Reviews

This movie! Magical realism at its best! And honestly, one of the most amazing roles I've seen Iwata Takanori in so far!

Juliette Binoche plays Jeanne who returns to Japan after some twenty odd years to look for a herb called Vision that appears only every 997 years. It's a miracle herb that should be able to erase all the pain in the world. She meets a forester and his old blind female friend who claims to be 1000 years old. The old woman recognizes Jeanne and Jeanne recognizes her. And then the woman disappears, we last see her dancing in the forest and the trees and the wind responding to her. And Jeanne returns home, promising to come back in the fall to see Vision come alive...

When she leaves, the forester, Satoshi, who now lives all alone just with his dog, finds a hurt young man in the forest, Iwata Takanori's Rin. He takes Rin home and Rin stays with him and he starts taking care of the forest with Satoshi. Satoshi really takes to him, treating him almost like a son. And then Jeanne returns and she immediately senses that there's something odd about Rin who almost doesn't speak, though he's very smart - odd like the fact that he can sense approaching death and things like that...

And now to the awesome twist!

It turns out that Rin is Jeanne's son, she had him with a Japanese man who got accidentally killed during a hunt. When Rin was born, Jeanne left him with the old blind woman who then took him to his grandparents who brought him up. But that's not all. Because Rin was born in the forest, it reacts to him just like to the blind woman before him and, guided by his father's spirit, he sets the forest afire with his dance to make Vision come alive again...

Wow, it was so... I mean... that was so cool! You can speculate if Rin is like the old woman, if he will also live to 1000 years till the Vision herb will need to be reborn to guide the next person who will have the power to set the forest afire and make it grow again. Or if it was all just a dream and a series of coincidences and made up stories, but that's the amazing thing about magical realism, there doesn't need to be an explanation. It can just be.

Amazing movie, honestly. The cinematography, the music, all the relationships - especially between Satoshi and Rin, it was awesome to see Satoshi laugh! Though it took me a bit to get used to them switching between French, English and Japanese constantly. That was fun!

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If you want to bore yourself to death for 2 hours.... give it a go?

I found this movie by a recommendation and decide to give it a go, after finding the page on MDL.

Truth be told I was expecting something different... despite the genre and tags presented.

It's like a poorly attempt at a dark comedy thriller, only it has a few corny jokes and some forced satire of thriller/horror with numerous sound effects to break into the serious moments. Just when you think it is getting serious or down to business there it goes once again, and the abuse of anti-climatic music is astonishing to say the very least.

It's also very slow paced for an almost 2 hour movie which may become boring at some given points. The plot itself had potential, but both the storyline and the characters aren't worth it in the end. It does not move or engage the viewer who sees it, in fact there were many times where even I felt like skipping scenes and see what was ahead or if I should drop it before falling asleep on top of the keyboard (mind it the sound effects here probably wouldn't let me anyway)

The motives for the killings and all the plot twists while trying to be creative wasn't all that engaging or dim worthy for me. It seemed mostly cliché and a total mess. And even though the detail of the victims belongings being placed like tokens into that toy that was special to the killer felt like a nice touch there, it's nothing we haven't seen before into stories like this one, right?

Also... talk about bad timings, with the phone going on at the crucial moment ever.
Anddddd... that is probably why I usually keep mine on silent mode, so I guess am safe.
Office work sure is a dangerous profession nowadays huh, not even the paper is spared in there.

The cinematography is not entirely bad, and I like the overall color scheme here. Mostly neutral colors and plenty of red or dark climatic scenes, they tried to set the mood for both genres they were trying to convey. And yet the background music annoyed me in many moments, it's overly used and settled to break into comical relief but it also creates the illusion that something big is bound to happen... and then.... it doesn't.

It's not the best and certainly not the worst movie I've seen.
But would be something I would see again? No. Definitely not.

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Bunch of average (anywhere) college kids having fun, but overshadowed with an adult crisis...

There is criticism from other reviewers about thsi film, but it does exactly what I believe the director wanted to do: combine a group of misfit college students together in a college/university setting and throw in a real-life drama as well!

