Reviews

An Emotional Roller-coaster!! Be sure to shed some tears

First and foremost, the movie was absolutely hilarious in the first half and an absolute tear-jerker in the second half. The comedy scenes will truly make you laugh, while the family scenes will truly make you cry.

The story itself as well as the acting is on point in conveying the underlying tones.. Since it's a remake, therefore there are some changes but overall it did not impact the story in any negative way. Both ML and FL did a fantastic job. Still, there was a lack of romance that felt missing because the chemistry between ML and FL was great and it would have been nice to have some more heart-fluttering moments between them.

Overall! A fine Gem indeed.

Leia Mais

Seven year itch

Secret Love is an early bl or rather LGBT movie (2014) by GMMTV's house prolific director Jojo Tichakorn. That guy is seriously talented. Like seriously!!!

Even this short movie in spite of bad cinematography and looking amateurish, is better than a big number of currently airing bls. Apparently it is based on a true story. But the synopsys is misleading, to say the least.

Wan and Tar have been in a happy relationship for years. when Wan got a new job. In the office his immediate superior, Ohm, is kind, attractive and very touchy feely so much so that Wan falls completely for him. Tar realizes something has changed and when he confronts his boyfriend , Wan prefers to break up instead of trying to figure out what went wrong. Tar even contacts Ohm hoping to get his boyfriend back. They start talking and a connection is created between Tar and Ohm as well. Ohm actually falls for both of them!

The short film touches on important issues: adultery and sexual harassment at work. Nothing is sorted out and they eventually all go their separate ways. But the movie shows how easy it is to succumb to temptation and that there is a thin line between being friendly and harassment. The tension and the chemistry between the characters are palpable, so much so that I wanted them to finish all three of them together. No such result but still....

The actors are a mixed lot: Gun is just awful! I hated him in 2gether and here he is just as bad: he cannot help grimacing while trying to be cute: it does not work, it is just annoying! The other two , Ten and Pop as Tar and Ohm respectively, are excellent showing a range of emotions with restraint. By the way, where are those actors now? Why aren't they acting anymore? What a waste!

The movie is an early project and it shows: it is a bit all over the place (low budget +lack of experience probably) but the story is gripping and it is an excellent watch if you overlook the low production values (and a very bad quality video of it on youtube! ).

Leia Mais

A satisfying ending to their story

Not going to lie, I was super nervous about this movie because I didn't know what to expect. I really wanted to see their relationship mature and I'm happy to say that I got just that. Even though Hira still isn't the most confident person, this movie showed us that he has potential and that he can become a King too! I thought that was such an important moment and I loved that Noguchi played such a big role in that. There were a lot of cute and hot moments which is always a nice addition but for me, the other interesting part was that they don't fight with each other like they did in previous seasons. It shows a lot of growth and I fully believe that they can only get better at communication at this point. There was still angst between them but that's to be expected, in my opinion. We can't have a movie without angst, right?
And lastly, I want to mention how incredibly wonderful the cinematography was! They just can't miss. They said we are going to make the most aesthetically pleasing movie and they did it like it's nothing to them. I was once again impressed by the beauty of the scenery. When they started looking for new places, I was SO SAD because I didn't want them to leave that house... I'm emotionally attached to it... so I was very happy that in the end, they ended up not moving out. That's their home and I want them to live there for the rest of their lives<3

Leia Mais

Good character development, but I was expecting more in general

Note: I went to see the movie in a Japanese cinema, the version most likely slightly differs from the net/DVD version.

Definitely can't say I liked this more that the TV series. The movie doesn't have much of what I was eager to know after the two seasons - no character backstories and surprisingly little communication about Hira and Kiyoi's relationship status. I was expecting some more development of this topic after S2. First thought it might be because of the focus on the character's feelings, but that wasn't the case either, unfortunately. There are so many things happening at once plot-wise that the production probably found it hard to emotionally stress everything properly. A little disappointing overall, but definitely not boring to watch.
I liked that there's more focus on Kiyoi's personality and feelings, but was a bit upset we didn't get to hear his thoughts like in S2. Also REALLY happy that he's not toxic anymore and focuses on proper communication (which obviosuly wasn't the case before).
Hira's character development: good. The strong supporting characters: amazing. I really enjoyed the photographer man and Anna's influence on the plot. The story was well-paced, but could be a bit more thrilling. But this franchise generally lacks powerful culminations, so it's not too noticeable.
Overall, very enjoyable! The cinematography in the movie was much more high-quality than in the series, now it's not only Kiyoi, but every third shot that you can feast your eyes on. Very easy and pleasant to watch, nice weekend movie. And obviously, if you enjoyed the series, this is a must-watch to calm your heart and observe that character development we've been waiting for for a whole two seasons.

