1998 shorts that were two of a four-part as part of Gakkō no Kaidan G
Also Known As: Katasumi (In a Corner) and 4444444444 (Ten Fours)The short films that started the Ju-on/The Grudge franchise.
The original was part of a four-story shorts by Takashi Shimizu; he impressed Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who arranged for him to make the first two movies:
Ju-on: The Curse (February 11, 2000) and
Ju-on: The Curse 2 (March 25, 2000).
Shimizu was taking a film-making class under Kurosawa at the time.
The combined films are 6 minutes, 42 seconds long, but can be found online in shorter versions.
There seems to be a confusion over the 'names' of the two girls. Yoshida Hisayo (Omura Ayako) is fine but some list the second girl as Kayako Saeki or Kanna Murikam and played by Fuji Takako or Kanna Kashima...and to think some people really do care!
This short is also available on the Grudge 2 dvd extra disc.
The plot is so short and simple that I am skipping this part.
First off a little history...
In both films we have a Eastern concept of onryō, which can be more than a ghost if you want to study up on them.
Being a Religious Studies major, with a lot of reading also in mythology, folklore, et al, onryō are only a tiny portion of yurei, or 'dim spirits'; the most dreaded type of these are onryōis or onryō, vengeful spirts that can be found in cities, shopping malls, any type store, or anywhere else.
They are vengeful spirits usually born when people are wronged: a husband kills his wife, a walker is intentionally ran over by a driver in a car, a soldier is offered to live if he surrenders but us killed instead. Most are female spirits, but many exceptions exist
Instead of just wandering, they transform into powerful, wrathful spirits who seek vengeance on everything they encounter. Often they were victims of war, catastrophe, betrayal, murder, or suicide—and they many times display wounds or marks received at the time of death.
The stories of onryō go back to at least 8th century Japan and are found in all areas where people have lived and are especially are prevalent during bad times and times when there is no justice for the poor and weak.
The important thing you should remember is that "vengeance." is what all of them want, and "strange sounds" are characteristic of all of them as well!!
I enjoyed this but it wasn't scary to me. I sat laughing at the characters as they were acting!
Good short for a person's first try or so. I had heard about the Grudge movies before but had never had the time to see them.
I will try to catch them in the future!
444-444-4444, second part
As I just explained in my review for Cursed (2002), numbers has significant 'meaning' in Japan and other Asian countries
Again, a little history,...
"Numbers" are very important in Japan and most of everywhere else in Southeast Asia, full of symbolism for both young and old alike; there is even a full page of the similar ways that the number '4' is pronounced in different SE Asia dialects, but basically the kanji for 4 四 can be pronounced "shi," which in another kanji 死 means death
While he's an onryō, he is still a child as well. Keeping his childish disposition makes him more eerie
Again, it wasn't as so scary as it was humorous, but I will try to watch some of the sequels if I can find the time!
RE-WATCH VALUE" Yes!
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This review may contain spoilers
Wouldn’t Recommend
I’m so disappointed with this movie. This was not what I expected at all. My biggest problem was with Momose. He had stalked, threatened and attempted rape on Yashiro which was just really uncomfortable to watch especially when Yashiro was the one who felt sorry for everything. I didn’t like how their relationship progressed either. They didn’t even seem like they genuinely liked each other and the whole movie felt underdeveloped and rushed. Wouldn’t recommend this especially when there’s much better romance movies out there.Was this review helpful to you?
"I Can't Go..I Can't Go Inside...I Cannot Go Inside That Place...Because...Because This Place Is..."
Since whomever uploaded this movie information refused to add all the main and support cast, I am listing them here in my review:Kyôko Akiba as Ryôko Kagami, the rep for the convenience store chain taking over this haunted one
Takaaki Iwao as Komori, the male night-shift clerk, also called "Paulos"
Hiroko Satô as Nao Shingaki (female part-time store worker/clerk)
Osamu Takahashi as Store owner
Etsuyo Mitani as Store owner's wife
Susumu Terajima as Akira Tejima ('no legs', bit part)
Yuko (actress name unknown), young female able to sense presence of ghosts/tortured souls in the store.
This movie started out with a fast and bloody surprise which most people won't be expecting!
The simplest methods to scare people are usually the best! This under-rated movie combines horror with mystery. The director gets well-deserved kudos for the simplicity of this flick!
The 'scares' are not overdone in this movie, as in many Asian horror movies (The Ring comes to mind as one!).
Even though this looks like a low-budget movie, it has some great scenes in it!
There are a couple of places where the action is very, very slow, but I personally believe this is made up in the scenes where they surprise you with eerie situations; there were even a few funny parts as well!
I also thought the 'refrigerator' scenes were different for a change. I never expected it!
