Reviews

"Why do you think we have to hate each other?"

Director Kurosawa’s High and Low delved into the police procedure he loved with a story of a high-profile kidnapping and stakes that were also unbelievably high. Some would fall to new lows and others would rise from the lows they were buried in. High and Low, also known as Heaven and Hell, was a fascinating look into people’s true characters when thrust into a fiery crucible.

Mifune Toshiro played Gondo Kingo, a man who rose from an apprentice in a shoe factory to running it. In the opening scene, several executives are planning a takeover of the company. The sales have been flat because the Old Man insisted on utilitarian women’s shoes. The execs wanted to make cheap disposable shoes. Gondo wanted something in the middle, to make stylish high quality shoes and earn greater profits in the long run. The executives threatened to use their power to push him out of the company unaware that Gondo had his own plan. After throwing the men out of his house he revealed to his wife and right-hand man that he had leveraged everything he owned to buy enough shares to take over the company—50 million yen for the deposit with 100 million yen remaining to be paid later. Though not a samurai he was deeply involved in a business war rife with risk, back stabbings and betrayals.

Gondo’s move was brilliant, ambitious, and dangerous. All that needed to be done was for his subordinate to transfer the check. As fate would have it a call came in telling him his son had been kidnapped and the ransom was 30 million yen. Wrecked he was willing to pay it even though it would ruin him. Another turn, the child kidnapped was not his own, but his chauffer’s son. The kidnapper doesn’t care, he wants Gondo humiliated and brought down from his mansion on the hill. A mansion in plain sight of the people who live in squalor below. A mansion with air conditioning and sound proof windows leaving the family insulated from the poverty just beneath them.

Nakadai Tatsuya, played the lead inspector of a team that arrives at the mansion. He gives a likeable performance, expertly nuanced with personality. Now the thrust of the moral dilemma begins. Does Gondo have the responsibility to destroy his family’s lifestyle and future to save a child not his own? He is unconvinced. He might have ended up as the tragic MacBeth character in Throne of Blood if not for the fact that this wife was one of good conscience. Gondo’s rule of thumb is kill or be killed. Reiko tells him he must not lose his humanity in his desire for wealth and position. She knows if he lets the boy die his emotional ruin would be greater than their financial ruin and something he would never recover from.

The scenes with the police officers, Gondo family, and Aoki the driver and boy’s father are tense with emotions rumbling below the surface breaking through from time to time. As Gondo takes the ransom money on the train with officers hidden about, it was a surprisingly taut scene filmed on a real train.

Once the boy is returned, the movie turns largely into a police procedural as a huge task force is assigned to the case to find the culprits and return the ransom money. In a time before cell phones, CCTV cameras, and DNA testing the police relied on canvasing the neighborhoods and old school detective work. Nakadai’s Tokura is determined to arrest the suspects on the highest charge they could. At the time, the jail sentence for kidnapping was minimal and the criminals knew it. Along the way, it also turned into a murder case, upping the ante. Public sympathy was squarely in Gondo’s corner, the people loved the man who sacrificed everything to save a child. Tragically, Gondo's fate was sealed for his creditors reminded him that good will does not pay the bills. Tokura played Gondo’s avenging angel, leaving no stone unturned looking for the man who brought him down. As determined as he was to save the child’s life, he was also as determined to save Gondo’s. Even when he was reciting what amounted to pages of narrative, Nakadai gave a riveting performance. This was a 180 from his unhinged performance as the gun wielding villain in Yojimbo, making me appreciate his acting skills all the more.

Mifune played a character every bit as courageous as any samurai in his repertoire. Though calm, his barely caged energy rippled under the surface. His agony, strained anger, despair, empathy, and relief all on display in a restrained performance brought this complex character to life. Unlike most of their collaborations, this time Mifune wasn’t always stage center, this was a group effort. Kagawa Kyoko gave a lovely performance as Gondo’s conscience. Though her character Reiko swore she could live in poverty, Gondo knew she’d never gone hungry or known a moment of want.

