Reviews

a simple but rewarding watch

i know most people like blockbusters but this was a solid 10 stars for me just because of its simplicity. it was beautiful, nostalgic, sweet and funny. there's no flaws. the pacing is perfect, the soundtrack is gorgeous, the cast were wonderful in their acting and each character was developed beautifully and emotionally. and although the characters are so realistic, they almost feel like anyone you could know, they still maintain such a simultaneous uniqueness that makes them so refreshing. it doesn't always have to be a heroine with a tragic backstory to get you crying, sometimes it's a sweet small town romcom <3

Leia Mais

Korean Beauty And the Beast?

If the goal of the film was to demonstrate how many people treat others as less than human, then the film succeeded in its goal. If the goal was to demonstrate that we should treat everyone with a level of love and respect as human beings, the film comes up a bit short.

Kim Sun Yi is a young, and rather sickly girl, living in a very small, rural village with her mother and sister. We can see her life is rather mundane, and she finds small pleasures in writing until she comes across a South Korean experiment gone wrong.

Enter Cheol Su, a young man in his late teens who has been locked up and used in some kind of backward experiment with animal and human DNA. Initially, all Sun Yi sees is a wild animal who eats like one and largely behaves like one. Her mother takes the boy in, and cleans him up, even though she’s unsure of what to do with him.

Sun Yi is initially disgusted by Cheol Su’s lack of table manners until she finds a book about how to treat dogs. She uses this book to train Cheol Su to only eat upon her command. We find that Cheol Su can understand Korean, due to the professor who was raising and experimenting with him. Whenever Cheol Su does something correctly, he gets a pat on the head, much like a dog.

Seok Ji Tae is the town rich boy and thug. He owns the house that Sun Yi’s family is living in. He’s a largely uninteresting and rather cliched villain of the story, which tends to play out like a Korean version of “Beauty and the Beast.” Of course, Ji Tae attempts to brazenly demand Sun Yi’s affections and becomes violent when he doesn’t get them, making him a far greater monster than Cheol Su could ever be.

The film is a touching one and the performances, especially by the film’s two leads in Bo Young Park and Song Joong Ki are especially poignant. However, the chemistry goes little beyond the affections of two people, but rather a woman and a man she perceives as an animal (even if a benevolent animal at that); like a beloved pet.

The story would have been better served had Sun Yi begun to see Cheol Su as a person, and yet she’s never really one hundred percent sure. In the end, she says that she doesn’t care if he’s a monster. It would have been more powerful if she had told him that she knew he was a human being and not a monster. His violent actions are always done to protect her as well as those around her, but she’s unable to truly see past his animalistic qualities.

In the end, despite living alone, we see just how wrong Sun Yi was about Cheol Su. Just because a person doesn’t speak, doesn’t mean that they can’t, and perhaps she learns something about how to treat others. This film had the potential to be so much more than it ended up being.

Leia Mais

Overall... it's just okay.

Unfortunately, it was a bit on the mediocre side, if not leaning towards bad. The movie had the potential to be an engaging murder mystery but it messed up by revealing everything too soon and by being predictable imho. There were some visually appealing shots (the pool scene!!!) but I don't think that makes up for the rest of this mess.

Oryo was great as always and such a dreamboat... However, the chemistry between him and Miyazaki Aoi was seriously lacking. The supporting characters were rather uninteresting, except for the role portrayed by Yoshida Yoh, who stood out as magnificent and fabulous whenever she appeared on screen. Her charisma is simply unmatched.

Overall... it's just okay.

Leia Mais

nothing new under the sky

I didn't expect it to be a movie, thought it was a drama. relieved it was just a movie, would have been so disappointed.

that's just another palace intrigue. the story isn't as unique as I thought while reading the synopsis. I think they tried to tell a story to complex for the movie duration. so it ends up with a lack of depth. I would have loved being told about how these matchmakers learned how to do their work.

I didn't like the actors. there is just something odd about how all the movie was bring together.

this is just bland, and coarse. I don't recommend.

Leia Mais

Social Class Struggle but cool

Snowpiercer is dystopian, futuristic, sci-fi film. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho who explores the social class structure of a society now bound to living on a train around the world that never stops. We enter the train at the very back where life resembles living in the slums. Curtis Everett and some others are tired of living in such terrible conditions and proceeds to set out to reach the front of the line.
This movie is so creative in terms of discussing issues of social class. The way the society has developed is quite realistic in my opinion and I think the idea of such a futuristic world is not entirely implausible. There is definitely elements of brainwashing used by those in charge for the purpose of maintaining complete control over the people on the train and avoid resistance.

The ending of the movie is really unique there are some startling aspects about the train that we learn about through the course of the movie. We also learn more about the outside world and its condition.
Overall a great movie I have re-watched several times and highly recommend!