Leia Mais

gory, funny with a questionable plot

I just had to write a review because the ending left me absolutely baffled. I’m still confused on who Kim Seon Ho is supposed to be. In his introduction, he said something like “I’m older than I look.” I can’t tell whether that means he’s not human or he just has amazing genetics. His character 100% carried the plot. Now, I may be a little biased to his charm, but his acting was perfect. His character is so charming and funny.

*major spoilers of plot*

I still don’t understand why the Childe went thru all that work to find a replacement and fake his records just because he’s dying. Like, if he wanted to do some good that was definitely not the way to go. It’s also never explained exactly who he is?? Like, where did he learn all that fighting from. We did learn he is half Filipino, which means he’s human ig. That whole parkour action sequence was so funny by the way.

Okay so, this wasn’t a horror movie, so idk why they made the dude kinda stupid. I literally don’t know his name but it’s the main dude who was taken away to Korea. This man literally goes to the road when he’s being chased by a car(?) like, sonny, you’re not outrunning a car. If he had any chance at escaping, it would’ve been running off in the forest. But you have to give it to him, he actually did run, while most characters seem to like basically handing themselves over. Also, why does he never take the gun. He had a couple chances but he just ran off without it.

Go Ara. haven’t seen her in a while but I loved her part in this movie. I don’t quite get why she died because it showed she was in cahoots with the Childe’s plan? I Guess she just got more money from the daughter and switched sides.

Overall, I think it was great casting with great characters, but the plot was a little sketchy. Definitely worth a watch for Kim Seon Ho’s psycho character and acting.

Leia Mais

It was a dark and starry night.

This movie opens with Hitchcockian flair as a man frantically begs indifferent local authorities on an exotic island getaway to find his missing wife. It was a dark and starry night the last time He Fei saw his wife Li Muzi. And his recollections seem fragmented, distorted by drugs and alcohol. The plot thickens as a seductive lady in red charmingly asserts she is his wife Li Muzi and can prove it. He Fei enlists Chen Mai, a high powered lawyer in a race against time to expose the imposter and find his wife. It is quite clear there is an elaborate grift at play but it is not clear who is pulling the strings.

Despite the strong and intriguing start, the plot reveals itself too early. The sense of mystery collapses abruptly as too many too obvious clues are dropped that point to a very predictable and done before whodunit plot. The drama's tone swiftly switches into dark comedy that ventures too far into the realm of the outlandish and absurd as the perpetrator is trapped into telling all. At that point it becomes a tragicomic story of addiction, deceit, greed, and revenge.

Zhu Yilong steals the show with his riveting portrayal of the many facets of He Fei. He made me feel scared, angry and sad. The high point in terms of tension, chemistry and suspense is the cat and mouse between He Fei and Janice Man's imposter. I could feel the air sizzle with between them as they taunt each other. Unfortunately even though Ni Ni's portrayal is on par with Zhu Yilong's in terms of charisma and nuance, there is simply no chemistry or tension of any sort between them. Their moments of confrontation and conflict are flawlessly executed on both parts but somehow there is no feeling of intense connection or conflict between them. This is not incompatible with their respective characters and what they are about but with no shade on either actor, I think this is just not a great pairing. I also find the supporting cast a bit lacking and think they should have minimized the use of English in the movie.

Despite its flaws, this is a highly entertaining movie. As a big suspense watcher, it falls short of my expectations in the latter half but I still enjoyed it well enough overall. This is China's 2023 summer hit that makes for a very fun watch. My rating 7/10.

Leia Mais

Someone said obsession?...Ready to watch!

Recently I keep coming upon series where the main theme is obsessive love. Well, this one is in a class of its own!

