Reviews

A little too odd for me

Personally, I couldn't bond with this movie. She seemed too silly, messy, and immature. He seemed a little too "Oily" - I kept thinking that he'd be a good bad guy, with the glasses and that moustache.

There was too much silliness for me to be able to buy them as a couple. And because of her immaturity, the age difference felt too great.

As a diehard Dating in the Kitchen fan, I'm glad I took the time to watch this. It cemented my thoughts on the series. While there were things that dragged or didn't make sense, the series gave more opportunity for character development. Plus, you can never go wrong with Zhao Lu Si.

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Secret SK military unit, drilled solely for assassinating Kim Il-sung, becoming victims of politics

“Silmido” is a KMovie that generated enormous public impact in South Korea. A 2003 production that used dramaturgical means to bring a previously unknown, small but rather blatant chapter of South Korean history to public awareness, that had long been kept secret and filed away. The KMovie “Silmido” had its mission fulfilled – at the box office, among the people and among those, who ultimately make decisions.

“Silmido” was apparently more popular in South Korea than the Lord of the Rings trilogy or Titanic. To this day, the KMovie in South Korea is considered one of the most successful productions ever. The cast is first class. The focus is on the training camp for the secret military special unit 684 - its soldiers, its commanders, the training and living conditions. In the end we see where this all is leading to – this at that time particularly fatal involvement of the military with domestic and foreign policy, plus and foremost always at the forefront, yet hidden behind the curtain: the secret service.

The story is contrasting ambivalent attitudes towards feelings of national solidarity. On the one hand, an emotional patriotism based on the connection to one's personal origins and South Korean homeland, and on the other hand, a politically instilled national identity of “democratic South” against “communist enemy in the North”. On top of that: Unconditional obedience within the chain of command struggling with common sense...

Overall, it's about a brutal man´s military world. It is about hardline drilling methods. Yet , it is not about heroes and villains, nor about the good guys against the bad guys. Over time, the protagonists are increasingly gaining a profile, that shows some softer heartbeat, too. Camaraderie, bromance and respect for each other are in it as well. The showdown is rather disturbing.


PS:
Eventually the KMovie had its impact: in 2010, the central district court in Seoul ordered that the equivalent of around 188,000 euros in compensation should be paid out to the families of the former members of Unit 684 - the forgotten, denied unit that “Silmido” is about. The court comes to the conclusion after following public pressure and thus officially investigating the case: The Silmido soldiers had not been sufficiently informed about the hardship and dangers of the training camp, the training conditions had violated their basic human rights and the government at the time (1971) would have brought great suffering to the families of the bereaved by covering up the events.









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SIDE NOTE: --- Secret special Unit 684 ---

The film title "Silmido" refers to a very small, actually uninhabited island in the Yellow Sea, southwest of Incheon. Here (in response to the failed North Korean assassination attempt on South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968), between 1968 and 1971 a special military unit was trained at the instigation of the secret service, with just one goal: to eventually efficiently assassinate North Korean President Kim Il-sung. The circumstances surrounding Unit 684 are still not all clear. One thing is certain, though: the unit was created in April 68 (68-4) and trained in the utmost secrecy on the island of Silmido under almost inhumane conditions.

For the script quite some extensive research was done in advance. The story is based on rather thin officially existing information, added up with a few eyewitness reports, whereas gaps were filled with poetic freedom. For example, it is not clear how Unit 684 was actually recruited. However, among the specially trained elite soldiers there were obviously some with previous convictions, although not serious criminals. The KMovie ultimately decided to freely use a narrative that all the men were doomed criminals who, in their desperation without hope for an alternative future, had seized the last straw of becoming members of this particular secret unit.

The three years of elite training on Silmido had been extremely tough. Those who were not suitable simply did not survive the highly demanding torment. However, when the 31 soldiers were ready for deployment, the government decided to refrain from carrying out an assassination attempt and instead rely on a political solution for peaceful coexistence with the North. What had happened? US President Jimmy Carter hoped for a peaceful agreement. The South Korean policy followed that agenda, too. Accordingly, the head of the secret service was replaced by someone who also supported this peaceful approach. The link that was supposed to open a new dialogue between North and South was the Red Cross, not the military...

