Reviews

People Who Care About This Premise Are Kind

I wanted to love this movie, really I did. The premise sounds unique and wholesome. Covering the subject of plushies and why people might feel attached or drawn to them and their comfort was great to see on-screen in theaters, but short lived. I don’t wanna be too harsh on the film since I admire its efforts and attempts at doing something different. You can tell the film was made with love and a passion and understanding for adorable stuffed creatures.

If I had to describe the film in two words it would be “soft” and “melancholic/sad”. There’s a lot of sweet and cute moments, especially with the wide range of plushies on featured. I admire the film’s sympathetic approach to youth and mental health. While it’s not perfect, it’s rare to see films that solely make it the focus within the context of plushies. There are a few neat moments where the direction shifts and even some plushie POV shots. The OST is entirely instrumental, besides the ending credits, and consists of an arrangement of funky plucks and strings.

Each character faces their own struggles and cope through talking to a stuffed friend. Besides the main semi-love interest, the other characters are given little screen-time and even less is known about them. There is a brief moment that touches on a conflict of a queer character, but aside from them, the side characters are not all that interesting. This films is ambitious and wants to address so many topics, it winds up under-developing most of them. The movie’s biggest demand, however, is its runtime and pacing. Despite the average runtime, this movie felt FAR FAR LONGER. I left the theater feeling like I had been there for 3 hours and even checked my phone a few times, which I try to avoid at all costs. There’s nothing wrong with a slow burn and I expected the movie to be a slice of life with a slower pace. But OH BOY, was I not prepared for how slow it felt.

The film also briefly deals with the topic of sexual harassment and assault that I think is worth mentioning. Thankfully it’s not shown on screen and treated in a serious manner, but I DID NOT expect that topic to pop-up in my cute plushie movie. I just wanted to warn people since I didn’t see it mentioned as a warning for the film. Worth mentioning is also how I didn’t notice any licensed character plushies out of the like 50 stuffed animals that were in the film! I can only imagine how many plushies they got and what they did with them after. I hope they were donated or given away, they’re too cute!

If you are interested in the film, it can be worth watching for the experience and warm premise. I don’t think there is much of a rewatch value, but I’m sure some people will like it more than I did. I wish the filmmakers and actors all the best, I hope to see them in future projects.

Leia Mais

Remarkable True Story Brought to Life on the Big Screen

I'm surprised that many didn't realize this is a true real-life story, prompting me to share my thoughts on it. Personally to me, movies adapted from real-life stories are always worth watching due to the tales they tell, information they share, or awareness they raise. Consider, for instance, the Korean movie shedding light on issues like exploited disabled children that stirred public attention for justice. So the essence lies in understanding the core of movie adaptations. Without further ado, the real-life story of this movie revolves around a successful young woman who encounters a suitor.

He gave her all affections possible for the likes of the stars and promising the moon for her attention and they entered into a relationship. As their romance blossoms, culminating in marriage. Yet, she discovers her husband isn't who she thought he was. He becomes a freeloader, a reckless spender, and a swindler of her hard-earned wealth. She did tried to share her wealth (yes she’s a successful self-made career woman) with him as she appointed him as the top management of one of her companies but later she realized he’s been swindling her money when her staffs informs her there’s a large sum of money no longer in company funding and once she tried looking for him, he went missing for many days until he came back one day and admitted of having financial difficulties and confessed of having huge gambling debts. He again promised moons and stars to her that’s he will change his habitual gambling and turn into a new leaf. She believe him blindly for the love she still had for him but later after not long, he resumed to his old self. Then she thought of getting a divorce but realized she’s already pregnant and was contemplating to tell him and give him a last chance to repent and be a good person again…hoping the news towards fatherhood will cure him but alas he didn’t! He planned a ‘good trip’ to bring her for mountaineering as it’s her passion and she trusted him. But the most scariest part was when he went with her to the top of the mountain (I forgot which place it was) and he lovingly hold her in his arms from behind hug and whispered into her ears asking if she have any regrets in life. She blurted out there isn’t any regrets as this is all I want in life (she’s a successful career lady making lotsa money, parents well and healthy, and now her husband seems to turn into a new leaf and they are having a baby together!) but the next second right after she said that answer, he whispered (as though it’s sweet nothing into her ears) ‘Then you may go to die’ and he just pushed her down the mountain!!! (note: he’s the husband and will be the main beneficiary of all her entire wealth including assets, companies, etc!) But thankfully life works miracles when least expected, although she fell down the mountain below but her gravity drop was greatly reduced by the leafy tree and she managed to land down although very much injured (she had broken about 17 pieces of bones all over her body) but still having breath and a lost mountain climbing tourist saved her!!! It was totally a nightmare when she was sent to the hospital but yet the authorities called her husband because not knowing he’s the culprit to her fall (she was unconscious) and he begun to act out his concern as a caring husband (disgusting right??!!) and she was unable to tell the truth of her fall as he looks after her 24/7 in the hospital…thankfully at one point (finally an opportunity timing!) she managed to pretend to her husband she forgave him and convinced him to let her contact her very best friend and from thereon she managed to speak to her best friend with somewhat underlying message (guess only best friend can tell when saying coded words etc hints) to rescue her. It wasn’t mentioned in her real life documentary what exactly did her friend did but managed to bring the bad murderous husband to jail! But bad news is supposedly 33years of jail term was subsequently reduced to less than 10 years as he appealed and won it. Now it’s almost time for his release… and I think probably that’s why this movie adaption is made, to bring into public’s attention of this real life story.

