Reviews

Reconnecting Hearts: A Heartwarming Cinematic Experience

Reconnecting Hearts: A Heartwarming Cinematic Experience...


In our lives, there are many such people whom we wish to meet again somewhere, sometime, and what a coincidence it is if we actually get that chance....This movie has been directed with a lot of sincerity. It was a very heartwarming movie, and I enjoyed watching it a lot.

Reconnecting Hearts: A Heartwarming Cinematic Experience...


In our lives, there are many such people whom we wish to meet again somewhere, sometime, and what a coincidence it is if we actually get that chance....

This movie has been directed with a lot of sincerity. It was a very heartwarming movie, and I enjoyed watching it a lot.

Leia Mais

Mifune could direct, who knew?

Legacy of the 500,000 sees legendary actor Toshirō Mifune both in front and behind the camera for the first and only time in his career, taking elements from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and crafting a fun little treasure-hunting adventure with darker undertones. Mifune's level of technical prowess is genuinely remarkable and something he seems very passionate about, with plenty of impressive shots and making great use of being shot on location in the Philippines, it feels less like a big studio film and more like an independent B-movie. The performances from the entire cast are all solid, Mifune is the star so obviously gets the most screen time but it's time he happily shares alongside his co-stars. While the photography by Takao Saitō was genuinely lovely for the entire runtime, utilising the B&W Tohoscope format to great effect, choosing to transition between scenes with Flash Gordon / Star Wars-esque wipes was certainly a choice. Nipping along at a fast pace, Legacy of the 500,000 is a genuinely great and highly enjoyable little film, more than showing what Mifune was capable of had he chosen to spend just as much time behind the camera as he did in front of it and for that reason alone it's worth a watch.

Leia Mais

About movie...

I will show you my opinion about this movie.

I can tell you that if you see this title it isn't impressive this was my first thought nevertheless I watched it and I can tell I'm really surprised about the plot and acting in this movie.

The first 30 minutes can be boring for you but it has to be like this. They show us you the story about main family but Its just my opinion.

The rest of the movie will be suspenful. You can feel scary if you don't have strong nerves. This movie have a lot of plot twists. I can tell you will be exciting while you will watch it.

So what can I say enjoy watching.

Leia Mais

They literally have got each other back!!!

What a lighthearted inspiring movie, as expected from Jap Movie!

Wow, the last performance got me smiling ear to ear, without me realizing. I really love how they are REALLY having fun doing this. Their positive energy is contagious!

The highlight would be how they are breaking the prejudice around men joining cheer team, the same way women would be prejudiced for joining soccer team. It's a refreshing perspective watching how they display that this is a very "man-ly" sports after alll, with all the acrobatics and sportsmanship, just like any other sports would have

It's definitely fun watching them being thrown and flipped around in the air lol

I adore the teamwork, especially the amount of trust they have. It's literally, knowing we've got each other back in this case.
It's beautiful watching everyone joining the team for different reason but eventually everyone heals their wounds and step out of their comfort zone

Everyone wins! Really love it, another great work by Yokohama Ryusei! It;s also a bonus surprise seeing the ML from Senpai, Danjite Koidewa!!

Leia Mais

Everyone has a chance

I saw this movie by a chance so I would say that the director succeeded even though the main character in the movie tries to succeed with, what seems like a bad idea. He dreams of a blockbuster but insists of doing an erotic B-movie and is disappointed with constant failures. It is true that no achievement can be accomplished without failures. It is said that Thomas Edison produced 2000 bad lightbulbs before achieving success. So all those failures were necessary to discover a right way to do it. In this movie, a movie-director Seung Hoon fails at many steps but somehow he goes on and that is a good message.

The movie also reminds us of the limitations a problems caused by to Covid. The acting could have been better. I was surprised to see some American people here. The jokes weren't very funny to me but I will remember the movie in positive light because i enjoyed the selection of songs played in the background a couple of times.

Leia Mais

Warm hug in TV form for ussss!!!

So, imagine this drama where Satoyema is the most honest dude ever. He never hides his feelings and is super friendly all the time – like a human teddy bear. And Nozomi, she's into him, but get this, she still roots for her friend. Talk about a heart of gold!

Then there's Erina, the friend who gets it. She's there through thick and thin, and you can't help but love her. The drama, 'Our Secret Diary,' is not your typical mushy romance. It's cute, it's real, and it's like a chill pill for your soul.

