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Excellent, but too short
This is a very good 44 minute long LGBT short movie. It is well made and well written. The story is intense, concerning a young man who, after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of his stepfather, turns to selling himself to other abusive men. But the arc of the plot turns happier (and sexier) when he meets an undercover cop who falls for him.Strong points:
-- The plot is interesting, engaging and well-conceived. It concerns some heavy topics but is not overwhelmingly depressing. (That said, it does feature a couple of incidents of rape, and people who are sensitive to sexual violence should be warned.)
-- The acting is truly excellent. Jed Chung does a good job of communicating how clueless and lost Light is. Even more, I thought Max Liu was tantastic -- thoroughly believable as Light's savior, Shuo. Liu is intense, masculine and yet soft -- the way he treated Light was perfect. (In some ways he takes the place of the father-figure Light never had). And he has a wonderful deep voice and a gorgeous body, so what's not to love? (P.S. the MDL pic of Max, above, does NOT do him justice.)
-- The cinematography is first rate, with great camera work. (I loved the opening scene, where the cam is following Light through the market as he goes to meet one of his "johns".)
-- There is not a lot of music actually in the movie, that I remember......however the film concludes with a music video (I think the name of the song is "Light") and that one is truly excellent.
Weak point:
-- The decision to make this a short movie limited the creators too much. A longer treatment could have given the audience a better understanding of the development of Shuo's affection for Light. It seems to appear out of nowhere. The lovely scene where Shuo abandons his reserve and makes love to Light would have been just wonderful if the audience had a better feeling for the tensions/mixed feelings that were afflicting Shuo.
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Aout PUGON the Movie
Thrown into the pawnship slavery to pay the debt of her poor parents is Sonia (Jhassy Busran), a 14-year-old girl full of dreams from a fishing village, a community where pawning their children is the norm. Forced into labor for a sum their parents get is an abuse the kids need to face every day.Her baptism of fire begins when she is brought to a bread factory. Along with other children, they witness the acts of abuse by their employer, Mang Rey (Soliman Cruz).
After ten months of servitude, they could finally get back home. Shock and dismay welcome her back as she learns that her father had died. This forces her mother to pawn her again as payment for her father’s funeral expenses.
Like the rest of the child-laborers from the Bread Factory, all homeless and in debt once more, a question awaits to be answered:
When will this cycle of debt bondage end?
To Sonia, is a bright future even possible? How will she deal with her fate?
==============
PUGON (The Furnace) is a narrative statement short film directed by Gabby Ramos and stars Andrea Del Rosario, Soliman Cruz, Jhassy Busran, Cassie Kim, Sahararei Paynor “Bamboo” Bobadilla, Edmond Santiago, Carmen Del Rosario and Sheena Lee Palad
PUGON is part of Cinemalaya 2021's IndieNation exhibition that will be streamed on KTX.ph from Aug.6 to Sept.5, 2021.
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Michelle Yeoh’s sister married a wealthy banker. Maggie Cheung’s sister married the revolutionary and ultimately leader of the Nationalist party, Sun Yat Sen. Later she was an integral part of the communist party. Vivian Wu’s sister married Chiang Kai Shek who would take over the Nationalist party after Sun’s death and later she would become the First Lady of Taiwan. And that’s about the extent of my knowledge on this subject.
I take all historical movies with a grain of salt, everyone has their own agenda or message they want to get across. I’m even more skeptical when governmental censoring is always lurking in the background. Someone else with more knowledge about Chinese history will have to judge the accuracy of the historical aspects of the story.
Purely as a work of art, The Soong Sisters was lovely to look at. The cinematography, sets, and costumes were lush. The OST gave the right amount of mood to the scenes that took place across several decades. Plus, I'm always happy when a film is F rated, Mabel Cheung was the director.
The actresses all gave strong performances. Wu Hsing Guo was quite charismatic as the mercurial leader, Chiang Kai Shek as well.
Where the movie faltered for me was that the sisters were rather thinly drawn. Ostensibly a movie about three powerful women, two who were the wealthiest in China at one point, the other a communist icon, should have fully developed the complex characters and given these talented actresses something to sink their teeth into.
Maggie’s Soong Ching Ling was the only sister who came across as three dimensional as she worked with the communist party to maintain the integrity of her husband’s legacy. Michelle’s Soon Ai Ling had the smallest role of the sisters. The tag line indicated she loved money, but there wasn’t much evidence of that. Vivian’s Soong Mai Ling seemed more like an infatuated school girl for most of the movie, finally developing a backbone in the last quarter of the story.
