Reviews

Mind blowing multidirectional intelligence mission

The plot is a totally unexpected mind blowing multidirectional intelligence mission that involves tons of critical stakes at war. The story is so complex it comes with an incredible amount of political factors that one could never imagine, but only to be impressed again and again on how the writer could let it play out in such a way. At the start it may seem a bit generic, but as the story progresses it bites on and keeps getting better by pushing its limits while still able to throw in multiple twists that makes a whole lot of sense foreshadowing on conspiracies of the real political world. The vintage setting and tight action choreography are all in jaw dropping fine quality, they definitely deserve the 2022 Cannes invitation which lives up to its name.

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I'd like to take praise at the cinematography, direction and editing. The film looks so stunning visually, everything framed perfectly, scene transtions done well. Big plaudits for Kim Ji-yong on (Cinematography) and Kim Jee-woon (direction and writing)

This was quite an eye opening film with Song Kang-Ho, once again, delivering an outstanding performance as Lee Jung-chool, the conflicted police captain stuck between the might of Japanese rule and the heart of the Korean Resistence. The fight against the oppressive regime of the Japanses occupation. But along side that and the trueish stories of the time, we have a cat & mouse game of politics between Lee Jung-chool and Hashimoto. The film is jammed with tension filled scenes as well as great, but short action fights. The torture scenes near the end are violent but pivitol to the story and add tons of drama. A very down to earth tale of patriotism with a great unique style of film making on top.

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The story is all over the place. A generic simple detective mystery gets blown to wide proportions with fake deaths, unnecessary twists and turns and poor special effects. However the first edition of Detective K delivered with strong performances from its main cast - Kim Myung-min as Detective and Oh Dal-su as Han Seo-pil. In terms of establishing these characters and their journey with each other, the film was worth watching. Virtuous Widow gave the audience tons of clever gags that ranged from absurd to extremely clever both verbally and visually. Plus the film casted the typical Sageuk antagonist, Lee Jae-youg in his comfortable role and that’s always a positive.

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#Justice for Manda!

Godzilla royalty-director Honda Ishiro and composer Ifukube Akira were behind the Kaiju and Sci-fi movie
Atragon. Given that pedigree I expected it to be better. With all the allusions to the destroyer goddess Manda, I definitely expected to see her before the last 15 minutes of the film and for more than 5 minutes. Atragon instead focused on old naval officers and whether to resurrect an Imperialistic Japan.

The film opens with two photographers taking pictures of their bikini clad model at midnight near the bay because everyone knows the lighting is so good at that time of the day. When up from the water comes a steamy man. There's an investigation regarding the steam man that leads nowhere. The photographers spend a lot of time hunting down a beautiful woman they see on the street so that they can make her a model. Turns out the would be model is the daughter of a naval commander who disappeared during the war and she became the ward of a retired admiral. Next thing you know a man with special powers from the ancient submerged city of Mu shows up to kidnap the woman and the admiral to take them back to Mu and make them slaves. His plan is foiled by the nosy photographers. After some city destruction by the vapor creatures the admiral finally realizes he's going to have to reveal that her father is not dead and take her to him. Not the happiest of reunions after 20 years especially since dear old dad has created a super sub that can also fly and burrow through the earth and has a freeze ray all in order to resurrect Imperial Japan. Not sure if that means he wants to go back on a destructive rage against China, Korea, and the US, but the admiral and his daughter try to change his mind. Only when the Mu kidnap his daughter and threaten to overthrow the world does he decide to use his sub for good.

Given that this was a Honda film, Manda was a huge disappointment in both design and execution. She's just the third female Kaiju in this particular franchise and she didn't show up until late in the movie and was dispatched rather easily. The high tech sub and city miniatures were all beautifully created for the time and budget. Ifukube recycled Godzilla's music for this one, I kept expecting to see the big guy stomp onto the scene. Goodness knows it might have made this movie more interesting.

The story tended to wander around in circles for much of the movie until they showed up at the secret island with the sub's inventor. The last 15-20 minutes were the best part of the film. It was concerning that when they destroyed the hidden city of Mu, they destroyed everyone. The genocide was a bit concerning even for a Kaiju movie.

