This review may contain spoilers
More Twisted Than Terrifying
Seriously, there's going to be lots of spoiler. Hopefully, I avoid the major one.I went into *The Stain* expecting a horror movie. The trailer looked promising, and the premise of a mysterious woman, a troubled past, an apartment complex, and a supernatural presence sounded like exactly my kind of thing. I also noticed its relatively low 6.7 rating on MyDramaList, so I wasn't expecting a masterpiece. What I wasn't prepared for was how much the movie is actually a psychological relationship drama with horror slowly creeping into the background.
About halfway through, I'm still undecided whether this is a good horror movie, but I am definitely interested in the story.
The strongest part so far is the relationship between the characters. Pran and Malee knew each other since childhood, and their history is much darker and more complicated.
Pran is probably the most interesting character to me so far. He initially comes across as quiet and caring, especially because he falls for Malee first and clearly carries feelings for her from childhood. But there are warning signs everywhere. His childhood relationship with violence, his tendency to immediately want to eliminate problems, his reaction to the cat, his beating of Kim, and the moment he nearly hits Malee all suggest that there is something deeply wrong underneath his calm exterior.
What makes him more interesting is that he seems to know it himself. He openly tells Namsai that he's afraid he might hurt Malee. That self-awareness doesn't necessarily make him less dangerous; if anything, it makes the character more complicated.
Asanai is another character I can't quite figure out. At first, he seems like Pran's loyal friend who can calm him down when his temper gets out of control. But the more he talks to Malee and Pran, the more manipulative he seems. He tells Malee that Pran could eventually hurt her, tells her that he could give her more than Pran, and later encourages Pran to think that Malee could leave him just as easily as she left Kim.
Then there's Namsai. She's probably the biggest contrast to Malee. Malee feels like someone who has already been damaged by life, while Namsai initially feels almost untouched by it. She's cheerful, vibrant, easy-going and brings a completely different atmosphere whenever she appears. I can understand why Pran is drawn to her, even though his attachment to Malee is much deeper.
However, I can understand why people describe this movie as more of a psychological/relationship drama than straight horror. The horror isn't constant. A lot of the runtime is spent on relationships, jealousy, trauma, manipulation and sexual tension. If you're expecting something like *Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum* or *Siccin*, this isn't that kind of horror.
So far, I'd describe *The Stain* as **a psychological relationship drama that slowly mutates into supernatural horror**, rather than a pure horror movie.
Was this review helpful to you?
I needed more!
Overall, it was a good movie to me.There was romance, comedy, even alittle bit of drama.
The acting was solid.
I can’t speak on character development considering there wasn’t enough of their backstory shown to make an adequate assessment.
I would’ve liked to see more of their journey to finding their way back to each other.
It would’ve been nice to see their childhood together and how their bond developed/changed over time.
I wanted to see the yearning and the depth of their connection that drew them back together.
This story would’ve made a beautiful romance series instead of a movie but I still enjoyed watching it nonetheless.
Was this review helpful to you?
You don't know exactly what you are watching and trying to force a coherent narrative is futile, so if you are a person who needs these elements to enjoy a film, perhaps it's not the best option to choose from. But once the movie ends, it lingers with you and eventually it all makes perfect sense. I mean, perfect sense...and you'll be even more in awe.
It's about memory and dreams, and cinema. I don't want to give more details, because it will ruin the experience.
Was this review helpful to you?
Love is a matter of timing.
Only for those who have lived long enough. I prefer *In the Mood for Love*, but this one closes the story, and in that way, it has its own charm.Poetic, more fragmented than his previous works. The fact that each character speaks in their own language (Japanese, Cantonese and Mandarin) and you get used to it as something normal is fantastic. As well as the acting.
You can see many things here that you find again in *Blossoms Shanghai*, even clearer than in *In the Mood for Love.* No surprise I loved the series, WKW did an amazing job evolving to that format and to the present day while keeping his signature and classic themes.
And on a final note, Wong Kar-wai's influence on Bi Gan, particularly in *Long Day's Journey into Night (2018),* is evident yet the latter brings his own personality. Of course I was going to like his portfolio too - perhaps even a bit more.
Was this review helpful to you?
Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General
0 people found this review helpful
The Greatest Japanese Series Continues ...
