Reviews

Adorable Watch

I was anticipating the release of this movie because I’m a huge fan of the manga. Lovesick Ellie tells a hilariously adorable story of high school love and self-discovery. Going into the movie, I knew that many parts of the manga would be cut or changed since it would be impossible to fit it all into a movie adaption. However, I was so happy seeing some of my favorite scenes portrayed in the live-action. There were several changes made in the movie that I felt were unnecessary or kinda felt unnatural to the characters in the manga, so just a warning if you’re watching it expecting it to be a direct adaption of the manga it isn’t quite that. I still really enjoyed the storyline of the movie, and I think the pacing of it was good as it stayed mostly loyal to the manga.
My favorite part of the movie was definitely the casting. I think they really nailed the casting for Ellie and Oumi. Both actors did such a good job in the acting, and I think they were really cute together! I saw some people complaining about the overacting from Ellie, but dramatic and embarrassing reactions is literally Ellie to her core. I wish we got to see more of the side characters, but they did a good job in their limited time. Overall, this was a fun and entertaining watch. It wasn’t as funny as the manga, but if you’re looking for something cute and entertaining I would highly recommend!

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Lives up to the hype

I don't know how I managed it, but I went into this with no spoilers other than knowing that everyone I know cried when they watched this. I kept thinking to myself "Oh, is this supposed to e the sad part? This doesn't seem so bad."

First I thought it was the mixup thing. Then I thought it was when the two girls fought. Then I thought it was the train station farewell. Then I thought it was when the emails stopped. Then I thought it was the exhibition. Then I thought it was the brother explaining everything. With each moment, I kept thinking that's the moment my friends had to have been talking about, and I couldn't understand why they were so upset.

Then she put that damn VHS in the VCR. Even when it started, I immediately went "Ahhh it's gotta be this!" and was still confused because I wasn't getting the sadness or tears that I was promised.

And then that last minute hit. Literally just the last minute of this 2 hour long movie. That's all it took to break my heart and leave me in sobbing shambles.

Kudos to the team that created this move and their choices with the pacing, because I have never been caught so off guard while knowing I was in for a sad ending before.

And kudos to this cast for getting me so invested in the storyline in such a limited about of time. I've watched full 20+ episode dramas that haven't had me nearly as attached to characters as this movie did. Wow.

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I watched this for a joke…

Lolita: Vibrator Torture has been the subject of a long running joke between myself and a friend, we’d constantly be recommending it to each other or saying that we’re watching it, it’s a film I didn’t think I’d ever really bring myself to watch. And yet, here I am, having watched it. Doesn’t mean the joke will end though. With a title like Lolita: Vibrator Torture, the film gives off the impressive of exploitation nastiness, yet oddly this pink film is one you can’t look away from. There’s a sledgehammer styling to Hisayasu Satô's direction, the guerilla style camerawork and almost drone-like soundscape only amplifying the effects. Yes, the fetishisitc sex acts are the main selling point of these types of films but here the film is more concerned with diving into the psychological wallows experienced by its characters, it takes the pinku genre as a whole and dilutes it down. There’s a genuinely disturbing piece of extreme cinema buried within the overbearing sexual violence, it's not one recommended for the faint of heart. Stripped down to its core, Lolita: Vibrator Torture will challenge you, one that's meant to be difficult to watch and succeeding in doing so.

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a fair watch to pass an evening

i didn’t go in expecting anything revolutionary and it’s good i didn’t. it was a fair watch. the horror parts were done well, costume-wise but theres one cgi bit that looked a bit off due to sizing issues. there are one or two jumpscares which didn’t make me jump lol.

personally i like this type of nonlinear, flashback storytelling so its always a plus for me but i know it can be confusing for some so beware to pay attention.

the storyline was interesting enough to keep me watching. acting was alright, nothing out of this world.

i would recommend it if you’re looking for a movie to take your mind off something since it requires a bit of concentration to follow the story.

