Reviews

How many girls are too many for us to remember?

The first time I heard of BNK 48 was when I clicked on Faii Sumitta Duangkaew who played Dream in Something in my room.

So this review is from someone who knew nothing about these girls.

This documentary is okay, it has captured some good lines but for a documentary about a girl band it is lacking music... I was kind of surprised over how many girls the band has (never really figured out the numbers) and about how much pressure they must be under but it was also refreshing to see a documentary be so honest about it. As these girls where facing an election with ranking and votes one of the dudes behind this said:

"This election will determine each girls market value"

As true as it probably is, it kind of hit hard to get that thrown in our face, the girls seemed well aware of that fact, the election will not determine popularity but will how much money each girls fanbase is willing to pay for their girl to hit the top.

And I guess that is show business for you... though it is rarely as upfront about it as it is in this documentary, basically it is what it is.

To be honest there were just to many girls in this group/documentary for them to truly get the space to leave a mark... I am no expert but once the amount of members in a group pass a certain number they stop being a group and become a crowd... a very talented crowd with lots of interesting individuals, but still a crowd...

Still it was an educational watch, not very well cut or entertaining but I learned quite a bit and it got me thinking.

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An amazing slow movie

i truly did not think or expect that i would love this as much as i did. The beginning and ending are a beautiful connected animation that i really enjoyed, the story is slow and from the beginning till the end there was not a lot that changed or happened but non the less the characters themselves did and we along side them saw how it happened. I know this movie is not for everyone and that a lot of people will thing its either boring or non pleasant because of the flashbacks( which were done beautifully and seamlessly ) which makes sense but i would love if people still give thins movie a shot cuz i truly think its worth it. Even though its older cinematography was still very good to be honest for me it even made it better because it kind of added to the charm of the movie. The characters are done very well you truly get every action the make even if you dont like it you get why they made it and you get why they are the person that they are today here i am especially talking about the fl. i like the ml a lot he was a very likable character and just a good significant other. All in all i loved this movie from now on its in my top 10s and i recommend it highly to anyone you is thinking of seeing it!

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Love like falling petals, but life with an illness sucks...

A beautiful spring night where the beauty of love and death collide... or something more poetic than that.

This movie is beautifully filmed, the angles, the stories, the details the colures, the light the attention to detail is gorgeous.

This movie is here to tell us that even the shortest love story can make a difference and change a persons life without becoming too inspirational... The characters are real human beings, and though I may not always like their way of handling things I can relate to it and understand where they are coming from.

What I love besides the beautiful photography is the intensity and verity of the emotions portrayed in this movie, is them showing a person at their lowest and actually letting them be themselves at that point. Raw intense, getting diagnosed with a terminal illness at 25 sucks and boy do they show us that it sucks for both the diagnosed and everyone, yes every single one around them.

The movie also shows desperation and vulnerability in a great way but the best thing about this movie is the total lack of even if they are to love like falling petals... there is not a trace of make the most of what is left, live life to the fullest b.s in this and that makes up for all the aggravating choices within the movie.

So to sum it up, this movie is emotional, it is definitely sad and depressing but with a side of fluffy petals though the tears did not flow from my eyes it did leave me with a lump in my chest so to be clear this is an emotional sad story and not a fluffy happy place...

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This tickled me at times as well creating a rather sombre and upsetting setting. Happy Old Year is about an interior decorator who wants to clear out her house to create an office only to unearth some hidden truths about her past and herself. Jean learns about herself and how her actions affect others through something simply as throwing away old, seemingless useless items. A piano, an old camera; everything can have meaning to someone else. This is manifested someway in the form of her former relationship, something that she has tried to hide from herself and in her own home. It’s both hidden and unseen and yet we don’t want to depart from it. That is true selfishness.

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit does a masterful job at making the little moments count. The camera work, the work with the cinematography to make everything seem so congested and full, the choices of pauses and frames that we focus on. In a true to cinema formation, the art of the mise-en-scene matches the acting on screen.

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Legit crying right now

Like bro, this movie is so beautiful. We finally get to see how Gav and Cai are doing in there 1 week together and it feels like that have been together for years. I like that in this movie we are more focused on Gav and how he is as a person and we know about his family and past. The chemistry between the lead is fire as always and it amazes me how can they have so much chemistry. Everything in this movie from the acting, plot and romance is lit. I cried, laughed and cringed. They couldn't have ended the series better. I am literally in love. What a beautiful and bitter sweet ending

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Crazy Romance (also known as The Most Ordinary Romance) is a crazy, fun movie. It is just a movie about a group of ordinary people that work in the same place. The movie shows aspects of their work, interpersonal relationships among a group of people that know a bit too much about each other. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. Kim Rae Won (as Jae Hoon) and Gong Hyo Jin (as Sun Young) were great together as they portrayed two individuals that were hurting from past relationships and how they stumble into each other and started to heal and move on into what seems to be a great blossoming relationship.

