prolonged vapid mess with an explosive finale
At this point, I've seen a couple of Takashi Miike's films, so I wouldn't class this at his Gorleston or most messed up, but I understand if teenagers dying isn't your thing, then don't bother watching (although it should be fairly obvious that this is what is going to happen, plus it's no more 'out there' than your standard slasher).The runtime is atrociously long, so much of this film feels like filler that is a painful slog just to get to the last explosive 40 minutes. Sadly, it's hard to enjoy even the 3rd act, as all the side characters that have been shown thus far have already been removed from the story, thus there is no real tension or investment for us as a viewer. the plot is all over the place for seemingly no reason, and is interspersed with random flashbacks that are jarring, to say the least.
In terms of acting, the character Hasumi has to carry this one on his back, and while I think he does a good job, it doesn't save the film. Hideaki Ito is able to the toe line between crazy and overly comedic fairly well, despite the random English he has to work with. Sadly, no one else really makes any kind of impression on the viewer, and generally aren't around for long anyways, so it doesn't really matter.
My favourites? Honestly the soundtrack isn't too bad, and the few standout songs our characters listen to are pretty fun and catchy. There are some great shots throughout, and the 3rd act is bursting with colour, which leads it to being a great visual treat. Maybe if I'd consumed the media this film is based off of, I would've enjoyed it more, but as a standalone? I wouldn't say it's worth your patience.
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A must-watch
"Egoist" is a deeply moving and visually stunning exploration of love, identity, and vulnerability. The film masterfully portrays the complexities of human connection, anchored by heartfelt performances that exude authenticity. Its nuanced storytelling and delicate cinematography draw viewers into a world where emotions feel raw yet universally relatable. This is Not a BL - but a real deep movie.The film's portrayal of LGBTQ+ themes is sensitive and poignant, highlighting the struggles and triumphs of living one's truth. "Egoist" doesn't shy away from emotional depth, offering moments of profound introspection alongside bursts of genuine joy.
Story and acting are very good. The movie didn't really have much music. But it suited the movie well - And I like that there is not to much music.
A must-watch for anyone seeking a film that challenges the heart and lingers in the soul long after the credits roll.
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Boring
What a waste of time. After Svaha, which was great, I had great expectations of the author, but this was almost as bad as The Priests. I guess Svaha was good by accident.Once again we have some weird syncretism of christian, buddhist and shamanist elements here, except there is no moral.
The camerawork and acting were both good, but what can be done if the story sucks?
The only thing I learned from this movie is that for koreans japanese are the scariest thing ever. For all the haughty nationalist yapping korean cinema has been releasing recently, they really do have inferiority complex, don't they? Here they blame japan for splitting korea into north and south, which was accomplished just by burying one samurai dude near the border. Who knows what would happen if japanese buried two dudes, or three, or three hundred?
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Watch it, if you prefer Villain's ass getting kicked.
Good Day readers, I don't know what makes a good movie but I do know that this one was such a good movie. Two main characters. "So Si Min" played by "Shin Hye Sun" the hero who does justice. And "Han Su Gang" played by "Lee Jun Young" the Berserk guy bullying others for fun.Si Min a contract teacher, a former athelete, the hindrance between her and her full time teacher job is being unable to ignore injustice, she tries her best to be Blind and Deaf to the injustice, but can't. Therefore, she conceals her real identity and wears on a cat mask to fight injustice.
Han Su, a guy who's gone berserk. A highschool student although he's not a minor. Gets thrill from Bullying others, keeps harassing others for his satisfaction. Totally out of mind. Suddenly a guy with a Cat mask came in his life out of nowhere and kicked his ass, he took on the challenge to take his revenge. And have a fight with Cat Mask.
The Story's about a former athelete who quit her sports career to protect her family, and is trying to become a full time teacher, but observing the Bullies she can't turn a blind eye to it. So her journey to fight the Bully commenced.
