Reviews

all the feels!

If you like any sort of illness story (terminal or otherwise) then you're probably going to love Hatsukoi Loss Time, just like me. It's a beautiful little movie, so sweet and charming. It has that gorgeously slow pacing of really good Japanese films that just take their time to tell the story.

Of course, viewers are doubly blessed with Mizuki Itagaki in a male lead role. That happens far too rarely for my taste since he is 100% ML material and his role of Kouji is absolutely precious. He's great as a warm or nice male lead, although I'm sure he can be darn scary if he wants to be. Newcomer Sakura Kiryu as Tokine is fabulous. Considering she was, what 14 at the time? Maybe 15 during filming, she gave such an incredible performance. There's a 3 1/2 year age gap between her and Mizuki but you would never know it. I appreciate that they were clearly aware of her age, though, and were careful with her scenes and how they interacted. You can tell that she was being looked after well.

And for those who want to know, yes, there is a happy ending. Sorry, that might be a little bit of a spoiler, but some viewers won't watch one of these types of dramas unless there's a happy ending, and Hatsukoi Loss Time deserves more viewers. It's precious like One Week Friends, and even gives me some of the same feels, although not the angst and grief, as He Won't Kill, She Won't Die. It's just a beautiful, well-acted film that I could pretty much watch on repeat.

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Green, lovely, calming story

Direct translation of the Chinese title to English is “That Person, That Mountain and That Dog”. This movie is so beautifully make. It must be in the Spring or Summer. So much green field. Make me want to go to the mountain.

I first come to this movie after watching Liu Ye other movies such as Lan, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, City of Life and Death and A Beautiful Life. Liu Ye was so young and attractive. That innocent pure smile and look would melt many hearts.

I have seen a Scandinavian and Ireland version of Postman deliver mail in a harsh winter and bicycle in difficult countryside. This movie is more about how the father tough the son the value of caring for people in the mountain. Not sure deliver the mail, but to connect with them. In the movie showed that there were time where the cars and road available, but the father insisted that they should continue walk the narrow path. The tradition continue. Many hard work, painful path and dangerous routes, but the father convinced the son that all the pain and sweat were worth it considered it touches human hearts.

The dog 老二, to me is the main charm of the movie. Smart, royal, cute and strong. Everyone love him. He did his job, he lead, he protect, he calls, he is so lovely.

All in all. A must watch old movie. Nowadays, with internet, people probably don’t write paper letter anymore. The communication happen instantly. Miss the good old day with holding the valuable letters…

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"If You Blow On It, Your Wish Would Come True...What Are You Wishing For? For You To Grow Up."

I was torn between using three quotes from the movie...

"I'll Forgive You For Dumping Me...Forgive Me For Hating You."

(Your Grandfather) Told Me to Give It To You When You Found Something That You Value So Much To Give Up Everything Else."

I settled for the one in the headline, mainly due to its length.

Kang Jae Kyung (Hyun Bin) is the typical spoiled millionaire's grandson, arrogant, self-centered and making more money every day (through his grandfather's corporation he will inherit) than most people would be able to make in their entire lifetime!

However, the day after turning 18, he finds that his grandfather realized how spoilt and arrogant he was; and 'arranged' for his
being brought down a few notches before getting his inheritance...

Leaving for his grandfather's birthplace to learn how to be more human in order to receive his inheritance, he doesn't realize that his grandfather had made arrangements for his 'easy way out' being blocked!

More importantly, he meets someone from his past, a young lady by the name of Choi Eun Hwan (Lee Yun Hee), but it takes some time for him to realize it.

After travelling to his past, through memories, and finally being exposed to where he grew up, Jae Kyung begins remembering what is really important in life, but too late for Eun Hwan to be a part of it.

The scenery, music and cinematography were excellent in this movie! I personally would love to live in such an area portrayed in the movie myself. I found myself 'wanting' to live in this tiny, but close-knit community as the movie progressed!

The main cast were excellent together, and you could feel the magnetism, between the two cast members; the support cast also did an excellent job, making individual contributions to the story, while supporting the main cast in their roles and the main story as well.

My only complaint is that although some of the movie 'lagged' I felt the director should have spent another 10-15 minutes in developing the relationship...but still it worked for me!

A special mention of Choi Eun Hwan's mother (Lee Kan Hee), for her excellent expression when finding out that Eun Hwan was the child she gave up 19 years earlier was in front of her...great performance by her!

