Reviews

Family of Strangers

The movie is set in a psychiatric ward with each of the character living with a complicated past, that goes without saying, for our main characters: Hide (Shofukutei Tsurube), Chu (Ayano Gou), and Yuki (Komatsu Nana).

I watched without any expectations having only seen the trailer before when it first came out. I just thought that given the whole atmosphere, the show was bound to be emotional and heartbreaking.

After watching the whole thing (in case you still haven't, it is available on HBO GO), the movie has A LOT of trigger warning (Murder, Sexual assault, and so on). I can't say whether I liked the film or not, but it's human touch in the film will draw you in just like most Japanese films or dramas. Rather than a sympathetic view, it is a film about moving forward and living ahead despite everything in the past, as Chu said: "Things happen to everyone."

The film does live up to its heartwarming English title of "Family of Strangers". Each of the characters were depicted as a nobody in their society and this very ward itself has become a "home" to them. They can continue to live and has found friendship among one another despite who they were; the very depiction of that is very heartwarming.

Overall, it is a movie that has a soul. I can say that Ayano Gou has provided us another outstanding performance as his character this time.

I do recommend to watch this but be warned of the trigger warning.

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A movie resonating through any diaspora

The movie portrays young people going to Korea to spend a few weeks to discover the culture from which their parents came from. The movie was great in chosing as much as possible actors who were of Korean origin, though born/raised outside of Korea, giving additional realism to a movie, which could have easily sunk into nonsense or as a copy of USA coming of age movies.
Some parts are phenomenal, e.g. having the real singer Kim WanSun from the 80's singing her song Tonight as a bar singer, or the incident at the DMZ.
Coming myself from the Italian diaspora, having married a Korean, and living in neither countries, this movie was special to me. 감사합니다/grazie

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I am a big fan of Godzilla movies, especially the older ones. Having said that this movie failed to keep my attention for most of it. There were a couple of places so utterly ridiculous that I did crack up laughing, but much of the movie dragged for me.

Once again, aliens are looking to take over the earth using monsters to help them defeat Godzilla and the puny humans. In this movie they summon King Ghidorah and Gigan, two formidable enemies. Their base is a children's theme park with a Godzilla tower supposedly to promote peace but like Nick Fury said in The Avengers, we know they mean the other thing. The humans working against them are an oddball bunch including a clutzy, inept manga artist, his black belt girlfriend, a weird hippie guy and a scientist and his sister.

The funniest and most surreal bit in the movie is when the good guys get hold of one of the alien computer tapes and play it. They can't figure out what it means but Godzilla and Angilas hear it on Monster Island. Using cartoon bubbles, Godzilla asks Angilas to go check it out and they have a short "conversation". It happens again later in the movie as well. Weird even for a Godzilla movie.

After KG and Gigan stomp through Tokyo, Big G and Angilas enter a tag team match with them. The movie intertwines clips from earlier movies and they don't always mesh very well. I'm all for the monster grappling matches but this had to be one of the longest ones in Godzilla history and honestly, was a little boring. Angilas was pretty useless as a partner and Godzilla spent most of his time on the ground and seemed to forget he had that destructive atomic breath. Godzilla's design and size also didn't seem formidable reflecting how ineffective he was for much of the movie.

Godzilla vs Gigan had it's entertaining moments, too bad they came few and far between.

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Good enough to watch

Based on the 2019 script by Matt Naylor, this Korean live-action version was a good adaptation. There were some scenes which were far too similar with another Western apocalyptic film released a few years ago (I can not recall the title) in this version that is not in the American version.

If you want to watch the American version based on the same 2019 script by Matt Naylor, look for the movie entitled "Alone" (2020).

* American version based on the same script: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(2020_horror_film)
* Korean version based on the same script: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_(2020_film)

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a typical action comedy that was still entertaining. their comedy sense at points reached a childish point, but a few scenes made me laugh alot, my favorite was that redvelvet shirt scene xD


I don't know if it was a pun and he was called yuri or he was indeed also a redvelvet fan that's why he wanted to even the field for a fair battle, xD

the overall background conflict was kinda boring tbh and the fight scenes were meh but it was nice to see KYK do both a comedic role and a somewhat serious one and I think this was the best balancewise from his works, and subin is the perfect actress for a spy genre and they gave her good amount of credit though it seems they'll always make the fl hostage while the ml comes back but still she pulled her own weight and fight scenes well

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SAVE MOTHER EARTH B4 ITS TOO LATE

The story is very typical scifi movie it reminds me of walle(disney pixar movie) and a little bit of star wars inspiration hehehehe. But they did great putting a refreshing asian style of scifi movie where the leads are all asians(korean obviously) and im proud of it. The plot gives me a roller coaster of emotions, puzzled by some plot holes though, and im happy with the ending though it reminds me of guardians of the galaxy if you know what i mean. The acting they did great Song Joongki is really a superb actor kudos to him i like him so much his so good in acting i love him. The FL is a badass as hell shes so hot and feisty i fcking love her too thank god shes a strong character. The BGM or sound effect its so perfect very high production on par with HOLLYWOOD (Bollywod yall should take notes hehehehe). Highly recommended to everyone who loves SCIFI MOVIES yes im a fan it. SOUTH KOREA YALL DID IT AGAIN !!!! Kudos to all staffs, actors , directors who all participated in the movie!!!!