It’s very disheartening to know someone closest such as husband role in life is the person who is plotting for a murder! Worst of, for he knew she’s pregnant (in this movie it was slightly tweaked to be more touching that ML didn’t know FL was pregnant…and I cried at the last scene) but in reality story the husband knew it!!! Such a cruel man to kill off own child…mother + child!

One important point to share, the real life lady told during the interview that later in life only she realize her husband actually why wasn’t the person she thought she knew before marrying, bcos he researched on her via social media and knew everything about her likes and dislikes which is how he plot out a character to be her exact love match! This is also a good warning for us not to keep posting our inner most thoughts as we wouldn’t know who’s lurking outside seeing our daily lives and plotting against us…to kill us or whatever bad intentions!

The film is an exploration of the human psyche and a testament to resilience—crucial lessons that extend far beyond entertainment. The heart-wrenching tale of a husband's betrayal reveals the darkness that can lurk in those closest to us, delivering an emotional punch that lingers long after the credits roll. With powerful performances and haunting realism, this adaptation stands as a chilling portrayal of twisted intentions. It's not just a movie—it's a wake-up call to the unsuspecting, a reminder that even the closest relationships can harbor the most sinister motives.

Hope I could share more such as the interview story link but I’ve watched in on YT many mths ago…however, it gave me a very deep impression as I cried when hearing her words and life story so much that I begin searching to validate if it’s a true story and now I can only penned down what I remembered from it.

As the director masterfully delves into the psychological intricacies of human nature, the film succeeds in its mission to unmask the hidden faces of deception. While this genre might not suit everyone's tastes, the film stands as a poignant reminder that some stories demand sharing, serving as a stark warning against the unexpected hazards that life can bring.

P.S. Nini is also one of my favourite actress and again she nailed the best friend character well…and even the ML acting is good here.

Leia Mais

A Beautiful Ending

Once again Utsukushii Kare has surpassed my expectations. Yeah, I don't know how they keep doing that either.
Hira and Kiyoi have grown significantly since the previous season and their relationship is a far cry from its unstable beginnings in the first season.
The movie focuses on two things: Firstly, Kiyoi's acting career and all the pitfalls that come with it, including rabid fans (and oh the juxtaposition here absolutely destroyed me in the best way, this was a brilliant story-telling device) and prying tabloids (which it tackles very deftly through Anna's character and her relationships which I thought was a perfect balance to the direction Hira and Kiyoi's relationship takes over the course of the film).
Secondly, Hira's difficult journey of reconciling his deep-rooted insecurities both in himself and his relationships, with his secret belief in his own superiority, and learning to finally, finally meet Kiyoi as an equal in their partnership. The last line specifically really hit me like a truck, it was absolutely perfect.
This movie is beautiful, poignant, deeply charming and provides the perfect ending to a brilliant series.

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The Moon, THE BEST!!!

This is a spectacular film with great visualization of the universe and of course the moon itself. If you enjoy watching space movies like Interstellar, Gravity, and The Martian, you will definitely love The Moon for real!! The CGI packaging is very good and the background story makes everyone curious. The flow is very neat and doesn't feel rushed. The explanation of each character is very detailed and not excessive. Tense scenes are followed by brief rests with witty jokes before the tension rises again. As for Kyungsoo's acting, he truly gives his best. I can feel the anxious feelings that Sunwoo experiences through Kyungsoo's acting, even from a single breath he exhales. The other actors are also very capable and make the film very dramatic and of high quality. The Moon, THE BEST!!!

