Reviews

It's a really good movie. Although it's kind of confusing. It is very fast paced, which I like most of the time but here it could have a been a bit slower to understand the actual storyline. But still I sort of got the movie. The acting was really good. They portrayed their roles really well. The actress of Natsume was a really good choice for the character.

The music, I am obsessed. There is this one song that is played a few times during the movie, it's called ' Kou wo oikakete' and since I have watched the movie I can't stop listening to it. So the ost is good in my opinion.

Overal it was a pretty good movie.

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Interesting

I find that a lot of the older Korean BLs are a little tragic/sad.

I watched this a few years ago, and I was left unsatisfied with the short. It was interesting and touched on some very sensitive topics. But I enjoyed the acting and the actors. I think they did such a fantastic job. In particular I loved Han Joo Wan. It was awful to hear that he "retired" due to his drug scandal. IDK why because there are so many idols and actors who are back despite having bigger scandals with drugs. He is an incredible actor. I do hope he is able to come back. He was really the stand out factor of this short.

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A Compilation of Images Adding Up to Nothing

A movie where even the pretentiousness is unoriginal. To wit: a woman who smuggles drugs looks mysterious in a cliched trench coat and sunglasses at night. Oh, and a ludicrous blonde, bouffant wig. Why does she wear that wig? No reason. The auteur director, Wong Kar-wai, just thought it was a cool visual. Hell, at the end of this segment another woman also wears a blonde bouffant wig. Why does she wear one? Well, because the first woman wore one.

Blonde Bouffant Wig #1 kills the boyfriend of Blonde Bouffant Wig #2 who has something to do with her drug smuggling business. Why does she kill him? It seems a deal got botched, but really, who the hell knows. The movie does not trade in specifics. You see, specifics are for the vulgar, unwashed masses who want things to make sense. And our auteur director Wong Kar-wai does not make films for plebeians; he makes films for enlightened critics.

Earlier that evening Blonde Bouffant Wig #1 had bumped into a man who'd been jilted by his girlfriend, May. He eats canned pineapple with an expiration of May 1st because that's his birthday. And his girlfriend's name is May (golly, how clever of the screenwriter to have come up with this!) He eats canned pineapple every day for a month while waiting for his relationship with May to be resolved. He eats a lot of canned pineapples. He meets Blonde Bouffant Wig #1 at a bar and asks "Do you like pineapples?" as his pick up line.

This segment ends at 40 minutes. Since the director figured that was too short for a feature, he added another segment. There is certainly no organic reason for it.. The second movie is about a girl at a food stand who has a crush on a cop. He's been jilted too. She listens to the Beach Boys "California Dreaming" a lot. What is the significance of this? Nothing. But the director plays the song about a dozen times in the course of an hour (that's not hyperbole, the song literally plays every 5-10 minutes), and the excessive recurrence fools the audience into believing it's significant. Yet it's no more significant than the blonde bouffant wigs. Indeed, all that holds the movie's 2 segments together is that they both have random details posing as meaningful details. It seems to have fooled a lot of critics, who gush about this film.

It's just a compilation of images all of which add up to nothing, but empty imagery has always proven catnip for critics. You see, to use lots of nifty terminology such as "non-linear narrative." What does non-linear narrative mean, you ask? Why, it's code for "has no plot" because the director/screenwriter does not know how to construct one. Many say the movie is about loneliness, or about people getting jilted, or about modern, urban relationships. Those are pretty wide open labels that fit thousands of other films. The fact is, this auteur director has not given us any particular plot or theme. He simply knows how to shoot images. Lots and lots of images.

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Exceeded my expectation, acting-wise

Story: Set during Japanese invasion of some cities in China, around 1930's to 1940s. A Japanese head formed a group with Chinese men to discover and fight against the communists. The story was hard to follow at first as they showed different snippets from different times but they became clearer as the story progresses.

Acting: Wow. just wow. I am astonished at Wang Yibo's performance, especially his fighting scenes with the japanese soldiers and Tony Leung. I didn't expect to see him act so so good, as he filmed this first before 'Born to fly' and his acting their was okay. In this movie, i can totally feel his pain, anguish, sadness, and grief, which actually made me think that his character is bipolar. The small changes of his facial expressions was just amazing. This, by far, is the best acting that I have seen from him and it's now making me look forward to his next projects. The rest of the actors, of course, did amazingly well despite the short appearances. However, i felt quite awkward with Zhou Xun's and Tony Leung's hugging & kissing moment.