While I applaud the makers effort to try and craft a different kind of monster film and focus on more sci-fi aspects, I found it rather disappointing. Better to watch Destroy All Monsters, even though she only had a cameo in it, Manda had more to do than in this one. Only for those Kaiju fans who would like to see Manda's original film or have an interest in sunken cities where the people wear bright colorful wigs.


9/30/22

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Sunny is one of the most touching and meaningful films I've seen. Seriously, this movie could change your life.

PROS
- The themes are so well done and leave a memorable impression due to the significance to actual life
- Wonderfully crafted story that takes place in the present as well as the past
- There's a lot of purpose and care in each of the characters
- For how dense the drama is, there is actually a lot of great comedy to balance the emotional toll

CONS
- Don't read much about the movie's story; it's best to go in without knowing much
- Due to the masterful writing, Sunny isn't an emotional drain, but you WILL likely be moved to tears (so, don't try to act tough)
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Friendships, memories, regrets, and promises are all themes that are so very important. Pondering and reflecting upon them is sometimes a challenging circumstance that we don't see until it's too late.

Sunny not only demonstrates these in a beautiful and entertaining way, but it also paints a visual representation for even more complex emotions (like grief, heartbreak, or even acceptance and closure).

There are very few films that go beyond emotionally moving me. This movie was a healthy event that I didn't know I needed. Now, I feel inspired and eager to ACTUALLY live my best life and carry those dear to me along the way.

9.5/10

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A Very Heartwarming Movie

Watching this movie is just like healing my soul. I can cry and laugh my heart out.

The story is very simple about everyday life as a mortician, the job that most of us consider its taboo and scary. But through this movie, they give us another understanding and its a very meaningful and respectful job.

The actors acted very well, the lead actor Zhu Yilong with his look as Mo Sanmei really blowns my mind. The child actor Yang Enyou as Wu Xiaowen is also brilliant. Their relationship throughout the story will remind us with Monkey king and Neza, as the movie pointed them out clearly such as posters, the two bun of Xiao Wen, the bracelet of Mo Sanmei, and even on their conversation.

The pacing of the story was just right. I can enjoy every scene without rush, well shot and directed. It will be perfect if I can watch it in the big screen because the detail and the lighting in every scene is just right and amazing.

So many life lesson I can learn throughout the movie. I can see new things in the new light. It feels refreshing. I can still feel the warmth of the movie and the message the movie was trying to convey.

Really recommended.

This will be one of my most favourite movie. And sure I will rewatch it. Thanks for the great show.

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Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

The legendary team of Kurosawa Akira and Mifune Toshiro tackle Shakespeare's Macbeth in Throne of Blood. While hitting most of the bard's main beats, Kurosawa takes the murderous couple to feudal Japan in this highly stylized film.

Mifune plays Washizu (Macbeth) caging the frenetic energy always just below this actor's surface. Washizu and his friend Miki are returning to their lord's keep, aptly named Spider Web Castle, after defeating an opposing lord's army in battle. Lost in the woods, they come across a ghostly forest spirit who foretells their future. Washizu will become the next lord of Spider Web Castle and Mizi's son will become it's future lord. Both men are incredulous as they make their way to the castle through the fog, even more incredulous when the prophetic events begin to come true.

Washizu becomes the leader of the North Garrison where he and his wife (the talented Yamada Isuzu) live a comfortable life. Lady Washizu is not content though and stirs up feelings of ambition and dread in her husband telling him that the lord may seek to kill him seeing him as a rival, especially if Miki tells of the prophecy. Washizu is not convinced but when the lord ominously drops into their hands, it doesn't take much convincing from his wife to perform the murderous deed. Miki throws in with him out of his own ambition or pragmatism. The prince and Noriyasu (Kurosawa regular-Shimura Takashi) flee to their old enemy and make a pact with him.

Lady Washizu unrelentingly keeps up the murderous whispers until man after man is slain in order to keep their new status. Even as they work to stay on top, the doubts and guilt begin to build until the subtle and not so subtle signs of madness begin to creep in. With each passing day his men's doubts grow as does the strength of their enemy.

There is all sorts of imagery in this film starting with Kurosawa's trademark wind and rain ushering in dark changes. Fog blinding the men as they try to find their way ushers in chaos and uncertainty. Washizu and Lady Washizu act almost as if they are wearing masks. She barely moves and when she does it usually means someone is about to die as the only sound you hear is the rustling of her silk dress as it slithers across the floor. At the end when the opposing army shows up, they are highlighted in sunlight while Washizu always seems to be in rain or fog or dim, claustrophobic lighting. The name Spider Web Castle reflects the deadly web the couple find themselves in, one they cannot extract themselves from.