It's basically a warm hug in TV show form. If you're into stories that feel like real life, messy and all, 'Our Secret Diary' is your jam. Trust me, it's like comfort food for your emotions – cozy and satisfying!

Leia Mais

As a Thriller movie, its good

First of all, i want to clarify that i haven't watch the original movie. So maybe thats why i enjoyed this movie a lot more.

1. Okada Junichi and Ayano Go
The acting in "Hard Day" is amazing, especially Okada Junichi and Ayano Go. Junichi usually plays tough characters, but here he's a vulnerable officer, showing off his acting skills. Ayano Go plays the villain so well with twitchy eyes and subtle moves. You can feel his massive anger, especially after a run-in with his father-in-law.

2. Seeing Both Views
The movie cleverly shows the same events from two perspectives. The villain seems calm from the outside, but when you see things from their point of view, they're just like everyone else. It adds a cool twist to the story.

3. Ost
If you have watch the Movie "Sicario", you'd now that soundtrack in this movie has the same vibe to it, and that's how you now its a good soudntrack.

4. Unrealistic Moments
How, like how the heck did he surived the bomb with insanely minimum damage to his body. He should be burning to hell by now. But then he even got the strength to drive to the vault location? Hell nah.

Overall, even with some unreal moments, "Hard Day" is a simple and thrilling movie. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. The acting and the dual perspectives make it a ride worth taking.

Leia Mais

The ending kinda sucked

I just wanted to say before I type my thoughts on the movie that this is my very first review. I never write reviews because I have never needed to. Even if something was bad, I appreciated what it was trying to do and enjoyed it for what it was but for this movie. I had something to say.

I didn't like how it ended. The main male lead dying like that in such an unexplained way and out of nowhere took me out of the story. The only reason I rated it this high was because everything but that ending was great in my opinion. This movie would have gotten a much higher score if they did the normal happy ending route where he comes back and they live happily ever after, or alternatively, they would have committed more to the death and built up to it better. Right now the death was very very abrupt and it is not clear what exactly happened to him which left me more confused and unsatisfied than sad as the ending should have been.

Leia Mais

I WISH THERE'S MORE

i was just looking for something to watch and i ran into this one clip from the movie on yt shorts so i decided to watch it.

i was not really expecting anything other than its a teen drama on a school setting. at first i was honestly bored and was thinking twice if i should continue but when i felt the main characters chemistry BROOOOO i decided to continue.

its somewhat fun!! i enjoyed it and its not bad at all. some scenes are funny lol. so if you're looking for just a go to teen concept to watch i think this is worth the try.

for the main characters, i felt the chemistry which is one of the things that im really looking for in a drama so they gave me that. they're cute!!

the story itself, its kinda fast and rush for me but its a movie soooooo?? and the ending:( i wish there's more like i want to see them dating something like that u know bc i feel like i dont know anything about the characters yet but they ended it with a typical kissing scene and thats it. thats why i was like i wish this is a series?

overall, its cute, its fun but nothing really stuck into u (u know what i meaaan?) but still im glad i watch it! ♡

Leia Mais

Um

I love ZeeNew so I hoped for a good movie. Sometimes movies do well, but often not. In this case, more time to develop the plot and deepen character development was needed. It felt rushed, especially the romance. I don’t like you- Oh wait! Is that a birthmark? I remember you from a brief one-time childhood encounter. I love you now. *sigh*

And why is Rawee always getting hurt? I thought the binding of destinies was supposed to protect them? Seems like it didn’t do anything but make Rawee a target of misfortune. ?

Side couple was unnecessary. If I were as rude as that servant, I would be fired. They just let it slide. Over and over again.

Also, the possessed scene by the river- how convenient that all the elders were present to talk dear old grandma off the ledge… Random show up that made literally no sense other than limited runtime for the storyline.

What was good? The creep factor of the ghost granny. I don’t do scary ghost stories so may be easily influenced but I felt the makeup artists and the sound effects accompanying the ghost’s presence were enough to get me going “nopety nope nope” every time. Especially when she was standing in Rawee’s chest, slowly suffocating him to death. Um, Zee come save your boy! Also, ZeeNew are always so cute together?.

Overall, it’s a no for rewatch-ability for me.