Music: Nothing special or memorable for me but the action scene sound effects were just perfect.

Rewatch Value: I don't think I will be rewatching this movie but i will definitely re-watch the action scenes, i love them so much.

Overall: 7.5-8 stars. Despite the convincing acting and good cinematography, the plot is quite predictable so it didn't leave a 'wow' impression on me but it was still a good watch.

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Another banger of an adaptation

Going into Assignment Kowloon, I was half expecting to see a campy 70s chop-socky interpretation which capitalised more on the success and fame of Sonny Chiba to earn a quick buck. But as it turns out, this is not only a damn fine representation of its source material but a damn fine movie in its own right. Golgo 13 seemingly had two of the best pieces of castings regarding live-action because Sonny Chiba is as much a dead-ringer as Ken Takakura was just for different reasons. Chiba's Golgo is much less human than Takakura's with a stone-faced expression that never leaves his face but makes exceptional use of his skills as a martial artist and stunt performer in some very grounded fight sequences and impressively daring stunt work. Director Yukio Noda makes excellent use of the film's variety of locations, from Hong Kong to Miami back to Japan, and although the film does stutter at first (most notably with some poor editing) it quickly finds its feet and maintains a very stylish atmosphere that simply oozes coolness throughout.

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Seems to be another good movie similar to Wolf Warrior 2

I didn't have great expectations at the beginning, and it turned out to be much better than I expected. The overall story is very similar to the 2017 Wolf Warrior 2, and the picture is very stylized compared with the previous war films, and it also reminds me of the color texture of Korean movies. I like it very much when I watch it as a whole. And really love Wu Jing's cut at the end, it's so funny and cute.
Under this theme, the film has met expectations, and it is a very good commercial film, watching the overall more pleasant, I don't know if you have seen it? Will u have similar feelings?

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The Long Journey Home

The movie artfully captures the essence of duty, compassion, and sacrifice as the Chinese diplomats embark on their challenging mission to bring their people back home safely. Each scene evokes a myriad of emotions, from tension and fear during perilous situations to heartwarming moments of reunion and hope. The skillful storytelling and stellar performances by the cast lend a profound sense of realism to the film, making it all the more impactful.

Moreover, the film serves as a reminder of the challenges that nations and their diplomats face in safeguarding their people during times of adversity. It beautifully illustrates the resilience of the human spirit and the strength that arises from unity and cooperation.

In conclusion, "Home coming" is an emotionally charged and compelling movie that leaves a lasting impression on its audience. Through its captivating storytelling and exceptional performances, it stands as a testament to the significance of empathy, courage, and the undying commitment of those who take on the responsibility of safeguarding their fellow citizens. A must-watch for all who appreciate powerful narratives and heartfelt portrayals of real-life heroism.

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BEWARE of SPOILER

Ruja' was on the verge of a breakdown, trying to gather money for her daughter's eye surgery. She got a visit from her estranged father's friend, telling her that he passed away and she was the sole heiress. Both Ruja and her daughter returned to Thailand. The most valuable thing in the things she inherited was two paintings by her father. However, it needed some restoration before it could be put on auction. Ruja deemed both paintings as evil and forbid her daughter to even look at them. A man saved her daughter and coincidentally was also an artist. She hired him for the restoration job. After that quarter of introduction, what we got was of course the spooky things. That alone, took almost half the movie. If you skipped to the last quarter, trust me, you won't miss a thing.

So, here are the bits with spoilers. Stop here if you do not want to know what is up with the movie. And do forgive me because I do not know how to hide them.

As mentioned above, Ruja's father was an artist. He had a muse and they form an adultery relationship. Both the muse and her son; were hidden in a house deep in the jungle behind Ruja's home. Ruja's mother knew it and told Ruja to ignore them as they were evil. So, Ruja kind of chanted herself into not seeing them.

