This review may contain spoilers
This movie kinda reminds me of the thai movie " A Crazy Little Things Called Love" and a bit of "American Pie"I think this is my first time that I watched a Taiwanese film.
I read somewhere that this film were a phenomenal hit in their country and in Hongkong too if i'm not mistaken.
After watching several romance flick recently which often left me disappointed or just see them average, finally this one has an edge. Enjoyable, sympathetic and realistic with some exaggerated presentation.
The story is based on true story which i give it a plus. The plot were simple enough but full of substance and disturbing scenes lol. Spoiler Alert!!....no one will die ehehe, there is no pathetic scenes or sudden scenes of twist from nowhere, everything is real and everybody can relate especially "boys".
PS: The film was based on the school life experience of the writer/director himself. ^^
PS2: (= my score rating may adjust in the future, pls comment if you find it not that accurate thank you =)
Was this review helpful to you?
As I watched the movie I must say that there is no freaking way in hell to tell that this was based on true story because some characters are exagerrated like as if they were straight from a Manga. Like for example...who the hell in real life is that boner guy and who walks nude in their home. Hahaha
About the movie its a feel good movie no boring moment IMO and the timespan was well done. The main strong points of this movie like I mentioned above was the chemistry between characters and that inspiring ending.
The characters
The main guy, the d*ck arrogant friend, the fat dude, the groin corny guy and lastly my favorite and IMO the most funny of them all, the boner guy. Them together is a fun watch...their antics and their favorite hobby(which is masturbation) makes me LOLed so hard. This movie also have lots of reference to manga like hanamichi sakuragi hairstyle and the Dempsey roll move.
The ending
Good or bad you decide but to me its good because of how inspiring it is and I admit being a guy this ending got me it makes me teary eyed a bit.
I recommend this movie to all guys in the world.
Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/
Was this review helpful to you?
You Are the Apple of My Eye is one of those movies. See, I've always been a big fan of Asian dramas and have watched a couple of Asian films that are surprisingly good. I had the same expectations for this movie and it did not fail me.
I love the simplicity of the plot. Sure, high school romance. But the big big big surprise is really the ending. I love how it was pulled out, totally unexpected and will really make a mark in your heart. Totally not wishy-washy. I love how the time span of the movie extends from teenage years to adulthood, you can see the friendship, the dreams and heartbreak develop throughout the film.
I definitely loved the characters. Though childish at times, they actually each have such unique personalities. I love the acting of the actors especially the main character, Ko-Teng. I think he played off the bad-boy-childish-character fairly well enough.
I love the chemistry between Ko-Teng and Shen Chia-Yi. I love the sweet, bubbly and childish nature of this romance. I found out that this was actually based on a book and the author directed it and was his directorial debut, honestly speaking, not bad for a debut movie. And since he wrote the book, I bet he can really make the movie work as well.
Despite some childish elements (which may only appeal to young viewers at young at hearts) I think that the lesson of the movie is fairly clear. There's a lot of OMG revelations, symbolism and foreshadowing (YES!) that I actually missed while watching.
This is indeed a fun and cliche (but also full of surprises) movie that I think is suitable for viewers of all ages. I think that it's time to also give credit to foreign films and probably even time to make their mark in the film industry.
Was this review helpful to you?
-Great acting? Check.
-Great story? Check.
-Great writing? Check.
- Humour? Check.
-Craziness (it's in my criteria, ok?) ? Check.
-Brutal honestly? Check.
-Unexpected ending? CHECK.
So this drama had it all. So why no 10, you ask? Because that ending was VERY unexpected. A little too real for sentimental, silly me. I mean, I rightly should give it a 10, but after the emotional shitstorm I faced inside me after I finished it, I'm reducing 1 point just because I can.
This movie starts off very light and stereotypically. Pretty, nerdy girl and Slacker boy fall in love after Nerdy Girl decides to tutor Slacker Boy. They start going out and have a long distance relationship. Their relationship survives due to the power of their love and they live happily ever after. Well, that was what WOULD have happened if it went the regular route. Instead, this movie decided to show the other side- the more REAL side.