What may sound respectable, however, consequently led to the immediate disbandment of Unit 684. As of now, it officially should have never existed. Thus, 31 elite soldiers lost their right to exist. Their meaning and only goal for which they had lived (or rather survived) for the last 3 years, was trampled on... They were no longer useful, on the contrary: a disruptive factor. But politicians had made the calculation without the fighting machines they had specially drilled... this all led to a showdown in the outskirts of Seoul. As its result, however, Unit 684 went incorrectly down in history as a group of heavily armed communists... until 2003.

From 2010 onwards, it became finally official that actually those men were a South Korean secret elite military unit that had been drilled solely for the planned assassination of Kim Il-sung – until plans had changed at short notice for political reasons and some man in suits had decided to wipe out the life of 31 (in this context innocent) men in uniforms without any trace...

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Simple and Edible

A simple story portraying life of 2 friends starting their college life together. No heavy drama to be seen but lots of simple recipes that viewers will be able to try. I am a foodie so I love this aspect of the movie.
There is underdeveloped relationship between the 2 friends. They are very close but no clear statement of anything beyond special friendship. Viewers can decipher the emotions of the characters for each other based on their actions, words, and gazes for each other. However, the movie will end with no clear statement other than strong and special friendship.
Production did well with scene set up and props. I am big on recycled/reused wardrobes so I am a bit disappointed with scenes having used wardrobes for characters. (I am aware diff scenes were shot on same day explaining the wardrobes but good director and production will know that this impact the storytelling).
There is a season 2 slotted for July per MDL which may show evolvement of their relationship. There is also a cute short segment after the credit so don't be quick to end watching when end credits comes on.
Saw someone sharing a link for Season 2 trailer which I will definitely watch after submitting this review.

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A cute and simple high school love story.

Although I have been watching NE Asian dramas for a long time, and therefore have seen this exact theme many times before, I will forever eat it up in jmovies. Idc if it's overused or whatnot- it's fun to watch and a great time pass. I could see this movie being a good comfort movie because it's nothing too complex, yet not boring or badly written either.

I must mention Takahashi Fumiya's acting was better than I expected. He's very capable of expressing Setoyama's subtle emotions like the little smirks or the hints of worry which was very impressive, especially after finding out he's only 23 years old. I'd love to see him in more romance movies or dramas.

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Good movie that could have been much better.

Overall I liked the movie but I often found the transitions in character arcs and major plot points clumsy and difficult to follow. For example, the how of someone crossing over and the role of the 'warden' were left under explained. Still despite the flaws the good aspects including the characters and acting held my attention until the end. The Korean series 'Missing: The Other Side' seems to have inspired much of the world building in this movie but the Korean version did a much job of explaining important aspects. For example, when someone passes over the Missing series shows it happening, whereas here the viewer must pick it up from context and the presence of the warden, but his role here isn't really clarified until well into the film.

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"You've gone too far!" "We'll go further!"

The Shaolin Kids had neither kids nor anything Shaolin in it. For a 1970’s Taiwanese martial arts flick it had a larger budget and cast than usual. While the sets may have been more primo, the unwieldy cast and convoluted plot made it difficult to slog through at times.

Prime Minister Hu Wei Yung is plotting to overthrow the emperor and has a message for his allies detailing his treacherous plan. He’s been eliminating opponents by various methods, most recently by poisoning Liu Hsin Erh’s father. She’s looking for payback but General Lu stops her. Lu is part of a group aware of Hu’s duplicity and is working to bring him down. Liu manages to get her hands on the secret message, but from there the list has a rocky passage on the way to the Imperial Court.

Shaolin Kids had a strong cast. Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng played the avenging daughter. Tien “Roc” Peng and Chang Yi played son and father, although both were born in the same year! Carter Wong, in a really bad wig, had a supporting role as one of those loyal to the emperor. He appeared and disappeared throughout the movie. One look at the cast list and it was apparent who was going to be the Big Bad, Yi Yuan had no problem playing the rebellious prime minister.

Generally, the fights were routine, utilizing swords as well as fists and kicks. Polly is always entertaining but the fights weren’t exceptional. The most interesting pairing was the Cliff Lok and Huang Fei Long “Light and Dark” evil duo. The two had their secret move of “Heaven and Earth” where one went high and the other attacked low. The heroes who fell prey to it had never learned to duck or side step to their detriment. Chang Yi and Carter Wong didn’t have much to do but managed to make their fights with the evil duo more entertaining than some of the other combatants. Tien Peng seemed to be an afterthought both in fights and plot.

