Expected More from this
This movie was not what I had expected.I enjoyed the movie. It felt dark, and gritty. I loved the characters, even with all their flaws and insecurities.
The movie is about flawed characters and their tangled life. Which I do not mind, its just that I do not have to like them and/or sympathize with them. The character Imagase is obsessed, a stalker and cajoled his "Love" into having sex. He pushed him to a point where the other guy "Falls" in love with him and longs for him. Otomo repeatedly and continually cheats. He has no respect for anyone else's feelings. I think he is a sociopath. Extremely self-obsessed and emotionally immature. Yes people like these are all around us and in a movie we would like to see the redemption part of such characters. Here I felt that was missing. There was no redemption for Imagase. He is still as obsessed with Otomo as he was before to a point tha he cannot even enjoy sex with someone else, even though he chose to leave Otomo. Otomo appears to have redemption by falling in love with Imagase, which is really unrealistic, cause this is a realistic movie and sociopaths need serious rehabilitation. By loving someone you cannot redeem yourself. There was no serious consequences for the two lead characters, they have treated other people with such disrespect that the movie should have shown some consequences for them. Yes, one can argue that they did not end up together and there was no happy ending. To be honest these two characters cannot be happy together unless they work on their issues. May be at the end the makers wanted to show some glimpse of road to redemption by Otomo, but Imagase was left hanging. All in all it was not a satisfying experience for me to watch this. I am all for movies portraying complex characters who are ruthless and self absorbed. But I am against glorifying them and I think in this movie both these characters were glorified and the director wanted us to sympathize with them. Sorry I could not.
Overall: Its not a movie I would recommend, guess its basically up to you to give it a try.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Wisdom of the gays
I finished this movie last night, and like always, I either forget what I have watched right away or it becomes something I need to analyze deeply. This movie is one worth analyzing. It is NOT masterpiece, visual effects are just too much and lame, but there is something more to that. I will try to keep it short!THINGS I DID NOT LIKE:
• Visual effects
• Acting is average
• Lack of intimacy (and I do not mean bed scenes)
• Lack of chemistry (not entirely, just not enough)
THINGS I LOVED:
• Story, whole story
• Encounter with every character was a story of it's own and had a deep profound meaning, I just needed to look below the surface:
* Old gay couple with a 23 years long relationship and everything that the life brings is perfect metaphor for in sickness and in health,
*"Hungry" lesbian is a symbol of a struggle of being unaccepted by her family but willing to risk and do absolutely everything just to be with the person she loves,
*Lesbian in a hotel is a symbol of making a decision work vs love etc
• End, wonderful sad ending. Even though slightly unexplained I was into it. It has some space for personal interpretation.
OVERALL:
This movie is a rough diamond. As I am visual type of person, I can not get over the visual effects, but I can appreciate the tiny details like scents, and photography that is not bad at all. So if someone has time and money this movie screams for a remake, just make it less obvious and give more time for character development, include more LGBTQ+ characters and I guarantee you an awesome movie that can be worldly famous!
Was this review helpful to you?
Hong Kong love triangle with a "Fatal Attraction"-like ending!
First of all, "nudity' is not a big part of this movie: you see the back and butt of Veronica Yip in one scene, the rest is women in (very nice-looking) lingerie, two girls in small bikinis, and a dress or two ripped open but no nipples revealed. There is also 'simulated sex" but no visuals.This is a hilariously funny but dramatic movie!
An antiques dealer Simon (Simon Yam) plays the boyfriend/lover of a leading Hong Kong lawyer Sandy (Sandra Ng) but gets involved with a married woman Mrs. Lau (Veronica Yip) over an antique watch which he desperately wants to get his hands on!
Simon and Mrs, Lau begin a passionate love affair on land and sea, culminating with Mrs. Lau becoming obsessed with Simon, and the death of her husband. Simon's trial is very dramatic yet ends with a fabulous twist to the ending!
The main three cast put on a very convincing show of being in love or lust with each other, with Simon playing a suave 'lady's man' who makes all the right moves and says all the right things to keep his libido and the two ladies satisfied throughout the movie.
