Reviews

Once Upon A Time in the Life of a Teenager

I would rate ‘20th Century Girl’ an 11/ 10, but I guess that is cheating. Nonetheless, that is my sentiment.

20th Century Girl is a School Life Romance Korean movie.


For youths (and the young at heart) who have been waiting for the most realistic High School Korean drama or movie, with a very realistic storyline, that movie is here. It only takes 2 hours of your time to watch. My only regret is that this movie was not made into a longer Korean drama instead of a movie so that I could have experienced this special gem for a longer period of time. In this movie, you get . . .

High School crush
BGF intervention
Stalking your love
Hot Guy and his Hot Best Guy Friend
Should you break the ‘girl code’ about dating your BGF’s guy?
Should you break the ‘bro code’ about even considering a girl liked by your bro?
Chasing your imaginary dreams

20th Century Girl takes place in 1999, right before Y2K, and has an intricate love relationship which will catch you off guard. This is a story about first love. It stars Kim Yoo-jung (Lovers of the Red Sky) as Na Bo-ra, Byeon Woo-Seok (Record of Youth) as Poong Woon-Ho, Park Joon-woo (DP) as Baek Hyun-jin and Roh Joon-seo (Debut role in Our Blues) as Kim Yeon-du. The movie is a ‘Must See’.


Quote: “Yeon-doo . . . remember what you said awhile ago? That if you like someone, then you can’t sleep at night. . . This is a secret . . . The food you eat becomes tasteless and listening to music makes you cry? Actually, I sleep fine at night and my food taste better than usual, and I feel like dancing when I hear music. It’s strange, though. When I think of him, my heart hurts a bit. Is this love? Then I think that I’m in love”. Na Bo-ra

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"War is hell"

Children of Hiroshima was made seven years after the bombing of Hiroshima, when the wounds were still fresh and the horror still a recent memory. The film showed a scarred city rebuilding, but rubble, blown-out buildings and stripped trees were a visible reminder of the terror that took place on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. Into this setting four years after the blast, Takako, a kindergarten teacher, visits her family's grave and seeks out the three surviving students from her old class.

Takako escorts the audience on a tour of Hiroshima and her reunions give us a glimpse into the different ways people suffered after surviving the blast. She looks up the only three children still alive from her class four years ago. One child shines shoes to help his family, his mother works on a building while his father lies dying from radiation poisoning. A little girl saved by a priest during the bombing, lives in the church but has fallen ill with radiation poisoning. The last child is likely the luckiest. His parents were killed but he still has two older brothers and an older sister. After five years of waiting, the sister whose leg was badly damaged when she had been trapped under rubble is about to be married. Takako's teaching friend is sterile, yet opens her heart and helps other women have babies. And an old family friend, blinded and deeply scarred is reduced to begging on the street and resides in a shack outside of town. His grandson lives in an orphanage, one among many such children.

The story could feel manipulative at times, especially when Takako intruded into private family moments as if only through her eyes could the audience witness the other's misery. While I loved Ifukube Akira's Godzilla scores, his music here was heavy handed as if attempting to elicit an emotional response and felt out of place. I recognized his ponderous marches immediately.
The anti-war theme while important and still timely was bluntly reinforced with each succeeding encounter.

Director Shindo judiciously left out the debates over why the war was started, how many innocents suffered under the Japanese war hammer, and whether the bomb(s) should have even been dropped. I will follow his lead in those matters. But undeniably by showing the cost to people's lives, and the long road to healing, he did give ample examples of why "war is hell" and "the greatest evil". Perhaps not for the Japanese, but for people around the world, this film may have been the first time they'd seen the damage done in Hiroshima not only to the city but to the people. Both Shindo and actress Otowa Nobuko were from Hiroshima, making this film more personal for themselves. As he did with some of the people Takako came across, he also revealed hope for the future, a resilient and generous people, and life beginning anew out of the ruins.

