Light romantic comedy with a pinch of BDSM101
The curiosity led me to watch this movie and SeoHyun is here too sooooo I was excited. It's kind of a unique genre from what I usually watch so the story is kind of so-so for me. Here are the main things that you can expect in this movie (without spoiler)- SeoHyun's sexy side ♥
- Light comedy romance that's kind of predictable if you've watched a lot of romantic comedy before
- Mostly portrayal of BDSM on a simple and lighter way.
- No too much provocative scenes. It remained on the decent side (very unlike from 50 Shades trilogy movie)
If there's something that really stood out for me about this movie, it's the fact that it changed my ignorance about BDSM. I have always thought negatively about BDSM because I cannot understand why some people are into that however this movie made me realize that BDSM are merely self preference. It is not disgusting or strange. It's just that some people are really into that and we should respect that.
If you're a fan of SeoHyun, definitely watch it. If you're curious about BDSM, it's a beginner version with no too much skinship involved. If you're sensitive about seeing physical torture (mild) like being tied, slapped, stepped on, etc., you can skip this one. If you decided to watch it, I hope you liked it.
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Flight 1980 to Honolulu
Everything that you’ve ever wanted to know about the technical and operational aspects of the aviation industry can be found in this movie. But don’t worry about getting confused or overwhelmed because the whole concept is conveyed in layman terms and in a very entertaining manner. The running time of about 100 minutes will quickly fly by without you noticing it.Based on the original screenplay by Yaguchi Shinobu, who also directed the film. Tokusho Kikumura (Ju-on film series) serves as cinematographer while Japanese musician Mickie Yoshino composed and arranged the music, which features Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me as the theme song. Tokusatsu productions’ special effects director Hiroshi Butsuda and VFX specialist Koichi Noguchi (Tokusatsu Research Institute) are involved in the production.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) collaborated substantially on the project through the use of their commercial airliner (Boeing 747-400), equipment, personnel uniforms and hangar at Haneda airport (aka Tokyo International Airport). ANA even contributed their technical expertise to the screenplay and assembled a team to oversee the filming. The director himself researched extensively by travelling to the home of Boeing in Seattle in a bid to ensure the key elements of the story stay true to factual accuracy as much as possible.
This film was heavily promoted where 25 cities and airports all over Japan hosted the marketing campaign in 2008. Additionally the US premiere screening was held at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington and attended by Joseph F. Sutter, the developer of the Boeing 747. The success of this film helped spawn 5 side stories as well as a number of TV programs and books.
What I Loved
I absolutely adore the story and the storytelling approach. I would consider this production as semi-comedic, cheerful with lighthearted undertones, highly educational and definitely moving with a lot of heart and soul. Initially coming across somewhat as a parody of aviation-themed shows, the film gradually settles into a fast-paced and action packed docudrama that consistently holds my attention. I find myself quickly immersed into the multiple perspectives of the myriad colourful characters throughout what has been a truly riveting rollercoaster ride indeed.
The attention to detail in terms of the authenticity of the technicalities involved is quite astounding. In addition to the numerous events that take place at the airport as well as in the airliner en route to Honolulu from Tokyo, viewers are also taken behind the scenes to witness the frenetic activities that go on at the control tower, radar centre and hangar. Real life people are convincingly depicted through smartly-written characterizations that include the pilots, cabin and ground crews, mechanics, air traffic controllers, radar room controllers, operations personnel and even the variety of passengers themselves. Thanks to this movie, I’ve been exposed to new jargon such as purser, pitot tube, birdstrike, and birdman, among others. I’ve even discovered that crows and pigeons are smarter than seagulls which are more likely to crash onto a plane.
Production-wise, the film has aged very well for one that was made in 2008. Neither the visual quality nor the cinematography technique appear dated. The visual effects are generally well rendered, particularly in scenes of mid-air flight. As far as the set designs are concerned, obviously the principal photography took place in an actual plane and the airport, so I have absolutely no complaints on that front.
