Reviews

An easy 10/10 for me

I can't express the emotions through words that this movie made me feel. A perfect movie after a nearly perfect drama. The awkwardness, the fear, the hesitation they went through while meeting each other's family is something you can feel in your soul. Adachi's family's reaction was too wholesome and priceless. I love how the whole family cheered and accepted their relationship, and I'm really glad Kurosawa's family also accepted this. It made me believe in humanity again. Lol.The scene where Kurosawa said that he would go alone to meet his parents shows how Kurosawa wanted to endure his parents' decision alone, but Adachi telling him they'll go together shows that they are still changing and improving with each other. Definitely one of my favorite scenes.Overall, the movie was too good. It shows that no matter how different you are or how many flaws you have, you always find a way to change with the one you love.

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A good laugh through and through

Don't get me wrong, the second movie in this cancelled duology was a lot more intriguing and had better more fleshed out drama. However, that helicopter plane crash ending took me out. I watched these movies just because I heard they were toxic and for ten wonderfully horrid minutes, it was and I couldn't have asked for more. That being said I can't in good faith recommend this over any other series or even films that have well more thought out characters and story. As besides the R18 scenes, which aren't even all that crazy when taken out of context, the second movie still doesn't really do anything too unique for me.

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Lazy Hazy Crazy, ennui that pretty much sums up Alice Chloe Tracy.

Lazy Hazy Crazy was a movie with a lot of missed potential that derailed in the second half. However, it wasn't bad as overall, I enjoyed the film, and I think it's worth a watch. I especially loved the main actresses, how it was shot, and some of the lines were iconic.

For starters, I can't help but notice how it's tagged as a "female-centered plot." Sure, the main characters are all girls and navigate through sexuality, virginity, and life together, but can you truly call it a female-centered plot when the major conflict between the three girls centers around one boy who is honestly irrelevant in the first half of the film? Okay, maybe it is at its core, a female-centered plot, but one can only handle so many all-three-girls-like-one-boy-who-rarely-shows-up-and-they-almost-lose-their-friendship-because-of-him before one sighs in a "not this again" manner.

As for the film's potential, it had a great setup to explore the relationship of three best friends as well as discovering a blooming sexuality through the relationship between Alice and Chloe. Instead, it fell flat on properly doing both of these things. I wish the movie had fleshed out the three girls as characters more and explored their struggles in depth with their family, school, and personal lives. I also needed to see more of Alice and Chloe's feelings for one another. There were moments of emotion where their friendships shattered and where they reconciled, but it felt rushed. Honestly, if the film left the Andrew plot and solely focused on the girls navigating through each of their tough situations thoroughly, it would have told a much more compelling and cohesive story that I would have probably bawled my eyes out for.

What struck me about the film was how casually vulgar these girls were (especially since I wasn't sure of their ages until the end which left me uncomfortable for much of the movie). For example, when Alice told the other two about how she lost her virginity to her friend's dad when she was 14 and wasn't met with horror and shock like I was feeling, I truly grasped how much ennui they were feeling. No, the film itself is filled with ennui. It doesn't bat an eye at what the girls are doing or what they have been through. Barely anyone in the film is worried for them, not even they are. Each of them is met with indifference, malice, or lust, and the film doesn't give us the answer to what to feel. The girls' ennui seeps into the seams of the film, and it's up to us to feel for them-It's up to us to decide what's right and what's wrong.

*Please note I watched this with subtitles, so I may not have grasped some aspects of the film fully.

