Reviews

I found it difficult to suspend disbelief enough to believe that her parents would let her stay by herself to go to school, with Kugayama Shusei living right next door. THEN, there wasn't any build up to their relationship, it was suddenly just there. The main couple was cute together, but I didn't feel any chemistry between them. Poor excuses for kisses, they just looked so fake and awkward. The yelling of the male actors was irritating, it just looks like overacting. Sexism is alive and well in Japanese dramas - the male rating the female on a scale of 1-100, talking to everyone about her looks and lack of boobs - not cool.

Yamazaki Kento as Kugayama Shusei was good. He's got that quiet, deep-thinking thing going on. He was the high point of this movie for me.

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Hit pause on the turning point.

This movie is a gentle reminder that it’s okay to just take a moment to breathe and figure yourself out - be it a day, month or a year. There is no point in chasing after things that do not bring you peace and happiness. Yes, you still need to deal with your responsibilities, you need an income to support yourself financially, but that does not mean you need to desire and want what everyone else strives for. We are all different, with different motivations and needs. One person enjoys a fast paced environment, someone else needs more calmness in their surroundings. There are no right and wrong answers in how to live your life, as long as you are not hurting others.

And that’s basically what the movie is about - Hye Won putting her life on pause as she tries to figure out what she truly wants, and if the goal she was trying to reach so far is what she truly desires. She reconnects to her roots, reignites her old friendships and slowly learns about her mother’s decisions in the past - understanding things she was not able to understand when she was younger.

What Little Forest offers is comfort and warmth. Beautiful scenery and amazing short cooking scenes. A message that simple life is meaningful. That making amends with your past is the way to move forward, even if it means starting from the beginning.

Additionally, we get an amazing cast delivering perfect performances. Honestly speaking, the movie is Kim Tae Ri’s, and Kim Tae Ri’s only. She carries the whole film. She fits the rural slice of life genre so well, I would have no issue watching a full 16 episodes show based on Little Forest.

Overall, big recommendation for anyone who loves a calming slice of life content with few cooking scenes that will make you hungry.

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"If my husband is a spy, then I'm the wife of a spy"

Initially, one would ask as to how was this movie greenlit given the Japanese' generally denialist stance on the events of World War II? Then again, it is also refreshing to see their perspective regarding this bitter and painful event of human history. It's even more refreshing that this movie slowly tries to recognize their gruesome role on the war and maybe it can lead to future movies telling the truth of its horror but something that should be remembered for generations to come.

"Wife of a Spy" circles around a married couple - a busy businessman Yusaku (Takahashi Issei) and Satoko (Aoi Yu), amidst the changing and turbulent 1940 Japan. What's more is that the wife's childhood friend, Taiji (Higashide Masahiro), now a squad leader in the military police, is suspecting the husband of being a spy for being "too Westernized".

The first half was a tad bit too long. There could've been scenes removed since it just made me lost on some parts. Yet at the same time, it was intriguing to know what the real story is. But still, its early somber mood was important for what's coming next. This part really showed that ignorance is bliss.

Then, the big reveal happened. Although the incident that was being referred was too vague (in terms of the real historical event), yet it is still important to know that until now, Japan still refuses to fully admit its war crimes.

The clip on an internment camp that was shown, despite brief, but really gave me chills as to how inhumane their military did to the innocent people at that time. It's very ironic to see the smiling barbaric Japanese scientists at one frame yet transitions to the angry but hopeless war prisoners at the next. There was only few violence shown onscreen, but one doesn't have to imagine what dreadfulness that the Japanese empire did to its enemies, even if it was its own people.

But at the same time, I really liked how the music at the second part upped the tension and thrill on the succeeding scenes. This is despite the no to little background music at the start. This could've balanced out the storyline and created equal tension already.

The last 30 minutes of this movie was just too exhilarating for me as the viewer, but nerve-wracking for the leads. Each scene was just brilliant, and the plot twist shook me to say the least. It was truly gripping and enthralling.

It's ending might be quite melodramatic, which was a sudden shift from the high tension it had earlier, but was still done well. The note at the end was tricky for sure, as I thought I was watching a biopic but is not.

My biggest gripe for an otherwise great movie is its production value. Originally, this is a TV movie so budget isn't really the main priority, but still, there were very visible production errors noticed:

First, is the sound mixing which was uneven and at times, there was static heard. Second is the setting itself particularly the storage area, where it was obvious that there were modern speakers near the screen. Third, the exterior set was inadequate for a wartime period film. Though for the third point, it may be understandable as Japan is still new in producing movies set in the 40's.

