Reviews

We are the stories we tell

Taipei Exchanges is a gently introspective slice of life about two sisters who ponder what stories hold value when they set up a barter system in their coffee shop. This film is not for everyone. The changes in the sisters and their customers are small and quiet and will go unnoticed if you don't pay attention from your table in the corner of their café. If coffee and discovering the meaning behind the stories people tell about their lives and belongings interest you, pull up a chair, order a coffee and cookie and see where the film and memory takes you.

If someone gave you the money to do one, which would it be? Use the money to study or travel?

Doris is practical and has always wanted to open an elegant coffee café. When she finally has the opportunity fate turns her dream into the quirkiest shop in Taipei. Without giving too much away, on her opening day she ends up with a plethora of calla lilies and invites people to bring something to exchange for them. Afterwards with their shop full of junk, her sister has the idea that customers can bring something to exchange for whatever is in the shop thinking it will create more foot traffic and people will stay longer and drink and eat more. Doris reluctantly agrees hoping it will lead to financial freedom for her. Josie wants a car for herself and a set of bone china for her mother.

Along the way, the sisters find that what things are worth is a deeply personal belief. What is the story behind it? Love letters, songs, a mirror ball, stuffed alligator, and even cleaning out the backyard drain are up for exchange. As Doris hears the stories of the places people have traveled, a shift begins to take place in her.

What do you treasure the most?

Doris makes a decision that seems radical and perhaps it's radical self-love to realize that what we value may change over time. The sisters believe that whatever you are looking for someone has and it's only a matter of time before the need to have and the need to release meet each other. Often our lives can be changed by one small incident and decision, in Doris' case a fender bender with a small truck full of calla lilies led to small change after small change leading to a larger change in her life and the lives of those around her.

Taipei Exchanges is beautifully and thoughtfully shot, within the store and around Taipei. The OST is soothing and won't jar you out of the existential questions that arise over what we value, why, and what is our inner value to ourselves and others. For the most part the acting is natural and the sisters have good chemistry in the way that sisters love each other still bicker. Some of the basic business issues are touched upon when starting up a business, but don't weigh the story down. People off the street answer two of the questions above and though some may sound more scripted, others are quite relatable.

Everyday we tell ourselves stories about our failures, hopes, dreams, and even the lies about ourselves that help us sleep at night. We cherish the stories behind an object or even despise an object because of the emotional baggage that it carries. Is a song worth a book? A Barbie dollhouse worth a mirror ball? What happens when people exchange goals and dreams? This film will not turn your world upside down, but it may cause you to take a moment to look around and even within yourself and wonder what has value and why?

If you had the choice between money and calla lilies, which would you take?

2/24/23

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Cheap Fast Food!

Detective Song Ci is loosely based on the first forensic entomologist and the author of Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified. I suspect reading his 1000 year-old forensic science book would be more entertaining than this short, cheap, confusing movie.

The story bounces around more than a ball at an octopus ping pong tournament. Detective Song is called in when a man is murdered at home. He solves the crime in seconds which freed up his schedule to deal with a mysterious mass murder of the Li family in the Tonggu County. Creepy straw men are hung where the people disappear, their bodies buried elsewhere. By his side is his trusty deputy Han dressed like a typical historical bodyguard. A young woman also drops in from a roof and joins him in the investigation. She has a jade pendant much like the Li family carries and she's looking for her parents. At the same time Grand Censor Ding, and Song's boss, has his hands full with the Emperor who wants to travel to Tonggu Co. to visit his old teacher who is ill. Ding forbids anyone to talk about the straw man murders under penalty of arrest, including Song. Even though not one constable had been aware of much less able to stop any of the murders of the prominent family they are quick as bunnies to arrest people whispering about the case. Song deduces that the killers are using blood thirsty insects to kill their victims. Before long he realizes events and people are not as they seem.

The movie is needlessly confusing at the beginning when much of the action is going back and forth without people being properly introduced. Eventually, names and titles are given to most of the characters which helps to sort the story out. At the end when the nefarious plot is revealed, a dying character has to use his last couple of hundred breaths to tell the convoluted tale. Some of the characters are still an enigma as the credits roll, there simply wasn't the time to develop them.