Sandy, played by a known comical actress, keeps her relationship with Simon on edge through the movie, with several funny scenes to keep you awake for more! Mrs. Lau portrays a nymphomaniac when it comes to passion!
The two-support cast also do a great job in their roles and allowing the main cast to complete the story: I would like to mention
Valentino (Michael Chow) in his support role and one off-the-wall scene with two bikini-clad beauties; you will laugh your head off during and after the scene!
The music and cinematography were excellent for this time period, and the locations shows off some of the best scenery of Hong Kong for this time period
I like the way that the movie flowed around the type of dialogue that ordinary people would have in their daily lives.
I like the scenes of the antiques mall and the high-end dresses worn by the bidders and lady friends of the other bidders.
The food presented envisioned high-class society members enjoying the best food as their normal meals; everything reeked of high society Hong Kong in the 1990s.
I did not like the 'rushed' buildup of the plot/story; it could have spent a little more time on this aspect.
The ending was a surprise; I didn't think that it would turn out the way it did, but I was hoping for a happy ending for Simon and Sandy!
It had the right combination of comedy/drama/and a fight scene as well!
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!
Was this review helpful to you?
Enjoyable Kids Movie
I enjoyed this kids' movie but really wanted to love it. I think kids will like it a lot, but it did get a little slow in the middle. I thought it was going to be a little more like the American movie 3 Ninjas, not that it's a great film but kids really like it. There was some heaviness about the boys and why some of them were left at the monastery with the monks. In fact, it was sad as hell to me. Overall, the cast was really good, and they found "real kids" to play the parts of the young monks.Yoon Sung Woo as Piggy was fantastic, and he was a good friend to have trying to be supportive and listen. Really liked that character. I like the main child actor who played Jingu as well but my apologies b/c I don't know his real name and since I don't read or speak Korean, I have been unable to confirm any of his information. Choi Hyun Jin and Ham Hee Soo both fit their characters as well.
There were some genuinely funny moments between the kids and one of the villains.
Was this review helpful to you?
Finding back the love of learning
A lot of times people have slowly forgotten the purpose of learning like how we used to be. Education had somehow become a tool or an instrument just for the sake of competing for qualifications, to use it as a weapon to threaten others, or it's just another money game to further widen the class difference between rich and poor, as what has been depicted in the movie. In fact, learning should be an excitement of discovering something with the intention of interest in it, instead of just using it to survive, but sadly there's only so few people that do so. In this case, the movie tried to achieve a pure heart for learning mathematics with the chemistry between Choi Minsik and Kim Donghwi that is so impeccable because no matter if we're old or young, learning should be a fun thing as how it always should be from the beginning.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Ekin + Joyce + dog are the best parts of this movie
Ekin Cheng's character Evan is thankfully not the sexist person I was imagining from the robot girlfriend premise - at one point after getting his robot girlfriend 001 (Chrissie Chau who does quite well too) he speaks up for a lady being talked down to by a rich entitled guy.Joyce Cheng playing a different sort of robot girlfriend 003 compared to 001 and 002 is refreshing, but her character's nickname is a fat joke in Chinese, and she could have gotten more character development.
There's a cute doggie who does not die! And some commentary on the concept of human versus digital memories.
Unfortunately, apart from the heart-warming sisterhood between the robot girlfriends, and Evan's ex Janice being seemingly reasonable in the first half of the movie, the flesh and blood exes are basically catfighting the robot girlfriends - not very feminist as it implies actual woman can't be nice!
Evan's ending involving a girl wearing spectacles (representation for feminine presenting people who wear glasses!) is kind of cute, but the other two guys getting identical happy endings is too much of a coincidence.
In fact, this movie would have been better if it had been just about Evan and 001 with 003 as her bestie! The other two guys didn't really leave an impression on me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Kept me on the edge of my seat.
Woa! This was such a heartwarming movie. Even though the base of the story is very simple and dare i say mainstream, the way the writer and director kept me on the edge of my seat was very well executed. I was completely qlueless untill the very last 10 minutes on how the story would end. And to be fair, i didnt mind it at all. The actors were great. And even though there were obvious hints about the female leads general feeling throughout the story, i felt very much comfortable with either choises she could have made in the end. Very great story about new and old friendships.Was this review helpful to you?
