Reviews

Mega Crocodile’s producers must have crunched the numbers on their calcugators and decided to utilize the most over-used stereotypes in monster movie history for this story about a rescue attempt on an island covered in enormous crocodiles. When the fearsome crocs weren’t terrifying the search party, the creepy crawly inhabitants scurrying about dug in to make for gruesome sightseeing experiences.

After young biologist Zi Hao and his boat used for scientific research go missing near Hell Island, his sister Ming Zhu asked Luo Han for help rescuing him. Luo, an alcoholic with a painful past was the only person to have ever escaped the island alive. A noxious place with 3000 crocodiles and plagued with poisonous gas, the drunk basically responded that one does not simply walk into Hell Island. As all heroes do, he refused her then immediately sobered up and agreed to the perilous mission. Luo, headstrong Ming, money guy/comic relief Pan, and three aggressive foreign bodyguards jumped out of an airplane sans parachutes and began their deadly island adventure. They encountered body parts, deadly insects and plants. Oh, and the mother of all crocs, a ginormous creature with infrared vision.

The CGI alternated between good and poor, much as the acting did. Li Guang Bin managed to pull off the world-weary hero with a crossbow look, although I never understood why he used it when machine guns had no effect on the great toothy beast. I admit to being grossed out about the two different kinds of burrowing bugs the team came into contact with. The other squeamish moments were the finding of dismembered body parts lying about on a regular basis

The story itself was obvious from the opening shot, not that these kinds of movies innovate much. It’s all in the execution and this one just felt like a low-grade B movie which wasn’t very fun or terrifying. I wrestled with how to rate a movie about a bus-sized crocodile. Overall Mega Crocodile wasn’t jawsome, but it didn’t completely bite either.

10/26/23

Leia Mais

best closure (?)

They're perfect for each other, yet their imminance love ending hurt each other so bad.

they are so good together, idk why things turned out the way they were. i feel sorry for meta and glad that she's so brave to face reality and make peace for herself.

is it just me or i don't feel a single sympathy for suti like (?) maybe in the end he's redeeming himself but what he done to his family is can't be undo so idk its just not enough

i hope through this movie women out there whose life in shamble bcs their significant other, Will take a look at their self and prioritize their happiness more because before they were wives, mothers, they are themselves

Leia Mais

A movie containing a "what if this happens in real life" story

This is an interesting movie revolving around a world where humanity is on the brink of extinction. All I can say is "Reality sucks." The movie tells us how we'll act accordingly if we are on the same page as those in that movie. The one who is strong gets chosen to be a leader without doubt. When there's a leader, social classes exist. People whose up will be safe, while others whose down below get thrown and neglected. Even though it's unjust, when life is the only thing left for us, we have to make a choice. Those choices that we made might bless or hurt others. Interestingly enough, this kind of societal behavior does not only exist in the specific situations of the movie. In reality, there is something like this.

I really love the acting here, especially by Lee Byunghun, Park Seojoon, and Park Boyoung. I didn't really pay attention to the music, but some parts were louder and some parts were just right. Overall, great movie. I might not rewatch this, but this was an eye-opener.

Leia Mais

I was awake all the time watching this spectacular film!

OK- we, Chinese kids, know how Gods were created from our mom or grandparents in our childhood in the absence of the internet.

Watching several C-dramas on the Creation of Gods recently made me slightly interested in this mythology. Fei Xiang's recent interview in a S'pore tv channel actually sparked my curiosity when he said he had to train his body to look like a soldier warror instead of looking like an accountant in the scenes where he was required to show his topless chest!

Yes, I was curious to see his 'six-pack' body so I decided to watch this film.

The production is awesome although I am not a CGI fan.

Acting wise: Naran as Dai Ji was well chosen by the casting director. Da Ji in this film is dark and frightening in every scene. I just didn't know what she was going to do next ie. killing someone for fun or roasting her victim to stimulate her sexual desires.

Fei Xiang as a tyrant King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty is quite good. I remembered him as a pop star in the 80s but I was never a fan because I was too little at the time. I was outraged to see King Zhou being blinded by Da Ji and his willingness to kill his only heir. And, when he asked the four sons of the lords of the Shang Dynasties to kill their own fathers, the tyrant was doomed to hell.

Yes, he does have a six-pack! For a 62-year old man, his enthusiasm to aim for that shape is very impressive. Hats off to you, Fei Xiang.

Ji Fa and his father. I love this father-son relationship. Ji Fa was very intelligent for saving his father's life by proposing that the father should repent his treacherous intent. His father lived for another day unlike the other three lords who died by either being killed by his own son or committed suicide.

The immortal, Jiang Zi Ya and the two gods. I love these characters especially Jiang Zi Ya and his decisive actions. Na Za and the other God are excellent fighters who constantly save JZY because the latter had lost his immortal power once he returned to the mortal land.

