Completed
To Each His Own
2 people found this review helpful
by Emily
Apr 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

what it means to live

This movie means a lot to me, and I think everyone should see it at least once. It's not really BL (which is important to mention just because I initially found it due to that implication), but it's a beautiful movie about life and what it means to live, and there definitely is a lot of love between the leads in whatever form it might take.
It made me cry a lot, and it struck a chord with me personally at the time I watched it.
Once again, it's a beautiful movie and I'd highly recommend it, especially to anyone feeling lost or stagnate.
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Osaka Elegy
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 2.5
This review may contain spoilers

If I stay where I am, I don't know how much farther I'll fall

Osaka Elegy was a difficult film for me to rate. It attempted to reveal how men with money have power over women and even men with no money still exerted power over the women in their lives. Ayako, the female lead, did the wrong thing for the right reason in order to help the men in her life, only to suffer mightily for her selflessness.

Asai, the owner of a pharmaceutical company received no respect from his wife, nor did he give her any. He was verbally abusive of his female servants. At work he lusted after a young phone operator, Ayako. Initially, she rebuked his advances. She wanted to marry her noncommittal boyfriend and reached out to him for help. He was unable or unwilling to assist her family.
When her father was threatened with jail because of his embezzlement of 300 yen, she gave in and had an affair with Asai to pay off her father's debt. She would also pay off her brother's tuition. Neither man showed any gratitude, rebuffing her instead. Things went from bad to worse, eventually she was abandoned by all the men in her life showing her just how much their loyalty was worth.

Yamada Isuzu made a wonderful, conflicted heroine. She knew her father was inept and unkind, but still could not resist helping him by foregoing her dignity and reputation. Once ensconced as a mistress she began to forge her own limited power, a power dependent on the generosity of a more powerful man. Constantly rebelling against the label of a woman suffering from the "illness of delinquency" Ayako struggled to keep what dignity she could even when publicly humiliated. From shy telephone operator to a woman fiercely fighting for her future, from joy to utter despair, hopelessness to a tiny ray of hope, Yamada played out a wide array of emotions.

The film suffers from age, fading or blurry at times. Even with the shaky and blurred shots, there were many lovely and creative scenes. At times the camera gave the viewer distance literally and figuratively from the characters, at others it sat as a cold observer, intimately close to the destruction of trust and love.

Whether director Mizoguchi made this film as an indictment on the precarious situation of poor women or simply an observation of the women in the world around him, what played out was the price for not having power of one's own. Punishment awaited the woman stepping outside of conservative values even by the same unscrupulous people who turned her toward the dark to make their lives easier or more pleasurable.

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The Secret Weapon
2 people found this review helpful
by L C
Apr 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I thought this was ok. Not great. It’s your typical revenge drama with an ending that logically does not make sense, but you kinda have to go with it. This would have done a lot better had they gone with another ending or at least one that makes sense.

The GL is sweet at least. Probably one of the best from Thailand in 2021, but unfortunately, their story arc was much too short. This would have been the GOAT GL series, if they change the one thing that happens and made this a series instead.

There is one unexpected plot twist for me which kinda floundered, because the person playing that part can’t act to save their life. It’s pretty bad when there are a bunch of great veteran actors and then the one who I’m just like why did they cast this person in such a prominent role. Also the other plot twist that kept happening repeatedly to only stop when it was convenient for the story.

They had a really great premise here. Just the writing could have been better, and the ending more logical.

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My Personal Trainer
11 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10

The soft buff bod did it for me LOL

Amongst the sea of BLs, it's very nice coming across productions that're made by queer people for queer people. This 20min one shot is short, but full of charm and cute, funny moments! The story is lighthearted and easy to grasp.

It's also SO incredibly nice seeing various body types and types of queer men. I loved seeing the soft muscular types- the "bara" types, if you will. Which makes a lot of sense since bara is a subgenre made by gay men for gay men. They also had the two more feminine gay men in the story. The variety all around is quite nice!

All-in-all, if you want a cute, simple story made by queer people, check this one out!

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Dangerous Drugs of Sex
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
This review may contain spoilers
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood cooooooooooooolGooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool
Gooooooooood goooood gooooooooood aswmmmmmmmmmm meaning ful gooood coooooooooooool

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Completed
Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER
2 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
For a big part of this movie I was totally confused because so far, I've only seen Kamen Rider Build in its entirety and just bits and pieces from the rest. But one thing it achieved perfectly? Now I want to see ALL of the Kamen Rider series and learn all of their stories! So, I guess it was a success, heh.

