Reviews

Destined adventure with friendship, brotherhood, sacrifice

Foxes use elixirs found on humans for immortality. A white elixir exists one in a thousand years and chosen fox students will go through an exam to find it.
Hundreds of centuries ago, a cute and playful fox spirit was saved by a boy collecting herbs in a mountain and they were fated to meet again. The boy who died centuries ago is reborn as a scholar from Tushan who has his own mission and on his way to participate in an examination. The fox spirit went to the human world to look for the claman who has the elixir thought to be the rarest. He was assigned a protector because their chief knew he will cause a lot of trouble.
The unexpected friendship and brotherhood between them was put to test and they were running towards a doomed ending.
Who will sacrifice for who? Whose soul will be snatched? What will be more important?
Surprised by the ending to know a danger was well disguised, this black nine-tailed fox was greedy for immortality. He became the soul snatcher you didn't expect that deserved to be punished by lightning.
The story is short but I enjoyed the brotherhood, the funny and silly moments, the innocent scholar running for his life but came back trying to save his mischievous fox spirit friend not knowing it was part of his tricks, the short fight scenes, their costumes, and short romance,
I was distracted with the different healing method using blood of the different kinds of monsters stored in the paintings because it didn't look good for those monsters but this is fantasy and fiction,
The scholar and the fox spirit balance each other and I love their story. Li Xian is very cute and funny as the mischievous fox spirit and he bonds well with Chen Li Nong the naive but kind hearted scholar. They both have beautiful souls.
The fox spirit's nine-tailed fox transformation reminded me of Kurama but with some six packs, the cgi for both foxes and their fight scene is amazing,
Watch it and have fun,

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Excited young people on the warpath.

At the turn of the century, a new game was started by the Japanese government called Battle Royale. The game involved a class being selected each year to go to a deserted island and fight to survive. The game was for the class to kill each other until only one was left.

3 years have passed since Class 9B played Battle Royale and Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) has gone and become a terrorist. Shuya wants revenge on the adults and decides to start a war against the elders and the government of Japan. He has gathered friends who also played and survived Battle Royale. They blow up 2 skyscrapers (similar to the tragedy of September 11, 2001) and hide on an island off Japan. The Japanese government does not like the deed and decides to start a new game, Battle Royale 2. The game is about a class of 40 young people having 73 hours to find and kill Shuya Nanahara or the metal bands around their necks will explode.

When you look at Battle Royale 2, you see a lot of similarities to the first movie. It makes me a little disappointed because it would be a little more fun if they could vary. But that's also the only negative thing about the film. The rest of the film is like the first, very good. Great feeling and very good acting performance. Kinji Fukasaku (director) just finished filming Battle Royale 2 before he died of cancer. His son Kenta Fukasaku then took over the rest of the work to complete the film. In my own opinion, I consider Battle Royale 2 to be an outstanding movie. Maybe not as good as the first one, but not far behind. The film has the same violent elements as the first, but Kinji has managed a better plot in Battle Royale 2 than in the first and that means a lot to the film.

Something that really needs to be mentioned is the music. The music in Battle Royale 2 is wonderful. You get a feeling of sadness and anger when the different songs are played during the film. But there is also powerful music in some scenes. Such as when a group of trained soldiers appear on the island to try to kill Shuya. Firefights erupt and beautiful dramatic music pours out of the speakers. That makes me really shudder. Those of you who liked Battle Royale will like the second one. Usually when you think that a sequel is coming, you immediately get a negative attitude towards the film.

A funny scene in this movie is when Shuya and the rebels send out a speech to the world declaring war on all adults and minutes later a missile hits the island and damages some buildings. In the next scene, you find out that it is a large country in the West (the World Police) that did not like the speech and decided to do what they did best, bomb.

I recommend the movie to anyone who enjoyed the first one.

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Let the games begin!

What would you do if you were suddenly pitted against your closest friends in a fight to the death? Director Kinji Fukasaku's film adaptation of writer Koushun Takami's short story Batoru Rowaiaru is a hearty, dramatic, exciting and very well-made story that manages to touch on all levels.