She teaches him how to love and he becomes the 'man' that his grandfather knew he could be, with a little encouragement!
As I have said before, it takes a woman to make a 'boy' into a 'man', in more than one way!

All I can say is WATCH IT and prove me wrong if you can, but I don't think that you can!

Even though the main character was Hyun Bin, Lee Yun Hee stole that designation from him halfway through this movie. Having shown this movie to others, everyone is rooting for Lee Kan Hee to live, and tears are very profuse at the end of every showing of this to others.

This is a one, to one and a half box of Kleenex, so BE PREPARED before watching!

Choi Eun Hwan got her wish; unfortunately, it was too late for her!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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One of the Best K-Horror Movies

Short terms to describe this movie:
1. Among Us.
2. Doppelganger.
3. Naruto's skill, wind shadow clone.

Information:
Jump scares: Yes.
Jump scares intensity: Low. (I wasn't even flinched a sec)
Sex scenes: No.
Bloody graphics: Yes (Final Destination level).
Ghost form: Possessed human. (Not a monster/fictional being)
Ghost scary level: Low. (The Nun and Annabelle are scarier to me lol)
Religious: Yes (This is a story about a pastor and his family after all)

Pros:
1. Family-friendly. You can (even are recommended to) watch it with your family, relatives, friends, crush, boy/girlfriend.
2. The atmosphere is really dark. If you are a scaredy-cat like me, I recommend you to watch it in the afternoon.
3. The writer is so brave that the ending turns out to not be bright.
4. Solid. Every second haunts you.
5. Jump scares are there, but without an exploding SFX. So it's safer for your heart.
6. Creepy BGM and shrieking sound make it darker and scarier. Watch it with a subwoofer speaker if you have it.
7. Sung Dong Il + Cho Yi Hyun.

Cons:
1. As always, because it's a Korean movie, plot holes are everywhere. But it's not a big deal because we are focusing on the horror scenes.
2. The characters' fate might not meet your expectation.

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Disappointed

Warning: potential spoiler; but what the heck, you be disappointed either way. ?

While watching this movie, I realized there was no real substance to the story.. a very dull and plain story line, no essence. Moments later, I realize what deep sadness one must feel, after recognizing your heart and then losing love so quickly. What a tragedy it was. And to what end, there was no explanation to why, or how this tragedy happened. There was no moral highlighted, unless infeŕed; Hold unto love less it burns, literary. I am a little annoyed at how this ended, as I believe the story had potential. The female and male leads didnt bring anything new to the table, just the same roles they played in every other coming of age movie. I wouldn't recommend, unless you love looking at Song Wei Long, and which he hardly did anything here.

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What will you do...?

Watch this to help me with the challenge in MDL and the recommendation from kdoramalama. See Zhou Dong Yu who played this so I decided to watch this.

Actually never too like this kind of drama. The drama about bullying and very dark setting, that when we watch it we have to squint our eyes or light up our screen... :p. But after all Zhou Dong Yu not disappointed me with her acting.

We sometimes don't too like to watch this kind of story (bullying), because maybe it remind us about our past or it just very unpleasant story to be watched or heard. But really in the reality this is very important story to tell. So it can bring us awareness about bullying.

If you in the Chen Nian (CN) or Liu Bei Shan (BS) shoes, what will you do...? Will you do the same with them...? Is there really someone like the police said, that will do raping just to save his girl/friend...? If that's me... I don't know will I do the same with CN until the very end... At least before police find out the truth. Or after pushing Wei Lai will I just report to police to confess instead just use BS as replacement. Or I just run away from the crime scene and don't confess anything...???

Overall this good movie, but the genre and story simply just not for everyone...

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WHAT A MOVIIEEEE !!! ?

