Reviews

It is about Sisterhood - with a deep connection transcending age and nation. Yet in a man´s world.

When watching KMovies, one stumbles across productions that are surprisingly quiet and told with comparatively few words. "Moonlit Winter" is one of them. A quiet road movie of a mother an her daughter enriched with pictorial symbols and allegories. Like a long cold winter night.

It's about the unhappy love between two young girls that wasn't allowed to be. (SIDE NOTE: To this day, homosexual love is socially outlawed in South Korea. Starting with the younger generation, a little more tolerance is creeping into society, but only at a snail's pace they are starting to find something like solid ground under their feet.)

It is about the (need for) reconciliation with the past. About shame, guilt and forgiveness. And about choosing yourself first. Self love. And then, strengthened in that, one can choose anything, including a relationship... even if it's a homosexual one that still is socially undesirable...

Intense! The list of awards is correspondingly long. However: The intensity could easily be missed, because the quiet, long winter nights are what they are: Long. Dark. Cold. If you don't discover the magic of the diffuse moonlight for yourself, then time can get pretty dreary and gloomy.

The cast fits the show. They are all radiating and keeping the intensity in minimalistic terms.

It is about women with a deep connection transcending age and nation. About Sisterhood!
Tender. True. Yet in a man´s world.

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Intensive. Rough. Monosyllabic. If you don't let that put you off: Definitely worth seeing!

On average, every month (!) around 1,000 North Koreans flee to China in the hope of thus escaping hunger and persecution. Around 80 percent of the refugees are women. In many respects they are dependent on their unfamiliar environment - due to the uncertainty regarding residence law they practically live in a legal vacuum. Their fate all too often ends in the hands of smugglers and human traffickers who shamelessly exploit their insecure situation and ruthlessly make use of this for their own profit. The women are kept in brothels under slave-like conditions or forced into marriage. The bribes are increasing in view of tightened border controls. And unfortunately, China delivers all the refugees it identifies as such back to North Korea, where they then await torture and death. They live in constant fear of attacks, violence and deportation.

"Beautiful Days" tells the true story of a North Korean woman who makes it out of fear and dependency into an independent identity and a new life in South Korea. Her new life not rosy either, but it's free and self-determined.

Lee Na-young convinces here in a true-to-life and unembellished depiction of a bitter, merciless development process - from the abandoned teenager, who is forced into sex work and marriage, who is then threatened with taking her child away to sell it, and then despite all the hopelessness, persistently and unswervingly manages to escape her pimp, emancipate herself and earn enough money as an independent woman to support her family in China from afar.

By the way: In "Beautiful Days" there are actually no "beautiful" days. The title is pure irony. Dialogues are minimized. There is hardly any room for closeness and tenderness in this rough, monosyllabic world. The few loving gestures can practically be counted on one hand, but their effect is thus even stronger.

Intensive. Rough. If you don't let that put you off: Definitely worth seeing!

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Disppointing

I'm using the word disappointing because I'd hoped something better from the duo of Kim Hye-soo and Han Suk-kyu.
They both are such exceptional actors, that it's only fair to expect the best from them.

I wouldn't say that I'm that much disappointed with the movie, but because I'd expected better from them.

The story is about a villain, Chang-in, (han Suk-kyu) who is a robber stealing cultural artifacts. He cuts out a deal with a business chaebol to deliver him a set of teapot, which is an ancient artifact and has a very high value.
But that item is in the house of the widow, Yeon-joo (Kim Hye-soo) who is living alone with her daughter and is in depression.
Jeon-joo's daughter was a child actor, whose popularity has faded, and she is constantly bullied by her classmates. The relationship between mother and daughter is limited to make her food and drop her to school. No ocnverstation, no playing with her, no talking, nothing.
He disguised himself as an author and rented out the room from Yeon-joo, to snoop around the house and steal that item.
One thing led to another, and Chang-in wooed Yeon-joo in order to gain access to her house and basement.

The basics story is whether he would be able to retrieve that item and can they both be in a relationship that is not based on deception.