When Gondo and the kidnapper finally meet, Kurosawa made amazing use of his shots. Each man’s reflection to the side of the man in focus across the glass in the prison room was masterful. Gondo’s eyes misty, seeing the obsessed, rage-filled man before him, unsure if his display of wealth had created him. Takeuchi, the kidnapper who had lived below the mansion in the sweltering heat seething with hatred for Gondo. The last straw for Takeuchi, was knowing that Gondo lived untouched by the oppressive heat, smell, and noise, in his insular air-conditioned house in full view for all to see. In his obsession to bring Gondo down to his level, he destroyed himself in the process. At the same time, though Gondo’s position and possessions had been stripped away he had grasped at the chance for renewal. A man who still enjoyed working with his hands, still loved shoes, still loved life, the upheaval had only brought into sharp focus what was important to him. He might be ambitious but he was also a good man with a resilient spirit. Kurosawa makes his characters earn, if not a happy ending, at least their inspiration.

Unlike Stray Dog where Kurosawa humanized the villain, laying much of the blame on materialism and crime as a means of surviving, in this film he seems to relish in showing the kidnapper’s obsessive madness. The film was a criticism of the lax kidnapping laws. The next year the laws were strengthened as there had been several heinous child kidnappings.

Once again, Kurosawa also sharply criticizes the materialism and gap between the haves and have nots. A cesspool like in Drunken Angel makes another appearance where the people in view of the mansion live. A master of the wide angle, he often filled it with a variety of people and moods. Interestingly, he also made use of real American military in a rousing bar scene as Yokohama had a port where the military resupplied and shipped out. I also found his use of the villain’s sunglasses fascinating. They reflected light and his surroundings, one particularly artful scene when he arises in a garden with the flowers’ and sun’s reflections blending with the flora, hiding his cruel intentions. For the most part all of the performances were energetic but restrained and filled with charisma. Even the villain who had few words was given the chance to come unraveled with the actor making the most of his scenes.

If you enjoy police procedurals, Kurosawa and Mifune, riveting performances, or morality plays, this is not one to be missed. High and Low was made with great care and skill, showing how dire situations can bring a man low or bring a man high and sometimes a little of both.

1/20/23

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A rich girl, poor boy tandem

This is a movie about the poor little rich girl who did not get the attention she wanted from daddy and was sent to public school to learn about life. And the poor, just poor boy who helped her out, and showed pretty much showed her love.

As the poor little rich girl learned how to survive in the public school system that has neither air conditioning or enough seats to fit the students. We and she are pretty much are given a lesson in privilege and that yes it is easier to for a rich girl to adapt to the poor persons budget as well as to get accepted there then for the poor to gain acceptance among the rich partly due to stigma, and partly due to the fact that a poor person can not afford to do the things the rich kids do. We also get to learn that life is complicated and that a past left unhandled will come back to bite you.

All in a quest to figure out what is more important love? or is it money?

Having seen a lot of rich man poor woman dramas (and movies) I can not help but notice that money is a lot more of an issue when the man is the poor one, keeping up with societies gender conventions... which kind of suck but it is what it is and they show it in a pretty ok way.

This drama will also have you wondering how the **** can those cheerleaders do that?
(volts, jumps, kicks)

There are a bunch of cliches, here and there done pretty ok, the chemistry between the leads is lovely and though we get a hug and an adorable nose snuggle, the kiss lovers out there may end up disappointed as I did not spot a real kiss in sight.

All in all a pretty ok watch, nothing truly out of the ordinary but an ok watch

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Pretty boring tbh

A tale as old as time. Nothing new to see. Cheerful, dumb and heart of gold girl likes guy but doesn't admit it cause best friend likes him too. I got pretty bored after the first half. Also the ending is so stupid. There was no need to put a sad ending here but they did it cause why not. I thought this series would be great based on the rating but it is pretty meh. Kinda disappointed cause I was expecting more. I predicted almost most of the time what was going to happened, so I wasn't awed by anything at all. Even that unnecessary ending. Pretty boring but it is okay i guess

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Superb movie!