A typical love story,: a non-traditional college student Jang Eun Shik (Im Chang Jung) falls for the junior hottie and athlete Lee EunHyo (Ha Ji Won), but whose awkwardness and lack of social skills makes him less that appealing, in the beginning. As in every love triangle, junior Lee EunHyo falls for the handsome and popular Ham Sangok (Jung Min)....and winds up in a one-night stand with him, drawing the ire of his jilted girlfriend , Kim Ji Won (Jin Jae Young), and a one-night stand pregnancy.

However, the rich Ham Sangok believes a credit card and a trip by her to an abortion clinic can save his reputation and future; and Lee EunHyo turns to the bumbling Jang Eun Shik to give her moral support, accompanying her to the clinic. Afterward, Eun Shik takes her back to her place, carng and entertaining her as the reality of her decision takes hold. The actress Ha Ji Won does an excellent job (along with the accompanying music) showing her slowly falling in love with him as he tried to make her laugh and forget her mistake and hurting.

Later, Eun Shik finds her bleeding to death after her competition, saves her life, then forces Ham Sangok to go face the music of a hospitalized Lee EunHyo and her mother.

Weaved around this love triangle story is the antics of a typical mischievous college students; this makes the movie seem more live-like, in my opnion. As a former college student myself, even a conservative college in America's Midwest can admit that such antics take place, and it made the whole movie seem real.

Sex in college is where the average students, separated from family and (church) friends, find out about sex and how "far" an individual can go without gettting hurt, as this movie points out.

Even though it is rated my many as a terrible movie, I have had older friend who went to college, and they said that the antics protrayed reminded them of their college years as well, albeit the movie antics are a bit "exaggerated"...

Minimal nudity (mainly breasts), although many references to sex acts and eroticism throughout the movie; which I say again actually happens with many college students leaving home for the first time. I actually thought it was better than the movie, American Pie (1999).

I thought that the cinematography of this semi fast-paced movie was good; as most guys would be more interested in the boobs scenes anyway.

RE-WATCH: definitely, especially if you went to college and want to reminisce their forgotten days of college.

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A portrait of Joseon scholar Jeong Yak Jeon that is both affecting and thought-provoking

This may be my favorite of the films I’ve seen from director Lee Joon Ik. It is based on the writings of Jeong Yak Jeon, a scholar who was exiled to Heuksando during the Sinyu Persecution in 1801, where he wrote the Jasaneobo (The Book of Fish). His story is told alongside that of Chang Dae, a fisherman whose knowledge of fish and marine life helped Jeong Yak Jeon to write his book. Most of Chang Dae’s story as presented in the film is fictional, but Jeong Yak Jeon did make multiple mentions of him in his work. The juxtaposition of the two characters and the growth of their relationship over many years is the core of the story told here.

At first this seemed to be a serene, serious, and slow-paced introspective film. Then as it went on it became more light-hearted. I found that the characters were surprisingly charming and it actually felt rather wholesome. At least until it shifted to a darker tone, before finally ending on an emotional note. The journey through the different phases of the story didn’t feel jarring as the transition was gradual and natural. Towards the end, I did come to feel nostalgic for the earlier parts of the film, which I think was the response it intended to evoke.

The film offers in intriguing peek into the intellectual atmosphere of late Joseon: Catholics persecuted, in part because the religion threatens fundamental Confucian practices, ideological conflict between Eastern learning (donghak) and Western learning (seohak). This story is really built on contrasts. An erudite scholar of high-birth, who had once occupied lofty government post, must find a place for himself in a rural peasant village, and he comes to find inspiration in the mundane knowledge of a common fisherman. Chang Dae struggles to find the same value that Jeong Yak Jeon does in practical learning and the marine knowledge that he has always taken for granted, aspiring instead to attain the philosophical truths gleaned from a traditional education in the Classics. He’s idealistic and perhaps does not have the sophistication to understand the nuances and wisdom of Jeong Yak Jeon’s more complex, even seemingly-contradictory, beliefs. The film both portrays the ideal of the Neo-Confucian scholar, their beliefs, their art, etc. as well as the reality of Neo-Confucian Joseon, while also touching on broader themes, like the value of different kinds of learning and how learning can shape one’s beliefs over time. I think Kim Se Gyum deserves praise for composing a screenplay that coveys so many ideas without feeling overly-didactic.