In 1952, the occupation of Japan had just ended and the people were still reeling and learning how to cope and heal from a national tragedy along with post-war self-reflections. A variety of emotions played out in Children of Hiroshima-grief, resentment, hope, love, fear, and anger. When Takako heard a single plane flying above, the memory of the fateful day was triggered, a day with all the normal things people do under a clear blue sky, until a new horror was unleashed upon them. War is hell and the greatest cost is always for the innocents who pay the price.

7/27/23

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Heartwarming story about the homeless finding their home of hope

Such a cute and heartwarming movie. It has its flaws and drawbacks but the emotion it wanted to convey touched me. For a sports film, the screenplay was written in a very non-cinematic manner but everything conveyed was very real.

The pacing of the movie was a little slow and overall the entire screenplay has some issues. It's not as entertaining as the director's last film "Extreme Job" but the reality of homelessness and the backstories of each of the homeless people were decent. I hoped IU got a bigger role as she is such a fine actress but nevertheless, I can never find any flaws in her, just keep doing as many films and dramas as possible for your fans.

PSJ on the other hand displayed good football skills but his acting was a little hammy and lacking. But he is indeed the focal point of the story and did a decent job in some emotional scenes but the film can't redeem itself based on him and IU.

I watched it only for IU, she has some really funny lines between her and PSJ. Overall a good one-time watch but nothing special.

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No dream is too small or big

This review will be my thoughts during the movie in order:

1. PSJ! How long has it been since I saw him! How amazing it feels that he's back!

2. IU! Quirky and no-nonsense. Her role felt smaller but IU gives the character its own life and personality through her incredible acting.

3. The backgrounds of all the characters are duly established without interrupting the flow of the story.

4. There are good laughs as well through the team's bickering. Their bond and brotherhood is well portrayed. When they all come together to help Yoon Hong Dae, it's a laugh riot. "Why are you telling that to my thing?" I had to pause and laugh at that.

5. However, the plot feels quite formulaic, the narration is routine and the characterisation of the two mains lacks more depth.

6. But that's just a little downside. The film achieves all its objectives: 1. It makes a statement about the homeless and addresses the main argument against them- the smell and their untidyness. 2. This is the second PSJ outing to have a queer character (if I'm not wrong). There's not as much focus on him but what's important here is the others' reaction to the character's confession.

7. Thirdly, it defines a dream and justifies the title. The climax is very satisfying. The single most original plot point of the story and it is delivered with a resounding goal.

8. I think if we look closer, it also speaks of how we are all ultimately made and broken by fellow humans.

9. The film can be rewatched, if one can bear with the customary screenplay. The music is good and hummable.

A dream is any hope we foster to go on with our days. It could be of a daughter wanting to spend time with her father, a father repenting his past, an athlete tiding through the tough times of his life, a companionship between an unlikely pair or a young man's desperate search for a friend. No dream is too big or small.

This is not a story of underdogs beating the table-toppers to clinch glory. This is a celebration of normal humans, their ordinary dreams and their extrordinary perseverence. That is its beauty.

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Another one for the “Toshio Masuda is one of Japans most underrated directors” pile.

There's something strangely perfect about Zero being directed by Toshio Masuda, having been kicked out of the kamikaze in 1944 for being excessively liberal and pacifistic. It's a real treat to finally see another one of his war epics after so many years, this time him and him alone in the chair. Based on a serialized story by Kunio Yanagida, this is the story of the Mitsubishi Zero through the eyes of the engineers who designed the plane and the pilots who flew it.

Shoichi Hamada is a pilot flying the Imperial Navy's ace in the hole, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, during the first years of the war the Zero is seemingly unstoppable, shooting down almost every type of plane the allies send at them. Hamada's best friend is Kunio Mizushima, assigned to the ground crew, they are both in love with one girl… but will the ravages of war tear them apart?