I really love the movie, even more the second time I watched it. The acting was exquisite. The cinematography is gorgeous. I really like the play with the camera, how it sometimes goes from clear, distant third POV to a more intimate POV (like when we are left in the hallway at the parlor as some sort of driver in the getaway car). Kiritani’s downward spiral, the injustice around it, makes it a heart-wrenching watch on its own; the revelation later on is a kick to the feels. I was surprised by how thematically tight the movie is. Like many others, I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but after watching it again, I think I understand the ending better. With that said, I do hope there’s a creator’s commentary on the DVD where they explain some of their choices, with the ending being the center of it.

The movie was originally a manga, and overall they are very similar. Some changes, like the POV-change, were very well done and added to the narrative, in my opinion. For example, in the manga, we get a lot of the story from Kai through internal monologue whereas in the movie he is made a mystery to be figured out with lots of clues dropped along the way.

It seems like many people have watched the movie with little to no subs, and it’s a bit of a shame because you’ll miss out on a lot. There are a lot of clues and cues in the dialogue that pay off in the end and add to the angst and heartache. The importance of words and their meanings are even highlighted in the opening of the movie and then in the middle of it too.

It’s not a movie for everyone. It’s thematically dark with only glimmers of hope. The characters might not be to everyone’s taste either. But as I said, I love it, and will most likely watch it many more times.

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not bad not good

This movie felt so lacking that I got so disappointed at the end. It definitely needs a part 2 because as a highly anticipated movie I expected a lot I guess it wasn't a total flop ,it just felt like a beginning if you get what I am saying.
The characters kept dying even though they were just starting to get some background, I understood that it was kinda like a thriller kind of movie but those that I thought would be the main characters just ended up dying .The ending had the best cliffhanger ever leaving the audience wanting more, just would have made more sense if the part 2 was watched immediately after but we aren't even sure there is going to be a part two.
Excellent acting from Jung so min, Seo in guk and Park ho san was gripping my seat when they came on mmy only issue was with the story/plot.

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Interesting concept but could've been executed better.

I wanted to watch this movie a while back, seeing there are so many Toku actors and Hotta Akane in it. To my luck, it was licensed by Viki recently. So I gave it a watch.
Story:
The story is pretty simple. Similar to the game, the protagonist , who is named Sakurai here, goes to a dating party after being cheated on by her boyfriend. She does so in a desperate attempt to find someone to introduce to her parents because her parents want to set her up with an arranged marriage, something she doesn't want. At the party, she meets a fortune teller who tells her that 9 out of 10 guys she meets will be lying to her. And after that, she just keeps confronting the guys one by one. She's down to 5 guys by the end of the first 30-37 minutes of the movie. By the end of the movie she learns that all the guys had lied to her in one way or another, but not all of them were with the intention to cause her any harm. That way she discovers how to separate the good from the bad, and gets her happily ever after. The story is ok. It was adapted from a game, so it's possible that it could not have been executed better than it was. But I don't think it was satisfying enough for me.
Acting & characters:
The acting was good, no complaints there. Seeing so many Toku actors together alone was pretty satisfying to me... XD. Jk. Seriously, though, these actors delivered pretty well. The male characters were mostly scumbags, so not very likable. And since Inaba Yu played the male lead, he was pretty charming and cute in some scenes, kinda made my heart squeeze. Didn't expect that, so that was nice. Hotta Akane was good as always. But, I kinda didn't like her with those bangs, she looks so much better without them.
Music:
The BGM was like the kind of music they use in games. I didn't think that was bad, since the story kinda works like a game. And the ending song was nice. So the music part was decent.
Rewatch:
It was an alright movie, but not worth rewatching to me.
Overall:
6.5/10. If you're a fan of the game, maybe check it out to see how they execute in it movie format with a fixed plot and all. On the plus side, this movie made me interested in playing the game. So that's all I have to say.