It felt like the three women were ignominiously dropped from era to era and place to place. Much of the time I wasn’t sure where or when the story was taking place. Their father’s story would have been fascinating to see made into a movie, but by devoting so much time to him and the women as children we missed out on the real meat of the story. His presence did loom over them as he had wanted a new China. Was his dream all that motivated them? What were they thinking? What kind of relationships did they have with these powerful men? Two of the them never had children, did that cause any conflict in their relationships? Extreme hardships were glossed over. The film did touch on the political conflicts between Chiang Kai Shek and Soong Ching Ling, he was bitterly opposed to the communist party and she had given up on the Nationalist Party when he took over and ordered purges. I can't even imagine how strained those family dinners were when they got together.
With all the wealth, power, egos, and rivalries, there should have been more depth to the characters and story. The Soong Sisters was a beautiful pool of water to look at, unfortunately these still waters didn’t run very deep.
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Lee woo je needs more recognition
Ahh defos lives up to the name! Your feelings to the couples relationship becomes sweet and sour and you watch their relationship become the way it does with those feelings like aghh!! still dying over the ending an hour later!!My guy Lee woo je was in the beginning and ending so shouldve given him more recognition in the credits.
But what i can tell you readers my feelings for Soobin at the end was like WTH! MASSIVE TWIST AT THE END GUYS!!! But kiyoung was kinda cute in this film first time seeing his acting.
And crystal was funny ♡
It was a nice movie defos not sure if there was any OST that stood out tbh but really liked it.
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I will NEVER get over the fact that this didn't get the Oscar!
It's been so long since I've cried like that in a movie, I caught myself sobbing during scenes."Better Days" is a punch in the gut, it's heavy, heartbreaking, violent and even gruesome. But it what makes the story beautiful is the leads, it's not that common for me to love the main couple. It's just that their chemistry is so mesmerizing that we don't need a lot of dialog, they can express everything just by looking at each other. I loved everything about this movie and I'm very critical over films, but this one blew my mind.
The photography was amazing.
The directors did an incredible job in making us feel every emotion shown to us. They always captured the right moments in a way that completely fit the style of the movie, the lighting (or lack of it), the angles,etc...
I felt as if they moved the camera in a intimate way, making the movie feel familiar to us. So that we feel close to it, like we're watching it was something personal.
Well I'm just saying that you will not regret giving it a chance.
But seriously, I don't think I'll ever forget how I felt watching it for the 1st time.
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High potential for something longer
I was not disappointed by this short film (40mn) by Adiamond Lee.The subject is dark and serious (prostitution, abuse) but we do not avoid the pitfall of pathos.
The good idea is to have focused only on the two main characters which allows to explore their personalities enough and don't waste time on secondary characters.
The character of Light is really interesting, we feel a lot of empathy for him. Shuo, the policeman is a little less explored but we manage to know enough about him to understand his actions (it would have been interesting to know more about his work and his missions, to give him a little more deepness).
The direction is impeccable and the very dark photography is well worked with muffled lights that give more darkness to the atmosphere. The two lead actors are good, all in sobriety in their acting.
Of course, in 40mn, it is difficult to do something very deep and the story may seem a bit fast but after all it is quite simple (just two people falling in love) and I think we are not too frustrated even if the story would have really deserved to be more in depth, especially with the themes addressed.
I recommend you to watch this short film which changes from the ordinary and will move you.
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Why Did I Watch this ....
This movie can be considered impossible to watch, First of all, the editing is GOD AWFUL who edited this ? It is a hot mess and it just switches from scene to scene so sloppy. The acting is over the top and ridiculous at times.I am really not understanding how this got such high ratings, and yet it was so bad, the acting was really bad, there was no flow to the story, it skipped to like 5 years later, in a matter of a second!!!
The series also didn't explore much about xiao Chen wife and kid... it was like there were just thrown into the picture cuz mommy wish was for one her sons to be married, the fact that the mother didn't even try to understand her sons is really so sad, and to ask for something like that on your death bed and leave your children guilt ridden, that just pissed me off, the other son, didn't seem to have any issues living his life with his man.
WHAT A WASTE OF A MOVIE!!!!
