Reviews

Tragic, Heartbreaking, and Raw

I once saw trailer of this movie, and thought I'll watch this when I am in the mood. A year or so passed and I forgot about that. Somedays back I was going through a list and thought I'd watch this, but the IMDB rating was not that great. Since I love tragedies and this one had that vibe, I thought of watching this last night. Why is this so underrated ? This one is a gem of a movie.
Spoilers:
Soyool and Yoonhee are best friends since they were little and they are training to become gisaeng in times of Japanese-Korean war. They both love pop music but are training to sing traditional songs. Soyool has a boyfriend (Yoonwoo) since they were young and they love each other. Yoonwoo is a famous song writer and wants Soyool to sing as a pop singer so that everyone can listen to her voice rather than singing traditional songs only for the high end people of society. Soyool wants to sing for the common people too, but she cannot leave her agency (her mom runs it) but she promises to sing one song for him. Yoonwoo then meets Yoonhee and he loves her singing style, and thinks she is fit to sing for his new album. He convinces Yoonhee to sing for Joseon's common people and be Joseon's Heart (which is what he said to Soyool as well). When Soyool confronts Yoonwoo, he says that he loves Soyool only and will write hundred of songs for her. He assures her of her love for her and tells her that this is only a professional album with Yoonhee. Yoonhee leaves agency and is singing for Yoonwoo and co. when Yoonwoo and Yoonhee fall in love with each other, fully knowing that they are the 2 most important people to Soyool and just how hard it was to just let them be. BUT they don't care, they are in LOVE. lol. What a joke. After all this, they pretend as if they did no wrong and continue dating. When Soyool decides to take revenge (pretty sad affair, you can feel her heartbreak) they don't even bat an eye and tell her the truth. Ugh.
I feel so bad for So Yool, and did not understand why the other main characters thought they were in the right. She was cheated on by the two people she loved and trusted the most. Admittedly she should not have asked the Commissioner to reject Yoonhee's album and should not have sent her to that bar, not saying any of this was right. But people should know that their actions have consequences. If you choose to destroy someone's life, you might be forgiven or you might be punished for it. Humans are not God, they can make your sure you live in hell if you mess them up real bad. Soyool loved them and they cheated on her, stabbed her in the back and even when things went south, they did not tell her the truth. When they get to know that she orchestrated all this, they feel betrayed and sad but they never once feel remorse for their own actions. Their emotions, their lives and their separation matters to them but none of them regrets what they did to her. Poor Soyool. She is the one who suffers till the end of her life because even though what she did was horrible, she knows that, she admits that and also wants to protect those cheaters.
Anyhoo, the movie in itself is amazing. The acting, OST, cast, production, everything is perfect. Beautiful, tragic, heartwrenching and raw. Anyone looking for something to pull on your heartstrings should watch this.

Read More

Ruins the impact of the actual show

Unfortunately, this movie actually made me angry... I feel like it disregards the impact of Hiiro accepting the loss of his girlfriend in the main show, and how Taiga actually has someone to finally care for (Nico). I get that Nico would have to leave as Taiga's assistant eventually; because she's a fresh high school graduate who needs to go to college to actually pursue her dreams as a doctor... BUT the fact that she goes to America with that weird and creepy gamer dude who she fought in a gaming competition...? like come on... There's got to be better ways to write her off.

And I just could not for the life of me understand why they brought back Saki and Lovelica. Like didn't their data literally get erased in the main show?? AND HOW did Kuroto escape from his little game prison thing?? There's still two more Ex-Aid trilogy movies I need to watch, but this one just left an overall sour taste in my mouth.

I honestly think the only ''good'' thing about this movie is how Hiiro and Saki had a real final conversation, with Hiiro saying he still strives to be the best doctor in the world and whatever. But the thing with Saki saying that Hiiro is her ''white knight'' and whatever was really weird to me. Also Hiiro saying during the fight against Lovelica that he's ''the only man for Saki'' just didn't rub the right way either.

I just really hope the other two trilogy movies are good...

Read More

Gamera’s greatest hits from the 60’s &70’s!

A last ditch cheap effort to keep a studio afloat resulted in Gamera: Super Monster. Spoiler alert! All of Gamera’s finale fights from the previous movies are spliced together in what amounts to a clip show.

