Reviews

Totally Recommend

I watched this movie because I saw it in the ‘coming soon’ section in Netflix about a week prior to release. I fell in love with this movie...and Um Tae Goo (recommend watching Save Me 2!!) Even when things seemed to not go the way viewers wanted, the plot switched and made us have a satisfying ending........................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ..filling up the 500 character minimum limit ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

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Series also available

Kang In Soo and Lee Sang are really sweet together. Their characters are quite understated; there's no OTT melodrama or unnatural discomfort. Sang-yi's slightly shy and humble, yet supportive and positive personality sits so well against In-soo's deeper more confident one. They compliment each other well.
The 2 more intimate scenes were nicely done and the actors were believable. No wooden or uncomfortable posturing.
I liked the story, but did feel that some of the scenes in which feelings were being individually contemplated, against the fitting soundtrack, were a little lengthy. They could have been shortened and a bit more added to other parts of the story; possibly their relationship deepening, or a bigger hint of their musical success to come.
A very nice watch though.

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I loved it sooo much!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

OMG what's happening here?! omomo
This film really can catch everyone's attention, from the very beginning. The hungarian dubbed sounds also fit to a large extent and they are not disturbing at all. It was enjoyable in both languages, with both Korean and Hungarian dubbing. The plot threads are perfectly connected and they are also remarkable. The soundtracks are dramatized at once, but still creepily cool!
The casting of the actors was also a great success! Both the main and supporting actors too. AND THE END OF THE movie wassss touched but at the same time it was great and "artistic" as well. I loved the ending scene! I know that I would defenetely watch it again and again this movie in the future! I can recommend this movie for everyone!!

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Plenty of students but no sweet boy's to be found.

At first, we were made to believe that Nack would get together with Petch. He then turned out to be an asshole. Petch just wanted some fun, meaning he wanted to try it with a guy when he already had a girlfriend. Then when Nack rejected him, he became so bitter and went for Pong instead. Pong was just a bully. I didn't get why he was so obsessed with bothering Nack.

Then we finally had some positivity incoming. Toy. He seemed to like Nack and gave a lot of mixed messages. Well, they weren't even mixed. He seemed like he was into Nack first, actually. But alas, he disappointed me. To me, it seemed like he couldn't accept that he liked Nack, or more so that Nack was a guy.

Nack's mother was terrible. Religion should not be something you use to be a hateful person. She was just homophobic. No excuses were necessary. As if your child being gay would be the end of the world, but you know, it was for Nack's happiness that she split them apart. Right?

The ending was just so disappointing. They made it seem like Nack was happy in the end. In reality, he had probably just learned to live with his unhappiness. They kept preaching that "Time heals everything" and such, which isn't always the case.

There were too many shots of young boy's crotches for comfort. It was weird.

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A Rant.

It's a really enjoyable show overall, but there are some visible flaws that bothered me a lot and that's what I want to focus on in this review. I do recommend trying this movie out if you're not as picky as I am in terms of small details like natural character development and such.

THE COMEDY
The actors were amazing; they played their role flawlessly and nailed all the funny scenes. My biggest problem was the lack of support on those particular scenes with background music. So many times they lay out hilarious dialogues and facial expressions, but leave us with complete, awkward silence. Nothing to accompany the funny thing that just happened. We all know what kind of humor will ensue in this subgenre of body swap- obviously the ridiculous, unbelievable scenarios and awkward misunderstandings that can cause second-hand embarrassment to us viewers. They really missed out on amplifying the comedy by not adding ANY comedic music at all. The uncomfortable confrontations that were supposed to be funny became uncomfortable for me as well. It made me laugh but felt bad for it afterwards. It just left a lil bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I thought maybe they were trying out a different vibe with the lack of comedic musical cues, perhaps a more realistic and subtle approach to comedy like The Office. But... it's not the same. They had background music for the sad scenes, for the intense scenes, for the normal happening scenes, so why not be consistent and add it on the funny scenes too? It was subconsciously jarring and unpleasant.

THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
One of the biggest flaws I found in this show is the lack of portrayal in our main character's development. It posed an important lesson about greed and regrets, but failed to show us the reality of the people living these lives. The main character stumbled upon his first love and for some reason, he just... loves her again? At first we'd assume that they fell apart due to some unforseen circumstances in the past, perhaps some kind of star-crossed lover subgenre. But then they tell us "Nah man the guy broke up with her cuz he wanna marry a rich bich" that left us with our mouths wide open. Say what? You're telling me, the guy feels sorry for abandoning his ex girlfriend because...? Because what? He literally forgot she existed until he saw her again?? He obviously never looked for her or even cared if she was alive! How did he change into a good man??? How could he just give up everything he's ever done, all of his hard work in the company... just to live with his middle class ex girlfriend and biological daughter whom he never cared about in the first place. I'm just so confused. You can't convince me "oh he's changed cause he realizes he has a daughter" like, a GREEDY gangster like him who left his loved one and DISRESPECTED HER IN HER FACE, GETTING ENGAGED WHILE THEY WERE STILL TOGETHER, does not just change into an earnest, caring man in an instant! Stop capping! Man just thinking about it makes me mald.
Also, a lil chubby high school boy trained for like 2 weeks in the gym and all of a sudden he's a sexy, six pack black belt martial arts master who can smack two big-body bouncers and ten "skilled?" gangsters, on separate occasions. I know this is not supposed to be realistic, but that really caught me off guard and it was such a turn off, development-wise. They really do be pulling a shounen anime teenage soft boy training arc into the mix, huh.

Anyway this review became a little too aggressive and informal, sorry about that. I liked this movie, but I had to subtract some points because these factors really broke my immersion with the show, and it could've been better if only they gave it a little more thought rather than slapping a generic comedy trope that ends with a cheesy happy ending and waiting for the money to rain down. Not gonna lie I did enjoy the ending like a good spoonful of sugar, but I don't have a sweet tooth.

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The best chapter so far!

The third and (at least for now) last installment of the "Detective Chinatown" franchise is, as far as I'm concerned, by far the best. The script this time is spotless: the mystery part is at the same time extremely well done and really gripping; the comedy part is funny without being too silly like in the previous chapter; last but not least, the action scenes are very entertaining (just as I expected, the Tokyo setting helped a lot there). The cast did a marvelous job and also benefited from the presence of some very good actors from Japan (whereas the American supporting cast seen in the previous movie had been mostly sub par, imho). Last but certainly not least, the production value is as high as they come. Can't wait for the next chapter (if there'll be one as the final scenes might suggest)! Oh, talking about the ending - what a beautiful message! It's not often that I feel like giving a perfect 10 to an action movie, but this one deserves it! ^___^

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An Interesting Message on Society

The story takes place in China and it's about two people on a trip to assess gems who find themselves in a very remote place of China that is very cut off from modern civilization. People there live a very agrarian and secluded life and our two protagonists find themselves entranced by the serenity and beauty of the seclusion. Rather than about gems, the story is more about this village that the two protagonists stumble into when they got lost midway during their trip.

The characters and story are very interesting: the two characters lead different lives (one's a typical white-collar and the other's a mafia member). While both of them are attached to the peacefulness of being so far away from civilization, the degree of attachment is different between them. The white-collar appreciates the peace but he finds himself missing the company and the busyness of society. On the other hand, the mafia who has faced violence and blood his entire life would rather stay here secluded forever from society than go back to the gruesome life he used to live.

The film is refreshing, aesthetic, and at times humorous; however, near the end, the brightness and hopefulness become a bit pitiful and dark because of the mafia's desperation to stay and protect the place.

The ending to me was a bit confusing. I had to actually think over it a little bit before I understood why what happened happened. But overall, it was a really stunning film, both in terms of the scenery and the story delivered.

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This sequel to the beautifully made Come Drink With Me should have been called Silver Roc instead of Golden Swallow. The amazing Cheng Pei Pei, the star of CDWM, is relegated by director Chang Cheh to a supporting role in her own movie in favor of Jimmy Wang's Silver Roc.

The story sets up an unhealthy love triangle. The Roc is a ruthless killing machine cutting and slashing his way across the country taking out anyone affiliated with a gang or evil family. The problem comes in when he frames the Golden Swallow for the killings bringing down all sorts of trouble on her head. Fortunately for her, Lo Lieh shows up as the Golden Whip saving her after she's been poisoned and protects her while she heals. The two of them fight side-by-side together and become friends though The Whip is falling in love with her. Meanwhile the Roc spends all of his non-killing time at the brothel.