Other supporting casts are doing a great job too.

Overall, it's entertaining especially for those who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings, not GoT though.

Watch it as the entertainment value is good value for money.

Leia Mais

It is the third film presented here by director Auraeus Solito and is completely different from his previous films. It starts with a long "chatty" scene, as if it were supposed to be a theater performance, the individual scenes are quite long, and I must admit that the booing, humiliation, machismo and sexism from the military environment never smelled good to me, because I hate it when "someone" has it in their hands too much, or if I should be commanded (not only in the army, but also in my job) by an even bigger idiot than I am.

Of course, the film raises questions and we have to answer them ourselves. The actors are "effortless" and I evaluate overall from the perspective of an East Asian viewer, because of course this movie has its own Pinoy perspective and dimension. Of the director's three films, I rate this one in third place.

Leia Mais

An absolutely exceptional film by Philippine standards (highly rated on ČSFD, MDL and IMDb) collected so many awards, victories for the creator and actors at film festivals and nominations (56 in total) that it is perhaps impossible to count in America (Santa Monica, Montreal, Park City and Toronto), Asia (Tokyo, Singapore, the awards of the Philippine Film Academy and three other Philippine organizations) and Europe (Turin, Berlin, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Tallinn and Amsterdam) and is atypical worldwide mainly because of the main story of a young man, indeed almost still a childhood gay. Reality shines through, from the beginning of the film in a documentary style (how the poorest sections of the population live by necessity in the suburbs of Manila), later added the component of a young policeman, with whom he and Maximo fall in love, and criminal plots and, above all, excellent acting performances by almost all of them, led by a not even fourteen-year-old ( at the time of filming) by Nathan Lopez.
This reality was evident in Maxim's family, where the brothers and father were played by typically well-chosen actors and the Manila policeman Victor followed closely behind them. The fact that gays sometimes twist more and put flowers in their hair is typical for East and South Asia and the whole of Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), in some countries gays unfortunately have no other option but to play "at woman" (as a tolerated third gender) rather than being despised.
So if I take away the Pinoy mannerisms, the technical shortcomings (sometimes the camera and the tinny, rather strong music component - for that I deducted two points for the music and processing), then for me satisfaction and I agree with the absolute superiority of all reviewers on all world servers, who rate the film very positively. Actually, if the processing was perfect in the "American" way, it wouldn't be the right Pinoy movie for me. Here on GT, in my opinion, the director's best film, closely followed by Boy (I) and then Esprit De Corps.

Leia Mais

Enjoyable little flick

Pretty good little found footage film. It doesn't reinvent the wheel for the genre, featuring many of the same issues that plague films in the States. What I actually found most interesting was the mystery surrounding the asylum they were investigating. There were many rumors and theories about what happened there, and watching the characters learn different things was the most engaging part of the film for me.

The first half of the film is just setup, and the enjoyment of this part depends on how you feel about the characters or how attached you are to them. Since you know almost nothing about them in the first half, it can drag as they set up the story. However, once they enter the asylum, the thrills come in much more often, giving the audience what they expect and hitting the mark for the most part.

Leia Mais

"At the Louvre I saw the Black"

Kishibe Rohan takes his supernatural ability to read people like a book on the road to Paris. At the Louvre he will confront a relentless evil residing in a hidden painting. The story jumps back and forth in time with much of the story told in the past. Fair warning: If you have arachnophobia you will want to avoid this film at all costs.

Rohan is working on a new manga and after remembering a story about the blackest of blacks, so black it doesn’t reflect light and is in essence invisible, decides to hunt a painting down that uses the rare pigment. Death and spiders follow the path that takes him to an auction for a painting and then to the Louvre in search of the original.

The cinematography ranged from gauzy and ethereal, to elegant, to dark and foreboding. Discordant notes and chords accompanied the creepier facets of the film. The supernatural elements of Rohan’s gift and the cursed painting were well done, especially for someone who has neither read the manga nor watched the drama.

Takahashi Issei can always be counted on to give a layered performance even when wearing a headband designed for a manga character. He actually played two characters, giving them both separate personalities ranging from light to absolute darkness. Marie Iitoyo as Rohan’s editor seemed out of place with her childlike acting. Kimura Fumino matched the mood of the film as the haunted Nanase. The Louvre could almost be counted as a cast member with its lovely exhibits, own complex history, and gloomy, forgotten vaults.

The film felt like it might have been better served as a two-episode drama due to all of the backstories which took up a substantial amount of time. Both of the trips to the past felt overly long. Not having the compelling Issei on the screen also took away from the forward momentum of the story. Overall, it was a strange, creepy (crawly!) movie that did manage to integrate the past and the present connections to the sinister painting lurking in the shadowy corners of the Louvre.