Just by saying this is one of the greatest series I ever watched ... it doesn't explain how great it is. It's really difficult to put into words unless you watch it!!! This being the forth installment, you'd think it would start to lose its appeal. That couldn't be further from the truth. I think this may be the best one so far, and that's saying a lot, because the previous three were absolutely fantastic. If you didn't see the prequels, you may not totally appreciate this fourth part, but you'd still enjoy it as an extremely entertaining movie. It gives you great protagonists, wicked evil antagonists and lots of wonderful side stories in between.I've always been an enormous fan of Kento Yamazaki, not just from this series, but from so many other great projects he's been involved with ... but this one by far, being his best work. He gives such a commanding performance as Shin, it's really incredible to watch. He makes it look easy, but you know it wasn't. Kento truly steals every scene he's in with his brilliant acting. Behind him is also an unbelievable supporting cast. Takao Osawa playing the mighty General Ohki and Ryo Yoshizawa as King Eisei lead the rest of the brilliant characters in this series.
It's an exhausting two and a half hours, because the excitement never slows from the very first minute right through to the end as the credits roll.
I think if I have to find one negative ..... it would be that we have to wait to see the continuation in Kingdom 5. Just the way part 4 ends, it leaves you with such anticipation for part 5 to begin.
Way to go Yamaken !!! Can't wait to see you bring back Shin again.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I can't take this serious, I apologise.
I'm back at writing reviews and watching shorts again. I really love watching shorts and besides that, they don't take much of my time. This short was just amazing, musically wise. But the plot didn't exist. I don't even think I should label this as a spoiler because there are no spoilers to give.In mid/end 2000s there was this trend of shorts with no words. But I rather not criticise films because they have no dialogue. I had no idea about this but Boy meet Boy was made as an LGBTQ+ awareness campaign film, focussing on helping younger LGBTQ teens understand their own feelings. There were production wise some scene's just badly edited, I've seen the exact problem happening often in older shorts. At the same time, this mini short teaches how you have to be careful when talking to a stranger.
That cupid singing was totally unexpected. When she started singing I immediately recognised this song. Someone tell me if this is just a viral song or if I just happened to know it?? The song over all was a bit too long to my opinion. When a short in general already has no dialogue it just feels weird to suddenly add a song? although it matched the situation I didn't really like it.
What confused me was that they randomly started hugging over a film?? They are stranger right? And then all of the sudden that stupid cupid girl returns. The shots after that hug also made no sense. Overall, it was quite good (for the song) but uhh.... the plot was pretty much non existent.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Incredible
I was looking for a Japanese movie or drama that is similar to The Truman Show, that would inspire lucidity and this did not disappoint. The story is incredible- it only uses the subway station as the backdrop for the entire movie and yet it’s more engaging than anything I’ve seen in recent times. The main actor is incredible and the little boy is so adorable and innocent and brilliant. I was concerned that it might be too scary for me because it was listed as a horror movie but it was more interesting than scary- eerie and surreal would be a better word to describe it. After watching it once I watched it again. It’s quite addicting and even in a simple storyline there is so much hidden depth and meaning to each scene.Was this review helpful to you?
Bawl-worthy!
I haven't cried THIS HARD in years! Not sad tears, but healthy tears - in torrents. Been crying for more than an hour now, bawling my eyes out, complete with sobs and pants and nose-blowing and all! I won't say much. Just watch SUNSHINE WOMEN'S CHOIR🇹🇼 on NETFLIX and make sure you've got a box of tissues nearby.Was this review helpful to you?
Dangerous Family
The Korean title of this film, 가화만死성, means "Blessing of a Harmonious Family," but the Chinese character in the middle (死) means "death." I think the English title Home Sweet Home is quite overused, so they could have chosen something more original.After watching all three stories, I was wondering what connects them. Is it the religious elements that appear in the first two stories, or revenge, which seems to link the second and third? In the end, I realized the unifying theme is family relationships and how terrifying it becomes when someone you trust turns out to be your enemy. Each story has its own distinct unsettling atmosphere, and all of them are quite interesting.
핏줄 (Bloodline) — This is a real horror story. I would have liked to watch a full-length feature film of this. It was dynamic and scary, but everything felt a bit rushed and ended too quickly.
체크메이트 (Checkmate) — This one is strange. It feels more like a social drama and uses chess as a central analogy. The main character is in constant danger of being put into "checkmate" in his life, yet he desperately tries to make moves that will help him escape his fate.
전세, 역전 (Jeonse Reversal) — Out of the three stories, this one feels the most familiar. It reminds me of many other Korean revenge stories where the victim seeks justice in a cruel way.