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Revolver missed the target

The movie left me wanting more. There are things that I like and also don’t but overall it was an “okay-ish” movie in my opinion. Words is not needed for Jeon Doyeon and Lim Jiyeon, you just know they will slay. Madam Jeong is definitely a scene stealer. Lee Jung Jae and Jeon Hye Jin cameos is impactful, they brought mystery to the story. Their cameos could lead to more depth potential about the buildup but sadly it went stagnant. What I hope they can actually change is the villain’s “script”. Andy literally just kept cursing soooo. He also felt like a weak villain that I could crush anytime so i’m not scared at all. He redeemed himself towards the end so it was back to good. Still, I finished this movie, just don’t know if I will watch it again sometimes soon. I applaud Sooyoung for going after what she wants without stopping. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea. 7.5/10

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Sometimes silence speaks better than words

I have been waiting for this movie since the beginning of this year. Lovely story of two disabled people finding way to each other's hearts. Yamada Ryosuke once again nailed it; he didn't speak a word, but his facial expressions said it all. People in the comments were disappointed with the lack of communication from Aoi's side, but as a silent film enthusiast, his actions spoke more than words for me.

Overall, it wasn't perfect, but a nice watch when you're bored and want to watch something emotional, but it left many questions unanswered, which feels like something is missing. But if you want to watch this, please only go through the tags, not the synopsis, as it ruins the storyline.

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A beautiful and Inspiring story

When I stumbled upon the trailer of this new movie on Netflix ,I absolutely expected a sad movie where one of them ends up dying or worse both ends up dying.

But never have I been so happy to be wrong .This movie is abt 2 amazing people with such vibrant and infectious personalities. The actors have done such an incredible job breathing life into these characters .

Their story is inspiring .Both the main charcters have been dealt a bad card in life .While one of them is ready to give everything to fight this disease ,one of them have already given up.
How they both deal with their disease and their love for each other is the premise of the story .

Truly one of the best movies I've seen this year

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A Beautiful Look at Desperation

I have to be honest- I've been looking forward to seeing this since it was announced, and I was so fortunate to be able to attend TIFF and go to the first public screening! Boss Kuno and One Pongsittisak were also in attendance, and did a little Q&A after the film which gave us a little insight into the filmmaking process and character motivations. They also had some freebies for some of the audience, and Boss stayed to talk to the fans after which was incredibly kind of him!

With that out of the way, let's get to the review!

If I had to sum describe The Paradise of Thorns in one word, I'd use the word "desperate." There is no such thing as good vs. bad with this movie; all the main characters are layered and complicated, and they all do objectively bad things to achieve their goals. The film focuses on Thongkam, the co-owner of a durian orchard with his husband Sek, who is left with nothing after Sek passes away since the government won't recognize their marriage due to the law. Because of this, the land passes to Sek's mother Saeng, who moves in with her adopted daughter Mo as they try and claim Thongkam's farm for their own. Thongkam doesn't take this lying down, and he plots to do whatever he has to in order to reclaim the farm and evict Saeng and Mo.

Based solely on the trailer, I would have called Mo the clear antagonist- she lies, cheats, and does whatever she has to in order to ensure the farm stays with her and her mother. But Mo's character is so much more than that: she's desperate to be accepted by her mother who only sees her as a caretaker, and she's frustrated that life has given her this hand. Because of her life (and largely due to Engfa's fantastic acting), I spent a lot of the movie thinking that she was definitely *an* antagonist, but almost all of her actions are understandable because of her past, which makes her a polarizing character: you don't like her because of her choices, but you can empathize with the situation she is in and understand to an extent why she is the way she is.

Thongkam is also a complicated character, largely because of the number of twists and turns this movie throws at him in terms of the relationships he's had and where he stands in them. He starts the movie with a simple life: he loves Sek, and they own a durian orchard. However, over the course of the movie we find out there's so much more happening than that, and it's easy to feel for this man who's had his entire life turned on its head. Of course he'd do anything to get back his durian farm- it's the only thing he has left of the man he loves, and it belongs to him as much as it belonged to Sek.

Saeng, in my mind, represented the older generation and the mentality often shared between them. Children are born to take care of their parents, end of story. One of the things I liked most about this movie was how different people interpreted Saeng's character- I have a Canadian background, and I firmly disagree with that concept, making me see Saeng as an objectively bad person. She's rude and demanding to Mo, and never thanks her for anything. But the person I watched this with is from South Asia, and they said they could think of multiple people in their life who fit Saeng's personality, so they could understand Mo's character better and the resentment she must be feeling. Not that I think Saeng is evil or anything- she was raised with certain beliefs and expects others to follow them. It creates a good conflict for the movie to explore: old vs. new.

