Reviews

Worth watching

December 2024
A unique setting of the S.Korean Probationary Service, which was interesting, if very likely far from reality (but, I have no real idea).

I found the feel of this film to be a little odd, in that at times it came across quite tongue-in-cheek, whilst at others it was far more serious. It was like some kind of Super Hero movie, but then at other monents more like real life. I think dry humour rather than some of the more unsubtle stuff, would have worked better, imo.

But.... I so enjoyed it! KWB was great. His gentle character (Lee Jeong-do) matured no end and for someone who tried to feign disinterest and detachment... well, he failed. Watching the character learn, find a purpose and grow from it, was very feel-good.

The pairing of character LJD with that of Kim Sun-min was excellent. They complimented each other so well and there was nothing in KSM not to like.

I also liked LJD's relationship with his father; a character who was quite layered.

LJD's 3 friends were amusing and all quite different. Nerds united, but so likeable.

Some of the felons were, as expected, awful, and I admired Sun-min's ability to stay impartial. Doubt very much I could!

This film has plenty of action and it's all very nicely packaged.

As a footnote, I rather liked a slightly rough, bleach blonde, black roots Woo-bin, too ;~)

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A realistic movie of an indigenous family

So it's going to be quite difficult to share my impressions, I feel like it might be not a really good review because it's a special one and I don't particularly find the right words to describe it, but I'll try my best.

Ok, first of all, I've read somewhere the director or production team didn't hire professional actors (or maybe a part of them), they are people like you and me so it's not about who acted the best or not. I would say, it feels more a bit of a documentary and we've followed their daily life.

Now; "Gaga" is a movie that can relate to us and at the same time, it can't. It's because, there's indeed some family conflicts that I'm sure everyone can relate to it and on the other hand, we don't really know about their culture (that's why I said, we can't relate to them). For example: triggered warnings and if they censored it, it's also a part of their culture, it was still a bit hard to hear pigs crying (because they are kxlled for their ritual, it's a tradition).

I just wish, they could show us more and explain more about their tradition because I didn't know the Atayal tribe. I know that in Taiwan, there's a lot of diversity in terms of tribes and indigenous families.

Also one of the high lights for me are the landcapes, some shots are really chill and beautiful.

It was a nice discovery but it lacks something to be more invested and to be more interested in it.

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Under Awful Circumstances

I have seen Win in F4 Thailand and Enigma but this might be his worst body of work. The dialogues were cheesy and clichéd. The acting was pretty bad from both leads. It somewhat gets better in the second half but only for a little bit. I was really not buying their chemistry. I couldn't understand why Parin was getting drunk instead of looking for his mother. And what kind of hotel has a suite but does not have a concierge service? Or at the very least, a male staff should be the one to assist a drunk man to his room? And expecting your female staff member to take care of a drunk guest and be at his beck and call all by herself is not only unethical but also putting her at risk of harassment. No wonder they are understaffed. Who would want to work in such conditions?

I'm not sure if this was a low budget production or it was just so bad that it comes off that way.

The ending is also very clichéd and disappointing. I found it pretty boring to watch. Clearly it wasn't a movie for me.

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Laundry Kung Fu!

Dreadnaught was a martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo Ping. It starred Yuen Biao and a non-beardy “Beardy” Bryan Leung. In a supporting role was The Wong Fei Hung, Kwan Tak Hing, who’d played the character in at least 80 films. Most of the Yuen clan made a showing in this film or helped as martial arts directors.

Mousy is a cowardly laundry man who is afraid of his own shadow and especially his sister. He is friends with Leung Foon, a student of the famous Wong Fei Hung. Across town is a rival of Wong’s, Tam King who is intent on bringing the physician down. The maniacal White Tiger is on the loose and Tam gives him shelter in his opera troupe. Mousy’s “lucky” bells trigger White Tiger’s deadly instincts sending the killer on the fearful washer’s tail.

Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of slapstick comedy and Dreadnaught had its share. I found Mousy more annoying than endearing. If slapstick is your thing, you will likely enjoy this more than me. For a comedy it also had a rather high body count. With so many Yuens involved it couldn’t help but have creative and quality fights. The opening Lion dance and deadly dance off exhibited choreography requiring numerous skills. Yuen most likely to be cast as a deranged killer, Yuen Shun Yi, played the serial killer with frightening opera face paint. White Tiger seemed unable to speak only using growls to communicate. Yuen Biao was quite acrobatic and his latent laundry kung fu was interesting. Bryan Leung was excellent as Leung Foon who played for laughs and tears. Brandy Yuen and Yuen Cheung Yan both played assistants to the Marshall. This was my first time to see Kwan Tak Hing play Wong Fei Hung. At 76 most of his fights were choreographed using stunt doubles though he still held his own in several scenes. Rule of thumb with fight scenes on tv or movies. If you can’t see the face, it’s probably a double. Phillip Ko Fei made an appearance as bad guy Tam King. And Sai Gwa Pau who played Cocky So in Kwan’s movies also showed up here. Too bad they couldn’t get Walter Tso (Leung Foon) for a cameo.

