Reviews

I feel good

Sweet short story set in a rural area. I liked it. I watch short films a lot and get confused at the end a lot too. But this was unique and beautiful. The side character was so energetic I loved him. Pretty good story if you want to watch a lightweight short sweet film. I liked it how their intimate scenes were done. And the scene where the one apple falls it was like the indication that he left his apple (his heart) there and I was worried cause it might mean he will either come back or forget everything. Fortunately a good ending.

I'll definitely rewatch it. It's just 26 minutes guys

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As fluffy as a white vail in a summer breeze...

This short film is indeed short, to the point and tackles pretty much what one may expect a same sex couple would have to deal with when searching for a place to take a wedding photo in a country that does not allow people of the same sex legal marriage rights.

Add to it that the couple is indeed stuck inside a box (or the closet), which makes is just that little bit more harder. Between the unnecessary obstacles we do also get to see some fluff, the very present hetero norm and well more fluff.

The acting is decent, the photography a bit shaky at times... the lighting varies between dark, meeh to light and yes fluffy white vails... just like the title entails.

Definitely a short film worth a watch, and while it may not bring much new to the photographer it does offer some pretty decent representation.

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Could have been deeper and more thrilling, still entertaining with interesting concepts showcased

I am generally a sucker for that kind of sci-fi movie set (more or less) in our contemporary world but with futuristic elements making it quite different from our real life. The first part of the picture was quite a wild ride with some interesting conflict: it was a bit too melodramatic but worked quite well overall to set the stakes. In its second part, the story lost a bit its potential as it became too easy for the main lead. Due to the concept itself, there was a lack of suspense and thrills. The ending was good but would have benefited of more fleshed out relationship between some of the characters to be properly rewarding.

The acting was ok overall. I quite enjoyed the performance of Yamazaki Kento who was the central figure and his interactions with the cat were super cute. I also liked Fujiki Naohito: his character was pretty interesting to follow. Unfortunately I found that the rest of the casting was a bit bland for some of the roles and a bit over-the-top for some others. I would have loved to be more transported by the main relationship and would have appreciated more nuances regarding the antagonists.

I found the filmmaking quite good, with a certain poetry for some of the scenes. The various inventions with their related sketches were nicely made and were a crucial addition to the fulfillment of the plot. The OST (with more specifically one key song for the characters) provided a lovely nostalgic vibe to the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a sci-fi movie. I do not want to give too much away but if you like series like "Fringe" or books like "The Ice People" from Barjavel, you might give it a go (as it plays roughly with some of the same topics but in a more superficial way I would say). I wish it would have been deeper and more angsty but I still had a great time watching this film.

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Jung-e, A very deep AI Sci-Fi

This Sci-Fi korean movie is about an AI researcher who is into a project to build a combat AI through brain cloning her mother.
Why her mother though? - Well, there's a heart touching mother- daughter backstory. She wants the world to remember hermother as the legendary soldier that she was!
It has got amazing CGI, stunning action and cinematography.
And this is not all. This one goes a step above to show that humanity doesn't only belong to humans.
Humanoid robots also deserve equality and liberty -may sound weird but the story actually is pretty deep.
Is it human enough to control the thoughts and memories of the deceased in the name of AI experiments?

It is absolutely a must watch.

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Too dragged out, good popcorn movie

I just scrolled through netflix and just clicked this without thinking too much after watching the preview.

First off it was veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery slow paced, but i didn't mind since i was watching it with my cousin so i was very determined to finish it.

I find it really boring in the beginning, but not boring enough to make me click off and find another movie.

There were a lot of unnecessary parts in the movie and by "a lot", i mean like A LOT. I get it you're trying to show that this and this character is like this, but you don't need to keep rubbing it in to the viewers like "here's a another very dragged out one long shot of this character doing this just to show how crazy this person is", like come on. This movie could've been chopped down to like 1hr 30mins or lower if they didn't put those unnecessary parts. They're weren't adding anything to the story at all anymore, they're just there to bore people out.

Once the movie started picking up, like an hour later (finally thank god) then i became interested, but it also started becoming predictable... I think they gave out the hints too early, or maybe im just good at picking up crumbs?

The villain was not well written for imo, i think he's to sloppy for someone who does villain stuff and he was not interesting at all, he's too boring as a villain.

The main characters was okay, specially the male lead, i think the writer did an okay job, but the way the male and female leads relationship developed, was kinda half assed for me, i think its TOO fast considering how it took forever to build up the story. I think the time of those unnecessary parts could've been invested to build up other characters or maybe paced the relationship of the male and female leads right.

I find it weird how they filmed this like an early 2000s film, considering this was a 2018 movie. Like the cinematography was like... i don't know how to described it.

The ending was an okay ending, it's like they took a safe route ending if this was a video game, they were some plot points that were left unanswered, but i guess ill take it.

