Reviews

Don't mistake it to be a simple sports movie

What seems to be a plain game of 바둑 (baduk) can turn out to be deadly, and with a sprinkle of revenge story, this is basically the movie's synopsis.

I don't have any prior knowledge with baduk. I don't know what I was getting into watching this film except that I just want to watch Jung Woo-sung in my screen. In this movie, he may be playing a "nerdy" character but his body build is too obvious that he is strong physically, even on the first few minutes when his character seemed to be weak. Still, I just can't help but woo.

The introduction was just very gory to witness. The neck slashing, physical and emotional torture, and violence can make one turn off watching the rest of this movie. It really needs guts to be able to proceed watching the next scenes, since the amount of violence greatly increases later on.

When Tae-seok (Jung Woo-Sung) was released from jail after 7 years for being framed up on his brother's death, he was prepared to seek revenge. The preparation for said revenge was amply shown, and it followed several tactics and mind games used in the baduk game itself. I found it to be clever, but still understandable for those without baduk knowledge like me. The enactment of the first few revenge scenes which were parallel with how they did it to him and his brother was not only brutal, but very deserving of them. Yet despite the initial success and meticulous planning, it still doesn't go well with the plan.

Immense amount of machismo is present which is borderline excessive. The only notable female character Navel (Lee Si-young) had a flat storyline and the reason why she ended up indebted to Sal-soo (Lee Bum-soo) was not totally answered. Furthermore, the romance "plot" with Tae-seok, whether a part of the revenge or real romantic feelings were involved, was unneccesary to the story.

The movie's most exciting part which is the last game between Tae-seok and Sal-soo with the action scenes after, is the highlight by far. The pacing and tension of their every calculated move and the emotional manipulation on both sides were very suspenseful. I was surprised that it ended with a draw, as I thought that the "divine move" will be revealed here. Also, the camerawork (motions and angles) seen in the fighting scenes after that game reminded me of the iconic Oldboy fight scene and it was just very pleasant to watch, although it was very bloody and had overemphasis of stabbing and slashing.

Lastly, the open ending was quite okay though I thought that the second movie focused on this ending. A minor gripe was that Tae-seok could've gotten his nephew given his living situation and not just left him money (who knows how it will be used.) I was slightly disappointed that the "Ghost" that played with Tae-seok while he was at jail wasn't revealed (I thought it was Joo-nim/Drinking Christ) and the "divine move" wasn't really a move. Aside from what I mentioned, the story still ended amicably.

For those who want to watch a nice revenge story with carefully-revealed tactics and mind games (I actually wanted more) added with bloody yet brilliant fighting scenes, this movie is really for you. Please be noted that the script could've been elevated more and do not mistake it to be a simple sports movie, since it is more than that.

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KAZEHAYA THE ULTIMATE GREEN FLAG I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL

Wow. This movie was such a pleasant surprise. I have to admit that I watched most of it with bated breath and I really shouldn't have because all my nervousness was self-inflicted; all those Asian dramas and cliches had trained me to recognize all my most hated tropes: evil second female leads, misunderstandings...and it turned out that this movie didn't have any of those stupid issues.

This movie actually wasn't dramatic at all — it's really just a heart-warming, adorable story about a shy girl who comes into herself, makes friends, and happens to fall in love along the way. There are no evil villains, the side characters are kind-hearted and fantastic, and the development just felt natural; I kept thinking that if this was a full-length drama we could've gotten even more time dedicated to character development and the forming of friendships (meaning I'll probably be watching the anime soon).

Speaking of which, the way they emphasized friendships in this was so refreshing as well. One of my pet peeves is when romance is treated as this "personality fixer" and I absolutely loved that it was friendships that started to bring her out of her shell and not a crush.

Honestly, Sawako as a main character is still much too suppressed and shy for me; I don't really relate to her and at times her social interactions and decision-making got very frustrating, but ultimately I understand it and the way she started standing up for herself and communicating was delightful to watch. She's quiet but not weak by any means.

And now...my favorite part of the entire film. KAZEHAYA. I loved his character so much; this is one of the moments where I wish we got more about his backstory or development but at the same time I don't even mind that we didn't because it was perfect the way it was. The way he not only treated the FL kindly in secret but also openly stood up for her and spent time with her...he was so respectful and it was beautiful to see the part he played in Sawako's story.

Anyways — adorable movie, I suggest watching this film with a light heart and optimism.

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Such a clever and heartfelt movie!