The whole movie is very dark, and the director used dark scenes in this movie to portray the impending ghost activity here, but it also made part of the movie hard to watch. The girl being stalked in the hallway also looked a lot like the main female character; only by watching it that scene a few did I realize that it was the customer rather than the new manager.
Even time is subject to change in our Japanese "konbini/conbini" where this movie for the most part takes place.
As a Religious Studies major, I have read about religion, mythology and other countries' folklore (religion, myth and folklore are all related, but this is not the place to discuss that!)...I had to go back to my school books, but found the story of the "girl between the gap", which was referenced here; also, the numbers '334' '444' (if you want to make a Japanese person mad, use this number in your conversation or such with them!) '666' and such. I even believe that the '999' may be just writing the '666' upside-down in this movie..there you have to have some knowledge of Japan, China, Vietnam, et al. These numbers occur frequently in this movie, especially just before incidents!
What I am trying to say is that some knowledge of Japanese culture will make this more scarier for you!
I liked the scenes where the different ghosts exhibited their unique ways of haunting; the acting was really good, and the "gotcha" moments were interesting. The parts which were left for your imagination also made this movie worth watching.
Since this was a horror/ghost movie, i intentionally paid more attention to the music. which surprised me as being synchronized to the acting/upcoming incidents here.
The camera angles were used to add to the 'bizarre' feeling that the movie tried to portray; and the rest of the cinematography was also good.
This, however, was not a big-budget movie, but did well for what it tried to do: scare you just a bit!
The movie shot around the female lead Ryôko Kagami (Kyôko Akiba), hence no love story for her; but there was a side love story between Nao Shingak (Sakata Memeko,/Sato Hiroko)) and Komori/Paulos (Takaaki Iwao ), which was cute!
The actors did an excellent job through facial expression and dialogue making this a really good horror movie; all the support cast also did a great job supporting the main female actress and the stories that unfolded.
The major downside is that this was a low-budget film; although the camera angles were good and such, you could tell that money was tight on the set.
All in all, it was a great little movie, not Golden Globe- or Oscar-quality, but I would re-watch it occasionally, if for nothing else, the weird characters and their interactions occasionally.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!
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Cinematic Beauty
I’ve had this series on my mind for a while now since I’m a huge Takeru Satoh fan and wanted to devour all his work. I can confidently say that he is undoubtedly the magic everyone seems to be enthralled by in these movies.The character ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ itself is really enticing but to have Takeru play this role is almost as perfect as things get. He brings life to the strong, kindhearted Kenshin. His moves throughout the combat scenes are intricate and so beautifully executed, like an artist displaying his finesse. His warm smiles and agonising screams during emotional sequences give this the exact spark it needs.
The supporting characters are pretty great too; however, the female lead is a problem. It’s not the fact that she’s the weak, damsel in distress because I personally do not think weakness is a flaw. Though, her delusion and innocence are infuriating. She wants to live and see Kenshin safe but his hands are tied because “killing is bad”? The narrative is so flawed and I am annoyed with her attitude towards vital scenes in the movie. If he won’t kill, how do you expect him to live? Unbearable.
Don’t even get me started with the kidnapping. I can’t believe the writers threw that in again despite adding the same plot line in the first movie. It seemed illogical.
Looking past that, the cinematography, costumes, direction, music and acting is phenomenal. I feel like I’m watching history run its course in actuality and that gives me goosebumps.
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Cool movie frr
Watch it, it's cool. i mean i am not really good with my words but since i have to write atleast five hundred letters i will just write some bs sooo here you go aanndd ummm yeah its like kind of my comfort movie and i like to watch it and you should too and trust me watch it at late breezy night in the dark without any lights and it will hit you in the spot and soo i guess i have already written five hundred letters sooo byeeee oh okay i checked and no i haven't written 500 alphabets yet so umm yeah i have nothing more to say to be honest but here we go and if you're reading this i think you should think avout how you should not waste time cause thats exactly what you're doing right now okay sooo bye i guessWas this review helpful to you?
mistake or not....
Whoa... I don't know watching this now is the right decision for me or not... When I find out about this movie I just so excited to watch, of course because this is the 'oath of love' movie. That's why this movie make me even excited & can't wait for the oath of love to be finished air so I can Binge watch it...When I watch the trailer of oath of love I keep guessing & wondering how fast the relationship bloom actually. But after seeing this movie I really feel their relationship will gonna be quite fast to bloom.... And after seeing our dr. Gu here really can't wait to watch how Xiao Zhan gonna portray dr. Gu in his version.
OK let's talk about the drama itself...
The movie yeah I have to admit this quite fast paced, will gonna be much better even though this is just a movie to have longer duration. Everything happen so fast & so sudden. But dr. Gu attitude himself sometimes make me blush with excitement... I really like how he flirt & treat Lin Zhi Xiao.
