Completed
Kuei Mei, a Woman
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 16, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Emotions So Real That Your Heart Can't Help But Wrench..

I just want to start by saying this is the 1st Taiwanese New-Wave film I've ever seen and it was phenomenal! Kuei Mei really captures the struggle women in Taiwan during the 50s had to endure while also including other timeless family issues like gambling & alcoholism. I appreciate how organic and true Kuei Mei's character was written; She wasn't some magically perfect Mary Poppins, instead she is this absolute tank of a REAL woman who cries in frustration when life has her backed into a corner but doesn't give up & fights with what little she has for her family. I feel like the reason I admire Kuei Mei so much is because I see a lot of my own mother in her... This film will pull on your heartstrings and may even bring out some tears too. (Probably will make u not want to get married tho lol) I recommend if you're in the mood to see some REAL family struggles and melodrama and if you're into Taiwanese History :)

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Completed
Student A
2 people found this review helpful
Apr 16, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
I actually like that it doesn't have much background music, makes it feel more realistic and focus more on how the story goes. I don't think it's for everyone though since it's a bit slow paced. I didn't feel bored watching it but it's not the type of movie that leaves a big impression.

Production is budgeted and it's understandable, it didn't need much cost anyway. I just wish that they omitted the game realm scenes if they're aiming for low budget. It makes the movie look like it's made by amateurs, like those movie made by students for school festivals wherein the staffs are also the actors & they need to rent out costumes. The scene about the giant saving Mi Rae is out of place too like it's a realistic movie and never was fantasy.

Overall for the acting I think it's the story and how it was directed that makes the actors look awkward and lacking. The acting was so-so for me. Even Hwan Hee and Da Bin who are both young but experienced actors didn't show pretty much of their acting skills here. Suho's acting here is okay. Some may argue that he didn't but he did pretty decent compared to that one drama of his. Some can't separate him from being an idol so I think it affects how they see him act. He's a great theatrical actor than a movie actor though.

The only thing that makes me give this a good rating is because I like the aspect wherein opposite gender with an age gap can have a platonic relationship. Also, doing a bucketlist and talking about funeral picture as if it's a casual thing to say is a bit dark but I like how they're preparing to end their lives but ended up saving each other. The movie is not memorable as a whole but I'll remember it as one of those that has a satisfying ending.

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Completed
Honey Lemon Soda
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 16, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

This is a feel good drama to me

This drama is a feel good drama with not a lot of dramtic things in them or suspence .This drama doesnt have any villian or antagonist in it everything is very beautifull. All the friends are very nice people its is a very good drama
This drama is about a girl who has social anixety and wants to change because she doesnt wants to be bullied anymore and their are so many cute moments i personally loved this drama and i will most probably rewatch it when i am in a sad mood
And at last i have to say that the actors were great and that wait for the end of the movie its really good and cute scenes

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Completed
Catman
1 people found this review helpful
by Eri65
Apr 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

It's a cute and light hearted movie with superb acting and worth your time.

It's a really nice movie. The storyline was a bit childish and predictable (I really like fantasy genre and have watched tons of fantasy drama and movies, so it was quite obvious for me) but everything else makes up for it. Everyone acted really well and the soundtrack suited the movie well. I liked how the love story of the leads wasn't rushed but developed slowly. I was a bit disappointed as they had used a dubber for sehun and i really wanted to hear Sehun's voice but his acting was really good and soon i could adapt to the dubber's voice. I would recommend everyone to watch this movie if you want to watch something light-hearted with some humor and cute scenes as well. Special recommendation to cat lovers as they have used really good animations for cats and all of their scenes are really cute and humorous. Your time won't be wasted so give it a shot.

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Boat People
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Tragic on so many levels

If you are not ready for indiscriminate mass murder, torture, and suggested prostitution, then this really might make you uncomfortable. To be honest I watched this with family, which made the journey a little bit more bearable. This director is a master at crafting realistic stories and showing every facet of human beings.