Ruja's father lost his inspiration and the muse told him, she would do anything as long as he continue to love her. And so, when she haunted the house, I was flabbergasted. She said she would do anything. Why would her spirit be angry when the tragedy happened? She was just like Kayako Saeki that unleashed her rage on anyone that enter the house.

Truthfully speaking, the movie was assembled of plots from other horror movies. You got a bit of Shutter, a bit of The Grudge, the few I remember. Not even the acting from the three main cast can save this movie.

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Engaging but depressing.

"Dog bite dog" marks my first Hong Kong drama. (spoiler free review)

This show is for people who like psychological action movies. Its not crazy suspenseful, especially towards the middle, but I enjoyed the beginning and the end. To be honest, I expected more gore, but it was not as extreme as I expected. Now, I am not saying you should watch this if you have a light stomach. There were some pain-cringe worthy moments.

The title on the other hand is very odd, but after watching the movie, its more understandable. If you don't like sad endings, I don't recommend. At first, I didn't know how to feel after finishing the movie, but I am starting to process it more. The story is well written, but if you stop paying attention for 5 seconds, you'll be so confused, I learned from experience. The acting was great, the only problem was the amount of characters. I am still confused about who half of them were...

At first glance, the movie sounded weird and maybe even boring, but it was far from that. Recommend.

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Worth Considering

I think it's very cool. There are layers, it's like being trapped inside your own head and beating yourself up... trying on different faces, different identities, different modes of artistic expression... but it's not a linear progression. Sometimes we beat ourselves up even while others congratulate us. But in the end, finding the confidence to embrace our self(s) lets us walk free, and continue on.

Perhaps I missed the mark, but that's how I felt about it. It's an incisive psychological exploration.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. It's not the type of artsy thing I would usually watch, but anyone who has struggled with self-doubt, self-hate, self-esteem understands the battle of trying to get outside that... I think they might relate? I'm not artist, but I can't imagine having to create and put a very personal side of me out for the whole world to judge.

How do I rate this? It feels unfair, because it seems to fall outside the normal boundaries. It's not super polished or anything, but I think achives what it wants to be.

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it's a whole movie not one scene

i wouldn't say it's good cuz it's actually bad , but if i have to be really honest as someone who has watched alot of bl's including one's with r@pe scenes, it was very bad in a cinematic view, r@pe can and should never be justified and i definitely don't enjoy watching those scene's either, and i definitely do not recommend watching it if you really don't like those typa scene's, but i also hated that people are acting like the r@pe scene is the whole movie(it is not, that scene is max 4 min) which is btw something people tend to do a lot but there is so much more to one story than just that but people look over it because of one bad scene, but at the same time i can't blame them too much cuz this movie was just too bad to really feel the emotions that the actor's where trying to convey, but it still kinda annoys me when people look past things because they feel worthless and only reminisce about specific scenes they can continue to talk about

overall this movie is not really recommended because of the weak execution of the story and lack of conveying important emotions to viewers

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Meeting and letting go.

Hwa-sun is a location manager based in Busan. Her ex boyfriend, Do-young, a former film student with aspirations to become a successful director left many years ago for Seoul, where the film industry is bigger. She didn't want to go and he didn't want to stay, and despite the love between them, their relationship came to an end.

In present day, they are reunited through Do-young's new project. He's back in Busan for it and believes Hwa-sun is the right person to help him finds the locations he wants. It's obvious they have both kept themselves busy and achieving success in their respective fields. While Do-young choose the fast lane and became an up and coming director, Hwa-sun has slowly build a reputation and renown name among the industry insiders.

As they walk together the streets of this city that once saw their love bloom and wither, they find themselves revisiting their shared history, they also contemplate their choices and where they are at now. What happens when growing up means letting go? Would they have done any different? Can they find closure to this open wound?

Cinema Street it's a beautiful love letter to that one love that helped you grow as a person but also pushed you to want to become a better version of yourself. This rhythm of the script is contemplative but never boring. Han Sun-hwa and Lee Wan deliver good performances, nuance and mature, as two people finding themselves (perhaps for the last time) in front of the one that got away. The cinematography is what you would expect from an indie film set in Busan: beautiful to look at.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I hight recommend it to anyone.

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"Such foolish things don't happen" Wanna bet?