The film features a large ensemble cast with many familiar faces and each of the portrayals are afforded almost equal screen time. For the most part, the extended focus is on Ayase Haruka and Tanabe Seiichi, who are credited as the leads in their respective roles of the inexperienced flight attendant Saito Etsuko and the young pilot, Suzuki Kazuhiro. I’m a fan of Ayase Haruko who projects a refreshing take with an upbeat and sunny disposition while Tanabe Seiichi delivers a charming and humorous depiction of the Captain-in-training.
Of the supporting cast that caught my attention, the experienced Terajima Shinobu commands the screen with her portrayal of Chief Purser, Yamazaki Reiko. Tabata Tomoko’s Kimura Natsumi is a blur of motion with her lively enthusiasm, and Eguchi Noriko catches the eye with her intriguing air traffic controller, Mizuno Yuriko, despite her limited appearance. Additionally, Ito Aiko mesmerises as Miyamoto Rie, the radar room controller.
Final Thoughts
Do not be fooled by the “fluffy and romcom-esque” poster. Happy Flight is so much more than meets the eye. I was intrigued from the get-go and enthralled all the way to the rousing conclusion of the story. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best-produced, most expansive and detailed contemporary Japanese films I’ve ever had the opportunity to savour. Kudos to the entire production team for a job well done!
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Worth the Tears
This movie is not for the faint of heart, esp if you do not like movies where the dog is put in a dangerous situation over and over again. It is quite anxiety-inducing.Story: it is a straightforward plot with some twists and turns. Not knowing actually how it would end. This was based on a true story, so that makes it even more upsetting to watch knowing that a dog had this tenacity to find its original owner. I will not spoil the end of the movie but just know you will probably be crying. I like how they kind of twisted in morals regarding how we treat dog into the story, while also throwing in the product placements. ABCMaps and Purina dog food.
Acting/Cast: But I watched this movie for Ying Haoming, as an international fan getting to see Chinese movies is so hard but I was thankful to find it on youtube. He is essentially acting with a dog for the majority of his time on screen. And it is gut-wrenching. His crying felt so real, that I was crying I think 10 minutes into the movie and by the end, I was sobbing into my 4ft bear on my bed. The acting of the dog was also great! While I can not comment a lot on a dog's acting, you can tell by his mannerisms and whines the dog's emotions. But I will never shut up Ying Haoming's raw acting in this movie.
Music: the music was essentially a main lead. without the music the dogs scenes would be stagnant. it pushed the feeling fo the scene, and helped guide your emotions. whether it is a chase scene or a sad, depressing scene in the cold. it gave hopeful feelings and left me screaming in other times.
Rewatch: sometimes when a movie has such an overwhelming emotional story, it can be hard to rewatch but those initial feelings have already been used the first time. so you will not get the same reaction the subsequent times. but I would re-watch this. The acting, and warm fuzzy moments showing the bond between human and dogs is such a strong part of its reachability.
Overall: It is a quick movie, and it is a movie that will induce teras. And it is worth it. I am so happy I found the link (with 97) views and watched it. Ying Haoming is one of my favorite actors, and he was amazing in it and so was the dog.
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How did I find out about this movie? I initially wanted to see this because of Suda Masaki (and just as mentioned in the comments, his appearance was quite short but wonderful, as always.) I was also supposedly going to watch this without subs (raw has been on my files since 2016). But I'm glad I didn't and was patient for the proper subs to come out, or I would've missed so much details about this movie or the whole point of it.
Go watch it if you're in for some philosophical drama.
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A sad but also heartwarming story about family and live
At some point I thought, how much sad things can happen in a family, isn't it too much here, but if you see it as an approach to show the value of family, humanity and friendship in general it was all okay for me.The story was well paced, lots of plot twists that keep you entertained for the two hours. While all actors were really nice, I want to give a special credit for Sugisaki Hana, who plays the teenage daughter here. Her acting is so good, so many perfect facial expressions in all the variety of moods she had to cover, just wow, especially for her age. Somebody to check out for her other works for sure.
Definitely a movie that deserves a wider recognition.