The forest spirit tells Washizu and Miki,
"Human beings are so strange,
they are terrified to look into
the bottom of their hearts."

Washizu, his wife and Miki end up looking into their hearts and find more darkness than they were aware of. Paranoia drives Washizu to have his best friend murdered and see treachery all around him. The spirit's prophecy causes the chaos that sinks into a man's soul inciting greed and winning at any cost to take over. Was the spirit prophesying or setting events into motion with the prophecy? Did the men act of their own will or were they victims of predestination?

The sets were amazing. Always looking for that perfect shot, Kurosawa didn't like the initial castle set and had another imposing one built on Mt Fuji. In two different scenes, especially the final one, it didn't take much acting to show fear when arrows were being fired as they were really being shot at the actors.

Kurosawa wasn't afraid to use silence and time to create tension in scenes, something rarely used in today's films. The scene with the silent castle as the troops slowly approached not knowing if they would receive a welcome or death was particularly powerful.

Wind and fog come again at the end of the film along with the chorus, reminding the viewer that desire and fate are never changing. The castle of delusion is never far away when one gives into the baser ambitions at the bottom of their hearts. Throne of Blood uses no iambic pentameter, nor Shakespearean quotes, maybe it's the stronger for it.


9/29/22

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It's a good movie to make you cry, but don't expect too much from it.

I can't ignore the information that I was in tears for most of this movie.

Initially, I thought that my rating would be higher despite the worse ratings of other viewers. I also expected much more from this film, because the plot itself seemed to be good, but the execution is average. Most of this movie is about waiting for something to happen, the characters will meet again, or just Haruto will find out what's really going on with Misaki. This makes over two hours of length a bit too long for this story. It also made the mid-section boring a lot and to be honest I speeded it up a bit sometimes.

It's a good movie to make you cry, but don't expect too much from it.

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10 stories for 120 minutes of screen time. Roughly 12 minutes per story. Not enough. I understand that these are suppose to be a short formal, creepy past like tales, but the 15 minutes format should be the minimum. You need time to built at least a hint of a tension.

Tunnel ★☆☆☆☆
The first short story ended, before it even started. It's hard to have any meaningful opinion or thoughts about it with how short it was. Sure, there was one nice semi-gory picture created closer to the end, but overall - too short to create the atmosphere or to deliver the scares.

The Woman in Red ★☆☆☆☆
Revengeful ghost and vague insinuation on why she even mad. What stood out in this short? Bad acting and bad special effects. When the ghost started to do Spiderman impersonation, I lost it.

Tooth Worms ★★★☆☆
I knew this is going to be a ride the moment they opened it with the perspective of being in someone's mouth as they get check up by hot dentist Hoya. I'm not sure how scary it was, but it did make me feel extremely uncomfortable. Acting wise - Hoya delivered!

Necromancy ★★☆☆☆
This story was more of what I was expecting to see when I started Seoul Ghost Stories - typical creepy pasta type of a deal, with decent effects for a short like that. the acting was also fine.

The Wall ★★★☆☆
That was a short, fun and wacky story. A unique love line if anyone asks me.

The Closet ★★★☆☆
This is scary because of the more realistic scenario. I do wish they were a little bit more clear if there was any supernatural involvement, but nevertheless, this still gave me the most creeps. A bit exaggerated, but something that could potentially happen.

Ghost Marriage ★☆☆☆☆
When horror stories deliver shower abs scenes - I cannot force myself to complain. Sadly, that was the best part of the story.

The Girl in the Mirror ★☆☆☆☆
When you are hunted by the horror snapshot filters, even outside of the app. That's the story. Yes, it's as boring as it sounds.

The Mannequin ★★★☆☆
This was a win. They were able to built quite a tension in just few minutes and the design for the mannequin was extremely good. It just looked so weird and uncanny - and the movement. I would pee my pants if I ever come across something like that.

Escape Games ★★★☆☆
I'm impressed with Alexa's acting (funny how her Korean line delivery was more natural than the English one) and the props aka the bodies. Good stuff. Probably best practical and special effects from all the stories. The concept was not exactly unique - Escape Room meets occultists. Still, a fun watch. Better than majority of the stories in this compilation.