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Film within a film

I found this movie in a list of best zombie movies of all time and went into watching it without looking up the rating or reading the reviews. I think it greatly impacted the way I felt about this movie. Going on imdb and coming here on mdl made me realise how different people's perception of the same form of art can be.

If you are here to watch a hardcore zombie movie, this one is not it. It is light hearted, almost comical. More than zombies, this movie focuses on the blood, sweat and tears that goes behind movie making, the chaotic environment through which people on set have to push through to create a masterpiece. This movie pays homage to the heroes behind the camera.

First 35 minutes are a little hard to watch, especially if you have motion sickness like me. Since it is a one take shot and about zombies, there is a lot of running and shaking and it made me feel sick. I almost dropped it there but I am glad I decided to sit through it. When the one take shot gets over, then the real movie starts.

Honestly till the 40 minute mark, I couldn't really figure out what was going on but when I did understand, I was left engrossed in it. It was extremely enjoyable. The intricate details that viewers often do not pay attention to while watching a film are brought to light in such a nice way. It was extremely appreciable. It is indeed true that a hardworking and smart person can change every crisis into an opportunity. This film rightfully depicts that.

The actors did an amazing job. I don't think anybody was in the supporting characters here, everyone was a main character if you see it that way. I was amazed to see such a beautiful portrayal of the behind the scenes of a movie set.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it shocked me when I saw how low this movie was rated. Ofcourse people can have different perspectives but if you love the art of film and filmmaking then this movie is a must watch! 10/10 will watch again.

Leia Mais

Watch it & don't just listen to the reviews.

This is a sequel of 2018 movie The Meg.
A group of ocean scientists who studies a megalodon that is supposed to be an extinct breed of shark living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench encoutering problems created by people supposedlybpart of their team. They will try to survive not only being stuck in Marianas trench but also attacks of pre historic, weird sea creatures.

The movie is injected with lots of funny humor even during serious, scary situations that it helped viewers who don't fancy a "doom and gloom before successful ending" stay til the end. It is like sensing not every key character will die at the end and that makesbme feel more at ease watching this movie. Not everyone are chicken like me but this movie is a bit more of how I like it when it comes to an action packed film.

This movie isn't just about Jason Statham's unbelievable stunt and comedic straight face humor. Aside from a giant, pre-historic sharks, it has giant octopuses, sea anemones, and deep sea scarry, fast, walking lizards. All of them including vicious evil people, are creating a situation for key casts to escape from.

They made it a simple for the story as to the why the evil doers wanted to kill and destroy billion dollar worth stations and equipments but they made the "how" complicated and unbelievable. There's deep dive robotic exosuits, and unimaginable walk along the seafloor of a 25,000-foot-deep trench. Karate mive against the sharks, and incredible stunts done by key characters. This series is injected by implausible action moves and ways of surviving that viewers will understand that it is a movie that can't possibly have a chance of happening in real life. It is for entertainment and it will entertain.

All BGM used in this movie are my favorites which explains my rating.

Do I recommend it? I do, however much bad reviews it received I have to be honest that it will satisfy a weekend movie night craving.

Leia Mais

The movie has nearly 3 hours to show us a sweet time-traveling romance, with a side of Thai history. And it completely squanders it.

A lot of time is wasted on slo-mos and long gazes. Pope and Bella can act with their eyes, but their romantic gazes mean nothing without a proper foundation of a love story. So he loves her because she appeared in his dreams? And she falls for him after he shielded her from a flying piece of wood (of his own making, I might add)? It's flimsy. She's just as likely to fall for Methus, who not only saved her but also has more in common with her. But of course that never happens, because we are told ad nauseam that Bella and Pope are "destiny," which is codeword for lazy writing.

The political conspiracy is equally sloppy. The writers build up this mystery of the man in the iron mask. In the end, he turns out to be some random guy we never seen before and don't really care about. There is a plot twist, albeit a poorly set up one, also involving an evil mastermind that we don’t care about.

The time traveling subplot is nonsensical, at best. What makes Methus so special that he gets sent back into the past? Nothing, except that it’s his “destiny.” Fortunately by this point, my brain has already packed up and left for vacation. As for the comedy aspect, the gags are done in the typical over-exaggerated Thai style. It is not enough to save the movie.

Perhaps this review is too harsh. I'm just tired of the dull writing and direction that completely waste the talents of the cast. Pope, Bella, and Ice all deserve a better script.

Leia Mais

Overall a sweet movie to watch for a Saturday or Sunday matinee. Nothing special but I did like the cast and characters. PSJ was really good as Hong Dae.