Set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Chinese have controlled Ho Chi Mihn era Vietnam, and the poor non-Communist families suffer many brutalities. Unable to eat and unable to speak with foreigners, the tragedies of Vietnam post-war are illustrated here through the lens of a Japanese reporter.

The Plot: centers the reporter and his interactions with an impoverished family specifically a young girl and her brothers. He witnesses their everyday life and the brutalities the Chinese Army visited upon innocent men, women, and children in Vietnam. The movie is not gorey nor does it show sexual promicuousness (no sex scenes) but these are heavily implied.
The Pacing: It is a relatively slow movie, but it is not boring in any way. The brutality and tragedies we see on the screen are gripping, and the relationships we see are heart-wrenching.
The Acting: Easily some of the best child-actors in the world.

This movie cannot be missed if you enjoy Hong Kong films. It's dark, gritty, sad, and not for the faint of heart.

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Completed
Double World
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

Fun action movie

You know, I approached this movie with zero expectation.
Top review on this site is just 6/10.
It's a movie based on video game that I never even heard about.
Wuxia so probably full of tropes and archetypes.
A Chinese production, so the cinematography and CGI will probably suck....

Frankly speaking, I only hoped for some cool fight scenes to watch in between more serious things.

But boy. Did this film deliver!

The CGI was good and the direction was quite professional. The quality of the movie isn't different from big American productions, it was really quite a surprise!
The characters, tho rather archetypical, were all likable and well developed.....as far as you can develop characters in a single 90-minute long film. It's a job well done.

And the fight choreography was nice too.

Really, the only point this movie seems to be lacking is the storyline. And it's still quite good...especially since I expected a total trainwreck. It really only drops the ball in the second half, I think it was rushed. The movie could have used additional 20 minutes of screentime to flesh the events out! Also, I think the entire subplot with mc's origin was....totally unneeded and didn't account for anything(other than making ground for a possible sequel).

So as a movie. It was good and I had a lot of fun. As a video game commercial? Didn't tell me anything about the game, and probably didn't even try. It's fine. As a Chinese production? Job well done!

I recommend it.

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Completed
Caijin
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 15, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Name given by adoptive parents: Căijīn 彩金refers to money won in a lottery, lotto or other game

Name given by her adoptive parents: căijīn 彩金refers to money won in a lottery, lotto or other game, hence the title of the film: Xiaonü Caijin (《孝女彩金》), Cai jin, 'model of filial piety.'

Main Cast
Feng Yingying (冯莹莹) as Peng Caijin (彭彩金),

Sun Jifeng (孙继峰) as (adopted) father Peng Xiaocheng (彭孝诚),

Liu Chenxia (刘晨霞) as (adopted) mother Liu Chuntao

Support Cast:
Deng Dingwei (邓丁玮) as Caijin's half-brother

Bai Li Wei as Uncle Wu

Xu Jinger as Yang Yunmie, Peng Caijin's mother who abandoned her

After the village's Lantern Festival and their accompanying wedding, , Peng Xiaocheng (Sun Jifeng) and Liu Chuntao (Liu Chenxia) are awakened by the sound of a baby crying. Not able to have their own children, they pour their heart and soul into raising the young female baby the found , to whom they give the name, Peng Caijin.

I hate to admit this, but I cried through most of this movie.

The young actors did a monumental job on this movie; especially with young actress Feng Yingying, starring as the young girl Peng Caijin, abandoned by her birth mother, who later returned and found her again. I am not going to tell you what happens next, but i think that you will love it!

The scenery, cinematography and music was all great! I personally would love to live in such a village myself.

The support cast, from villagers to fellow students to her teacher all did a great job in their parts, and showed us how a community should come together and support those who have less material goods but a good heart; I especially liked the daydreaming scene, where Cai Jin imagined her two parents healed, and able to give her a normal life.