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if it is a drama will be better

At the beginning i have watched this movie because the main actress is so dam cute and I have watched before movies of the male actor.
I m into time travelling but this idea of loss travel is so unique and original but the addition of more characters like the doctors of his wife was useless..we barely have time to enjoy moment of our couple why adding them...andd they tricked us..i thoughtas most of u the doctor was him in the future ...discovering the truth was one of the worste plot twist ever...i hoped she will survive to be his spouse (only in that part) ...I felt like its can be better develloped especially cuz we did not understand this phenomen 100% ..and why the so easily felt in love with each other they barely new themselves...they have just passing 1 hour together hanging out... for both was love at first sight but still not enough..is not enough to justify the decision of operation..and even it is a drama and im such a crybaby I did not even cried the sad scenes had not conviced me...and the beginning was not that bad but from discovering the truth in the hospital it became boring we did not even had a marriage pff..and the worste scene was him looking for the box I felt likz the author wanted to fill minutes in the movie hhh..and i wanted so baddly flashbacks with his mother xD ..and i was waiting a drammatic end it will be more realistic even i wanted them to be together..maybe cuz this is the classic of japanese movie one of them must die ..to end i hope this story will get a drama with more dettails about their life and challenges

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"Even when you can't see danger, it doesn't mean it's safe"

Separated royal princes, Shaolin Three Stooges, sword fights, kung fu, spirit possession, betrayals, and enough evil laughter for a dozen villains, Shaolin Prince didn’t scrimp on the spectacle. Ti Lung, Derek Yee, Jason Pai Piao, and just about every stuntman working for Shaw Brothers appeared in this film.

The royal babies are taken out of the palace by trusted guards when the evil Lord 9th’s men storm it killing everyone. Guard Li Zheng survives repeated onslaughts to take the crown prince to the Shaolin Temple where three “silly monks” who are forbidden from stepping foot outside take the child in to raise him not knowing who he is. Gu Long spirits the younger prince away to the Prime Minister’s home where the good official adopts the boy so that he can keep the child’s identity a secret. The youngest prince, Wang Zi Tai, is trained with the Treasured Sword until he turns twenty. The crown prince, Dao Xing, is trained in high level kung fu by the Three Stooges in a most unorthodox manner. The two brothers coincidentally meet at an exorcism and become friends unaware of their familial connection and common need for revenge.

I’m always up for a Ti Lung kung fu movie because I enjoy his screen presence if not his fighting ability. He was a little long in the tooth at the age of 37 to be playing a 22–23-year-old. Aside from that quibble he seemed to be having a lot of fun playing this light-hearted character trained by the silly monks. Alan Chan Kwok Kuen, Lam Fai Wong, and Yue Tau Wan played the adoptive father monks for Dao Xing. The slapstick could be tiring at times, but when the chips were down, the trio showed they could best anyone who dared to take them on, with their feet never touching the floor. Derek Yee played the more serious, younger prince and acquitted himself well with his sword fighting. The friends to brothers relationship was endearing. And one of my personal favorites, Ku Feng, made a brief appearance as the righteous Prime Minister. Jason Pai Piao had no problem playing the sinister Lord 9th with his literal iron fingers, and weapons decked out sedan chair. Chiang Tao and Yuen Bun brought the fire and water respectively as the Fire General and Water General---because there weren’t enough bonkers characters. I wouldn’t want to exclude the young widow possessed by her demonic dead husband that went on a killing spree. Too much was never too much with this movie!

The fights came often and no two were alike as the gold medal group of martial arts directors went all out to try new styles, weapons, and configurations. Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, Tang Chia (also the director), Lee Hoi Sang, Kong Chuen, and Huang Pei Chih managed to choreograph fights that looked like they belonged to the same movie while not being repetitious. Too often when there are several choreographers, the fights can seem disjointed. A plethora of actor-stuntmen filled out the cast for all of the extravaganza fights at the palace and temple.

Shaolin Prince may not have been a quality movie, but for a martial arts flick with humor and a high body count, it was entertaining. I’m happy that it has been restored and taken care of as so many other old kung fu flicks are fading with time. The most valuable kung fu advice from this film, “Continue if you can, hide if you can’t!” or equally helpful, the “Run for Your Life!” style. If you enjoy Shaw Brothers movies this is one to give a try.