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Cutest Warm-heartening Movie

Storyline/Plot: The storyline is quite typical and cliché but they do it so well. The FL is your typical pampered, spoiled, rich, naïve girl. She dreams of her prince charming coming to sweep her off her feet. And the ML is well essentially normal- he's poor and has family trauma.
The movie moves pretty fast because the wedding happened and tbh I thought it was all in the FL's head but turns out they really had a shotgun wedding. It was quite funny to see them become poor overnight and I did not expect that to happen.
In the beginning, watching the naïve FL navigate through her new life was pretty annoying but she definitely surprised me because she didn't give up or run to her parents; she was actually the opposite and I loved that about her- she became more likable.
With the ML, he also surprised me too because I thought he was going to be your typical cold tsundere but he was actually super sweet and kind. I loved how he taught the FL things and just the way he smiled anytime he was watching her was cute. I also was surprised when they included in his family/mom trauma- wish they could of dove into that but obviously since it's just a movie- there couldn't be much done.
Acting: LOVED all the actors!!! They did amazing at acting their roles so well. Highkey- I loved Nakajima Kento in this role more than his famous role in The Black Devil and the White Prince.
Music: N/A
Rewatch Value: Would def rewatch when i'm sad or happy because it has no drama and LOTS of fluff!!!
Other Notes: Overall, I was interested in the movie because of he plotline and it amazed me and I fell in love with the movie. Really wish they can remake into a drama!!!

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Fun Action Comedy!

Equally entertaining as the first one, this fun action comedy did not disappoint! Hyun Bin delivered on the action scenes and Yoo Hae Jin stole the show with his comedic timing. I absolutely loved the dynamic of Hae Jin's family, specifically with Yoona. I kept bursting out laughing at their reactions to Yoona's flirting tactics. I'm not a fan of Daniel Henney's acting, but his character did add to the comedy and gave an excuse to show Hyun Bin's cute jealousy.. Jin Seon Kyu did a great job as the villain too. I'm always amazed at how these soft spoken kind actors transform themselves into such great villains.

On the story side, I will say it was weaker than the 1st movie and you'll have to overlook some of the flaws in logic, but honestly I didn't care too much because the action and comedy were strong. This was such a breeze to watch. And if you are a fan of Hyun Bin or Yoo Hae Jin like I am, then this will not disappoint.

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What was the lesson?

Not sure if I really liked this, all the production and technical aspects are okay, but the story made me thinking about what really was trying to tell...
The main question is if Homosexuality is a sin. Even if in a moment there's this explicit put in text and said that God love all, also it's said that is a sin and the important is regret it to be forgiven. All the subtext also reinforce this idea, the serpent nightmare, the clothes were Yo Han start using white but get darker till the black when he "sinned and fell into temptation" contaminating himself because of the "predator" Joo Won, the prayers... The end indicates a cycle of events still trying to resist.
So in the end I think even if it is kind off realistic, it is too much biased, I don't think that brings any real lesson, any characters development or really any help in anything to this group of people that already suffer so much in such homophobic society.

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Beautiful closure to the original drama!

In the film, they brought closure to the original drama series by giving each lead cast their happy endings! The two leads went through a lot, losing each other in different time zones and saving one another, sacrificing one another to allow the other person to live, this part is truly touching! For the 2nd male lead, Mo Jun Jie, they finally gave him his happy ending reuniting with Chen Yun Ru. I was so happy and touched for this part as in the original drama series, we can see how much Mo Jun Jie love Chen Yun Ru for her, despite how negative she may be. All in all, the film got me tearing at the end because of all the happy endings the lead cast have gotten after all the hardship they face to meet each other in the same time zone! And, in addition to the original soundtracks (Last dance, Someday or one day, Xiang Jian Ni, there are a few new soundtracks that are pretty decent too, including one that was sang by the female lead Alice Ko herself!) After watching the movie, I will definitely revisit the drama series again to make sense of everything!