Was this review helpful to you?
sometimes what we imagine may not be reality
got to know tht it is the real life story of the director but he never got a chance to meet his love again in life so he made the ending of the movie what he imagined in real life. nd i think tht want makes this movie perfect for me. in recent stories we have been seeing tht how LGBTQA+ has bcoz more common tht everyone has will js accept it as a normal love but ppl in reality know how much they suffer nd this movie portray tht very much similar. i am not saying tht the recent dramas are not good but everyone don't accept this love as much they accept straight love. the thing i love abt this drama most abt is tht how they show tht one of the character is not afraid to protect nd show his love to everyone while other is scared of society, even though he is also in love with the other person. i can never re watch this movie without crying my eyes out but i will sure recommend this movie to everyone who ever hasn't seen this movie, coz this is one of the realistic queer movie u will ever watchWas this review helpful to you?
Messy and real
Overall I loved this movie.Set against early nineties Taiwan and university students trying to change a system that has been rife with uncontested top-down power structures.
Following characters that have nuance and depth. This is only a movie, so there isn't the same amount of time to flesh things out as you might get in a drama series. But they use subtlety and care to craft characters that are vibrant and distinct, and each have their own complexities that may not necessarily make them bad people, but certainly could be considered messy people. Flawed people. Struggling to balance protecting themselves and being true to themselves. Real.
There are some serious themes here. Nothing too crazy, but this is not just romance fluff. It is more about figuring out your place in the world and what you actually want from it.
All in all I was very glad to have stumbled across this movie.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD — but honestly, I don't think y'all will mind getting spoiled a little
A botanist, a poisonous flower, childhood trauma, adultery, murder, ghosts, therapy, and a man committing MULTIPLE crimes because he was secretly in love with his best friend 😭💀I went in expecting horror and left watching a chaotic supernatural love triangle with a body count...T_T
Apart from some very unnecessary and highly misogynistic scenes in the latter half of the movie.... this can actually be a fun watch 🤝
Apo, Engfa, Jes & Freen carried this whole thing. They served as usual, but the production was just… bad🥲
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is the type of show you can only watch once
let's get this started this show is good but I believe that it not as sad as you would think it would be I feel as if it not as much as sad but horror you know if you know the story you know it deals with homophobia and hating's oneself I find the horrifying and you probably should to okay so to the storythe story's start was very confusing for me and the pacing was confusing for me to but at the end it all made sense it feels like some scenes where missing, but it wasn't it was as if he was just him telling his memories of birdy so that was what kind of made me start to understand the story a little bit more if you got confused, I'm 80 percent sure that's what was happening
Now to the story the story was good it felt kind of heart felt not in too much of a sad why but it was kind of scary if you have ever dealt with anything similar to his situation and I really liked how the story talked about real life matters that happen daily like homophobia, self-acceptance, and internalized homophobia where like big things in the show and the fact that it was set inside of a catholic school and a pastor/preacher I forgot as an important character added I lot of dept to this story and the fact that he was telling the paster this
Was this review helpful to you?
The film establishes itself as a fun and unpretentious option for B-movie and dinosaur story enthusiasts, standing out for its ability to deliver constant action within a classic survival premise.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
excellent spy story
I will actually try not to spoil the movie. After alot of drama watching a film seems as fragile as a butterfly's wing, and I dont want to ruin it.Just finished the show and it is the real deal Zhang Yi Mou. Very beautiful.
Classic double and triple crosses.
No holds barred, no sentiment.
It is a movie, so not every end is tied up in a bow (his pregnant wife? and the ex-girlfriend?).
Patriotism, as in most serious spy stories, is a pretty bleak state. There are quite a few C-movies that I will never watch, but everything in the spy world is already a shade of grey, so you can feel secure watching it.
Straight-up, a movie about double-crossing spies and moles has got to be difficult to figure out. (I can hear the complaints already! For spy shows, if you cant stand the heat....) My wits seem to have been dulled by long dramas, so I may have to watch it again, but as with most good action movies, things seem to be settling into mental place in this hour afterwards.
Excellent sound and visuals, the lazy crawl of traffic on the elevated highways is a recurrent motif, with the focus on one big circular interchange. I do not think I saw a piece of red or orange in the entire film -- it is mostly blue and black, with some green and yellow for relief.
I really liked it. I was captivated by Jackson Yee. Want to see the next film he is in, sequel to this or no.
Was this review helpful to you?
