This review may contain spoilers
"One must earn like a dog and spend like a beast"
The Men of Plastic was a comedy about greedy men and women willing to scam patients and double-cross each other in order to get ahead. While the cast was strong, the storytelling was not.Kang Dae Gook (Ma Dong Seok) is a hustler and facilitator in his neighborhood, closely affiliated with his old high school friend, gangster Cho Tae Chun. When he discovers Tae Chun meeting with an unlicensed plastic surgeon who does ghost surgeries, he takes the opportunity to make a business deal with Tae Chun and Park Ji Woo (Jung Kyung Ho), the surgeon. He enlists buddy Mi Jung (Oh Na Ra) and before long the crew is bringing in money hand over fist. In order to make some legal issues go away they end up approaching the sketchy Gyu Ok (Oh Yeon Seo) and doing business with her. It doesn’t take long for the scammers to get scammed.
I’m a big fan of Ma Dong Seok and enjoy watching Jung and Oh as well. Ma’s primary character trait was wearing loud shirts and mismatched hats and initially he sported a fiery pink-red hair dye. This was not one of Jung Kyung Ho’s stronger performances, largely due to his character’s cold, untrusting nature. A strong bromance would have helped this movie enormously but the two men never seemed to trust or like each other. Most of the characters were hard to feel anything sympathy for. The one bright spot was Oh Na Ra. She brought an effervescent energy badly needed when she was onscreen.
South Korea has the highest per capita amount of plastic surgery done in the world. Nearly 1 in 3 Koreans will have some work done on themselves often by the age of 21. The movie was set in 2007 and the team was encouraging medical tourism. As of July 2023 (post-pandemic lower numbers), around 82,000 foreigners visit Korea for various beauty treatments and surgeries. The fierce competition for clients was touched on with Ji Woo being the victim of a “surgical hit job”. There was no introspection or comedic rumination on why the waiting room was always filled with young women who felt the need to hand over large sums of money to improve their looks. This was strictly a by the book routine comedy.
Men of Plastic could well have described many of the characters as they were difficult to care about even when they were about to lose everything. At nearly 2 hours, this film dragged rather badly at times. If plastic surgery fascinates you or you are a fan of the cast you might want to check it out, but otherwise it’s one that can be skipped or as it will be soon in my case—forgotten.
11/18/23
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This review may contain spoilers
A Somewhat Faithful Adaptation
**Brief Synopsis**B (Student): Sena
T (Actor): Ryo
This is a somewhat faithful adaptation of the original manga. B is the son of an extremely affluent show business family but he, unlike his siblings and parents, don’t want to become a part of that. Instead he wants to become a mangaka, even if he doesn’t have any talent.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- Sena is really cute. I really like how he looks and it makes me happy to see him on screen.
- I like how they changed the ad to become same sex marriage instead of having Sena cross dress again.
- I really like the ending where they tell the press they are dating.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT IT
- Ryo looks like a creep most of the time. He’s really not that good looking, which doesn’t make sense because he is supposed to be some kind of big superstar.
- The non con part where Ryo forces Sena’s shirt off him to confirm he was really a boy. This part is extremely faithful to the manga, but I never liked it.
- The acting is horrible. The crew tried to add all the extra-ness seen in the manga here but it just doesn’t work. A lot of things work in the manga because it’s a manga, but when it translate to the screen, it’s just awkward and cringey.
- There is no build up to this relationship and the show gives no reason why we should root for this couple.
**Conclusion**
This is an adaptation we could do without.
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A Gift Given Through Time
Yeo Jin Goo (Hotel Del Luna) and Cho Yi Hyun (All of Us Are Dead)In this Time Blend, two College students attend the same University and get to know each other, while using a Ham radio. One wants to interview the other, but the two can’t seem to quite meet up. It will be discovered later that the reason that they can’t meet up is that one is in 1995 and the other exists in 2021.
This is a charming Time Blend type of time travel drama. There is a definite mode for the time displacement (A Ham Radio), but there is no movement through time in the movie Ditto. Two times are blended or shared, as there is communication across time. There will be lots of head talk about the gift one person can gift to another across a time barriers. Ditto is worth the time commitment.
Talking across a divide of time.
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The Fusion You Thought You Never Needed
This was such a hilarious movie to watch the whole time. As someone growing up with Bollywood and a love for all asian dramas, this was a crazy fusion. I already knew the Thai actors and loved them, so I was just in awe watching this. I think it was a really funny movie to watch and just have a good laugh watching! It really is a fusion you thought you never needed. They looked so goooood. My favorite scene was definitely the dance number, trust you all will be impressed by their dance moves. It was wild. Please watch!! It's even better with your friends!Was this review helpful to you?
