Reviews

Watch this movie with headphones!

Before I review the content of the movie, I encourage anyone considering watching this film to do so using headphones. The sound design for 3 specific scenes is such that using headphones will heighten the experience, and I think, give you more of a feel for what the filmmaker intended.

I found this movie to be particularly enjoyable because of the way the filmmaker has presented their messages and intent to the viewer. I didn't feel like I was being beat over with a heavy message or opinion on what I was 'supposed' to be think, but rather I was being shown in a very soft and optimistic way. There is conflict in this movie to be sure, but everything feels like the progress that is made from the conflict is much more important than the conflict itself. It's strangely refreshing in a way that really captivated me as a viewer.

The movie illuminates the frought landscape of young love, the pressure that young artists are placed under to grow and develop, platonic and romantic intimacy, and finding your place.

All in all a very enjoyable movie that I think deserves a second watch some time after your first viewing.

8.5/10

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Last 20 minutes gave me Sharknado vibes

This movie was nothing to run home about. The last 20 minutes were abysmal. The acting from the trio was good but some of the side characters were too intolerable, especially the team leader. I don't like how the actor was screaming his lungs out in every scene. Overacting may work for anime but it is not suitable for live action. I am guessing this was released alongside the anime to promote the manga heavily. The makeup on the zombies itself was good but I didn't like the CGI shark. Not to mention Akira becoming a power Ranger at the end was too comical even for this show. Akira makes stupid mistakes.

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If u r not into anime than u might like this

So zom100 has an anime too which is still ongoing. And if I compare the anime with this, anime is better. So firstly, the casting is good. They did a good job in finding the cast but the dialogue delivery was a bit weak. So japanese movies and dramas r known for their story more than their acting skills. Acting is still a weak point for japanese entertainment which is getting better slowly. So this movie too had those bad acting moments.
Talking about the story, so as I said the anime is going on too so that is more true to the manga. But the movie is somewhat a vague representation of manga. The movie is not completely based off the manga but only some specific scenes have been taken and patched together. Well I m not saying the movie should have been an exact copy of the manga but I m just pointing out the details.
Next the CG is hilarious ? I mean if u have seen some CG japanese movie or live actions u would know how badly it is done. So I would not talk about the CG.

So coming to conclusion, I would say u can watch it but it's just a pass time. U shouldn't be expecting something out of the world story before watching this. Re-watch value is 2, just bcuz I'm being generous.

Overall, a disappointing movie with good cast but bad direction.

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Shaolin vs Ninja!

Duel to the Death was short on plot but delivered with high flying action! Two men met to fight for personal and national honor and pride. More than that it had ninjas-exploding ninjas, invisible ninjas, even naked ninjas. Tony Ching Siu Tung pulled out all the stops for the fight choreography.

Ching Wan leaves the Shaolin temple to participate in a fabled duel. Hashimoto, his opponent, is sent by the Shogun to defeat him in order to honor the country. Kenji, unknown to Hashimoto, is also ordered to go to China with numerous ninjas to "help" Hashimoto win and steal kung fu secrets from the temple. Song Lam, a cross-dressing swordswoman, crosses paths with both of them before revealing that she belongs to the school where the underground arena holds the fights. Surprisingly, both male leads were not fooled by her disguise! The ninjas also kidnap China's greatest fighters to take back to Japan to force them to disclose their kung fu secrets.

The plot and the acting were simple. Where this movie excelled was in the fight choreography and ninja action. The film was quite dark with numerous gruesome deaths and dismemberments. What made this one a winner for me were the ninjas, many of their scenes were hilarious, though I don't think they were intended to be. A giant ninja divided into five ninjas-even a naked one, they hid in the sand, concealed themselves on ceilings and in trees, disappeared, and literally exploded. My favorite scene had ninja kites! When Eddy Ko's character met his demise, I laughed hysterically. The sword action was fast and aided by serious kung fu and ninja flight. I don't think I've ever seen as much wire-fu and prolonged aerial action in an older martial arts movie, especially one that wasn’t a fantasy.