My next gripe was the terrible borderline funny acting of the English-speaking characters, though I do understand that it's because of the availability of actors, but still.

Nevertheless, it's amazing to see that Japan is now ready to face its not-so-good role during the war, even with some nationalism still interjected.

The story maybe focused more on the characters rather than the plot itself, but there's one line from this movie that really stood out for me and perfectly encapsulated this movie's essence: "If my husband is a spy, then I'm the wife of a spy."

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One sweet martial arts action fest!

If you enjoy martial arts action films and don’t mind a lackluster story---check your brain at the door and kick in your suspension of disbelief, make some popcorn and sit back and be prepared to be amazed by Jeeja Vanin in her first starring role.

Chocolate's storyline uses the most dated of plots. A jealous crime boss doesn't like the woman he loves falling in love with someone else. The woman eventually sends her lover away to save him and has his child in secret. The child turns out to have autism and the woman runs up debts for her care and even more debts when the mom turns out to have cancer. The girl and a boy the mom adopted find her mom's old debt collection book and head out to try and collect the money from some shady characters. Fortunately, the girl has learned Muay Thai and other martials arts from watching tv and video games. I'm going to skip over the magical autism abilities discussion. The story setup is simply a reason for her to drop kick a wide assortment of baddies in ice houses, meat factories, and the Big Bad's headquarters. And punch and kick she does in the most creative ways you are likely to see. The fights started out fairly rudimentary and continued to crescendo until the bonkers, long finale fights that were as brutal as they were graceful.

The writing and acting were mediocre to poor. Just like in a Kaiju movie, when it takes the monster 30 minutes to show up, the only thing people really care about, this film took about that long to get the action rolling as well. The story was nearly irrelevant because the star of this show was Jeeja's astonishing ability to contort her body into a beat down machine, dodging objects, fists, and kicks while delivering punishing blows to men and women twice her size. I read that several actors were injured while making this film and it was not surprising when you see the hard slamming falls people took throughout the fighting. The fight choreography started out slow and breathlessly moved to astonishing.

If you are looking for stellar performances and an interesting, cohesive story, you are likely to be disappointed. However, if you enjoy exciting martial arts choreography, especially with a kickass female lead, this is definitely one to try out.


3/11/23

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i just didn't expect that!

i thought it's just another typical high school story but naur! it's so mind blowing, like REALLY. the casts are good, the plot is superb (super mind blowing) the songs are so EMOTIONAL DAMAGE. like wow, i cried too much. my heart's still aching. it's about fate and acceptance. we really need to cherish every moment and confess (whatta word) to never lose the opportunity. we have to spend our time with our loved ones and make it memorable. and really, most Japanese movies are so respectful to the fate. i mean, i knew what's coming in this movie but the next scenes gave me a slight hope that maybe something will change but, naur. we have to accept our fate talaga, like really. this is superb so watch it habang may panahon pa.

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very bonggang production

just wtf. the production is very bongga. i actually watched first the series (korean) and didn't knew that this should be watched first. well, anyway, the plot is not really superb but it's so good. the songs are great too. the castings are, well, pogi ni shinya haha. they really slayed the character. and mush is too cute. just how emotions can make u write a song? they are just genuises. i am actually listening to the ending song, (thanks spots) and just can't get over with it. omg, i ran out of words, i need to write 500 characters.
so uh, the story started when the two leads met in the river (hangang river vibes) and then the lying competition begins. well, it made me mad where in how can guys play with girls feelings? and a highschooler? this shows that highschoolers are quite vowvow. you know, they are easy to manipulate. the age gap is just too much for the leads but if that handsome, sure why not. watch this if you're bored.

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Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan showed how he received his nickname in this movie as he kicked, slapped and popped with his fast and graceful kicks. Shaolin Deadly Kicks was an average Taiwanese martial arts film with a strong cast and consistent story. Dorian had a nice screen charisma to smooth over some of the weaker moments in the film.

Dorian's Hung Yi hunts down the scattered members of the Eight Dragon gang. Three years ago they had stolen a secret octagonal treasure map and divided it among the 8 gang members. Holy story convenience Batman! More than bringing in the bad guys he's trying to collect the pieces of the map and return it to the temple the gang stole it from. The pieces don't come easy with numerous fights along the way. Dorian faced harm from farm implements, deadly wheel barrows, swords, explosives, hidden weapon traps, chains, bamboo spears, ropes, leap frog kung fu and a giant. Along the way he meets the comely and dangerous Doris Lung, daughter of one of the gang members.