Really can't be excited enough to watch the drama version. To see the better explanation about some stuff this movie try to ignore....
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One big, missed opportunity.
I was quite excited to watch it. Waited till late night to get the right atmosphere and get the best possible experience. 15 minutes in I started to become extremely sleepy, and it was not because I was tired. Kim Kang Woo is stunning, but his beautiful face is not enough to keep me engaged, when all I see on screen is him walking around the building with a flashlight.I am truly impressed how such a short movie that also has so many different tropes, time lines, and plot elements, can be this boring. The plot twists were predictable, the story told in a messy way, the protagonist was a massive idiot that truly did only one thing right.
They tried to be creative, giving a twist to the typical “black haired girl ghost” story, but it was so ridiculous, it did not work out - especially with this execution.
The design for the ghosts and scares was mediocre at best, simple copy paste of what we saw in other movies. Basically a snapchat ghost filter.
They did not use the place for their advantage - could have presented the place as a claustrophobic loop, but I never felt that.
Kim Kang Woo did a good job acting wise, but the rest of the cast was just comical. The screams that are so important in horror movies, mostly sounded like free stock audio.
To sum it up, it felt like they had an interesting idea, but no clue how to present it.
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Tearjerker + Amazing performance by Roy Chiu
Completed - 3/29/2022Subjective Rating - 9.0
Objective Rating - 7.5-8.5
Without really paying attention to the tags of this movie, I thought I was going to watch a romantic comedy. Little did I know I would be crying my eyes out. This is a definite tearjerker.
A Cheng is a kind-hearted debt collector who fell in love with Hao Ting at first sight. I have never been a fan of love-at-first sight, and I'm not going to lie, the way he pursues Hao Ting could be viewed as stalker-ish and problematic as well. But once I got past these 'hurdles', I am fully invested in their love story.
I love A Cheng. What he went through in this movie breaks my heart. I cried so much after things went downhill for him. He's always been so kind to everyone he encounters. I want him to live happily-ever-after with Hao Ting. Roy Chiu (who plays A Cheng) is fantastic in this movie. His acting range is in total display - silly, kind, violent, betrayed, in physical and emotional pain, and heartbroken.
It's really hard for me to put into words why my gut feeling tells me this movie is worth my 9.0 rating. Maybe I was caught off-guard by all the feels. Maybe I was too impressed with Roy Chiu's acting. Maybe I am just watching the right movie, at the right time, in the right mood.
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Youth can be boring this film was not...
And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool is as fun as it's name... While youth in a small town can be boring, I know been there tried that not doing it again... This film was fast paced, fun, interesting and has a whole lot of beautiful shots as well as a bunch of unexpected humour.When life feels meaningless and boring... there is nothing else to do but do meaningless s***... with your friends.
I love the brutal honesty and how well this portrays the feeling of boredom...
While I understand the artistic value of the shake camera and fast flashes of light with horrible sound, my sensitive ears and eyes (yes I am old) did not really appreciate seeing/hearing them.
I did however love the authentic feel this movie has, with the not so perfect people, and not so perfect voices...
So in short I would say this is more or less a short masterpiece doing one h*** of a job portraying completely average youths who just happened to Put Goldfish in a Pool...
P.s. I personally spent most of my youth in a big city but moved to a small town the a few monthes before I turned 17 and this brought back quite a few memories... But I will admit I never put goldfish in a pool... My grown up self loved it too mostly for this scene... " go out have sex... otherwise you will end up like us... still we are happy enough"
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This review may contain spoilers
Too short to give me a good scare.. too short to get attached to the characters..
Cast were great. Zombies looks good too. Story wise, there's not much to it. An unknown outbreak swept through the nation. Our ML and FL were residents of neighboring complex, both were just trying to survive the zombie outbreak.And that's all there is. No explanation on how, why or what caused the outbreak. After their action/fight sequence w/ the zombies, they were lucky enough to be saved.
I felt like the story was too short. It didn't gave me a heart pumping sensation. Unlike other zombie flicks. Anyway, it's still entertaining enough to watch. Would I rewatch this? Maybe not intentionally..
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Unique plot but slow moving
The unique plotline is what made me give this movie a try and I have to give the writers and directors credit for coming up with this to begin with. Is the story scientifically feasible? Probably not. I can imagine a host of issues with trying to "move the Earth's current position". But should that stop you from watching? I don't think so.The CGI is impressive but mind you, the story is slow- moving. It still gives you enough to continue to watch. I enjoyed it overall and it's worth a try.
