Reviews

Nice movie with battle between good and evil

This was an ok movie. The storyline of a battle between two dragon-sisters fighting for good and evil isn’t exactly new. The fight scenes and scenery is beautiful (for most parts).
Character wise we get an evil sister helping a man to become emperor and a good sister helping a young man try to fulfill his destiny.
Acting wise this is pretty good but I couldn’t really feel the chemistry between FL (good sister) and ML (Hong Ji) - at least not until the last scene. The chemistry between 2FL (evil sister) and 2ML (King Ning) was way better.
Well, if you like fantasy movies and have an hour or so to waste, this is not a bad watch.

Read More

The saving grace is Shinobu who was such a great friend so of course I was upset that they killed him off. When asuka planned to die for the demon the demon ended up taking another causality to death which made no sense when she already agreed to be it’s sister. If you look at the Japanese predecessor “Dark Waters” the mother agreed to die and be the demons mother..and she was able to spare her innocent daughters life.

It also didn’t make sense that a ritual was happening to save them and it had zero effect on the demon at all. If there was a sequel it’s obvious that the demon would still follow around Asuka since she’s who it made the promise with.Unless they were able to rid of it but it isn’t clear in the ending at all.

Asuka was so off psychologically that it made ZERO SENSE why she was even living alone. Only towards the end we see she actually has some support system yet they only stepped in when she was already double traumatized to the point of no return.
The elderly deceased spirit next door had more effect on waking her up more than anyone else. Also makes no sense she didn’t realize she was in a time loop even after admitting to her hallucinated parents that they were repeating themselves every morning.

From the very first scene I already knew the main character was going to be dreadful. Her poor decision making skills despite her ptsd was frustrating. She couldn’t realize that it was odd a child was playing alone with no parents and continued to befriend the kid demon. Even if it was a normal kid she didn’t question this at all. Maybe her trauma caused her to loose brain cells as well…
It was a good one time watch with a good twist however

Read More

I have mixed feelings about this title.

If only people could speak and talk through the problem before it escalates too much...

I felt it was really stereotypical. Role of man and woman... She expected her boyfriend to do everything, preferably right away, despite the understandable fatigue after work, getting up early and a very long commute. Also, he was always supposed to come to her, she never even offered to visit him. They never talked to each other about their expectations and problems. They just had an argument when the situation escalated.

The very beginning of the movie was cute, then it got a little creepy but still sweet, and then it got sour at the end and we got a plot twist.

This movie tells a very real story that could happen in real life. However, I have mixed feelings about this title. For me, the first part of the movie was good enough, but then it got worse. I don't feel like this plot twist is needed, but it's easier for me to accept, knowing that such things also happen.

The execution was definitely missing something. The whole movie was very superficial. I couldn't get into the characters' stories.

Read More

A BL short film with a message

Filipino filmmakers have proven that they are able to tell a complex story or/and convey an important message in a low budget short film, and ”Hidden” is another example of this.

Let me summarize the plot first. Ivan, a kind hearted young man, by mere coincidence met Dante, who was drunk, a month ago and stayed with him for some hours because he was afraid something bad might happen to the drunk boy. Now Dante has invited Ivan to his place, and after some talking to get to know each other better and exchanging compliments, the two boys get closer. Although Ivan is reluctant at first, he then agrees to make out with Dante. When one of the boys is hurt and bleeding, Dante turns into his second personality, Diego. He yells at Ivan and attacks him because he doesn't remember why the two of them have been intimate and are half naked. Ivan is scared as he doesn't understand what is going on. Then Diego realises what Dante has done, and he explains to Ivan that Diego and Dante are one and the same person. When Ivan is about to leave, Dante takes over again, and Ivan kisses him good bye and promises to meet him again.

The actors, Jesler Bernard as Ivan and Jason Real as Diego/Dante (the credits of the movie don't say who plays whom, but I found it on facebook. Unfortunately, the credits don't reveal the director and producer's names either) are handsome and do a good job – they seem to be newbies, but they are talented, so I hope to see more of them in the future.

I appreciate the good intention of the movie which combines a BL love story with an explanation of the rare dissociative identity disorder. The message is obvious: this disease exists, and people who have it can be loving and caring like ”healthy” people, and they want and deserve to be loved like everybody else.

The execution has some weaknesses, technically as well as script-wise. For example, in some scenes the actors aren't perfectly lip sync, which can be explained by a low budget, but could be fixed with simple means. Another point is that I would have liked to see a little more of the condo – instead of Dante saying he didn't clean it, a short shot could have shown it.