The story, while thin, stayed on track and remained somewhat comprehensible, something more than a few martial arts movies from this time can't boast. Like many movies filmed in Taiwan, this title is in desperate need of restoration. It was dark, faded and grainy. The fights were typical of the 70's, slow and jerky yet the actors made them entertaining. They did make use of wire work, but the majority of fighting was on the ground. Instead of kung fu, Dorian used taekwondo, with his extremely limber and strong legs. He could pop, pop, pop up the bad guys' bodies and then slap or kick them with his feet in their faces.

Dorian is not the most emotive actor but he's entertaining to watch. Lo Lieh showed up as a scarred bad guy and he always brings energy to his supporting roles. Wang Hsieh made his menacing appearance as a deadly member of the Dragon gang. Doris Lung was a nice love interest who could hold her own in a fight. Lung Fei, Tsai Hung, Chin Kang, and Lu Ti rounded out the main partial map carrying members of the gang. There was a nice variety of characters in the gang. A few were completely murderous and others had come to have regrets about the life they had lived.

Things I learned from this movie. #1 Never turn your back on your mortal enemy. #2 Never carry a pocketful of fragile explosives to a fight.

Shaolin Deadly Kicks won't go down as one of the great kung fu flicks from the 70's but for a bargain basement Hong Kong movie filmed in Taiwan it was entertaining enough even with a rather abrupt ending. Probably of most interest to Dorian Tan fans. As always, I grade these old martial arts movies on a curve.

3/11/23

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I want more

Arimura Kasumi is really becoming my favorite actress with roles like this and in Chihiro-san. In this film she takes on another role that goes beyond the usual surface level female protagonists that we often get. Its an exploration of the different ways that people deal with trauma and shows hope that you can make something positive out of it.

This film challenges prenotions about criminals by giving us a protagonist who has gone through something traumatic yet decided to do her best in seeing the good in people. All that while not portraying her as naive or guillable but as a woman who has her head straight on, is quick witted and unafraid. But she is also not shown to be perfect as she still struggles and has still some more work to do on herself to overcome unresolved struggles. I definitely wanted to root for her all the way through and really wish I could see more of her in action, be it in drama format or a sequel movie.

This film also tackles a topic I have never before seen, giving an interesting insight in the probation system in Japan. I would have never guessed that probation officers are unpaid civilians (please pay these people omg). Based on that alone I already recommend it.

My only problem was the romance aspect, if one can even call it that. I definitely could have done without a romance backstory between her and the officer. In general I think the police officer should have shown more remorse in how he had treated her. Again, this IS an exploration of how everyone deals with their individual trauma but I wish his had been tackled and worked through some more like hers was. Of course that is hard to do in a movie format so it is totally fine.

Overall its a film with an interesting topic, amazing acting and thoughtful intend.

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This thing about mourning

This one is interesting.

Just like the protagonist we are immediately thrown into the cold water. No lead up to death, no explanation just yet. This woman named Mariko is dead and we are taken on a journey of how her friend deals with it as well of what could have been the cause. And man, it's one terrible thing after another.

I find it really hard to say much about how the suicide topic was handled here since the film doesnt seem to actively make any certain statement. The suicide in fact isnt the main focus at all, even if you can interpret it as such, i think the main focus is on how to grief. Regardless how a friend died in the end loved ones are left behind and everyone deals with it differently, has to in fact. In this case I think its displayed beautiful the stages one goes through.

There is denial, texting Mariko, unable to believe its true. Then there is wanting to make good by her, put her to rest peacefully. And of course anger, one that I was waiting for during the runtime of the film and was really well expressed with the "But you had me!" That our protagonist shouts in her drunken state. And lastly of course acceptance. Those are all really complex emptions that I think the acttess did a just fine jon in portraying. At times i felt like there was a bit of depth missing in her portrayal that pulled me a bit out of the deep emotions. The scenes meant to be impactful still were impactful though. Whom I really have to praise thpugh are the child actresses. They genuinely made me believe their distress, shock and friendship. They did an amazing job!

While those stages of grief in this type of story seem rather typical, this movie does something interesting. In the end it is completely up to the audience what to make of it all. We are not being told how to feel about it, whom to judge how nor what the moral of the story is. Its all open for interpretation.