This is such a heartfelt and clever movie. I love the metaphor of clearing one’s house as a way to let Jean realize the different ways she can “move on”. She went on to realize that some past relationships can be mended but some are too hard to hold onto. It ends on a bittersweet note showing that she can’t reconcile with everyone but at least now the audience knows, and hopefully she does too, that she has a heart. The movie is a great way to teach us the complexity of moving on from the past, good ways to do it and bad ways to do it. It also is good at showing the complexity of moving on from the past and why it doesn’t always result in happy endings. I don’t know if she grew to be more vulnerable with the people she cared about, because she ended up of throwing everything out in the end and concealing her true feelings about her ex to her friend, but it seems like she still cares cause she cried in the end, so I can only hope that she is better now.

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It was really BAAADDDD

I just watched it because i saw kanna hashimoto on the poster cover as i was scrolling on netflix to look for soemthing to watch.

On the intro i thought i was gonna be a r18 show, but then they hit you with the action gore and i was like "Woah.... cool" then suddenly shoves in romance, which i felt like kinda off. It felt like they we're forcing this romance on this Action movie.

The action in this movie was okay at times, but when try to push it over the top, it becomes unnecessarily dumber. Specially that fight near the end

Characters we're cringe like all of them, they're really trying hard on that "Woohooo yeah im in manga/anime character", including kanna???? idk, i think this is one of her wost works. Out of all the characters i think Terano and Ayabe were the only good written characters as far im concerned. The actors really played well their characters, specially ayabe, i can feel he's really into his character.

Cinematography was a big step up from the usual japanese cinematography, but it was still bad. And the editing... its sooo horrible, specially when they need to transition to the next scene, they hit you with this random fast paced shots, then cuts to the next scene. CGI is very obvious, so that was bad.

Also, one thing. The music, wtf was that tropical party music that they keep playing when they travel or transition? that really throws me off, that was very unjapanese. Like, wtf was the music director thinking? couldn't they just asked the composer like "hey, can you compose a tropical party music for this section with a hint of japanese?" cuz the song that they use is very western.

Lastly SPOILER, i loved how in that section were Kanna's character Kei, was shot by nails and i saw something when they did a close up shot. I don't know if that was a prop or something, but clearly they could've hidden that well.

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Easy to follow time travel story: short and sweet

A short film with an interesting and quite original script for a youth romance.

Given the short length of the movie and the likely low budget, I'm rather impressed with the production and how well the crew managed to convey the story. The acting was suitable (even if not exceptional) and the plot was well paced and simple to follow (which is not always a given with time travel concept).

I would recommend this to people who liked to watch series like Proposal Daisakusen (or Operation proposal its Korean remake), or liked to read manga such as "Analog Drop" or "SOS Love" (also called in Japanese "Konna Mirai wa kittenai").

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Intense and scary, I think this is the first time I said those two words again since Ju-On: The Grudge 2. Apart from the shortcomings, the two words covered a lot of ground in my eyes.

I really enjoy watching this film, somehow the characters feel likeable to me, making me willing to follow the story they will soon experience, and... the girls are kawaii, Reo-chan!!!

In the previous film, I felt it was too spacious and empty; in this film, I feel it is so adequate and tight, and I love it. For the horror aspect, this film plant tension little by little from the beginning, which is later picked up when it starts entering the phase of killing its character. The tension was already there but suddenly rises dramatically, and I got goosebumps all over my body.

The peak of this film, imo, is when Reo finally finds out who Toshio is after being told by Midori, which made me get goosebumps because I realized that Reo and Toshio's room were close, and he can come in any minute when he knows that she finally knows. So Toshio didn't come, instead, Reo-chan went to his room, just to suddenly carry him on her back, then be chased by Kayako till she fell down the stairs. After that, Reo and his mother were terrorized by Kayako, just like in some home invasion films. Eventually, me and they are getting paranoid; they are afraid to be killed, and I just don't really want to see My Reo-chan get killed, aargh. Kayako then proceeds to kill the remaining characters with an intensity that has penetrated the sky.

The killing scene is in fact ridiculous, but at least it's an on-screen death, and I find it amusing. Throwing someone into the ceiling and not hanging them with Kayako's hair, nice; having Toshio get inside someone's body to kill it from inside, noice, and etc.

For Kayako, now she likes to open her mouth wide; it's scary, but it looks like she's trying hard. It's just so obvious that no one can match Takako Fuji's Kayako. On the other hand, Toshio had several actors who played his role well.

I think that's all. I really enjoyed it, and this ended my journey to watch this film franchise. There's Origins but not gonna watch it anytime soon, probably someday.

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This is pretty decent; the atmosphere isn't so bleak; the comeback of our SCARY Kayako and Toshio and the great build-up are great; it's just that with a bigger house, I kind of feel like this film is too spacious and empty sometimes, and I don't like that.

