This is especially true for the lead actors, Hong Xa Bin, Song Joong Ki and BIBI. They played their characters so well, their emotions were so raw and genuine, that I couldn't peel my eyes away from the screen. When they cried, I cried. Their performances, both subtle and loud, were award-worthy.

plot:
A story following the descent into darkness and moral corruption of a protagonist has been done a thousand times. Similarly, there are a library's worth of gangster flicks. What makes "Hopeless" different? In terms of plot, nothing really. Instead, what "Hopeless" brings to the table is something intrinsically human. The focus here isn't flashy action but the characters themselves. Perhaps I'm just imagining it, but I found the camera's focus to be more often than not on the characters' faces. With limited dialogue, it is these faces that tell much of the story. And tell a gut-wrenching story they certainly did. "Hopeless" offers a story you've certainly heard before, in a way you'll likely never hear it quite like again.

I'd been looking forward to this movie ever since I learned of its existence, and for the past couple months had been eagerly checking this page in the hopes of news of its release. With the trailer's release, I knew this movie would be amazing. Safe to say, my intuition was correct. In fact, I was so immersed in this movie that I can't even comment on its cinematography. I guess a re-watch is likely in store for me. I highly recommend this movie to any viewer able to withstand graphic violence. Please have a box of tissues at your disposal.

Read More

Maybe because I have a bias for Kim Woo Bin and Lee Byung Hun or the fact that I saw director Ui-seok Jo, Kang Dong Won and Kim Woo Bin during their premiere here in Hong Kong that I enjoyed this film. Or maybe because I have an undying crush for Kim Woo Bin so I liked this film.

Maybe those are clouded my judgement.

But I admit, Master is not a perfect film. It certainly helps if you love the actors you are seeing on screen.

Cold Eyes (2013) director, Ui-seok Jo makes the style of Master, a reminiscent of his 2013 hit. Fast-paced, suspense and action-filled. I did enjoy Master a little bit more though, I felt like it has more substance, however questionable it may be.

Lee Byung Hun plays the bad guy (not a first), the CEO of a big company, One Network who is scamming their customers and is involved in fraud cases among others. Kim Woo Bin plays the section chief of communications/technology, a tech-whiz of some sort and Kang Dong Won plays the head of the investigating team. The three have good chemistry—each a talented actor on their own.

No doubt Lee has an actor. My first time to see Kang (and quiet guy during the premiere as well) and crime/action films are not new to him. Kim, this is probably his best role (for me) to date. Though, better characterization would work—given that we have 3 contrasting characters. But I think Ui suffers from that problem regardless.

Kudos though for showing us two badass female characters, played by Uhm Ji-won and Jin Kyung, though they deserve more screen time. And justice for Jin's character.

Master is messy. It starts strong—intriguing even, leading us on, much like Cold Eyes' exposition. But ultimately, things start to get a little bit out-of-place. There is little backbone or sense in how things escalated. They either seem ridiculous or just not how it's supposed to go.

Ui tries to back it up with comic relief which Kim does well and contrasts with Kang's serious demeanour. Lee does it well too.

Yu Eok does well with the cinematography, contrasting Seoul's tall buildings to the Philippines' tropical and cramped houses. Though as a Filipino, it's still a bit disappointing that Tondo (one of the largest squatter areas and poorest is the one chosen to showcase including the poor environment and such, there is so much more to show than that but okay).

Action-wise, it's more intense than Cold Eyes but the latter has better suspense and build-up though the former tried to throw a plot twist that seems wow at first but ridiculous the next...due to the lack of a backbone.

It's not the "exotic" place that would save Master. It's the cast. It's the reason that, despite all its flaws, that I ultimately still enjoyed this.

Read More

Outdated yet bittersweet

Romantic comedies have been both a topic of interest and ridicule over the years. It is ridiculed by those who find it to be a candy-glossed version of reality. It is praised for its heartwarming rendition of romantic fantasies that feel wonderful to witness on a silver screen. Bang Woo-ri’s ‘20th Century Girl’ is a bit of both. The movie seemed to be alternate of Twenty Five Twenty One, with a small change in the end.

The eye to detailing in the film is well done. We are in fact taken on a ride down the memory lane. As heart-warming as the 20th century romances looked like, relationships were also marred down due to lack of cell phones. Relationships were forgotten, first love rarely became last love, friends lost touch and the yearning.. never ending. The climax of the film is a painful example of how things were different back then.However, the film quite stretches itself way more than it should. Quite unlikely for a repetitive culmination of that kind, it’s indeed the climax that works in favour of the film. Although the whole movie felt cliched, it does have some old school vibes and the feeling of first love being a teen.