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An exploration of loneliness despite among people

Chihiro-san is a stellar example for the beauty of Japanese slice of life films. It is a slow movie that has you taking in the beauty and silence of Japanese countryside while taking you along with Chihiro's day as a former sex worker on her journey of connecting with people.

While at first the film makes you believe she is the typical, always happy and spreading sunshine protagonist we so often see in Japanese media (Drama and Anime alike) without further depth, it is made clear along the way that there is a deep loneliness within her. It humanizes her character and reminds the audience that often times the outwardly happiest people are struggling deep inside.

What really makes the film is this humanization, this relatability really of feeling alone despite surrounding yourself with people you love and being unable to escape that feeling regardless of where you go.

The film is also filled with beautiful, and quotable, dialogue that has you ponder on them for a while. Despite the slowness of the film I did not feel bored once which is rare, I believe that is partly for the way the script made sure to give some time to the audience to ponder on the dialogue and think about how you relate to it. Not to forget the cinematography really knows how to acventuate the beauty of Japan's seaside which draws you into the scenes.

In the end this is a movie for those who enjoy slice of life and aren't afraid of having the common sadness along with small joys of life visualized on screen.

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Better than the drama adaptation

As someone who has watched the 2019 drama adaptation of this story I immediately recognized the premise upon the first few minutes. Whereas the drama had more time to really go into depth with it all, the movie actually did a better job in clarifying the emotions of all the characters and wrapping the story up properly despite the time crunch.

Whereas the drama had me believing that in the end he remained in denial of his sexuality, the movie made sure to point out the nuance of his struggle with himself AS WELL as the conclusion that he comes to with himself by the end. Mind you i watched the drama with subs and the movie without yet the ending was so much clearer and easier to understand in the movie.

What I did miss in this movie was the references to Queen and how their music really drove and accompanied the protagonist throughout this story. Which doesnt change much but has been a touch in the drama I enjoyed and would have loved to see more of here.

I havent really looked at what others said about the suicide attempt in the last act but I think it's an interesting choice. On one hand it underlines how alienated Jun felt even by himself, how he wished to escape so much that it only took that one last trigger to push him over the edge. On the other hand it is a jarring reminder that your words will always have consequences, which sometimes is needed to be shown in such a shocking way to leave an impression. I m glad though that they chose to have him recover from this as I am TIRED of the "killing your gays" trope. Let people be happy and luckily, he was.

One thing that equally upsets me about both adaptations (and possibly also the source material which i have not read) is the fact that the grown man just got away with everything. Japanese media, possibly also their society as a whole, does not seem to have much interest in seeing the grossness of big age gap romances between adults and teens which i find revolting and hate to watch. That is a middle aged man who took advantage of an inexperienced high school student who struggled with his identity and none of it was addressed as such at all. Yes, he eventually broke up with him but the movie made no point to point out the creepiness of it all as instead they chose to focused on him having a family. Even if we were to only focus on that aspect as well, not even his cheating had consequences other than losing his teen lover (gag). I know from research that it was and is very common for queer people esp. in Japan to marry the opposite sex and hide who they are to live a more peaceful life but I think it could have been tackled a bit better.

That last chunk is the main reason why this story regardless of adaptation will never get a high rating from me. It was still a compelling watch though especially as someone who is queer as well.

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Hard work pays off <3

seeing hobi being so serious and criticizing the chemistry of the dancers scared me a lil but that's why he's so good: the final product is perfect and he puts in the work. His hard work and dedication paid off well, and I loved seeing the members at his listening party as well as jimin at hobipalooza. It was nice seeing hobi a little more relaxed thanks to jimin's presence and encouraging words. Loved this solo project a lot, and the documentary was nice too! 💗🥹🧸 It's always nice to have this sort of extra content to see the behind the scenes and all the people it really needs to pull off such a big scale project. Everyone worked very hard and I hope we'll get to see more from hobi in the future (after his enlistment ofc TT, but I will be patient); and since he is so versatile, I know it'll be another 180° from jack in the box the way jitb was so different (and yet hobi) from hope world.

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Simple and Ok

A short film about café flirting turned internet flirting... or more a it´s a small world on K-lesbian twitter. To be honest I did not really feel the chemistry between the girls but I did feel the self doubt, the angst and the slight tango dance between the two.

Should I, dare I... Wait what happened now type of deal.

The story is a bit different than most café/internet flirting stories I have seen so additional points for that.

All in a not a bad way to spend 15 minutes, especially in a world with very few good GLs this is indeed a good choice.

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