Toshio Masuda's direction is simply sublime, taking what worked on Tora! Tora! Tora! over a decade ago and bringing it back tenfold. It is clear Masuda had no love for war and thus directs the film with a dash of gritty realism, unflinching in its portrayal of death, bad decisions and ultimate endeavour for a lost cause. By stark contrast when the film isn't wowing you with its climatic and brutally intense battle sequences, it shines with a glorious use of colour.

The plotting is well done, keeping the story of the Zero first and foremost while framing the story of the young pilot around it. Masuda seemingly backhands the naval authorities for using the pilots as expendable property. In general, the film has no respect for higher authorities, portraying most of them as simply using their soldiers, and not caring about their lives. The story is told in reverse, starting from 1944 and going in reverse to 1937. The pacing is well done, keeping everything at about the same level.

The acting is great on most parts, and even the expats seem to be doing well, it's often noted how poor a lot of them were in Japanese films of the era but here they do a standup job. As for the main characters, they are directed with enthusiasm that goes with their youthfulness. The love triangle is directed well but in a way, it's almost like a precursor to the later Michael Bay shakey-cam fest, Pearl Harbour, ending on that usual "war romance" subversion.

Daijiro Tsutsumi as Hamada brings all sorts of emotions to the table, and by the end, it is clear the Japanese war machine has become him. Kunio Mizushima, played by Jun Hashizume, shows clear concern for his friend as well as a great love for the female love interest, Shizuko Yoshikawa. Shizuko Yoshikawa, herself is a very well-done love interest. She clearly has a mixed bag of emotions for the two leads and loves them both on different levels. Tetsuro Tamba's brief appearance as Isoroku Yamamoto casts him as a very sympathetic man, clearly concerned for the lives of his young pilots despite only appearing for about 5 minutes. Shin Takuma does well as Teruo Tojo, the Zero's financier and Mitsubishi Motors president, showing quite a youthful energy and enthusiasm for his character.

The special effects by later Biollante to Destoroyah Effects Director Koichi Kawakita are very well done, clearly showing off just as much enthusiasm for pyrotechnic effects as his teacher Teruyoshi Nakano. The miniatures look great, and it’s nice to see a few Zero miniatures portrayed accurately as white in the opening 30 minutes. The camera angles during the air battle scenes are daring, and Kawakita makes use of frenetic camera movements during the battle scenes to enhance the combat. There is quite a bit of stock footage in the film, all the way from Storm of the Pacific to Kawakita's own Zero Pilot and to The Imperial Navy, but the original effects all look fantastic and blend very well with Kawakita's efforts.

The music by Harumi Ibe has a dated late 70s-early 80s quality that actually works for the film, and the score uses a lot of horns as well as 70s-style guitar work that make it clear Ibe was primarily used to the 70s style of composing and hadn't quite made the jump to the 80s sound design yet. Even then it's a great score and the film's theme song, Dawn, is sung beautifully by Yujiro Ishihara. Befitting the film's historic ending scene well.

Overall, I can't recommend Zero enough. It's clear how much Toho bought their A-Game in 1984, between this, The Return of Godzilla and Sayonara Jupiter, their tokusatsu efforts were on top form. If you ever get the chance to see it, do so.

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Interesting Movie

The film is due to its time of creation and especially to the place of its creation. Taking all of this into account, I can't just judge by condemning, say, "terrible" sound just because it's some copy from a videotape. A cruel story of several human beings, Harry, who was abused by his American father as a child, until Harry was whisked away from home to Manila, and later, as an adult, his own Filipino mother did not recognize him and offered him all her available narrow body holes for money. Harry's friend James, with whom he eventually "worked" as a dancer in gay clubs, providing their bodies to both women and men. Both friends were nice actors, you can't escape the typical Pinoy twisting of naked bodies (as I call "twisting earthworms"), but at least the bodies are attractive, I've seen a movie where pigs were twisting. Harsh, for the viewer who understands the Pinoy world of the time, as well as instructive and engaging