One other little touch I appreciated was the use of poetry to communicate the emotional states of both Jeong Yak Jeon and his brother, Jeong Yak Yong. Not only is the accurate to how Confucian elites expressed themselves, but I felt it also added to the atmosphere and beauty of the film.

Sul Kyung Gu and Byun Yo Han both gave excellent performances. They fully embodied the personalities and complexities of the characters, and really made me feel for them at times.

This film was shot in black and white, which perhaps was intended to create an ink-on-paper aesthetic to match the themes of scholarship and writing. Although I don’t know that there was any reason it absolutely needed to be in black and white, I really appreciate that they made that choice. The majority of the story takes place on an island, but ocean scenery isn’t the point, and removing the color lent a simplicity to the visuals that allowed the cinematography (Lee Eui Tae) to find a perfect balance. There were many beautiful shots, but it avoids the overstimulation of colorful landscapes. I found it relaxing to watch and visuals never distracted from the true focus of the film, the intellectual portrait of Jeong Yak Jeon. The music (Bang Jun Suk) wasn’t memorable. I hardly noticed it to be honest.

Overall, I think this film was successful in portraying the characters in a way that made me care for them, while also exploring thematic ideas related to the intellectual atmosphere of the time. Well worth the watch, especially if you have an interest in history, scholarship, or have enjoyed previous Lee Joon Ik films, like The King and the Clown or The Throne.

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Just don't bother! Waste of time! Didn't live up to the cast value!

Sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes in advance.

Okayyyy, so last night I watched the Cmovie 'Once upon a time', which is an adaptation of the veryyyy popular Cdrama 'ten miles of peach blossoms/eternal love'. Ngl I did have high hopes for the cmovie as the main m/f lead was one of the best 'yang yang' and liu yifie', also it's basically an adaptation so what can go wrong? Well, so many things in this movie were so bad. Also, I already knew that it's gonna be bad or not as good as the drama cause words were around.

Anyways the production quality was so bad! About 95% or maybe the whole movie was just CGI (computer-generated images) apart from the actors themselves. And the CGI wasn't even good, like the quality was so bad and it was very very obvious what was CGI! But of course given the storyline, the acting and direction of the movie wouldn't be bad. right? or was it?

Yes, it so bad like the leads were yang yang and liu yifie so of course, i was gonna expect good acting. but yang yangs acting was so awkward and it just looks the same as anything else I have seen him acting in (love 020, king? etc). Liu yifie was okay, if the production, CGI, her opposite lead was maybe somewhat better then this movie wouldn't have been all that bad.

And let me just get into the storyline cause OMG they left out so much of the actual story and I know its a movie so it can't be too long otherwise obviously the original drama is there if u want everything. but come on how can they miss out so much. the movie was i think around 1hour 45minutes where as the drama is 58 eps so they can really be blamed to fit everything in otherwise it would just look like they rushing the movie. But honestly, I wished they could have made the movie longer. like I wouldn't mind if it was as long as 3 hours. I would watch the whole thing cause we all know from the drama that it's good so missing it would just be that u aren't bothered or u already seen the drama so why the movie. but come on they still could have done so much better if they made a bit longer. I think the only good scene was, spoiler, when she realized she's susu and how her eyes were stolen. so for that, I do give yifie a round of applause but everything else from the so obviously bad CGI to yang yangs bad acting to missing out on important parts of the storyline was so bad.

I gave it a 6.5/10 only cause liu yifies acting considering how everything else was bad. honestly, id say don't bother watching if u already saw the drama or just watch the drama if u haven't seen either. but if u still wanna watch the movie like I did despite all the negative reviews I've seen before even watching the movie then go on. Although I would recommend to just go on youtube and watch a FMV of the movie trust everything looks so heartbreakingly promising in them but it really wasn't. Anyways ill add a link to a good FMV of the movie, that is actually better than how the movie is.