From a visual perspective, this movie was STUNNING. I'm not by any means going to call myself a film buff, but even I could see how beautiful and rich the colours in the movie were: the dark green and brown of the orchard complemented the bright colours of the characters really well. There were a few shots in the movie which I thought were incredible from a symbolic perspective, really showing the dichotomy between Kam's character and the relationship with Saeng and Mo.

THIS PARAGRAPH HAS SPOILERS! My favourite scene from the movie was the wedding scene near the end of the film, with Mo getting married at the same time as Thongkam and Jingna. Hearing the "official" wedding steps in the background as Kam and Jingna did the same using a durian gave me goosebumps- it was such a clever way to juxtapose how Mo could legally get married while Kam and Jingna don't have that ability. The word "mockery" makes it sound very negative, but it's all I could think of while I watched that scene (and while that scene was my favourite it was also the one that made me the most upset with regards to LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand/other Asian countries). Mo gets to have the fancy wedding with guests and money, while Kam and Jingna are forced to perform a bastardization of the ceremony since they wouldn't be legally recognized as spouses.

The music in this movie was also very well done, albeit minimal- there's not a lot of "songs", but every now and then there are some violin notes/chords which emphasize character's thoughts and turning points in the movie. It honestly felt uncomfortable at times, but I think this was the best decision that could have been made, because this movie is not supposed to make you feel comfortable. The only actual song I can recall is Jeff's song Rain Wedding during the end credits.

My only problem (and I use that word only because I can't think of a different one) with this movie would be the build up to its ending. The movie did feel like it was building to a final confrontation, but I was not expecting it to go the way it did. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's a different ending that would have made sense, but the way the characters got there was a bit difficult for me to process in the moment (I'll talk about the ending with spoilers in the next paragraph for those who don't mind them).

ENDING SPOILERS! The last 15ish minutes of the movie are a lot more graphic than I had anticipated, so content warnings for lots of violence and blood and knives and such. My biggest grievance with the ending was Kam trying to sexually assault Mo because he was so desperate to get the farm back under his name. I know he was going to do it solely out of desperation, but it came out of nowhere and didn't sit great with me. Immediately after that, Mo's new husband tries to murder Kam (fine), only to be almost murdered by Jingna (made a lot of sense), and then Mo's new husband DOES murder Jingna, before robbing her and running away. I thought Jingna's death worked well in regards to symbolism- Kam is now exactly where he started, with a dead husband and no claim to the durian orchard. The same goes for Mo- they've ruined all the durians and her husband has fled with their money, so she's also essentially back to square one.

I had honestly expected the ending to just be Mo vs. Kam, so the other characters came as an absolute shock to me. But I understand why the film had to end that way, I just wish it... didn't? If that makes any sense.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this movie from both a plot perspective and a visual one. It was an absolute roller coaster of emotions, and is absolutely worth rewatching because of all the details you'll pick up on the second time around. Like Boss said in the Q&A, the thorns talked about in the title don't only refer to the thorns on the durian- it also refers to the thorns of emotion you'll feel while watching these characters' lives unfold.

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"Being new is all about not getting old"

The Munekata Sisters is an Ozu Yasujiro film based on a novel serialized in a newspaper which gave it a slightly different flavor than the typical Ozu film. There was still his usual battle between a traditional lifestyle and the encroaching modernized world. This time the conflict between old and new took place between two sisters.

Energetic Mariko lives with her older sister Setsuko and drunken, sullen, unemployed brother-in-law Mimura. After reading Setsuko’s diary she realizes that her sis is not only in a loveless marriage but lost out on her true love 15 years ago. True love Hiroshi is back in town and Mariko begins spending time with him. While Mariko wants Hiroshi and Setsuko to reunite, her very traditional sister would never consider such a thing.