Zanon’s pirate ship is orbiting Earth, a ship that looks suspiciously like a Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer. The Big Bad who is never seen sends his female minion to Earth and subsequent monsters to try and conquer the Earthlings. Earth has three space women to help out even though they have no weapons and spend most of their time doing a little dance to change from space women clothes to Earthling clothes. It can’t be a Gamera movie without a little boy who can communicate with him and this one was the least annoying of the Gamera movies I’ve seen.

There’s not a lot going on with the humans and space women except running back and forth between their magic van and their cover jobs including a pet shop. They also watch Gamera fight on what amounts to a big screen tv, even the clip from him fighting on a different planet.

The clips don’t always match up with daytime and nighttime from scene to scene. If you like the Gamera March song in the opening credits you are in for a real treat because the little boys sings it several times during the movie.

It’s a glorified clip show but one with a good heart and likable cast. There’s no doubt this Gamera movie was aimed at children and with that sentiment and it’s age I gently scored it. Only for people who don’t want to sit through the previous 7 movies (and maybe a cartoon as well?) but want to see the final monster fights or you like seeing 3 women dance to change clothes.


10/14/22

Read More

Apparently I'm on an unplanned Jun Ji-hyun watching streak. Gonna retroactively make it a planned one though, expect a few more logs in the coming day!

It's like Ocean's Eleven cranked up to… well, eleven (...I'll see myself out)

The double-crossing in this movie is something. They live and breathe to one-up each other.

Why is it so Kim Soo-hyun is so expressive here? I dare say he steals the show for a while. What went wrong in the year between this and My Love From Another Star? (He was easily the worst part of that). Who told him that playing an expressionless/emotionless lead was the way to go? His agency? The director? Himself? Not sure. I think it was a terrible idea. However, seeing as he is today's best paid actor in Korea I'm probably wrong. Still think it was a terrible idea lmao

I enjoyed the stacked cast and the way they weaved Hong Kong into the storyline, including the addition of the likes of Simon Yam. The action is filmed well (though the bad guys' clips seemingly have hundreds of bullets in them at a bare minimum), the twists and turns keep on coming, the actors are hella charismatic, the thrills are served one after the other… Entertaining for sure.

But it was missing a little something for me. I guess things fell into place a little bit too much? One convenient occurrence too many I'd say.
_________________________________________

Stunts - 84/100 | Some good stunts sprinkled throughout since we're dealing with heist stuff.

Narrative - 68/100 | Many years ago, being a Westerner, I used to not be able to distinguish between asian languages like Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, etc. Not anymore so now it was really fun to see them switching languages between all 4 constantly and being able to follow who could understand who in the story, because that's kind of important in this case.

Fight Choreography | No fights.

Enjoyment - 72/100 | Still fun and exciting. I'd put it about on par with Ocean's Eleven overall, quality-wise. Recommended if you like that kind of movie.

Read More

It took me a long time to rate this movie properly
But I couldn't get through they killed almost all of the leads
For all those high ratings I expected a brilliant movie
But the story was ok
It was all about struggling to survive from a real chaos
Till now I don't know why they killed all of them
Which I hated a lot that's why I rated 6/10
I hated when (dong seok) died more than when (gong Yoo) die ??????
And I hated the movie more when woo shik and his girlfriend died
I told myself OMG that psycho writer is going to kill the whole country in this way

But I saw an important message behind this movie
1 selfish person could kill many

It wasn't fair at all that the train rider rescued Yong suk
He was the main reason they all got killed
I hated that stupid selfish man with all my heart I want to kill him by myself really

And I saw what happened to him wasn't fair for all what he did to others
He should be rescued and get hanged then

I have to admit the events made me eat my nails from anxiety but still hated the end

And I think both the pregnant lady and the kid will take months in Psychiatric treatment to get well back

But what I didn't understand
Was the kid going to stay with the pregnant lady??
Is that mean that her mother was also infected and dead ???
I didn't get the end well
But I think so ??‍♀️??‍♀️

Read More

A comedy that would leave you smiling for sure!

It's been so long since I could lay down in my bed watching Asian movies... and I finally got to do it again today, so I thought that "The Con-Heartist" was worth the try! And I don't regret it one bit! It was hilarious and sweet, and very very entertaining.

This movie has the perfect main duo, Baifern, whom I know from "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and that famous Pantene commercial, and Nadech, Urassaya Sperbund's hot boyfriend. I'm not into Thais so I don't keep up with the celebrities, so having two actors I'm familiar with in one movie sounds amazing. The acting was amazing. They were naturally funny and oh my, finally... a comedy without actors overacting. The storyline's actually pretty simple and cliche, but since I really love revenge movies, this one is obviously up my alley. A bunch of comedy mixed with heist and a hint of romance created a perfect movie for me to watch.