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Stands the test of time
Although made in the late 1950’s this movie still stands the test of time. The acting and aesthetic is very retro, but is authentic enough to make it enjoyable. The role of the female lead and her portrayal of it is good enough to carry the whole movie. I imagine that the subject matter was quite controversial for its time, and despite the lack of nudity still feels compelling today.If you’re looking for a graphically sexual movie, then this is not it. If your looking for a glimpse into the past with a dramatic scandal that is entertaining and enjoyable, then it’s worth the less than hour and a half to watch.
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Michelle Yeoh was amazing as the young woman, Wing Chun, who had escaped a forced marriage and gone to study martial arts for years. Upon returning home and setting up a tofu shop she was often the wall between the townspeople and roving bandits. Michelle did nearly all of her own stunt work and truly shone brightly in this role.
Donnie Yen played Leung Pok To, Wing Chun’s childhood friend, who had returned after several years away to ask for her hand in marriage. He didn’t recognize her as she was dressed as a man and mistakenly thought the pretty young widow who worked in Wing’s tofu shop was her. Suitors competed for the women and there was some good-natured bed hopping. There was a love triangle, or maybe square, on second thought it might have been a love heptagon.
Donnie was as cute as a puppy in his role as Wing Chun’s would-be suitor. Leung was skilled in martial arts but not as accomplished as his childhood love. Norman Chu seemed to have a good time playing the Bandit King, he made a brash and comical villain. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to beat Wing Chun or marry her. The side characters were interesting and distinguishable--the money counting and intimidating sister who had eyes on a scholar, the scholar who was torn between Wing Chun and the young widow, the young widow who was in need of a man’s, uh, services, and a bandit who wanted the widow as his wife--all helped fill out the story in a meaningful way.
I liked this movie because unlike a lot of kung fu movies the romances weren’t tacked on and were relevant to the plot. These were all people trying to earn their happily ever afters in between kung fu fights, of course.
Yuen Woo Ping outdid himself with the creative fights, one particularly clever fight between Wing Chun, a hired fighter, and a plate of tofu was ingenious. There were no deaths or blood-soaked bodies, just lots of high wire, good old-fashioned fights with people who knew what they were doing. The action was fast, stunningly choreographed, and well-acted at the same time. Though some parts of the fights were unrealistic, who cares when they were so entertaining.
Importantly, they stuck the landing. I loved the final fight between Wing Chun and the Bandit King. I’ve never seen fight scenes quite like the ones shot for this film. The culmination of it was perfect. They also made me laugh. This film made me laugh several times and I rarely if ever laugh at “funny” kung fu movies. This was not a perfect film and some parts of it were dated. Regardless of its flaws, I enjoyed it.
Michelle and Donnie are two of my favorite actors and this film was a dream team for me complete with romance and spectacular fights. If you enjoy kung fu movies, this one is well worth seeking out.
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Entertaining but not amazing
Lead actors were awesome, not surprisingly. The acting of the side characters such as Pierre and the Black Foxes was lackluster at best. The space fight scenes were pretty good. I wish they would have expanded on the villain a bit more, how he had lived so long, how he had come into power of the entire planet, what was with his hulking out? As the main antagonist, he really had no back story or development. I would have enjoyed the movie more if they had explored his character more. Overall, the movie was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but I probably won’t rewatch.Was this review helpful to you?
Lacked Originality ....
This movie is pretty basic, nothing special.It's part melodrama and part just plain daft. There are some clichés. I usually do not like such things, It's pretty choppy and moves way to fast. I am like barely into the movie before they are already kissing and are in love. It's like you literally blink and it happens so sudden. I wish things would have slowed down some and built up the love and there character. I really don't like the chemistry of the couple, it's so confused and weird what they feel for each other.
This movie lacked a whole lot, of everything, ending was left hanging, not sure if i can sit thorough part 2.
A Major disappointment.
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Domestic Suspense
If you are a fan of domestic suspense/thriller, you can give a shot to this.Aishuu Cinderella is like a little fusion/mix of what I've read in some domestic psychological suspense/thrillers. Anyway, they kind of wasted the potential of this movie to be one of the best domestic psychological suspense writings by putting too much on the main characters' relationship development (in the first half). It was indeed intense later on but the suspense build up also felt too short. I wish they showed more on changes in Koharu and the craziness of others. It was like a rush character development. It fall anticlimactic towards the ending.