While I found the story to be interesting, the execution was not up to the point.
Hye-soo and Suk-kyu lacked any form of intimacy or chemistry.
But the worst thing is how the relationship of daughter and Yeon-joo developed over the course of the movie. Least to say, I was not happy with how she was portrayed in the movie. The writing could've done a better job in developing a better character arc for Yeon-joo and also for her daughter. Yes, the ending suggest a better relationship between the two, but in the end the execution was not perfect.

I watched this movie because of Kim Hye-soo, and as her fan, I was not disappointed by her acting, but things could've been a much better. I think the direction was lacking, especially in the second-half.
Not only that, but I didn't quite like how the character of Seong-ah was handled.

Story wise - 6/10
Acting - 7/10
Overall - 6.5/10

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Jo Yeo-jeong is the boldest Korean actress I've seen.
Keeping that in mind, I dived headfirst into watching this movie.
Quite frankly, I'd no high expectations from this movie considering it's a sex-comedy, a genre I'm not a fan of But still watched this because of Jo Yeo-jeong.
And frankly, I was surprised how hilarious this movie turned out to be.

Chemistry between Jo Yeo-jeong and Clara Lee were spot on and both complimented each other, either in emotional scenes or comedy scenes.
The same can be said with the chemistry of Jo Yeo-jeong with Kim Tae-woo. I don't know if this is rude to say or not, but their s*x scenes were quite hilarious and steamy.
Since it's a comedy movie, I can say that one will not be disappointed seeing this movie. It will guarantee some good hearty laugh, while at the same time was also a bit emotional towards the end.
I will recommend these movies, if you are open to watch such taboo topic and are looking to have a good laugh.
Jo Yeo-jeon has been amazing. I know I'm mentioning her a lot, but it's the kind of performance that sticks with you.

There's nothing new to the story. The same old woman starting a business, keeping it a secret from her family and ultimately husband, understanding that how important is if for a woman to be independent. Nothing new, nothing surprising except the business they both chose to start.

Comedy rating - 9.5/10
Story - 7/10
Acting - 8/10

I didn't have high expectations, but it's safe to say that this movie "Exceeded Expectation".

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A very enjoyable movie about young music students involved in ancient instruments revival

I watched this movie back in 2017, and liked very much the showcase of new musical trends, notably gufeng as it is termed here, which work towards a revival of ancient instruments, from the better known erhu, pipa and guzheng string instruments that are still used in folk music, to really ancient ones that can now mostly be found in museums : the bianzhong bronze bell carillon, etc.. The young yangqing player and the members of her new band played and acted very well as dedicated musicians and shy or outspoken otakus living their lives in cosplay. It showed the emerging subculture of the young who devote themselves to gaming, mangas and fanfiction while they are still at school or in college.

The concerts were highlights : the epic music battle opposing the the classical instrument players and the ancient instruments department, won by the cheeky suona ; the performance of Sun Quan The Emperor at the ACG (anime, comics and gamig) convention with the guest appearance of Luo Tianyi! And the last part with the youth concert and the CGI mythical beasts flying over the stage , followed by the brief apearance of mandopop legend Eason Chan were also very memorable.

It was a thrill for those who already knew something about the music and subculture, and a smooth introduction for those who did not and had to stay on the surface of the youth romance. It could perhaps have benefited from some captions, to better enlighten the older or foreign audience unfamiliar with the tunes and celebrities that appeared there.

The new trends in pop music have been branching out in many directions since the emergence of Chinese pop stars like Deng Lijun back in the 1980s and the disco style of Sally Yeh who took Chinese listeners by storm in 1991 with her song Xiao sa zou yi hui (Gracefully walking). Mandopop or cantopop are relatively well known also abroad, spearheaded by a number of stars who, over the years, took the tunes closer to Chinese spirit, while introducing foreign elements such as rap and hip hop, which first found its footing in tunes by legends such as JJ Lin (Cao Cao) and especially Jay Chou (Fearless, etc) - proponents of the new rhythms that evolved into what is now termed as zhongguofeng incorporating Chinese opera style singing or literal musical quotes such as in the songs Chi Ling or Mangzhong,.
At the opposite end of the spectrum were bands such as S.H.E. from Taiwan who belted out songs like Zhongguohua, but also songs incorporating tunes from western classics such as in Bu xiang zhang da. The new Z.Tao style Cpop is unapologetically influenced by K-pop bands and EDM dance music, as well as by American rap : these songs (T.A.O. Alone, Collateral Love, Cross the Line etc) were composed with the explicit purpose of bringing Chinese music to the attention of global audiences, therefore incorporating titles and lines in English together with the rapid fire rap in mandarin.
Gaming music on the other hand, also pays homage to ancient Chinese culture and singing ; it is enjoying an ever bigger popularity with games such as Genshin impact and League of Legends. The Vocaloid phenomenon Luo Tianyi has also drawn enormous crowds to "her" concerts, which make use of ancient music styles mixed with electronica.
Even though these tunes are not explicitly mentioned in the movie, they are the nurturing ground for the type of music that is heard.