The Shaolin Kids suffered from poor editing and transitions in narrative as well as a ridiculous title. There was a lack of focus and clarity in the storytelling and the fights weren’t much better. This film wasn’t bad, it was just underwhelming.

29 March 2024

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Suspensful But too "Hip" for its Own Good

I was curious about this movie because of singer Jeong Dong Won's acting appearance. I thought he did quite well and they caught him just at the right age. One year later he'd look to old to be so naive. ** SPOILERS AHEAD ** "New Normal" is full of suspese and black humor. I'm not big fan of horror movies because most of them are too gruesome or play fast and loose with supernatural themes. These 6 chapters are supposed to have a linked payoff but it must be too subtle for me to get it. I think it has something to do with human organ harvesting. During the premier, Jeong Dong Won publically questioned the director about the conclusion to his chapter and the director seemed to agree it was too enigatic. Really the same could be said about all of the episodes and it's too bad because this movie could rate a "10" if the conclusion connected all the dots like the famous ending of "Citizen Kane" with the Rosebut sled device. Well, I'm glad I was able to see it but it will be quickly forgotten. Thanks for the other commenters who pointed me to HiTV to see it.

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A 'My Own Private Idaho' without a road trip

The plot of this film places us on the island of Taiwan, where a story is told through Chengxi Yuan (Joseph Huang), a 13-year-old student. He tells us how his father, Zheng Yuan (Spark Chen), who died 95 days earlier after battling cancer, had been having a homosexual relationship with the young actor and theater director Ah Jie (Roy Chiu), thus deceiving his mother San Lian (Ying-Xuan Hsieh), who is now angry because her husband had put his life insurance in the name of his lover, thus depriving the minor of financial benefit.
It is from then on that San Lian will demand the insurance money from Ah Jie, an attitude that will not please his son at all, who, being not only in mourning, but also trapped in the middle of a complicated legal battle between the two adults , she will run away from home and go live in the home of her father's lover so as not to see her, causing the displeasure of both her mother and the man in whose arms her father dies.
The rebellious teenager knew that his father was gay, but had no idea who he had left his mother for. Now he is drawn to the man's fickle nature and his relationship with his father. This event will force the mother to reevaluate her relationship with both of them.
While San Liam blames Ah Jie for not only taking her ex-husband's life insurance money but also ruining her marriage, in therapy and fed up with a mother he considers money-hungry and indifferent, Chengxi Yuan begins to spend more time with Jie in an effort to find out who the "bad guy" is in this situation.
In the young boy's eyes, his mother becomes "Liu San Lian 2.0", as Chengxi Yuan tells his therapist. Angry, demanding, authoritarian, and prone to drama, the teenager can no longer stand his mother's tricks (including throwing away his father's cards), prompting him to seek out Ah Jie, even if it is to threaten to jump from her. balcony.
During the course of the film, we will see flashbacks of the relationship between Ah Jie and Zheng Yuan, who was forced to marry a woman in order to be "normal", since we must not forget that homosexuality in Taiwan continues to be seen as taboo and indecorous, as occurs in other Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand, despite same-sex marriage being legal since 2019, the year after the film was released, which makes it 'Dear Ex' is even more timely, revolutionary and innovative.
We will also know what has happened to the insurance money, for which San Lian will be willing to do anything just to get it (and in part also Chengsi Yuan, since she needs it so that her mother can send her to study in California and thus lose her. of sight). In all of these, Jie has the same intentions, since he is bankrupt after putting his savings into making his lover's last days more bearable, as well as his professional work in the theater.
We will also learn the reason why Saint Liam is a loud and authoritarian mother and ex-wife. The subsequent scenes will show us how much pain he had to endure throughout his life. The actress does a good job of conveying emotions and feelings.
On the surface, Ah Jie is presented as a typical "husband thief" and is called a "fag" by San Lian on more than one occasion. For her part, she is seen as a bitter, authoritarian woman and a despised mother. But when we get to the end of the movie, their roles in Cheng Yuan's life become more focused, as does Chengxi Yuan's role in this triangle.
The doodles drawn by Chengxi Yuan that animate the screen add to the understanding of the story, obscuring and enhancing the live action images below. However, the film's campy qualities should not be taken as fatuous. It is a remarkably moving and compelling painting.