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I had seen many movies and dramas where someone has a memory problem and to maintain their everyday routine they write driaries and use photograph. But this movie the FL uses audio tapes, quite amusing because its 21st century, you would rarely see someone using tapes.

Angelababy grows onto ones heart with her innocent looks and with a happy face despite having a medical condition. she condition lives under her mother supervision avoid dismay but wants to live a lively life.
Mark chao as gong nian elicits to the audience with amazing portrayal of guy who charms the leading lady. The way he surprises with the emotional twist.

The chemistry between the leads is amazing and music is pretty good and well blended. the Ballet performance was excellent and emotional.

Its not just the story of two lovers but also about a mother who is concerned for her daughters declining health. She makes sure she gets everything in the short duration of her life.
The ending is touching but leaves one stunned simultaneously.
i wont rewatch this as i dont really like melodrama. I enjoyed it FIRST TIME, but it wont be the same second time.

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not worth watching

as a bisexual woman, i was excited to finally get an asian wlw movie. it started promising for me until the end came... the amount of close ups annoyed me and the long scenes with no talking too... i played this movie on x1.5 cause i wanted it to be done. they made Rei look like she's not really a lesbian by having her have sex with men twice. it really felt like they were making this movie for straight men who get turned on by seeing girls fuck. oh wait that's cause it's directed by a straight man! maybe that's why it's so bad. i had really high expectations from this movie and it all disappointed me.

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this film does have dark themes , nsfw scenes and nudity

AMAZING, this movie absolutely exceeded my expectations ! if you are someone that is look for a well written story that is also a cinematographic masterpiece this is for you. the actors did a near perfect job of executing each role and the movie starts of well but the plot thickens more and more as time goes by. it is a movie that will definitely leave you dazed after youre done watching it.

i would give it extra points since it depicts a very fascinating story behind both the female leads that end up falling for each other. its also rare to find an lgbt+ movie that is a period movie and also has a happy ending. the characters are very well written and developed. kudos to the writers, directors, crew and the cast. this truly is a masterpiece

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What a trip

Where to even begin with this movie. On its premise this isn't all too unfamiliar of a story adding only the embellishment of a workplace setting. Its your typical female-led stalker/kidnapping thriller somewhere in the likes of a Blind or Door Lock only far inferior.
The plot essentially boils down to a woman who is trapped in her workplace by an obsessive admirer in the security guard. They almost try to play it very lightly as a bit of a mystery who the creep will be with a few red herring moments but its pretty apparent from the jump its him.
From there the typically crazy obsessed stalker holds me hostage thing plays out; we've been here before. What truly sends this one of the rails is when they decide to pull a Shyamalan and pull the wackiness twist out of nowhere. Essentially a character we thought was killed as actually just playing along for..........reasons.
They Shyamalan again at the end of the movie when for some reason it seems to get into a kind of PSA on hidden cameras being bad and internet deindividuation bad. In conclusion, it's not that good.

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This is definitely not a Rom-Com.

I'll start this by saying that Jeon Yeo Bin is definitely the reason I decided to watch this movie. I was going through withdrawals waiting for the next episode of "Vincenzo" to come out when Netflix's suggestion that I may like this finally got to me. Extremely violent crime/action films aren't usually my go-to genre but the trailer was intriguing. I was also excited to see Yeo Bin in a different role and this confirmed her status as a new favorite of mine for sure. She and the rest of the cast are amazing in this, they made this wild ride of a story super compelling and more than extreme stylized violence, and revenge clichés.

The most important point that needs to be made upfront, without spoilers, is that this is in no way a romcom or a romantic movie... at all. I say this only because the title and promotional photos seem to give off that impression. I think the purpose is to give the impression of dark things under the surface in a beautiful relaxing setting but this story is pretty brutal from beginning to end. Trigger Warning... literally... because I know Korea isn't known for epic gunfights but this has a lot, A WHOLE LOT, of gun violence in it. The violence is also not subtle, so be aware of this if you are squeamish at the sight of blood.