Nevertheless, the acting performances were superb. Both mains are spectacular in their previous works and the child actor was great too. At one point, our blood may boil lol.
The sounds used were intense too. It suited the creepy, tension concept.
Overall, it is still an enjoyable movie for me. A bit anticlimactic but it didn't disappoint as a whole.
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Overall Review 6/10Plot & Writing 6/10 - Basically a Korean twist on a Hallmark Christmas movie which immediately drops it to the 5.
Acting 8/10 - Kim Hyeon Joo at 21 was already so graceful although it was only her 2nd year of her acting career was already showing the talent that has made her the star she remains today. Her acting only improved with time but even at this tender age she aced it and was perfect for this role as the naive, hopeless romantic awaiting the return and a happy ever after with her first love. Since the entire plotline revolves around the FL she's really the only one that matters but the ML suited his role too although he should have been better looking and he somehow failed to have chemistry with the FL which loses 2 points dropping the acting to an 8. The supporting cast did a good job, especially the orphan boy who may have been more than what he seems he was. Was he just a runaway orphan or was he their child waiting in heaven for his birth who was given an opportunity to come down and to try and help them be together as their destinies intended rather than forever apart as they were on track to becoming leaving him unborn forever? The orphan boy's subplot was for me the best and only saving aspect to the writing which otherwise would get a 3 or a 4.
Any true fan of Kim Hyeon Joo must watch this once just to see her getting her wings in her first movie premiere. She was amazing and remains so even pre-HD in a silly Christmas romance.
If you are not a fan of KHJ...then this will still be for you if you are a hopeless romantic who loves improbable Hallmark Chirstmas Movies and want to see one with a Korean take on the theme. Although the quality might be ehhh, but yea it's a good drama so just watch it!!
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Honestly, this movie annoyed me so much it's hard to write a review. I may never get Charlene Choi's screaming out of my head.
The basic plot is that an evil queen ruled the land with an iron fist. It's fantasy kung fu land where people can shape shift and use special powers. Donnie Yen showed up in a small role to find The Chosen One and also to find Excalibur so that the rightful male king could kill the queen and rule as was proper. He didn't have much to do with the exception of one big CGI enhanced fight with Jackie Chan in an even smaller role. What was the name of the character Donnie play? Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Again with the complete lack of originality.
One of the main leads was Jackie's son, Jaycee Chan, who was as interesting to watch as a wet blanket. Wilson Chen played his buddy, Blockhead. Don't laugh, Jaycee's character's name was Charcoal Head. One of these two doofuses was future royalty, if I'd been Donnie I would have had to reevaluate how bad the queen really was. Jillian Chung played the cold Blue Bird, it would only take a man to warm her heart. The aforementioned Charlene Choi played the Dumbell/male slave seller out to make money. The women were supposed to be skilled in martial arts, but at the first sign of trouble screamed and hid behind the men. A feminist's dream this movie was not, ultimately if any good came out of a situation it was because a man handled the problem.
The four main characters simply could not carry this movie due to the actors' limited skills. It reminded me of cheaply made fantasy television show where all the actors had to do was look pretty and wait for the stuntmen/stuntwomen to jump in and do the heavy lifting for the fight scenes. The scenery and sets were beautiful and you could tell the producers had sunk some cash into them. CGI and wire work were used extensively in the fight scenes with mixed results. In 2004 the CGI should have been better.
I'm sure I wasn't in the age demographic this movie was aimed at which may explain why it was so irritating to me. Your experience may vary depending on how many Chosen One stories you've seen and whether you find the leads attractive or likeable. For me the only scene that I found remotely entertaining was the fight between Donnie and Jackie and five minutes out of 105 hardly made it worth it.
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Suspenseful and intense horror film
This is the most suspenseful, intense movie that I have watched. It is August 2021, and I finally got around to watching this movie, five years after the release. The K-movie production staff, crew and cast outdid themselves. All of Korea must have worked as extras. The last seven minutes had me tearing up.The acting by the main cast was very good, and the Zombie extras must have had a lot of fun playing the ghouls. Sadly, only two of the train passengers survived. The director is a visionary, bringing the screenwriter's mental thoughts on paper to virtual life.
The virus that began in a lab seems to have an eerie message of a deadly virus that is unleashed on mankind.
It is a rollercoaster train ride from the time, the first zombie appears at the train station.
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