Leia Mais

Statement on social class divides

Parasite is one of deepest films I have ever seen and of course it was written and directed by Bong Joon-Ho. There is a reason why it was nominated and won so many awards.
At first glance Parasite is just a typical good movie exploring the difference in dynamics between a rich family and a poor one and the clashing that occurs between them. However, if you really delve into the details and symbolisms that Bong Joon-Ho carefully curated in this film there is so much more to be uncovered namely the pointing out the broken system which perpetuates the divide between the upper social class from the lower one. I think that in order to grasp all the details rewatching the movie is a necessity and even one re-watch might not be enough.
A detail that I just learned is that Bong Joon-Ho actually wrote this film based on his own experience tutoring an upper class family, obviously not the entire plot.



**************************Spoilers and analysis from here******************************
-
-

As I said before Parasite is a reflection of the struggles and clashes between rich and poor and the end of the film shows the harsh reality that poor families are not able to rise from their low status no matter how hard they try because of the broken social system.
Here are some symbols and key themes that Bong Joon-Ho uses throughout the film to express these ideas. (Also comment more themes/ analysis you saw in the film. I'm curious to hear other thoughts!)

The most famous being Ram-Don/Chapaguri:
It's a combo of Neoguri and Chappagetti korean instant ramen noodles (very inexpensive). But the Park family adds steak, this shows the drastic difference in social status between the poor Kim family who probably would rarely be able to afford expensive quality meats to add to their instant noodles as a snack.

High/Low Ground and Water to signify rich vs. poor:
Water runs downwards from low to high. The poor people live in semi-basement apartments, they are drowning in society and this physically happens in the film. Ki-Jung says in the film that there is no way to escape the basement smell (poverty) unless they leave the basement (get rich). However, the semi-basement apartments still has partial sunlight (they have hope). The rich house is on high ground, there are stairs leading up to the house and in the movie we see a scene where Kiwoo is reading on the lawn in the full sunlight.
When we are introduced to the true basement we see the stark contrast to the other two houses. This place has no natural light (no hope) the house keeper family acknowledges that they are poor. This is contrasted with the Kim family who attempts to act sophisticated, Kiwoo's mom denies being anything like the house keeper when she tries to suggest that the two of them are the same.
And then at the end of the movie we see Kiwoo's father is forced to retreat to the basement.

Scholars Stone:
It is mostly a collectors item, given to the Kim family from Kiwoo’s rich friend
symbolic of Kiwoo’s innermost desires to become rich like his friend (Min) and join the world in the sunlight (rich), it rises in the water when their house floods unnaturally as rocks are heavier than water (eggs on their desires). The rock is also very ironic and symbolic as it is a blow to the head from this rock that knocks out Kiwoo. In the ending scenes in Kiwoo’s dream to become rich he is shown placing the rock in a river bed with many other rocks seemingly indistinguishable symbolizing that he has reached his goals and no longer sees the rock as meaningful he has reached his goal of joining the upper class. This can be compared to the scene following the flooding of their home in the emergency shelter where he is desperately holding the stone and the beginning where he and his whole family are fawning over the gift.

The Knife at the Birthday Party:
This is probably the most simple theme but the idea that Death doesn't discriminate between rich an poor. The Knife ends up killing both Kiyung and Mr. Park.

Soju:
Kiwoo and Min, his friend who gave him the job, share soju which is a type of Korean alcohol as I'm sure many of you know. Soju is cheap therefore it is accessible to even poor families like the Kims. It shows Min’s humility compared to the Park family. He is rich as well but sees Kiwoo as more equal.

Leia Mais

Super Pig? More like Super Movie!

Okja is, and forever will be, in my top 5 movies of all time!
Bong Joon-Ho is a movie master and Okja is no exception to his brilliance. He uses the power of familial love to strike home his messages about the corporate meat industries. As the audience we can't help but root for Mija to overcome the evil Mirando Corporation and be reunited with Okja, her family.
The casting of this movie was so perfect, everyone played their roles without flaw. The pace of the movie is great I was kept at the edge of my seat for the entire duration of the film. Despite the calm beginning we quickly enter into an action packed movie.
A fore warning, this movie has made me cry on every single watch. And there are some really hard scenes to watch towards the end, they are horrific and gruesome.

Leia Mais

MY FAVORITE MOVIE

Our Times is one of my favorite movies of all time. I have re-watched it several times, it has become a comfort watch for me.
The main actors Vivan Sung and Darren Wang are so amazing and I love the characters. The clumsy, not so bright girl and the bad boy such a perfect combo for an amazing story beginning!
It is the perfect light hearted romance movie.
I think there are some really great life lessons as well, there is quite a bit of character development especially for Tsu Tai Yu. Although he acts mean on the outside we begin to see there is much more to him.
The ending is also extremely cute and has the perfect details added. On the first watch I had totally forgotten about the beginning scene and so the ending was so unexpected and perfect that I couldn't help but love the movie.
Some people may say that Out Times quite cliche, and to that I say, who cares? haha. It is the perfect cliche romcom that I live for!

