Reviews

"From now on you live by violence"

Bandits, Prostitutes, and Silver was a dark kung fu film from Taiwan. No secret lists, no secret books, no Ming rebels, only bandits, prostitutes, and silver, just like the title reads. You could throw in death and dismemberment as well to be more accurate.

Shang Li is a carriage driver who is trying to earn enough money to buy freedom for Xiao Chui, the prostitute he has fallen in love with. Earning money the honest way is going to take at least nine more years and there are other interested buyers. He agrees to help the Sparrow, a notorious thief, steal a chest full of silver being transported by another carriage. When Sparrow tells him they have to kill the driver and the official inside, Shang Li balks, refusing to murder innocent people. He and Sparrow end up fighting with Sparrow being killed with his own daggers. The road to Xiao Chui is not easy though because The Red Scar Gang boasting Angela Mao and Phillip Ko Fei are hiding in the bushes waiting to ambush the silver. They are working with Wang Hsieh's Wu and Big Bad Lo Lieh as the corrupt official Pao. When these bad guys start turning on each other the fighting gets interesting. Shang Li tragically learns that crime doesn't pay, nor does it lead to true love.

The fight choreography was above average for the time. Don Wong moved pretty well and the stunt men made sure there were bodies flying everywhere. Wire-fu and reverse photography were used sparingly. The body count was high though the blood was kept to a minimum. There were goofy weapons as these films often have. Angela's character had spinning saw blades on her shoes. Lo Lieh used chains with cuffs on them that could decapitate a person. Wen Chiang Long's Sparrow shot darts out of his wrist bands. Phillip Ko didn't need weapons, he always made a kung fu battle fun even when he was being beaten. Wang Hsieh usually relied on gimmicky weapons or skills, this time he only had stress balls to futilely throw in battle. The charismatic villains improved the quality of the fights and movie greatly. For around the last 40 minutes of the film, the fighting began in earnest as baddie after baddie betrayed each other leading to death. Is there no honor among thieves?

Kao Pao Shu, a rare female director and writer for this genre worked with prolific writer Ni Kuang on the script, giving Bandits, Prostitutes, and Silver more character depth than these films usually have. In many ways this was a morality tale. Shang Li started out as a good guy, although looking for true love in a brothel might not have been the wisest course of action. When desperation drove him to crime, Sparrow was right, "From now on you live by violence." It didn't matter that he tried to minimize the theft and murders, Karma was not going to allow him the desires of his heart, only pain and death awaited him for his transgression. This kung fu film didn't back down from the tragic trajectory it set for the characters as each one paid for their betrayals with retribution coming as quickly as silver coins can fall out of a pocket. As always, I rate these old niche films on a curve, and like most old Taiwanese kung fu films, only fans of the genre may appreciate it.

7/17/23

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Not recommended

I was interested in Qu Jingjing's other work after watching and enjoying Mr Bad (she was really cool and sophisticated in it, from what I have seen so far), and saw this recent movie under her profile. Now this was probably a mistake, but I'll get into why:

This is one of those films that China makes available for free on youtube (because it can't harm domestic consumption since youtube is banned), so it's pretty easy to check out. Unfortunately, that meant that a lot of the music was removed, or at least it seems like it has been removed, because the film goes silent at times (especially during action sequences), coupled with some terribly awkward layering of the voices over the now-silent film, very obviously done after the film was completed. I imagine at moments like this, action/suspense music would have been playing in the Chinese release version. For music, that makes it a 0, but I guess I'll have to put it as 1.

As for the plot, granted that I got annoyed with the audio issues (and the fact that the mouths weren't matching the sound....) and skipped a lot, it is just an anti-terrorism action movie. None of the following is a spoiler, because it's in the synopsis of the cn Douban (豆瓣) page: terrorists commit crimes and murders, terrorists invade China's 'territorial waters', terrorists plan to detonate a nuclear bomb along a fault-line so the leads must protect the people living on the coasts, etc. The terrorists in the film are foreigners, typically appearing middle-eastern, but just in general, they are foreign and speak english. The plot didn't grip me in any way, though I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed the earlier action sequences if they weren't so awkwardly silent, and the special effects were of poor quality. 1.5 stars.

To quote a reviewer on the overall quality: "小儿科级别的反恐力作，愚蠢，幼稚，肤浅，生硬，对人类审美和智商的严重侮辱。" (-Douban page for 深海危机 ).

Now, if anyone had any doubt about the purpose of this film and missed the 'territorial waters' reference in the synopsis, it ends with a dedication to the PLA for safeguarding national security. TLDR: it's a bad quality propaganda film, and I wouldn't recommend it.

