Reviews

A Charming Rom-Com with a Hint of Reality

Filipino rom-coms have a way of blending humour, heart, and social commentary, and Sosyal Climbers does just that. Directed by Jason Paul Laxamana, the film stars Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings as Jessa and Ray, a couple drowning in debt after falling for a scam. Desperate to turn their luck around, they take on new identities—Penelope and Kiefer—and infiltrate Manila’s elite to swindle their way to success. But as their deception deepens, so do the complications, testing both their morals and their love for each other.

1. A Relatable Tale of Ambition and Survival
At its core, Sosyal Climbers is a story about love, ambition, and the desperate measures people take to escape financial hardship. While the premise isn’t groundbreaking, it’s undeniably relatable. The film subtly captures the struggles of the working class, the temptation of easy wealth, and the emotional toll of deception. It’s a mix of comedy, romance, and social commentary, all wrapped in a lighthearted package.

2. Performances that Shine
Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings once again prove why they’re among the most promising actors of their generation. Their chemistry is natural, their comedic timing is spot on, and their dramatic moments feel genuine. Jennings, in particular, delivers a compelling performance, balancing charm with vulnerability. Racal, on the other hand, brings energy and charisma, making her character both lovable and frustrating in the best way. Their performances elevate the film, making up for moments when the pacing drags.

3. A Fun but Predictable Ride
There’s no denying that Sosyal Climbers follows a familiar formula. The story unfolds in a way that’s easy to anticipate, and some scenes in the middle feel a little slow. But despite its predictability, the film remains enjoyable because of its wit, engaging characters, and well-executed emotional beats. It doesn’t try to reinvent the rom-com genre—it simply delivers a fun, feel-good movie with just enough depth to keep it from being forgettable.

4. Final Verdict
Sosyal Climbers is a solid choice for a laid-back movie night. It’s light, fun, and sprinkled with just enough drama to keep things interesting. If you’re looking for a film that balances romance, humour, and a touch of social realism, this one is worth a watch. While it may not be the most innovative story out there, it’s the performances of Racal and Jennings that truly make it shine.

Read More

"Remember, I did try to be polite"

Secret of Chinese Kung Fu was highly “influenced” by Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss. The only problem with that was The Big Boss was a terrible story saved only by the best kung fu fighter to ever grace the silver screen. I watched this film because I’m a fan of Lo Lieh, but he was asking a lot of me to sit through this one. Definitely not the worst I’ve ever seen but completely forgettable.

Sisters Wai Wai and Yee Yee save Chang Chi who is unconscious on a piece of driftwood near the shore. They nurse him back to health and even find him a job at the local cannery. Kang Ho returns to town now wealthy and a nefarious criminal. He has his sights set on Yee Yee who has her sights set on her houseguest who frequently practices his kung fu shirtless at home. Kang is determined to own the cannery and recruits fighters from Thailand and Japan. A mysterious stranger shows up in town and helps Kang’s henchmen earning him a job with the suave gangster. It will be up to Chang Chi to protect the sisters and workers from Kang and his thugs.

Szema Lung played the hero. He was pretty to look at and had more than adequate martial arts skills, but he was deadly dull in this role. Lung Fei, without his trademark mustache, made an appearance as a karate expert from Japan. Blacky Ko and Jack Long filled in for the Thai fighters. Lo Lieh was, of course, the Big Bad. Even after leaving Shaw Brothers and going to make movies in Taiwan he was still stuck as the baddie. As always, he could be counted on to give an interesting performance.

The fights were average for a kung fu flick. Lung Fei choreographed fights that may have been repetitive, but were reasonably fast for 1977. The “Thai” fighters showed off high kicks instead of the more often used elbows and knees in Muay Thai. Unless it was to represent that Kang was an international drug smuggler, I have no idea why they tried to pass off Japanese and Thai fighters.