Why did the Roc set her up repeatedly? He and the Swallow had known each other at their martial arts school years ago and he would occasionally speak to her even though he was a jerk to everyone else. Now he's trying to force her to come to him with the bad guys hunting her down relentlessly even though he's known where she is all along. I don't begin to know how to reconcile her having feelings for a man who kills mercilessly and puts her life repeatedly at risk out of "love". These aren't spoilers, it's literally the plot for the whole movie. It's that basic.

Wang is seen several times riding a horse and he rides like he wields a sword-sloppily and as if he'd never done it before. Normally, Lau Kar Leung is my favorite fight choreographer, but he missed severely with this movie, maybe it was Tang Chia's influence. Wang's ultimate swordsman abilities are akin to spray and pray with everyone falling down. In CDWM Pei Pei's moves were artistic, here they are rudimentary and she keeps having to throw her hands up like a cheerleader. Lo Lieh manages to look smooth and powerful which only accented Wang's frenetic movements. It didn't help that Wang's acting was stiff as a board in this movie.

What I did like were Pei Pei's and Lieh's performances. They came across more naturally bringing some depth and nuance to scenes that bordered on the ludicrous. Wu Ma played a good guy for a change and he was able to show what he can do with a few lines and scenes.

I know I'm coming across as harsh, but watching Come Drink With Me and Golden Swallow back-to-back was a mistake because the difference in quality and style was glaring. Chang Pei Pei commanded the screen in CDWM, in Golden Swallow she was stuck playing the vacillating female over someone who kills and threatens to get her attention. Wang's character took up most of the story which is a shame because he was the least interesting thing about the whole movie. I would have scored GS lower, but gave it a bonus point bump for Cheng Pei Pei's and Lo Lieh's diligent work to save this story.

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A homophobe turned gay?

This was so silly, but I didn't hate it or anything. Although I wanted Remington and Jigs to be together, it didn't make sense for him to stay cursed. I mean, he was originally straight, and forcing him to be gay through a curse is fucked up, even if it was karma at its best. I don't know how to feel about the representation of gays. They didn't negatively portray gays, but I thought it was stereotypical. Almost all the gay characters were feminine and very loud about it. Not all gay people are flamboyant, sassy, and humorous. I guess the ending was cute. The little boy's words were sweet, and he acted respectfully compared to the way Remington acted. It was obviously purposefully done. Anyway, this was not a cute BL. It wasn't even really BL. Yes, there were gay characters, and Remington and Jigs did have a little moment, but ultimately Remington wasn't gay, when not cursed, you know. Also, I liked the villain's fate a lot. It was very ironic. Remington's dad's sacrifice was quite interesting, and once again, ironic.

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Great mystery part, a bit lacking action-wise and in the comedy

A bit weaker than the first movie, this "Detective Chinatown 2" is imho extremely good in the mystery part, where it manages to be interesting and quite gripping, while it lacks a little action-wise, particularly if compared to the previous movie (I suppose that setting it in New York City didn't help with that - I hope the Tokyo setting will provide better action opportunities in the third chapter!). The comedy is also definitely not as effective as it was in the original movie: Tang Ren's character is often way over the top and sometimes even borderline annoying; also the supporting characters left me with mixed feelings, a few of them are a nice touch (like the cute hacker), but most of the others are little more than extras and don't add much at all.

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Best acting in Japanese media but that's the only good thing about this movie

As I said, the acting is masterful. Easly the best of all Japanese dramas and movies I've seen. Maybe even one of top 10 of all media I've ever seen. The cast did amazing job, I didn't feel like they acted at all. It also wasn't anime-like or cartoonish at all which is unusal for Japanese media (that I've seen at least).

The soundtrack was also nice, though there weren't a lot of music. Most of the time the background sound was silence. However, these are the only good things I can say about this movie. There will be spoilers.

The first thing I hated was Rei's "lesbianism". Sorry but no. I am a lesbian and it was very hard to watch. She was supposed to be out of closet but she had a voluntary sex with men. What lesbian does that? Was it suppoed to show her awful mental state? Was she trying to punish herself? It's just a very weird decision for me. Moreover, I feel like it only invalidated her sexual orientation. I can't believe she's lesbian because her actions towards men don't make sense to me. Also, it made me feel sick and disgusted. I wish they discarded all the sex scenes but especially those with Rei and men. Or at least didn't claim she's a lesbian.