The production values were quite low. I did enjoy seeing old kung fu movie actor Norman Chu in his role. Norman's General Censor costume was much nicer than the clueless Emperor's. The fighting was of the most rudimentary style and they couldn't even get the buckets of spurting blood to look better than a 1970's kung fu flick. Norman must have felt right at home. Most of the acting was perfunctory with some of the worst dubbing I've ever heard. Along with the atrocious dubbing were the sound effects that were so amplified as to be literally laughable. When several women were walking on a dirt path further from the action, they sounded like a herd of horses walking by. Music overrode the dialogue at times. They couldn't even muster the money for a proper entourage and palanquin for the Emperor.

If you have an hour you need to kill and want to see a low budget movie with a big body count and a low rent Detective Dee or Sherlock Holmes, you might want to give this one a try. Otherwise, better to watch Detective Dee or even The Great Mouse Detective than this one. Song Ci deserved much better.

2/24/23

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It's not too often I wish something to be LONGER!

At just over 28 minutes, this web drama is very cute and sweet. I liked all of the actors. I love the SML and that's what brought me here, but the leads were so cute together, which kind of creeped me out initially, but then once everything was explained, I was like, "Oh, yeah, that makes sense!"

SPOILER!SPOILER!SPOILER!
Bottom line, he's not her son from the future, he's her husband. He is dying and he wants to save her the pain of going through losing him, so he tries to fix her up with someone else. But fate or destiny is not to be trifled with, you will meet the person you are supposed to be with.

They never explained how he could come from the future, but I guess that doesn't really matter. I would like to think that they were able to change something so that he doesn't die, but who knows?
END OF SPOILER.

Cute, quick movie.

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If you're watching this for Im Siwan...

... then you're set.

This movie started out promising, but then it just sort of... fell flat? My friend and I ended up guessing the entire series of events that were to proceed, and we kept waiting for the shocking plot twist that would change our minds and elevate our collective opinion of the film, but it never came... except for the ending, which certainly left us intrigued. Did it hint at the possibility that the son wasn't actually dead and that he'd been in cahoots with fake Juyeong the entire time? Or was it the real Juyeong all along, except he got plastic surgery?

This felt less like a thriller and more like a warning regarding our reliance on technology and how smartphones have compromised our security and privacy in a technological world.

If you're an Im Siwan stan, you'll probably make it to the end. Please watch with a friend, because that way you can congratulate each other whenever your guess for what's about to happen next proves right.

Good enough for a one-time watch.

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Great performance of the two main actors ! Be prepared to be teary-eyed!

The story is centred around 2 brothers reacquainting themselves with each other after being apart for a while and in the midst of unfortunate circumstances. Even if the main conflict is not that original, it is superbly treated. I found it really well done even though the pacing was a bit too fast for some of the developments. The plot was still quite realistic and sensible in terms of characters growth.

The movie is mainly shining thanks to the great performance of the 2 main actors playing the brothers. Jo Jung Suk and Doh Kyung Soo are usually amazing and this is once again a home-run acting-wise. Side characters tend therefore to disappear and are paling in comparison with the actors portraying the siblings.

I did not necessarily find the production and the music memorable but they were good enough to bring the story to live.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for a cathartic bromance story that will bring you all the feels and tears!

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Quite a disappointing conclusion to what could be the next generation of Prison on Fire movies

An immediate continuation from Breakout Brother's 2 plot point with the incarceration of the warden for his corruption in helping ron ng escape prison.

If you thought Ron Ng was a 1 dimensional villian in Breakout Brother 2, Kenny Wong is like a 0.5 dimensional villian. I get the feeling he grew quite sick of the franchise as his character scenes consist of expressionlessly smoking a cigarettes in different poses, at different parts of the prison.

The story makes no sense at all since Kenny Wong was able to execute one of the most stupid strategy ever (of killing Scar, played by Justin Cheung from OCTB fame) just to create a distraction to get out of prison.

There's a lot of inconsistency as Scar became the unreasonable ruthless villian in the first movie, to suddenly having zero power in the second movie and then becoming a background teddy bear character in season 3. Just when the movie throws you a redemption arc about a past lover, he dies to warden's plot of murdering him in the shower after drugging him in the cafeteria.

It also makes zero sense that Big Roller and his entire gang was held hopelessly as victims in the kitchen, and only by having Kin-Tin showhim with ZERO additional equipment and only throwing marbles at big roller that they were suddenly able to reverse the situation against the gun men.

All in all, movie 1 was quite a run for its money and had the potential to spin-off the next generation of prison on fire movies, but it was wasted by bringing in super one dimensional-antagonist in the subsequent sequels. But at least story 2's storyline made sense, story 3 felt very rushed.

Oh and Moses Chan as the new warden literally brought nothing to the table.