Good but not living up to the manga at all
I just finished reading the manga so thought might give this a try despite the bad reviews, and I get why people didn't enjoy this cause it was so weird and different from the original work.I think Hirotaka's character was completely different, and Narumi lost some of her charms, too. Totally don't understand why they decided to let Hanako and Kabakura be cameo appearances while these 4 are the core characters, I love their relationship so much.
To be fair, I don't think it's that bad, I actually like the new Sakamoto character, he is a pretty hardcore otaku and it was so funny every time he appears. The musical sounds nice, I love the dance between Narumi and Kabakura (despite it being so weird).
The acting was great, I love Nanano, she is so pretty, sad to not see more of her.
So I guess just watch at your own risk, don't take it too seriously and you might enjoy it more.
Was this review helpful to you?
THOUGHT PROVOKING
M not a fan of writing reviews but this needed one.This movie dint get any attention as it deserved. People don't care enough to watch movies like this which influence your perspective about life n how you see people and things without judging them but with neutrality n humanity.
This movie is amazing, heartwarming, emotional n most of all realistic. How can a person with criminal background who has spent 28 years in prison can survive the brutal world outside the prison?
The ML here is violent but extremely emotional, deadly combination. Can He who can't see injustice n bullying against the weak learn to ignore n live like others without a care about anyone else?
Good dialogues n Amazing acting by everyone especially our ML it was great to see Yakusho Koji smiling cutely n crying like this, i dnt remember him playing a role like this one.
I hope people take out their valuable time n watch this.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
this kind of movie reminded me of those old romcom ftv i used to watch- office setting
- main couple who met few years ago, but separated and don't recognize each other when they met again
- jealous/clingy side fl
- sad side ml
- cohesive side couple
- rushed happy ending
an overdone cliche (if they add disapproving parents, it'd be perfect)
actors did good with their roles. music was nothing memorable
i didn't hate it. but i don't think i would recommend this to anyone.
Was this review helpful to you?
"Don't Even Fight With Women Anymore"
First of all, it only shows the back of a woman's body when it comes to nudity, so don't let this keep you from watching this great, spellbinding movie!I was on the edge of my seat from about 10 minutes into the movie all the way to the end!
The director kept the pace quick with continuous changing twists in the movie, which also involved the couple's dog!
The husband disappears in about 10 or so minutes of the movie and only comes back for even less time, the male villain Sam Chu (Anthony Wong) and the blind wife Mrs. Ng (Veronica Yip) carry the rest of the movie with small appearances by support cast, but HOW they carry it!
Their performances opposite each other couldn't have been better!
Veronica Yip plays a 'kept' wife whose only decisions revolve around which clothes she wears each day; she at the beginning of the movie couldn't fight he way out of a paper bag! But the physical and psychological terror that she endures during the time of her temporary blindness gives her the backbone and tenacity to stand up for herself.
The cast all do a fantastic job in this movie, even if the support cats' scenes were brief! Great actors and actresses all around!
I like the fact that the wife finds the ingenuity to try to get help and also the fact that she developed the ability to defend herself against her intruder: I also love the ways she used what she had in the house to create chaos for the intruder.
The cinematography was great as well as the music!
I don' t know what else to say, except don't watch this unless you have the time to be completely entertained and mesmerized!
One comment about the support cast: The lone Hong Kong cop got what he deserved by not calling for backup.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It's a "NO" from me, dawg.
Was very surprised that a Kpop Idol would accept this sort of role, but I guess she'd like to break barriers.The trailer from the start was already cringe to me, but I decided to explore it anyways because I was curious about a Kpop Idol acting in a BDSM themed movie.
I honestly don't think she is a very good actress overall, I've only seen her other acting in Scarlet Heart Ryeo.
This whole movie was awkward and cringe. Maybe because I am so vanilla that I am not a fan of BDSM.
But the thing here we have to be aware about is that: any type of intimacy or sexual activity is uncomfortably cringe and everyone has their own fetishes.
I felt that this movie lack a lot of emotional depth between the main characters. It wasn't a deep enough romance in my opinion.
I just watched it to check out the hype.
I would not recommend it to others.
Was this review helpful to you?