Now the main points that I absolutely loved about the movie :
• The MUSIC is top notch, you'll feel like you're right there in the crowd with them, the background music is fire, and I totally loved the sync.
• ACTIONS scenes, is there any need to say or praise just how good they were, all three fights were fantastic, Shin Hye Sun nailed it, and Jun Young did the same, I'm a big fan of Action Genre. And this movie nailed the action part.
• ACTING, I was impressed by the absolute Pure Villain vibes from Jun Young in that moment, and a user's comment said "the more evil and charming a Villain is, more the Hero shines.
• The STORY was such a simple one, without any complications just a simple story with a good execution. The movie turned out to be good.
• The DUO, Cop and the Boxer, bestfriends. I hope to see them in any other work. Cause they look good together.
• The CASTING was so good, when I saw the actors I felt like, ooo it's worth watching.
Concluding all the above points,
➤ Music 10/10
➤Acting 10/10
➤Story 9.5/10
➤Casting 10/10
This review ends here, thanks for reading, do share your opinion with me, if you completed reading the whole thing.
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Full rebellion mode
Resident bad boy Seijun Suzuki in full rebellion mode, Branded to Kill refuses all direct relations with geography in depicting a career hitman on the verge of losing control, one that's discordant, broken and thoroughly berserk. The film is infamous for Suzuki's firing by Nikkatsu, with Suzuki doubling down on everything they hated his films for after all the restrictions placed upon him, the result is an arresting cocktail of sex, violence and surrealism, the monochrome hues accentuating the perversity of the entire twisted venture; it thrums along to an irresistible hard-bop beat, with effortlessly stylish black and white cinematography and set-pieces straight from a pulp fiction fever dream. Because it's so free of the conventions of other crime thrillers, ignoring all rules of conventional filmmaking and forgoing a traditional three-act structure, the disorienting camera angles and jumps in time are all part of the atmosphere. Suzuki outdid himself with this astonishing blend of yakuza films, film noir and new wave, yes it makes little sense but the strong performances from its cast, especially that of Jō Shishido uplift Branded to Kill to the stuff of legendary status in all its audacious genre-bending and narrative-busting ways.Was this review helpful to you?
QUESTIONS:
Do I recommend it?
- No, because a lot of drama game are best out there.
Do I re-watch it?
- Absolutely not.
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Watch this for MDL 2024 watch challenge. It’s one touching movie…Weird summary from MDL, let me tell you from a different perspective. Story about Kim Bong Yong (BY), a construction foreman, who did everything he can with his job. Like all other salarymen, he sacrifices everything to please his boss, until he’s a little bit ‘neglectful’ of his family.
This movie starts when BY’s daughter & son are already in their teenage years & start to rebel against their parents. Especially Kim Dal Nim, because she feels unheard in the family. But unfortunately that’s not the focus of our movie…
One day, BY feels sick & checks with a doctor. Unfortunately, he got bad news. BY still tries to hide this fact from his family. But one day, he got fired from his job & everything started crumbling down even more from that… How in the end BY & his family go through this difficult time in their life…?
That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoilers. Overall this one touching movie, with a little defect on the end. Haha…
Below I’ll write what I mean with the little defect. But that also means SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it at ur own risk.
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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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Much like PHope wrote on the review page, the ending is very confusing. They don’t give us a clear statement, whether BY died or not. I feel like he’s dead & the last few min is just his ghost visiting or maybe his wife, Lee Hwa Yun (HY) imagining BY still among them. But once again, they made the scene with the picnic… When did it happen…? It can’t be just HY imagination, cause they take a selfie…. See… So confusing…
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A great Sci-fi Action Movie
First movie of 2025.Overall it’s a great sci-fi action movie. I enjoyed it. I haven’t read the manga or watched the anime, but I heard that it’s quite a solid adaptation as well. The plot was great overall, and the acting was excellent.
There were a very few things I didn’t like about this movie. The first thing is the relationship between our superhero lead with his family. I’m not satisfied with how it progressed throughout the movie and how it ended as well.