The starts next to the title will tell you how good they are compared to each other, rather than overall quality.

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Fantastic comedy!!! Highly Recommended

●We all have watched at least one movie/drama based on soul swapping or body swapping. so this movie has an identity swap while he suffers amnesia.

●All the fun elements happen action, romance, and comedy happens, when Choi Hyung Wook tries to do what he is good at, which is fighting and using knives in the new supposed life. This all has a great turn of events when he tries to become an actor which is even more hilarious.

●On the other side, after stealing the identity, Yoon Hye Sung Played by Lee Joon is the same as his past self. But he invites trouble without knowing the job of the person he is impersonating.

●Acting by everyone is top-notch, started it mainly because of Lee Joon and loved everyone while watching it. Yoo Hae Jin was an excellent choice to play the killer. Im Ji Yeon was really good, having a job as an emergency caregiver she had a warm heart and helped the ML in other aspects too

●I learned two things from this movie:
1>You cannot change the personality of the person. His inner self will be seen in his daily habits, that how he lives his life _ learned from Lee Joon
A2> person's outer self is not all that we see. It's highly possible that what he does for a living is different from what others see. _ learned from Yoo Hae Jin.

●my favorite scenes were the drama Choi Hyung Wook was shooting.

●Highly recommend for a dose of the comic.
If you don’t have anything to watch, then watch Luck-Key

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I love it so much I wish I hadn't watched it

so I could watch it again for the first time and feel all the feelings all over again. The gradual friendship between the two characters is beautiful and funny. These are two kids growing up to be young adults, trying to be a crutch for each other and you would ship them together right off the bat. The girl is brave and honest with her feelings and has the "whatever I'll do it so what" attitude that you root for her. The boy is amused by this attitude and doesn't hide it a bit. He is more complex than the popular party boy facade he shows through his live shows. The classmates are hilarious. No one is evil and every one is human.

It's about friendship, youth love, forbidden love, family love, dreams, rejection, acceptance, and be in peace with who you are.

The music is GREAT and fitting. I have them in a loop on Spotify. Never thought I'd like anything from Coldplay before this.

SPOILER and my thoughts on it starting here:

No one dies. Ok good.
The ending makes me sigh in relieve albeit still with a tad of heartache. Well, what can I say, there are many kinds of happy ending.
I understand why he can't love her the way she wants him to and I love how he is honest with her and himself about it. Is he gay? Yes I'd like to think that he is and that's why we never hear the voice of his ex nor see the face. I mean, he's very very very cute and I wish the girl gets him but he is so lovable that I'm glad he is happy in his own right by the end of the movie. I also understand her disappointment but relieved that she accepts it eventually and walks her own path.

At least they kiss. A good one too at that.

I would love to rewatch it but I'm not ready yet.

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Radiant indeed! Honest. Real. Powerful. Intense. Soulful. As is the life of the Haenyeo.

Remarkable. Exceptional. A Shining Star in KMovieHeaven.
"Everglow" is radiant indeed. Honest. Real. Powerful. Told in few words only, but with wonderful pictures and profound scenes with soulful encounters. Full of love for the island, the Haenyeo, the sea, the landscape, life and love - in whatever form it chooses to show itself.

Go Doo-shim has surpassed herself many times in her long career as an actress and has set an unforgettable monument to many a female archetype. But in this life-affirming chamber piece that breathes pure nature, she surpasses herself a bit more: in the role of one of the comparatively few remaining, unique Haenyeo divers on Yejudo's coasts: Grumpy, dismissive, plain, robust, simple, strong, tireless, helpful, sensitive, profound, motherly, grandmotherly, friendly, old wise woman as well as tender, vulnerable, radiantly in love. With a great pain and a big heart - but she keeps both hidden deep inside of her. "Life makes life go on." Deeply connected and yet alone. Al(l)One with everything, while diving in the sea.