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Part Psychological Thriller, Part Criminal Investigation

This film is part psychological thriller, part criminal investigation. It jumps back and forth between character perspectives, centering on no single character. Su Cheng receives the majority of screen time, but often through other's perspectives of him.

There is some confusion in that it leaps back and forth between the present and past in Su Cheng's perspective, but that seems to be part of his psychosis to some extent. His trauma stems substantially from his childhood and past interactions with Wang and Lin Jing so their presence in his life now naturally triggers flashbacks.

There is a constant sense of the unreliable narrator in all perspectives, largely driven by everyone's mistrust of each other combined with Su Cheng and Mo Chao's psychological disorders and Lin Jing's seemingly irrational faith in her husband. This unreliability drives the story as every detail you are given has to be reassessed in terms of the person introducing it. You sympathize with the police's frustration in the investigation as they are constantly given only part of the information by witnesses.

Unless you were paying very close attention, the film does throw you a curve ball in the end. The mystery of how Wang died and who killed him really was very well performed and written. Although the film itself was relatively slow moving, sometimes confusing in the way scenes were sliced together, and wasn't anything award winning the end. . . the overarching mystery itself was unique and interesting.

Su Cheng and Mo Chao both played their roles very well, although some of the other character's roles left something to be desired. It was interesting how Lin Jing comes across as a victim but ultimately is not particularly a sympathetic one. It isn't clear if that was intentional or a result of poor acting, but it did contribute to the overall plot in some ways.

Nothing too graphic in our opinion, although you may be squicked by the dead bodies with burned faces and the one scene where XXXXXX is burned. Not for kids certainly. ?️‍♂️

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A Heart-Pounding and Emotionally Resonant Zombie Thriller!

"Train to Busan" is an incredibly gripping and intense experience from start to finish. As a viewer, I found myself fully immersed in the chaos and terror that unfolded on that speeding train. The film's combination of heart-pounding action and emotional depth made for an unforgettable journey. I couldn't help but feel deeply connected to the characters, rooting for their survival and empathizing with their struggles. The relentless tension and surprising twists kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, and the exceptional performances only added to the film's impact. "Train to Busan" is a must-watch for anyone seeking a thrilling and emotionally resonant zombie apocalypse adventure.

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A different bully redemption arc

I liked this. It was an average film about bully culture in a high school setting. It's fairly cliche but I liked what was different about this story was the bully redemption arc. It's done well here and not in the typical linear way. People make mistakes. Anyone can fall victim to peer pressure and do things they never thought they would do. I am not justifying any bullying behavior but if you can see the wrong that you have done and apologize than I can accept that. The young cast is really good too. Especially, Wang Yu Ping playing the FL Yun Heng.

I iked that the comeuppance was done the way I had hoped. I mean, I actually, at first was like an eye for an eye. The main bully was terrible and had no remorse for her actions but then they gave her the best comeuppance I have seen in a long while. Not everyone is going to be satisfied with this film, especially regarding the rape situation.

7/16/23

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the wigs are better than the narrative structure

On paper, this movie had the potential of becoming the redeeming title in my ever-growing list of otherwise-questionable, hormone-driven viewings.
On paper, a period piece with a bombastic cast of widely acclaimed actors such as Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Kyung-young and, even, Kim Go-eun (and, foremost, my beloved Junho who constantly inspires my watchlist) should have been a failproof winner, right?
Spoiler: it was not.

Now, I can tell that this movie was expensive, not only because of the amazing cast, but also for the undeniable high quality of the production. In fact, cinematography is strong, set design is stunning, fighting scenes are a beauty and even wigs are on point! (in my opinion the least embarrassing Goryeo era wigs seen up until now). The story might not be everyone's cup of tea (with the parricide and matricide and twisted vengeance plot) yet it has all the necessary cruelty and perversion required for epic storytelling both in the western and eastern tradition.
All these superb ingredients are bound to make something memorably tasty and, instead, all we get is the blandest of salads.
What a shame.

