Reviews

Review of Unlocked: 8/10 Stars

"Unlocked" is a gripping thriller that delves into the perils of digital privacy breaches. The film follows a woman whose life is upended when her lost smartphone falls into the hands of a hacker.

The lead actress delivers a standout performance, capturing both fear and resilience. The plot is engaging and keeps viewers on edge, offering timely commentary on technology and privacy.

Overall, "Unlocked" is a compelling and relevant thriller that earns its 8 stars with strong acting and a suspenseful storyline. It's a must-watch for fans of tech-driven suspense.

Leia Mais

Review of Ballerina: 7.5/10 Stars

"Ballerina" is a visually stunning and emotionally charged film that follows a young dancer's journey to achieve her dreams. The lead actress shines, capturing vulnerability and determination with grace. The choreography and dance sequences are beautifully executed, showcasing the artistry of ballet.

While the plot can be predictable and some character arcs lack depth, the strong performances and emotional depth make up for it. Overall, "Ballerina" is a captivating and heartfelt film that earns its 7.5 stars. It's a must-watch for dance enthusiasts and those who appreciate stories of perseverance and passion.

Leia Mais

Review of 20th Century Girl: 8.5/10 Stars

"20th Century Girl" is a nostalgic and heartfelt film that beautifully captures the essence of teenage love and friendship in the late 1990s. The lead actress delivers a sincere performance, and the chemistry among the cast feels authentic and engaging.

The film's vibrant cinematography and nostalgic soundtrack perfectly complement its setting. Though the plot treads familiar ground at times, its genuine heart and compelling characters shine through.

Overall, "20th Century Girl" is an emotionally resonant and charming film that earns its 8.5 stars. It's a delightful watch that will leave you reflecting on your own youthful experiences. Highly recommended!

Leia Mais

outdated and weird

I read other ppl described this movie as a sad one... Thats not the word for it, its just tragic and weird.
The movie is abt two men fated together: one who doesnt accept his sexuality while being gay, the other one being too pretty to not awake the beast in the men around him (yeah, it is as weird as it sounds - and if you ask me, the actor is not up to the challenge). After secretly undergoing sex change, the "pretty" guy comes back to his love, but he cannot be happy with him either as a woman or a as a man. The ML doesnt even recognize the love of his life - and he is a cop too! So much abt spiritual connection and all...
The movie is outdated on many levels - video quality, editing techniques and even ideas on life! It's more like an 80's movie. A few side plots complicate the main one, like the femme fatale surrounded by a series of murders. Oh wait - this should be the main plot. The director seems to favour some sensational elements too, as in many mass-targeted productions: hidden identity, ambiguous sexuality, a lot of blood, promiscuous partners etc.
I would recommend it only to ppl with a lot of time on their hands and out of choices.

Leia Mais

Way too predictable mystery, same flaws as the series but beautiful context + location

The story is centred around a singular mystery and I appreciate the fact that there was enough content in terms of plot for a full length movie. I also really enjoyed the context and location in which the characters are evolving.

However, I anticipated all the revelations of the scenario, nothing came as a surprise and the resolution of the mystery was super expected from the get go, which tempered heavily my enjoyment of the story. I found the teaching moments provided by the main character interesting in their content but it was too heavily given without any subtlety, for me to really resonate with it.

Acting was okay for the main roles but with some really weak points for some of the support parts. I also regret to have seen almost no Garo, as it is the interactions of this character with the hero Totono that were the best part of the drama to me: it was totally lacking here. I am super happy to have found back Hagiwara Riku in a support role and I am curious to see more of Hara Nanoka as well.

Soundtrack was okay, with the generic song that I like from the drama, very slice of life in a way and less overpowering than in the main series. Production was very good with some beautiful landscapes.

I would recommend this to people that loved the drama Don't call it Mystery. The qualities and flaws are consistent between both series and film. Therefore, if you enjoyed the drama, you will likely enjoy the movie as well. On the contrary, if like myself you had already lukewarm feelings for the drama, the film will definitely not change your mind.

Leia Mais

How to rebuild Society from scratch / the turmoil of human nature...

The premise of the movie is a great one. The concept itself is not very innovative but the execution and acting is what makes it a time-worthy piece of entertainment.

I wish I would have seen even more of the relationships between the characters to be even more touched by the events unfolding. There is so much material and meat to the story that it could be a great drama as well. Fortunately, despite having only a movie length time to convey the story, the writing did a good job in showcasing the relationship between the characters and their evolution throughout the film.

The story is carried by a strong casting. I love Park Seo Joon and Park Bo Young and they have a solid chemistry together. Lee Byung Hun delivers a chilling performance perfectly fitting the trajectory of his character. The secondary roles are good as well.

The production value is great. The visual effects were very believable and the filmmaking was good overall especially on the crowd scenes where the tension was really high. The OST did not made a really deep impression on me but the ending songs were pretty in a very sorrowful way.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thrilling survival movie. It is pretty griping with a lot of intensity and quite frightening moments as the more obscure side of human nature unveil itself. If you enjoyed drama such as Happiness, this one is for you.

