Reviews

What r u gonna do if you can re-life your life....? To what timeline will you go back...? What will you learn from the re-life...? Will you change your life with that timeline...?

Arata Kaizaki get the chance to re-life his life. He went back to the 3rd / last year of high school. Some of us will gonna said that the best time, some of us will said no not really.... But yeah High School sometimes is the best year to repeat your life. We still got our youth, the future ahead of us, the friends that we can make, etc....

But the concept of the movie quite unique and strange. Haha... Arata Kaizaki (AK) went back in time, but it's only like dream, where nothing actually change nor he can make memories to anyone around him. So yeah it's like a dream, he can experience it but also at the same time like watching the movie.

What I really like from this movie is the spirit AK gave us. He know he can't change anything nor make memories to anyone around him, but he still he still decided to make a difference. He still decided to make friends, help his friends change & gave them the courage that they need sometimes. The positive energy he gave really make a change. Even they don't remember him in the end, but his courage & motivational word stick with people around him. And after that he also finally get to know himself more & found his purpose, what he will do when he get back to his life.

What can be better! For me only 2 things can make this movie better & get the 9 ⭐️ that I originally want to give:
1. I would like see the photo. Haha... They took the pic at the graduation (I think) I really want to see that photo. Will AK be there or not...? Is he only disappear on people memory or also in the photo...?
2. The weird ending. The last sentence is really make me want to bite or scream or kick the director. Why...? Why...? Why...? They must leave us with that weird conversation...? Why not ending it with the meeting of AK & the new teacher...? Or at least gave us full sentence that go fade out still gonna be better... I just don't like the hanging ending like this....

Overall this one good movie to reflect your own life...

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Plot holes everywhere

I watched this because it was recommended on Bilibili for its brilliant integration of ethnic culture with modernization. Yes, the actors and clothing are beautiful, however the plot is just trash. What even is this?
Duo falls in love with Yue at first sight and chases her around like a creepy stalker. The screenwriter tries to justify Duo and Beibei's touchiness as "stereotypical American culture," but what girl in their right mind would believe these two have nothing romantic? If I was Yue I would also think Duo is frivolous. Yue refuses to admit she's Duo's childhood friend for some mysterious reason, but this is never resolved even in the ending. There is no explanation. There are plot holes everywhere. There are random time skips. On top of that, there are so many random filler scenes with no dialogue. This feels more like a travel commercial.

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"Misfortune makes people stubborn"

The Quiet Duel was the second collaboration of Kurosawa Akira and Mifune Toshiro. The story was told from a field hospital during WWII and then in a small clinic for the poor right after the war. Due to the immediacy of the filming so close to the war the characters' struggles felt authentic. A young Mifune gave one of his most restrained performances as a doctor suffering in silence, refusing to give into desire or despair and living out his conscience dispensing hope to those who had less than he did.

Mifune's character, Dr. Fujisaki Kyoji, performs surgery on a man in a ramshackle field hospital low on supplies. During the surgery he accidentally cuts his finger and he continues on for another hour. Kyoji discovers that the patient has syphilis, contracted from his promiscuous lifestyle. The doctor contracted syphilis but had nothing to treat it with until he was sent home much later. The treatment would take 3-5 years, maybe longer. Knowing the stigma of being considered dirty with the disease the pure in heart doctor broke off his engagement with his fiancé. Minegishi, a probationary nurse at his clinic, was snide to him when she saw him treating himself with Salvarsan. Suffering her own shame from being a pregnant, single mother, she came to take his side when she heard the reason for his suffering. Into Kyoji's personal duel of desire and conscience walked Nakata, the man he'd contracted the disease from. Nakata had refused to seek treatment and had also married and impregnated his wife. Kyoji sought to help the couple only to find Nakata as reckless with his wife's health as he was with his own.