In short, 20th Century Girl is a one time watch. If you’re a nostalgia merchant and if you dig yearning and doomed romances, the film would work for you. The biggest quip of 20th Century Girl is that its just another forgettable love-story that banks way too much on yesteryear love, since we have seen a few of this kind in dramas over the years, with more effectiveness in the story.

My Rating : 6.5/10

Read More

quick explanation why you should watch

So I will begin by saying that the comments here are very 'this would have been good if-' type of thing. I just finished this movie and won't beat around a bush. The ending was both predictable and you wouldn't see it coming at the same time. All in all it was not completely satisfying to make you lose all the built up suspense that is why many people blame ending for this. I wish it ended different but I am also amazed by how different ending it was compared to other movies. Usually they drop the suspense by ending and decide to ether make it happy or unhappy one, but this movie kept the suspense going until last seconds.

I try not to put out any spoilers out here because I hope this will be the reason why you decide to watch this instead of listening to others and not give it a shot. This lowkey became one of my favorite asians movies AND I AM GLAD I WATCHED IT WITH LIGHTS ON. This is one of creepiest movies I seen, it was well executed and always kept the right atmosphere on.

Did you see movie Grave Encounters? It will have similar moments from there which I honestly love because it takes traits from The Stone Tape theory and more.

Read More

Watch this when your tv watching is dry and you are suddenly consumed by curiosity.

I love anything to do with Asian royal courts so when I saw the title of the movie : I was in.

The story is interesting and makes a fascinating watch. The reason why I rate a seven is simply because it was obviously ostenstatious and was super determined to prove a point. One can tell that the writers wrote this out to prove some sort of point and that’s annoying and quite frankly lazy. Good stories do not need to be backed up by the narrator or the maker but they just simply tell their stories without forcing the viewers to feel a certain way.

However - I was successfully pulled along in aghast and shock and did not think for a minute to hit stop and do something else. Instead I was thinking the following; “woah- really?” “This is quite pornagraphic - is this allowed?” “ What the ...?” In my book that counts for something and that’s why it doesn’t score a flat 5.

Moreover -I felt manipulated in my discernment of the plot that I wasn’t sure if my thoughts were really my own as this movie made it it’s mission to control every reaction.

Acting :Kim Min Joon was good because his portrayal of Kwon Yoo was not so concentrated but rather muted and subtle which was a breath of fresh air in the heady 2hrs. Cho Yeo jeong was such an obvious tool in the ostentatious production . She was way too obedient to whoever the director was , much to her shortcoming. The rest of the cast just fade out quite frankly.

Music was dramatic and tense and so was the cinematography. It really aided the curious intentions of the production. Solid 8.

As for rewatching- I don’t need to rewatch this and neither should you. Like I said in the headline : Watch this when your tv watching is dry and you are suddenly consumed by curiosity.

Overall - meh. The shock factor just became blah but that finale scene really was something! Kudos to Cho Yeo Jeong for that seriously crazy last scene !

Read More

There are several American movies that have a similar storyline and I didn't like any of them. I have it to give Yang Mi and Wallace Huo deep respect for doing this project. I loved the action scenes of life being repeated over and over... wished we could do do-overs like this movie. I never would've guessed the ending, it totally threw me off. Wallace played his part... I just loved his facial expressions when he gets serious. Kudos to the young man who played the son. I saw this a couple of months ago but decided to rewatch again today. Now, this is the Yang Mi I love, she is all in this. Thank you and Respect to the "Fatal Countdown: Reset" team, awesome job.

Read More

REVENGE !!!

If there’s one thing I love about revenge plots, it’s when women do it. AND against a bunch of disgusting men.

Let me tell you, the main character wasted NO time. Killed the main boss in 3 seconds of his dialogue which was HILARIOUS!!! And soooo satisfying to see.

She was really there to get her revenge and spared no time for stupid villain dialogues inbetween the killings. Straight to the point, she made her mark and showed them what she’s really here for.

I loved the lovely story between the main character and her best friend. It was a beautiful friendship and i’m devastated that this story was about one of them dying and the other avenging.

On a side note, I really love when women help each other out, especially when okju helped the other girl out of there and the girl helped her too.