The year is 2000. We are in a fictional future Japan where the entire nation has recently collapsed. Huge unemployment and juvenile delinquency prevail in the country. Adults have lost confidence and fear the younger generation more and more, which leads to a new reform action being put into use by the government to overcome the problems - Battle Royale.

Battle Royale involves a middle school class being selected through a very careful lottery, kidnapped and then sent to an isolated island where they are forced to fight each other for 3 days until only 1 survivor remains.

It is with a very raw and merciless violence that the director Kinji Fukasaku depicts the central plot of Battle Royale. We follow class 9B, a group of young school students who have become like a family to each other and who are suddenly pitted against their best friends in a brutal fight to the death.

As a viewer, you quickly grow fond of many of the characters, which gives you the feeling that you are almost in their midst. The moment when the game on the island is set in motion, when each student is given a randomly selected weapon and sent out to take on each other, was in my opinion one of the strongest and most uncomfortable scenes of the film. We get to see how some react with panic and do everything to survive while others stick together and do everything they can to stop it all.

We mainly follow 3 main characters during the course of the film, primarily the students Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nagakawa. Shuya has a difficult past that left a strong impression on him. By his side he has Noriko, a girl who has been very fond of him for a long time.

These 2 are also joined by Shougo Kawada, who participated in the game once before. He is portrayed as a somewhat erratic person. We never really know where we have him and what his intentions are. This uncertainty contributes to a very exciting and intense atmosphere between the 3 who stick together during the time they are on the island where the brutal game takes place.

The film's antagonist Kitano is played by a brilliant Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine and Outrage). The interesting thing about this character is that we get to see him in different contexts, whereby his personality changes between the situations. Kitano is initially the teacher of Class 9B under the chaotic conditions of collapsed Japan.

He is portrayed during this stage as a very inferior and fearful person who has completely given up hope for the youth he teaches. Here we get an equally clear and frightening picture of how the situation in the country has affected the adults and how the young people have now taken the law into their own hands.

When he then leads the Battle Royale where his former students participate as players, it is he who once again holds the stick, but in this context there is no trace of the submissive and fearful teacher - Here instead a completely emotional, sadistic and mentally unstable person appears, who seems capable of any number of horrors.

At the same time, during the course of the story, we learn more about Kitano's personal background and the root of his madness and callousness. Beneath the character's frightening exterior, there are nevertheless glimpses of goodness, which almost forces the viewer to feel a certain sympathy for him. Therefore, the audience is kept in a tense uncertainty about what kind of person Kitano really is.

While Battle Royale is a very exciting movie experience, it is also a very dramatic and scary story with a lot of moral undertones. Both the fantastic character direction and the, in several cases, extraordinary performances contribute to this. Fukasaku has managed to portray the plot of Koushun Takami's novel of the same title in a realistic yet frightening way and delivers a cinematic experience that you simply cannot miss.

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Hollywood movie adaptation with better ending

If the summary & title don't give u clue, I tell you once more... This is the remake of the American film “Bride Wars” [2009]

Story not so much different. But with a little twist in the end & also through out their wedding preparation journey.
He Jing and Ma Li is best friend for 20 years. Pressure by their family, they decided to propose to their long time boyfriend, instead just waiting around for them to do the proposal. But their friendship of many years is put to the test when they both end up scheduling their wedding on the same day. They refuse to adjust and make plans to sabotage each other's weddings.

And that pretty much what the same with the original Hollywood movie. Now what I like & don't.

What I like:
+ The ending of this movie. From the journey of their wedding preparation, I already can guess what will the end of both movies, Hollywood & China. That's why I'm quite confuse of how different it is from the original version. If you want to know just watch it urself or u can DM me. That's why I really like the ending of this movie...

What I don't like:
- Although it's quite different between both movies, Hollywood & China. But I find the journey of this one, quite boring. That's why I can only give this 7,5 the tops.

Overall I quite like the twist this movie gives us...

Below I'll write who as Emma (Anne Hathaway) & Olivia (Kate Hudson). But that also means SPOILER ALERT!!! So read it at your own risk!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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For you who want to know, He Jing is Emma (Anne Hathaway) & Ma Li is Olivia (Kate Hudson)

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It feels like I can hear only YOUR voice..

Watching the movie after I've already watched the series made me see sides of the story I didn't think I could discover and gain more respect for Kohei and Taichi as characters.