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The most beautiful anti-bullying coming-of-age love story set in a dog eat dog world

Whoa... "Better Days" is super intense yet beyond amazing. The whole cast did a fantastic job and the production value is incredible, no wonder this movie got an Oscar nomination. Well deserved, as it shined a light and brought more awareness to bullying.

Wtf is wrong with the police/detectives in this? Do they really think Chen Nian would come back a second time for help after she already filed a complaint the first time and they did nothing about the bullying? Sad to say but this is a dog-eat-dog world nowadays and you practically have to learn to defend yourself because not many people are going to take your side or protect you from harm. Chen Nian had no one else to turn to except for Xiao Bei and let me just say their love was so damn pure. They could feel each other's pain and understand one another on a totally different level while knowing what it is like to be an outcast or left behind. Now don't even get me started on that glow-up (which had me screaming)... Chen Nian only wants to succeed while protecting the world and Xiao Bei's new purpose is wanting to protect the person he loves while living a thug-free life. Glad the police/detectives talked her into doing the right thing by not letting Xiao Bei take all the blame. Perfect ending.

This was beautiful. definitely one of the best movies I've ever watched, everything about it was breathtaking, the acting was perfect, especially the two main characters, they really made me feel connected to them and to their emotions, just beautiful.
The fact that that man lead was ready to sacrifice everything for the woman lead really showed how pure yet mature the love that he has for her and his will to protect her. just beautiful.
The way this movie showed how ruthless some people can be and in this case, "teens" is really scary and painful to watch knowing that it's true.
Yet again I say a beautiful movie with beautiful acting that really made it more special in my eyes. One of the greatest cinematic masterpieces in China......
.

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Nearly Perfect, a Masterclass in Writing

It's rare to stumble across a gem of a movie as good as this one. There's a lot you can say for the acting, or the music, or the cinematography, but all of that pales before the absolutely incredible script which it inhabits.

This movie may embody one of the best examples I've ever seen of setup and payoff, with the screenplay quietly setting up dominos only for them to fall all at once in a climax both stunning and emotional. The film manages to strike an incredible balance between somber and uplifting, as we find joy in our protagonist's eccentricities and the colorful interaction between the diverse and dynamic characters, but also feel the weight of the suffering visible in the world.

Here we find a departure from the tropes which infect so many modern tv shows, a work of fiction which is so unique and yet so grounded in reality you can't help but allow the story to pull you in. The storytelling is efficient, and intentional, and moving. You can't say the movie is perfect, as barely anything really is, but this is as close as we need it to be. I definitely recommend this movie.

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I don’t even know what to say

I definitely recommend watching it, but if you aren’t like me it would be a waste of time! Second FL was dumb asf and First FL was confusing!! There was definitely more than enough time in the movie for character development but I didn’t see much? maybe I missed a few things!! Go and watch on Netflix and come back so I can see what y’all got to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ah 柔らかく甘い気分
ふわふわしてる
心には君形の穴が空いてるの
Just like a doughnut
迷い込んだ恋の loop
始まりも終わりもない
二人の love loop
二人の love loop, yeah, yeah, yeah
Every single day
何度も君が浮かんで
いつの間にか染められてく
そばにいなくても
切れずにリンクしてるね
Memory の余韻に浸っていたい (I, I, I, I)
もう後戻りはする気はないから

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keeps the focus on Pirate and treasure

Pirates- The Royal Treasure, for this Korean Pirate movie the captain is a female captain Hae Rang (Han Hyo Joo) with a swordsman turned pirate Wu Mu Chi (Kang Ha Neul) and a comical Mak Yi (Lee Kwang Su) and others.

even if I don’t want to but still Can't help but think of Pirates of the Caribbean when I hear pirate, as Johnny Depp has made his character Captain Jack Sparrow iconic, who shows intelligence in deciphering maps, does excellent comedy, and shows excellent action sequence. And for the Korean movie need three characters to show all these.
The story is fast-paced with finding a map, locating the treasure, and successfully getting it. the CGI is good. It kept its pirate theme on spot not delving into characters' past before becoming a pirate. Mak Yi's slapstick comedy and scheming tactics made a good screen time and the rest was covered with the enormous sword fighting. HHJ fighting sword sequences were nice. KHN's hairstyle was too distracting. the acting was good. Chae Soo Bin's thief personality was evident but she didn't get enough screen. actually, the story lacked good scripting.