I've lost my interest for Asian entertainment a few months back, and I think this movie might bring back my previous excitement. I've been too caught up with Western movies and uni and all and I needed something to boost back my love for Asian films, I'm glad I picked the right one today. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone in search of something light, entertaining and hilarious. Overall, a 9/10! ⭐

Read More

A New Favorite: Love Triangle and Meaning of Love Done Right

It wasn't groundbreaking or fresh or anything like that. But it is definitely a favorite now. The acting was spectacular, especially when we got into heavier/deeper emotions. I was laughing and crying and holding my breath right alongside the leads. And the way that the story handled the love triangle was excellently done. No despicable villains here. And we didn't just watch as the leads fell in love, we watched as the female lead learned about self-love as well. It's a precious story. And I was sold on it for every minute (except for few instances of second-hand embarrassment that is). My camera is also now filled with pictures from the movie. And I have downloaded several songs as well (my favorite is Di Mo Inakala by Juris).

If I have 1 complaint, it's that the film seems to have tried too hard at being "trendy" with all the acronyms. I've never seen a film try to use so many before. But, they did mention what each of them meant, and you don't have to commit any to memory. So while it was a bit clunky, it didn't get in the way much.

I will also admit that there is a sizable focus on appearances throughout the film. So if that's a subject matter that's sensitive for you, I don't think this film will work out.

Read More

Run for your life!

This is an independent film that was intended to be the last in the Raiga/Reigo trilogy. It was more of a fan service made on the cheap and perhaps a Kaiju satire? It’s only for die hard Kaiju fans that are completionists.

Normally, I’d give some of the story, but the story boils down to water loving Raiga is challenged by lava loving Ohga with two cities for their fight grounds. A variety of defense groups work to stop them. The Prime Minister was hoping one town would be destroyed by the Kaiju or the defense forces so he could scoop up cheap property and build a casino. Oh, and the Blues Brothers show up, too.

Many weapons made out of childrens’ toys IRL are deployed against the monsters. The acting is akin to what you would find in a 20th century Saturday morning television show, if they cussed and died. There was a lot of repurposing of monster action from previous Raiga movies.

No loving shots of guys in rubber suits demolishing buildings and oil refineries. Instead there were rubber toys with cheap home computer overlays and designs substituted for movement and action. Lots of squiggly lines, blurriness, fireworks, color splats, and fire over the monsters and weapons. How bad was it? Really, really bad.

They must have run out of money for real actors because they used action dolls to take their place for a super secrety secret group, something like the movie Thunderbirds.

If you can enjoy it for the complete bonkers, cheap, over saturated, bad acting, almost incomprehensible story with terrible computer graphics you might want to try this one but better safe than sorry and skip it. Or better yet, run for your life!


10/13/22

Read More

Best Zombie Movie I've seen!

Train to Busan PG-13 (American rating)
Korean Movie
2016 ‧ Horror/Action ‧ 1h 58m

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Have seen many Zombie Movies & this one is currently in my 1st place.

◇Well Written
◇Beautiful Acting
◇Great Special effects
◇The pacing was perfect
◇Themes it touched on ??
◇Amazing Extras (Zombies)

Rewatch? YES

⚠️Content Warning ⚠️
~Death
~Blood
~Violence
~Murder
~Language

Movie Synopsis: "A man (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea."

Read More

When Bollywood "I Dream of Jeannie" & Comedic Slenderman Have a Kid.

This was not a good movie. The screenplay most likely came from a middle or high school student and production just added special effects. Only reason I watched was for Yin and War. Literally looked and felt as if a Bollywood version of "I Dream of Jeannie" and a Comedic Slenderman had a kid.

Pros: War's acting was heads above everyone else. He was able to portray many different aspects as two separate characters; it was great to see him and the FL as they understood who the other was and in their last seconds together, you felt their love for each other on screen. You hoped that somehow someday, their reincarnated selves would be able to reunite and be together. Though Yin appeared as 3 different characters (friend in the ghost hunting crew that wore a getup like he was entering into a radioactive facility, the prince in a past life, and a random guy wanting his picture taken in the last 5 minutes of the film), his roles felt more like support then main and he also had less time on screen. The costumes from the past life were beautiful and colorful and some of the comedy hit the mark in a silly way.