Secret of Chinese Kung Fu wasn’t terrible for a 1970’s low budget kung fu movie, but it wasn’t good either. Only for fans of the genre.

7 March 2025
Warning---The only copy I could find was dubbed in English and cropped on the sides

Read More

Not worth the time

I've not seen the priests. I purely watched this after seeing the trailer & amazing cast list but unfortunately, this did not reach my expectations.

I'm a huge fan of horror but this wasn't scary! - the bg music, effects & overall plot were just average & mostly predictable. there was nothing particularly special. the only reason i finished watching was because MWJ did a terrific job during his exorcism scenes, that kid has talent. he's in every drama for a reason.

overall i don't recommend. if you're looking for a worthwhile asian supernatural then go for the guest. that drama was 10/10

Read More

Bland with a nice wrap-up

Well, I am just hitting it off with all worst Japanese cinematic choices. To be honest, this one probably was not as bad as all the other ones I watched... but the trope is still as clear as water: we have an obsessed second lead and untouchable first lead. Reasons for both do not become clearer as the movie progresses.

Why was Imagase so obsessed with Kyoichi? Well, he said -for no reason. Why was Kyoichi impacted by Imagase? Well we don't know that either. Is it pity is it love is it transformation.

Then we have intense and steamy scenes, imo, do not serve the plot efficiently. Too empty to mean anything. Then the ending was somewhat hopeful and shows change in characters but it leaves you wanting more. Because why would he change so drastically? It makes no sense in the context of plot.

I am surprised my output was so high but I can say that I was entertained and enjoyed the watch.

You will not miss much if you skip it. Will not be impressed if you watch it. But it is likely to be a decent watch if you opt for it.

Thank you for reading.

Read More

Plot Lacked but Action Packed

First of all, I watched this movie for Ikuta Toma. The last thing I watched him in was a movie made in 2017... he has definitely changed since then!

I don't usually watch movies like this but I'm glad this was the exception. A movie about an ex-hitman getting revenge on the death of his wife and child actually sounded interesting to me! When I watched it, however, the plot was a bit lost. It was more action (which I'll certainly discuss later) than the actual story and there were some moments where I really didnt know what was going on or why certain things were happening. Also, the ending was a little mediocre compared to the thrill of everything before it. Nonetheless, I tried to turn my brain off though and just enjoy what was going on.

The casting is amazing! Toma Ikuta especially, I was amazed by his acting skills and action scenes. I didn't realise that he was so talented with fighting scenes! If I see more movies like that with him in it, I might watch them. Anyway, his acting was very believable. His character goes through a lot in the movie and I really felt that he was in pain. His emotions and movements were very realistic. I felt like he'd been shot, beaten up and thrown out of a window in real life!

The background music was great too. It was subtle and I didn't realise it was playing half the time as it fit very well with the scenes. I liked the edgy guitar that played every so often.

I'm sure this is a movie I will watch again. Even though the surprise and plot twists will be expected the 2nd time around, the action will always shock me. Truly, this is what made the movie for me (well, it is what the movie focused on the most). There is quite a bit of violence so I understand the 18+ rating but in my opinion, it wasn't extremely gruesome and gorey - just a lot of shooting and slashing. Many of the action scenes surprised me, I had to rewind some a few times because they were just so epic (they're better than what I've seen from some well known action movies).

For this movie, I could ramble on about the fighting all day long. It was truly amazing! Well done to all the choreographers and staff as well as the actors and extras involved.

Just turn your brain off for this movie, sit back and enjoy the action because you'll love it!

Read More

A Movie Carried Solely by Its Leading Lady

Trade Your Love is a film that feels like it cast two actors from completely different worlds—one highly talented (FL) and the other (ML) seemingly lost in the basics of acting. The disparity in their performances is so jarring that it’s hard to stay immersed in the story.