In this way, between the present narrated by Chengxi Yuan and the visions of the past, we will learn the true story of this love relationship, especially the period in which the lover becomes Zheng Yuan's caretaker as cancer devours his body. .
This complex, moving and timely Taiwanese story of pain, intolerance and family infighting, in its narrative arc about a journey of discovery for its three protagonists, in a society where LGBTQ rights are not as advanced as in North America and Europe, It reminds me of 'My Own Private Idaho', without the road trip.
'Dear Ex' feels like a coming-of-age film for its three leads, even though Ah Jie and San Lian are in their thirties. It's not that the trio of main characters end up as friends, drinking soju in a bar, but they all come to understand that they contributed to Cheng Yuan's life and why things happened the way they narrated. There are some leaps of faith in the film's editing, and much of it seems to be disguised by the teenager's voiceover.
This is the first feature film by Mag Hsu, a theater writer and director (she could not resist capturing it in images in the film), whose television scripts have been nominated for various awards throughout Asia. Among his most popular works are 'Mars', 'Silence' and 'In Time with You'. The film in question is co-directed by filmmaker Chih-Yen Hsu, known for being one of the most popular music video directors in Taiwan.
It is not a perfect film. Its Achilles heel lies in the fact that some viewers may find the pace of the film slow at various points, which can cause the plot to become diluted in some aspects. Additionally, the morals of 'Dear Ex' may be difficult for some people to understand.
Against it could also be that the film visually resembles a soap opera, and this is because the directors have extensive experience in television.
Still, it is worth noting that it is an important film made with love from the perspective of narration and interpretation. The splendid direction, photography, editing and editing allows this story to be shaped and guides the viewer in a masterful way.
As the film progresses, the story fractures, traveling back and forth in time as the three characters struggle to reach a point of reconciliation. The stereotypes of San Lian as a manipulative shrew and Jie as an opportunistic rogue fade away, leaving only the tenderness and sense of betrayal they both still feel toward the man they loved. Roles change, as do the characters' feelings for each other.
At times, the film threatens to descend into melodrama, but the attentive directors always knew how to right the course, balancing oversaturated flashbacks with a nuanced portrait of love that withstands both tests and time.
'Dear Ex' offers an interesting look at family relationships, with a bold narrative and bold direction. The film is full of well-developed characters and situations that force us to rethink the idea of ​​family in modern society.
From the comedy-drama, romance, homosexuality and theater genre, the viewer can see that it is not a very simple plot, showing us the social reality of Taiwan, to which is added a homosexual love relationship that is, possibly, one of the most beautiful , although also dramatic, that has never been made into a film.
All this, of course, had its recognition, since the film, after its premiere at the Far East Film Festival, held in the city of Udine, Italy, won the awards for Best Film Narrative, Best Leading Actor (Roy Chiu) , Best Leading Actress (Ying-Xuan Hsieh) and the Press Award at the 20th Taipei Film Awards, to which were added the victories of Best Leading Actress (Ying-Xuan Hsieh), Best Original Sound and Best Edited Film at the 55th Golden Horse Awards (along with five other nominations including Best Picture and Best Director). It also won the best director award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.
If I had to summarize, I would say that 'Dear Ex' is an insightful look at the ways people process grief under difficult circumstances. It takes a few moments to explain the film's central problems, just as the story unfolds in a matter of minutes, while the filmmakers largely let their tight script and exceptional performers convey the characters' complex emotions and motivations. brilliantly.
But the film is more about the people than their problems. And the three characters who star in the film are imperfect and partial human beings, but each one contains emphatically sympathetic and credible traits.

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I don't know why I like it!

I seriously don't. It was really bad. the fight scene were garbage, the demon costumes were ridiculous but them fighting was even worse than the silly scenes of the sects fighting. The storyline made no sense and in no way came together well. The funniest things were Seven and the monkey.
But I liked it. Right as soon as I realized that everything was not going to be good, I let myself just enjoy the acting. Most of the characters were great and the acting of bad scenes was good.
Maybe if it was a short series instead of a movie, thing would have been better. They could have built the world and characters better. But instead they squeezed it into a movie.
Oh, well.

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