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This short film has a lot going for it

This short film has a lot going for it, it features a young man who is gay and can't hear yet, which are two big handicaps against the intolerance of a part of society. Erotic, the absence of hearing, first sex, flare-up, desire, hope, disappointment ... who can do it, who wants the "something" that the creators of this Korean short offer, will take, will take .. simply this short does not play a fairy tale , it is LIFE itself ...
This short film has a lot going for it, it features a young man who is gay and can't hear yet, which are two big handicaps against the intolerance of a part of society. Erotic, the absence of hearing, first sex, flare-up, desire, hope, disappointment ... who can do it, who wants the "something" that the creators of this Korean short offer, will take, will take .. simply this short does not play a fairy tale , it is LIFE itself ...

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feel-good & funny

Story: A soccer player with bad image was invited to be a coach for homeless football team to compete for world cup to represent Korea. A predictable movie with lots of funny moments, some touching scenes and no love story between the two popular idols. If you are okay with that, then you'll enjoy the movie.

Acting: Everyone did great in the movie.

Music: Nothing memorable for me but i guess songs used were appropriate.

Rewatch Value: Not the type of movie i will rewatch but it's definitely recommendable to those who just want to past the time, or feel inspired.

Overall: It was a cute and comical watch, i had a lot of laugh out loud moments so i finished this movie in a good mood. Nothing to deep, just an inspiring movie about those who don't want to give up and that life is full of hope and we will have our own shining moments with our own hard work and faith with those who support and appreciate us. 7 stars. Just don't expect much and you'll have a good time watching the movie.

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"What's immoral about a man and woman falling in love?"

Director Mizoguchi Kenji precariously balanced The Life of Oharu on the edge of a knife, while touching on melodrama, never slipped off into base sentimentality. His heroine, Oharu, faced degradation after degradation as a woman during the Edo period of Japan. Bound by tradition and gender, with little autonomy, her life was one of hardship created by roles she could not break out of.

Teenage Oharu was in love with a young retainer played by Mifune Toshiro. Katsunosuke refuses to give up on her because of his lower class, believing rank and money don't mean happiness, one has to marry for love. When they are caught in flagrante delicto, she and her parents are banished from Kyoto and the court, a far easier punishment than the lowly man who loved her. As fate would have it in Edo, Lord Matsudaira needs a concubine because his wife is barren. Without a second thought for Oharu, her father sells her to the lord. She blesses the lord with a son, but when the ruler is deemed as becoming weaker for spending too much time in bed with her, she is shown the door with basically the clothes on her back.

Her father sells her to a courtesan house where her attitude gets her thrown out. He then sells her as a maid to a couple, but when they discover her background, the wife becomes jealous and the husband wants "favors." After leaving that household, her parents find her a husband who doesn't care about her background and for a brief time she is happy. But that happiness turns to tragedy and once again she is on the street even lower than before. A group of old prostitutes take her in and set her up as a common prostitute, not an easy or profitable proposition at her age. When fate seems to smile on her it is only to turn the knife. But this cruel last twist strangely leads to a path that brings her peace.

Tanaka Kinuyo at the age of 43 took part in the grand tradition of actresses too old for their role playing a teenager. Her father was played by Sugai Ichiro and her mother who was played by Matsuura Tsukie were both only two years older than she was in real life! The role took her well into middle age, with the prostitutes complaining that you can't make a fifty-year-old woman look twenty. Tanaka may not have had a teenager's youth but she still brought a resiliency and grace to the role even as Oharu's life deteriorated. Mifune Toshiro's role as the retainer in love with her was brief and filled with criticism of classism and advocation for personal choice in something as important as marriage.

Mizoguchi often focused on the plight of women in his pictures. When he was young, his sister was sold to a geisha house because his father had gone into debt. That same sister would later take he and his brother in and pay for their schooling and help him find jobs. His criticism of women being sold and the damage it did to their lives was stinging.