The relationship between Rei and Nanae is toxic af. They are toxic people and they get worse when they're together. It made impossible for me to root for them. They were portrayed as bad people, not just lost or misunderstood, but I guess it's understandable as the movie starts with a murder. (Also I love how Rei made a disclaimer she's not a simp: "I did not murder a man to have sex with the woman I love". Beautiful.) Another point is I don't believe the love Rei had for Nanae. I don't believe it held for more than 10 years and was strong enough to make her kill for Nanae. I see it as just a cheap way to move plot forward. The actresses did what they could but it's just a big plothole for me.

As for the technical side of the movie. What the hell if wrong with the camera work? It was shaking so much, is the cameraman alright? It did get better further in the movie but it never really went away. It made me quesy watching it as if I had a motion sickness. The shots were also weird, sometimes too close, sometimes too far to the side so half of the screen if filled with irrevelant stuff and you can't see the important stuff happening.

I could write more points but I don't want to spoil it too much. Also, this is long enough. I wouldn't recommend this movie but if you want to risk it then expect a lot of nudity and sex scenes, crying and not much of logic.

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Beauty and the beast

Alone and helpless, Ali spends her days by the sea accompanied by Hai Daiyu (Han Dong), a fish that can transform into a man. As time passes, the two fall in love. However, Ali imprisons Yan after she becomes pregnant while Hai Daiyu's whereabouts remain unknown. Soon enough, Ali discovers that the conspiracy behind the marriage to the sea god.

I found this movie to be very similar to beauty and the beast the English version, although enjoyable and funny with the whole plot of deceiving and falling in love to protective and fighting your way through the mess.

It was a good watch when you in that switch off kinda mood.

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Just... WTF people??? [SPOILER]

This movie is sooooooo messed up!
First of all, what's the point of becoming "beautiful" on the outside if you become so ugly on the inside and treat your best and only friend and your father in an old age like that!??
Not even talking abt decieving everyone including the guy she loves and then acting like she is the victim...
And let's be honest. The only reason why she admited everything is bc she was losing everything:friends,family,love,career+scandal. If everything was going well, this probably would have went on for years...

Second, just WTF! Nice message for all the people who are overweight.????Society already make them believe that they're ugly and this movie just had to add another *thick* layer.

The only things I liked were that it's from 2006 and about the music industry so you could actually see the influence of Black music. And that the actors are good.

I seriously wasn't expecting smth like that. And it's a real disappointment. Especially bc a lot of my friend told me abt it saying it's a famous movie that had adaptations in many countries and that they highly recommend it.....

Basically the message of this movie is: "If you're fat and ugly, go do surgery. Your life will become beautiful."
No wonder the plastic surgery industry is doing so well in Korea with people who grow up with this movie...

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Excellent Movie with unexpected ending

Second life a terrifying movie with a psychological element.

Story
Sun hee has parents who doesn’t give her attention, she crave for it. At school she doesn’t have friends but she creates and opportunity to make friends by buying them concert tickets. Later she buys them snacks and to gain more attention she ends up telling lies that she got a boyfriend. Her friends immediately figure out and that she might be telling lie which she overhears. She then frames her friend as Jung Mi as a ring thief to get revenge. The teacher search everyone and as for Jung Mi she has a secret which gets reveled. Jung Mi takes her life infront of Sun Hee. Sun hee runs away to country side and starts a new life in an orphanage as Kim Seul Ki. But her past secret is short lived as the saying goes “there no secret hidden forever”

Plot View
The story is solid and brutal not say as its based on a teenager. Its not their fault for being shy, its that they didn’t get parental education and lack confidence. People would say that many are born orphans but they are not like Sun Hee, yes not everyone is like her but some can be its like a psychological disease.
The ending is shocking and inconclusive. But TBH its beyond my expectations, I kept on doing my probability that this could happen or that could happen but what happens is shocking.
No matter how many new life Sun Hee begins and how many names she purloin, she will always be Su Hee and its futile. The first step would be to accept yourself for who you are but it's something a very few people achieve.

Acting
The acting was superb by all the teenage girls. It was like am seeing juniors from my own school. I loved the portrayal of character and the expressions of every actor was beautiful.

music
I was so invested in the story that I actually didnt get it. BGM were good.

Rewatch
Its a heavy movie for me. I love light hearted ones as rewatch.

Appreciation
The scenes were cinematic and beautiful.
As its short with just 1hour time its a great watch.
There no extra scenes or chitter chatter every scene makes the story moving forward.

Fav line
I can see myself even if I take another person with the camera - Lee Bang Wul

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