One of My First Ever Favourite Entrepreneur Movies!
It's been 10 years since this movie came out and luckily I had watched since it first released. I've gotta say this one is TOTALLY WORTH watching again and again if you are looking for inspiration, motivation, patience, and faith in life.The journey of Top was a rollercoaster of his hobbies, new ideas, challenges alongside, and success in his business. The script and director perfectly guided and especially the character himself is the role model for anyone and I can see a lot of relevance in his person compared to mine.
This is so far one my most favourite Thai movies since now and I am really looking forward to any movie can bring this breakthrough yet remaining the meaning spirit, regardless of entrepreneur topic!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Dragnet Girl is a mostly bloodless noir film featuring a gangster and his moll who were not nearly as bad as they thought they were.Joji is a washed-up boxer who turned to crime to make his living. Tokiko is his good time loving moll able to run scams on her own. Her target is the boss' son who keeps hitting on her at the office where she works her daytime job. Joji doesn't like the fact the boss is giving her jewelry, more importantly what she might be doing to earn the jewelry.
The characters come fast and furious, with almost no printed dialogue to help keep track. A young boxer, Hiroshi, tries to impress Joji at the boxing gym so that he can hire on with the stylish crook. So far life is good for Joji and Tokiko until he brings the kid aboard. Hiroshi's sister who works in a record store, complete with RCA's dog Victor cocking his head throughout the store, takes exception to her brother foregoing school to go down a dark path. Dressed in traditional garb she goes to Joji and begs him to turn her brother away. Joji takes an immediate liking to her, and it causes him to reflect on how he's living his life. Tokiko finds out about his desire for Kazuko and hunts the sister down with blood in her eye. Then as fate would have it, she too is charmed by Kazuko. And like Joji develops a sudden desire to go straight and live right. The last half of the film ramps up the tension and suspense in the storyline.
Director Ozu and cinematographer Shigehara Hideo made great use of light and shadow. Whether it was the shadows cast by the workers walking into the office, or faces and rooms half hid by shadow, they developed a proper noir film atmosphere. They highlighted everyday objects and architecture into beautiful composite frames. Outliers Joji and Tokiko were stylishly dressed in 1930's Western clothes. Sweet Kazuko, on the other hand, was always dressed and coifed traditionally. There was no music at all in the version I watched. Ozu did such fine work immersing the viewer into this world, that even though the film was silent you could almost hear the clacking of typewriter keys or a gun firing.
Oka Joji did a superb job showing Joji as dapper and invincible, then unravelling to a dejected and tormented man. Tanaka Kinuyo played the tough moll with a hidden heart of gold to perfection. Mizukubo Sumiko was given little to do as Kazuko except to float into and out of frame when needed and in brief moments, beg for her brother. Kazuko 's main role was to be the catalyst for Joji's and Tokiko's character development, with scant left over for the dutiful sister.
Dragnet Girl was an entertaining silent gangster film as it did not follow the mold of so many other crime movies. Ultimately, for me, it felt a little flat. The skill was there, the camera shots were lovely, and the actors did their jobs well. In the end, I remained unconvinced that quiet Kazuko could turn the two criminals lives upside-down like she did. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys old movies or old gangster movies as beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to this genre of film.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great depiction of a typical scene during a wake and burial for Filipino people
This movie felt realistic and all the scenes are common scenario when someone died on a Filipino household. Usually it starts with how the relatives are informed and the various reactions they have. Most of the time, siblings will be reunited specially for families with more than 4 children. Then they'll start to catch up with their life, some might even fight or make up. And of course it won't be complete without the superstitions which actually act as a comedic relief for the heavy situation wherein their father died. I bet a lot of Filipinos can relate to this movies in a lot of ways.The actors and actresses that are casted for the movie are also known personalities with years of experience on the industry so I love how they painted diversity among their characters. Despite the differences (and funny similarities) the characters showed off their great chemistry as siblings.
Overall, it has been a good watch. It's not an impressive movie per se however if you're someone who's interested about Filipino cultures and traditions specially the superstitions, this is a good place to start. It also involves unexpected stories and discoveries among the members of the families that they didn't know for years until their father died.
Was this review helpful to you?