The film itself suffers from weak storytelling, as if the director lacked a clear vision. The pacing meanders, and by the time the movie reaches its conclusion, it’s hard to feel any emotional impact. The ML’s character is written as an absolute fool, making it nearly impossible to sympathize with him. In fact, if he had died at the end, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference—no one would have cared.

The only saving grace of Trade Your Love is the FL, who carries the entire film on her shoulders. Without her, there would be nothing worth watching. Unfortunately, even her strong performance isn’t enough to salvage the movie from its weak execution and lackluster direction. The ending, much like the rest of the film, is disappointing and unsatisfying.

Overall, Trade Your Love fails to leave a lasting impression—except for the frustration of watching an underwhelming male lead drag down an already uninspired script.

Read More

WOULD BE BETTER, IF IT IS A SHORT FILM.

Usually, I write a Review only if my rating is 8 or above (rarely for a 6 or 7), describing how good the drama is n what I like about it but for the first time, wrote one for a 5.5.
I wanted to share what I don't like about this n for what I struggled to watch in this, haha

****
A Story of an Obsessive n Aggressive Teen Lover!
Plot is Good
But everything else is not interesting!

It's not the Usual Horror, it's more like a psychological horror, meaning Human thoughts (individual's or of the society affecting an individual) are the Ghosts here!

To be honest, the FIRST ONE HOUR of the movie is a complete waste of time, it didn't add much to the story (except few necessary scenes), most of it are just unnecessary content fillers.

Also, The NONLINEAR NARRATION added MORE CONFUSION to it and made me think what is happening n what the hell did the director actually want to tell.
(Non chronological narration works when there is no much unnecessary content filler , it doesn't work always)

The LAST 40 mins is the ACTUAL STORY and makes everything clear of what the director wanted to convey, haha
(God! Since I started watching, couldn't drop it :/
It would be much appreciated, if this could have been made into a short film)

It's about coming-of-age, teen taboo relationship in an all girls high school, unacceptable by the society (classmates n teachers) n the teen couple's struggles.

One is an obsessive lover n aggressive in nature. The other is not ready to open up bcz of her own fears.

(I didn't expect a love story of this genre, for movies in 1990s, really a bold step by the director n actresses )

How one of them suffered, bullied by her classmates about her sxl orientation, the other scared to open up in public and finally the first one, feeling rejected or misunderstood the other one's fear as rejection, took her life and took revenge on the society (school), which didn't accept their relationship, by creating a lot of Chaos.

This chaos in the climax, is where the horror element is shown.
Here it's just a chaos, sort of attention seeking from the ghost n so there are no murders by the vengeful ghost, like the usual Ghost stories.

****
What I didn't understand clearly is the necessity of male teacher - student (one of the FL) relationship track.
That didn't add any love triangle or that didn't create any disturbance between the teen couple or that rumour about that teacher n the gal didn't lead to her "ending".
But the actual disturbance between the teen couple is created by the societal alienation, their fears to face that pressure, avoiding each other and so the misunderstandings.
So whether that male teacher n FL track is included or no in the plot, her "ending" is inevitable bcz of that "misunderstood APATHY" from her girlfriend.
And so that "ending" for that teacher is also not necessary .

Anyways, sad love stories of the gals n the male teacher.

Even the gal's character, who is reading the teen couple's diary, maybe the director wanted to show that there is One person, One classmate supporting them - Good
But her DEEP INTEREST in the teen couple's relationship is unclear n UNNECESSARY - Why is she suffering, almost like the alive FL, when she is not even their close friend.
Sympathy n worrying for losing a classmate at an unexpected moment, that shock is reasonable but her horror experiences, those physical sufferings
really necessary!?
Anyways, maybe highlighted her character to add some Horror Activity (which is almost NIL in the movie, haha) n also to show that whoever reads their secret diary, has to suffer!

That teacher's track is more interesting than this diary reading gal, haha 😂
Maybe for more HORROR, they should have elaborated that teacher's track for a love triangle trope or to show some horror activity.