Cons: Sloppy script, obviously low budget. It was supposed to be a comedic murder-mystery from ancient times with reincarnation and whatnot but it had a lot of extra and unnecessary characters as well as a plot that ran amok. You had no idea how the characters got where they got to, how they knew where to go. Where did the forest evil place come from? Where did the light source with which they remembered their past lives come from and what triggered it? There was no explanation, just buckle your seatbelt and enjoy the ride until the end; maybe you'll understand something and maybe you won't. But hey mystery solved and everyone has amnesia for a bit or partial. The forced comedy was too much, the fact that one of the characters ate a puppy in her past life was beyond gross and unnecessary and even that didn't make sense as the cabin she was floating in had no cooking equipment; one moment cute puppy on the floor, next moment chunks of seasoned and stir-fried meat in a bowl. Just what?!?

Would I recommend it? Honestly, if you have a way of watching for free, then only if you are a fan of Yin and/or War or the FL. Otherwise, please don't waste money on it. I'm looking forward to better projects for these kids, though I do understand you have to start somewhere.

Read More

A first sci-fi space k-movie that doesn't fall From a Hollywood production

this isn't a secret that Korean movies are still behind and lacking in good production.
Of course not to mention sci-fi movies which are hard to make, we can say k-movies are still lacking not like Korean dramas because a lot of them still are not good.
Space Sweeper, A Good Sci-fi Epic With Spectacular World-building

I wouldn't say it's on the same level as Hollywood, but it is a really good movie with good production, k- movies need to keep this level and go beyond to make such an enjoyable one.
great effects, the story is good for Sci-fi, and it was fun to watch

Sci-fi like fantasy is hard to make and get people to love( i love those genres from all).
if you don't like Sci-fi you can't force yourself to watch it, but if you with an open mind it's recommended.

so far for is the best k- movie I ever watch, the cast is good and with great acting, we can see here different nationalities
which is cool. (SJK has done an amazing job) , there was some pretty good humor.

Read More

What did I just watch

This short film made way for an immediate rewatch as I found myself wondering what did I just watch... and what did I miss... It is indeed a very artistic short film... With some pretty decent acting . Yes the boys do not fail to impress me, this could of course be due to the fact that I am bias as **** for having these two be the stars of my first introduction to Filipino content. However it takes a certain something to keep the viewer engaged with very little dialog and not a lot actually happening.

The lighting and music fits the theme pretty well, but I do find myself confused and though there seems to be a lot of death there in Manilla I did not really get a clear answer as to how to die young in Manilla.

that said it is a short independent film that will have your head wondering... make you want to look away as well as have you fascinated by the amount of dead bodies... You may just want to watch this to see how many bodies you can count.

Read More

A More Than Capable Story, Lacking in Bite

From the onset of this movie, I was struck by how very 2000s it was. The visuals. The wardrobe. The music. The comparatively muted tone. What I did not expect from a 2000s lesbian film though was the sexual content - especially towards the end. Not that it's a bad thing or that it was poorly done - just a bit surprising.

The story also took me by surprise in some ways. I loved the communication between the leads. I loved how natural the ensemble of LGBT+ characters are. And how each of these instances and characters bring something new to the perspective the story is telling - without ever once feeling preachy. Whether it be about stereotypes, family, acceptance, coming out, loneliness, or even questioning identities. It seems like a lot to touch on that would subtract from the story - but it really doesn't. Because it's told in a simple organic way that comes out of the plots themselves. But most of all, I loved how the different plots interweaved together. I didn't particularly like the female leads (didn't particularly hate them either) for a while, but the growth and development that both of them got as a result of the interweaved plot lines were really well done.

However, there were a few moments that I don't think should have been as muted they were. I deserved to feel a little bit more emotion. And that complaint exists because of a few factors: music choice (or lack there of), lack of consistent chemistry (not just romantically, but the ability for the characters to bounce off of each other on the screen), and the ease at which certain topics were moved on from in the script.

Read More

"Everyone has something that's been ingrained"

Director Ozu once again took on a strained marriage with a shrewish wife and docile husband, this time succeeding for me over "What Did the Lady Forget?" which had a similar theme. He'd wanted to film this during the war, but the censors shot him down and he had to wait 15 years to bring it to the screen. I'm glad he held steadfast.

Taeko and Mokichi were an arranged marriage and have been together for several years. Taeko comes from a higher social class and calls her husband "Bonehead" to her girlfriends. His casual social manners and delights grate on her nerves. She has a cook and housekeeper making her a woman with nothing to do except gossip and hang out with her friends. All she wishes is for him to go away never realizing how good she has it. Mokichi is a diligent worker and respected at the office, but he doesn't live there. He's kind to others and to Taeko no matter how rude she is.