We see that love is not enough to save a relationship, that two people can love each other to death and yet not be able to stay together. We see that you can have all the dreams and fantasies in the world, but only a lucky few will actually see them come true. We see that every single action, whether it's a small "sorry" or a loud "I miss you", can greatly affect the future.
As the characters grow in age, the movie gets more and more complex. It stops being all flowery and hopeful and brings in a darker and much more honest scenario of a high school relationship. I have to say, Michelle Chen is an INCREDIBLE actress; her presence stole every scene from every character. Her expressions, her mannerisms, her acting overall was marvellous. She made her character into a real person, which is extremely hard to do.
I recommend this drama, but with precautions- if you are a huge fan of happy endings, this might not be it, unless you're willing to try something different. The ending is very well crafted and if you pay attention, you'll notice some parallel endings to some of the events that made a huge impact on the relationship of the leads. These parallel endings lead to a completely different outcome of the relationship.
Was this review helpful to you?
I really laughed my ass off at the end, especially the kissing scene at the wedding ceremony. When I learned that this is based on true story, I said, "Whoa, that's why I can relate into it!"
A must watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
The best thing I ever did is to love you..
Rewatch for the Fifth Time in the last 5 years. But this is the first time I watch it after make Letterboxd account, so I'm gonna review it.It's still one of the greatest romance film I've ever watch, every aspect in this film is perfect that the remake can't even close this masterpiece.
The sense of nostalgia, friendship chemistry is shown very well that I feel connected as I feel related with the characters because I experience the same thing while I was still a high schooler.
What is certain is that Giddens Ko managed to adapt his book to the big screen very well. Also the actors and actress acted really well and also played a role in building this film. The soundtracks was so good like the Those Bygone Years, i cried like crazy when the songs played in the flashback scenes at the end.
Now, cause I've watch the remake, I'm gonna mention the things that makes this TW version great.
First, every aspects feel balanced, romance and the friendship cooked side by side, so when his friendship is released, the romance can be crushed well; not like the JP that pushing the friendship too much and when the romance takes over, it becomes lame.
Second, TW version feel more like a romcom so it can be enjoyed by everyone not like the JP that I think gonna work if it choose to take the artsy direction, it's calm and slow that when the comedy show up, it feels awkward cause it's not dark comedy.
Third, the acting from the cast of the TW more natural and not exaggerating, the JP version is otherwise.
That's all I think about this film. Masterpiece.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Delightful 1st Half, But Plot Falls Apart in 2nd Half
The 1st half of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" was a sheer delight! The male lead's voiceover depicted his teen years with an authenticity that makes one feel an actual teenage wrote the dialogue. It has a fresh, goofy quality that is the very essence of youth. I was either smiling or laughing for every frame of the entire first half of the film. It had such innocence that even the masturbation jokes were bereft of the kind of vulgarity we get in Hollywood teen movies such as "American Pie." The Asians can hit this tone in a way that Hollywood cannot, because Hollywood only knows how to depict teen sexuality with vulgarity. The teens in this film did not even kiss on their dates. Hell, these teen characters felt that even holding hands on a date was a big deal.Observing these teens undergo the trials and tribulations of first love, overbearing teachers, college applications, and the pressures of making career choices, was handled with charm, humor, and a tender kind of nostalgia for those years. The script and director handled all of this deftly. Alas, the plot fell apart in the 2nd half.
To begin, in what universe does a beautiful girl (whom every boy chased throughout high school), choose to date a fat, dorky, unattractive, boring guy with glasses (whom she ignored all through high school), while rejecting a super sexy, well built, fun guy with tons of charisma (whom she'd paid tons of attention to all through high school)? ANSWER: none.