I really liked the relationship between Hyo Bong and his daughter Eun Hye and how they showed that just b/c he was homeless he loved his daughter and wasn't a deadbeat and she loved him too.

I liked how it was about redemption for some of the team members and wanting to belong for some of the other team members. That's what sports do. They bring people together. Especially, big sporting, international team events. It's the collective rooting for the home team or the underdogs that we all really love.

8/26/23

Leia Mais

Watch only if you have a strong stomach

In the 1970's movies and television dug into the occult and often mixed it with a little sexploitation. Black Magic was one of those movies. The movie boasted a strong Shaw Brothers cast-Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Tien Ni, Ku Feng and Lily Li. It also had a host of slimy creatures. You'd need a strong stomach to watch it.

Ku Feng played the Black Magic magician with a laughable gray wig. Lo Lieh loved Tien Ni's money so he needed her to fall in love with him. Tien Ni was in love with Ti Lung's body and needed him to fall in love with her. Ku Feng wanted to sleep with Tien Ni. Finally, Ti Lung and Lily Li had a wholesome love that was definitely going to get messed up by all the lust and greed in the air. The Black Magic started flowing and nobody ended up with exactly what they desired. Fortunately, Ku Wen Chung played a good priest who helped sort things out by the end.

There were plenty of dead bodies, nude bodies (some writer had a fetish about women expressing breast milk), snakes, worms, centipedes and other vile bits. I'd have to include Ti Lung's horrible wig among the scary objects. The only thing that caused me to rate this as high as I did was the hilarious finale where good and evil fought it out with cheap 1970's special effects and sound effects on top of a building scaffold. I watched it on my quest to see all of Lo Lieh's movies. Other than that, I couldn't recommend unless you enjoy films with all of the above.

8/26/23

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"One who readily falls in love can hardly be a faithful lover"

A Spray of Plum Blossoms was a modernized and loose adaption of Shakespeare's first play, The Two Gentlemen from Verona. This is one of only seven Ruan Ling Yu films readily available and while her part is relatively small, she still makes the film worth watching. The silent version I watched used Shakespeare's names for the characters and I will do the same in this review.

400-year-old spoilers ahead! Valentine and Proteus are friends from military school. Proteus falls in love with Valentine's sister Julia and vows to take care of her while his friend leaves for a post at Guangzhou. Upon Valentine's arrival he falls in love with the general's daughter Silvia, who reciprocates his feelings. In time, Proteus is assigned to the same post but he doesn't leave before declaring his undying love and fidelity for Julia. Proteus arrives at the post in style via a bi-plane. Proving he truly is the General of Perfume he immediately falls in love with Silvia.

Proteus betrays his friend, causing the General to discharge and exile Valentine. Proteus has competition for Silvia in the form of Thurio, another soldier vying for her hand and the general's favor. Silvia refuses both as her heart has already been given to the disgraced Valentine. When Julia finds out that her brother is in trouble, she travels to the army post and confronts Silvia not about her brother but about Proteus. Silvia convinces her that she isn't in love with him and that he is the reason for Valentine's predicament. Silvia and Proteus take a horse ride together so that she can make him confess. He does but then tries to rape her. Thurio rescues her but has the same violent impulse that Proteus had. Fortunately, the Plum Blossom Bandit who is Valentine in disguise saves her. The next day she and Julia (who is dressed as a male soldier) are captured by bandits on a ride into the countryside. They are brought to the Plum Bandit and the women and Valentine are reconciled. Along with the bandits they set a trap for Proteus. After being confronted by Valentine he confesses his crimes and attempts to shoot himself but is thwarted by Valentine. General Sze arrives and Proteus confesses to him as well. Valentine and Proteus make up even though Proteus tried to rape his girl and had him exiled. It's implied that Proteus and Julia get back together and everyone is one big happy family.

I had hoped that this film would avoid Shakespeare's misogynistic 'bros before hoes' ending. At least Valentine didn't offer Silvia to Proteus in this film. Aside from the unsatisfying ending, I enjoyed this tale of true love, friendship, betrayal, villainy, and without earning it-reconciliation. Ruan and Jin Yan always had a nice chemistry, even if they were playing siblings. Lin Chu Chu as Silvia gave a wonderfully spirited performance as the woman who was loyal to Valentine and to her new friend Julia. It was an interesting take on the military with women leading the men and in uniform in various situations.