Mifune Toshiro had to portray the doctor's silent struggle to deny the desire of his heart and his body, to kill that desire with his conscience and commitment to being a doctor. His stethoscope became his armor against his desire for the woman he loved. He was torn for he had done nothing to deserve being kept from her, so why must he suffer? Minegishi made the correlation that some patients screamed when they were in pain, others dealt with their pain quietly, dripping in sweat. Mifune did an admirable job of portraying the selfless man writhing quietly in pain, refusing to retreat from helping others.

Sanjo Miki's Minegishi had the most character growth of anyone in the film. She went from an annoying, self-pitying probationary nurse to maturing into a caring person and mother. Initially she was one who would have been screaming in pain but learned to focus her attention on becoming a better woman and nurse biding her time for the doctor she had come to love.

As a modern viewer, I did question the good doctor performing surgery. Just as he had contracted the disease from a surgical accident, couldn't a patient be at risk as well? I suppose the poor people who came to see him unable to pay had few other choices.

Kurosawa kept the framing tight, never leaving his tormented doctor's face too far from sight. He was careful to make the distinction between Kyoji, an innocent contracting the disease and Nakata, a sexual scoundrel. Of course, there are many shades of gray with this medical issue, but in 1949 he was not going to explore those.

Despite the melodrama and heartbreak, the movie did end on a hopeful note. Kyoji and Minegishi learned to walk with their chins up and face their problems head on, teaching their patients to do the same thing. They might have to suffer as well, but where there are clouds the sun is also present if you can reach high enough.

4/25/23

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Beauty and the Beast

I have a big issue with a majority of manga adaptations which is that often they keep that manga feel: the over the top behaviour, screaming, making faces which, having its place in drawn form, should not be seen in live adaptation in my opinion. Couldn't that be one of the reasons that j dramas are underrated on this site and generally speaking? The rule is: you don't like, you don't watch, nobody's forcing you! I dropped so many J dramas so far!

Anyway they managed to tone down a bit that manga behaviour, not completely but just enough to make this movie watchable.

Shizuku is a high achiever in her high school. All she's interested in is studying, she has no friends nor she's interested in having any. One day teacher sends her to deliver some school material to Haru who hasn't been to school since the first day. When he meets he, he falls for her and goes back to school. The two of them attract attention of other students and soon enough a group of friends is created. But there is mystery behind Haru and his behaviour!

I came upon this movie on Feeds here recently and frankly I wouldn't have watched it if it weren't for Suda Masaki. He is extraordinary here playing Haru as a wild child raised by animals in the jungle something of Tarzan including hunched posture, wild jumps and animal growls. Afterwards we discovered that all this is a rebellion against his father.
Shizuku is a serious, very serious girl, who manages to tame Haru but also makes him run away because she fails to understand why he wants to run away from things she craves to have.

The main theme of this movie are actually the parents who often fail their children: Haru and Shizuku both have serious issues with their own parents mostly the abandonment be it physical by moving away or emotional. The kids' attitudes are direct result of that abandonment.

Since this is a movie, we did not get to see much of the friends group's development and there are some interesting side characters. The first friend Haru & Shizuku make is a girl fed up with her own online popularity but without real friends.

The cinematography is too bright but pale with only red school uniforms standing out. There were a few rather unconvincing special effects. The music is nice but nothing remarkable. Don't forget to watch the final credits: that is the real ending of the movie.

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Basic story, but memorable scenes

I'm writing this straight from the premiere. I didn't have many expectations for this movie, as the plot seemed (and really was) very basic and simple, but I really enjoyed it!

it's very well executed, with a beautiful cinematography, great writing & very impactful scenes that make the movie stand out a lot more despite its simplicity. there is a lot of soul behind this movie, which is something that is not always present & changes everything.

the acting was very good, and the chemistry between nanon & film truly beautiful. nanon especially really shined in this role that got him to embody a bunch of different emotions & expressions. the scene where they share a bed & nanon is all shy is truly THE CUTEST EVER, I was smiling the whole time bc it truly put an adorable twist to an otherwise basic scene we've seen many times before.