The match that lit Taeko's powder keg turned out to be her niece. Her sister had arranged a marriage for Setsuko with the son of a prominent family. Modern Setsuko steadfastly refused to participate in the "primitive" arrangement causing consternation for Taeko, especially when it looked like Mokichi was taking the 21-year old's side. At that point it was war and she refused to speak to her husband unless it was to berate him for pouring his miso soup on his rice to eat "like a dog". With the dissatisfaction she felt in her own marriage, the possibility of Setsuko being forced into an arranged marriage only magnified her pain.

Everything turned around when Mokichi had to take a short notice business trip to Uruguay and Taeko refused to show up at the airport to see him off. In a time when this was an event, all of their friends did show up to send her husband off. As she came home to the empty house, the silence and his absence sank into her. She'd gotten her wish but her body language showed it might not have been what her heart really wanted.

Mokichi returned that night due to plane trouble. She asked what he wanted to eat and he requested Ochazuke, green tea over rice. Ozu created an oddly intimate and endearing scene as the couple go to the kitchen together and step by step put the dish together, neither familiar with the kitchen. Each addition and discovery in the kitchen as they prepare the dish becomes a revelatory experience for the two as husband and wife. Taeko who has been fueled by bitterness and rage has softened. Mokichi's gentle presence no longer a blight but a balm. His kindness and acceptance of her seems to finally sink in and soothe her, his reliability and constancy finally acknowledged for what it is---love.

As I stated, this story was one that Ozu held onto for over a decade. It's also interesting to note that one of his favorite meals was green tea over rice. In the film the two young people eat ramen and wax poetic about it, another favorite of his. The sets and composition of the frames were classic Ozu, intricate care given to every prop and shot. As he did, much of it was filmed from the mat so to say, with only one annoying thing for me-often the characters would look directly into the camera to speak when they were having conversations, and I found it highly distracting. Instead of playful, heated or intimate discussions, suddenly they reminded me it was a film by looking at me to speak.

Kogure Michiyo had the perfect face for this Japanese Kate (Taming of the Shrew). She overflowed with anger and resentment with only her husband to blame, unable to look anywhere else until it was so quiet she finally turned inwards. She also had help from a girlfriend, the kind every girl needs, who called her on her brutish behavior. Kogure went from raging 4 alarm fire to beautiful golden ember. Saburi Shin gave the warm performance of a man who took life and his wife as they came, always seeking comfort from the common.

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice had comedic and even exasperating moments. Ozu definitely made the married couple earn their happily ever after and I believe they finally found a way to relate to each other with kindness and understanding. As a viewer who became exasperated with Taeko at times, Ozu caused me to earn the enjoyment I finally received from this comfort food of a film.

"I've finally understood a sense of ease that brings greater comfort, without reservation or appearance." (Taeko) The husband and wife is the flavor of green tea over rice. (Mokichi)



10/12/22

Read More

Disaster of a movie

It's like a shittier version of Underworld: Evolution, and Underworld: Evolution is already incredibly shitty so I'm not sure what that makes this.

How anyone can manage to make even Jun Ji-hyun bland is beyond me, like at this point it takes special skills to achieve this as I thought it to be impossible.

And then you somehow notice that this is a Hong Kong American French Chinese Japanese co-production starring a Korean actress playing a Japanese girl speaking English directed by a French guy and jesus what even happened to this movie
_________________________________________

Stunts - 57/100 | The CGI blood is bordering on parody quality here and frankly they should have embraced it. Go full Sin City on that movie!

Narrative - 34/100 | That Alice actress must have lost a bet or something. The bet: say the most outrageous things possible with a serious face. No one could have acted this role and made it work. No one. Congrats Chris Chow, your writing talents (or more accurately: lack thereof) shall not go unnoticed. Genius-ly bad script.

Fight Choreography - 46/100 | I like the exaggerated style they were going for with the action and understand what they were trying to achieve, but it's an utter failure of execution regardless with the nauseating editing and crappy shot continuity.

Enjoyment - 40/100 | Look, it's got Jun Ji-hyun in a lead role playing a 400 (500?) years old vampire dressed like a schoolgirl slicing monsters left and right with a katana, with horrendous CGI blood splattering everywhere. Just for that alone 4/10 is the floor here.

Read More