The second thing is the relationship between our teenage villain and his loved ones, and the ending of them. Why did they have to kill everyone around him? I really pitied him and I think he didn’t think he had an ending he deserved. Of course what he did is wrong, no one can deny that. However, I think the real villain in this movie isn’t him, but the society. Those people around him, except for his loved ones but they were also too miserable, are the one who turned a kindhearted lost soul into a monster. I think the movie should point out that at least.
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Honest and Authentic
I have yet to see a narrative that so respectfully and lovingly expresses the joys, pain, longing, and frustration of queer and queer questioning youth finding their way in an unforgiving and unknowable world.This narrative serves as a prequel to Unintentional Love Story and frankly, it is the far superior and genuine story. You do not necessarily need to watch the first to appreciate this story, but if you do, you will notice the stark difference in the two tales.
The acting is sublime and each of the leads offers such warmth to their respective roles that you will long to spend more time with them.
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GL with good plot
If you're going to watch this out of curiousity for the plot twist, then it's not worth it. It is predictable enough if you have watched plenty K-Drama. However, if you're into GL, you'll definitely enjoy this.I enjoyed the storyline and where the characters are coming from were well presented. The pacing is good, making it worthy of the screen time.
The explicit scenes were definitely shocking although, I think it could have been shown in a different way, it was a bit too sensual which made it off-putting.
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Live on! Go on!
"August" is a film about actor-singer director Zhang Zhehan's self-healing journey after experiencing major online disinformation. See nature, see living things, walk into people. The scenery along the way from Shangri-La to Lhasa was very beautiful. He met snow-capped mountains and glaciers, met plants, cattle and sheep, and met many ordinary and moving faces. They were all fresh people who loved life. After watching "August", director Zhang Zhehan's smile cured me, let me have more courage to face life, this "August" is very meaningful! The opening scene, dangerous but stunningly beautiful, is really, really, really shocking!Was this review helpful to you?
Exciting yet strangely empty.
I do understand how amazing the movie is and how it’s probably worth a 9+ rating. I cannot move on from the fact everyone sucked in it. On a personal level I just did not enjoy watching it that much, because I did not like any of the characters and honestly wanted them all to fail.It's an interesting story about a complex scheme, but it also lacks any lesson for me. It was just an exciting watch and that’s it. High on tension and well paced to keep the interest (though I would prefer it being a bit shorter). Great cinematography - it looked expensive. Not to mention, they were able to visually present taking exams and cheating in a really dramatic way - that’s a big plus for me. Good directing and editing can make paint drying on the wall exciting.
Sadly, this is a movie I forget in a week. It won’t leave any lasting effect on me. At the end I will most likely associate it with a strong feeling of frustration and annoyance towards the characters. Lynn for going on a high horse - just because she learned the lesson, does not mean she can force that onto others, who were in fact more screwed over than her. Bank for learning wrong lessons and acting surprisingly dumb for a genius. Grace and Pat for just being assholes with no care for others whatsoever.
Overall, it’s a movie that the majority of people will love. One that is for sure worth recommendation. And yet, for someone like me who values the attachment I create with characters, this failed my expectations.
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what's a normal family looks like
come and watch, find their family picture and you'll see :- brothers who were never had good relationship
- a couple with big egos
- new daughter-in-law who can only rely on her husband
- a family that upholds their mother and evil grandchildren
@mudeoka on x
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Intensely heartbreaking
The most impressive portrayal to date of the independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun in Korean cinema, and also the most heartbreaking approach ever as it is an absolutely traumatizing process of what led to this real historical event that lit up the Korean independence movement. The movie has really deep sensitivity into the historical figures, the plot is extremely well designed which keeps the historical accuracy intact while serving cinematic needs with a solid structure of suspense. The technical aspects are even more brilliant, cinematography is extremely classy with some of the most insane shots and that silent suspense is freaking mindblowing, audio mixing is powerfully done and acting performances are just so captivating, it'll be hard to top this level of perfection anytime soon.Was this review helpful to you?