the characters were all great, and even the side characters who didn't get much character development stood out with their unique descriptions (ohm with his constant boner, neo the scratcher of balls & ass, chimon the annoying one, & euro with his ridiculous bike compared to the other guy's motorbikes.) it all created a very believable friend group, and the friendship was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the movie.

this movie is so fun, and I laughed a whole lot. obviously the two most notable scenes that I have no doubt will be all over twitter once the movie leaks online, is first nanon's whole ass appearing in the movie (ballsy!), and nanon full on making out with fluke pusit, throwing him on a table and straddling him, before neo does the same after him. I don't think I'm ever getting over that scene, and the whole audience lost their shit in that moment, how fucking random, and if you're a gmmtv fan it just makes this moment even funnier.

now for what I didn't love... the ending kinda disappointed me. I was not adverse to a sad ending, but for me it felt way too forced & didn't make much sense with the personalities of the characters, who have been very obvious they like each other since pretty much the beginning & have put a lot of effort into their relationship. for them to give up after one dumb fight felt too forced, even though I know with the showing of an alternate universe where they get back together, that was the point, I guess I just don't agree lol.

moreover, it's still a very basic story, so even without the last 30 minutes of the movie losing me a little bit, this could've never been my all time favorite thai movie for this reason. but the level of great execution from gmmtv on this is giving me hope that if they adapt original scripts, they'll do great. it's an exciting start for the movie-making side of their business!

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Degrees of love

This could be an educational movie about MILK: where it comes from and what becomes of it! The story of milk is told through 4 separate GL romances (???) of different degrees following the maturation and transformation of milk into a cheesecake! Very symbolic!

The first story, The Dairy Farm, talks about two childhood friends who are trying to get the cows to give more milk. They are extremely close friends but are they more? Open to interpretation! Playing the piano in the field for the cows was really cute and the chemistry between the girls was natural.

In the second story, The Cheesemaker, an overstressed and very unhappy city office girl, goes on an impromptu vacation to a countryside cheese maker's farmstead and B&B. There she bonds with the owner's daughter over making cheese with the milk from the previous story's dairy farm...a relationship in the making? Probably but nothing is ever said openly, everything is just implied.

The third story, Deliver Me, follows the earlier mentioned farm's cheese delivery girl who meets her high school best friend/girlfriend after a long time. They really talk for the first time ever. Probably my favourite story! I liked the delivery girl a lot, carrying her heart on her sleeve but lacking the courage to ask what she really wants to know with her ex pretending to be oblivious! The love they felt for each other was not mature enough to bloom properly.

In the last story, Baker, the delivery girl delivers cheese to a cafe where the owner makes delicious cheesecakes. She is being hit upon by her extremely annoying neighbour but is completely unaware of it while at the same time falling for her! This is a full fledged GL but fraught with misunderstandings and lack of communication (if they talked to each other from the beginning the movie would have been much much shorter).

The Cheese Sisters is a cute movie, the actresses have great chemistry and the countryside is really pretty especially in the first story. Each story is about 30min long. There is not much conflict and no toxicity whatsoever. I liked how the movie was constructed with every degree of love from friendship to committed relationship. Even the titles of stories can be understood as descriptions of these relationships. You will spend a nice moment watching this and then you'll forget about it!

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Overall: this could have been a 9 or higher if they had made things more clear.

What I Liked
- the sci fi/future aesthetics
- the actors did a good job
- making viewers think about differences between gender, sex and sexual orientation, I find this graphic useful https://au.reachout.com/articles/the-difference-between-gender-sex-and-sexuality

Room For Improvement
- things were just a little too open/not clearly stated, for example, Yi An asks Zhou Yang Kai if he'd like Yi An to be a woman but Zhou Yang Kai doesn't actually respond clearly either way. The ending is fairly open as well, I guess we can infer Yi An's choice but showing Yi An making the selection would have been good so viewers were clear about the decision.