Double Mints is a story of two men with a same name who cannot live apart no matter how bad they are to each other. We know nothing about the two characters: what is known is their relationship: toxic, codependent, raw, addicted, obsessive, damaged.

They met in high school where one becomes the owner of the other one calling him "the dog". Every time "the dog" tries to break free, he is pulled back into the weird relationship. So much so that "the dog", even adult, has no will of his own before his master. But when he realizes that his master is someone else's dog (in this case, he has become an errand boy for the local yakuzas), he starts to change. They are still addicted to each other but the erstwhile dog decides to become equal. And they understand that they are the two halves of the same . Soulmates sounds too fluffy for this damaged relationship. But that is what they ultimately turn out to be! Unhealthy it may be but they need to stay together.

What is it about these toxic , obsessive relationships that is so fascinating?

The movie is dark. The cinematography is appropriately black and bleak. The acting is perfect: the actors managed to portray complex feelings through posture, voice and facial micro expressions. The cello music is ominous and rather scary not allowing for a glimmer of hope in this world filled with cruelty. The editing is a bit messy: the timeline seems stunted and it is difficult to understand how much time has passed between the scenes.

It is a hard watch, long and draggy at moments with minimal dialogue. They did not need to say anything, everything was crystal clear from the way they walked and behaved.

Leia Mais

Superficial entertainment at most

I liked the poster as it suggested fantasy and maybe interesting relations between the ML and the different women, so I watched it on a whim. Well, I was disappointed somewhat, because the poster as well as the title are rather misleading.

It is too short to introduce fleshed out characters, the ML and the female antagonist are probably the best among them as they have a relatable backstory. The rest does not have much explanation as to who they are and what made them that way. There is scarcly any development either (just weired fluctuations)
The FL was pretty annoying in my opinion. There is no consistancy in her behaviour, she seemingly randomly does stuff without much justification or explanation why she suddenly acts that way. Constant fundamental changes in character that need a lot of goodwill and thinking off-screen to sort-of explain. I don't like having to fit together the story myself all the time. She is also always in need of being rescued, whatever she does on her own, usually doesnt end too well. The other females would have been so much more interesting, but we learn only little about them. In the end, they are just mainstory supporting steppingstones.
Some scenes are riddiculous, like the dress up as males.
World building is sloppy and does nothing to establish some framework. Everything seems random.
There are massive plotholes and whole storyarches missing that would offer some connections between different ideas. The fun of the first scene ends there and is not picked up. It could have just been deleted and no one would know. I really don't think the title fits the story, it is really not about the Chief of Thieves at all.

Acting was okay but nothing stellar. As I have watched much worse recently, I might be biased. Costumes and Set are well made and fit the story, that's a strong point of the movie. The martial art scenes are okay with quite some CGI that is so-so. Music was okay but not memorable.

All in all I feel the movie stays superficial in all aspects: romance, inititial storyline, character development, world building,...

I will not watch the movie again.

Leia Mais

What a sweet wrap!

Just like the name suggests, it marks a new beginning for them :)

I love how short, sweet and beautiful this 15 mins is. It's a nice wrap for this series and definitely a bonus for the fans! For those who think this series is just all about spicy scene, this movie just shows you otherwise!!

Also, this one is funny, it has a lighter tone and atmosphere compared to the other series.

That's a nice change! Oh, and I love Izuka's acting and facial expressions here too.

Overall, this movie makes me smile and hearwarming. SO good!

For those who are new to this series, this movie wouldn't make sense. Do consider watching the series, this movie should be the LAST one to watch in the series. As for the series itself, I watch it in a reverse order and still finds it good, doesn't matter at all. Just make sure this one comes last!