2 different FMV of 'Once upon a time' Cmovie (recc to watch both):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCanjgz2XWA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEmZa12zpVE

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emotionally annoying {satire

●FIRST IMPRESSION
The movie lives up to its title from start to finish. MY ANNOYING BROTHER, annoying until the end. Making a space into one's life forcefully in the beginning only to leave that space empty later is really annoying. I laughed, cried, and connected with the story emotionally.

●PLOT VIEW
It had a great story that kept me intrigued until the end like simmering into an emotional sweet and sour dish. Bromance was excellent as the brothers bond they clear up the past misunderstanding. Also, I think Do Yeong actually longed for his brother so he forgave him early rather than sulking over it for long. his emotional journey to the Paralympics is inspirational.

●ACTING/CAST
-Jo Jung Suk is excellent as ever. He melts into his witty and gritty character quickly.
-D.O. as a physically challenged sports person nailed it. His insecurities and fear were heartbreaking.
-Park Shin Hye's character didn’t create an impact. She felt like a mediator between the brother.

●MUSIC is minimal, the natural sounds keep the audience engaged with the story rather than the BGM or OST.

●REWATCH is YES because I liked the brothers bonding emotionally which gives me the strength to watch it again.

●FAV SCENE
Brother bonding in the hospital infront of the police.

●RECOMMENDATION
If you want a good dose of humor and an emotional roller coaster ride with lots of bromances, you must watch this movie.

●AFTERTHOUGHT
-It dwells in the life of a sportsman and shows that physical disability cant keep you from dreaming, you need to just take a step and start walking towards it.
-people give up their dreams thinking what others will say, society will say, etc etc but in the end one the person who lost their dream is hurt. nobody else cares. fight your dream emotionally for one day the world will give you a gold medal.

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Like bro... okay?

I personally dont know what to think about this movie. I had high expectations because...bro this is Chinese BL Movie-I cant say very rare piece but you know what I mean... The acting is good, but the plot could have been better. In one moment the minister is "Oh... Let's exterminate all the memaids!" in another is like "O fuck! I have feelings for this boi😏". I dont have anything against the mereboy bc he is kinda cute. The ending... I kinda suspected this bc this happens in many other chinese dramas/movies. Do I recommendthis movie? Yes. It is worth rewatching? Depends, but in my case no.

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A sandbox movie with a deep and dark rabbit hole in the middle

This "review" is unlike any I have written before because this movie is not about just watching the movie. It is much more than that. A back-of-a-napkin review will read like this; beautifully acted, beautifully shot, artsy, slow, a bit quirky but there doesn't appear to be a lot to it.

Wait, don't tune out yet! :) This is why I called this a sandbox movie. I believe that there are 2 phases to this experience. Phase 1 is just watching the movie. Phase 2 is taking your time to digest the clues, images, metaphors, etc. You have to play in that sandbox with the pieces given to you and look beyond the obvious.

Because of this, I can understand why this movie would get a lower rating. If you stop at Phase 1 then it is an artsy, quirky movie (see short review above). Some may just dismiss it as an indulgence especially if you are not in the mood to dive back into the movie after the end credits rolled.

However, if you get into Phase 2 then it is a Pandora's box! There are multiple layers and POV's. There are clues, messages (such as the hopelessness of their youths vs the Korean Gatsby's) and more. They point to different experiences, intersecting plots and even alternative realities! I have my own theory on what happened to the protagonists but I'm not going to discuss it here because a) spoilers b) I could be utterly wrong and c) you need to go down that dark and twisted rabbit hole yourself. Have fun!

In the end, I would compare this movie to a modern art installation. I appreciated the superb acting, evocative cinematography, multi-layered script and skilful directions but I don't fully understand it. It got me to think about it (and lost sleep). It will leave an indelible mark in my mind.

So while I can't say that I loved the movie because it is not a genre I normally gravitate towards (thanks LM for the recommendation), I can definitely express a deep appreciation tinged with a sense of awe and discombobulation!