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Value of Time
Most of the things in this movie revolved around Ito’s poetry, which I think was a reminder for us to treasure every single moment that we spend while we’re alive. The movie challenges us to ponder on the value of time and how we might choose to spend it after we realize how short and limited it is, another challenge that was delivered throughout the film was how far we would stretch time before we start taking a brave step forward to fulfill our dreams and do what we really want. Both challenges might not be relatable to everyone since they were taken from the perspective of cancer patients, but will surely resonate with most of us now that we are all faced with the ever-present threat of the pandemic, which should make us realize how each second of our life is valuable.The actress Aikawa had the least exposure among the dominant characters in this movie but she had the most complete development. Ito and Ato’s development could also be considered complete only because they both expired at the end of their individual countdowns. The most heartbreaking part of this movie was [spoiler alert] Dragon’s (Sakamoto) character, although hints were thrown at the beginning of the film, we didn't realize he was also down the path of Ito and Ato’s journey until the last remaining seconds of the movie had been revealed.
Ito’s writing being the central element, led to a heavy emphasis on the relationship between Ito and Ato; the things they did together weren’t as daring (and pointless) as that of Julien and Sophie in Love Me If You Dare, but being both cancer patients, their recklessness were approaching the same level of danger. I am not wishing for this movie to turn into a BL, but I just wish Ato and Dragon’s relationship could have been explored more.
I felt that the music was a bit lacking, I was expecting so much from the final piece and was hoping for a soundtrack that’s worthy of the repeat button, but it turned out only to be so-so. Even the lyrics, which was purportedly Ito’s final writing, was just too literal and shallow, lacking the depth that got us hooked to her writing at the beginning. One more thing I found lacking was the explanation of the “kimochi” formula that was introduced in the story, enough airtime was provided to discuss this matter but the metaphorical translation didn’t hit the bullseye, if the formula has been plotted or visualized as a graph instead, it could have made more sense and more philosophical value could have been dished out, especially when highlighting the asymptotes and the approach to infinity.
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Failed to live up to expectations
In all honesty, I was hyped about this mainly because this is the Mario and Baifern reunion many of us has been waiting for. I am one of those who had Mario as our original Thai actor crush because of the phenomenal Crazy Little Thing Called Love movie.STORY
My personal preference is that I don't like 'robot and humans fall in love' plot. But I gave this one a chance and kept an open mind about it. The story is promising but the execution was pretty bad. If it wasn't for the CGIs, it would look like a low value movie. The writing is all over the place. It doesn't know what it wants to present. Did it want to be a sci-fi, romance or comedy? It wanted to show all of those but fell short.
ACTING
If it wasn't for the casting, I would've dropped it at 15 minutes into the movie. Both leads are already established actors, it's just a pity they had to make do of a script like this. All the other side actors look like caricatures in their acting. Mario and Baifern still had that chemistry. Baifern is a chemistry generator but I think she still has the best chemistry with Mario because look at all their cute moments together.
REWATCH VALUE
Not a rewatch material at all. Maybe just watch the leads' cute scenes and chemistry in movie cuts in youtube and pretend it's from a good movie.
P.S. I gave it an extra point for the sentimental value of the Mario-Baifern reunion. They should've just given us the sequel we were waiting and not this movie. But oh well..
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Not Even Close to 50 Shades
Almost everyone is saying this is an intro to 50 shades. I beg to differ. 50 Shades is cringed and trying hard to be sexy, Love and Leashes have more of the story and more of just vanilla. The storyline is not unique, but the romance of the two leads was pretty good. At first, I don't see their chemistry but as the story progress, it starts to click.Other's say it's crazy how Korea is making this kind of movie now. It's laughable cause if others do their research, Korea has produced crazier sexy movies than this.
The storyline's not bad. It actually tackles how society ostracized people whose fondness is BDSM. If you think about it deeply, they criticize them, shunned them and the topic itself is taboo. At some point, the major takeaway here is love is love, and it doesn't matter how you express your love as long as you don't harm people.
This is also Seo Hyun's first sexy movie, I think it made a major discussion in the kpop world. She did great though. She's a good actor and gave justice to her character. Same with Jun, I haven't seen him act before, but judging from this, he is a very effective actor.
