Reviews

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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Cool movie frr

Watch it, it's cool. i mean i am not really good with my words but since i have to write atleast five hundred letters i will just write some bs sooo here you go aanndd ummm yeah its like kind of my comfort movie and i like to watch it and you should too and trust me watch it at late breezy night in the dark without any lights and it will hit you in the spot and soo i guess i have already written five hundred letters sooo byeeee oh okay i checked and no i haven't written 500 alphabets yet so umm yeah i have nothing more to say to be honest but here we go and if you're reading this i think you should think avout how you should not waste time cause thats exactly what you're doing right now okay sooo bye i guess

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mistake or not....

Whoa... I don't know watching this now is the right decision for me or not... When I find out about this movie I just so excited to watch, of course because this is the 'oath of love' movie. That's why this movie make me even excited & can't wait for the oath of love to be finished air so I can Binge watch it...

When I watch the trailer of oath of love I keep guessing & wondering how fast the relationship bloom actually. But after seeing this movie I really feel their relationship will gonna be quite fast to bloom.... And after seeing our dr. Gu here really can't wait to watch how Xiao Zhan gonna portray dr. Gu in his version.

OK let's talk about the drama itself...

The movie yeah I have to admit this quite fast paced, will gonna be much better even though this is just a movie to have longer duration. Everything happen so fast & so sudden. But dr. Gu attitude himself sometimes make me blush with excitement... I really like how he flirt & treat Lin Zhi Xiao.

Really can't be excited enough to watch the drama version. To see the better explanation about some stuff this movie try to ignore....

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One big, missed opportunity.

I was quite excited to watch it. Waited till late night to get the right atmosphere and get the best possible experience. 15 minutes in I started to become extremely sleepy, and it was not because I was tired. Kim Kang Woo is stunning, but his beautiful face is not enough to keep me engaged, when all I see on screen is him walking around the building with a flashlight.

I am truly impressed how such a short movie that also has so many different tropes, time lines, and plot elements, can be this boring. The plot twists were predictable, the story told in a messy way, the protagonist was a massive idiot that truly did only one thing right.

They tried to be creative, giving a twist to the typical “black haired girl ghost” story, but it was so ridiculous, it did not work out - especially with this execution.

The design for the ghosts and scares was mediocre at best, simple copy paste of what we saw in other movies. Basically a snapchat ghost filter.

They did not use the place for their advantage - could have presented the place as a claustrophobic loop, but I never felt that.

Kim Kang Woo did a good job acting wise, but the rest of the cast was just comical. The screams that are so important in horror movies, mostly sounded like free stock audio.

To sum it up, it felt like they had an interesting idea, but no clue how to present it.

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Tearjerker + Amazing performance by Roy Chiu

Completed - 3/29/2022
Subjective Rating - 9.0
Objective Rating - 7.5-8.5

Without really paying attention to the tags of this movie, I thought I was going to watch a romantic comedy. Little did I know I would be crying my eyes out. This is a definite tearjerker.

A Cheng is a kind-hearted debt collector who fell in love with Hao Ting at first sight. I have never been a fan of love-at-first sight, and I'm not going to lie, the way he pursues Hao Ting could be viewed as stalker-ish and problematic as well. But once I got past these 'hurdles', I am fully invested in their love story.

I love A Cheng. What he went through in this movie breaks my heart. I cried so much after things went downhill for him. He's always been so kind to everyone he encounters. I want him to live happily-ever-after with Hao Ting. Roy Chiu (who plays A Cheng) is fantastic in this movie. His acting range is in total display - silly, kind, violent, betrayed, in physical and emotional pain, and heartbroken.

It's really hard for me to put into words why my gut feeling tells me this movie is worth my 9.0 rating. Maybe I was caught off-guard by all the feels. Maybe I was too impressed with Roy Chiu's acting. Maybe I am just watching the right movie, at the right time, in the right mood.

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Youth can be boring this film was not...

And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool is as fun as it's name... While youth in a small town can be boring, I know been there tried that not doing it again... This film was fast paced, fun, interesting and has a whole lot of beautiful shots as well as a bunch of unexpected humour.

When life feels meaningless and boring... there is nothing else to do but do meaningless s***... with your friends.

I love the brutal honesty and how well this portrays the feeling of boredom...

While I understand the artistic value of the shake camera and fast flashes of light with horrible sound, my sensitive ears and eyes (yes I am old) did not really appreciate seeing/hearing them.

I did however love the authentic feel this movie has, with the not so perfect people, and not so perfect voices...

So in short I would say this is more or less a short masterpiece doing one h*** of a job portraying completely average youths who just happened to Put Goldfish in a Pool...


P.s. I personally spent most of my youth in a big city but moved to a small town the a few monthes before I turned 17 and this brought back quite a few memories... But I will admit I never put goldfish in a pool... My grown up self loved it too mostly for this scene... " go out have sex... otherwise you will end up like us... still we are happy enough"

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Too short to give me a good scare.. too short to get attached to the characters..

Cast were great. Zombies looks good too. Story wise, there's not much to it. An unknown outbreak swept through the nation. Our ML and FL were residents of neighboring complex, both were just trying to survive the zombie outbreak.

And that's all there is. No explanation on how, why or what caused the outbreak. After their action/fight sequence w/ the zombies, they were lucky enough to be saved.

I felt like the story was too short. It didn't gave me a heart pumping sensation. Unlike other zombie flicks. Anyway, it's still entertaining enough to watch. Would I rewatch this? Maybe not intentionally..

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