So because of that I cannot remember absolutely everything about it but I liked it a lot and would rewatch it if I had the chance.
It is very well done visually, great colours and filming overall done beautifully. The ideas / concepts that are brought up are very fascinating also and I think it’s one of those films where you can find new things and meanings on rewatching it!
It’s very eccentric and unusual. I sometimes dislike series or films that are extremely unrealistic or in a way not related to life / but mostly I find this annoying in fairy tale style romance settings, so this wasn’t the case here.
In this film things are very over the top, but in a good way. There are lots of dreams, hallucinations, seeing things from the state of mind and emotions of a person. But this was so well done and actually very related to life and experiences that are very human rather than superhuman.
I would add that this film is also not for the faint hearted. There is some violence and the setting is a psychiatric hospital so that could be hard for watchers depending on your background.
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A modern take on traditional Korean storytelling
I hadn’t heard of “ Madanggeuk” - a kind of modern version of political folk theatre in Korea - but I have heard of Pansori folk music before and this film is a charming mix of folk tales, the mandanggeuk with its focus on injustice and righting wrongs as well as a supernatural bent. I love Kim Ok Bin and her martial arts skills were a treat to watch. This isn’t a rip off of wuxia - it’s a full on look at Korean storytelling with modern music. It has nothing to do with Chinese traditions. Quite frankly, that other reviewer is talking nonsense. So cool that the director was able to create this dream world using such easily found technology.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
plot of the movie to avoid confusion
Dr.cheon is the eldest grandson of cheon family of shammas.He is incredibly talented in making talesman compared to his younger brother, but is not interested in becoming the heir. Dr.cheon's grandfather is a gifted shamman and chose his youngest grandson as the next family shamman, There is an evil guy who practices black magic ,He grew his power making use of human sacrifices. He is head of a cult and those people kidnap and kill civilians, retrieve their finger and makes an instrument which the villain use to control people temporarily to achieve what he wants to do. The villain strategically eliminates all possible threats which include shammas with good conscience and their gifted heirs, gifted individuals who posses ability to see the supernatural born outside the shamman lineage. They are the only people capable of putting up a fight. Dr.cheon is not aware of these facts for about 3/4th time of the movie. What he knows is that, his younger brother went missing and his grandfather found a evil talisman in his younger brothers pillow. Following this his grandfather and assistants performed a ritual in hope of finding the lost child and he witnessed that the villain they are after is incredibly strong. Later his grandfather located a cave inside a forest and found his lost grandson still alive there tied up. the villain possessed the body of the child and sneak attacked the grandfather. Grandfather untied his grandson and used a special talisman and his sword to lockup the evil guy but it was only half successful, his sword broke and the villain tore the talisman into two pieces . The villain killed the grandfather and grandson and used his cult followers to dispose their body faraway in a reed field, Dr.cheon and his grandfather's friend found their corpse in the reed field. They know they are against something very strong but have no idea where to find their enemy or the fact that there are civilian cult members aiding the villain. Dr.cheon under the pretence of exorcism travel from place to place to find any traces or clues, but he never encountered a real spirit, most of the cases were psychiatric cases and to bring peace to them he does fake exorcism and earns his living. He is always searching for news about supernatural encounters hoping he might find some clues. His efforts didn't go in vain, he encountered a genuine case which led him to eventually kill and imprison the soul of the villain inside the talisman which his grandfather made and this time it was a complete success. He also saved his client who happen to have the divine eyes to see spirits and ends up hiring her.Was this review helpful to you?
To be honest, I'm not even sure what I've just watched
I saw this in passing on Netflix's Top 5 movie for a couple of days and it intrigued me specially seeing Ma DongSeok and Kim HyunSoo (from her role as the young FL on My Love From The Star) plus it's just an hour watch so it's pretty short and I watched it. I didn't know that 1-hour would take me 2 days to finish this movie.I literally fell asleep in the middle of it so I finished it the following day and I was just completely lost. I don't know where the plot is going or what even happened after I finish. There might be people who really loves this movie but I know this is not my cup of tea. A good take-away with this is that now, I wanted to watch other Kim HyunSoo and Ma DongSeok's movies/dramas.