A 24 episode drama version by the same production crew has been released in 2019, retitled "Our Shiny Days".

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Worth the time spent to watch.

Worth the time spent to watch.
It's funny (& has quite a good points hit.....couple "moral of the story is" points.....

Like: don't judge people on: outward appearances - or on who their parents are - or on what their parents do - or how they/relitives behave (just cause someon's parents - siblings are... don't treat someone like diamonds or scrap because of their relatives are _ or what people say about them watch & listen to the person/let their own merits speak for them..... ), be a real friend not a one way friend..... Etc.), & good dancing - break dancing.....

Going to re watch (now that prewatched it & made sure safe for whole family) with whole family, the children will love the clean comedy, dancing, & break dancing.

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Do not take it seriously

Aight, it's entertainment if you can bare absolute nonsense. I do wonder, if the writers of these movies research more than 1 min about, well, anything.

But, the cast indeed is great and gives it their all - and they are the reason that I watched the movie till the end.
In short: lost treasure. Several parties want to find it, due to different reasons. Adventure follows. Small romance plot. Kick-ass fighting (that indeed was good).

Now, because I have to say this:

Who in their good mind, any mind really, loads a ship's cargo onto the deck of a sailer (without securing said cargo in any way?!). Loading that much gold onto deck means, yes hon everyone can see it, isn't it shiny?! and, oh guess what, there are waves on the ocean. Wave good bye to that gold as soon as you leave port. And I am not even starting on the weight of gold and the freaking impossibility of a ship of that size holding that much weight (if there also is gold below deck that is, maybe the genius who put it on deck just left the whole treasure up there). And with that they got through all the turbulent sea stuff all till the island? Are you kidding me? Guess most of the treasure got lost on the way. Told ya, wave good bye to those gold bars. Ha.

Penguins are not animals that A want to cuddle. B can pull an adult sized human that struggles along with them in the water. C they smell like really really bad - you do not want to cuddle them actually. Exception might be if you smell like fish, and lay around patiently for a long time, they are quite curious.

AN ICE CAVE ON A TROPICAL ISLAND AT SEA LEVEL?????!!!!

Forget the story with a lot of holes in it, but this at least the writers could have gotten right. Thus my annoyance really, because this is basic stuff that's not that hard to read up about.

Anyhow, again, the cast was good. Really. I don't know why and how they kept me watching, and even got me to smile now and then, and yes, pine a little bit for certain characters, but they did. Kudos to them. NOT the writers. Gee.

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I must say that this has been my least favorite Kamen Rider Build outing so far.

I get that this was a Banjo Ryuga vehicle and Cross-Z was given the chance to shine for once but that Sento was totally sidelined, as in, he didn't leave the lab even once during the whole movie... IMHO, that was taking it one unnecessary step too far.

Another reason why I didn't like this event as much was the roughly shoehorned love interest for Banjo. Female characters who are made to punch and kick men for the viewers' LULZ are really not my cuppa and she just really irritated me. Like, she blamed Banjo for not saving her in the middle of a big battle while he was fighting alien creatures, outnumbered several to one? I mean, he might be a Kamen Rider but he's not Superman!

The best moment for me was when Banjo called Sento his hero and he found in him his inspiration and strength to get up and fight. That was cool!

Overall, I'm glad that their loved ones finally remembered Sento and Banjo but overall, it kinda left a bit of a foul aftertaste in my mouth, for the above-mentioned reasons. It didn't feel like Build anymore.

