At first, I thought it was like ~How to Train Your Dragon ~; kind of movie since it started out with dragon-like creatures. Then it switched over to the human side of the story. Throughout the film, my eyes were glue to the screen. The whole time I thinking that "oh my gosh, that little creature is so cute!!" ; The story plot was not a stereotypical type of story where the guy and the girl help the monsters. There were twist and turn that lead to so many funny scenes that I had to laugh then rewind and laugh again.
Note: This movie is rate PG-13 since there were some blood, but absolutely no gore or horror.
The movie had two unimaginable characters partner up as the main characters.
The coupling was really cute. I really like the female character since she had power over the male character, which you don't often see in Chinese dramas/movies. I also like the female chief who is in the middle of the story. She is hilarious. The monster couple add more to comedy.
I like their credit music. I also like the song where the monster dance to. I think it's a wrap-up, and it shows more of the adorableness. The sounds were super cute.
I would definitely rewatch the funny scenes. Those who have experience watching wuxia (chinese-style fighting genre) specifically sad endings then you would probably be more relief to watch this afterward. Those who needs a break from watching serious shows, check this one out.
I hope you all enjoy the movie like I did. Cross my fingers and hope they make more of this kind of movies.
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Okay, admittedly I did go into this movie thinking that it was probably going to be a bit of a try hard movie and that the graphics wouldn't be that great – I’d just attempted watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl. But oh. How wrong I was.
After finishing to the end I could 86% believe that half of the monsters in this were real creatures, the special effects are sweet as pie. The smaller monsters were more realistic then the bigger ones, but even then they were cool! Heads up and applause to the graphics team cause you guys rock! I’m pretty sure the CGI was more realistic in this film then the stunts were... but then again they used the same kind of method they use in Wuxia films/dramas – lots of wires and stuff. Not that I’m complaining or that this wasn’t done well. I’m just not a massive fan of the unrealistic jumping. I’m writing about a film with monsters why am I complaining about unrealistic jumping omg *dies*
I feel that unlike a lot of monster and human movies this one is a little unique. As the previous reviewer said, the story plot is not the stereotypical story where the guy and the girl find a monster, rescue it and take it home to its mother. Not in the slightest. First of all the main female wants to sell the baby monster, bye bye small cute creature! Not to mention that this is a female lead with guts and point object to kill you with. I can not express how happy female leads in Asian films/dramas, who aren't pansies, make me feel. The role reversal of the leads was just perfect and slightly comedic, I love'd that they let the female have power over the male as it's not a common sight in Asian film. The idea that it's the guy who has to give birth and it's the woman who has to protect him and his child is the absolute bomb.
And then the monster child itself? I melted. I don't think it's legal to make a radish that cute... If any one can find a supply of these adorable monsters can you catch me one? I'm melting into a squishy goo just thinking about that little critter! Ahhhh!
In addition the sideline stories are also awesome, it's hard not to give these away sooo... the couple they meet in the inn are adorably stupid - the woman made my day. As well as the female leads rival monster hunter and his pursuit of the queens protectors. Ugh. It makes me so happy.
I don't know who the actors are so I feel like I can't compare them to previous roles or anything. However, whoever they were did pretty good jobs. Jing Boran was good at being pregnant and had a lot of comic relief. I think my only issue is that they sometimes seemed to forget that his character was meant to be disabled and use a leg brace thing... other then that he was pretty good. Bai Bai He, who was the female lead, was alright. Nothing really struck me as amazing about her acting but it wasn't bad. If that makes sense... However I think it may have been more to do with the scenes she was given then her acting skill. But I'm not sure, as I said I've not seen them act before.
The music was awesome~ From the ridiculous songs which the monsters sang to the actual soundtrack. I think that the music was just the icing on the cake. It made adorable perfect scenes even more perfect and adorable :3
This is definitely a film I recommend seeing! I don’t understand how there wasn't a bigger thing about this because it was pretty god damn awesome. The way it ended made me think that there could be a second film *crosses fingers*
So cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
I'll have the house salad, hold the radish please
Monster Hunt was a messy quilt made of a variety of genres hurriedly sewn into one piece. Though childish in nature, it had enough disturbing scenes, one should think carefully before letting small children watch it.The lack of clear and consistent narrative troubled me about the movie. A bad monster takes over the monster world and is hunting down the good monsters. When the pregnant ex-queen and her attendants escape, the hunt is on. Monsters are hunting monsters. Humans hunt monsters. It's rough being a squishy tentacled being in this movie.