Tanaka Kinuyo played the mature, well-spoken, dutiful wife in a kimono. Despite the fact that her husband barely gave her the respect the lowliest servant would receive she kept her cool and served him politely. Takamine Hideko turned on her 100-watt smile and injected Mariko with boundless effervescence. Mariko wore high heels, nail polish, and western style clothing and hated old-fashioned things while Setsuko loved visiting gardens and temples. Uehara Ken’s Hiroshi was harder to pin down. He was amiable but not terribly decisive and tended to go with the flow. Dependable Ozu regular, Ryu Chishu played the father but was only in a couple of scenes. The father’s most important advice was for his daughters to be true to themselves whatever that might be. Ozu never was concerned with actor’s ages, Ryu was only 5 years older than his “daughter”, Tanaka. With 15 years between them Tanaka’s relationship with Takamine felt more motherly than sisterly. I kept hoping one of Ozu’s trains would run over Yamamura So’s Mimura. “A wife’s the epitome of stupidity…just a convenient tool. Like a doorbell...The problem is drinking and doing nothing is hard to give up.” I cheered when fearless Mariko stood up for her long-suffering sister. The old ways were simply too deeply ingrained in Setsuko which could be incredibly frustrating for a modern viewer.

The Munekata Sisters stretched Ozu a little out of his comfort zone with more overtly emotional scenes. The comedy worked for the most part with the exception of Mariko’s overused kodan style of storytelling. Still in play were Ozu’s meditative scenes of architecture and a father quietly appreciating a nightingale’s song. Ozu tried to show that both the old and new had value and that fads that changed within a short time were not as important. As Mariko said about she and her sister, “We grew up in two different worlds.” With the ending Ozu provided I’m not sure he made the case for outdated things still being relevant, though the impacted character was true to herself.

9 September 2024

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mudou minha vida

todo filme de ação eu sempre vou com um pé atrás pois mesmo sabendo que existe uma grande chance de eu me divertir assistindo no final costuma ser só mais um filme de ação. estou totalmente impactado com esse daqui, todo esse contexto pós guerra e as consequências dela são tão humanamente bem retratado e comovente. agora sobre a ação, de cair o queixo total, os efeitos são incríveis e as cenas de guerra/destruição são extremamentes bem construídas. fiquei muito feliz com o final e foi uma felicidade muito merecida, espero que nunca tenha uma continuação pra não arruinar minha cabeça

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A heartwarming film about love

Even though it is Shunji Iwai's simplest film, it does not lose all its symbolism behind a beautiful film. We meet Uzuki, played by Takako Matsu, where she moves from her city to another because of college. Uzuki goes through difficult times, as she is alone all the time, faces difficulties at school and spends almost the entire film alone. Like all Shunji Iwai films, it is extremely beautiful and comforting to watch. Obviously, it is a very simple film, different from his other films.

But, I think he just wanted to make something comforting to watch, for me it needs more time for much more development. But, 67 minutes is already good enough, it is very comfortable to watch, especially if you are with someone else. We see the journey of a person facing the problems of adult life alone, until at a certain point she manages to make friends and in the end finds her love. In the rain, with a red umbrella.

"When I entered university, my school teacher said it was a miracle. But if this was a miracle... want to call it a miracle of love."

Direction and soundtrack, as always, are very beautiful and gorgeous, made by Shunji Iwai himself, he is such a genius, there's no way.

This film is meant to make you feel warm, to be happy with the character. Even though she doesn't have any major conflicts in her life, you feel happy to follow her journey.

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The love that is lost because of obsession

"Undo", an average film by Shunji Iwai. Things that won't change in his films are the great soundtrack and photography, I think 47 minutes was a reasonable amount of time to have in a story, it's crazy and fast.

The performances are simple, but very convincing. I think the person who stands out the most is Tomoko Yamaguchi (Moemi), she manages to convey the feeling of a person who is going through an obsessive syndrome.

The knots are very important to this film, being the main reason for the plot due to Moemi's obsession, they are also important to describe the love that will be lost with the couple, until Yukio, played by Etushi Toyokawa, will want to restore this love. Until in the end, he will be trapped in knots, without his Moemi. As Moemi had said to Yukio before:

"I'm really stuck"

Until he himself ends up being tied up by the knots, the obsession cannot be undone, no matter how hard you try.

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