Norman Chu played a mostly respectable samurai who was taught to win at all costs. His was the strongest performance of the lot. Damian Lau as the more thoughtful Shaolin fighter, was sadly lacking in screen charisma. I almost didn't recognize Eddie Ko behind his thick black beard. Speaking of beards, the wigs and beards were among some of the worst I've ever seen---comically bad. The costumes and sets, on the other hand, were quite lovely. A couple of telephone poles and more modern roads weren't camouflaged very well though it did look like they tried with leaves and sand. Overall, the cinematography, scenery, and music were of a higher quality than what you would expect from this era and genre.

Duel to the Death raced along at a fast pace. Whenever there was a quiet moment, a ninja was sure to pop out of the sand or even thin air to liven the place up. For fans of old kung fu movies, this is definitely one to seek out. Whether you watch it in all earnestness or like me, as laugh therapy, you're sure to find at least parts of it entertaining. It's worth it for the ninja kites alone.

8/5/23

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There’s a word in Korean - 인연 (imyeon). It means providence or fate.

SO EVOCATIVE AND EXHILARATING AND FORMIDABLE - A BREATH OF COLD, CRISP AIR IN 100 MINS. WE LOVE YOU TEO YOO ??? Past Lives is adulthood and cultural assimilation, yet fundamentally native and a homage to what could have been. But at the same time, displaying that it’s never too late for anything. The relief of reaching out to an old friend from ages ago and you are both the same as you were to each other. You both haven’t changed for the worse, it’s the same self from back then, even if you’re different to people in your new life. Your authenticity is the same, yet with new confidence, achievements and culture. Even if life and growing up takes over, the person you met when you were young still stays in your mind - that first message & first reunion in absolutely ages doesn’t just remind you of your childhood, but your heritage and who you’re fated to be.

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Good Action Bad Writing

LIKES:
Sets and location selection.
Music/sounds were fitting and never overpowered the actors/actresses.
Wardrobe for the most part was good (see dislikes for clarification).
Hair and makeup was good.
FX: certain aspects were well done, (see dislikes for the bad parts). I loved the opening sequence of showing the golden armour.
Fight sequences were performed well, some parts reminded me of Mortal Kombat and video games. Mark Dacascos was a standout as usual and same with Mackenyu.

DISLIKES:
FX:
CGI was very noticeable, especially in the car sequences and flying machine parts. Digital effects weren’t as spectacular as I had hoped and expected of a 2023 movie.
Wardrobe: the armour of the Knights (Mackenyu & Diego Tinoco) looked very cheesy, as if there was no budget left for that. Same with the bad guy minion armour; like it’s a rip off or recycled from Robocop or some other show.
Production:
Choppy editing, colour palette for the bad guys very muted and same with the Knights, only giving us colour variations for their Energy force aka Cosmos.
Wardrobe:
the Knight’s armour was laughably bad;
Writing:
The movie expects everyone knows the background information (from the manga or anime). I do, but others would be lost if they don’t. The movie skips over a lot of important details for Seiya, even though they tried putting it into his past memories. Without that foundation, I don’t know if sequels will be made, unless they backtrack to develop it all better. Also Guaad’s second in command (Diego Tinoco)’s backstory is left out completely.
I missed the depth given about Greek myths and destiny like we got in the anime, because it was very downplayed and the impact wasn’t there. Even the connection between Athena and her Knights or Sienna and Seiya, was under delivered. This wasn’t due to bad acting, but bad script.
They created a plot using ideas from the 2019 Netflix CGI/animation show, not the original manga.