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ugh frustrating ending!!!

from the word go Hyehin seemed suspect to me. everything was too convenient. her first reprimanding Minzy cause her skirt was too short, then letting her off with a smile. Minzy then finding that weird pic of herself changing in the locker-room among they books. Hyehin informing her, that she put it there and knows who the culprit was... everything just tooo "well timed," one thing falling into a slot after the other. like them then watching Mr. Lee with his polaroid camera - it "smelt" to high heaven -

but u don't get all the answers at once - u notice slowly that Minzy might be infatuated with Hyehin. that's why she's going along with her - blindly. kept wondering why Hyehin target her - cause there a ton of other girls in that class. but it's cause she knows Minzy smitten - easier to manipulate. and that's what all this boils down too. Hyehin using Minzy to get what she wants - back with Mr. Lee? or to start something idk (unsure off that) but for sure, she as smitten with him as Minzy is with her.

the ending is Minzy realizing, she has been used. Hyehin used her from the start to get at / back with Mr. Lee and he folded (either taking her back - or considering/accepting her offer). seeing them together and then to get called back and reprimanded cause of lying. cause Hyehin admitted "they made it all up" - does she blow the whole thing exposing Mr. Lee having affairs with students and why Hyehin suddenly found a "conscience " or what....
but considering her holding the evidence in her hands, there zero options then for the truth to come out - so guess this Not an open ending - and yet frustrating cause u wanna see it through.

interesting movie - love might be the word of the day, but is that the motivation behind every character's actions? in a distorted sort of way, i guess u can say that the motivation behind their actions was love - not the healthy, wholesome kind. and Mr. Lee as good looking as he is, is just a predator that shouldn't be allowed to teach children - no matter their age.

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Remake of the original

While reading the summary I found it to be a remake of a Bollywood film that goes by the same name.
'ALONE' starred by Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover the movie is definitely worth watching and keeps you on your toes.
If language isn't a problem then I do suggest giving both movies a try.
The film ends with a twist that some may not see coming.
Both movies were based on the Tales From The Crypt episode "My Brothers Keeper".
The film is worth its time and a roller coaster with its amazing background music and eerie atmosphere.


Hope you found my review helpful:))

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Slower than cold molasses in winter time....

Similar to the American film 'The exorcism of Emily Rose' which combines the horror genre with courtroom drama, 'The Medium' tries to combine the horror genre with biography/reality tv. I say try because I think it failed in generating sufficient interest or traction in either of it's intended genres.

Let us first tackle the 'horror' portion of the movie and all it's entailed expectations. The premise of the movie is interesting, we have a camera crew that is following a 'medium/psychic' who is purported to be possessed by one of the local Gods. As we follow her life, we are introduced to a her family members and the complicated family dynamics. This portion of the movie narrative takes almost 45 mins. Even I can introduce my family in lesser time and I have 21 first cousins.

Anyway after the sluggish introductions we delve deeper into the character of the medium's niece who I must say portrayed her character pretty well. We are one hour 10 minutes into the movie and I am yet to be scared. The creep factor of this movie is extremely slow. This would be acceptable if 'The Medium' was a thriller but it isn't and it is also not capable of keeping the audience engaged cause it's first half is extremely boring. As one of the reviewers previously mentioned, the first half could have been compressed into 12-15 minutes.

Unfortunately things don't get any better after one hour. While the story of possession becomes proven and the nieces antics become crazier there very little horror. It's more of a supernatural intent and horrific fascination with which we watch the behaviour of a possessed person. There are some scare-inducing moments, but when a movie is over 2 hours the moments feel extremely minuscule.

What fails this movie is also it's train wreck of an ending which begins half hour before the ending credits and just like the sluggish pace of it's intro, is slow but devolves into a complete parody. While 'The Medium' suffered from a sluggish plot line and inconsistent pacing, it was the farcical ending which was the final nail in it's coffin.