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Simple yet beautiful
I adored this. A short and sweet sapphic film which wasn't high budget but still captured my heart. Do judge for yourself though, everyone likes different things! However, this is a 10/10 in my heart for the feelings I got from it. I'll admit, I'm a bit biased, but I've tried to judge this in a more objective way.STORY:
It's pretty simple, revolving around a few characters and events, but it's effective in making me love the characters. While it's relatively predictable, it was comfortable to watch and even brought me to tears by the end.
ACTING:
Presumably the actors were mostly amateur, but they still did a great job all round. I don't tend to notice acting unless it's really bad or off though so you might find it different. Lei's actress Ward especially impressed me with an emotional scene near the end!
MUSIC:
I enjoyed the music but it wouldn't have hurt if there was a bit less of it.
REWATCH VALUE:
I tend to rewatch things for comfort, and while I rarely go past my set few comfort dramas, I definitely would consider this to rewatch as a short and sweet sapphic story coming in at just under 40 minutes! :D
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Obtížný film na vnímání a přijetí toho, co tím chtěli tvůrci, především režisér říci. Pomocí filmově-mystických obrazů ve druhé půli zajíždí hodně do jiných dimenzí, ale ač jsem se snažil, tentokrát se mě, na rozdíl od jiných podobných projektů, snímek nedotkl tolik, ač sbíral film i nějaká ocenění na různých tématických filmových festivalech. Celkově hodnotím 60% (je zajímavé, že na ČSFD se s 60% shoduji se zdejším předhodnotitelem-tři hvězdy, zde na GT už hodnotí stejný film daleko hůře, podprůměrně).
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This review may contain spoilers
Touching, Mother & Son Navigating Coming Out.
I was surprised at how emotional it made me when it's only 16 min long (got a little choked up)! The focus is really on the relationship between the son and mother and the story is relatable from both character's perspective. The story overall is sweet.On the Blued YouTube channel (in the USA).
The review by Giuca is also good and summarizes the details well.
GENERAL SPOILER
My rating is reduced due to the scene that starts with the schoolmate forcing himself on the lead boy, which is brief and not at all graphic but trivialized with a light-hearted attitude. The lead boy has invited an anonymous boy from online to try things out with but changes his mind when he sees it's the school bully. The bully turns out to be very sweet to the boy but the way they start is problematic and didn't need to be written that way.
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The gay component is small, but this time it doesn't matter at all. There will certainly be those who will not understand the film and will condemn only the "skin" - the actions of physically and mentally damaged beings, with a different sexual orientation or preferences. It is only under this skin that the true tragedy of the creatures who "STILL LIVE" is hidden in the lowest level of human society, and which was so perfectly portrayed by the Korean filmmakers with the help of actors and other film tools (in South Korea, meat is wrapped in newspaper to absorb those toxic substances from the printing ink? It felt like we were in North Korea...). I deduct a point for the processing because the hump of "Jung" was a little different every time.
I'll borrow one sentence from Ketri from ČSFD, which seems to me to be absolutely descriptive and perfect for the film: "An incredibly beautiful film that will leave you with guaranteed depression for a very long time."
Hrůzný film o "LIDSKÝCH NEDOKONALOSTECH PŘÍRODY". Strašný, depresivní, naturalistický, a přitom pomalu tekoucí, jako do oceánu ústící rozlehlá delta velké řeky. Nedivím se, co píše v komentu překladatel Matt Bianco, kterému dodatečně děkuji nejen za titulky, ale i za to, že se vůbec na pochopení tak těžkého filmu ujal. Obsah si přečtete v Podrobnostech k filmu a doporučuji se též podívat na dvacítku Plot Keywords na IMDb.
Gay složky je málo, ale tentokrát to vůbec nevadí. Určitě se najdou tací, co snímek nepochopí a budou odsuzovat jen tu "slupku" - jednání bytostí poškozených tělesně, duševně, s jinou sexuální orientací či preferencemi. Teprve pod touto slupkou se skrývá ta pravá tragédie tvorů, kteří "TAKÉ JEŠTĚ ŽIJÍ", a to v nejspodnějším patře lidské společnosti a kterou tak dokonale vykreslili korejští tvůrci pomocí herců a dalších filmových nástrojů (v Jižní Koreji se balí maso do novin, aby nasálo ty toxické látky z tiskařské barvy? Zdálo se mi, jako bychom byli v Severní Koreji ...). Za zpracování ubírám ještě bodík za to, že hrb "Junga" byl pokaždé trošku jiný.