However, as much as they loved her, unconditionally, they were a burden to her all of her young life.

Even though she dreamt this, I don't hold it against her in the least. Her parents sacrificed all they could give, until their bodies struck down and no longer can give.

Almost every scene in this movie shows love...the kind of love where hate cannot find a place within.

This movie from start to finish, is a perfect example of how a husband and wife should treat each other; how a couple should treat their child, how a community should treat each other and love and stick to each other; and yes, how a child should support and love their parents, even if they cannot give you riches!

Learning character piety and filial, as Peng Caijin graciously learned, is the most important lesson in life!

Peng Caijin did not desert her parents, even though they tried to give her what they couldn't in life...

You can feel the love as the three main cast probably put on the best performance of their lives!


Although not mentioned in the movie, another true story associated with this movie is the appearance of Mr. Xiong Delong, or Ted Sioeng, an Indonesian businessman, who also was adopted as Peng Caijin...in China but was raised in another country
by such parents as loving as the couple portrayed in this movie.

Mr. Delong has given away hundreds of millions of dollars to help others, and upon hearing the story of Peng Caijin, left America and came to the village where the real Peng Caijin and her disabled parents lived...he appears as himself near the end of this movie.

https://inf.news/en/world/29464aab93bdf43b157d66dd70228adb.html

Link to movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0ofsCRCmM

This is definitely a two to two and a half box of Kleenex movie; if you want to impress a new female friend, watch this movie with her!

My major problem is that is no mention of Feng Yingying as an actress after this movie.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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Completed
Drive My Car
0 people found this review helpful
by Dulcet
Apr 14, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

It's not everyone's cup of tea

First of all, this is a long movie, 3 hours.
I intrigued because this movie be in prestigous film festival like Cannes and won Best International Feature Film in Oscar 2022.
Need extra attention especially understanding their dialogue because many of the story link take place in their dialogue. It's like a story telling through naration.
The explanation about one scene may revealed by analogy of other's story or scene
Toward the end, every viewer may find their own interpertation of what they want to understand toward the story.
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Completed
The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese
1 people found this review helpful
by xie
Apr 14, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

an absolute masterpiece!

Initially, I wasn't going to write a review for this movie but then decided to do so because the movie honestly deserves praise. Also, a quick disclaimer that I have not read the manga that this is apparently based on.

The plot of the movie is very rich and honestly very worth watching. It's twisted but real and very raw. I loved how they didn't use too many s** scenes to draw in the audience and only inserted them when necessary for the plot build-up. The journey of finding one's true sexuality and the reluctance and denial that comes along with it was shown beautifully.

The cinematography was also very beautiful (though I admittedly know very little about it).

Overall, an amazing movie that is worth every minute. 10/10 would recommend. The r-18 scenes are also totally skippable.

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Completed
Sweet Curse
9 people found this review helpful
by Shiro
Apr 14, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.5

Love at first F***

He f*** a ghost and he liked it...

This is the very short story of the selfish guy who wanted to own another guys body and the sweet kind guy whos body the selfish guy wanted to own + the very fine ghost who was caught between them.

Mr Selfish most probably lonely, two faced hottie acted all kind and all but is actually dark and evil deep inside as he puts a curse on the man he wants to own... And well he does that part really well he does seem sweet, we do get the feeling that mr sweetheart really trusts him and likes him as a friend and he does not come off as evil in anyway. He uses this position to curse him, however the details of the curse are kind of foggy and not very well executed so adding 10 minutes or so to clarify the curse part would have been good.

It is however clear that the curse backfired as it seems to have become love at first f*** for the ghost and everybody's sweetheart instead of whatever mr evil was aiming for... As there is little dialog between mr. ghost and mr. sweetheart most of their screen-time together is very naked and very sexual...

I am not going to say that this short film is tastefully made, good or the type to bring out the thirst in you. It is more of the funny type of sexual content and pretty entertaining at times as well as slightly odd, dark (literately) and different than what I have seen before.