Now, speaking of the biography/reality tv portion of this movie it was majorly passive. The camera crew did not communicate much in terms of the story progression in the first one and half hour. When the story started picking up about monitoring the possessed person the camera crew started communicating with the possessed's family regarding the footage and the last half hour they were as active as the rest of the cast. I felt their presence was superfluous because if the intent was to gain a third-party perspective, there should have been more interactions between the camera crew and the audience/viewers since, the movie is what they 'filmed'. So I am confused whether this was actually supposed to be found footage horror in which case this is nowhere near 'Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum' standards. There was zero audience engagement with respect to this theme.

Overall:
The scares are relatively low and the movie is more into the depiction of gory or revolting behaviour. The pace is beyond sluggish with a smattering of interesting incidences. Overall, this movie could benefit from some serious editing and compression into a standard one/one-half hour movie. So would I recommend anyone to watch this? No. But if you are interested in the show be ware of the first half. This scores a 6.5/10 in my book.

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Falling in Love with your Wife's 'Daughter'?

It sounds terrible, 'Lolita'-like, but in 'Choki', it might be very different:

Naoto & Kyoko are a happy couple. Saki, a 7-year-old girl attends Kyoko’s calligraphy class. Abused by her own mother, between Saki & Kyoko, some kind of daughter-motherly relationship grow.

10 years passed. Kyoko's died and now, Naoto lives with the memories of his beloved wife. Saki, now blind, suddenly shows up, looking for Kyoko. Kyoko isn't there anymore, but her memories bring Naoto & Saki together. Gradually, they grow feelings for each other, but this is like a taboo for Naoto: How can he be in love with his beloved's 'daughter'? How can he betray Kyoko in this horrible way?

It's up to the audience to decide if the relationship is fine. To me, though very complicated, the relationship is like a present from Heaven by Kyoko for these two aching souls: I wish them the best!

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what the hell that I've just watched!!!!

What trash that I've just watch!!!! Very confusing story where the story just all over the place!!!!

Interested to watch this because of the title, hoping really about how someone planning a break up for couple who need break up.... At first yeah Xinping really do the breaking up couple, but upon more time the way she do it more rude & very messed up. And after meeting Zi Dong & Ma You Bo the story is just out of the track. The synopsis MDL gave, "Youbo’s appearance and sudden courtship changes Xinping’s outlook on love and soon, she falls for him" is just nah.... So out of place...

Not only that... The setting and lighting of this drama is very very dark. Not the dark in gloomy case, but the kind that make me have to put the setting on my screen more bright.

There are Bunch of more interesting & better drama than this one. Choose another one instead of this one. Even if you are the fans of the actor/ess just please choose other better movie or drama....

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Prepare to have tissues if cry easily

This film was so beautiful, l didn't expect to cry much, but I cried mostly in every scene. Every scene throughout the movie was very heartfelt, and it made me get teary eyes.

Ren and Rino were brilliantly portrayed by the actors that played them. In the film, I also enjoyed their best friends. I admire Rino's friends for sticking by her side when she was going through a tough time in her life. I also respect her boyfriend's commitment to her and how he stood by her side throughout the hardship. Ren took excellent care of Rino. He made sure that she and he were both happy. I'm glad he and Rino didn't have to experience it alone; they had their friends, classmates, Ren's parents, and Rino's grandfather to help them out. 

When Rino and her grandfather came back from the hospital after Rino got diagnosed with ALS, I cried—watching her cry first because she knew how difficult this would be for her and her family around her. Then her grandfather watching his granddaughter cry made me sob even harder; he knew what she would have to face later in life and how difficult it would be for her.

Rino and Ren were in Rino's bedroom, and Rino indicated she wanted to do it with him. Ren, on the other hand, was taken aback; he wanted it as well, but he wanted it to be a memorable experience for them. Ren's perspective on the subject is appealing to me. He didn't hurry into it; instead, he waited for the perfect moment.

This film may appear to be slow, but you must remember that it is a sad film with a slow pace. Despite the film's slow tempo, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I plan to rewatch which will probably make me cry even more.

The actors performed such an excellent job portraying the characters that you can sense their emotions in every moment. Despite the fact that the film was sad and heartbreaking, it made me smile. The story was really motivating, and it sent a profound message about the importance of life. It teaches you to appreciate life to the fullest since you never know what will come your way. This film was a roller coaster of emotions. I would strongly suggest it to anyone; however, bring a box of tissues with you.

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