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A good but confusing plot

When I began this movie, I started with a lot of expectations to be sincere and it definitely exceeded those expectations.
Inference Note is a movie worthy of ones free time. Who doesn't like movies which make you think and dissect even after watching it?
The plot was a bit confusing at some point but the story became clear thereafter. The acting skills were good enough to make me feel the emotions from my screen.
I have nothing to say about the romance between the main leads—if there was any— but they had good on screen chemistry.
The movie was full of surprises and twists. I enjoyed it.
Rewatch value: Maybe 6.5
It's a go ahead for me, a good movie to pass time or kill boredom or better still, rummage upon in your free time.

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Better days... I see better days in the movie industry...

Wow... I have to applaud everyone who participated in this movie; the Screenwriter, the Director, the Cast, the Crew and our Producers ofcourse.
This movie took me by surprise and left a very good impression on me. It was realistic—which I appreciate— and heart wretching.
The minor plot twists and the climax of the movie, the natural chemistry between the main leads and the wonderful acting skills of our overall cast made the movie one I will never forget.
Rewatch value; 7.0
Overall rating: 7.5
It's an heart wretching and meaningful movie that you wouldn't want to skip.
Go Ahead! *wink*

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"Put the family first!"

Cue the violins and bring out the box of tissues because Ode to My Father will shamelessly and successfully pull at your heartstrings. This film is not only an ode to one father, but two, as you follow a boy from childhood to old age selflessly working to provide for and keep his family together just as he had promised his father he would do.

The film follows Deok Su as a child in 1950 fleeing Hungnam as the Chinese were overrunning the city. His only task was to hold his little sister's hand as the family sought shelter on a US ship, the USS Meredith, accepting refugees. In the stampede to find a way onto the ship, his sister was lost. When his father turned back to find her, he tasked Deok Su to be the man of the family and always put the family first if he could not return. Deok Su took his promise seriously when they arrived at his aunt's shop in Busan. Accompanying him on his various entrepreneur ventures was his best friend, Dal Gu.

Deok Su would later go to Germany to be a coal miner, a dark and dangerous job, in order to pay for his brother and sister's schooling. There he would meet his future wife, a Korean woman studying to be a nurse, Young Ja. He and Dal Gu returned home when the Germans stopped renewing their work visas. After his aunt's death, his uncle wanted to sell the Kkotbun Shop. Once again, Deok Su stepped forward, this time taking Dal Gu with him to Vietnam to earn money as "technicians". The two friends would face the same choice the Americans did at the North Korean port when as they were fleeing Saigon women and children begged for them to let them onto their boat. In 1983 Deok Su and Dal Gu would go to Seoul in the hopes of finding his father and sister when the Korean Broadcasting Services showed families being reunited through their programs.

Deok Su's grown children cannot understand why he won't sell his shop or change the old-fashioned name. Deok Su who so easily sacrificed his own dreams and took dangerous jobs to provide for his family, privately confessed to his father's image how difficult the struggle had been. After promising his father he would always put the family first, the last words he heard his father speak were that he would meet them at the Kkotbun Shop. Never saying his purpose aloud, Deok Su kept the shop open in case his father survived so that he could find his way to them.

This was a nostalgic look back for older Koreans who after surviving the Japanese occupation were devastated by the Korean War. Their country divided and some families divided by the new boundaries, dealing with political and economic upheavals, mothers and fathers worked hard to feed and shelter their families among the continuing changes around them. The main character in this film shined shoes, dug coal, traveled to Vietnam during that war, and later ran the family shop. He did all this to make things easier for his family and children. In a letter to his wife, he told her how grateful he was that it was he that suffered and not his children. And of course, his children, as children are wont to do, did not fully understand the hardships and struggles their parents went through for them.

Lest you think it was all melodrama, fear not for there were gentle moments of humor that lightened the mood. As much as the film was about family and sacrifice it was also about friendship. It was heartwarming to watch Deok Su and Dal Gu stand by each other from childhood to old age.

A small historical note: The USS Meredith was credited with one of the largest humanitarian rescues when the ship dumped its cargo and took on 14,000 refugees in a ship designed for 12 passengers and 47 crew.