It's not a must-watch, but it's a good light-hearted movie and great for "literal" Netflix and chill.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Weight of Her is a short film from nearly 20 years ago that I stumbled across. I truly hope that attitudes have changed about girls and women and their appearances since this was made.The story follows a slightly overweight high school girl who is constantly judged for her weight not only by other students but by the teachers as well. Her friend who took diet pills and lost weight was praised. She, however, was constantly criticized and told she'd never find a job or a man because she weighs over 50 kg.
The girls are weighed in class as the male teacher makes derogatory comments about them. At one point when a very overweight male teacher derides the FL for weighing too much she calls him on it. He tells her it doesn't matter how men look, women are the ones with the problem.
Fat shaming, shaming for double-eyelids, all appearance related bombs lodged at young women, destroying their self-esteem and causing them to do unhealthy things to try and be ultra-slim. Instead of building them up, and training them to be competent and confident, they are told their self-worth is in how they look and how much they weigh. The focus was never on teaching them to be healthy in body and mind, and to develop their skills so that they would be able to find a good job because they were qualified, not because they were thin and pretty.
I found this very difficult to watch because defining women by their looks and size is destructive and the society loses out on creative, intelligent people in the work force simply because they aren't attractive enough for the men who hire them.
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Swing and a Miss
Overall: there was a good idea a the core, how a boy might struggle at school with two gay dads, but it had a poor executionContent Warnings: held against will, looked up skirt - pulled down pants, pervy guy
What I Liked
- the trumpet playing
- the boy said that they should apologize to the girl
Room For Improvement
- the trumpet player was more immature than the child! Who just leaves their child at a dock? Pulling down his pants was terrible. The dad felt stereotypical and I wish they would haven't gone that direction. He could have worn lipstick/nails and been an awesome parent of a child who is struggling at school due to bullying. Instead they made him look immature and silly.
- the first sexual assault to that girl was bad but then they threw in another attempted one??? To show that the boy was now a hero? It was an odd way to show character development.
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Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'!
If Godzilla is King of the Kaiju, Mothra is the Queen. Lighter in tone than Godzilla (1954), yet still with a message of caring for the Earth and cooperation, Mothra carved out her own story.The synopsis tells most of the story. An unscrupulous relic plunderer kidnapped the Shobijin after an expedition to an island in a nuclear testing zone. The tiny twins had been befriended on their island by a reporter and a linguist who attempted to come to their aid in Tokyo. The Shobijin tried to warn them that Mothra would be coming for them and anyone in her way would be in great danger. Their pleading left the dastardly villain unaffected only causing him to double down on his efforts to keep the fairy priestesses to himself for his own profit.
Unlike Godzilla, who came to town obliterating buildings for seemingly no reason, Mothra was on a rescue mission. She arrived in her caterpillar form before transforming into her beautiful self. Tokyo and a major city in Rolisica (an amalgam of Russia and the US) took the brunt of her actions as she searched for her besties.
Mothra had one of the strongest casts in Kaiju filmdom. It's a good thing there was a strong cast as Mothra doesn't show up until over halfway through the movie. Koizumi Hiroshi who appeared in many Godzilla movies played the good-hearted linguist Dr. Chujo Shinichi. Kagawa Kyoko, from Tokyo Story, was the fearless photographer who worked with intrepid reporter, Bulldog, well played by Frankie Sakai. Hirata Akihiko from the original Godzilla made a welcome appearance. Shimura Takashi who starred in several Kurosawa movies, was the cranky news boss. Finally, the idols from their time, The Peanuts, twin sisters Emi and Yumi, brought the kind fairies to life. Their song "Mosura" woke their giant protector telepathically calling her to them.
Though there was destruction of buildings and cars, and the requisite helicopter blowing up, unlike in Godzilla, humans are not shown being killed. Mothra's story is gentler for a mass destruction movie as much of an oxymoron as that is. Song and dance numbers, a child looking to protect the Shobijin, and a big, beautiful monster made this movie more kid friendly, a direction Toho would continue to take the movies in, especially the Mothra movies as she evolved into a heroine.
The miniatures and Mothra were obvious toys, some more intricate and carefully created than others, but this was 1961 and viewers' imaginations played a big role in the success of these movies. I enjoyed Mosura, a somewhat slow-paced monster movie about a giant Moth stopping at nothing to save her friends.