Now I need a stiff drink and a good lie down. ;)

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To sum it all up...

- About a boy who is bullied (in prison and out) and frequently get into fights, tends to get beaten up(quite a lot) but never fails to give up, to then win against his much stronger opponent. lol .
- first 3/4 of the film was just Cha woo sol training and fighting other inmates. When i finally found myself fully engrossed in the film, the story was nearly over.
- wasn't much depth to the side characters, so i couldn't connect or empathise with them.
- felt that the bully joining the gang was unnecessary?? don't know what it added to the story.
- ending was rushed and was quite unsatisfactory- made you question what on earth he learnt during his time in prison lol
- Wi ha Joon is charming as ever.

It may seem that i'm very critical of the film, but i can honestly say that i enjoyed it regardless. There isn't much substance to the plot, but it was a compelling watch- with an amazing cast, and great action scenes to keep you entertained throughout.

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Reincarnation Genre Movie

Dew The Movie....

Yup, first time to watch this kind of movie and genre that was filmed in thailand of course with thailand actors as well.
I was really curious at first why the audience keep on commenting that this was a tragic story, how does it becomes a tragic one, who is dew and what is the story all about until i watched it. And trust me being a curious person does really good to you sometimes if you were really want to see, hear and know the things that you want.

Story....
Yah, i love it....
It is not my first time to watch the reincarnation story but this is the first one in the movie specifically in the mention country.
I thought that after 23 years they will meet again as is but the partner of the main lead reincarnated in the body of a girl, not just a girl but his student, with an age gap. That was a big twist. Not expecting that. Being fan of a bl genre i thought that their love will continue as reincarnated in a body of a boy.
I was expecting more and loving the flow of the story as i watch it. It was like i was expecting what will comes next with this scene and that scene. I love how the love story of the two boys bloom on the first part, as expected from the actors they were great really.
The reincarnation part... That was unexpected for the first timers who will watch the movie.
The setting of the story was new to me... That was refreshing...
The cinematography.... It really shows the difference of the past and present of the story...

Actors/casting....
Really.... I love the cast..... it was like they live their role on it...
Ohm Pawat... It is not the first time i've watched him in this kind of genre but he really did great.. i am not expecting it on him... He was really a great actor, he serves his role well.
Nont... this is my first time to watch him.. and he did great with his role also... Looking forward to his series to watch... Wanna know him better...
The girl who was reincarnation of Dew.... Yah i love her.... I love how she manages to act in here role specially when she was being partnered with an old guy.
The adult Phop.... He was also great... I love the way he acts on his role and i didn't see that coming....

Music....
It was new to me.. the genre of the song... But it was so good to hear... It was like a calming song....

Rewatch value....
I can give as high as this because i really love this kind of genre story line.

Overall....
This is a very good movie.... A tragic one but yeah... I love the story line, the actors, their roles, the setting of the story, all of it...

Good Job!!!

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those movies that make you feel great

You love Tsuchiya Tao? Watch this.
You love food? Watch this.
You love those "special place in your heart" movies? Watch this.

Relatively subtle, underhyped film befitting of the movie itself; reconnecting with one's family while making new connections. As you follow the main character, Yoshito, and food writer, Shizuka, you're drawn into the geniune food, stories and connections they build in the rebuilding of Negishi-en.

I was entertained by the modern editing of Yoshito and Tatsuya's rambles. There was edited text on what each thought was best for meat. Really illustrates the ideas in each characters' head and their respective passions in their monologues. Doesn't take too long to notice that they have the same magnitude of passion, just different directions.

For a movie about food, it reaches into universal human experiences, grievances we had with our parents, reconciliation, humility in learning and enjoying the present from the ordinary yet impactful food we have. This is where the movie fares better; because of how it value adds. Ultimately the main message of the movie is this realisation; what's important for meat and life, is the chef's wish for it to "be delicious". Not the fanciness, the origin or the grandiose. Simply decent love and strive.

I watched this movie while running. Usually, I find it hard to follow along movies for their lack of appeal or lustre. For a slow-paced movie, this was a solid watch. Something I'll find myself rewatching and not immediately deleting from my downloads.