31 May 2024

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Disappointed

I was enjoying this for the first little while, but it verges too far and too often into anti-Westernism/Japanese nationalism for my taste. So much so that it almost seems like something that could have been produced in China (it actually very loosely reminds me of "Once Upon a Time in China").

I went into it with the expectation that there would be some interesting commentary of (or at least portrayal of) Japan's relationship with the Western world (considering that that is the historical context of the film), but it is actually very one-dimensional: "Westerners are our enemies who just want to colonize us." A bit tasteless in that regard.

Very clearly a Japanese movie made for Japanese people.

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I love movies that inform

What is the true power of the internet, even in the hands of youth? An action a youth started years ago in Korea employing the Internet got 16 million people to respond and take to the streets. Based on true events and witness accounts, Troll Factory explores how the media and social media outlets manipulate and drive public opinion, even if it is fake news. The movie has smoking music and a great point of view. The acting dream team delivers big time. Viewing is worth your time manipulation. You can rent this movie on ViKi.

Quote: “There is no truth in the perfect lie, but if the truth is mixed with the lie, a lie is mixed with the truth, and if it is not a perfect lie, it is not all lies. Truth mixed with lies feels more real than the real truth”, Journalist.

If one is not familiar with Trolling Factories and public opinion manipulation using the Internet, or one does not know all the street terms, Trolls Factory may be a learning experience or one may get lost in the fray. For me, it was a learning experience and I totally loved this movie. While the movie is rated PG 13, the movie had more cursing then I would have expected.

Sun Suk-ku (My Liberation Botes, Killer Paradox)

Kim Sung-cheol (Do You Like Brahms?, Our Beloved Summer)

Hong Kyung (Weak Hero Class 1, DP)

Kim Dong-hwi (The Deal, In Our Prime)

A Troll Farm or troll factory is an institutionalized group of internet trolls that seeks to interfere in political opinions and decision-making. Wikipedia

Products of troll factories include, among others: • fake social media profiles; harassment and bullying• entire websites created to support trolling operations.

Dictionary Definitions

Trolling—posting or commenting online to 'bait' people, which means deliberately provoking an argument or emotional reaction.

Doxing—search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.

Phubbing— the practice of ignoring one's companion or companions in order to pay attention to one's phone or other mobile device.

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POOR YAYA

The storyline of this film is quite interesting, but Bright Vachirawit's acting is very bad. My eyes hurt every time I see his face, his expression is very bad, his lips are not symmetrical making it difficult for the audience to appreciate the role of the male lead here. Yaya acted very well. Poor Yaya, because she has to act with an actor who is not talented like Bright. I think this film needs to be boycotted, because Bright seems to be supporting bad guys. You must be confused about what it means? but please go to X, and see how angry netizens are at Bright because of his bad behavior.

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Disappointed.

it's hard to believe this movie was made in 2022. It felt like a movie from the 90's.

The costumes, the acting, the graphics, everything except the plot was horrible.

I had so much expectations as I was a big fan of the Bungou Stray dogs franchise. However, two minutes into the movie and I was disappointed. But I endured til' the end cause I wanted to know the plot.

The story had so much potential but it was utterly ruined by the acting. The acting was that of a children's play played out in elementary school. And the wigs, even cosplayers have better wigs than this.

Akutagawa's actor was all about rounding his eyes upto the size of saucers the whole movie.

The rest, except Kenji's actor (although sometimes cringe) was horrible at acting. They were just mannequins.

And the action sequences were horrible that I had pause and cringe for a moment.

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‘You should have left Hong Kong immediately.... ...What kept you? ...Or who ?’

*‘The Killer’ was filmed in 1989 and came just after the great success of the two-hit diptych ‘A Better Tomorrow’. Chow Yun-Fat, who had already starred in the two ‘A Better...’ movies, was again called in as the lead actor. The results were so extraordinary that it was from this film onwards that Woo's name began to travel the world (in every sense of the word).