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Classic Hong Kong Prison Drama carried by veteran actors

Watched this movie after completing the breakout brothers trilogy. If you like classic HK Films, especially the prison ones (e.g. chow yun fatt's prison on fire) this would be a modern take on it.

The premise and story, while nothing mind-blowing, sets the tone for veteran actors ricky chan and ray liu to bring out their "da lou" big brother roles.

Stuck inbetween them is Justin Cheung, rising to fame from "OCTB" as a joker-esque villian who subsequently showed his range of acting in the breakout brothers film as a uncouth big boss antagonist in prison.

It's a nice just juxtapose for Justin Cheung as this time round he's the protagonist, and in a much meeker role with a cunning and strategist mindset versus his role in Breakout Brothers, which again shows his range of acting too.

All in all a very fun ride as you are constantly on a look out on the dynamics between the two gangs and the unpredictability and ruthlessness of ricky chan as the film's primary antagonist.

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Director’s Cut Needed for the streaming release or BluRay/ DVD versions

Contains Spoilers.

What a let down!!!

I have not read the manga so I not sure if the movie is a continuation of the series or an original story, but I wondered if Ms. Okazaki Satoko, the movie scriptwriter, watched the original series or read the manga because the magical essence of what made the show a hit was lacking. It definitely loss its magic - figuratively and literally. What was once a beloved BL series because of its dramedy series became just a dramatic movie with a very few comedic scenes. They could have added more hijinks from Adachi reading his new colleagues’ mind or Kurosawa doting on Adachi. The original script writers of the series, Ms. Yoshida Erica and Ms. Okazaki Satoko, had a better adaptation of the book. (Side note, Ms. Yoshida, was also the writer of “Double” - the series.)

Touching Moments

- The storyboard is good beginning with the Prologue with the summary of the the BL series, then moved to the the 1st scene of Adachi searching through the children’s book section of the pop up van book seller. Then showing that everything is not always HEA (Happily Ever After) when the main leads get to finally be together. I liked how the second to the last scene when Adachi closed the fairytale book and revealed the title to be “The Prince and the Wizard”. ??

- Coming out to their parents - something rarely seen in Japanese BL’s.

- Holding hands at the last scene where Adachi and Kurosawa were fearless in showing their relationship publicly. ??‍?‍????

Huh Scenes

- It was fun seeing Adachi still have his magic in the beginning. I was even excited that he seems to have gained a new magical power when he brought the fire logs to Kurosawa and had gained a premonition power of seeing an upcoming event. It was a wasted scene because if he was not going to have that specific power again, why would it be necessary put on the script.

- Why is the second location in Nagasaki!!! It is fictional company! Why couldn’t they choose the new store to be closer like Kyoto or Nagano. I know the transfer lasted 8 months, but the scenes went by too quickly. The filmmaker should have done a quick montage of the pass 8 months. They should have edited the camping trip and focussed more on the struggles of Adachi and Kurosawa maintaining a long distance relationship.

- When Adachi explaining to Kurosawa his family mentioned that he has a noisy niece, he looked at the camera oddly bent over. I was anticipating a funny scene of his niece next.

- Why did Adachi’s mother and sister-in law giggled when he introduced Kurosawa to them at the home entrance but were stoic when Adachi came out at the next scene. They missed an opportunity to have a funny scene and have the family laughed as an inside joke that they already knew that Adachi was gay a long time ago.

- The last 30 minutes of the movie were coming out to their respective families back to back. It would have been better if there was a break between the two to lighten the heavy scenes.

Disappointments

- Proposal: I am not familiar with Japanese proposals so I found it odd that Kurosawa would kneel on one knee to propose (to be in a steady relationship) with matching pens to Adachi in one of the last scenes of the series, yet would stand to propose (for marriage) with matching rings to Adachi while standing on the beach. It could have been so romantic.

- Kiss: Japanese BL’s have come a long way from 2020 when there is now at least one kissing scene within the series from the two male leads. It is still puzzling that we still have not seen Adachi and Kurosawa kissed from a side view. We watched a supposed kiss when the elevator was closing in the last scene of the show and we saw the supposed kiss from a back view at 45:11. I don’t see why they couldn’t even have a quick peck on the lips within the whole movie even from the imaginary wedding before they opened the doors because this could have been classified as a bromance movie. LOL. I am not sure if it was producers or the director or the actors themselves who were uncomfortable with same sex kiss. I have read that Japan is a conservative country but is it blasphemous to see two men kissing from a side view in a Japanese film in movie theatres?