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Green Bones: A Tale of Justice, Redemption, and the Grey in Between
"Green Bones: A Tale of Justice, Redemption, and the Grey in Between"Green Bones is a cinematic gem that should be on everyone’s must-watch list this year. Directed by Zig Dulay and written by Ricky Lee and Anj Atienza, based on a concept by JC Rubio, this 2024 Philippine prison drama challenges audiences to rethink their notions of morality, justice, and redemption. Featuring standout performances by Dennis Trillo and Ruru Madrid, the film premiered on December 25, 2024, as part of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival, and has already left audiences buzzing.
The story hinges on a powerful concept: green bones, found in a person’s cremated remains, symbolize a life of goodness—something remorseless criminals could never possess. Against this intriguing backdrop, the narrative unfolds with Xavier Gonzaga (Ruru Madrid), a grief-stricken corrections officer determined to prevent the release of Domingo Zamora (Dennis Trillo), a man convicted of the gruesome murder of his sister and niece. As Xavier wrestles with his bias, the film peels back the layers of Zamora’s story, challenging assumptions and delving into the grey areas of human nature.
A Philosophical and Emotional Journey
From the first scene, Green Bones grabs your attention with its philosophical depth and unflinching exploration of morality. Dulay’s direction turns what could have been a typical prison drama into a dark, fairy-tale-like meditation on justice. The screenplay is taut, with precise pacing that keeps the runtime feeling concise yet impactful. Ricky Lee and Anj Atienza's writing deftly balances drama and introspection, offering a narrative that’s both deeply human and profoundly thought-provoking.
The film’s philosophical approach is where it truly shines. It dismantles binary notions of good and evil, reminding us that human beings are capable of both. The narrative underscores that our choices—and how we take responsibility for them—define our morality. Moreover, it critiques systemic injustices that often label individuals as entirely good or bad, urging viewers to look deeper.
A Visual and Performative Triumph
Neil Daza’s cinematography deserves special mention, with sweeping aerial shots juxtaposed against intimate close-ups that reveal the characters’ inner turmoil. The prison, reminiscent of the real-life Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan, serves as a visual metaphor for the film’s themes: a place of confinement that also offers the possibility of growth and redemption.
Dennis Trillo delivers a career-defining performance as Zamora, transitioning seamlessly between menace and vulnerability. His portrayal is a masterclass in nuanced acting, anchoring the film with emotional depth. Ruru Madrid complements him perfectly, bringing raw intensity to Gonzaga’s internal struggle. Together, they create a dynamic that is both heartbreaking and cathartic. The supporting cast, including Alessandra de Rossi, Iza Calzado, and Ronnie Lazaro, enrich the film’s tapestry, each bringing their A-game to their respective roles.
Themes That Resonate
Green Bones is not just about individual redemption; it’s a commentary on societal systems. Through its characters and their stories, the film highlights how systemic injustices affect everyone involved—victims, perpetrators, and enforcers alike. It challenges the audience to question their own prejudices and to recognize the humanity in those society often deems irredeemable.
The film also touches on themes of hope and transformation. The symbolic tree where characters tie their wishes mirrors Buddhist prayer flags, reinforcing the idea that goodness can prevail even in the darkest of places.
A Final Word
Green Bones is a cinematic triumph that transcends its genre. It’s a deeply moving exploration of justice and redemption, brought to life by stellar performances and masterful storytelling. Dulay’s direction, combined with Lee and Atienza’s writing, ensures that the film not only entertains but also provokes meaningful reflection.
By the time the credits roll, you’ll find yourself grappling with questions about morality, forgiveness, and the human capacity for change. And perhaps, like many others, you might leave the theater with a few tears shed and a heart full of empathy.
Green Bones is more than just a movie—it’s an experience, a conversation starter, and, ultimately, a call to look beyond the surface and into the soul of what makes us human.
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