Leia Mais

Concerted alliances: common practice of the time recreated in the film

After Sundown is a 2023 Thai film by prolific director, screenwriter, producer and actor Aod Bhandit Thongdee, which aptly combines the genres of horror, supernatural mystery and romance in a creative narrative and a certain historical period. In this way, Thongdee weaves multiple threads with admirable balance and skill.
The film delicately captures the vintage elegance and glamor of the 60s of the last century. The decoration, the costumes, the hairstyle, the scenery enhance the work in that sense. The script is based on the novel "Dap Saeng Rawi".
Rawee (NuNew Chawarin Perdpiriyawong) is a 21-year-old young man who lives a humble, folksy lifestyle. Raised in Aytthaya by his grandfather, the monk Chantakorn (War Jirawat Vachirasarunpatra), he accepts the invitation of Parit (Nu Surasak Chaiat), a generous patriarch of a wealthy family, to live in the city. Chantakorn sees in the invitation the possibility of a better life for his grandson, as well as the opportunity for him to continue his studies, and encourages him.
In his new home, Rawee will soon experience terrifying visions and strange nightmares. Every night he is tormented by the presence of supernatural beings. It will soon become clear that Rawee is the only victim of whatever is lurking and lurking in the house. The question arises from the first bars of the plot: why does he suffer these spooky hallucinations?
In addition to Parit, his son Patchara (Tao Adisorn Athagrisna) and his daughter-in-law Pimpila (Meenay Jutai) live in the rich mansion. The couple has a 25-year-old son, Phloeng (Zee Pruk Panich). This is an entrepreneur dedicated to the family business. Phloeng's parents believe their son is cursed.
According to a prophecy, Phloeng will suffer serious misfortunes during that year. Unless an auspicious event occurs, he is destined to spend the rest of his life alone. Your salvation lies in finding your soul mate as soon as possible. This must meet certain requirements: It is not necessary to get married. It is enough to unite their destinies. His age must be an odd number and not older than 25 years, he must have been born outside Phra Nakhon and it is not mandatory to go looking for him, as the indicated person will come to meet Phloeng.
Rawee meets all the criteria and turns out to be the ideal candidate to be Phloeng's soulmate. The proposal is made by Parit himself after knowing the prediction. But it conveys a doubt: don't Phloeng's parents care that they are men? They both agree that if Rawee can save Praphloeng from misfortune they have no objection.
The meeting of the young people could not be more unfortunate. As Rawee cycles through the city, he collides with the arrogant Phloeng, who is returning home from abroad by car, after being called to return home and seal his fate by joining his soulmate. Class and cultural differences will hinder the relationship of the two. Phloeng does not miss the opportunity to belittle Rawee and accuse him of seeking to get his hands on his grandfather's fortune. Rawee is not daunted. In the face of threats and accusations, he responds with pride, haughtiness and a good dose of mischief, leaving Phloeng without resources to respond. The grumpy servant Pudsorn (Namping Napatsakorn Pingmuang) takes it upon himself to annoy and make life miserable for Rawee.
Phloeng, a modern young man for his time, is not superstitious and is skeptical of his relatives' proposal. Refusing to be a stranger's soulmate, he finally accepts the agreement to calm the fears of those close to him. For her part, Parit asks Rawee for understanding after explaining the misfortune that would befall the family if he did not agree. It is then the young man's time to return the favor to his benefactor. A very common practice at the time, especially in rural areas and provincial cities, was to establish alliances agreed upon by the members of two families, beyond social origins, ages of the couple and other aspects.
The film shows a practice that is still common today in various regions of the world, including Southeast Asia, such as consensual marriage, in which the couple has allowed outsiders to bring them together.
Under these conditions of a consensual marriage to ward off misfortune and in the midst of growing tensions between the two young people, on the one hand, and the terrifying visions that Rawee suffers, on the other, Phloeng becomes engaged to Rawee. But he sets a condition: if after six months the relationship between the two does not deepen, he will cancel the arrangement. They both reluctantly accept the compromise.
To comply with the rules and avoid misfortune, they must remain under the same roof after sunset. The discomfort they feel being close to each other is evident. However, Rawee will soon discover that his nightmares disappear whenever he is around Phloeng. The approach and subsequent romantic commitment of young people is inevitable. We will soon discover that they are both united by deeper ties than an arranged alliance could ever weave.
Let's add as positive features a fascinating narrative, the combination of genres, the historical period as a unique added detail, the impressive images, the majestic landscapes, especially the lake, and the elegant atmosphere.
The film offers conclusive answers about the origins of the ghost that haunts Rawee. Music contributes to the development of the plot and fulfills its function as a vehicle to tell the story.
Positive: The movie seems unpredictable. The viewer is not able to foresee what will happen next. The level of intrigue, suspense and surprising twists for almost two hours. Solid performances, especially from the leads. Passionate and healthy chemistry between the two main actors. Tender gay love scenes.
Negative: Little exploration of the historical and cultural context of the 60s of the last century. Weak character development. Poor construction of the supernatural. Inefficient characterization of the characters, hence the viewer's poor understanding of their personalities and life stories.
The characters, both from the script and the staging and from the performances of the protagonists, are built with so much love and delicacy that the film is irresistible even in its most obvious moments. It may not do anything revolutionary with the gay initiation genre, but it is emotional and honest.
If you are looking to be entertained with a supernatural movie with suspenseful plots and surprising twists, After Sundown is a good option.