I am not a crier, but this movie moved me to tears on several occasions. I knew the director and music director were setting me up for the big emotional moments and did everything but present a cue card that said, "Cry now!" It didn't matter, the milestones in this film though far removed from my life still reminded me of the sacrifices and relentless hard work my parents and grandparents went through to make my life easier. And like the director, who made this film as a thank you to his father, it reminded me to say thank you to those who went before me. The desperation during times of political upheaval for people who have nowhere else to run is truly heartbreaking. I cried for the families around the world who have been separated by war, death, and poverty and felt gratitude for the ones left behind who have fought tenaciously to hold the survivors together and refused (and still refuse) to give up.

The film could swell emotionally and had an ambitious overview. It helped that the acting was on point and didn't boil over into being overwrought which kept the characters grounded. With all of the time jumps it could have been easy to become lost as we were given a personal tour by Deok Su through pivotal points in Korean history. Though the story covered decades and several countries, Ode to My Father was at its heart a simple and intimate story of a man keeping a promise to his father. Unabashedly melodramatic? At times. But this film was also inspiring and uplifting and a lesson in the power of tenacity. If you are looking for a movie to touch you, look no further.

4/24/23

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Master-Servant BL platonic story, angsty and enthralling despite the bad subtitles

The movie depicts the very peculiar master-servant relationship between 2 men, one being entirely devoted to the other. The plot is quite simple in itself but manage to captivate thanks to their relationship feeling super taboo with its fair share of controlling and unhealthy aspects. Despite some rather caricatural arc (once again the female protagonist is atrocious), I was properly fascinated by the story.

I loved the chemistry between the two main male leads. It was totally believable, they took my breath away a couple of times with all the angst they were living through. I had to pause the movie at some point because it was so painful. The remainder of the cast is more average, they do a suitable job but nothing exceptional.

The music is quite atmospheric with some classical piano tunes rather well balanced with the story. The production value is good but more in line of what is expected from a series rather than a movie.

I would recommend this to people looking for an angsty BL story centred around a gut-wrenching Master-Servant relationship. Despite its short length, the movie manage to be enthralling despite the horrendous subtitles. Be mindful of the tags as the movie can be triggering.

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Movie does not live up to the manga due to the format constraint but is still quite entertaining

The movie is an adaptation of the manga "Silver Spoon" from the great Hiromu Arakawa. It is a slice-of-life story in an agronomic high-school in the rural Hokkaidō region.

If you have not read the original story, you might get a bit confused by the story as it a "collage" of scenes from its first narrative arc, there is some kind of conclusion but a lot of aspects regarding the development of the various characters and their future are missing from the plot. It is more than likely due to the format constraint in addition to the fact that the manga was still ongoing at the time of the release of the movie.

The acting is quite good, the actors are able to interact naturally with the farms animals. I found the adults casting a bit lacking in terms of charisma, there are much less colourful and inspiring than their "paper"-counterparts.

On one side, the music did not left a lasting impression on me. On another side, I found the film-making quite good with some nice shots of the "Ban'ei kyōsō" (= draft horses racing very specific to Hokkaidō).

I would recommend this to people that love the manga from which this movie is adapted. If you are nostalgic of it, you will enjoy seeing "live" some of the iconic moments of Silver Spoon. Be aware that the story depicts some less glamourous sides of the farm life, with the more realistic / gruesome aspects of it all (including a visit to a slaughterhouse), so you might want to skip it if it is triggering for you.

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The way they jump! "jump around. jump around... jump up, jump up, and get down!"

To start this off, I have a question: how come no one has reviewed this YET?!
(because it's old C-production, over-the-top acting Hong Kong lame movie)
I LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT.

Firstly, I have to admit: I have first seen it when it came out (being that old and all) :)
Secondly, my review is heavily influenced by my personal preference in horror-comedy and all thing weird,
Thirdly, it's the fact that this is sorta film you better watch with a buddy - to enhance the giggle factor.
Lastly, if you can: watch with Cantonese audio and not the dubbed versions.