This movie also reinforced my love for Sento - and by extension for Inukai Atsuhiro - because Sento is such an amazing character, so incredibly smart and brave and silly and cute and so very excitable. And such a good egg on top of all that. But also so... well, wise, if I dare say so? Because I loved the scene where he and Sougo talked about the possibility of them all being just imaginary and he said, well, so what if we are? It doesn't matter. As long as one person remembers us existing? We did.
Also, the scene where Sento got all manhandled by the baddie? That was very... suggestive. Like VERY suggestive. That guy was all over Sento O.O

Also #2, wow at the cameo of Satoh Takeru! How did they manage to bring a star of his caliber back? Wow. Oh, wow. The whole scene was so cool! Now I really want to finish Den-O!

Overall, a really good movie with some ah-mazing fighting scenes. And a perfectly delicious invitation to watch all the Kamen Riders showcased there! Yuss!

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Completed
The Shortest Distance Is Round
2 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 1.5
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Dark and boring

I love "darkish" and explicit content, but I was not sold on this one. Both versions left an impact so I am here, writing a review, which happens only when I am deeply affected by something. Do not be fooled by the Noir or Blanc version, the are both really dark.

ACTING is good. Kisses are overall pornographic (I have seen more subtle kissing in some porn movies - I do not mind that). Scenes outside of the context can be defined as very sexual, super erotic and even hot.

STORY is not good. Everything is toxic, dark and not polished to look pretty (which can be defined as real, or raw). However I really didn't like it at all.

CONCLUSION: If you can digest explicit content with smudged boundaries between unethical or ethical, if you tolerate porn and a bit of violence and obscenity go for it. Everything would be okay if the story is okay. Story is not strong enough to hold all the insanity.

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Completed
Lupinranger VS Patranger VS Kyuranger
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers
This movie was quite funny and lighthearted. It was set during the drama so it carried the unbothered, relaxed tone of the first half of the series. Also, I haven't seen Kyuranger so... no idea what was happening with that part of the movie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some of the most hilarious moments?

When Kairi, Touma and Umika were kidnapped by those funny aliens and Kairi's reaction was, "Oh, look, they're kidnapping us."
During one of the fights, when Keiichiro went all head first again and Kairi saved his life, complaining, "Well, that was even more reckless than usually, officer!"
When Kairi, Touma and Umika had to use the Patrenger VSs and transformed into cops! The way the Patrenger suits just didn't sit right with them, being build for fighting instead of agility.
When the Kyuranger green girl told Umika that there were 12 of them altogether! And Umika was all, "Seriously?!" while Kairi's reaction was, "A whole crayon set!" I seriously guffawed.

I had really fun watching this. It made me smile.

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Completed
SEVENTEEN Power of Love : The Movie
13 people found this review helpful
by Mei
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

POL:THE MOVIE Review

Tbh, I was a bit disappointed for this to be their first movie in the theaters when Hit The Road could have been a better debut documentary film in the theaters. And the movie is basically about the Power Of Love concert, with just some additional ments. but not all of the songs performed at the concerts were shown in the movie though~ Overall, I think this was a good opportunity for CARATS to meet up and have fun like we were really in a face-to-face concert. Especially, You can really see how much SEVENTEEN love, adore, and respect us as a fan. And you will also see the bonds between the groups. They're not just a group of friends but a family. I definitely recommend this to you if you are a carat. And I assume this movie is a must-watch movie for every carats.

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The Pirates 2: The Last Royal Treasure
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5

Oops I discovered a Treasure

If you're looking for a super serious mystery treasurer hunting, this is not it. It is a hilarious, face paced, and entertaining adventure. The fights and action sequences are flashy (literally with lightning and explosions and pillars of fire). Lee Kwang Soo (Mak Yi) plays his usual underdog, comic relief and does it well. There is a good blend of back story to add depth but not enough to distract or slow the progression of the story. The dirt and mud makeup art is great - no one seems overly clean for aesthetic value. The jokes are entertaining twists but never crass. Everyone plays a part and nothing is extraneous. Has a lot of Jack Sparrow carefree, yolo vibes with a sense of comradery. Genuinely enjoyable to watch and you really root for them to succeed.

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In Our Prime
7 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

More important than the answer is the process of finding the answer

I haven't seen an interesting movie in a long time. The acting of the high school actors was good, but as expected, actor Choi Min-sik seems to be a trustworthy movie actor. In the fun part, he makes the movie not boring while acting cheerfully, and in important lines, he gives a serious acting to convey a message to the audience, so the movie is expressed more deliciously. Besides Choi Min-sik, the chemistry with Jo Yoon-seo, who played the female lead, Park Bo-ram, and Kim Dong-hwi, who plays Han Ji-woo, was also very good. You did a great job in acting as a fresh high school student. If it was a little disappointing, I felt that the content was a little distracting at the end of the movie. When watching this movie, I felt that it contained more meaning when viewed from a different point of view from a mathematical point of view.
If you look at it from the point of view of life, not just math, it's a very good word. As I was living my life, I looked back at my life to see if I had lived only by the results. It made me think about how I should live my life.
I advise you to watch the movie even if you hate math...