Leia Mais

entertaining historical romance with thriller elements

Overall: I thought it was a good blend of a historical setting, romance and scary parts, though it definitely could have used a little bit more runtime (1hr 40 minutes before the credits) to flesh the story and characters out more. If you aren't a thriller/horror person, it's not that bad, just watch it at a faster speed and turn down the sound. Originally aired in theaters in Thailand. Aired on Netflix Thailand (need a Netflix subscription and a vpn to Thailand).

Content Warnings: past death, attempted murder, violence, blood, jump scares, manhandling

What I Liked
- historical setting, I was so immersed I didn't realize it was a historical setting for awhile (thought he just liked vintage cars lol)
- integrating thriller/horror with romance
- sweet moments
- good kissing/both into it

Room For Improvement
- needed more runtime to better show/explain things like instead of the monk saying a character lost something we could have had a short scene of him looking for it/that other guy getting rid of it, why was he not in the hospital towards the end did he imagine that part? who exactly was that one dude at the beginning, was the before aged 25 made up by him, why? instead of a 'getting to know you' montage we could have had more scenes actually shown, they didn't have time to really develop those two male side characters
- choppy parts, were inside during the day then she says to get food then suddenly they are together and it's nighttime
- a few 'because the writer said so' like a character taking something off before he sleeps even though he knows he shouldn't

Leia Mais

A film within a film that like a spider web tangle with reality

I didn't expect to see such a comedy from master of thrillers. I didn't read what genre it is and what it is about, apart from the fact that the time and place of the story is the Korean film industry in the 70s.

I wouldn't call myself a professional of Korean cinema in the 70s, but from what I know, apart from the censorship and the governmental pressure on the studios, films didn't really look like Kim Jee-woon showed it. And he personally agreed with it, stating that he had drawn inspirations from the films of the Korean golden age: Kim Ki-young's "Housemaid" (1960) or Lee Man-hee's "The Devil's Stairway" (1964), as well as from classic Hollywood films like Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960). The similiaities are very much visible, and there's nothing bad in it. Apart from the fact that all of those films are from the 60s. Moreover, he made the film in the film black and white, which was not common anymore in the 70s. But it was all for the sake of distinction of two stories, so I'll let it go.

Main character: director Kim Yeol (played by amazing Song Kang-ho) has just finished his new (first?) film called "Cobweb". However, right after the wrap he changes the script for something more radical and groundbreaking, something that - as he stated - had never been made in Korean cinema before. Not receiving the permission of the censors (which was very common in those times), and not really having much time for reshooting (as studios had to film a lot of films per year in order to receive licenses and permission for the future shootings, there was not enough staff and equipment etc.) he decided to do it all in secret in just two days. His decision led to chaotic events on the set, random people appearing, drinking, shouting, somewhere in the background some romance was born and died. But his maniacal determination for finishing his masterpiece led him to achieve what he eventually wanted. To change the rumours (which were not really just rumours, as we discovered at the end) about his creativness and being just an unexperienced assistant director of late director Shin Sang-ho (at first I thought I misheard it and thought they talked about Shin Sang-ok and was very much confused). In the end all ends well. The masterpiece which was "Cobweb" was shown in the cinema.