Now to the script. Like in some other low budget productions, the backstory, i.e. the first meeting of the two boys, is being told instead of acted. I don't like actors speaking to the fourth wall unless necessary, and I don't like voiceovers of their thoughts either, and in this case it would have been easy (and not very expensive) to film Ivan and Dante's first encounter.
Another thing that I would consider as a missed opportunity is the fact that the point of the story is already being revealed in the title. If the title had only been ”Hidden”, the switch from Dante to Diego would have been a surprise to the viewer, and thus much more effective, as it was perfectly done in the Pinoy BL series ”The Shore”, which had a similar subject.

My nagging may sound like I didn't like the movie, and reading all my complaints, I must admit they sound too harsh even to myself, because all in all I liked the movie. The intention to make the viewer familiar with DID and using a BL story as a pretext is commendable, and the movie is worth watching. I am glad that it has already been watched by 75,000 viewers on youtube, which is quite a lot, bearing in mind that it wasn't promoted much.

All in all, this is another example of an innovative Pinoy BL short film, and if you can do without rich Thai boys driving around in expensive cars, I can only recommend you to watch ”Hidden”.

Read More

My high rating is for the child actress

I seldom watch movies, but I decided to watch this one because I read that it was a tearjerker. I geared myself up to be touched and to cry, but things are like that, the more you expect, the more something will not happen, in the end I cried only at the last scene, which if you read other reviews, was a climatic one indeed.

Positives:

1. My high rating of 9/10 is for the child actress, Jung Seo Yeon, who acted really well, like really, really well in this movie. She was convincing as a visually handicapped given her relatively young age of 7. And the last scene had a close-up shot of her wailing, tears running down her cheeks, etc., crying so pitifully that my heart really cried with her. The male lead, Jin Goo, also did well. I had nothing to criticize about his acting in particular.

2. This movie brought attention to people who were both blind and deaf, double handicap and how to communicate with them.

3. I liked the way the director shot some of the scenes, especially that related to the little girl, some were shot from her angle, something different.

Negatives:

1. Maybe it was a movie, so everything was fast, the development of the relationship between the little girl and the male lead was too fast for me to feel much throughout the movie, except the last scene.

2. I did not quite understand what the male lead’s job was in the movie basically, but those scenes were not important because they did not contribute much to the story of him and the little girl. Again, if they were not important, they became fillers which could have been better replaced by more scenes of him and the little girl’s interactions.

All in all, I would recommend if you are looking for a tearjerker, it was touching, but somehow, I would have liked to see more interactions of the male lead and the little girl, a somewhat more gradual development of their relationship.

Read More

Very interesting concept that’s different from the normal BL

I think a lot of people missed the whole point of the short film and that’s why the rating is so low (I could be wrong, but I see a bunch of people on social media very confused about the film & i saw some say it wasn’t that great. I personally think it was pretty good for a short film… if you understand it). I definitely think if they had the funds & time, they could make this into a longer more attention grabbing psychological film but, I digress. This is my first review so apologies in advance if it’s not that great ><

It’s a short film so I’m not going to critique it harshly, I think the actors did a good job & they executed the concept well. I definitely think this was an interesting theme and It held my attention the whole time. It’s definitely not the best short film Strongberry has released but it’s still worth watching! ^^

I’ll post my explanation / review below in the comments since it contains spoilers but i recommend watching the short film first before reading~

Read More

Mindless entertainment if you want to kill some time

This was a movie just to kill time. The story was weak, but they didn't waste a lot of time on pointless or repetitious scenes. The actors did a fair job with their characters and with the exception of the opening scene, told the story pretty clearly without too many holes or hanging issues.

CGI wasn't bad, but the OST was non-existent. No romance, and no pointless deaths. One major irritating character - you can figure that one out for yourself.

If you're looking for something to watch just for some mindless entertainment or to kill time, this might fit the bill.

Read More

Well Written and Acted

The movie is incredibly desturbing and contains themes of pëdophilia. It's a must watch if you want to feel incredibly uncomfortable. The use of the people in masks as a symbol of trauma was such an unsettling form of art, it was amazing. I actually really enjoyed the movie. There's so many hidden plot points you really have to pay attention to to understand the movie in its entirety. Its a movie you may need to watch more than once to fully understand. The plot moves fast and there's a lot to take in. I do recommend the movie, but only if you can mentally handle it.