I like the Naoto segment the best because it follows Naoto as he tries to figure out why Yui became strange after visiting Saeki's house. It's not long but fun to watch, like when he reads Kayako's diary, until finally they show the best on-screen Kayako killing scene in the entire franchise, in my opinion. I can feel my neck cracking.

I guess 3-stars is enough.

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On the poster, the black ghost is far creepier. Inside the film, I can't see her.
Also, I think they should've used the old camera used in The Curse 1 and 2.
So yeah, it's just mediocre, imo.

Idk if I must be upset or not, because at first I wanted to watch White Ghost first, but somehow I chose this instead after reading some "popular reviews" on Letterboxd that were full of positivity.
If I read my mutuals on Letterboxd, then I would proceed to watch White Ghost.
Either way, I will experience the same suffering.
At least, now I can watch White Ghost in peace, knowing I've watched the worst one.

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Hope they could make a sequel

It is so rare to find a movie or drama without any romance, glad this one stayed 'til the end. No accidental pairing, no forced romances.

The actors did quite well, it was just that some parts of the writings were confusing. It felt like they can't decide who between Hyo Jin or Joon Yeol as lead should be given more weight to pull the story to the end.

Ang Jong Suk was incredible, though I still can't see him as an antagonist, having seen most of his works as the good guy haha

But I guess the shortcomings were some sort of a trade-off in making this concept a movie. I guess it could have been properly addressed if this was plotted as a drama. I enjoyed it, nevertheless. The rush and the thrill of car racing were perfect in here.

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A dark, symbolic look at the harm of social ostracizing

I wrote a full analysis of the short, because I found it very fascinating. It was initially jarring, but I felt like everything was very intentional.

As far as non-spoilers, the acting was great for the brief amount of time that the actors had. It felt very gritty and authentic, and the setting was intentionally and successfully disturbing. I think the concept was interesting and heartbreaking, but highly effective. As for the music, I don't recall if there even was any, so I can't say much there. It's heavy and not exactly a light watch, so I can't say the rewatch value is high. But it did inspire a lot of thought in me, hence the veritable essay.

I only wish it could be longer, because there was a lot to unpack here. For what it was, and for such a short length, it was impressive. I'm just sad I couldn't see the theme explored more thoroughly, with time for us to love the characters.

It's worth a watch and is very short, so don't read the spoilers below until you've seen it!


SPOILERS:


The entire short is an allegory for the way society rejects gay youth, which leads to them ending up in dangerous situations because they're unable to find love in healthy, safe places. Elijah is a protected, middle class boy with parents who worry about him, entering a dank, dirty area to have sex with a stranger because he's not in a position to court and date the boys at his school, etc. He has to hide who he is, which leads him down a deadly path.

Kokoy plays two roles in this short, which is very significant to the story's climax. Elijah sees four prostitutes, the REAL Kokoy among them. They all die in highly symbolic ways throughout the evening, and the killer is very likely the final, fake Kokoy that Elijah sees in the last shot. Although the killer himself may be more of a metaphor for the way the streets (bad people included) are what kill a lot of these young men, as far as a narrative device, this is a wolf in sheep's clothing scenario for Elijah's character.

In the beginning, it's clear Elijah has only ever spoken to this person online and on the phone, so he has no way of verifying that he is who he says he is. This is reflected again in the bathroom scene, when Elijah hears the phone ring but can't be sure where it's coming from. He's being catfished, but he doesn't know it yet.

All of the boys Elijah sees are already dead, victims of the man who is now using Kokoy's phone and photos to lure Elijah out. This is why in the end there's an exchange where Kokoy clearly doesn't know who Elijah is, and when he turns back to him, Kokoy is also dying.

The final shot is Elijah nervously approaching a person wearing Kokoy's face. The audience still sees the catfish identity, but Elijah is seeing the actual man, the killer. This is why he hesitantly walks toward him before the screen fades to white, as if overpowering the viewer. Elijah's own uncertainty and naivete are his undoing. We can assume he meets the same fate as the other boys this man has trapped.

The fact that the bodies of each victim are out in plain sight is reflective of the same society that cast them out now expressing indifference at their loss. These young people are treated like trash rotting in the street, undesirables, purely because they're males who love other males. The purpose of bringing Elijah in was to show how even sheltered children are exposed to these risks because of how society treats LGBT people.

I can see why people didn't like this, but honestly, I really enjoyed it. I think it's initially confusing, but when you stop and think about it, the pieces are all there. It had a clear and powerful message once you decipher all of the hints and implications.

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Interested to watch this from YT clip. Turned out quite funny, but not as funny as I thought it will be. And you can say quite meaningful.

Teenage years the rebelion phase. Very funny how the mother get 'revenge' by her own 'rebelion way'. Given her daughter lesson while still show the mother love is just something mother do... And the bento is really pretty to looked at & learn to...