Leia Mais

Light Hearted Zombie Movie

This movie is a fun watch not to be taken very seriously. It is a perfect movie for those who do not want to be scared as it is quite comedic.
Some of the story becomes quite absurd at the end. However there are some good life lessons to take away. The main character is really relatable. He hates his job and his boss is awful which I'm sure many people can relate to. The apocalypse helps Tendou to free himself and find what he really enjoys in life.
I really love Akaso Eiji and he did an amazing job in this role portraying a happy go lucky guy that is on his way through self discovery.
I am rating this movie low because the behavior of the zombies were not as good as some other zombie movies I have seen and some plot points in the movie were really ridiculous. But as a comedic movie it was pretty good.
If you want a light hearted zombie movie that's not scary this is the one for you!

Leia Mais

The blueprint for Minus One

Complicated and nuanced as equally as it is populist and compelling, Takashi Yamazaki's The Eternal Zero is way too cluttered to assign any form of accurate assessment and yet, this highly thought-provoking tale on redemption and legacy is highly worthy of your time. Yamazaki effortlessly weaves together an engaging, expressive, sometimes exciting yet often horrifying depiction of a disgraced kamikaze pilot's life, never glorifying the nightmarish situation and always remaining sombre. The great performances sell the otherwise muddled script while its aerial combat is staggeringly realised with Yamazaki's creative use of visual effects and kinetic camerawork. More solemn and graceful, emotional and tragic, than downright high-octane and death-crazed as depicted in some Western war films, The Eternal Zero is an enormously evocative film even though it stumbles upon its final approach with an exceptionally jarring and sappy epilogue that feels very out of place with this otherwise excellent film.

Leia Mais

Mid

Not bad, but not good. If I was 12, I would have probably ate it up like no tomorrow. But at my current age, it's just a tad cliche.The storyline is as you would expect from a j-romcom. It's a fun watch if you need to pass time or want something light and simple in between other shows, but besides that... it's okay.

Acting was alright, not soooo bad I had to stop watching but not exceptional.
Costumes (aside from school uniform) were cute.
I really liked FL's hairstyles, it thought it was cute and fun!

Antagonists don't really stick around too long, so that's a plus.

Leia Mais

Good story but under-utilised premise

I will give my honest opinion here.
I went to watch this because of all the 9/10 kinda reviews and the hype of the manga.
But frankly I found this below my expectation.

The story of this movie is excellent and had lot of scope but they didn't utilise it fully.
The chemistry between the leads was undeniable but I think they shared less screen space than what they should have spent given the plot.

It started off very well for me because I love the concept where ML is a cold hearted guy who slowly falls for the FL.
Being a movie he fell very fast which is understandable but then they had very little one on one interactions in the second part of the movie and next to no scene of intimacy given the fact that both were equally attracted to each other.

Some scenes were very heart warming where he cared for her and literally burned down the house just to find her. I will give full points for such scenes.

But I feel they didn't do justice towards the end by making the plot easy and predictable.
The battle at the end could have been more interesting given the fact that she had joined too.

Anyway.. because of the hype maybe I was disappointed but otherwise it's a good movie to watch. Just that don't let others expectations get to your head.. l m sure you will enjoy this movie As Long As you keep a clean slated mind! ;)

Leia Mais

I loved it....

After completing the Japanese series I came here to watch some recommendations and suddely I saw this. This is amazing I've never thought that they'll do a continuation for the series. I'm in love with this movie. and specially I didn't expect the ending like that. I'm not going to spoil anyone here in that case I'll just say that as the ending scene.

I literally loved the whole story plot. It's cute, fresh and heart touching. When I was watching the last scene I was like smiling and blushing and I literally felt butterflies because th way that Kurosawa take care of his Adachi. " when you're weak I'll be strong for you and when I'm weak I need your helping hand " that's one of the greatest line I've ever heard in a bl after a long time.

I literally loved the whole movie and I didn't felt the time passing by. This is a must watch movie after you watch the series.
( This literally made my standars go even high and I swear to god Kurosawa is literally a walking green flag )

Leia Mais

Is this movie blatant child corn?

I cant help but notice how many times they had my poor girly in literal underwear and no shirt.. and one scene the boy is fondling her in the woods and an actual pervert tries to kidnap her, how is this funny? They try to play it off as lighthearted and silly but no that isnt cute. But thats why im watching it on youtube cause im scared to find out if the director actually is a pedo!

Anyways... the kids are pretty grwat actors, its so hilarious in the beginning... the middle gets kind of slow, too much child pedo stuff, then slow paced repetetiveness. Okay halfway into the movie a girls changing room... so yes this is so obviously a movie made by a creep!

At this point i cant help but feel upset because this movie was so funny and cute and silly. I would say this is a skip unless you wanna watch the first few minutes until they "switch". After that, its very uncomfortable.

Leia Mais