Even though there were some misses, I still enjoyed watching the movie. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10. Hopefully, there is a re-edit version and have a Director’s Cut of the movie either in digital forms or in a BluRay/DVD versions. ??

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You're wonderful just as you are regardless of what planet you come from

Call Me Chihiro reminded me of Mary Poppins, if Mary Poppins had been an ex-sex worker. Like a warm breeze on a cloudy day, Chihiro brought kindness and healing to the people she came across whether it was a mischievous little boy or an ant helpless on its back. Short on plot and long on healing human interactions this film is one you experience with your heart, not your mind.

Chihiro works at a Bento shop handing out warmth and food often with a gentle sense of humor. She makes friends with a small boy whose mother works nights, a high school girl whose father is at a minimum verbally abusive, a homeless man, and the blind woman married to the Bento boss. Despite her work background she never hides it from any of the people she helps. We don't know much about her except that she had a painful childhood and a traumatic experience that caused her to flee her massage parlor job.

Even though Chihiro helps the abused and downtrodden, she cannot always feel the warmth she gives. Without a second thought she buries the dead-both human and animal-afterwards taking a shower and then eating ramen. With her trans friend she explains that if love is about owning and being owned she wants no part of it. She reaches out to others yet cannot bring herself to truly feel and be open.

This film was filled with sweet, touching moments showing how kindness and healing are passed on. As the circle of people she has thrown a life vest of acceptance to begin to interact and support each, the story feels stronger and more interconnected. Yet as profoundly as Chihiro touched others she was filled with an "air of loneliness" and trying hard to run away from it; though near the end, the sun began to break through the clouds in her eyes.

One of my favorite parts of this movie is when Chihiro tells the high schooler about a client she had. He believed that people were actually aliens in human suits. The reason people don't get along is because everyone is from different planets. She and the high schooler always have their eyes open for someone who might be from their planet. What she really wants is for someone to validate her feelings and see her worth. When she thinks she's finally found someone from her planet it clearly touches her that this person thinks she is wonderful just as she is, even if she can't see that in herself.

Call Me Chihiro is a film for when you need a feel good story that doesn't require much brain power. Watching these disparate people begin to find a sense of belonging and someone who cares about them was heartwarming. It may also motivate you to see others beyond their physical appearance and faults and to discover how far one good deed can spread.

2/23/23

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"It's like when you look for something all over the place & then find it right in front of you."

In Early Summer a family faces a time of transition and growth as the twenty-eight-year-old daughter's unmarried status seems to reach a crisis point with everyone wanting her married off, even her boss plays matchmaker! This poor "old maid" seems quite happy enough working, hanging out with her friends, and helping her family, but society norms being what they were, she understands her time of being single is fast running out.

Ozu slowly takes his time setting up the characters and family dynamics in his usual aesthetic manner. The plot is not complex but the relationships are. Noriko is the "old maid" and seems fairly nonplussed when her boss tries to match her with an older friend of his. Her authoritarian brother, Koichi, jumps at the chance for her to be married to a wealthy older man. Noriko's mother and sister-in-law express their doubts about the match when they hear the man is forty. Koichi shuts them down saying that at Noriko's age, beggars can't be choosers.

When Koichi's two young sons run away after an argument with their father and can't be found, Noriko goes to a neighbor whose widowed son and small daughter live with her. The son, Kenkichi, goes with Noriko to help her find the boys off-screen. Kenkichi is a doctor and is later offered a promotion from his boss, Koichi, at a provincial hospital. Noriko takes a farewell gift to his house and before she leaves, she and Kenkichi's mother have arranged for her and Kenkichi to be married without his or her parents' knowledge or permission! How terribly forward and untraditional! Kenkichi is delighted, her parents not so much. "She acts like she grew up all by herself." Even though the family knows and respects Kenkichi, he's not wealthy and worst of all, he already has a child. Noriko loves the little girl and can't understand what the problem is.

The father goes to the store and has to wait for a train to pass by. Just like his teapot, trains play a big part in most of Ozu's films. Subconsciously, we know that trains are either taking people to somewhere or away from somewhere. Here the movement within the family is spurred by Noriko making a decision for herself, she's not only moving physically away from her family, but also away from the family's sphere of influence. The father realizes his family is transforming and that the train will soon be taking his daughter away as much as he would love for his family to stay together.