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Its okay not to forgive

This is really a good movie it made cry so much also the actress played jimin really did a great job. She just made me feel lot of emotions and i just felt her pain. To the people who couldn’t get this movie: well in those days male dominance and hierarchy played major role in child abuse. If you have noticed in the movie jimin and her brother would drop hints like how their father abused both of them without any reason but justified it in the name of discipline for example jimin is a smart girl who got into a prestigious school which is what her father wanted but she still got abused.which means she doesn’t even know why she was abused when she does all the things he asked for , she couldn’t accept it and started to stand up herself ,one of reasons why she couldn’t forgive them. Also in the end (in the scene where she visits parents with the Paternity test) she figured out that her father abuses her when he has a bad day which is a crime also the worst part is he use the word discipline to hide behind his crimes instead of reflecting on it. All she wanted was a reason (why he abused her) from him=a reason to live. (You would know if you watch the movie )

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Maybe God is a fujoshi?

What can you do to improve upon a perfection? Make it just as perfect but shorter!

Even if I still do not understand why they'd go and make a movie only two years after that amazing drama (Fujoshi, Ukari...) was released, at least they did not ruin it!

What She Likes... is a beautiful coming of age drama dealing with one's own sexuality and the acceptance thereof. What it is not is a BL! It is a LGBT movie. It deals with trials and tribulations of a young man who knows himself to be gay but he is aware the society is not that tolerant or willing to accept people who do not fit the preconceived and deeply rooted idea of what is "normal". So he tries to fit the mould and fails brilliantly. The backlash of a forced outing is huge.

Jun is an 18 yr old aware of his own sexuality but struggling to accept it himself. He is seeing an older married man and deep down wants to have what his boyfriend has: a wife and kids. So he starts dating a girl who is a huge bl fan, a fujoshi and who is hiding that because she was told once she was disgusting for liking bls. Jun somehow feels the same about himself so he does not say anything to his friends or his mother believing they'd find him just as disgusting.

Jun's questioning of himself is portrayed very realistically. I found the school class discussion very true: kids were just saying things they think adults want to hear, open minded and politically correct, accepting differences without prejudices. Until the kid who caused all the mayhem by outing Jun, calls them on it and is quickly made to shut up. This scene shows how the society in general does not want to talk seriously about hard subjects and prefers hiding them under the carpet.

The friends, Jun's close friends, are the only ones treating him as an ordinary kid when he was outed while everyone else looked at him like an exotic beast in a circus. And even though the world is getting to be more and more open and accepting all differences on the surface, deep down the problem remains as is shown in two examples in the movie: a gay kid whose parents took him to see a doctor and a closeted gay student who does not want to be seen with Jun.

The only scene I did not like, both here and in the drama, was when Miura "came out" as fujoshi in front of the school assembly. I found it so wrong on so many level but mainly it is not the same thing not it has the same consequences being a fujoshi and being gay!

The story is poignant, true and the actors are all excellent. It is a must watch!

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good dark romance story with realistic visuals

Better Days -9/10 -cmovie
its dark romance story between bullied girl and small time thug.
Whole movie got quite dirty dark vibe... I liked how actors looks unkempt and quite average looking.
This movie got :Parasite[movie]: like feel though story is very different.

Ending of movie makes it looks like its based on real case, but its based on novel, which I may read later on[its jsut how good this story was+ novel aint long].

plot - FL is student in her last year of high school preparing for exams. One day she gets to see suicide site of one of her fellow student quittance. Police starts to investigate and ask her questions which makes her next target for bullying. One day FL meets ML which is being beaten up by gang and tries help him. Its how FL and ML meets.

genre - romance, bullying, school

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Three vivacious boys and the mountain they live on

Hang in There, Kids! was written and directed by Taiwan's first female indigenous director, Laha Mebow. The film features three mischievous boys who live on a picturesque mountain and are about to graduate from the 6th grade. Though they go about their days in a joyful, care-free manner, their smiles hide very real pain.

Watan who is an orphan living with his grandmother is the de facto leader of the group. He is overjoyed that his high school dropout brother has returned from Taipei to help with his grandmother's farm. Watan also harbors a not-so-secret crush on his afterschool teacher, Lawa, who is confined to a wheelchair. Chen Hao lives with his aging single father and longs for his absentee mother. The last of the group and the shortest is Lin Shan who wants to be an NBA player like Jeremy Lin. His father drinks too much and belongs to a band that struggles to find gigs in Taipei.

Whether pinching Watan's grandmother's veggies or Chen Hao's dad's peaches to sell illegally on the road or running away to spend the night with a French couple on the mountain, the boys always find joy in the moment. Despite their troubles they look for fun and adventure wherever they are. A fieldtrip to Taipei with their class gives each of them a chance to discover or share something important.

Music is woven throughout the film whether it is a naughty ditty the boys sing, a father's heartfelt apology and love for his son, or a woman's song of love and life after a crushed dream. The songs are skillfully used to not only enhance the emotions in a scene but also to tell part of the story.