As a story, I think this is extremely well done. It centers around Uhm Tae Goo as Park Tae Goo (guess he was made for the role lol), a high-level gangster who gets caught in between a power grab with an opposing boss wanting him to change sides. As expected with a gang-themed story there is revenge, betrayal, and ruthless bad guys. What Tae Goo does so well is he brings such humanity and hurt to the character that I was immediately sucked into his struggle. Then he forms an odd connection with Jeon Yeo Bin as Jae Yun, and although I definitely did say this is not a romance, there is still a kind of chemistry between them that works so well. Jae Yun is such a great character, and I was shocked at how different and equally impressive Yeo Bin was as a completely different female lead. Once Jae Yun is introduced she shares the lead status and becomes just as intriguing as the main male lead, not just the girl sidekick (which I appreciate). In fact, she steals many scenes and stands strong among a predominantly male cast without having to play up being sexy, or super fragile.

The rest of the cast is filled with familiar faces in ways I haven't really seen before. Like Cha Seung Won, who although his charm is pretty much the same as it always is, there is an extra sinister edge to Director Ma. I liked the idea that none of the gangsters seemed like caricatures to me. Even characters with no real redeeming qualities had some depth. I also liked that there really are no true good guys in this story which gives this film license to reach such a disturbing climax... and yes, I did found the end disturbing, but I felt like it also ended perfectly.

Would I watch this again? Definitely. More than once. I already did. For me, the violent scenes can be hard to watch, but the dynamics between the characters and the performances make my rewatch score high. The story isn't very complicated either, or plot twist-ridden, but the pace of the story is so great, and so much of the suspense in this is waiting for the inevitable to finally happen. About halfway into the movie both leads make choices that seal their fate and the suspense is built on that. It's hard to speak about specific scenes without spoilers, but watching certain scenes again after knowing how the story ends, made me like this film even more.

Overall, the amount of violence may understandably keep some viewers away, but if you're open to a compelling story and can appreciate a movie that's dark without breaks for comedy (beyond a few random jokes) or romance, there is a lot to like about this movie. There are also a lot of great action sequences for those afraid that this movie is slow paced and moody all the way through. The movie is also beautifully shot in spite of the ugliness it portrays. I do think Jeon Yeo Bin is a true star in this role, and I can't wait for whatever she is in next, including the next episode of Vincenzo. This movie was a not so pleasant pleasant surprise. Thanks Netflix, you were actually right. :)

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Most Hilarious Korean Movie so far

I like this movie becoz its not your typical serious action movie with a lots of plot twist and turns it make you laugh all the time the comedy is very natural not cringey the actors have really perfect execution into ther acting. I love the plot itself its very refreshing from my perspective , im a fan of action too this movie suits my taste, ive never been so happy to watch this action-comedy movie all at once lmao, esp. I like the female lead here shes so hilarous and extraordinary yes i love her so much, i highly recommend this movie to all ages, and also for those who are really STRESSED in ther lives.

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A befitting realistic, bleak and bitter depiction of tragedy

This work is nothing spectacular if you only view it solely as a crime thriller that needs a larger-than-life hero, an overpowered antagonist and a mindblowing twist.
However, if expand your view to the human side of the characterizations it delves into, you'd definitely see the finality behind such opaque portraitures and the cathartic value of their expressions.

Story:
Primarily centered around the procedural and investigative process to indict a twisted criminal who committed heinous deeds that nobody knows about or wishes to discuss.
Secondarily, through the character dynamics and portrayal, this work was presented as a dramatic character study type of movie.

Character work:
We have an emotionnally disconnected, conniving, machiavellian serial killer, swimming in an ocean of lies and deceit, trying his hardest not to get caught.
At the same time, we have a dectective pursuing work that offers no wealth or social prominence, suffering humiliation after another, going through relentless efforts to get to the bottom of truth to offer the victims some peace and their loved ones closure.

Leading actors:
Ju Ji-hoon did a wonderful job portraying a disgusting, easily-angered sleazebag with an oversized ego, on one hand.
A nemesis character that still had enough torment, affliction and enough miserable inclination to bring up a thought like "what if he grew up around people who cared, would the outcome have been different for him and the victims?"
I couldn't shake that sense of pity, disgust and confusion.

On the other hand, Kim Yoon-seok, with his calm, judicious and wise disposition beautifully portrayed the Ethos and ideals one would seek in any dedicated, selfless, martyr-like figure, to cheer for, respect and look up to.

OST:
I'm not the type to pay attention to the musical score unless it is something memorable. The soundtracks playing from the prologue to the epilogue by "Mok Young Jin" were dark, atmospheric and exquisitely eerie comme il faut!


Overall: 8/10
Being based on a true story, this movie left me with a bit of hope and an aftertaste of bitterness.
I would definitely recommend!

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