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Tidal Wave Of Blood & Gore!

19/01/2023

A group of prisoners being transported on a ship escorted by police officers, break free, only to unwillingly meet their maker due to everyone's worse nightmare lurking below deck who escapes as well...

There are some pleasant looking faces among some of the prisoners, ship crew, and police officers only...an hour in, most of them are goners including one or two of the main characters. However, it is great to see an elderly inmate make it as far as he did as in most movies he would have been the first to go or not too far behind.

Faces, in some cases, that were completely obliterated beyond recognition I might add.

I actually worked out something about 10 to 20 minutes into the film that was the case in the last 30 minutes or so.

Just so you know there is a lot of violence, blood and gore that never stops once it starts and that is from about 10-15 minutes in.

Expect rather brutal scenes that are quite graphic and disturbing.

If you after a movie that doesn't have an original story line, but is still full of action and gore then this is the right movie for you.

Seo In Guk did an awesome job as a twisted sadistic Psychopath - the tattoos on him were something else as was his violent outbursts and killing for the sake of killing.

Jang Dong Voon was exceptional as well in the role he played as was most of the cast!

If you want two hours of gruesome no need to be analysed entertainment this is highly recommended!

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This is a movie not worth watching

This is the worst movie I have ever seen.
After the success of the movie Train To Busan, the Korean cinema published the movie Gangnam Zombie, after watching it, I have a few comments as follows:
+ About the actor: The male lead acts well and the female lead acts with an emotionless, expressionless face and maybe she suits the role of a singer more than an actress; and the other characters, their acting is quite normal, nothing special ( 4/10 )
+ About the plot: The name is Gangnam but the context only revolves around a few corners of an old cheap old building. There is no investment in terms of images, nor is the plot. The zombie disguise really asked me what words to use to describe it, the filming was bad, the actors were like 3 cents, the dialogue seems to be somewhere between 2-30 boring sentences, I wonder if the scriptwriter of this movie is long. up to 2 pages? A movie that doesn't have any depth of emotion, it's just like a crap on Web drama for kids. After watching for 15 minutes, my friend Ji Yeon fan turned and said, "How long do I have to endure? :(", you must know how bad it is. Everything will be going very normally until the end. The ending really disappointed viewers like me, a half-hearted ending to the drama. There are a lot of boring bad movies that have gone through my life but Gangnam's fall was such a big shock. stubborn no matter how bad I still have to watch it all to get the best rating, I can get up and go home in the first 10 minutes Honestly to me this is not a movie it just deserves a clip somewhere just online.

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An Messy, Chaotic And Pretty Violent Movie

Sing In Love was a messy, chaotic, and pretty violent movie. The movie has some sensitive themes that I will not say. Because I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone. But I will say this. The plot was questionable. The acting performances, music, and dialogue were raw. The actors and actresses acting were realistic. The s*xual scenes were intense. There were some violent scenes in the movie that were too much for me to handle, but I made it through those scenes, plus the whole movie. The movie was good, but I dislike the ending. The ending was sad and tragic. If you can't stomach a messy, chaotic, and pretty violent movie with a tragic ending, then don't watch it but if you can stomach a messy, chaotic, and pretty violent movie with a tragic ending, then watch it.

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Great concept, unfortunate execution.

I’ll be honest, I wanted to like this movie a lot more than I did.

I felt like by and large the emotions that the filmmakers wanted to get across didn’t come through for me. There was too much about the story that simply seemed improbable and I wasn’t able to immerse myself in the story because of this.