The movie in itself was a beautiful story and represented the experiences and struggles of those with hearing disabilities while having an incredible bond between the leads develop steadily.
When you look at it as a parallel to the series, you can fill in some gaps that I think would have been left up to interpretation in the movie and have more dialogue for certain scenes in the series that I thought could have been explained better or rather, clearly.

This was a great watch, for the story, the emotions, the thoughts it provoked and simply for Kohei and Taichi ♡

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revenge fantasy

I thought this was like a cringe and silly romcom, then I saw a clip of the last fight on insta and i was like ooh this isn’t a cheesy romcom

But as I watched this I realized this was about school bullying, and sadly no rom

I’m so sorry but Jun is so hot, I mean he’s psychoness is scary but idk if it’s cuz I know his uwu side, or if I have a crazy side but he’s so hot when he’s mad

And fl is xingback approved

The other teacher screaming don’t take off the mask made me laugh so much I think that was another reason beside the fl fighting that made me wanna watch this but I forgot it

Then SHS hitting Jun and him face slamming the principal was hilarious
And her high kicks were so satisfying
Poor bullied ml when he had his meltdown, it BROKE me


I’m kinda disappointed Jun and HSH didn’t have a love line, I’d love to see them in a drama together


I personally think this lvl of bullying is “fantasy” idk like anyone can record and expose bullies if they’re this severe
So in return it was a fantasy to have a former boxing champion who wanted to live a peaceful life but had to unrealistically beat the heck out of a bully to win
I also loved the comedy in the last fight
Also another aspect of severe bullying, leaving is simple and the easy way out

The com tho made me laugh especially two scenes at the end almost made me cry laughing
Jun was hot eventho he was a psycho and shin hye son eventho i see she always does the same type of character, i liked her here especially the fight scenes , I’d totally watch a drama about her fighting, I’d even watch a second season of this

I was gonna say it’s an 8, but soshimin made it a 9 and the comedy made it 9,5

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Komorebi

A profound and introspective look on everyday life.

This may have been a slow burn but it never bored me even once. There's a sort of satisfaction in the mundane, repetition may not be exciting, but finding the happiness in the smallest of things, the sun that shines through the leaves, birds chirping early in the morning, a child waving to you. There's even happiness in the chaos, a move away from the schedule can bring about cathartic and moving experiences.

The entire movie may have been the story of a week or two, or that of months, but the essence and emotions were just the same. With a minimal amount of dialogues, the acting and depth created a great balance.

“Komorebi - is the Japanese word for the shimmering of light and shadows that is created by leaves swaying in the wind. It only exists once, at that moment.”
The final frame of the film, and an apt description of the film itself.

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This film reminded me of the action comedies that were shown on TV during my childhood -- so, about thirty years ago. The "humour", the story, the sexism -- all of it is about the same level.

I don't mind the rather predictable story about the men going on a drunken trip, and the ensuing entanglement with the local drug dealing ring -- but did they have to make it sexist? Especially the scene at the beach on the first day was terrible to watch. Also, the other female characters were at turns harassing the men and being the weak victim.

The stars are for the acting, the drug dealing plot, and the overall cinematography.

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Fun and beautiful fantasy movie

I really enjoyed this film, it is saturated with high fantasy and wonder. The setting is very much xianxia, with sects of cultivators and flying on swords and the whole works. They really portray cultivator magic much more than most shows in this genre.

The main 4 actors are all amazing, giving strong performances and making me want desperately to have more time with their characters.

Unfortunately this is a film and not a show, so the time passes much too quick. Also it seems that this is only a part of the story it is based on, but they never made the rest of the films, so the ending is pretty abrupt and not entirely satisfying.

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Feche seus olhos e curta as lembranças

A atmosfera noturna do bar do hotel é tão hipnotizante! Adoro muito as cenas dos globos de discoteca iluminando diversos locais lá...

Adoro que as lembranças são como fantasmas naquele lugar, mas não de forma aterrorizante, apenas nostálgico, principalmente pela decadência de agora e quem ainda sobrevivi dele.

As meninas são o retrato mais triste aqui. Do desamparo, a necessidade de sobrevivência pela prostituição.