Read More

Bille August is definitely a better director of a more intimate genre, and he confirms it in this case as well. All "action" scenes stink of cheap production, tricks are more than transparent. Especially at the beginning it looks terrible, during the bombing of Tokyo, I wanted to give up right away. After about 20 minutes, the "CGI mess" disappears and it moves towards a sad story about the Japanese occupation of China. Where the local people suffer. The plot revolves around two strangers who found their way to each other despite the adversity of fate. The depiction of the Chinese village and its customs are among the better, but that's not enough.

Read More

A very good watch, but...

I adored, absolutely adored Cherry Magic from episode 1 to 12, and when the film was announced, I was ever so excited that we were going to get a continuation. But the very first thing that happens in the film is that we find out that, basically, the end of episode 12 is no longer canon, and Kiyoshi never lost his magic like originally stated. It almost felt like a cheap way for them to write a plot for the film, by saying "let's completely forget about that whole thing about him having lost the magic on Christmas so we can turn it into a film". Early on, that didn't leave a very good impression on me, and it was a little saddening considering the quality of the original series.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad we got a film. It was very well-produced and the acting was stellar not just from the two main leads but the side characters, too. However, the plot felt very thin throughout a large portion of the film, and it dragged down my overall score by a bit, sadly. There were a lot of things that felt rushed, some things skipped that I wish hadn't been because it didn't make sense to cut them out (why didn't we get to see Yuuichi and Kiyoshi say goodbye before the scene suddenly cuts to Kiyoshi in Nagasaki?). It wasn't as if the film lacked direction, but the execution fell short quite a few times and the scenes didn't feel as impactful/meaningful as I think they could have.

I really appreciated the 'angstier' scenes and how they were directed, and by association the acting we saw on screen during them. Keita Machida never ceases to amaze me with his talent; I truly felt for and with Yuuichi thanks to Machida bringing him to life in such a great way. Similarly, Eiji Akaso does a great job of showcasing Kiyoshi's growth in the film which is one of the bigger things I appreciated with this film, the fact that Kiyoshi got to have his flaws and then do his best to work on them for his own and also Yuuichi's sake. They showed affection in whatever way they were allowed to (guessing it might be a similar situation as it was with the series and how that ended on that 'kiss' as the lift doors closed) and you could still feel their love for each other even if it was portrayed kind of tamely at times. The actors did the best with what they were given, and they did great.

Overall, will I still say that this is worth watching? Yes, of course. If you liked the series, then you should watch the film. But I think it's good to go into it with lowered expectations, which is hard to say because I personally went in with *high* expectations because of how great the series was/is. Sad to say that the film doesn't have the same quality and magic (forgive the pun) as the prequel series does.

Read More

The devil is in the details

As this is a 14 minute short film I won’t say much. You need to be prepared for very graphic talk about sex. It is not for the squeamish.

The premise is a man meeting a school girl to have sex with her thinking she is a virgin. They begin to talk and he nauseatingly starts negotiating the price according to what he thinks her experience is. If you’ve gotten this far and are as repulsed as I was by him, don’t give up, keep going…

For a short film the production values were good as was the acting. The filmmakers packed a wallop of a story in those short minutes.

Again, not for the squeamish.


11/14/22

Read More

Give it a try and simply watch it unfold.

Actually there are a lot of reviews that say that they couldn't connect to the main character as little is known and shown about him throughout the movie. Moreover, there is also the complaint of how there was no plot, no big plot twist/ big reveal and therefore no anticipation or guessing involved in the trials. It moved along predictably, according to many. It seems that the main character lived a bland life without taking too many risks and in every trial he was left off as it would be proven that he had actually done a good deed, not a bad one as it seemed. It's practically impossible for anyone to live so virtuously, but then again that is why he is referred to as a pure spirit that comes along only very rarely. However, it is still worth it to watch the movie if you don't keep thinking and expecting the mystery and action, but instead simply watch the story unfold. The characters did not feel real to me until the end, but the story was really beautiful and connected well. It evoked plenty of emotions in me at the end, and watching the movie till the end felt worth it (though watching even the bland parts wasn't a chore, it flowed peacefully). The movie reminds you to live a simple life taking care of your loved ones.

Read More

Not Good Enough

Japanese Movie " Liar X Liar " is the typical shoujo drama with a light mood and a fluffy romance.

However the story, other than predictable and rushed, was odd as well. The relationship and their kiship wasn't well handled or explained from the start. And even though the bigining was enjoyable, funny and felt more original and out there compared to other japanese movies with the same theme, that didn't last long, and the story fall into cheesy tropes and awkward angst.

The performances, on the other hand, were pretty good by every actor and actresses in the cast.

So, overall, three out of ten.

Read More