Oh, and then she ends up marrying an old, dull looking man instead of the young, super sexy dude who's her own age; who's been chasing her for years; and whom the entire movie had portrayed as The One. Why bother portraying a sexy male lead as The One if you're going to have the female lead first date a fat guy, and then marry an old guy? But what really killed the movie was the montage at the very end (during the wedding scene), that revealed how the female lead had loved the male lead just as much as he loved her the whole time. She even told her BFF on high school graduation day that she wanted him to confess his love to her. Umm, he did. Dozens of times! So why did she continually reject him when he did?
I think the screenwriter must have somehow forgotten that he'd written this bit about girl telling her BFF she wanted the boy to confess to her. Because when he did confess, she had plenty of opportunities to reciprocate his love. I mean, daily opportunities. Christ, he was telephoning her daily from his college dorm and declaring his love constantly. Yet she responded to his constant declarations by refusing to date him. Hell, the movie even made it clear that she never so much as held his hand. And then, on the rebound after a fight, she proceeded to date the fat kid with glasses for a couple of years and held HIS hand. Then, years later, she marries the older man.
These two plot points made no sense and ruined what had started out as such a fun, charming movie. Really, I'd give the first half a 10 because it was so delightful, and then it totally fell apart in the second half, to which I'd give a 3. And that was only because the male lead was so damned likeable. He was so watchable that I stared at every frame in which he appeared despite the second half's plot making no sense. In total, my rating of a10 for the first half and a 3 for the second half, gives my rating an average of 6.5.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Real and nostalgic
There's something so nostalgic about these Taiwanese coming-of-age films, about everyone in a class growing up together — and this movie was no different. Part of me really wanted this to have more runtime, maybe as a drama or mini series. There were just only two characters I really cared about (the two leads) and I couldn't really connect as much with the side characters and the feeling of friendship, although I knew what the movie was going for. Still, I loved the main leads a lot and they had really good chemistry.At the same time, this had a really "movie" ending — bittersweet and not that satisfying, maybe a little more realistic than I wanted it to be. In the end, this movie just kind of left me with mixed emotions.
Great background songs also.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I have been watching this movie for several times for 8 years already and...I still cant stop crying even though there are so many dirty parts.. I still love Ko Ching Teng.... The main lead developed the characters really well. When I thought Shen Chia Yi is typical strong woman but ended up the weakness one. it might not be a cup of tea for everybody but for me personally the director wrapped up the movie beautifully because "A true love doesnt need a happy ending and a true love never ends." He couldnt have Shen ChiaYi but he has her love for him which is bigger than to anyone else and its really hard to feel the other's love thats what Shen Chia Yi felt for so many years because Ko Ching Teng's love is bigger.
This movie has told us to learn that we can love or being loved by everyone and we have to tell them our feeling instead of to keep it by yourself. Dont hurt yourself just because you didnt want to hurt others. There is a time when we need to tell them and there is a time when we dont want to hear the answer from them. This movie has delivered that message indirectly without putting "melodramatic & happy ending" story for audience but for the character itself.
Was this review helpful to you?
Love the story! It was realistic (makes sense cause it's a true story) and I think it's a story anyone can relate to. Especially guys.
Some scenes are kinda gross and disturbing though really funny lol...and lol the male lead is naked at least 25% of the time xD
The cast was great and so was their acting. They all played their roles well. :) I love the chemistry between the characters!
Also the music suited the movie well.
I'm still upset about the ending...but still it's a realistic ending. Read More
Was this review helpful to you?
speechless?
honestly I should've read the description and how it's tagged a mature movie LOL because i watched this drama bc their soundtrack 那些年 is a big hit and has been in my playlist for a while so i decided to watch the movie that it belonged to. I honestly thought this was your basic coming to youth video-wholesome and emotional rollercoaster but dang this was some incredibly dirty and funny content that gave me good laughs. This is certainly not your girl's perspective drama im pretty sure guys can relate more to this one (or at least from a boy's perspective) i remember guy friend laughing his butt off at this movie a few years back and i didn't think it'd suit me so i forgot about it but now that i've watched it, it's certainly funny and nostalgic at the same time. highly recommend!Was this review helpful to you?