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Completed
Color Rush 2 (Movie)
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2022
Completed 4
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
Edited on 7/18/2025: This is an updated version of my original review to match my current writing style for BL series that were edited into a movie version.

I placed any potential spoilers at the end of this review.

The series/movie: This series was ok. It was not as good as the first season, but I still enjoyed it. The general story idea was good, but not the execution. The script had many weak aspects and was confusing at times. There were times the script was on point, but then felt rushed in other areas. However, the acting was very good considering what they had to work with. My main problem is they used a completely different cinematography style from the first series. Especially during the scenes involving the color rush. I knew it was going to be hard to compete with the first season, but it felt like they didn’t even want to try. However, this was probably due to production cost. There were also some audio/sound problems with both versions.

The movie: They did an incredible job editing this into one cohesive movie. There were some nice added scenes in the movie and only one scene was cut short. There is one scene that involves Choi Yeon U and Kim Se Hyun talking which uses completely different camera shot size/angle between the series and movie. The series has this scene played out in a long/wide shot while the movie has it played out with a close-up of the two talking. There were also some scenes that’s missing background music.

Random Note:

The series has a hint of a possible 3rd season at the end of episode 8 after the closing credits. Interestingly, the movie didn’t include this scene.

The synopsis of the series/movie on Viki and MDL is not accurate. It’s a butchered mix of information from the first and second season with a splash of completely wrong information.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

They did their best explaining why the character Go Yoo Han was missing.

The last scene in the series hints reintroducing the character Go Yoo Han possibly being played by a different actor.

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Completed
#Alive
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 20, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
The beginning gave me Shaun of the Dead vibes. Everything starts off seeming fine and then bam... not fine. There's zombies everywhere. Though they seem much more like people on bath salts than zombies... or at least what we know of usual zombies.

I liked that this movie was more focused on the two survivors and how it feels to be stuck inside, alone while an apocalypse is happening... the dread of not knowing if you'll survive or not... the feeling of loss and hopelessness but then the hope that comes when you're at the end and ready to end it all but then something good happens to make you want to fight for life again.

Unlike most zombie movies which are simply scary and meant to give you good gore and such and that are about the actual end and not if you die, but when you'll die, I really liked that this was the opposite. Hope, the will to live and doing whatever it takes to survive... different from most zombie movies and to me that's what makes it so darn good.

This movie was so good and I'm glad I watched it! I recommend it to anyone who is thinking of watching it.

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Till We Meet Again
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 20, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

Worth the watch

Cons
1. The first 15-20 mins is seriously boring and super lame. I don't see the point at all and could have been shorten to focus on the main storyline. So if you feel the same, don't give up, the show will get better.
2. Close to zero common sense, or possibly too complex for mere human like me to understand the concept.
I still don't get the ending even though its a good closure. The part of some thing doesn't change even after 10000 years but it ended up differently.
3. Whyyyy Vivian movies always has such an ending why???
4. You probably need to know a bit of Buddhism about Karma and reincarnation to understand the movie.
5. The antagonist storyline is a little......weird.

Pros
1. Very interesting main storyline. I wish they would have explore it further on it rather than spending it on lame epilogue of love God thingy
2. Story twist
3. Very tear-jerking mainly because awesome acting by both main roles and really good love storylines.
4. Great music
5. Some parts are really soft fluffy and really funny (not lame)
6. I absolutely adore the dog acting!!

Overall this is not a perfect movie but again who is actually perfect? There is loophole here and there and questioning about everything, why this why that. Its weird but also very worth to watch movie. I am still giving solid 8. If you are a fan of Vivian movie, this is 💯 to watch list. The romance is soooo soft and fluffy.

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Color Rush (Movie)
1 people found this review helpful
Apr 20, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers
Edited on 7/13/2025: This is an updated version of my original review to match my current writing style for BL series that were edited into a movie version.

I placed any potential spoilers at the end of this review.

The series/movie: This had a very interesting story concept with an excellent script. I like the cast and thought they did a good job considering many of the actors were new at the time. The cinematograph is stunning and did a great job playing with the different filming styles, such as black/white and vibrant colors. The transitioning scenes when Yeon Woo has the color rush and decolorization were remarkable. I also like the music.

The movie: They did an excellent job editing the episodes into a cohesive movie. They also edited out the opening credits. The movie also has different visual effects during some of the scenes when Yeon Woo went into the color rush.

Random Note:

My only criticism is the description of the series/move on Viki does not completely match what happens. It mentions parts of the storyline that does not actually take place in the series and movie. However, this is an ongoing problem with Viki. The description on MDL is more accurate.

******Potential Spoiler Alert******

Interestedly, only the movie version has Yeon Woo receive a mysterious phone call at the very end which hinted a sequel. As for the sequel (Color Rush 2), it was ok.

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