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The Haenyeo...
...are at home in the silence of the sea. Every day for up to 7 hours, in and under water, while holding their breath for more than 3 minutes. Breaking the surface, in stages they loudly blow out the air they are holding, while breathing in fresh oxygen, too. "Sumbisori" is the name of the peculiar whistling sound, for which each haenyeo finds its own variation. When they have deposited their prey in the net and their breathing has returned to normal, they launch again and dive back down into stillness. This is a world unto itself. Mentally focused on the now. Physically hardened by sun, wind and salt water. Depending on the time of year, tide and weather, several hours in the sea are followed by long breaks in order to warm up by the fire, together with the other haenyeo. Haeneyo is what women do. Haenyeo shapes the women of the island, makes them self-confident, independent and firmly connected in matriarchal community. After warming up, it's back into the water for several hours. It is an intense, existential, essential life in total surrender to the sea.

"Everglow" honors the life and tradition of the sea women or daughters of the sea in two respects, in that the story of the story has just such a monument and legacy as its subject: A documentary about the Haenyeo, which is to be broadcast on television.

Girl power and Haenyeo go hand in hand on Jejudo. Life on the island follows different rules and rhythms than on the mainland. Diving for valuable seafood of all kinds off the coasts of the volcanic island has traditionally been a woman's job. A lucrative one at that. The seabed is like extended farmland. The Haenyeo and its contribution to the cultural life on the island is undisputed and has even been included in the UNESCO list of intangible world heritage sites since 2016. Since 2017, the Haenyeo have also been officially recognized as an intangible cultural asset of South Korea. A culture that is dying out. Hardly any of the professional divers today are under 50, most are over 60. The technical equipment is almost the same as at the beginning of their career, which begins for most at about 8 years - with plenty of swimming and diving training in shallow water. From about 15 they are then considered "Baby Haenyeos". Experience and training are everything, because it's about nothing less than daily survival using enormous lung capacity, robust physicality for high resistance to the cold and a lot of practice in equalizing pressure. Once you are a daughter of the sea, you rarely get away from it. There is no retirement age. After bathing suits became neoprene suits, the time in the water between breaks could be significantly increased. Some swim out from shore, others take boats, and still others engage in some form of island hopping. Each has their sea farm, which they reap almost daily.

And each has a tremendous knowledge of nature, the sea, the wind and the tides. The women always work in community, take breaks in community and support each other in community. Haenyeo are environmentally conscious marine experts from the very beginning and pioneers of an emancipated life. (Significantly, Jin Ok is given the suffix or title 'Uncle' - as the eldest of her group, she is both a person of respect and, as the binding matriarchal head of the community, equal to any man who would otherwise hold this position in Confucian tradition.)





----------------- SIDE NOTE: --- Uprising 1948/49 ---
Since "Everglow" deals with the simple life of the now mostly old Haenyeos on Jejudo, the memories of the 72-year-old protagonist inevitably also touches on a lesser-known event in recent history that shook the island deeply: an uprising against an anti-communist government campaign. Between April 1948 and May 1949, the resistance cost around 30,000 people (about 10 percent of Jejudo's residents) their lives.
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A binge-watch movie

One of the most worthy Chinese movie.......I would've surely regretted it if I didn't watch this movie. A campus/school love drama/movie is everyone's type. I started off with the same mindset. I am just amazed by the story and direction. And the twist had me in the second half. A dream movie.....and their friendship is so awesome. Their friendship and their understanding is always a dream childhood for me. The enjoyment they have, the bitter-sweet truths....their understanding..... A heart touching film it is!
I started this movie and after 20 minutes or so the movie was not subbed. Then I again did a big research for the websites to watch this movie. I was restless till I found a website where it was fully subbed and I immediately completed the film. And now I'm starting to miss this!.......And the acting was so amazing!!......I suggest everyone to watch this movie.

The movie is available in 'kisskh' website with English subtitles.
Link: https://kisskh.me/Drama/One-Week-Friends--2022-/Episode-1?id=5907&ep=103386&page=0&pageSize=100

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Worth a watch if you are into action

This is a short lazy review :)

This movie is not bad at all. Very watchable, lots of action (and blood and if you're into it, gruesome deaths), and the story is ok. It could've been a lot better though, I'm not sure why scenes were edited a certain way, but I could follow it.

There are some annoying troupes, but at least they keep it simple. I will mention that they swap the usual male and female roles that you see in C-dramas. Remember that annoying/gullible/child-like female lead you disliked, well imagine them making the husband to the female lead like that... I do like that they at least made it seem that he was worthy of her.

I rated it a 6/10, but I enjoyed watching this greatly (I wouldn't watch it again though). It surprised me on how they handle some things well, but then there were just some things (editing and effects) I couldn't let go.

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