Ultimately I also think the story would have had more impact of it were simpler. Did the murder plot even need to exist? What was the point of the gangster characters? I would have enjoyed it much more if it stuck to the main plot: men involved in baby trafficking and a desperate mother trying to find a good home for her child. Between the emotional weight of a woman trying to get by in a world that has always cut her down, the legal ramifications of the baby selling scheme, and the moral dilemma of the two male leads, there’s enough conflict to carry the movie without the extra melodrama. That would have allowed the audience to connect more with the characters rather than being pulled in several directions by unnecessary fluff.

With any film or drama that tackles a major social issue and a stigmatized group of people, I also hope that the issue will really feel fleshed out - like time is devoted to sharing many perspectives of the different characters, their backstories, and how their lives have influenced their feelings and beliefs. We got a little bit of that in this movie, but it felt somewhat superficial to me. I got tired of characters saying things to the effect of, “what kind of woman would throw her baby away?” In reality, there are MANY reasons why struggling mothers will abandon their babies, but we barely even brushed the surface of the issue in this narrative. More time could have and should have been devoted to exploring the central issue at the heart of the film instead of just judgmentally asking “why” a million times while providing few answers or explanations.

I was also troubled by some of the simplistic caricatures of people in the film. Like the cold female cop who becomes warmer at the very end because she’s suddenly tasked with taking care of a baby. That felt very strange and forced to me (not to mention regressive in terms of the view it seems to present on childless women). Overall, the ending was just too “clean” and unlikely.

Now, overall I thought the acting was great. The cast did a great job with some unfortunately weak material. But in the end I was just left wanting more emotional depth and fewer superfluous plot points.

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I don't even know how to describe it but somehow I loved it

I don't usually write reviews but here I go cause I need to express what I just watched. it's deeply unsettling, every part of it is. This movie felt like experiencing some kind of nightmare which I somehow really liked. I was deeply involved and watching the chaos unfold in front of my eyes was an experience that I can't describe properly.

This movie isn't for everyone that's for sure:
- it's violent, but violent in such an overbearing way that it feels almost normal. The actors do an amazing job at executing this violence by the way.
- It's very explicit and it has tw for r***. Like seriously I'm not even that triggered by it usually but it's intense.
- It's dark: themes include: child abuse, r***, murder, prostitution, psychological and physical violence... if you are triggered easily or b y any of these themes don't watch it.
- it's not a happy movie. This is as much as I can say without spoiling but don't expect salvation for any of the characters.
- it's very weird: if you don't like indie films or stuff like that it's not the movie you're looking for.
- it's clearly not a "BL" as some might expect. don't mistake it for a love story.
- none of the characters are good people. Not even the main character, though this can be debated.


BUT truly if none of these points bother you then watch it. The psychology, the plot twists, the emotions... it's amazing seriously. The way it looks at trauma is something I've rarely seen : it's violent (if you don't notice the pattern at this point...) but is there any way to deal with trauma that isn't?

Also: I was very impressed by all of the actors, even the children. They made it feel like I was witnessing some kind of tragedy, like it can sometimes feel in nightmares: you don't control anything, and you can only watch, frozen, as the characters suffer and the story unfolds. Especially the actor for KAI, his performance portrayed KAI as some kind of chaotic free spirit, unpredictable but somehow not? I never knew what to expect from KAI but I also felt like whatever he would do was justified in some sordid insane way (and that was even before the main plot twist). don't know if I'm making any sense right now but let me tell you that KAI's character is the high point of the movie: he manages to be despicable, amazing, scary, vulnerable, somehow childlike, intriguing, sweet...

The ending is not something that I can truly say I liked because... I don't see how anyone would like this outcome but I was strangely at peace with it. It's probably necessary for a nightmare to end this kind of way.

Also the music is damn good: it fits the dreamlike vibe, in a nigthmareish kind of way of course.

Anyways you may think I'm crazy after reading this but the insanity that is this movie probably explains my current state.

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