Leia Mais

Romantic and tragic

I watched this version of the Butterfly Lovers per AccentedCinema's recommendation. It's such a beautifully tragic story and I think this movie was a concise rendition that neither dragged the story out nor diluted it by over-simplification. There were attempts to add humor and depth to the relationships and I consider both done successfully.
The actors did a good job and while I'm not used to listening to Cantonese since I rarely watch Hong Kong films, I really loved the way they spoke. It just sounded so melodic and nice to the ears.
The production quality is alright....until they try to do special effects! hehe...it was very basic and when you remember this was 1994, it gets a bit awkward but honestly, it didn't redact from the emotional impact of the story.
The actress looks so beautiful in the costumes. The scenery is so gorgeous. The music is melancholic and touching. The whole story has such a romantic air to it. In fact, in many ways, they don't make movies like these anymore where the most important element of the film is the elevation of the human interactions that are being commented on. I wish they made more romance movies like this. It felt cozy and ethereal at once and I honestly enjoyed watching this more than films with much higher production value but vapid stories.
If you can find it, it's definitely worth a watch.

Leia Mais

An amazing story about love.

This one was a deep thinking movie, you have you pay attention. I'm a sucker for stories about love. I felt happy, sad, angry and definitely laughed a lot.

The ML made me upset a lot (it was realistic). His chemistry with the 2nd FL was a 10. He should've been honest with everyone including himself. His effort didn't match his commitment. The acting was great.

The 1st FL made me feel like I was getting a warm hug but at times reminded me of a cat, wants attention/affectionate but on her terms. You could tell she genuinely cared but the ending made me see her in a different light.

The 2nd FL was perfect. The highlight of the show. I went in 100% BIASED because it's Krystal Jung and my review might seem biased...She was everything the 1st FL wasn't to the ML. She was sexy, competition, caring, accessible...she made it so the ML could breathe.

Overall I loved it. I can understand why someone wouldn't like it. The cringe/anger was real for me. I screamed at my TV because the writing and acting was that good. I was invested. Highly recommend this if you enjoy deep thinking movies or stories about love.

Leia Mais

Social Issue Movie w/ amazing cast and action scenes.

Shin HyeSun is an amazing actor, and she truly was perfect in this role, with the back-and-forth between the meek teacher and the Catman.

There is always an inner debate about whether one should keep quiet so as not to cause issues or raise hell to allow justice. The bullying scenes depicted were cruel and honestly scary. The brazen harassment of a teacher and other students was allowed via power through parents and the school administration.

Though perhaps unrealistic, I did enjoy the notion that the school and even the bully's gang had good in them at the end and were coerced into the sadistic bullying they did since they eventually turned at the end.

The action scenes though were truly the star of this film from the hallway confrontation to the sequence at the end. I love the realistic overpowering of the female lead at times and the way she is able to fight back through technique and will.

Leia Mais

This is not a cult work at all.

First of all, we are going to talk about the origin of this story Takami, the original author, only came up with this because of a dream he had after watching a drama. He later wanted to make a poorly done "criticism" of Japanese society. This was rejected by the publisher since the government had banned any non-educational content, after the Kobe murders, which were perpetuated by a 14-year-old boy and with the mentality of a psychopath of a 30-year-old man.

Likewise, when the film was made, the director invited teenagers under 15 years of age to go see it, despite the Japanese government's prohibition, accusing it of censorship, when there was a compelling reason why the government had prohibited kids see this.

With this premise and a director who was extremely irresponsible for what he could cause, I didn't expect much from this.

I only watched it because I was interested in why the girl called "nebada tan" had become so obsessed with this. Well, actually, although you are a psychiatrist, you never know that she is really going through the head of a murderer, and even more so when she is as young as she is as a child. Importantly, this girl's strict psychiatric regimen was extended because she was becoming more and more apathetic, less social, and more aggressive, and the experts did not know the reason why she was not getting better, but was getting worse. She was only released when she turned 21, I still don't think so. Like the 14-year-old boy, they were people who could integrate back into society.

That being said, when I saw it yesterday it was torture to watch. 2 hours of what? Of seeing teenagers killing each other and seeing the decay of their psyche until they become murderers. The exchange student was already a danger from the beginning, but since he is dedicated only to killing, and does not speak, nothing is delved into why he is like that and what his objective really was. Survive? I really doubt it. Plus he had infinite bullets lol.

What was the message at the end? Where was the reflection? How did this program benefit the students' non-violent behavior? Nothing is clear. You just see kids constantly killing others.

The acting didn't help matters. When they died, it seemed like a parody or something.

I am one of the people who cannot "enjoy" (that's a way of saying it because I didn't really enjoy it) if there is no message or at least a reflection.

When there was going to be a sequel, it was postponed until the Nevada Tan controversy subsided.

None of the directors really realized the serious consequences this had caused.

Even comparing Sthepen King to Takami is an insult to Sthepen King himself. Although some of Stephen King's books are difficult to understand, there is always a real reflection or criticism in each book. Here Takami doesn't achieve that at all and the director even less so.

People who find it fun and fascinating to see how children kill each other have a big problem.

Leia Mais

The reason for all of this was so stupid.

The dynamic of Rawi and Phloeng is very reminiscent of the characters they played in Cutie Pie. Almost Scarily similar actually.
I wish we could see them both in different roles that aren't the exact same thing. NuNew and Zee are both so talented and their chemistry together is crazy, yet this movie did nothing to showcase any of that.

The plot isn’t that hard to follow, but I feel like they’re trying to lean into this horror/mystery aspect and it’s not working very well in my opinion. Although I will admit the “ghost lady” we keep seeing is very creepy looking.


I'm sorry but all of this.. everything that happened was because of a woman who was obsessed.. That's the reason you're giving me? Seriously?

Leia Mais