Adoro a atuação da Kitty (minha Nanno loirinha) em uma das cenas, ela toca seu corpo e percebe que as lembranças dele, não são mais dela, como seu corpo não pertencesse a si mesma. : (

É um filme bem lento e contemplativo

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Interesting psychological mess

I understand why people are so divided when it comes to this movie. It's pretty hard-to-go-with, has lots of TW and it's definitely something different. For me it's more about new topic here, "broken people", which is really interesting for me to begin with.
I really like the psychological plot there. The theory about androgynous fits perfectly, because I really believe they would be the one person. Two crazy people who actually have met and completed each other in such an unstandard way, they whole story, how everything started is described that I as a spectator actually could understand, but not that clearly, so some scenes and ending are free to interpret. I have a weak spot to difficult and complicated relationships in BLs and I really got it here. Good work.

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Alan and Ben have an instant connection during a breakup party. They both leave the party to get a room to have a night of sex.
However, every place they go they find reserved rooms. It's a Saturday night, and many couples long to have sex and live a few hours of adventure.
As they wander through the streets and alleys of Hong Kong, from hotel to hotel, which at that time are completely booked, the two young men get closer and open up about their past: Alan tells Ben about his first hookup experience, At the age of 17, in a school uniform, he went with the only boyfriend he has had to a villa, where they do not allow two men to rent a room, and since then he has not found a place where she could have sex. Therefore, tonight, with Alan, she would have her first sexual experience.
While they spend the night walking together, Alan will confess that he hates McDonald's food and everything related to the services of this food chain, because he went with his ex-boyfriend to one of these places every day after class, and it was there where the boy ended the relationship.
For his part, Ben will reveal that he was also in one of these establishments when he last saw his mother, since the woman abandoned him with his younger sister, and since then he has not seen her again.
With his father dead for years, he had to separate from his sister when he was taken in by another relative, while he went to live with the family of the girl who organized the party where they met.
Answering questions, Ben also reveals his Chinese name: Won Ka Chun, and having been in five or six relationships up to that point.
As they chat about which male celebrities they would both like to sleep with, their day surprises them. At this point, their conversations have opened up many possibilities beyond erection and lust: Is love possible? Will there be a chance to move forward? Is sex the only bond that unites them?
With a duration of 20 minutes, 'After Erection', the short film filmed in Hong Kong in 2017, stars Lei Jeun Sek and Lee Wai Lok. The first, an actor, screenwriter and director known for directing the film 'Tracey' (2018), which tells the story of a transgender man and his struggles in Hong Kong, takes on the role of Ben.
In his fight to make the LGBT+ community visible, Lei Jeun Sek has worked on the films 'Drifting' (2021), 'Forever 17' (2019), and 'I Miss You When I See You' (2018), among others.
Meanwhile, Lee Wai Lok, who plays Alan, has his acting debut and only role in his career to date in this short film.
'After Erection' appears to be a version of the Taiwanese LGBT+ themed romantic short film 'YuXiang & Mark' (鈺翔和馬克), filmed in 2016, written and directed by Huang Sheng Tim, but in it instead of Ben and Alan the The names of the two characters are the same as those that give the work its title, as well as the setting is not Hong Kong, but Taiwan.
And although neither of the two short films has high levels of production and interpretation, I like the one produced in Hong Kong better, because I find greater depth in the script, I manage to empathize better with its protagonists by providing greater strength in their human connections, without ignoring music, editing, dramaturgy, photography, sets, among other technical aspects.
'After Erection' reflects some of the difficulties faced by the LGBT+ community in Hong Kong at the time it was filmed, specifically having trouble trying to find public places to have sex.
'However, films like this and actions such as those carried out by activists for the rights of this human group, such as Lei Jeun Sek, have made it possible for today, 7 years later, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Hong Kong to celebrate some achievements, such as that granted by the Court of Final Appeal, which in a historic ruling on September 5, 2023, urges the Hong Kong government to establish a legal framework for the recognition of same-sex couples, marking a milestone in the fight for equality and human rights.
Although it does not grant full marriage rights, this ruling represents a hopeful victory for the community, by supporting civil unions between people of the same sex, a legal process that has not yet concluded.

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