****
My Rating is only 5.5 / 10 .
Low rating exclusively only bcz of the unnecessary one hour in the beginning of the movie.
(Would be 5 / 10 but for the sad love stories, added 0.5, haha)

The story has a good potential even for a horror genre but wasted .

(I watched this just to finish this Horror Franchise, else would have skipped)

****
Check out my Reviews for other movies in this Franchise :)

Till now, in this franchise, Liked movies in the order:
1 > 2

Read More

Trippy, fascinating and could I dare say... lazy?

I was hooked from the first moment. The story left enough mystery to keep me going. Unfortunately, this mystery, that drove the intrigue at the beginning, ended up being their cover for the lack of plot.

At the beginning you felt everything developing naturally. Only the remnant glances were the clue that something more was happening.

But was it?

This movie was momentarily intense and punchy. You cannot take a breath, so you do not miss something. And then it dissipated. Strong climax was countered with bland descent. In the last quarter of the movie you constantly have a feeling of being rushed and missing important plot as if it happened behind the scenes.

I have questions -- what was the content of the play they were acting? I want to know in more detail because I want to discern what was the acting and what was reality. They purposely took that away, in a most obvious and sloppy manner -- chop the play so you get the viewer thinking. I know the creators were aiming at confusing the viewer, to make them doubt every scene. It did seem as they took a shortcut, and made the doubt obvious. Again, sloppy if you ask me, but perhaps a strategy on their part.

I have a lot of critiques for such high output. Yes, because I feel strongly about performances. Park Sung Woong as Jae Ha was phenomenal. I encountered him before but always as a supporting character, and his performance here as a lead showed that he is a veteran action, how in the play, so in real life. He was convincing in each of the scenes as a professional should be. Even though I assume playing this role and this character in Korean society in 2017 (even now) was a challenging undertaking.

Oh Seung Hoon as Young Woo unfortunately he did not shine brightly until the last quarter of the movie, where he was absolutely, insanely captivating. His character was fascinating in the way he subtly manipulated the couple. Innocent but cunning. I could see other more senior actors killing this role, but then Young Woo was decent and brilliant in some scenes.

An absolute recommend! No critique can make this compulsion of wanting to rewatch stop. I just want to check and check whether I missed something and find the answer to this damn question:

Was it method acting or not?

Read More

very chaotic!!

THIS MOVIE IS REALLY FUNNY. not even a one scene is cringe or not funny. my comfort drama frfr.

haneul and somin's chemistry is really strong. no signs of awkwardness or not being close.

Their dynamic is so entertaining, whether they’re bickering, working together, or rediscovering their love. You can really feel their connection, making the romantic moments even more special.

The story itself is refreshing. The amnesia plotline is used in such a fun way, keeping things unpredictable and engaging. The humor is top-notch, and even the supporting characters add so much charm. There’s a great balance between laugh-out-loud moments and heartfelt scenes that make you root for the characters.

I seriously wish more Korean movies were like this! It’s the perfect mix of fun, chaos, and romance. If you need a feel-good movie that keeps you entertained from start to finish, this one is a must-watch.

This movie is really comedy-romance, not romance-comedy. BCS IT IS THAT FUNNY. wish there's more korean movies like this Read More

Do not let the ratings fool you, this is definitely 9-10/10 worthy.

The movie started with a scene that made me feel nothing, which was concerning because I had been waiting for this movie for about a year. But as the story/film progressed through its runtime, it absolutely delivered what I wanted to feel, which was what the characters were feeling. The director and the cinematographer did a terrific job filming this movie; it gives you goosebumps and makes you feel claustrophobic and a sense of dread. Do not pass on this movie because the ratings on this site are so low; watch and come up with your own conclusions. I promise you won't regret it. I implore you again to please watch it.
If you want additional proof on why this is such a good movie, check this out: This film is directed by "Hur Jin Ho" who has also directed, 'The Last Princess(2016)', 'Two Lights: Relumino(2017)', 'Forbidden dream(2019)', 'Lost(2021)[The best drama I have ever seen]', and 'Love in the Big City(2024)'. This film is written by "Park Eun Kyo", who also wrote 'Mother(2009)', and 'The Silent Sea(2021)'. The cinematographer for this movie is "Go Nak Sun" who has also worked on 'The Priests(2015)', 'Vanishing time(2016)', 'A Taxi Driver(2017)', and 'Narco Saints(2022)'.