The movie was conceived as a sort of modern remake of ‘Le samouraï’, a famous noir by Jean Pierre Melville, one of Woo's favourite directors, but the Guangzhou director readapted it, according to his precepts, giving us an action movie/noir, capable of merging with the most typical elements of melodrama...All infused with astonishing and spectacular shoot-outs, which, also from a choreographic point of view, will be imitated ad nauseam.

Woo, also a screenwriter, draws truly exemplary characterisations for the two main characters; By setting them against each other and starting from absolutely ‘antithetical’ standpoints (one is the killer, the other the cop) he manages, in a ‘miraculous’ way to make them converge and resemble each other thanks to the typical aspects of his cinematography.

Jeff is indeed a killer, but he is heroic, brave, full of passion, idealistic and sensitive...He has a sense of honour that really doesn't make him resemble an assassin, but rather an ancient knight who accepts his destiny and faces it head-on, without any fear, but rather with a mocking smile on his face; the brotherly, virile friendship and respect that bind him to Sidney is almost poignant, his best friend, also a hitman, physically maimed by a wound but vigorously animated by the same ideals as Jeff.
All fundamental elements in Woo's cinematography.
...And Chow Yun-Fat's performance is truly memorable...

The same rules of honour and moral principles that drive policeman Lee Ying: Lee of course hunts him down, but by some of Jeff's actions, such as the incident with the little girl and the run to the hospital, he is admired, if not actually fascinated, perhaps beginning to perceive the killer's true nature...the two men, moreover, are united by their respective senses of guilt, deriving for both of them from the responsibility of their gestures, which have generated two very serious events.

This common fate, infused with doses of old-fashioned romanticism, a sort of ‘chivalrous code’, a mèlo poetry and that sense of friendship so dear to Woo, triggers an irreversible process that leads all the characters of the movie towards a road of no return, in a sort of almost ‘martyrdom’...and emblematically it is precisely a church that is the place of the showdown.

The extraordinary film direction, as well as the editing, sets a tone of epicness to the entirety, leaving the viewer often open-mouthed, through a series of absolutely breathtaking sequences.

Much has been written about the famous shootouts in John Woo's movies: Choreographed, likened to a kind of a ballet, with unexpected and acrobatic changes of frame...Sudden slowdowns, moments of hiatus that precede extremely violent outbreaks, bodies and bullets leaping and whirling through the air, with the hero on duty moving while handling two guns at the same time (‘a dancer going through the air’ explains Woo), almost ‘in suspension’.

The application of slow motion then reinforces the impact even more, adding depth to the scenes and setting the pace. John Woo is perhaps the only director capable of making even a simple flight of white doves ‘epic’.

Watch ‘The Killer’...and then try to see the Mariachi trilogy by Robert Rodriguez, someone who really has a thing for action movies; Well, you'll notice how much the director of ‘Sin City’ drew from the Asian filmmaker.

Among the film references, I like to point out the boat race during Jeff's last ‘contract’; it has an absolutely Hichcockian ‘construction’, with a rising tension in the style of ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’…
And there is also a quote from King Vidor's ‘Duel in the Sun’, really poignant...

'The Killer' is one of the high peaks of John Woo's career... it is probably the movie that best defines his cinematic universe and represents one of the most extraordinary modern examples of action movies (but not only).
A fundamental and highly recommended masterpiece.
10/10

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*An old review of mine from a no more existing forum, here for MDL, the names correspond with the Italian version of the movie

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first half is a snoozer, second half is too crazy

the first hour of this movie is unnecessarily slow not even gonna lie. its a carbon copy of a lot of movies with this same plot, so nothing in the beginning really sticks out to you. even with the FL’s special ability, its not very enticing. the second half with the plot twist was good at first, until about twenty minutes in and then things just get too messy and weird. it was a good plot twist but the writers decided to do too much with it.
the ML’s acting was good, but unnecessarily suspicious? i get that he had to act suspicious for the movie, but when a twist is revealed its supposed to have you like: “ohhhh! that’s why he was acting like that!” except i didn’t react like that at all. instead the twist just made his previous acting make even less sense. anyways, its overall a decent set-up despite the absolute droolfest that the first half is. however as a habitual movie rewatcher, i dont see myself ever rewatching this.