Despite my dislike of Mousy’s over the top cowardice, I did enjoy this movie. Yuen Shun Yi made for a terrifying Big Bad, mainly because he had the skills to back it up. Yuen Biao and Bryan Leung’s kung fu abilities worked well with the fight choreography, making each fight entertaining. And it was fun to see elder statesman Wong Fei Hung, Kwan Tak Hing, have the chance to show he still had some moves left as he pushed eighty. This wasn’t the best Yuen Woo Ping film, but it was worth watching for the fight scenes. As always, I grade this old kung fu flicks on a curve.

30 November 2024

Dreadnaught: “One that is among the largest or most powerful of its kind.”

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Are you kidding me?!

Veteran was once in a lifetime movie. Great script with great actors with terrific performances. So when a sequel to a movie like that comes along with the original cast minus YAI, naturally the expectation is going to be skybound. I dived into this movie with the same expectation, but by the end this felt like a cheap knockoff with no script, no plot and ok acting.

The first 20 minutes of the movie went good, but then there was no built up, no character arc for the villain or why he became the villain that he is now or what is his backstory? Is he seeking justice? Is he a vigilante or just someone who have a thirst for murder? I just couldn't get why this story needed a villain like him with no substance.

I mean when the OG villain Jo Tae Oh played by Yoo Ah In was onscreen in the first movie, you could feel nothing but hatred for his character. You wanted the good guys to whoop his ass and get justice in the end. With this movie, the villain was so bland and uninteresting, I couldn't care what happened in the end.

For every great story and a hero, you always need a great villain with a character arc. Veteran showed us that, which this movie failed to do so!

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Definitely a movie

What can I say, this is a big-budget action movie, not really anything special but not horrible. I actually find it an enjoyable movie for a mindless rewatch. The plot is basic but acceptable, the premise is just interesting enough to make sense, and the armor is all color coded to make the CGI fest a bit less eye-bleeding. Don't love it, don't hate it. Obviously parts of the movie are nonsensical and riddled with plot holes— this is a shock and awe action flick, the point of it is to be flashy and dramatic, not for it to make sense. Sometimes the laws of the universe and logic bend to the cool factor. All in all, the movie does have emotional beats that follow through well enough, but don't come here looking for any depth of narrative.

Also, I love Matt Damon, I do, but I'm not sure if he was quite the right fit for this role.

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A visual delight!

As many shorter K-BLs, this is a snack for in-between; light, without much substance but well-executed for what it is.

What I liked:
* This movie is a visual delight. The actors are cute, the lighting at night is bright and fits the mood, the sets look comfy.
* The background music confirms the light-heartedness of the story.
* The story does not pretend to be anything but what it is: A light and simple love story.
* The straightforwardness of the younger guy was refreshing, I loved how he made it very clear what he wanted, without pressuring the chef.

What I did not like:
* I wish the plot would focus on either the chef's inner journey from "Is it possible I find another man cute?" to "I want a relationship with him, even if my friend wants it too!" or the love triangle. Doing both means that they couldn't do either enough justice within the time frame they had.
* Why the timeskip at the end? It did not add anything meaningful to the plot or the character development, and it took away from the emotional impact that the couple had their happy ending. Maybe it was supposed to be a set-up for a possible sequel? It would explain why the usually more stoic chef would cry so hard during the hug.
* The realist in me is pointing out that a rooftop restaurant with comfy chairs and sofas is not a sensible thing: If it rains, everything will get wet. And what about winter?

Overall, like some other Korean BL-movies, a nice way to spend an afternoon if you need something where everybody is beautiful and nothing hurts (much) -- but you won't miss anything if you skip this one.

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Watch this for my Movie Alphabet Challenge & Inoue Mao. Been a while since I've watched her in Hanadan. Haha...