Vypůjčím si jednu větu od Ketri z ČSFD, která se mi zdá ke snímku naprosto vystihující a dokonalá: "Neuvěřitelně krásný film, z kterého budete mít zaručenou depresi na hodně dlouhou dobu."
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Unexpectedly Entertaining
When giving series/movie a first watch, I don't really dive into who the actors/actresses are. So seeing Cha Tae Hyun as a main was a nice surprise. He has the perfect expressions for comedy-dramas, my favorite blend of genres.The movie doesn't have the most complex or intricate plot but it has enough of an unpredictable essence that will keep you on your toes. Why was it unexpectedly entertaining? Because I do have a slight bias toward movies that lean too far into animated work as they tend to be poorly implemented and have even poorer dialogues. If you can stomach a few less than average actions scenes, this one was actually done pretty well. And although Cha Tae Hyun's story is a pretty basic tearjerker, it is one of those that will still jerk those tears. So if you looking for an easy watch with likeable characters that will also have you laughing out loud, definitely recommend. I'm looking forward to watching the sequel.
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The main character of the father in all three short stories is played by the Korean actor Lee Sang Woo (he was 39 years old at the time of filming in 2010, the film was presented at two festivals in the same year, it was not distributed until five years later)
1) My Father's Desire - is about a couple of young high school students who are thinking about a future together, eventually the father starts having sex with his son's friend and the son takes nasty revenge for it...
2) My Father's Truth - a young man claims that he was raped by a friend, he is upset about it, he finally comes out with the truth, he was raped by his friend's father ...
3) My Father's Secret - about a father who discovers semi-nude pictures of men and a gay magazine in his young son and physically punishes him quite indiscriminately, at the same time the father has an encoded love for men.
I considered the ratings for all the short stories together.
Po totálně-depresivním filmu Muge, který jsem zde včera hodnotil velmi vysoko, je na pořadu dne další "divný", tentokráte povídkový snímek z Koreji. Jsem zaskočen, že se takovéto filmy točí a že pochází z krajiny, ze které by to člověk nečekal ...
Hlavní postavu otce ve všech třech povídkách hraje korejský herec Lee Sang Woo (v době natáčení v r. 2010 měl 39 let, film byl v tom samém roce prezentován na dvou festivalech, distribuován byl až o pět let později)
1) My Father’s Desire - je o páru mladých středoškoláků, kteří uvažují o společné budoucnosti, nakonec začne otec sexovat s přítelem svého syna a syn se za to ošklivě pomstí ...
2) My Father’s Truth - mladík tvrdí, že ho znásilnil kamarád, má z toho depky, nakonec jde s pravdou ven, znásilnil jej kamarádův otec ...
3) My Father’s Secret - o otci, který zjistí u malého syna polonahé obrázky mužů a gay časopis a dost nevybíravě jej fyzicky trestá, přitom je v otci zakódovaná láska k mužům.
Hodnocení jsem zvážil za všechny povídky dohromady.
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Hongkongský "festival" zabývající se ne zcela běžným tématem dvou teplých dědečků na mě za 10 určitě nezapůsobil. Celkově právě příběh byl pro mě tím nejslabším článkem, kdy ten závěr se snad hodil do doby před třiceti, padesáti lety. Téma starších pánů držet celý život hubu a krok a pouze hladově pokukovat po jiných na smrdutých veřejných záchodcích a holandách mi přijde do třetího tisícíletí lichá. Mám dojem, že se tato bývalá britská kolonie po více jak dvaceti letech čínské nadvlády stále více "rozpouští" do Číny" a nedivím se, že Británie je připravena pojmout až jeden milion Hongkongčanů, kteří se připravují zdrhnout před tuhými čínskými zákony. A téma "gay domova důchodců" pro gaye, kteří se celý život schovávali před světem pod ženskou sukni, mi nepřišel také právě moc in. Jen mezi gayi bych na stáří žít nechtěl tak, jako to nejde ani v běžném životě, kde jsou všichni součástí většinové společnosti. Heteráci si alespoň dají přes hubu a je klid, ale mezi gayi, a to jsem poznal tady, jsou i mstiví závistivci plivající kolem sebe jed, zlobu, zášť a léčící si své mindráky. Herectví bylo profi, ale postavy nepotřebovaly, aby ze sebe herci vymáčkli i duši. Zvuk a zpracování nad průměrem. Mingovi děkuji za jeho další cz titulky.
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