Always hesitant to show much romance, Ozu finally lets Noriko give voice to why she made what looked like a rash decision.
She admits her long standing feelings for Kenkichi. He's someone she trusts and knows she will be happy with. Her best friend reveals to Noriko that what she's talking about is love. Noriko doesn't always come across as the sharpest knife in the drawer with her perma-smile and sunny disposition, but even she knew that marrying a man who had been resolutely a bachelor until forty might make for a difficult relationship no matter how much money he had. Better to clip coupons and work on a blended family as a stepmother with someone she cares for than to be on unequal footing with an older stranger.

"It's like when you look for something all over the place, and you find it was right in front of you all along."

The acting in this film was uneven for me. It was interesting seeing Ozu regular Ryu as the older brother with jet black hair. Two years after this film, he would play an elderly father role with the actress who played the mother in this film in Tokyo Story. In Tokyo Twilight he played Hara's father! I have a love-hate relationship with Hara Setsuko. When she's given the chance to show a range of emotions, I find her compelling. I have a more difficult time when no matter what happens on screen, whether she's been offered congratulations or told she has six months to live she responds with the same smiling face. It can feel like a mask hiding the character's true emotions and I would like to see the depth of the character played out more.

Single, childless Ozu has more than once had two young brothers in his films, Good Morning and I Was Born…But, come to mind. In the films I've seen thus far, and also in this one, the boys are very disrespectful, selfish, and throw fits on a regular basis. Maybe it's because the kids always seem cooped up in the house like the caged birds in this film that they go stir crazy. More than likely, it's how someone who is childless sees children, but I find the children in his films can cross the line from delightfully realistic to incredibly annoying. There was a some of both in this film.

Unlike some of Ozu's older films where tradition must be maintained in the family and with fear of modern influences damaging the familial structure, Noriko is not punished for making her own decision regarding her future. No train runs her down nor is there a disaster to her reputation. I found this different direction with more sympathy toward the young people by the director a breath of fresh air.

Just like the sunny, carefree days of summer seem as if they will last forever, we know fall is around the corner. It doesn't mean the end of the world but it is a time of transition, even as Noriko's family had to accept that change is inevitable. Life is always in flux and families have to be flexible. Much like the family portrait taken in the film with the parents and their children and grandchildren, the last photo is only of the parents. In time, most parents will see their children move out to make lives of their own and be left by themselves with a much quieter house.

After Noriko is wed, again off-screen, and her brother and his family have moved due to his job, her parents talk about their lives. The father laments, "I wish we could live together forever, but that's impossible." On reflection they realize that they have lived a good life and raised their children well. They have earned their, if not happy, at least pleasant and contented ending.

2/23/23

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This one got to me!

This is a slow (in a good way), simple and beautiful story. I'll start with the bottom line - it's been quite a while since I've cried watching something, and I cried a couple of times during this movie. I was swept into the story and could feel the nervousness of the female lead, but she wasn't portrayed as a loser at all. The meeting of the leads was shown in a good way, and I was rooting for them from the start. Wu Nien Hsuan as Yi Bin and Zhou Yi Ram as Tong Zhi Liao were perfectly cast. I could feel sparks between the two from the beginning. I was torn, I wanted to find out what happened, but I also wanted it to go on and on. It was a lovely journey of discovery and spoke to lost chances and regrets. The story line of the old lady and her regrets mirrored the lead couple perfectly.

Normally, I struggle with Chinese dramas, the episodic ones are normally too drawn out for me, and the movies often don't give me enough time to invest in the characters. add to that my problems with dubbing and overacting, you'll see my dilemma. This movie was, quite simply, a hidden gem. I happened upon it quite by accident. The script is good, and the acting is understated. There are no over-the-top characters, and they are all likeable in their own way. No love triangles, and there wasn't much time spent on any of the secondary characters, other than the old lady, so we really got to know the main couple.

I might watch it again, if only to get lost in the story once again. The ending is ambiguous, and I think that's for the viewer to decide what they want to happen. I choose to go the happily-ever-after route.

I can happily and unapologetically recommend this movie!

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A good enough movie to watch

This movie is also available on Prime Video if you want to watch. This movie has a fine story line and it is interesting. It isn't rated much good on Amazon Prime Video but I kinda see why. The sound of guns didn't sound realistic. Very underrated American actors and I find that some of their acting was not excellent. The only acting that seemed real to me is the male lead and Heo Sung-tae's character Kwan Sung Woo. It can be rewatchable for me but only to see Heo Sung-tae's and male lead's good acting. I'm thinking the technology could be done slightly differently as well. The movie is very underrated as well but I think it's also due to these reasons of mine as well.

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