Read More

Beauty in revenge

A deadly mix of kill bill and john wick, I loved this action packed movie. ikuta toma embodies a demon bent on exacting revenge for the death of his family. He makes the audience feel his pain but also his desperation to set things right. It keeps you on the edge of your seat as you cheer for him and cringe at every hit he takes. Be warned this movie definitely stays true to the genre which means a lot of blood and violence.
I recommend everyone who enjoys baby assassins, janitor, kill bill, john wick, etch to watch this since it will definitely satiate that love of this type of action.

Read More

"Sorry, you're just making me more confused" Buddy, you're not the only one

Angela Mao starred in Moonlight Sword and the Jade Lion. This script was one of the biggest messes I’ve seen in a while. I tried to attribute the problems to translation issues as the only available version I could find was dubbed in English, but even at that there were serious issues with it. Angela was the only redeeming part of this kung fu flick.

Chu Sau Yin leaves to find her master’s brother. Why? Good question. She spends a month running into dead ends, dead people, or simply getting the run around. Don Wong inexplicably picks fights with her when masked men aren’t attacking him. Then he makes like Houdini and disappears for most of the movie. Anyone who is about to give Chu a clue is murdered by a dagger throwing assassin. She ends up fighting everywhere she goes, sometime even with the “good” guys. Why is it so important for her to find Liu Chan? You’ll have to wait 75 minutes into a 90-minute movie to discover that underwhelming tidbit.

This story was just about as thin as a story can get. Chu searched for her master’s brother for whatever reason her master wanted and she also wanted to know what happened to her parents. Apparently, only Liu Chan knew and he never told anyone, not even his brother for over 20+ years. Meanwhile an assortment of baddies were stealing and trafficking in what appeared to be well-to-do women. Doris Lung trained dancing girls and assassins all while romancing the Big Bad. Don Wong, well, I have no idea what his role was in this movie. He didn’t even warrant a name. He attacked Angela Mao’s character for seemingly no reason other than to show off his food fighting skills. Then there were times the two acted like buddies and fought together against whoever might be attacking them. Wong disappeared for over 40 minutes in the middle of the movie. Maybe he had another acting gig he had to work on simultaneously. People appeared and disappeared, said they were going somewhere-but never showed, and motivations were never given for random actions. Chung Ren wrote the script, the only one I could find he was credited with. Even in the bare bones stories of kung fu films, this movie would win a prize for one of the top three most poorly written and poorly edited films I’ve seen.

But how were the fights? Angela made the most of her fights using a spear. She moved quickly and was quite agile. Her stuntman did a great job filling in with the more complicated gymnastics moves. Whenever her character wore the pink pantsuit, it meant she was about to open a can of whoopass. The fights employed reverse filming, trampolines, complicated weaponry, wire-work, and often stilted action. One fight with lethal dancers and their explosive flowers was at least unique. The film might have been called Moonlight Sword because most of Don Wong’s fights were filmed in the dark which made the action difficult to see. There were also fights between characters who were largely inconsequential to the story. Since there wasn’t much of a script, they had to fill the time somehow.

Angela Mao was the absolute best thing about Moonlight Sword and the Jade Lion. I admit to giving the film a slight ratings bump merely because she is one of my favorite martial arts actresses. The film was a mess right up to the very end when certain characters made perplexing decisions, but by that time all I could think was, “why not?” Only for dedicated fans of Angela.

6 March 2025

Read More