Definitely an indecent watch...

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Completed
Love Like the Falling Petals
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 14, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Predictable but enjoyable !

This is my very first review in MDL. It started with a really sweet and cute and I really enjoyed the first half of the movie. I can sense a very good chemistry between this two. Prepare your tissue tho since this movie play with your emotions a lot and I never knew that this kind of disease do exist in real life since it is a very rare disease.

It just make me a little bit frustrated by the FL decisions to stay away from the ML eventho eventually the ML knows about her anyway. Overall it was a fun ride and I'm so proud to see Kento's acting getting better and better! the way he express his frustrations and sadness when he couldn't recognized the ML is really real and I can feel his pain!

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Completed
Yaksha: Ruthless Operations
7 people found this review helpful
by LiN
Apr 13, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.0

Expressive Action In Neon Lights

Korean Action Movies are impressive in their visual components, it´s mostly the lack of subtleties in a catchy plot that causes movies to not gain attention/ not be seen as a masterpiece. "Yaksha" does not necessarily have any crucial parts that bothered me, except for the confusing and a bit insufficiently precise written multinational mix-up. I very much enjoyed watching Park Hae Soo in another main role. The performance of the entire cast was admirable, especially the well-portrayed/displayed tension between the very different members of the group. However, not only the cast has delivered an impressive piece of work, thus judging from the filming and editing quality, the responsible crew was consisting of a mainly reliable and talented crew. After all, "Yaksha" is a nice pick for an adventurous movie night but nothing I´d rewatch.

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Completed
Till the End of the World
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 12, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Breathtaking!

I just finished watching "Till the End of the World" and it did not disappoint. Needless to say Mark Chao's performance was absolutely extraordinary as usual. He is one of the most talented actors to grace the screen in our time.

The story kept me riveted after the first 5 minutes and continued to do so till the very end. I experienced all kinds of emotions,, fear, anxiety, love and sorrow. Yet ultimately it left me with hope and joy.

I am not an adventurer but to be able to see a movie so well made in the conditions that the cast and entire crew were able to accomplish was a thrill.

I felt like I was living it with them.

Congratulations to all involved in filming this great movie. An absolutely definite movie to watch again and again and one I will never forget.

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Completed
Yaksha: Ruthless Operations
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 12, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Good action movie!

Pretty good movie, you get what you're here for: action, the occasional joke, more action. The movie is fast paced, not too packed either though, so you actually have small rooms to breathe. Initially interested because of Jinyoung, was pretty happy to see the rest of the cast since they're all pretty much faves. Definitely worth the watch, hoping for a potential 2nd movie (not too much tho lol). For those who prefer dubbed versions or who want to enjoy the movie with family non used to subbed movies, I know there are a few dubs though didn't check the entire list. Most noticeable to me were the English and French ones.

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Completed
Write About Love
2 people found this review helpful
by Shiro
Apr 12, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.5

A decent mix of indie and cliches

This is a pretty creative movie showing giving us small window in to the process that goes in to writing a script showing the people behind the script as well as the story they are writing parallel with each other. This movie invites us in to the world of these two writers who come together with different views on love. life and writing and mix them all in to a pretty mediocre movie. A movie we get to see within the movie.

However the chemistry, interactions and journey the writers take while writing the script is way more interesting than the movie, even if the movie within the movie does have some nice fluff and cliches, that are lovely too, the main attraction is the writers writing about love raising important questions such as can a person who has never been in a relationship write about love? What is love? are there people who have never experienced love?

The movie also deals with loss, wanting to run away and all kinds of relationships in a pretty good way. and has some pretty amazing lines among the otherwise kind of bland plot.

Said about divorce:
" It was our choice and it is for the best"

There are also some unexpected twists here and there, a few annoying elements too but all in all a pretty decent watch and time not waisted as this does have a certain uniqueness between the cliches...


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