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"Success requires sacrifice"

Yue Song wrote, directed, and starred in Super Bodyguard aka Iron Protector. The clichés and migraine inducing editing were saved in the last act with some mind-boggling fights. If the outtakes at the end of the movie were any indication, plenty of real blood flowed as well.

Wu Lin and Jiang Li were trained as children by their sifu until Jiang Li dabbled in crime and was kicked out before he learned the secret 108 Iron Kicks. Jiang Li joined a crime syndicate while Wu Lin faithfully trained, even wearing 50 kg/110 lbs worth of iron boots for ten years. After their sifu died, Wu Lin went to work for Jiang Li serving as a bodyguard to a spoiled, rich, young woman. When kidnappers came calling Wu Lin would stop at nothing to rescue Fei Fei, even if it meant confronting his friend and his painful past.

Yue Song was hard to take seriously with his terrible mullet and big stomping shoes. Becky Li had the thankless role of the annoying Fei Fei. How many times have we seen this overused rich girl stereotype? And that’s what was really the problem with this film. Nothing was new and I have seen it done better in other movies. The clichés were served up one after the other. Even the big twist at the end was no surprise. The shaky quick editing showing closeups of body parts, tigers, bad guys, good guys, etc. was dizzying. Yue also used comic book coloring and editing for certain scenes. Perhaps Yue was trying to be artistic with the back and forth editing combined with flash backs or maybe he was trying to make a mundane story interesting.

The fights made copious use of wire work as Wu Lin flew through car windows and people were thrown about as though weightless until they doubled their mass when they crashed through whatever wall or unlucky prop or stuntman lay beneath them. The final fight, while unbelievable, was highly entertaining when Wu Lin finally got his mojo going after he cut his mullet. Coincidence? I think not.

Campy, with a wildly ridiculous plot, and highly questionable editing choices, Iron Bodyguard still had entertaining moments and Yue Song made for a likeable hero with his stomping iron boots and iron fists. He was as impervious to injury and death as a Kdrama serial killer. I always enjoy seeing Xing Yu strut his kung fu stuff, even when his character couldn’t figure out what his motivation was. Between Yue’s mullet, the overused story elements, '80s kung fu movie bad guy Michael Chan as the villain, not to mention Yue's T.J. Hooker style of clinging to a racing vehicle, this movie would have felt at home in the late 1980’s. I probably would have rated it higher had it been filmed in the 80’s on my old kung fu movie curve. No points for nostalgia.

30 May 2024

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Soldiers Duty

I love Korea and have studied its history, but this film surprised me and revealed an important detail in the puzzle of Korean history on the rise of the expected "Seoul Spring" in the democratization of society. To speak more about the historical events here, would mean revealing the spoilers of the film, but I can say that the feelings that the depicted events evoke, correspond to the "han" sentiment (and fate?!) of Korean people, which unfortunately we see less and less in modern Korean cinema.

As the title of the film suggests (12:12), the film is dedicated to one chaotic day in which a group of military officers connected under the name Hanahoe, attempted a military coup d'état in Seoul. The panic and chaos that followed, primarily in the military ranks, is excellently portrayed in this film thanks to great actors and a dynamic change of shots where, interestingly, we feel the most tension through the many dramatic phone calls. And although at times it is difficult to follow who is saying what to whom, the events of this chaotic night are presented to us viewers in a brutally honest way that can also serve as a warning to new generations. It is a story about the service, duty and responsibility of soldiers, but also of all other people, because we all need to cooperate for the common good. It is scary how people can deny their moral duties and how colleagues can easily turn against each other.