Oharu made one choice for herself, the love for the young retainer and that ended in utter disaster because such a union was unacceptable to society. After that, her life choices were determined by others, for their desires and benefits. When it was found out she had been a courtesan, it meant she was fair game and men took advantage of that. When she was dismissed by the daimyo, there was no compensation for her loss of status, nor when her husband died did she receive anything, it went to his family. She was a woman without power, without status, and without her own agency. Her father sold her three times, as a concubine, a courtesan, and then as a maid. With the brief exceptions of Katsunosuke and her husband, Oharu's dignity and happiness held little to no value to the men who came into her life. There was no guilt in selling her or casting her callously aside. Mizoguchi didn't dwell on the vile acts, he simply pointed them out---repeatedly. Men were the only ones who truly mattered, especially men of power, and they were myopically and self-centeredly exercising their rights. Oharu never wailed at her fate, she simply kept as much dignity as she could as she faced torment after torment. Only at the end, when she made a choice that kept her in control of her own body did she came into her own. What might have been seen as a loss by others, actually freed her for the first time and let her spirit sore.

Mizoguchi resisted an emotionally manipulative, overwrought soundtrack for this sorrowful story. Instead of a swelling impassioned score to highlight the current emotional crisis at hand, stark, traditional Japanese tunes were used, whether it was background music, Buddhist chants, or a beggar on the street playing. He often distanced the audience from Oharu's pain by having her partially cover her face. The beleaguered woman was also recurrently shown from the back so that we didn't see the wounded emotions on her face. The story enacted around her told us of her shame, grief, and anger. Oharu's circumstances were also hidden from other characters in the film. The people who derided her were blind to the depth of her pain and her despair at being powerless to fight the system that held no compassion for her.

The Life of Oharu could be repetitive but also contained an element of truth. In the 17th century, a woman once "ruined", lost her status and value making her vulnerable and leaving her with few alternatives. Oharu's real courage was in surviving and ultimately finding an escape route that freed her from the cruel cage society and family had trapped her in.

7/26/23

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Records Or Memories?

I know I sound like a broken record, but the Koreans are the masters of entertainment! And only the Koreans are masters of combining comedy with drama with a thoughtful message, which in my opinion, represents the next step of evolution in the entertainment industry. We all want to be entertained, but to use the medium of movies and TV shows to convey a message is to really use this medium to inspire and provide awareness.

This movie is a true delight, and you are likely to find yourselves with some absolute laugh-out-loud moments as well as moments that just might tug at your heartstrings.

Yoon Hong Dae is a professional soccer player who ends up in trouble and is placed on probation. His agent—in order to try and restore Dae’s questionable reputation—puts him in charge of organizing and coaching a team—a team of homeless men to compete in the World Cup for Homeless players in Budapest.

Of course, we get a collection of homeless men of varying ages and backgrounds with different sets of skills. Seeing these guys attempting to play soccer is absolutely hilarious! One cheers when he kicks the ball and his shoe flies over the goal! And yet, each player has something to play for. They aren’t proud of being homeless, but this game just might restore the confidence to make some life changes as well as help people become aware that homelessness is a problem that has to be addressed. There are enough resources on this planet to ensure that every single human being has food, water, clothes, and shelter. So, why is it so hard?

Lee So Min is in charge of the documentary she is making to help showcase the team. Of course, she and Hong Dae don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, and their spats and bickering will make you giggle.

At first, Hong Dae is less than thrilled to be coaching a team of homeless men, most of whom have little-to-no skills. He figures he’s wasting his time, but the more he gets to know them, the more he finds a connection between each of them. Perhaps that is a part of the process: not to see a homeless person as a homeless person but as a person. It’s difficult to ignore someone when you’ve developed a connection. It’s even more inspiring when the entire team comes together to try and get Hong Dae out of trouble when he’s wrongfully charged with assault against four teen boys who harassed a woman with a mental disability.