It is my humble and unrequired opinion that the reason for such a bafflling nonsuccess is to be found in the narrative structure (or rather in the lack of it). The exposition is very minimal, almost non-existent, and confusing. The relationships between the characters evolve abruptly, with no natural progression and at times I wondered if I was missing scenes. As a result I was totally incapable of establishing any kind of bond with the characters despite actively trying to (I really wanted to sympathize with shirtless Junho).
Someone argued that the movie is too short (with its very average length of 120 minutes) to set the story properly and I had the horrifying thought that binge-watching an unspeakable number of 16 episode-long kdramas must have been damaging to the point I am now unable to enjoy a normal sized movie. So I tried watching 3 more movies after this one and it turns out I'm not broken. I liked all three of them just fine despite the fact that their stories were possibly even crueler.
Therefore, in the end, I stand un-redeemed by Memories of the Sword and I am also a bit annoyed for the fact that it wasted (Lee Junho!) so much potential.

Female Empowerment Score 2/5 I felt like they were implicitly saying that men are driven by reason and ambition, whilst women are driven by their emotions and are terminally twisted.

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The Lady and The Swordsman

I first saw this film over a decade ago and loved it. I re-watch every few years or so. Yes it has flaws, but the relationship between the leads is warm and touching. I watched it for them and still love it to this day because they also are among the most talented Korean stars and made me love their characters. The film introduced me to Korean movies 13 years ago, and I've loved them since.

For me the beauty of the film, based on history but with a romantic overlay, is its story of the young queen's devotion to duty, as well as the swordsman's devotion to honor—and protecting her. He will not leave her side, and she is equally brave and stalwart. It is the story of a woman's love of country and a swordsman's love of her. And it's achingly exquisite.

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We need to appreciate deaf people

Wow, this movie leaves you no room to breathe! Lol. What I mean is there's action all the time, you're tense all the time! I really loved it.

But well, focusing on the story the deaf girl is so smart and so brave!! Even though she can speak and can't hear, she was able to win her freedom together with her mom, the other girl and the girl's brother.

The scene where the murder gets killed was so strong and deep, Wi Ha-joon did an amazing job (i even got scared of him lol)

And when the girl's brother needed to decide to save his sister or the deaf girl...wow i felt him. I would be just like him, in doubt.

But the end was unexpectedly cute! They were all in Jeju island and the girl and her brother even learned how to talk in sign language!

Plus, the scene where the deaf girl was trying to say to the murder that she wanted to stay alive, was so deep...

Oh and the relationship between the deaf girl and her mother was so strong and lovely!!

I would rewatch again with someone for sure

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Yes and no.

I have second thoughts about this film, even though it has a great intention while telling a story, it has some plot holes ( I was left with so many questions).

Sometimes I felt lost while watching it, ‘cause we had a plot that was just put there, and we had to listen without knowing the full context, like why?
I know sometimes we do not need the full context, but come on, give me something.

However, I enjoyed this film, it was raw, and it gave me a reality check. I recommend it and will watch it again.

It showed us how badly someone can be treated in those cultures, I was so sad for them, they deserved better. They deserved better circumstances, a second chance perhaps.

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Not as Intense as I wanted it to be.

I am only adding my voice to this movie because I recently watched Ryohei Suzuki at the NYAFF say he was curious about what we thought about this movie (good things & bad things) and i appreciated that he said that. So these are my thoughts and views.

The Egoist was kind of average, for me even the love story was somewhat unremarkable, maybe because less time was spent on the development of the romance between the MLs. Was it real love or transactional love?,from the novel we know it was real love but from the movie it was not so clear. At times I found Suzuki Ryohei's mannerisms a little too much and are stereotypical of "gay people". His hands moved but his body looked stiff,I would have to say the way Ryohei crossed his legs and sat on the couch and tried to be affectionate just came off as stiff and forced IMO. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't that convincing to me either.Their love scenes were very hot, but I feel like I needed more emotional depth, by exploring why he felt so lonely in this world before Ryuta and just how Ryuta influenced his life. Everything felt rushed.

The most memorable thing for me from the movie, were the conversations that he had with his circle of friends talking about being gay in Japan. My best moment being when t the other friends confess that they went to collect a marriage registration form and filled it out, though same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan. That act of rebellion was memorable for me.

Overall , Dear Tenant and Eternal Yesterday actually came to my mind when watching the Egoist. But both DT and EY were very persuasive in their execution and emotional story-telling in my opinion. They all revolve around love,death and unintentional family, learning to say goodbye to those who have left, some unresolved grief.

DT and Egoist share the same themes of love,death and unintentional family bond that involved the mother of the partner. Though DT has wider family dynamic issues (uncle,child of partner etc). Both partners pass away and the other partner becomes a sort of replacement son for the mother-in-law (for the lack of a better word) with differing degrees of sadness and success. Both bonds are formed either by guilt or kinship for the shared dead partner of the mother. At the heart of both stories is the concept of family & the question of what is family?.