Okay, to start with ! This is my first ever cinematic work that I have watched for Zhong Hanliang or (Wallace chung ) and OH MY GOD HOW FREAKING TALENTED HE IS 😍 I mean I can't even describe how he nailed his role in Tik Tok and how he made me believe every single action he did !!
* Overall the movie is about a korean detective that has to go after a Chinese crazy man who suffers from alot of mental diseases but happens to be a terrorist as well. With a weird terrorist act as to blow up a whole stadium with 50K people if China's team loses. As he is a mentally unstable he has a psychiatrist Chinese doctor that treats him and here starts the movie ; after the doctor -with her professional way- made sure that he is the terrorist, she joined hands with the detective whom is Lee Jungjae or -Detective Jiang- to stop him from exploding the stadium.
The movie will take you on a 1:30 hour of how they are running here and there to find the bombs and protect the people and slowly uncovers the psychopathic personality of Guo zhida and how he isn't actually retarded nor stupid but a mad genius! Everything was reasonable until that supposed to be the lunatic decided to let the doctor go safely after he kidnapped her and die instead.
That's when the movie take a 180° change and THE REAL SHIT GETS UNCOVERED !
Oh god that OLD mfcking BROTHER ! Keep him in mind because he will just blow your mind. The ending was 🤯 but WOOOOOW at the same time like to the very last second I was left like literally: WOW . W.O.W BUT WTF.
* Wallace chung acting was TOOOOOOOOOP, what actually made me wanna watch one of his works is HIM in SDC3, he is a whole book in that program that needs to be read carefully because of the way he controls his actions and facial expressions and how quickly he can change from mood to mood -specially in that small play that they made him do- HE IS JUST WOW 😍.
So, as I said before it's my first time watching him on screen and I immediately felt for his acting skills and capacities he clearly delivered every single emotion and action both GUOs had ! The perfect actor for the perfect roles !
* Lee jungjae whom I personally knew in Squid game but started watching his works afterwards never fails to amaze me, he was born for detective/strong roles like those 🥰 Detective jiang and his personality and kind heart but also smart mind was for no one but Jungjae, he really did a good job 🥰✨✨
* I am really surprised as how the rate for this movie is kinda low it really deserves at least 8 !
Not comparing the production and filming stuffs of 2016 to nowadays, but looking back at that time it was a perfect movie from storyline to filming !!!!
It truly deserves 9/10 at least ✨

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Steady

I saw a few comments that this movie was slow but I don't think so. It didn't jump in but it didn't drag it out either. I thought it was an even pace. I enjoyed it more than I thought cause it wasn't some random story that was too cliché or cheesy, it was realistic. No matter where you go people will talk and the only thing you can do is remove yourself from that toxicity. I had a few different emotions which tapped into the realism of the story. It's not something I'd recommend cause this theme isn't for everybody but it's not something I'd turn away either. If you're looking for lust you won't find it here! The little girl was an amazing actor and so cute. Just like in any household, I'm sure it's tricky for all parties growing up with homosexual parent(s). I hope more people can learn that even if YOU don't understand what it's like, hurting others won't make it anymore understandable.
Enjoy...

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Dream like quality

After watching this beautiful film I was blown away by the fact that this was Kim Go Eun's first ever acting role. Playing a younger (she is 21) role as a schoolgirl, Han Eun Gyo, she is incredibly natural and at ease in the part. Park Ha ll creates the elderly 'grandpa' figure Lee Juk Yo but is actually a revered poet laureate who has mentored a bitter, jealous Seo Ji Woo played convincingly by Jim Mu Yeol.
The chance meeting of the ML and FL is a catalyst as they create a relationship based on unspoken needs. For Han Eun Gyo, lacking affection at home, the 'grandfather' allows her to express her kindness and makes her happy and a little bit competitive with Seo Ji Woo to gain Le Juk Yo's affection. For Le Juk Yo he is transported back to a more youthful time and creates a romantic fantasy that he then channels into a beautiful story.

The plot is about art and literary posturing. It is about how, even when we age, the mind remembers our youthful selves. It is for each character about yearning.
Yes there is a sex scene. The depiction is summed up by the rhetoric question, mid coitus, by Han Eun Gyo "do you know why teenage girls have sex? It is because we are lonely". Reflecting back to Seo Ji Woo his own words and summarising it is just sex.

Loneliness is an underlying theme but the creative fantasy of the poet for the young girl is set in a dreamlike idyll and captures feelings of lost love.

Note to the wowsers; The female is a character, written by a writer, produced by a producer, directed by a director, acted by an actor.
If the part played by her offends you check your own moral compass. The role of Seo Ji Woo is quite despicable but his actions are not questioned. Sexism is alive and kicking - mostly females.

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Perfect for a night of laughter

As my name implies, this is not my typical genre, but it didn't disappoint. To keep it short, b/c there isn't much to add to the other reviews, it was so ridiculous I was laughing often and sometimes very hard. In some scenes, it was easy to be concerned and a range of other emotions for some of the characters, even a zombie or two. So, I'd say the acting was well done.

Let's just say it's silly, Karma bites, and it still had a good ending. I think it's best to watch it in a watch party or with friends for the most enjoyment. I may watch it again, I'm not sure. I'll make sure it's with others who have a good sense of humor and are in the mood to laugh.