The existing film that I watched had been cropped. The words on the intertitles were cut off on the left and bottom. At other times, the film was damaged making it hard to read the light words. There was no music. I've watched enough silent scoreless films that the lack of music doesn't even register anymore. This film felt very ambitious compared to other silent films. Though the core cast had most of the lines there were numerous extras. Silvia's plum blossom room came across very stylistic. Aside from the military camp, the characters were filmed in what would have been beautiful, wide scenery. Silvia escaping on horse with the dastardly Thurio right behind her was exciting and well shot.

I think Shakespeare would be pleased that his play was first made into a move in 1931 and is still available nearly 100 years later. He might have had to get used to the idea of women as actresses but I think Ruan Ling Yu and Lin Chu Chu could change his mind.

8/26/23

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It's better than the current 7.3 rating. Worth a shot!

There are many “Painted Skin” movies and dramas, and they all are adapted from the collection of “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”. I think this newest movie version deserves more than the current 7.3 rating on MDL. For a lower budget web movie without any big name actors, this movie has a simple plot that flows well. There’s a beginning, middle and end, and they all make sense. I don’t feel that the movie was too rushed or too draggy within its 1 hr and 20+ min runtime.

This “Painted Skin” has a different story from the 2020 movie, which is more of a BL. Maybe it was rated higher because of the BL craze? I actually like the 2022 version more and felt that the production quality is pretty good for a web movie. The intro is a little creepy but really reels you in. The tone is set right from the get-go. The costumes, sets, fight scenes and especially the CGI is really good. I’ve seen other big budget productions with way worse production quality and make my eyes roll with crappy green screen scenes.

The acting of the cast is decent, though not extraordinary. At least, I don’t feel distracted because of anyone’s subpar acting. Nita Xia and Shi Guo Hui are both beautiful actresses and could definitely play the role of a demonic seductress. Kenji Chen is a handsome fellow and I don’t blame the female lead for falling in love with him at first sight. The supporting cast is small with many veterans, who all play their roles well.

Overall, I recommend this movie if you enjoy a fantasy forbidden romance, with a slight horror tone to it. However, don’t expect a star-crossed lover type super romance. There are no fluffy or cute scenes. “Painted Skin” is an easy watch and nothing really stands out for me to say is annoying, irritating or terrible.


Completed: 8/26/2023 - Review #345

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A Pretentious 'Masterpiece'

Not all films or series with a good cinematography and acting are worth it, especially when the story is trash... This is how I'll describe this film.

This is very pretentious, to the point that there is no meat to the story in itself.

The actors and music were decent. Too bad that in its goal to be artsy, the rest of the aspects of a good creation was forgotten. To think that the length of the film was sufficient.

Even a problematic person would have a more decisive way of storytelling and reasoning than what the writers did to this film.

I deel bad that it looks promising but it remained to be all in the surface as nothing is inside it.

I ended watching the film with regret... regret that I even bothered to watch it.

Leia Mais

A mellow ode to the barter system, object value, and storytelling

This film is slow and mellow, like most slice-of-life tales, and I very much came to love it. In the beginning, I was quite put off. Where is this going? When will Josie start running her decisions by Doris? Will we see the less aggravating side of their sister relationship?

The first thing that really drew me in is the fact that their business is based around the bartering system - something I am quite fond of myself. While the coffee and baked goods are still sold using money, the collected items around the store are all for exchange. It's something that they kind of fell into by circumstance, but quickly proved to be the best thing to happen to them. We also got to see how it meant different things to each of them. To Josie, it was an opportunity to exchange up for both parties. Item A means more to me than Item B, while Item B means more to you than Item A, let's trade. Meanwhile Doris saw it as a peek into lives and dreams she never had. Each person's experiences led them to being able to make an exchange and carried memories through the exchange themselves. In these perspectives, you could see these alternative aspects of the leads' personalities that they previously didn't get a chance to explore.

"In this city, surely there's someone looking for bone china, and surely there's someone with a spare set. Surely someone has an empty sofa, and surely someone else is looking for it. They just haven't found each other."

I also like how stories got incorporated. The overall film is sort of being told as a story. Then we have a storytelling traveler who becomes a frequent and important presence. We also have stories being told by visitors about why they want certain goods or are there in the cafe to begin with, and the stories being told by Josie to serve as an exchange for something Doris wanted. And throughout it all, Doris never had a story to tell herself. Which made the ending just that much stronger and memorable.

"You were right to say that by running an exchange, we'd hear lots of stories about things we haven't experienced. But the more of them I heard... the more I wanted stories of my own to exchange."

And it make the subtle subtextual romance a mellow sort of poignant too. Did Doris like the storyteller, or was she romanced by the stories he told and the wanderlust he inspired?

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