Reviews

A valuable piece of film history

I love that for around 3 minutes in time I could step back into 1899 Japan and have a brief glimpse into the early film world. Momijigari was more of a documentary of two great Kabuki actors near the end of their lives in brief scenes from a famous play. It was still worth watching and surprisingly entertaining.

Danjuro played the princess who was actually a demon in disguise. He gracefully danced with his fans, a challenge with the wind blowing as they filmed it outdoors. At one point, one of the fans blew out of his hand, rescued by the stagehand. Kikugoro played Taira no Koremori who valiantly fought the now ugly demon with long flowing hair. The demon used a maple branch against Taira’s katana. I was particularly impressed with Danjuro’s hair fighting skills. The fight was compressed in a small area with the costumed stagehand picking up debris as the two took part in their fighting choreography.

Though filmed in 1899, it wasn’t shown in public until 1903 when Danjuro was too ill to take the stage and gave his permission. Kikugoro had already died at that time making it even more popular for people to see. It was then shown again after Danjuro’s death later that year. Though Danjuro was reluctant about having their performance filmed, the two actors’ legacies have been kept alive through these 3 minutes and 50 seconds worth of grainy film one hundred and twenty-five years later.

If you enjoy old films and film history, this is definitely worth less than five minutes of your time.

19 February 2024

Leia Mais

wholesome and fluffy, but not stupid...

Don't know why some are disapointed by this show.

It was nicely done, had a very nice catchy song and they acted all cute and very well.
Of course is hasn't that much drama, but the writing is not cringy like most thai shows. All is well balanced with lot's of fluffy scenes and some character progression.
The only slightly negative part are stereotypical "bad" parents, but in an asian culture that is more common compared to the "west" and understandable.

All in all, if you want to have a show which has a more light story with fluffy scenes tastefully done, I can recommand this show.

Leia Mais

Very amazing zombie movie!

I absolutely adore Korean zombie shows and movies because they’re all very different and fun to watch!

I watched this movie a longgg longggg time ago when it came out, I distinctly remember watching it hoping it for it to be scary as I was watching alone but NAHHH this was more heartwarming and intense than horror.

I absolutely despise the business guy omggg tho it’s been long since I last watched, I still remember this movie scene by scene, this is how good this movie is!!!

The child actor is amazing and awesome!
The acting is so catching and well done!

As a person who enjoys zombie shows, I’d definitely recommend anyone this movie first!

Also, to say about the zombies, they’re very fast and scary gosh

I remember crying buckets of tears on the last scene ???

Leia Mais

A very well-crafted historical spionage actioneer!

After his journey in the United States filming The Last Stand with Arnie, Kim Jee-woon returned to Korea to make another notable blockbuster that he demonstrated how to handle so well in the past.

This time it is a period espionage and counterespionage plot, in a sober and serious, almost dry tone. However, fans of the director will be reminded in style and rhythm of The Good, The Bad and The Weird, with which it shares the fantastic protagonist trio, an excellent production design and some very dynamic and spectacular action scenes, a trademark of this director.

Leia Mais

A double switch to brighten our lives

This 2013 Filipino screwball satirical comedy film, starring Zanjoe Marudo and Cristine Reyes, tells the story of twins Brando and Brandy. Despite the physical similarity, both are very different from each other. While the first is heterosexual and has no ambitions in life, the other is a friendly gay who has a career plan.
Brandon is attracted to Erika, Brandy's best friend, but she breaks up with him after realizing that Brandon has no plans for the future.
The homophobic Brando cannot accept that his brother is gay, so he decides to distance himself from him and make his own life independently. To do this, he will plan to start a car repair business and become a mechanic. Brandy, for her part, sets out on her own path to try to make her dream come true.
Eight years later we see Brandy become a successful interior designer, while Brandon still struggles to make ends meet.
Based on real events, the plot delves into each person's journey along their respective paths. Everything seems to indicate that they will never unite again, until one day, their mother begs them to put aside their differences and reconcile. Moved by her mother's plea, Brandy goes out to find her brother to make peace, but suffers an unfortunate accident that leaves him in a coma.
While Brandy remains in the hospital, Brando learns that just before the accident occurred, his brother was putting the finishing touches on negotiating a multimillion-dollar design deal with a client.
Fearing that Brandy will lose the multimillion-dollar business, Brandy's two close friends convince Brando to pull a double switch and pose as his gay brother. Then he will make the second most important decision of his life: So Brando, the straight, homophobic, tough and sexist, becomes the gay Brandy!
This is where the fun begins with Brando juggling Brando and Brandy.
By usurping his gay brother's identity he will not only allow Brando to solve all of his financial problems. It comes with another surprise: It will also give him the chance to patch things up with Erika (Cristine Reyes), Brandy's good friend, who he's always been in love with!
But it doesn't all end here: pretending to be the gay twin will mean that while he tries to prevent a multimillion-dollar business from failing and, in the process, get the love of a girl, he will look at the person he has always hated with different eyes, and acquire a new appreciation for him. by living your life.
In this world gone crazy, with Brando taking on Brandy's cheerful personality, what real chance is there of life returning to normal for the twins? Will Brandy wake up in time, discover the switch her twin flipped, and save the situation?
With a script by Olivia M. Lamasan, Joel Mercado, Enrico C. Santos, Danno Kristoper Mariquit, Kriz G. Gazmen, Kathy Despa and Ays De Guzman, and direction by Wenn V. Deramas, the film features the now Filipino star Kokoy DeSantos will play the twins as teenagers, while Maliksi Morales will play the young Brando and Brandy, and finally Zanjoe Marudo will play the twins as adults.
Filled with comedic moments, 'Bromance: My Brother's Romance' is Skylight Films' first foray into the comedy genre. Even in serious situations, they look for hilarious and over-the-top reactions, which makes it fun to watch.
Zanjoe Marudo achieves a brilliant and natural performance by playing, interchangeably, Brando and Brandy in three different roles: gay man, straight man and straight man who pretends to be gay.