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Powerful in its authentic acting & realism combined with dramaturgical abstinence

Does love have an expiry date? Or is it we humans who persistently fail to create a living co-creation from the promising 'WE' for which Cupid's arrow once set the course? "Maybe we Broke Up" doesn't have an answer to that. But! In impressive dramaturgical abstinence, the KMovie encourages us to think about it.

"Maybe we Broke Up" is also known as "Someone you loved". It documents in fantastic realism the unspectacular 'ending' of a relationship – like so many others. Almost as if couples in crisis could have applied to a reality show, whereas the camera team followed one of them through this difficult time and also for several months beyond. Everything seems real and lifelike and familiar. At the same time dramaturgically abstinent with neither comedy nor jokes through embarrassment, nor suspense, nor eroticism, nor violence, nor action being staged to get tempers boiling.

The couple's relationship story takes its inexorable course. And the problem with this relationship is that it has lost all its appeal. Habit, everyday familiarity, and being taken for granted have taken the place of tingling love. Concepts, expectations and relationship dynamics, which are now well trained from behavioural patterns, keep the radius of emotional highs and lows in check. The KMovie is consistent in this respect and doesn't try to sugarcoat anything. The camera just stays on and the viewers stay tuned to the action. We don't get emotionally involved, we just watch. Maybe we take a stand for one or the other. But that's our business.

The film doesn't want to push us into any corner. It just wants to take us along. Documenting. And it doesn't actually tell us anything new: A relationship gets more and more out of balance. Actually speaking out about the situation eventually brings it all down. There is no turning back. The 'WE' has become two individuals again, who now have to sweep up their emotional shards themselves and thus get the chance to learn the best from their mistakes.

The power of "Maybe we Broke Up" lies in the authentic acting combined with dramaturgical abstinence. The author is also the director. He stays true to his idea. There is no evaluation. And it is precisely through this simple authenticity that the realistic story spirals so poignantly into the mind, leaving the audience with their own record - their thoughts, emotions, questions and well-known stories, be it their own and/or those of friends and/or relatives.








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Side note: ---- Gosi Civil Service Exam in South Korea ----

The civil service career has been a priority in Korea for centuries. It stands for social recognition, but even more for financial security, up to retirement. Since the 14th century, candidates for civil service have had to pass a state examination. There are nine levels of officials. For the lowest ninth level, all you need today is a high school diploma. The competition is massive. The ninth "Geup" is for those, who get accepted, the start. With years of service and performance, or a degree, the civil servants can then advance to the middle civil service career. But for a higher career up from the fifth "Geup" you have to take the "Gosi" admission test, which only takes place once a year. It is quite demanding, but can be repeated indefinitely. Needing several attempts is not uncommon (and the high demands of the exam are always a popular topic, even in KDramas).

The Gosi exam is only the door opener. After that, the training takes place. A degree is also mandatory for the upper Geups, especially law, economics or political science. Since civil servants are/should be the pillars of society, only the most talented citizens are traditionally selected for this. In fact, most of the top five Geup officials hail from one of the three elite SKY universities (Seoul National University, Koryo University, and Yonsei University). An enormous market for tutoring institutes has now grown, not only for the university entrance exams, but also for the Gosi exam. In these, the candidates are intensively prepared. For many, this means nothing other than: study and study even harder, period. For one year. The better the preparation, the better the chances. However, you can get a lot of support for a lot of money.

The Gosi exam wants to separate the wheat from the chaff. For some, money may help, for others, iron will power, diligence and a certain amount of talent/intelligence must suffice. This combined with a supportive social environment, because in that preparatory year (and possibly subsequent preparatory years) there is hardly time for part-time jobs and everyday obligations...
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Did Not Like the Ending

This was a fairly good action/drama film. It was a solid 8 for me until the ending. I just don't like the way the movie ended. Drops this down to a 6 rating. The last fight scene was sub par at best and I do understand why they did that but NOPE! I hated it. I needed a better fight scene between the 2 leads. The movie is 2 hours and 20 minutes and there are things they should have cut and things that could have been added. Specifically what could have been added was a conversation between Bok Soon and the other CEOs in the assassin business. Especially, after they were starting to question the leader of MK.

The highlight of the film is the cast. Pretty stacked too with some of my favorites in small parts. Looking at you Kim Sung Oh. FL Jeon Do Yeon is oustanding. This is the first thing I've seen her it. She was great as Bok Soon. Lee Yeon was really good here too as the new recruit.

Totally worth the watch at least once though.

7/16/23.

