Movies completed in 2025
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1. Amor na Cidade Grande
Korean Movie - 2024
"How can being yourself be your weakness?"
A story of two soulmate besties, misunderstood and misfit in society’s expectations and norms, while they explore life, friendship and love in contemporary Seoul.
This wouldn't have been such an endearing movie if not for the vibrant cinematography, the youthful pacing and, most of all, Kim Go Eun and Steve Noh's exceptional performances and impeccable chemistry.
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2. 18 Anos Depois
Japanese Movie - 2024
"May my travels never end".
A bilingual and bicultural journey to self-discovery, through a wonderful story of an adolescent first love.
Elegantly told through flashbacks and precious memories, beautifully filmed and exceptionally acted, this was an emotional, melancholic and full of nostalgia watching experience.
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3. Serpent's Path
Japanese Movie - 1998
Serpent’s Path is the 1st half of a two-part project on revenge that Kurosawa successfully managed to make with a low budget, in only a month's time.
Dark, unsettling, with excessive raw violence -both mental and physical- and full of vengeance, this film is an intense, not fully explained story but nonetheless an engaging watch.
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4. Amalock
Japanese Movie - 2024
A unique story of an unconventional family with some unusual family dynamics, great bonding, a few subtle social commentaries and heartwarming life lessons.
Eguchi Noriko's eloquent and measured performance and her bickering with Nakajo Ayami were the film's highlights.
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5. Daughters
Japanese Movie - 2020
A story about friendship, single-motherhood and coming-of-age told through the life of two best friends and roommates and their relationship's evolution and re-definition.
Visually pleasing, with a contemporary vibe, vivid coloring and a hazy lighting, the depiction of their transition from a breezy adolescent life to an obligatory maturity feels painfully real and introspective.
Miyoshi Ayaka and Abe Junko's performances and their chemistry are stunning, making this a solid watch.
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6. Hebi no Michi
Japanese Movie - 2024
Watching a remake of a Japanese story in a French setting was a really surrealistic experience!
Very close to the dark and violent original version, but definitely more polished, it had an interesting role genre switch that added more mystery and a psychological depth.
A story re-told twenty six years later that is still an uncomfortable as well as engaging watch.
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7. Buzzy Noise
Japanese Movie - 2024
Youthful, optimistic and melodic, this is and interesting coming-of-age story full of music, dreams, friendship, support and aspirations.
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8. Sekai no Owari kara
Japanese Movie - 2023
A thought-provoking urban fantasy set in near future Japan, with an ambitious story and lots of social commentaries, some subtle and some not so much.
The clever use of black and white versus colored filming, the intriguing time-bending storytelling (that may be confusing and not so original in some cases), as well as the brave performance of young and talented Ito Aoi made this unusual film an interesting watching experience.
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9. Pilot
Korean Movie - 2024
A funny, easy watch with Jo Jung Suk being an one-man-show in a cross-dressing comedy.
With some funny moments, a few plot-holes and a couple of social commentaries about gender stereotypes, this is an entertaining movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
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10. Villon's Wife
Japanese Movie - 2009
Adapted from a novel with autobiographical elements, this film is a slow-paced, melancholic story of an alcoholic, cheating, suicidal husband, and his devoted, forgiving and resilient wife who loves him unconditionally.
With a beautiful depiction of the post-war Japan and a nuanced, reserved performance from Matsu Takako, this is an interesting study of the peculiar dynamics of a marriage that balances between devotion and self-destruction.
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11. Shigatsu ni Nareba Kanojo wa
Japanese Movie - 2024
A story about past and present loves, emotional emptiness and fulfillment, loneliness and second chances.
With a great cast, poetic cinematography and a complimenting soundtrack, this story could have been more satisfying if not for its slow-pace and confusing flashback storytelling.
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12. Revolver
Korean Movie - 2024
Though a revenge noir story, it was boringly slow-paced and underwhelmingly uneventful, with a cast that would have made wonders if not for the weak and bland storytelling.
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13. After the Fever
Japanese Movie - 2023
Bleak, mundane and too long for its own good, this is a confusing (and dare say superficial) study on love: 'pure', obsessive, one-sided, toxic, liberating, claustrophobic, compromising love.
Though Hashimoto Ai and Nakano Taiga did their best with what they were given, this was a wearisome, pretentiously artsy, inconsistent and forgettable watch.
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