The three boys carry the weight of the film on their small shoulders as the conflicts in this slice of life film are minimal. Watan's brother becomes involved with marijuana growers looking for land, Granny needs new teeth, and there's the small meaningful disclosure of the teacher's former life, but it's not like there are huge plot revelations. Most of the film is played out through the boys' daily lives and their search for a mother, a father, or a gift of love to a teacher. The boys' natural and energetic performances brought to gentle life the telling of their stories. If ever there was a setting that could be billed as a co-star it would be the scenic, mysterious mountain the boys traverse during their adventures.

There was a peaceful mood to this film. Even with the familial problems, the boys were close and tactile with each other and the other adults in the film. Lawa may have been in a wheelchair, but her heart soared to the children she cared for and the mountain around them. A sense of community and pride defined the story and the Sqoyaw people within it. Hang in There, Kids! was 90 minutes of friendship, family, and a little heartache. The mountain had its dark side but there was always something to discover. "What do you know? Maybe great things will happen." This tranquil, touching film about childhood is one to try if you enjoy this genre.

5/26/23

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A short and to-the-point flip show.

A fair amount of this black-and-white short film leaves the viewer to soak in the ambience of Hokusai's work, asking us to view history through his eyes as well as the eyes of the poets of his time. The narration doesn't say very much, but when it does it's very pointed, drawing our attention to the everyday lives of the working class and the timeless bitterness towards the wealthy class overtaxing them to pay for "hired guns" (in this case, samurai).

The few live action sequences do a good job of demonstrating what the woodblock printing process is like and how it can be used to highlight the perspective that Hokusai strove for, yet I can't help thinking about how much impressive depth is lost in the absence of Hokusai's vivid colors.

Overall, it is a decent sampling of what Hokusai's portfolio has to offer and worth a look if you're curious.

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Love lost and found

So I kinda like the movie more than the drama. Well, the drama was already good but I was craving some happy moments between leads which was not tinged with sadness and here, that happens. The crumbs they serve here are in big chunks and gawd I am all there for it. I would happily say this is more like a continuation because otherwise, it wouldn't make sense of how LJW thinking of HYX when she teleported to the past, also the two timelines they show simultaneously. It was so sad but MJJ was alive so I liked it even more!! I liked there was not much killing n all lol, also we got a better ending than the drama! although extended ver showed still. This ending is way better to soothe my heart.

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car action movie worth watch with badass female lead

Special Delivery[2022] -8,5/10 kmovie

if you liked The Transporter series with Jason Statham you will like this one too.
Its action based movie with alot car action and female driver as main and child as package to be delivered.
After seeing this movie I guess I will check out some of other Park So Dam dramas.

plot - FL is best driver for special delivery which specialize in delivering anything worth money to destination without being caught. Once FL leads gets job to deliver father with son, but father got caught before meeting point and kid is pursued. FL pick up kid and got dilemma what to do with him.

genre - action, cars

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I'd probably go crazy if I heard those birds scream everynight.

I think this film was packed with too much symbolism which I could not pick up on (e.g. the birds). It was honestly an ok film, I just can't find anything to really appreciate about it.

I think the ML's writing could've been explored a lot more. I keep thinking about him talking about his novel and him just describing what happened in his relationship. Like, completely conspicuous. And for the ML, I would've liked to see her past relationship a bit more as well. And also a bit more of their relationship beforehand when they were just mere acquaintances. We only got one scene from when they were just acquaintances/friends. It would have been interesting to look at, what I would describe as the ML's obsessiveness, a bit more.

It felt quite depressing and gloomy at times despite nothing in the present day was bad. In fact, they shared quite a lot of good moments together. I did find it to be almost hopeful at times.

I will say that I totally skipped over the sex scene, and the make out one the next morning which the FL resists at least twice before she just gives in.

I would definitely watch it again to see if I could actually pick up on anything new. Especially because of how good the acting was.

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To be honest, I don't fully know how I feel about this film.

The concept was quite enticing, but completely predictable. I already knew what had happened and also how it was going to end quite early on. And it was quite on the shorter side. I do think they could've tried to expand it just a bit and made it slightly longer. And even though I saw a lot of it coming, I was still very interested to see whether it would end in the way I had predicted.

There was quite a bit of symbolism that I did not understand. There was a blue feather which the MC does explain, I just don't remember what he said about it. There's also a painting involved. And I'm sure if I knew the painting, I would understand the film much better. There was also some stuff around motherhood from two different perspectives - a mother, and someone who doesn't have a mother.

Some moments/things I want to mention:
- towards the beginning, the MC says something like, 'your otaku son is really weird yanno. He only ate curry. Who does he thing he is, an Indian?' It caught me off guard so I had to rewind it so I could laugh for a two minutes straight. (I am ethnically Indian btw)
- +1 for the otaku son having the same DS as me
- +1 again for the otaku son's mother crocheting in the film. I had my own project next to me so I picked it up so we could crochet together lmao, but we hold our hooks differently.

I found it quite uncomfortable at times, but I liked that. But it wasn't out there enough for me, personally, I enjoyed the process of watching it, but I don't have much to discuss beyond that.

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