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Promising Failure

Be warned, if you are expecting a movie similar to Hush (2016), turn around before you are disappointed.

I went into this movie with somewhat high expectations, only to end disappointed. Having seen the trailer and that Wi Ha Joon starred as main role I won't lie, it caught my attention straight away. It had so much potential but ended up being flat, not the thriller I was expecting

The beginning is decent, but it only goes down hill from there. Pointless running through the city, usless police officers that are smitten by the serial killer lies. Apparently no one at the city can think for themselves and actually do something when they see a girl running away in fear while being chased by a guy. Don't worry, he will just tell everybody that it is her sister and everyone will believe him straight away without batting an eye. Oh and also, did I mention how unrealistic it is that even if there are so many cameras on the street and South Korea having one of the best security systems, it all ends up being usless?

I did enjoy the acting, specially from Jin Ki Joo and Kil Hae Yeon. Wi Ha Joon had so much potential but was done dirty by the poor writing.

Kudos to the sound editing, I liked the contrast at the beginning between the silenced world that Kim Kyung Mi experienced opposed to the rest of the world.

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that life can be meaningful if we’re brave enough to let ourselves be vulnerable.

How do you cope with the loss of a family member? How do you tear down the walls you’ve put up to protect yourself from the outside world without crumbling under the weight of all the pain? And how do you ultimately learn to open up to the world again, and to form new connections and be vulnerable, with the awareness that, one day, they might leave too? Screened in competition at the 2021 Torino Film Festival, Aloners (Hon-ja-sa-neun Sa-ram-deul) deals with these and many more themes, from the struggles to process grief to the ghosts of the past that still weigh on our shoulders; from all the repressed anger that comes from a lifetime of buried emotions to the need to set boundaries with toxic family members; from how difficult it is to reach out and ask for help to the universal truths we keep hidden, such as the fact that life is often devoid of meaning and that we don’t really enjoy being alone all that much. Aloners is filmmaker Hong Sung-eun‘s (also the film’s writer and editor) feature directorial debut, but you absolutely wouldn’t think it was, judging by the complexity of its themes and by the sensitivity of a screenplay that effortlessly draws you in, crafting an atmosphere that is drenched in intrigue, mystery, emotion, and subtle irony.

The film centres on Jina (Gong Seung-yeon, also in her feature debut), a woman in her late twenties who leads a repetitive (and highly relatable) existence: Jina works at a call centre, where she spends her time apologising to entitled clients who are often in the wrong, ignoring their insults, and accommodating their absurd requests. On her way back to her apartment, she walks on her own, her eyes glued to her mobile phone. At home, she lives by herself, and avoids interactions with her neighbours. She eats her dinner on her bed while watching TV and falls asleep not long after that, only to wake up the following day and have the exact same experience over and over again. In fact, not only has Jina managed to survive such a monotonous lifestyle for so long, but she’s also become exceptionally good at it: she’s currently the top employee at her workplace, due to how many phone calls she manages to answer (and endure) each day. But there’s a reason why Jina is so successful at being alone: quite simply, she has lost all interest in having interactions with others, be it her neighbours, her coworkers, or even her own family. Instead, she has chosen a life of seclusion and embraced the fact that her existence has no meaning.

But Jina isn’t the only “aloner” in the film. Her father (Park Jung-hak, of The Land of the Waves) also lives on his own, due to Jina’s mother’s recent passing, which left him a widower. His way of coping with his wife’s death is the opposite of Jina’s: he spends his days attending religious functions and turning his daughter into a scapegoat, guilttripping her into keeping him company and unloading all his guilt onto her to avoid facing the fact that he wasn’t present enough in his wife’s life. Also alone are Jina’s neighbours, a mysterious young man (Kim Mo-Beom) who attempts in vain to have a conversation with her every morning until he dies in mysterious circumstances, and a new neighbour, Seonghun (Seo Hyun-Woo, of A Taxi Driver), who rents the former resident’s apartment after his passing, and who’s temporarily on his own because his girlfriend believes his new flat to be haunted.