And the story of Kim Jee-woon's "Cobweb" is just like the Kim Yeol's "Cobweb", as he had been sued just before the cinema premiere. What had happened and why? Family of the director Kim Ki-young sued Kim Jee-woon stating that the main character was based on the late director. Song Kang-ho smoked pipe and wore thick-framed glasses just like Kim Ki-young used to. However, Kim Yeol was presented negativelly, as someone who stole someone else's work and had no real practice as a director - comparing him to Kim Ki-young, they were two totally different people. In the end, they found the agreement, but I am not surprised with the lawsuit.

Film's "Cobweb" was a melodrama about five characters whose fates crosses and tangled with each other just like spider's web. No matter how much they wanted to have a revenge and flee from the hopeless reality in which they stuck, they couldn't, eventually getting caught by the spider. The monster, who at first seem to be just a small prop in the film and eventually becoming the main character. Someone stated that spider and its web is like a revenge and hatred that people can't run away from and which destroy them from the inside. But then, would this film be so radical and groundbreaking as Kim Yeol wanted? Maybe the spider and its web was a metaphore for the harsh regime of Park Chung-hee in the 60s and 70s? Maybe it was a metaphore of wanting to be free as an artist and filmmaker, but being limited by the censorship and hopeless reality? In my opinion, it would make sense, given the fact that it's the 70s and filmmakers were doing films either commercially and politically correct, or were using incoherent metaphore to criticize the reality which they couldn't yet change or escape from. Or maybe it was just inspired from Kim Ki-young's horror films from the 70s (which I hadn't seen) and had no deeper meaning? I need to ask Kim Jee-woon, once I meet him one day.

Overall, I had a lot of fun watching this film and despite many things that didn't feel right for me (like the black and white parts of the film which were more from the 60s than 70s) I sincerely liked it. I really wish that Korean filmmakers would make more films like that than action-thrillers with the same plot, over and over again. Unfortunately, "Cobweb" did really poorly in the box office, so I doubt it :(

Leia Mais

A hostess film that starts promising and ends in disappointment

I found it interesting that I've seen "A girl who looks like the sun" (1975) by Lee Man-hee before seeing this one, and there's the same actress, dressed up in similar clothes, wearing the exact same necklace with heart and peace sign and it all happened in the same neighbourhood with low-rise flats. Yet the story is somehow different.

"Where is Miss Yang?" by Park Nam-su started as a teenage drama with two main characters: Miss Yang whose real name is Nan-hyang, and Jin-ho. Their roads crossed when both of them are caught by the police and became jail buddies . She was a girl who run away from home, he - a boy who took a break from studies in order to think about his future? His life? It was not rellly mentioned. Nevertheless, it was an interesting view on the teenages lives. People who are about to start an adult life, but are not yet ready to do so. They rebel towards the society that treats them like adults and towards parents who treats them like children. Both which they're not. It was such a fresh presentation of young adults who struggle with managing their daily life, but at the same time try to have fun and use their life as good as they can.

Unfortunately somewhere in the middle it all changed into a typical hostess film: a genre (?) from the 70s, where young woman, not having another option, in order to survive, decides to become a hostess girl (prostitute). Here, on one hand it also symbolized a continuation of rebelion towards her parents, because she wasn't from a poor family and didn't have to do it because of money. On the other, it fit into the common narration of hostess films where young woman is presented as a liberated woman who "doesn't have to, but want to do it". It all would fit greatly to contemporary narration about sex working and feminism, which I prefer not to get into. Here Nan-hyang is presented as a liberated woman, but because of her decision she received her bad ending at the end - which is common for classical hostess films, where division into good and bad is very clear. Moreover, it all ended just like it started: with her running on the street full of speeded cars. Maybe Park Nam-su wanted to show that life of rebeled teenagers is pointelss and would not lead enywhere, maybe he just wanted to make a hostess film, but decided to spice it up more with drama about rich teenagers? I don't know.

For me it looked like two different films. One is where Nan-hyang was a rebelled teenager, wandering and laughing around the city with Jin-ho, and the second one is where she out of blue decided to become a hostess and destroy her relationship with the man. It's also interesting because Jin-ho also changed a lot in the second part of the film: cutting his hair, offending "hippies" for being lazy etc. It really looks like their characters changed 180 degrees. I'm really curious how the censorship changed the original script, because for me it feels like the final version is just an enjoyable, but a failed monstrum of two different things.

It is definitely worth watching, especially for those who are interested in films from the 70s and those times in general, yet would like to watch something that is not really typical for them.

Leia Mais