The movie isn’t about winning. It’s about awareness as well as simply doing your best no matter how badly the odds are stacked against you. This is an especially powerful point when dealing with homeless people who may easily feel, “What’s the point? Nothing changes.” But Hong Dae asks them a poignant question, “Are you here for records or for memories?”

One thing I will say is that this movie is certainly memorable, important, and a sheer delight to watch. It reminded me of a combination of the “The Mighty Ducks” and “The Bad News Bears.” “Dream” certainly more than belongs in that kind of company!

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A quirkier version of Kaiji (Japanese ver.)

This is basically Kaiji but with a main character who calls himself crazy because he is obsessed with clowns or something weird like that. He kind of gave off a sober Chinese version of DC's Joker vibe lmao.

Anyhow, like its Japanese counterpart, the story is pretty identical in terms of the first challenge (i loved it btw) and the main character is smart and calculative yet soft-hearted, which actually makes you root for him despite me making fun of him in the first paragraph.

I recommend watching this, but Kaiji is even better and there is no cliff-hanger!

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Different; engaging; surprising

Not at all what I was expecting. I thought it might be some kind of supernatural, light, action/mild horror, comedy. Apart from supernatural, it's none of those.
From the moment Shiro/Makoto wakes up from death, on a slab, in hospital, with no memory of any past events, the story is abruptly explained.
We are introduced to a Guardian, who tells Shiro he has died, now inhabits this body and to stay in it and get a second chance at life, he must find out why that person died too. He's given 100 days and 3 chances at answering the question.
The film then follows Shiro's journey as he gets to know the person behind the body he is inhabiting, and struggles to find out why he passed away.
He meets Makoto's disconnected family, a close friend and a crush.
School life is nondescript and it becomes apparent that Makoto was pretty much invisible, with a quiet, socially awkward and weak spirited personality.
Shiro is nothing like that and this is where the story faulters. Apart from 1 character (who still treats it like no big deal), no one seems the slightest bit surprised by the difference.
He's meant to have total memory loss, of which his family and close friend are aware, yet everyone still expects him to know stuff and the interactions don't fit at all.
Due to what Shiro was told about himself, by the Guardian, I also expected his character to be very different and that puzzled me for the whole film, until it was addressed towards the end. In that respect, the story's direction was not at all obvious and pretty engaging.
The outcome was quite a surprise. I think it's intended to make people think, take stock of themselves and their reality, especially when life gets dark.
I actually felt it was quite harsh and yet it offers another perspective that I've never seen before and perhaps when one's mind is not in a place of reason, a person could miss this themselves.
It isn't a film I'd watch again, but the charm and gentleness that Nagao Kento brought to the main character, and the nicely acted supporting roles, lead me to not regetting having watched it one bit.

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Waste of time

[NOT a BL]

I might be harsh in saying this but this film was a waste of time watching. And I had most of it on 1.25x speed.

Overall, this film was very realisitc in how it was written, filmed and presented. There were no cliches and the plot of the film could happen in real life.
I just found that it was so boring as a viewer. There was no plot, there was no storyline and the film was poorly made.

The storyline follows the 3 characters' journey from high school to college. And with the title being 'Eternal Summer' you would expect it to take place in between the two. But it doesnt. It mainly focuses on high school exams and suddenly, there is a huge time jump, completely skipping the summer and you dont even realise they're in college until the end.

The romance is confusing, as it is in real life, however it wasnt portrayed great here. I find the issue with realistic films is that the viewer experience is lacking. I was bored. The characrers hide things from each other and it causes tension, but its never explored or established or even resolved, so the viewer is left feeling confused and annoyed.

In terms of acting, it was mediocre. There was no emotion apart from the intense scenes, which make me think that the cast are inexperienced. Becuase their facial expressions were boring. I had no idea what the characters were thinking half the time.

This film had so much potential but it was wasted.

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