21 February 2022
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Finding Yourself
Aristocrats tells the story of two women from different social classes, family backgrounds, and outlook on life who embark on a journey of self-discovery and finding their place in the world, amidst the constraints of familial expectations, gender discrimination, class system and traditional values that are deeply ingrained in Japanese society, particularly amongst the upper class or, in the context of the film, the aristocrats.Based on the novel Ano Ko wa Kizoku by award-winning author and essayist Mariko Yamauchi, which was serialised in the monthly magazine Syosetsu Subaru in 2015 and published as a book in 2016. Yukiko Sode, who is a notable indie-film director, wrote the screenplay adaptation and directed the film. Yasuyuki Sasaki serves as cinematographer while Takuma Watanabe composed the original score. Aristocrats had its world premiere at the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival in 2021.
What I Appreciated
The character-driven and female-centric narrative is told from the perspectives of the two women, Haibara Hanako and Tokioka Miki, structured in a converging parallel plot format. Certain flashback sequences are involved but, for the most part, a linear storytelling approach is adopted which preserves the overall cohesion and coherence of the multiple POVs. A number of themes concerning conservative social constructs, narrow mindsets and stereotypes are manifested while the concepts of marriage, friendship and love are also explored to a certain extent.
Running at just over 2 hours, this film covers quite an extensive scope but gives the impression of taking its time to allow the various elements to breathe and gradually sink in. Nothing ever feels rushed or abrupt as the tempo of the storytelling remains delicately poised all throughout. This aspect is complemented by the equally subtle cinematography technique that renders a series of exquisitely framed moments. A more subdued colour grading is employed with a slight textured effect that filters the warmer colour palettes. The gently imbued orchestral accompaniment that induces an introspective mood provides the finishing touches to the end product - a motion picture that showcases visual aesthetics and technical artistry.
Where the production truly shines lies in the exceptional cast performances, particularly that of the main leads. Kadowaki Mugi and Mizuhara Kiko are hugely impressive in their respective portrayals of Haibara Hanako and Tokioka Miki. Understatedly emotive and compellingly nuanced, these two fine actresses certainly possess the gravitas to utterly enliven the entire film with their commanding screen presence. My only qualm is that I wished both had more scenes together.
Final Thoughts
Aristocrats, at its core, represents an in-depth character study of the internal struggles of two young women against the backdrop of a deeply traditional society amidst the hustle-and-bustle of cosmopolitan Tokyo. It is bittersweet yet inspiring and the story eventually ends on a high note which provides a fitting closure where both leads finally discover their true worth and find their place in the world. This has been a truly evocative viewing experience.
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Sweet n´Slow...
This was such a slow paced, but sweet lesson about love, and the obstacles involved in wanting to change the past... Did I, who am used to watching dramas where it takes like 16 hours for people to get together just call a movie slow paced, yes I did... I really did...However slow as it may be it does come with an interesting lesson in connecting the past with the present without to many effects of interesting distractions.
The main coupe is mature, sweet and calm inspire of this very odd situation and time complication they seem to be in. there are a few interesting twist too but nothing really exiting to watch on screen but the story is good so I am sure the novel it was adapted from is better then the movie.
To be clear, the acting was good, the characters were lovable, and the story interesting it just lacks that extra spark and pace one would expect from a movie... So it was good but maybe not so entertaining...
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Homage to film making
Whoever liked the movie 13 Assassins from 2010 or the original from 1963 will also like this one even if it’s something completely different. But not only in respect to the Samurai theme, to me it works as a kind of homage to cinema and film making in general.The enthusiastic teen protagonists pay a detailed attention to those Samurai action scenes and I think it covers the best broom-sword-wanna-be-fight in cinematic history 😉
That time machine thingy is a bit weird, but if one can see it as critique to the recent short-clip-tiktok-crap, why not…just it seems men have long hair again in the future 😊
Enjoyable summer vibe movie, good and fun actors all over. I liked how the rivals come together finally for their cinematic work for the higher goal. And yep, some small romance there also, while not being the main focus.
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