Leia Mais

Simply... Beautiful

So, I usually don't watch sad/drama stories, because I think that life is sad enough, but I decided to give this movie a try since I love this actress. I have no regrets. It's a pretty slow movie, I mean, it has 2h of duration so some scenes are kinda... slow? But it's worth it, to watch the movie, I mean.
it's the only Korean drama movie I've watched and I really enjoyed, even though it's really sad, I think it's still worth watching when you have a free time.
I think this cannot count as a spoiler since it's obvious right from the start what disease our FL has, so I'll just gonna say it here... It's SO frustrating seeing our precious FL having Alzheimer in a such young age... We, the whole time, wish that she can be happy, but still it's comforting seeing our ML taking care of his wife and being by her side. The ending it's pretty good too and emotional.
Anyway... I recommend this movie to everyone who isn't looking for a happy and funny romantic story, but instead a emotional yet beautiful romantic story

Leia Mais

A basic romance movie done well

It was surprisingly really fun?
I was excepting the basic high school romance movie, with its cute moments, way too dramatic third part, rushed storyline, and nonexistent secondary characters, while still being entertaining enough, but it was not.

It doesn't reinvent the genre or anything, it was just a really good-quality high-school romance. And it's an original story, so it does not feel rushed, and everything/everybody that gets introduced actually gets a spotlight and a conclusion.

The goods :

- Good pacing where everything is wrapped up nicely.
- The characters were nice, and everybody got a lot of spotlights.
- No melodramatic part where the heroine cries for 15 minutes.
- No "villains" or misunderstandings that come from nowhere.
- Lots of cute scenes
- Nice twist
- Not a perfect hero and is portrayed as such. He is too honest and has no tact, which can be good and bad. He has to apologize for it and does.
- Not the usual "shy" heroine. She is portrayed as such at the beginning, but we see her layers during the movie.

The bads :

- The beginning is a little hard to get into. There's a lot of music, that cuts the flow of the movie, and it's doing "too much". But it calm downs after something like 15 minutes? In the same way, the acting is a little weird at the beginning, then it's better.
- There's a character that I couldn't really understand during the movie, and even if their actions are explained thanks to the ending, it doesn't change the fact I didn't understand them during a good part of the movie. Still cute though.
- Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is still a very basic romance movie. It doesn't change the world or anything.

A really nice movie. I didn't get bored even though it was almost 2 hours.

Leia Mais

Thought-provoking KMovie, sailing close to the wind when it comes to duty of care and child welfare

The KMovie "Highway Family" is set at the bottom of the social pyramid in South Korea in the year 2022. It portrays a homeless family who seems to have found their own lifestyle at the country's highway rest stops. A happy family sleeping in a tent, living on scrounged money and having lots of fun together.

That's one side of the medal. As audience, however, one cannot help but see the other side of the coin despite all the family idyll. The heavily pregnant wife has no medical support during what is now her third pregnancy. Her two children, being five and nine years old by now, miss out on any schooling. The parents claim that they do the teaching themselves, but reading, writing and maths are obviously not on their curriculum. A playground on the highway rest stops, which are heavily frequented by cars and heavy trucks, is dangerous, and the parents' duty of supervision is by no means guaranteed. The father is (as so often) the head of the family and objectively speaking, his decisions about the self-chosen outlaw family life sometimes border on violating his duty of care. Supposed (motorway rest stop) idyll and freedom may correspond to the father and his outlook on life. Wife and children, on the other hand, are now stuck in this boat. They love each other as a family and especially the children know no different. They rely on their father.

The KMovie sails close to the wind when it comes to moral issues concerning work, economy and society as well as duty of care and child welfare. Camps may form in the audience. And that is intentional.

The second protagonist, alongside the Highway family, is a married couple who lost their own child and who run a second-hand furniture store. Solid. Prosocial. Responsible. However, emotionally deeply wounded and unhappy.

Worlds clash. Two families meet. One is shattered deep inside, the other formally. Together they build something new - an alternative family patchwork, grounded in a rather simple normal life, which obviously doesn't have to be the worst, at least when kids are involved. Yet, can it be as simple as that? And at the disturbing end there is the question about the end of the story... which remains in the eyes of the beholder...

A thought-provoking KMovie.

Leia Mais

FULL time waste with nothing

this is worst story because there is no story at all
in whole story a woman forced a man into marriage after he clearly told her he did not love her or will marry her
she sleep with him knowing he did not love her then forced him into marriage
Man was playboy and was Bad person but at least he was Honest with her
what he did to her was her own fault...she let him have her for free, because she was so easy with no pride or self respect for herself
she just forced that man into a loveless marriage
And it took them this much time to just show this BS

Leia Mais