Overall this was a perfectly comical relief for those who miss "Captain Jack Sparrow" and his witty good sense of humor to save the day.

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This movie was so lighthearted and cute, especially for the subject matter.

The main plot happens pretty fast and jumps right to the point, but I liked that about the story. It gave more of a look into their DS relationship rather than the beginning and start of it. The movie does a really great job of being educational and realistic rather than intense and exaggerated like 50 shades.

Ji Woo as a character is so strong and confident. I loved watching her come into her own personality within their relationship and I also loved to watch her slowly fall for Ji Hoo. Her researching and trying to be a good master was so sweet and showed just how much she actually cared about their relationship, DS relationship and Ji Hoo in general.

Ji Hoo's character and backstory is so interesting, yet heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine being in a long-term relationship where you think it's safe to open up and instead are met with nothing but intense hate. Him falling for Ji Woo and wanting to date her, but having the fear of rejection because of his ex was so sad; Her visiting and throwing all the food he made on the ground for his and Ji Woo's date was bullshit too. He was nothing but sweet and caring, he definitely deserves someone like Ji Woo.

I'm really glad this movie ended on a happy ending as well, seeing them get together was so exciting and I loved their chemistry from the beginning.

I will say this movie is not as spicy as I thought it was going to be and it really added an extra factor into it. I felt it made it more about the DS relationship and the care for each other within that relationship. It was never too intense or awkward and was really beautiful and intimate with some of the scenes they did. Would highly recommend!

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1998 shorts that were two of a four-part as part of Gakkō no Kaidan G

Also Known As: Katasumi (In a Corner) and 4444444444 (Ten Fours)

The short films that started the Ju-on/The Grudge franchise.

The original was part of a four-story shorts by Takashi Shimizu; he impressed Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who arranged for him to make the first two movies:
Ju-on: The Curse (February 11, 2000) and
Ju-on: The Curse 2 (March 25, 2000).

Shimizu was taking a film-making class under Kurosawa at the time.

The combined films are 6 minutes, 42 seconds long, but can be found online in shorter versions.

There seems to be a confusion over the 'names' of the two girls. Yoshida Hisayo (Omura Ayako) is fine but some list the second girl as Kayako Saeki or Kanna Murikam and played by Fuji Takako or Kanna Kashima...and to think some people really do care!

This short is also available on the Grudge 2 dvd extra disc.

The plot is so short and simple that I am skipping this part.

First off a little history...

In both films we have a Eastern concept of onryō, which can be more than a ghost if you want to study up on them.

Being a Religious Studies major, with a lot of reading also in mythology, folklore, et al, onryō are only a tiny portion of yurei, or 'dim spirits'; the most dreaded type of these are onryōis or onryō, vengeful spirts that can be found in cities, shopping malls, any type store, or anywhere else.

They are vengeful spirits usually born when people are wronged: a husband kills his wife, a walker is intentionally ran over by a driver in a car, a soldier is offered to live if he surrenders but us killed instead. Most are female spirits, but many exceptions exist

Instead of just wandering, they transform into powerful, wrathful spirits who seek vengeance on everything they encounter. Often they were victims of war, catastrophe, betrayal, murder, or suicide—and they many times display wounds or marks received at the time of death.

The stories of onryō go back to at least 8th century Japan and are found in all areas where people have lived and are especially are prevalent during bad times and times when there is no justice for the poor and weak.

The important thing you should remember is that "vengeance." is what all of them want, and "strange sounds" are characteristic of all of them as well!!

I enjoyed this but it wasn't scary to me. I sat laughing at the characters as they were acting!

Good short for a person's first try or so. I had heard about the Grudge movies before but had never had the time to see them.
I will try to catch them in the future!

444-444-4444, second part

As I just explained in my review for Cursed (2002), numbers has significant 'meaning' in Japan and other Asian countries

Again, a little history,...

"Numbers" are very important in Japan and most of everywhere else in Southeast Asia, full of symbolism for both young and old alike; there is even a full page of the similar ways that the number '4' is pronounced in different SE Asia dialects, but basically the kanji for 4 四 can be pronounced "shi," which in another kanji 死 means death


While he's an onryō, he is still a child as well. Keeping his childish disposition makes him more eerie

Again, it wasn't as so scary as it was humorous, but I will try to watch some of the sequels if I can find the time!


RE-WATCH VALUE" Yes!

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"I Can't Go..I Can't Go Inside...I Cannot Go Inside That Place...Because...Because This Place Is..."