10/25/23

Leia Mais

The movie was a good one with sound effects for the destruction and volcano eruption, but at the same time, the movie has some plot holes that I guess as a viewer will just have to fill in, like the first explosion, there was a warning of an aftershock, and massive destruction occurs, and while this was happening the leads are on separate places, but after that scene it was cut, and the ML was given a brief about going to the North to steal nukes and this was happening outside his house (i assume) since he looked up to (i assume again) his house where the FL is currently at. Also, I commend them for having strong mobile communication and internet after an 8 ritcher scale earthquake; come on! Really?! And yes, the movie is predictable except for the bromance. It was endearing to see two men from different backgrounds with different personalities get along and try to understand each other. This, I think, is what makes the movie watchable and the acting of the cast.

Leia Mais

Thanks to that one insta reel that made me watch this

What a movie! I was captivated by the aura of it by watching some clips and I'm glad I gave it a try. The story portrayed in this two hour fifteen minutes movie left me with so much emotions and thoughts. One thing I'd admit, the acting of both the leads was splendid. You could see the eyes talk, you could feel the sadness right through the screen. I was spoiled somewhere that ot didn't have a happy ending but I'm glad it wasn't the case. I'd not have the courage to move on otherwise. (I had to live through the college entrance trauma once again though.) Anyways, don't let anything or anyone stop you from watching this masterpiece. I know I'd rewatch it again and again.

Leia Mais

It's a very different movie.
He is completely different than most.
It is Thai, where the Thai branch of Buddhism predominates.
It is necessary to look at him from this point of view and not to evaluate only through the eyes of a Central European viewer. Why is the scene like that, why are the actors playing it like that, why is the film pensive, poignant almost from the beginning.
The content of the film is very well described on ČSFD, be sure to read it before watching the film.

When the viewer is able to put all this together, he cannot make a bad assessment. It is a film about images, about feelings, about LIFE. It is a film whose message will remain forever in my soul...

Leia Mais

Wow, that was a powerful experience!!

A completely unique subject, script, dramaturgy and what can be seen and felt most about this film is that it is significantly different from the cinematography of the yellow race and turns towards the perception of the viewer of the white race (style, plot, processing) and I cannot even evaluate more critically what remained Asian, Korean in the film, on the contrary, I honor it with all respect and humility.

A brilliant idea and perfectly executed by all means of film, the fact that the viewer actually feels a little bit during the process, what is reality and what is just a "role". And even though the film has a high rating on IMDb and ČSFD, I take it as the overall "artistic impression" comprehensively and exceptionally, and I don't look at the individual evaluation criteria.

I recommend it to all sensitive souls...

Leia Mais

A very depressing movie that will definitely not lift your mood. Here, the director plays the oldest of three more or less deranged brothers (the middle one constantly masturbates, the youngest abuses and bullies young female soldiers in the army), waiting for their father to return from prison, where he was imprisoned for the rape of a young schoolgirl. So squadra to watch...

Let yourself be surprised how it all turns out, but don't expect any romance. On the contrary. Violence, blood (the father of the last victim, a schoolgirl, enters the game), conflicts, destruction, depression, humiliation.
I was a bit more bothered by the stilted and affected theater acting this time, which is why a point down in the acting section. The processing was less believable, because where the situation absolutely required it, after "pulling down his pants" a miniature cricket appeared in a thicket of hair, while in two seconds he was already "loading" a drunk woman somewhere in the canal ...

Leia Mais

very tight, very well done

The whole story happens inside a fortress. The characters can only rely on their wits, their strength, their training and their sense of psychology. The psychological manipulating is well done and expresses the stressful situation and the dangers. every minute counts and every person must be carefuly handled. The plot is written as a comedy but it is not really. Many decisions are hard.

The acting is solid. The idea that we watch the story unfold in, more or less, real time, makes us feel the suspense and the risks.
The filming is quite theatrical and it is sucessful.

Leia Mais

Simple but Fun and Engaging Rivals/Friends to Lovers Tale

Look, I'm not going to lie. It's a simple plot. Boy meets girl. They instantly hit it off. Girl has boyfriend and they don't talk. They meet up again later down the line and it's like nothing happened. Except now theyre rivals pining for funding for their competing app start-ups. Add in some espionage hijinks and friendship messages, and you get a movie that's not entirely unlike what you may have watched when younger.

However, it was *very* engaging. How far would the espionage go? When would the gig get called off? Will they ever decide to just work together and create one app with both of their strengths combined? And somehow, every time I though we would hit such plot points, we didn't. I also loved how even some of the small things came full-circle by the end of the movie.

And then there were the budding romance scenes. Their balance of being rivals and being friends/mutual crushes was just excellently done. They really did forget they were rivals for a period there. They were just two people working towards their ideas and cheering each other on quietly. And the laser tag get-togethers? They had me grinning so much, lol.

Leia Mais