The film is very long, so I will not make this text longer, but I leave this as a recommendation for all serious viewers to put this movie on their "to watch list". It is well worth the time.

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Love conquers homophobia and internalized homophobia

When a movie touches me, continues rolling in my mind after the lights go out, the frames stop.
In a natural setting illuminated by sunlight, on any given school day, anywhere in the suburban geography of Chiang Mai, Thailand, a teenager is determined to accept his own homosexuality in front of others, even knowing that this step can represent for him the hatred, discrimination and intolerance of those who hate, reject and fear homosexuals.
Motor, which is the name of the young man, played by actor Jo Ronaporn Vipataputi, known for his performances in 'My Streamer', 2023, 'Boy Scouts', 2022, 'My Star' and My Star: Uncut Version', both the 2024, he has lost his fear of making himself visible, and is ready to leave behind his heterosexual image with which he has always intended to "be cool in front of others."
He has been involuntarily led to this decision by Gentle, the boy he loves, played by Fongfong Pathomporn Panfa ('My Star' and 'My Star: Uncut Version' 2024), a teenager who is clear about his sexual orientation and lives it without fear, guilt or shame, who, feeling despised by Motor, has chosen to distance himself.
Questioned by Gentle about his attitude, Motor will respond that his behavior consists simply of trying to please others. And Gentle responds: "Being cool isn't about who sits on your bike. It's up to you if you treat people differently."
Motor will not know the meaning of this answer. Motor is unaware of his internalized homophobia and denies it. Motor goes to great lengths to hide the shame and guilt of living his sexual orientation. Not wanting to make others uncomfortable, not wanting to change the image that others have of him, has led him to deny something that is part of him, something that is himself.
However, Gentle's message is clear. Nobody likes to feel stigmatized and rejected. But isn't Motor more afraid of his self-rejection? Isn't it worse to feel shame, disgust, anxiety, and even have behaviors of avoidance or denial of everything related to homosexual orientation due to fear of being rejected?
If in 'My Biker' it is Gentle who pulls the strings of dramatic tension by recognizing that he loves another man, Motor, the heterosexual teenager who in that 2023 film receives the confession of love from his friend, today expresses the conscience of those who are going to fight for their place in the world, even if this means that they have to suffer the hatred and discrimination of homophobes.
The short film, scripted and directed by Nitchapoom Chaianun (Nicchi), delves into the romantic story begun in 'เราและนาย My Biker', between a high school student who falls in love with his heterosexual best friend.
Produced by Wayufilm Production, in association with Pigeon Pictures, 'My Biker 2' contributes to changing the way society views members of the LGBTIQ+ community, especially in countries that, like Thailand, still refuse to recognize equal marriage and where discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and other members of that human community persists.
'My Biker 2' reminds us that not everything is always "so pretty", as many BL fans seem to believe, and that there is still a long fight ahead.
Works like this should appear from time to time on the screens of many lovers of the genre, so in need of shaking off so much emptiness.
After watching the series 'To Be Continued' I asked myself: "When will BL series come to reflect the real diversity of the LGBT+ community in Thai society? While dozens of BL series are produced and broadcast every year, the stigma and discrimination against LGBT+ people continue to occur. When will creators and directors of television channels understand that making homoaffective representations in BL series more nuanced and political could bring important and positive changes in a society that begins to observe its diversity through television creations?"
From 'My Biker 2' I could say that I would have liked a little more romantic interaction between the two protagonists, such as a kiss, holding hands or resting their head on the other's shoulder. I could express my dissatisfaction with the way in which the existence of a romance between them is evident before the final scene. I could state that I am not entirely pleased with the way in which the pain is shown in young people when they perceive that their romantic relationship is at mortal risk, but I prefer to remain with the conviction that 'My Biker' contributes to the struggle of LGBTIQ+ people.
It is not just the sunlight that illuminates the stage at any point in the suburban geography of Chiang Mai, on any given school day. Together with the Astro Sun, the light of hope also shines. This is its main message.

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