And then there’s Sujin (played by newcomerJung Da-Eun), a new employee at the call center that Jina has been given the task to train, and who keeps trying to befriend our protagonist, having just moved to Seoul from Chuncheon, where all her friends are. Through all these figures, not only does director Hong Sung-eun alert us of just how many people are living alone nowadays – so much so that the Korean term holojok has been coined to describe the people in the country who “prefer to be left on their own,” but also presents us with a story with more than one protagonist, each with their own distinct lives and points of view, and each with their own truths to keep hidden.
And there are quite a lot of unexpected things happening in Aloners, some more puzzling than others. There are tensions at Jina’s workplace, even more so after the balance is altered by the arrival of Sujin, as the newcomer’s enthusiasm and curiosity clash with the disillusionment of seasoned call centre workers who stopped trying to find any meaning or enjoyment in their job a very long time ago. There’s a demanding boss (Kim Hannah, of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) who can still relate to her employees, underneath it all, and there’s a neverchanging routine that is turned upside down the moment Sujin arrives, bearing gifts that will come to assume different connotations later in the film. But there’s a lot more than that. There are wills that don’t make sense, people who secretly spy on others but aren’t able to communicate without placing or receiving blame, and people who are trying their hardest to open up to others but don’t know how. And then there are things that might or might not be happening in places that may or may not be haunted, mentally ill time machine-builders who might actually be geniuses, and people who are gone but still very much present in the memory of others.

Even that description doesn’t do Aloners justice, as there is just so much condensed into the film’s 91 minutes screentime, and Hong Sung-eun’s assured direction and delicate writing ensures we are always shown, not told not just what happens in the film, but also what remains unsaid. Different viewers will get a different message out of the film, depending on their own experiences and mindsets as they go into the screening. There’s social commentary on modern life, as you might expect, but there are also moments of irony and mystery to keep you entertained, as well as fantastic performances by Gong Seung-yeon and Jung Da-Eun that will haunt you long after the credits roll. There’s the occasional twist you won’t see coming, and there’s a very well-crafted, complex father-daughter relationship that perfectly encompasses the kind of baggage that affects our every interaction with our family members. Aloners is a film about processing grief, learning to let someone go, and letting yourself feel, with the awareness that, once all the walls you’ve put up are broken and your defences are gone, there’s no going back.

Yet, to me, the film is first and foremost about the burden we all silently share as human beings, and the kinds of truths that often remain unsaid just because it would tarnish the facade we’ve spent all these years perfecting. We have become so accustomed to not having a reaction when someone hurts us, apologising when we should be insisting on being treated with respect, and defending ourselves when we should be apologising that we’ve forgotten how to be vulnerable, and how to accept ourselves for who we are. Most of all, we’ve forgotten that we’re all alone, underneath it all, and that every single one of us shares the same fears and uncertainties. By taking on a journey with Jina and the other “aloners,” the film ultimately shows us that honesty and acceptance are the answers, and that, if we are brave enough to share our baggage with the right people, we might be able to find this existence of ours a little more meaningful, after all.

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Nostalgic

I know many people couldn't get access to watch this since GMMTV only put to stream for Disney+ in Thailand, but viewers internationally have a hard time being able to watch this and others think that this is a copy of the original 2gether the series with many of the similar scenes. However, the scenes are the same if you have watched the series, but they have cut it shorter for the sake of it being a movie and adding in new scenes as well. Also, in the beginning most of it is narrated by Tine since he is one of the main characters following Sarawat. This time we actually get to hear both Tine and Sarawat's thoughts when they both fell in love with each other unlike in the series where we only got their dialogue. Moreover, some of the passionate scenes that Tine and Sarawat had are more emotional if you are a longtime fan of the series and both Win and Bright. Overall, the movie is really good as it brings more of an emotional effect to it and nostalgia as well.

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Very satisfying: but could have been more satisfying.

Few days ago, I was talking with my friend, how now-a-days, movies which could make you feel relaxed and satisfied were not being made. I really like those movies, where not much is happening but still something is happening, which shows you people just going on with life.
This was that kind of a movie. There was no over romanticisation of village life. Didn't try to show how good village life is, or how good the people living simple life are. 'It is what it is' - was the mood of the movie. Just eat, work, roam in nature, watch seasons change, eat again... wow. Just looking at it was so comforting.
Ryu Joon Yeol is fastly becoming my favorite actor. He never missed a beat. Kim Tae Ri is good. She is the main focus of movie, so she gets a good screen time. But Ryu Joon Yeol steals the show. And the way he does is so simple. Jin Ki Joo is okay. She doesn't get much space.

The only complaint was, 'the after' thing. The movie stops at the door. I was really left wanting for the closure. It could have been really really more satisfying. But we don't often get what we wish for.

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