Unfortunately the new story that come later kinda ruin the whole story for me. The story about father & son, it's like they abruptly just stop the storyline. Or the later story about the daughter find job in the different city, is kinda unmatched with the whole storyline.

But overall this one good story to watch. Maybe better if they became drama, so some story can unravel more...

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I always find movies depicting male friendships particularly interesting. I can tell from the many Japanese movies I've watched, that failure is a prevalent theme that resurfaces, and this movie does a perfect job at depicting that looming unknown and possible failure awaiting these young people. For these 7 boys, the uncertainty of their future caused them to implode their present, and slowly descend into chaos in their final year of high school. I can't wait to rewatch this film and see all the new layers I can peel off.

The cinematography was simply perfect for the vibe and the soundtrack couldn't have been more perfect to represent teen angst. Also really loved the use of slowmo, sometimes in films I can feel sorta desperate to speed up a slowmo that lasts too long but they really knew when to utilize it throughout and it really emphasized certain scenes. Will definitely be that kind of movie that I can't stop thinking about for weeks.

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Definitely worth a try!

I personally have watched both parts of the movies 4 or 5 times already.
I am not exactly sure why the story continues to draw me in. Every time I see a clip pop up somewhere I wish to rewatch it.
So to speak
I truly love the movies although their communication struggle has me on edge constantly. Since the point of view is mainly the one of the main character one gets to understand him easily. I like the way his insecurities are displayed as one can truly feel how he wishes someone would love him the way he is (which our second main character does) and not only based on his good looks.
Considering that the movies are a bit older now their acting might appear a little lacking but whilst subtle in some parts they do display the emotions well.

I would say it is quite a calm and sweet love story not very intense or sexual but dramatic enough to give it a try.
I promise it is worth it

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A lot of potential, over the top execution, full of cliches...

This film had every potential to be interesting and suspenseful one mainly due to its main concept idea. Unfortunately it failed to engage me due to its over the top production and the countless cliches that we have already watch them multiple times in other disaster movies.

Spoilers below.

The idea of a biological terror attack during a flight has not been that much used ( the only other movie that had a similar concept was 12 Monkeys).
But unfortunately the director gave more attention to the "poor_passengers _who_ were infected_ and _are _in_ danger_ because_ the_ plane_ is_ not_ allowed_ to_ land _anywhere_ and_ the_ only_ one_ who_ can_ land_ it_ has _psychological_ problems", instead of focusing mainly on the ground operations, f.e how and why the company got the virus, how the terrorist ended up to be so revengeful, to emphasize in other words what was going on on the ground before and after the attack, instead of what was going on in the air that was the simplest and most boring concept of all as it was expected.. In other words to make the movie a bio hazard political thriller with social parameters instead of just a disaster one.

The cast and the acting was really good, the music was in some scenes over the top and loud and the production was great as always, but went in vain because it is not interesting to watch that all the passengers got eventually infected by a virus. The twist would have been to not get infected after all!

Anyway.. 6 out of 10 from me for the very good production.
The plot was one of the same.. Air flight disaster adventure vol. 9.387.938.775!
Same old stuff, same old story.

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Win a Date with Moon Shi Woo

The moment I saw this movie, I was waiting for it to cringe the heck out me like the other Filipino-Korean collaboration movie I saw a few years back. But this, this was alright. The casting was great, I'm even becoming a fan of Kim Gun Woo, whom I have last seen from Fight For My Way and Chase the Ghost. This is the ony movie which I'm impressed with Bella Padilla since a lot of her movies I have seen are quite depressing. And I was truly suprised to see familiar faces in this movie so it was a good choice of cast.

The story, it was truly exciting and romantic in the process. The character Bella played was kind of bland, but she was very positive about things and thats great. The boy Gun Woo played was adorable (spoiler alert: he speaks tagalog in a way my sister likes to say, cringeworthy. But to me was so adorable most especially the part where he says 'ayoko' meaning he doesn't want to do it) Yet I'm also confused about his nationality, wondering if he's half or pure based on his sister's. I also don't understand why she would be mad for not saying about his nationality, but her description says that she hates Filipino men because she has trust issue of some sort. But overall, it was a nice, safe and cozy rom-com in the winter wonderland of Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The ending felt kind of flat to me, but it was a good wrap.

There are some scenes where they spoke in fluent hangul, I couldn't understand anything except for the liitle things I picked up from watching korean dramas. I wish they added english subtitles for that.

The english choice of songs were great, but the korean ones were kind of hard to listen to.

And as I said in the title, it's like the story process of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. Fell for a celebrity in a dating reality show, but actually falls in love wih someone else. But, with some twists adding some originality in the process.

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