Jing Bo Ran is Song Tian Yu, the de facto mayor of a backwater town, left in charge when his monster hunting father disappears. In a reversal of gender roles, Tian Yu is meek, a seamstress, and cook. His senile aggressive grandmother scarcely remembers who is and when she does is disappointed in what she sees. Along comes the pregnant hunted queen and her two attendants in human suits. Following them is Bai Bai He as Huo Xiao Lan, a low level monster hunter. When Tian Yu becomes pregnant, hilarity ensues. Eventually, the two humans are left with the baby monster king and have to decide what to do with the little bloodsucker all the while being chased by humans and monsters.
The movie is energetic, bordering on frenetic. Some of the martial arts fights, especially with CGI monsters are creative and captivating. Creatures break into song on occasion. A romance comes out of nowhere. Monsters eat humans and humans eat monsters, it's a dog eat dog world. There are bad monsters and bad humans. While I liked the moral complexity, too often it felt like someone throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. The baby monster, which I did not find adorable, seemed to be used to try to manipulate the audience emotionally into caring about it and it's human caretakers. I don't mind cutesy cartoon characters, but this one bordered on nauseatingly saccharine. And aside from him being the true heir, we're never really told much about the baby king's importance or place in the world. Like Chekhov's gun on the mantle, a rusty sword foreshadows the limping, docile hero will overtake the heroic female warrior protecting him. I cannot overstate how tired I am of this trope.
I enjoyed parts of this movie. Jing Bo Ran and Bai Bai He were affable and had a nice chemistry together. They were believable when dealing with green screen images something not all actors can do. Jiang Wu as a conflicted bounty hunter was fun to watch as he battled monster and human alike. I was particularly happy seeing Elaine Jin/Kam, Sandra Ng, and Tang Wei make appearances. The theme of seeing creatures and humans for who they are and not what they look like always appeals to me even when I had to sort through a lot of other themes in the movie to latch onto this one.
A brain burrowing bug and open air exotic meat markets may not be for everyone. The movie doesn't shy away from death and oddity.
For those who like lots of random action and a plethora of strange creatures, this will be right up their alley. As much as I enjoy CGI children's movies, this one felt too much like a fever dream hopped up on sugar for me. I left it staggering from the sweetness and weirdness overload.
8/6/22
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Monster Hunt isn't just gimmicks, I'll give it that. In fact, I have to point out that it actually swaps gender stereotypes. The lead girl is the brave and fierce monster hunter. While the male lead sews, cooks, and is treated like how the female leads are treated by the male leads. Basically like inferior crap. It was hilarious. At one point the male lead is even pregnant! Holy, cow!
The reality is that Monster Haven has a lot of great ideas, but then they writers/directors just over did it. There's musical number, odd plot changes, over the top side stories. Sure it's a lot of fun and most of the movie I spent smiling and laughing. It was still too much and I think it could have been a bit more polished.
However, I think any movie fan--especially of foreign works--should see this one. It's fun and you'll laugh. Sometimes that's all you need and in that retrospect I can see why this was such a huge success. The end clearly leaves an opening for a sequel, which I see they're planning for 2018. I'm excited and will definitely tune in.
On that note I loved how this movie explores the concept of picking your own family, and what makes a family. Many times I was moved. It brings up big questions about different race and the misconceptions one might have to make their side "right".
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The movie starts off with us meeting the monsters that are actually kinda cute and could make very cuddly toys. The next scene was then of our hero who I must admit was kind of entertaining. The storyline after that point pretty much flowed exactly as you would expect it to. I found myself laughing out loud at 1am because there were some genuinely funny moments in there. The plot twist could’ve been foreseen, as I had long assumed that was the case from earlier in the movie. The only thing that gave me pause was the fact that the humans were eating the monsters. Hypocrites much?
The acting performances between our two leads were mediocre at best but still thoroughly enjoyable. I forgot how charismatic Bai Baihe can be in comedic roles. I loved how she smiled. I also enjoyed seeing the kind of role reversals switch that they had. The man was pregnant and gave birth. LOL. The chemistry was more friendly than romantic though. The only kiss that happened was an accidental one and then they were in love and getting married. LMFAO. I’ve yet to see Jing Boran convince me that he’s attracted to his leads.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I would and there’s also a part two so duh I’m gonna watch that too. Wuba is so freaking cute and I want one. The best way that I can describe the overall feel would be kinda like a Shrek/How To Train Your Dragon situation. Anyways I’d likely watch this again. It was entertaining af!
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