WHERE, you ask: It's been on YouTube for the past 10+ years.

We found it funny. Not only the first time we saw it.
We came back to watch it again.. and as time passes, we come back for it as it provides the type of joy we need: IT'S A SILLY master & disciples (Nightwish, anyone?) vampire fighting story with a lot of hissing. (no, not KISSING, hissing)

What is this about, as the opening screen on flm itself will tell you:
"In 17th century rural China during Ching Dynasty, Zombies roamed the land feeding on human flesh, a nasty habit that turned them into vampires. Only a handful of skilled warriors dared to challenge these mythical demons of the night. this is their story"
(no spoilers: but there's ROMANCE and the second couple is hilarious)
To put it as simply as possible: there's a New Bride in red, there's melting vax (you've been warned), there's kung fu, there's quirky humor, there's eye-sucking demon power (you've been warned), there's bad blood between family members and a great brotherhood.
It feels old-school cool, like those old time kung-fu master kind of films (which makes sense).

What I liked (despite being BIASED) is the fact that the story is balanced in a perfect way: sure, there's gore and horror, with lot of night scenes, but it's mixed in with some wonderful shots of daylight (coming through the slightly opened door thus illuminating the viewers screen only partially, leaving the image light & dark in a diagonal cut - we liked that detail!). What we also liked it is the mystery enhanced by fog , giving a possible shapes to things that moat possibly aren't there (as viewers we just expected something to jump out of.. anything, and it felt thrilling). and the fight scenes are choreographed PERFECTLY. They dance on screen, I tell you.

Biased as I am (hence writing this review) I can't say that I dislike anything.
I prefer old school film, with less CGI and dance-like combat, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

If nothing: watch it for the fight with Final Boss
...and maybe for the fact that not all zombies run for you: some HOP AROUND.

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Have to be a fan

I don't think this show deserves such a low rating. It is a simple story but with an innovative storyline, not the trope Kdrama or Kmovie plot that we see so much of. A Kdrama-loving Ahjumma who speaks no Korean is lost in SKorea. It's more than just a-fish-out-of water story. It deals with deeper issues of living in a big city - the dislocation and isolation that elderly parents feel - experiences that both people who live in big cities like Seoul and Singapore can similarly identify with. [Aside: I certainly wouldn't call her relationship with her son "estranged" as the synopsis describes. It's just a normal mother-son relationship in a busy big city.]

However, you really have to be a fan of Kdramas and perhaps more importantly, identify as Singaporean to really fully understand the in-jokes and appreciate the context of the movie. There's a real kick from watching a Singaporean actress, who is a household name that many of us grew up with, acting in a Korean production starring a few stars that many of us are now fan-girling. In particular, I get a real kick out of listening to Kang Hyung Suk speaking rather impeccable Mandarin for a non-native speaker.

Would I watch this again? Probably not. It was good enough but certainly not an Oscar-winning movie. It gave me a sense of home and also fun to see a linkage to my self-professed adopted culture. It is a good fun ride if you leave your heart switched on but switch off your brain. Just go for the ride.

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You shouldn't watch at night, you will sleep midway

A litte disappointing, I was expecting something more trash movie vibes with all the crazy historical aliens and androids theme. The movie try to be serious in the first half, but the drama isn't really good, actually, it's very easy to get upset or annoyed with all the key characters who either are too shallow or extremely annoying.

In my opinion the fight scenes in the second half are where the soul of this movie rests, I mean, a historical korean movie where a female lead from the future shoot to death alienoids along with an overpower shaman from the Goryeo Dynasty??? This movie is the perfect setup for a bloody and violent story like Versus (2000) and Bullet Train (2022) that doesn't take itself seriously.
Unfortunately Choi Dong Hoon doesn't seem to notice it and try to follow the example of "Along with the Gods" that succeds to deliver a good drama while conciliating some epics battles, but Alienoid stays in the middle of these 3 movies...

P.S: It took me 3 days to finish it and I slept watching on the first day.

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