Really good action movie and I couldn’t recommend it more!!! Plus Okjus actress is superb at these type of roles. Really amazing. 10/10!!!

Read More

Don't Treat Me Like I'm Broken

Yuma Takada is a 23-year-old woman who suffers from cerebral palsey. However, she is also an extremely talented manga artist and writer. An arrangement is made with her friend, as they publish a well-known manga series, but her friend, Sayakara gets all of the credit (despite not being an artist or a writer) even though Yuma gets some payment for the job.

Yuma lives with her loving but overprotective mother who treats her more like a 10-year-old. She doesn't like Yuma going out on her own or wearing dresses as "there are too many creeps out there."

Having had enough of the oppressive lifestyle where she is used and abused, she attempts to fight for her independence. Finding some discarded adult manga books, she calls the various publishers to find out if they have job-openings. She's called into the offices of one, asking that she submit her work. Having had no sexual experiences of her own, Yuma's asked to come back when she has some so that her stories will be more authentic and realistic.

Yuma tries in vain to acquire some sexual experiences by going down to the red-light district on her own. Of course, things don't go as she planned, but she does meet a high-priced escort in Mai, who encourages her to live and enjoy life. Mai ends up being Yuma's window of opportunity toward a life of freedom as she is arguably the first person to treat her as a normal human being.

This drives a deeper and wider wedge between Yuma and her mother, who finds out what Yuma has been doing. Yuma eventually runs away but is taken in by Toshi, Mai's driver. Yuma decides to try and find the father that she never knew, and in doing so, finds yet another family member she had no knowledge of. This also gives the viewer the answer to the significance of 37 seconds, which is revealed in a beautiful scene.

People are often uncomfortable when dealing with people with disabilities, not realizing that they are people just like anyone else. They have the same thoughts, dreams, feelings, and goals. But most people treat them as though they are broken. We end up cheering for Yuma as she fights for her own freedom with as much determination as when she's forced to crawl across the floor in order to get from one place to another. The point is, she can do it. She can do many things if people would simply give her the opportunity.

This is one of the most delightful films I've seen in a while that is completely character-driven. Actress Mei Kayama gives us a Yuma who as the voice of pure sweetness and the heart of a lion. She doesn't want protection. She wants to live and be who she is, and who has the right to keep her (or anyone!) from fulfilling her goals?

The film iis heartfelt, but it isn't bogged down in melodrama or at risk of being too sentimental because the goal isn't to make the viewer feel sorry for Yuma. The goal is to make the viewer cheer Yuma on, and writer-director Hikari gives us that kind of a movie.

Read More

I didn't really like this movie. I admit I was interested because of the lgbtq+ tag and because Jisoo acted in it but this movie was produced quite badly.

Overall, the storyline was great and the acting was really good too but the way it was portrayed was not well.

Some of the scenes as well, they seemed very random and rushed and they were also irrelevant. Its like they only added the scene because they were trying to make the story seem funny, but it wasn't funny.

When I had watched at least around 1 hour of the movie, I stopped watching it: the characters kinda started to get on my nerves because everything seemed so unrealistic.

I have no comments about the music because I don't think there was any or maybe it wasn't good enough to catch my attention.

In conclusion, the storyline is interesting and the acting is decent but I wouldn't watch it if I were you because its portrayed poorly.

(I apologize if my review offended you in any way, iI was just being honest and besides, this ia my personal opinion)

Read More

Story: It’s a beautiful tragic romance. There are some cliche parts, such as Makoto liking another girl while she looks on, but it is so beautifully done that I don’t even care. It’s unique in a way. She lacks a growth hormone, making her look very young when in reality it’s deeper than just that. The two of them are perfect together, as friends and lovers. The ending will definitely make you cry, it made me ball my eyes out.

Music: The music set the mood for everything and the ending theme is so beautifully sung I put it on my ipod right away. It’s one of those songs (for me at least) that whenever you’ll hear it, your heart will jerk because it will remind you of that tragic relationship between the two mains.

Cast/Acting: The leads were all I cared about, honestly. I was too absorbed in their odd relationship to even care about the rest of the cast, who only held a certain amount of air time anyway. They did great getting into their characters and playing the parts. It all seemed very sincere to me. They seemed to

READ MORE DRAMA AND MOVIE REVIEWS HERE: http://dramadevoted.tumblr.com/

Read More