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The title is the best thing about this movie

When a sci-fi movie opens quoting Charles Dickens, you might think you're in for an intellectual thriller about gene manipulation. Intelligent writing is something this movie will never be accused of. Bearing the title Mutant Ghost Wargirl, you might also think you are in for some wacky fun or a thriller about a deadly phantom. Disappointingly the movie wasn't much fun or thrilling .

I'd like to blame the terrible subtitles as the reason I struggled to understand the story, but bad as they were, poor translations weren't the major problem. Ghost aka Wu Qing Qing is an agent for The International Security Union who goes undercover in The Korean Mystery Crime Organization in order to bring down an illegal gene experimentation lab called Medusa. She ends up being dosed with a gene injection fluid (GIF). An extraction team arrives to break her out, but the bad guys have a demigorgon which slows them down long enough for a bad mutant to kill most of the team and kidnap Ghost's friend. Mysteriously and off-screen, Qing Qing is rescued by a Chinese investigator named Zhou Yang in Korea. For cliched plot reasons, Qing Qing has developed amnesia. She also has super powers due to the GIF and every time the fluid activates further, an increased percentage appears on her arm to reflect the new abilities. Slowly her memories return prompting Qing Qing and Zhou Yang to seek a way to get the secret microchip she stole from the baddies back to her people. Lots of fights ensue with her powers further increasing.

I was quite confused when the movie indicated it was set in 2077 Korea because where Qing Qing woke up the signs were in Chinese and the street décor was decidedly Chinese. With the exception of a couple of "Korean" police officers and a few people in a strange nightclub with its own green haired Joker, everyone spoke Chinese. Later they mentioned it was Chinatown, but with Chinese agents operating in Korea and a giant holographic dragon circling about downtown Incheon it looked more like China had annexed the country. The Joseon styled robots in hanboks who served the Chinese Big Bad were troubling.

The story and editing were choppy with terrible pacing. Story logic must not have been a priority because there were huge lapses in narrative and logic. A romance was shoe-horned in, developing quicker than Ghost's super speed given the whole story took place over a day or two. The sets and lighting looked straight out of Blade Runner without the charm. Most of the acting was sub-par, with the villains being extra cringe worthy. Qing Qing's dominant power was the ability to teleport like Marvel's Nightcrawler into a puff of black smoke, followed only by her ability to spit up gallons of blood. Out of all the Chinese movies and dramas I've watched this movie wins the Buckets O' Blood Award for the most red goo expectorated. Many of the fight scenes relied on Matrix styled slow-mo action with kung fu posing. Or the fights were almost non-existent as Qing Qing and her black smoke moved so quickly you only saw the bodies falling. As often as weapons flew directly toward the camera I wondered if it was originally filmed for 3-D. Wasn't there anything good about this movie you may be asking? The CGI wasn't bad during several fights, but that's all I've got.

The writers for Mutant Ghost Wargirl could have given the movie more meaning by delving deeper into the ethical issues of gene manipulation. Even without confronting the morality of using people as guinea pigs, the messy story could have been cleaned up some if they had better explained key plot points and not make the viewer fill in the enormous narrative gaps like a road crew filling in potholes after an ice storm. What the movie really needed was for a scientist to have developed a Better Acting Injection Fluid and a Make the Story Coherent Injection Fluid, because as it stands the ridiculous title was the most fun thing about the whole movie.

7/15/23

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How hard our lives can be.

I am heartbroken. This film is about how difficult life can be for certain people, and how easy it can be for others.

I opened this account just to vent about this film, what a great movie. I loved every part of it, the acting, the camera work (even though some people did not like it, that's okay), the script, and so on. Not only that, I identify with them. I took 0.5 points because, I could not see more of them, call me egoist (lol).

About the camera work, it feels like you were with them, I was giggling all the time.

I discovered Miyazawa Hio (Ryuta) in the film His (2020), and I could not stop thinking about that film, so I said well, maybe he will act in another film, the wait was worth it. About Suzuki Ryohei, I liked how he showed his vulnerability in that situation, it is refreshing to see real human emotion in a film, not robotics decisions.

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I couldn't focus on watching cuz I was too busy getting insulted
everything Nadia did has nothing to do with Algeria for example we don't go down on our knees in front of graves , I have nothing to say about Nadia's looks because there's a minority in the country who looks Asian , but mind u Algeria is a north African country + if you're going to talk about a country and part of the story is supposed to be in that country, at least film there or somewhere similar
There are also lots of Algerian working or living in Japan so it's easy to actually ask someone about how we normally behave , that's if you want the movie to be well filmed

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