Since whomever uploaded this movie information refused to add all the main and support cast, I am listing them here in my review:

Kyôko Akiba as Ryôko Kagami, the rep for the convenience store chain taking over this haunted one

Takaaki Iwao as Komori, the male night-shift clerk, also called "Paulos"

Hiroko Satô as Nao Shingaki (female part-time store worker/clerk)

Osamu Takahashi as Store owner

Etsuyo Mitani as Store owner's wife

Susumu Terajima as Akira Tejima ('no legs', bit part)

Yuko (actress name unknown), young female able to sense presence of ghosts/tortured souls in the store.

This movie started out with a fast and bloody surprise which most people won't be expecting!

The simplest methods to scare people are usually the best! This under-rated movie combines horror with mystery. The director gets well-deserved kudos for the simplicity of this flick!

The 'scares' are not overdone in this movie, as in many Asian horror movies (The Ring comes to mind as one!).

Even though this looks like a low-budget movie, it has some great scenes in it!

There are a couple of places where the action is very, very slow, but I personally believe this is made up in the scenes where they surprise you with eerie situations; there were even a few funny parts as well!

I also thought the 'refrigerator' scenes were different for a change. I never expected it!

The whole movie is very dark, and the director used dark scenes in this movie to portray the impending ghost activity here, but it also made part of the movie hard to watch. The girl being stalked in the hallway also looked a lot like the main female character; only by watching it that scene a few did I realize that it was the customer rather than the new manager.

Even time is subject to change in our Japanese "konbini/conbini" where this movie for the most part takes place.

As a Religious Studies major, I have read about religion, mythology and other countries' folklore (religion, myth and folklore are all related, but this is not the place to discuss that!)...I had to go back to my school books, but found the story of the "girl between the gap", which was referenced here; also, the numbers '334' '444' (if you want to make a Japanese person mad, use this number in your conversation or such with them!) '666' and such. I even believe that the '999' may be just writing the '666' upside-down in this movie..there you have to have some knowledge of Japan, China, Vietnam, et al. These numbers occur frequently in this movie, especially just before incidents!

What I am trying to say is that some knowledge of Japanese culture will make this more scarier for you!

I liked the scenes where the different ghosts exhibited their unique ways of haunting; the acting was really good, and the "gotcha" moments were interesting. The parts which were left for your imagination also made this movie worth watching.

Since this was a horror/ghost movie, i intentionally paid more attention to the music. which surprised me as being synchronized to the acting/upcoming incidents here.

The camera angles were used to add to the 'bizarre' feeling that the movie tried to portray; and the rest of the cinematography was also good.

This, however, was not a big-budget movie, but did well for what it tried to do: scare you just a bit!

The movie shot around the female lead Ryôko Kagami (Kyôko Akiba), hence no love story for her; but there was a side love story between Nao Shingak (Sakata Memeko,/Sato Hiroko)) and Komori/Paulos (Takaaki Iwao ), which was cute!

The actors did an excellent job through facial expression and dialogue making this a really good horror movie; all the support cast also did a great job supporting the main female actress and the stories that unfolded.


The major downside is that this was a low-budget film; although the camera angles were good and such, you could tell that money was tight on the set.

All in all, it was a great little movie, not Golden Globe- or Oscar-quality, but I would re-watch it occasionally, if for nothing else, the weird characters and their interactions occasionally.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!

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Cinematic Beauty

I’ve had this series on my mind for a while now since I’m a huge Takeru Satoh fan and wanted to devour all his work. I can confidently say that he is undoubtedly the magic everyone seems to be enthralled by in these movies.

The character ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ itself is really enticing but to have Takeru play this role is almost as perfect as things get. He brings life to the strong, kindhearted Kenshin. His moves throughout the combat scenes are intricate and so beautifully executed, like an artist displaying his finesse. His warm smiles and agonising screams during emotional sequences give this the exact spark it needs.

The supporting characters are pretty great too; however, the female lead is a problem. It’s not the fact that she’s the weak, damsel in distress because I personally do not think weakness is a flaw. Though, her delusion and innocence are infuriating. She wants to live and see Kenshin safe but his hands are tied because “killing is bad”? The narrative is so flawed and I am annoyed with her attitude towards vital scenes in the movie. If he won’t kill, how do you expect him to live? Unbearable.

Don’t even get me started with the kidnapping. I can’t believe the writers threw that in again despite adding the same plot line in the first movie. It seemed illogical.

Looking past that, the cinematography, costumes, direction, music and acting is phenomenal. I feel like I’m watching history run its course in actuality and that gives me goosebumps.

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