Leia Mais

Blast from the past

After the first, rather impressive Timeline movie where the plot actually justified the title, the three directors made a second one. This time it is just a simple omnibus movie featuring four stories. I watched it on youtube in appalling quality but since it had never been officially released, it is better than nothing!

The first story: Mind Reader is a typical early thai bl which takes place in high school and where pretty boys are followed around by fujoshis, girls and trans fans screaming. Amidst that noise, is Sun attracted by Boss's popularity and almost unaware that there is Kit, a boy with a crush on him. It is very cringy but the romance is cute and sweet behind the superfluous cringe. I almost dropped the movie because of it.
It stars Kritsana Boonroth as Sun and Phattaparong Chaibal as Kit.

I liked the second story the best: The Memory on Page 53. Nan is giddy with delight to go on a trip with Phu who had just broken up with his boyfriend. But this trip reveals the memories they are both trying to avoid remembering. They actually dated and broke up 5 years earlier.
This was a beautifully filmed story. The director Artistaya Bangpao filmed nature, their feeling and memories with sensitivity. The actors have great chemistry. The editing is amazing: the past and the present trips mixed together showing that nothing had changed in their feeling. The only issue I have is with the story itself: we never find out why they broke up since they were and obviously still are in love! I would love to see a longer version of this story by the same director with the story expanded and more details given.

The third story, Non-Verbal features a deaf character Ohm who meets the eyes of Tan (Chinoros Duangrat) and their gazes lock. But a misunderstanding almost ruins the beginning of a love story.
This is the shortest story in the movie. Fortunately they did not drag out too long the misunderstanding. The novelty is a deaf character who is on his guard because of his handicap and is quick to jump to wrong conclusion. Tan clears the issue quickly with the help of his doting, no nonsense mother.
Directed by Jitthinund Yodwongsakull

The fourth story circles back to school from the first one. Nine, a boy from that school, gets attached to Nong, a middle aged trans woman who holds a stand selling fried bananas Nine likes. Nong is affected by Nine's attention since he reminds her of her sister's son. Man, a boy from school who has a crush on Nine, finds this relationship suspicious and does everything in his power to ruin it. We eventually find out that Nine is the long lost nephew but the damage has been done and Nong moves away.
This was a good and a bad story at the same time. The good was having a trans main character (when in 2016 trans were just used as screaming over the top comic relief in bls). The very bad is the possible romance innuendo which was never really cleared and the conclusion we get to draw from her reactions in the last part is that there was more in her feelings that met the eye!
Cast: Jennifer Panot Ruangratanachinda as Nong and Natthaphong Charoenchaisombat as Nine. Directed by Passapong Throngprasit

The film was written by Passapong Throngprasit and Artistaya Bangpao. The stories are of different quality and each director's style is obvious. I definitely want to see more of Artistaya Bangpao: his direction is the most accomplished. The music is unremarkable pop songs which have the merit of talking about each story.

Unlike the first movie where the stories ended up being connected on a few levels here only the first and the last stories are loosely connected with the same highschool. As for the timeline, from the title, there is the influence of the past in present in the three stories (not the 1st one which is firmly anchored in the present)!

Leia Mais

Once you watch it, you'll be blown away. This is an experience you don't want to miss.

I have never witnessed a more stunning display in my life! This couple's relationship is the epitome of purity and cuteness. Every aspect of their bond is simply beautiful and adorable! His bashful demeanour around her and how he runs to her every time he sees her is too much for me to handle! I must confess, that I did not fully comprehend the intricacies of the Emperor and Dream Weaver and their family's powers. However, I remain hopeful that Part 2 will provide further clarity. Regardless, this masterpiece was undoubtedly a 10/10 and I cannot help but blush every time I think about it!

Leia Mais