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Action, comedy, mystery, romance rolled in one
Watched this back in 2020 lock down. Exit is the kind of movie that can be enjoyed by the masses as it has a bit of everything. It also has the thrills without getting too dark despite being a disaster survival movie.The story builds up slowly by introducing the male lead and his family being frustrated and disappointed with him. Story moves to a site of a family function where the disaster happens and a mysterious gas leak occurs. The female lead and ML's love interest happens to be a staff working there. The situation shows the ways in which people react and try to survive in order to escape the deadly situation. Mostly panic as one can expect. And then there are some that go to extrordinary lengths to survive using knowledge and skill. This is what builds excitement.
Since the leads are rock climbers and are trying to escape, a lot of the action involves climbing, running, and jumping. This might be different from what people who enjoy action movies usually love (eg. Fight scenes, car chases, etc). There are some funny dialogues, happy moments as well as plenty of nail-biting scenes. If you prefer proper romance plots then you might be disappointed but you will get to see the chemistry between the leads given the situation.
I would definitely recommend people give it a watch!
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A wlw Chinese short film that will make you want more.
When will we finally get longer wlw historical Chinese fiction? I love those short films, but I dream of more. But we have to do with what we have and what we have right here is a very short, 4 min, short film with some known faces like Shengwei who you must have seen if you've ever fallen into the rabbit hole of wlw historical Chinese short films.I am weak for good red and white colour coordinated outfits and this short film gives us that along with a taste of a larger story and a developing relationship between a stern general who wants to appear unaffected by this amnesiac young woman who stirs feelings inside of her and said amnesiac young woman (we do love a good trope in this house). There is so much potential, so much story that could be developed if only we had more than 4 minutes. There is even a cliffhanger at the end (which I hope will get resolved in a later short film or even better a longer show so we can get some backstory).
The costumes, as per usual in those short films, are visually appealing. The contrast in colours between the different characters works well and does a lot of the heavy lifting to help deepen the undeveloped story. I also wish they did not have to resort to contrived plot points to show some intimacy between the women, but such is the lot of queer mainland Chinese productions.
A solid watch if you're looking for your next historical Chinese short film of the wlw variety, it will make you yearn for more.
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A solid and cute short film about two best friends and a first kiss
I have been making my way through wlw short films for the past few evenings because I need more wlw content in my life and we still have to make do with very little. Often the quality is not there and the writing especially is lacking. Luckily for me, Korea and in this case 234 deliver.The story is very simple, two teenagers, two best friends, two girls are chatting one afternoon and they are both stressed about their first kiss and one decides to take matter into her own hand to have some practice before her first kiss with none other than her best friend. And then, you know, feelings. The story is simple, but the film is short. A short film, especially one that short never works better than when it has a simple idea and doesn't try to do more than exploring that idea.
This film succeeds at that. It manages to be realistic about two teenage girls' experiences, about a baby gay panicking, and also to be very funny at times (one decides to play "the guy" who hits on the other girl and wants to kiss her). The actresses manage to do a good job (especially the scene mentioned in the previous bracket, I was smiling very hard).
The location is simple, a bedroom, but the production, as is expected of Korean productions, even the smallest ones, is pretty good. All in all, a solid short film if you're looking for your next wlw watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
After watching this movie I was left with one thought and that was "What the f*ck have I just watched?". I started this because Viki put this in the GL genre but let me tell you that there is NO girls' love in there. But first things first – this is a five stories omnibus series about a woman who runs a motel and has a podcast where she shares some of the guests' stories there. But she shared just one of the stories there, I think? And the others she was just telling her coworker or a friend? It was messy. The only connection to all the stories was that all of them were sex related.
The first one was about a young couple that went to the motel to have sex for the first time together. It had some comedic moments and was cute and funny overall.
The second featured a man, who was on a business trip there and stayed in the motel overnight and he decided to get an erotic massage for himself but his girlfriend suddenly arrived there as well. That was weird but not that bad.
The third was the first, the "GL" one about two friends who both had troubles with their ex-boyfriends so they just went to the motel and brought the cheapest-looking sex toys with them and then kissed each other. Time skip to week later and one of them told the other that she is now in a happy relationship because her boyfriend has a big d*ck. Like what the actual f*ck! 😩
I can't remember much about the fourth one, it was a bunch of friends getting drunk and a guy having a crush on a girl. They ended together at the end I think but it was nothing memorable as you can see. 😂
The fifth one was about two people in their thirties, who both never had sex before and met on a blind date and then went to the motel to experience it for the first time. But the motel owner and her male coworker got trapped there and accidentally watched them. Then they went to have sex together too I think after the previous couple left.
Now that I write about it, it seems like such a dirty movie lmao although I think that the rating was 15+. But the story (or a lack of an actual story) was crap. So boring and just weird overall. I don't think that all movies must have some deep message but this didn't have ANY message at all. Seriously I don't understand what was the point of the movie.
My final rating is 5/10, just because some of the stories weren't as bad as other ones.
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