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Already done, Long and so Predictable but still heart aches a little

First of all , stalking a girl because you like her troops in a romantic way should be stopped. It's not romantic at all and even playing a romantic background music to justify the act is totally not acceptable at all. If antagonist has done that then they would have put on villainize music.

It was so predictable that main guy would die in the end as he was hitting bottles in his head and all those fighting just to emotionally blackmail us. They also stretched the story line where 15 min could have been easily cut off.

The main actress acting is kind of dull but actor looks convincing in that character. Even most of the things looked staged but still somewhere heart aches a little.

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Tugs the Heartstrings but Uneven and Illogical

Based on a true story, this is a heartwarming fiction of a boy who really, really wants to build a train way station, the reasons behind his desires, and the relationships he has with his family, teacher, and his girlfriend. There were small moments that made me laugh out loud and revelations that made me sad. However, unfortunately, the movie is bogged down by some awkward editing choices and some gaps in the script that made me disappointed. I finished watching the movie with an overall positive feel, but couldn't help but wonder how a tighter production could have made it better.

For starters, I don't think the movie knows what it wants to be: the first half of the movie is setup as 75% romance and 25% drama. The second half of the movie focuses on paying off the dramatic story line that was setup in the beginning, but almost entirely forgets that it spent a lot of time developing a love story, ultimately feeling like 85% drama and 15% romance for the latter half. I think the movie could have been better by focusing on either plot line more completely and setting aside the other portion in the backdrop. Even without this, I think there may have been an editing opportunity here to improve the pacing.

In my opinion, one consequence of this lack of focus is the creation of dissatisfaction with some of the finer points of the story. For instance, early on, the movie introduces Ra Hee, our leading lady who inexplicably crushes on our main character, Jun Kyung. Why is she so drawn to him? I don't think this is ever explained and I feel because of that, their love story isn't really organic: you have this pretty girl who inexplicably throws herself at this weirdo guy until they are able to bond into a proper love. I mean, I was once an awkward, teenage boy, and I can tell you I would have killed for some pretty girl to be unrelentingly interested in me for no discernible reason...but unfortunately it's nowhere near believable in this movie. Moreover, there's some additional details that I think the director/screenwriter simply forgot to address: there is a scene where they ALMOST kiss, but aren't able to. Later on in the movie, she sends him an audiotape imploring him to "remember our first kiss," but the thing is, we as the audience are never shown this so it's like "what first kiss? Did I miss something?" And when you go back they didn't -- ultimately, it was either a scene that got changed at the last minute or it was done off-screen -- either possibility, it's a little silly.

Approximately 60% into the movie, there is a sharp shift from the focus away from the love story, and into some interesting family drama caused by some setup earlier. However, the tonal shift is awkward, because there's something like a ~30-40 minute window where Yoona has no screen time which is a little weird if we consider the love story to be important and one of the overarching threads that keep this movie together. Honestly, I feel that this family plot line could have been a story all by itself: if we removed the romance tag and just dropped Ra Hee, it could have worked as a complete, drama-focused coming of age story. To me, it feels like the screenwriter didn't know what they wanted and just decided to cram in two unrelated stories together and try their best to tie it together.

I'm not quite sure what to think of the acting. As a non-Korean speaker, even I can hear the strong accents that the actors use in this movie to mimic the regional dialect of the area, so I can only wonder if they did a good job (I assume they did). However, I think all of the cast had strong performances. As a matter of personal taste, I thought Park Jung Min looked way too old to be a high schooler, but perhaps that's a fault of the makeup/costuming more than the casting.

I thought the music was appropriate, but average. It sets up the ambience well, but nothing to write home about in the end. I think the movie is also going to be difficult to rewatch, because you already know what the key moment of the movie is and I don't feel that the little, heartfelt moments are enough to warrant an entire second viewing.

I really wanted to like this movie. I really did. I can say that I enjoyed it, but there's glaring flaws that make me sigh a bit, and wonder how it could have been markedly better if they just changed a few things.

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