Tell story about Takuma, a boy who is told he will die before he's 20, and Mayu, a girl who is in love with him. Takuma & Mayu met in the hospital, where Takuma get hospitalize & Mayu who wait for her father, Takuma's doctor. By accident, young Takuma & Mayu heard about the fact that Takuma will die before he's 20. But since they're just a little kid, they embrace that fact in their own way.

Fast forward to the future, Mayu continues to stay close, support and love Takuma's side until they're in high school & the taunting limit age of Takuma's life closing by. And this where the story start moving again with all the sad feeling that linger in the air.

Takuma, who knows his days are numbered, start to pushes away his feelings for Mayu and distances himself from her. He cannot stand to see her cry or hurt her more than he already has. Takuma decided to enroll himself in the boarding school to separate himself with Mayu. But instead just giving up, Mayu persistently stick herself to Takuma by enroll herself to the same school with Takuma.

In that school, Mayu meets another man who has feelings for her, and Takuma meets a woman who has the same illness, and their feelings for each other begin to waver. So how their story ended...?

That's pretty much the story without giving much of the spoiler. Overall I really like this movie. A good movie to spend your time with. Fair warning, just prepare your tissue when you watch this... Haha...

Below I'll write more about my thought. But it is BIG SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it at ur own risk.












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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This movie tell us the harsh fact of life.
* How Takuma try to distance himself from Mayu but fail. How he got jealous when there's another boy that start to chase Mayu.
* We can see the selfish side of people for our loved one. Like when Mayu begged the donor family to just give up their 'brain dead' son. And the family said, that his son still able to cry, so they're not giving up.
* How brave Takuma, when he makes piece with death by accepting his time.

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One of the Shaw Bros' finest hours

I've often seen The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter ranked as one of the Shaw Brothers' finest productions. Despite the troubled production that the film endured after the tragic loss of Alexander Fu Sheng, this swan song to the old-school martial arts epic is every bit as great as I'd ever hoped it would be. It captures the viewer's attention from the beginning, as it shifts from the introduction of an eerie prophecy to a scene of betrayal to the Battle of Jinsha, a delightfully surreal action sequence that was unquestionably filmed on a barebones Shaw Brothers soundstage, from the unbelievably choreographed, ferocious and opera-like opening battle scene to the teeth-ripping finale, everything in this film worked. The interwoven contemplation of Buddhist ethics gives the film a thematic hook that goes beyond the typical 3 stage revenge drama plot mechanics that typify many of these films, the extended debate operates as a thinly-veiled metaphor for the monks' position with the outside world. Themes of loyalty run throughout with revenge never far from the surface. This certainly ranks up there as one of Lau Kar-leung's best-directed films, even with the significant loss of Alexander Fu Sheng, the film rebounds well, the choreography is frequently fantastic and the ever-reliable Gordon Liu delivers an outstanding performance as the lone lead with Kara Hui in a welcome supporting role. Not all Shaw Brothers films are created equal, but The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter could very well be considered the staff bearer for the studio, it really is fantastic.

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I hate the ending

Watch this as one of the recommendations to fill my Alphabet challenge. Quick movie to help me fill the letter 'K'.

The story of Jhe Ming who just got married with A Jhen, but haven't told his mother yet. This short movie really represents us the struggle that every LGBTQ+ community feel when they need to tell their family.

This short movie open withc such a good note, but the ending.... UGH!!!

Without such an ending, I really like to give this movie a really good score. But that endings really make me downgraded the score so very much... So the max score I can only give this is 5.

Below is SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it at ur own risk.












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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The ending for me really end with such a weird note. It's like Jhe Ming's mother wants to give approval, but still hold something in her heart.

Really agreed with _Shinigami_ in the comment: "The ending felt weird. She didn’t exactly seem to accept it, but nonetheless everyone seemed happy? For clearance (and bl happiness) I would’ve liked if they ended it with a scene of their wedding (with the mother present..)"

Yeah I need closure for this movie. Such a shame...

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It's a Psychological Thriller People!

On reading the bad reviews, I think some people missed the theme of this movie. It wasn't just about same sex attraction, it was a psychological thriller, about when one man takes his role too much to heart - i.e. "Method" acting.
I was already a fan of Park Sung Woong, but now I am head over heals, because of this film!
And, Oh Seung-hoon - fabulous.
I was holding my breath in the last scene! Wonderful writing. Great acting!
As one of the 'good' MDL reviewers said - both actors were very brave to take on these roles. Their raw emotions were on show. The vulnerable "Singer" became the alpha, by taking his role on stage *off* the stage.
Yes, I would watch it again, but after watching a few fluffy romcoms first - I need to calm down a bit....

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