OVERALL:
Reminds me of the recent failed attempts at film makers have had while making live action from manga or anime stories (Full Metal Alchemist, Devilman, Dragon Ball: Evolution, Attack On Titan, Black Buttler, etc). It’s an okay watch and the cast did the best they could with what was given. The story is a little too complex to tell within the time frame of a movie, it would’ve been better as a TV series. As a fan of Mackenyu I thank him and the director for giving us enough of his visual appeal. He obviously worked hard in a gym to get to that point. Fans of the original 1980s anime, might be disappointed. I recommend it for the fights, but not if you expect a well executed plot. I don't need to watch it again.





************SPOILER ALERT************************


Felt like they ripped off the Wolverine moment when he goes to save Gene Grey, to show Seiya coming to save Sienna.

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Being queer is a choice?

This film is about teenagers finding themselves and maturing. We follow them throughout their journey, and I believe they all grew and became different people by the end of the film.

I loved the cinematography, especially in the countryside setting. The OST is beautiful and could have been used more often throughout the movie. The script is also great.

I think the contents of the movie were well thought through, although the message in some scenes can be questioned. An example is the drowning scene at the end, where Ito told Yoshida that he could "kiss a boy if he tried", implying that being queer is a choice (which it most certainly is not).

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Strong characters

The movie is very interesting. The main characters are very well crafted, both in personality and appearance. The beginning of the movie is very good, and captures the attention of the audience in an instant.
The camera angles and clips are all very well done, and the acting is well delivered.

The movie is R15, but I think it would have been better to make it R18. I hate to say it, but the recorded rape scene wasn’t gruesome nor graphic enough. I also think that the movie deserves a sex scene (without rape in it).

All in all, it was a good movie and I would watch it again.

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Disturbing at first

Most people would probably find this movie extremely disturbing and traumatising to watch, and at first it might be that way, but as the story progresses, everything slowly falls into place, even the scenes that were hard to watch.
This is a good movie with an important message, but it's definitely not for everyone.

The acting was phenomenal, considering the number of uncomfortable scenes in the movie. Both leads did a really good job.

The camerawork is great, and there's an interesting use of horror elements in the scenes that were shot in "the room", although the lighting could have been better in some of those scenes. Certain scenes could have been constructed better, in terms of music and so on.

The movie also failed to include some important lines from the manga, such as: "Look at the people below" in the suicide scene. But despite this, I still found the script to be well written, and it takes up the theme of suicide without directly addressing it.
The ending was beautiful and perfect.

Overall, it was a great movie, and I would rewatch it again

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A slight awkwardness

I truly enjoyed watching this movie. The script was good, and there were no unnecessary scenes. All the actors did great, but Kakihara Rinka in particular, did an excellent job portraying Tomo's strong and unique character.

Some of the scenes were a bit weird, such as the boob-touching scene. The direction could've also been better. Numbers of scenes with Rinko and Tomo were awkward, in terms of body language and physical contact. This could also be cue to the lack of effort that was put into Rinko’s character.

Ending was superb.

It was a beautiful and educational movie, that is very much enjoyable if we look past the awkwardness.

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A movie with important topics

The contents of the movie is a bit questionable. All the kinks and fetishes distorted the message, resulting in a roundabout way of storytelling. The fetishes were an important part of the movie, but it got a bit too much at the end.

The message of the movie is good, and it takes up various important topics, such as prostitution and humans sexual desire. I also liked the story progression, despite the scenes that made me think “Oh Lord, me eyes,” or “What the F is going on here.”

The cinematography is definitely on the advanced side. The cold and dark themed atmosphere resonated really well with the plot and setting. I also really enjoyed the way they played with the lighting in the darker scenes. The acting was very good, but the ending was just 100% questionable, mostly in terms of editing.

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i loved it

very emotional love story . I felt connected with evry part of the story . i liked the way female protagonist character was portrayed . she was scared with the fact that she was got admitted to new school wher she was going to have new environment and new friends . But slowly slowly she started making friends but few took the advantage of her innocence but in return she didn't allow anyone to take the advantage of her weakness. male and female protagonist faced many ups and down and finally they met .
few parts of story made me cry .
very nice movie.
go for it .

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