Return of Daimajin is the second in a series about the title character, only this time he lives on an island in the midst of a lake shared by two peaceful clans instead of on a mountain. Trouble begins brewing and bubbling when an evil warlord decides to use the two clans' festival for the god to overthrow their castles.

Danjo of Mikoshiba enslaves his people and kills those who try to escape. Some refugees make it out through the mountains and find a haven with the kind Chigusa and Nagoshi clans who live on opposite sides of Lake Yagumo. During the festival to celebrate the lake god, Danjo and his men take advantage and overthrow both clans, killing the lords and taking one of the sons hostage. The blasphemous Danjo sends his men to destroy the god's statue on the island with explosives. The other lord's son, Juro, escapes and flees to the island where his love, Lady Sayuri is also hiding, having miraculously survived the explosion and destruction of the statue.

Later, the hostage Katsushige is freed when a local boy helps him. He heads to the island as Juro is escaping Danjo's forces and both are captured because neither one can row a boat fast enough even when they had a head start. The two heirs, people who helped them, and Sayuri are set to be executed. Will Sayuri's tears be enough to sway the lake god? If the god of stone has one soft spot, it's a beautiful woman's tears and he rapidly parted the waters, destroyed his island with the baddies on it and began tearing down the defensive walls in order to wreak havoc on Danjo and his band of evil doers. I particularly liked how Danjo died the same way he had planned for Sayuri.

This movie was entertaining as I've grown fond of the big green faced guy, but I didn't find the story and characters as compelling as the first one. The overlays weren't as seamless as the first and third movies, some scenes rather obviously spliced together. Daimajin was faced with a couple of new obstacles which didn't even slow him down, but it was fun watching the evil doers try. Daimajin looking over with a "Really?" expression on his face was humorous. Because much of the action took place on or near the water Daimajin had some fancy water tricks up his sleeve along with his usual storms, landslides, and earthquakes. Though numerous bad guys died, the body count seemed less than the other two films, at least no children were killed.

Once again, the scoffers and cruel overlord were brought to a rough justice. The people who were respectful and peaceful were rewarded after suffering and trying (and failing) to save themselves. I have enjoyed this series of films blending samurai and Kaiju. The sets, story and acting were better than average for this time period of monster movies. Return of Daimajin was entertaining and one worth trying if you like old kaiju films.

7/24/23

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Un zeste d'histoire, une pincée d'action musclée et jouissif, une touche d'humour...

Ma critique concernera le film 1 et 2. Je sais, mais ce sont les vacances et je suis en mode "lazy".
Les actualités parlent de vague de chaleur, mais ici dans le nord, la pluie domine ces derniers jours notre belle campagne. Ce qui nous permet de rester bien au chaud et de regarder des films à tout hasard trouvé dans mon disque dur. A tout hasard? Pas vraiment, Ado1 lisait déjà le manga et n'a donc pas hésité à nous clamer " ah oui, trop bien ce manga" et hop nous voilà parti pour les deux premiers films de cette saga ma foi plutôt rondement bien menée.

Posons l'Histoire. Avec un grand H. Oui, car l"intrigue se passe durant la période des Royaumes combattants en Chine. Inspirée de la vie du général Li Xin et de l'empereur Qin Shi Huang , l'histoire nous raconte le rêve de Li Shin (prononciation japonaise) de devenir le plus grand général de tous les temps. Il est évident que l'intrigue sera "romancé" afin de nous vendre un film à l'action musclé. Bien loin d'un documentaire, cela a tout de même le mérite de nous donner ensuite (ou pas) d'en savoir un peu plus sur cette période de l'Histoire. Après tout, Qin Shi Huang deviendra l'empereur unificateur de la Chine et aura à son compte la standardisation de l'écriture, la monnaie, les poids, les mesures, les soldats en terre cuite et celui qui aura commencé la fondation de la Grande Muraille de Chine...Quant à Li Xin, il est décrit comme un général brave et courageux et ayant apporté une grande aide à l'empereur durant les batailles des royaumes combattants.

La réalisation, sans atteindre l'excellence de la sage "Kenshin" est dynamique avec des couleurs chaudes oscillants entre des tons sombres et ocres. Nous sommes plongés dans l'intrigue sans fioriture . Rapidité ne veut pas dire bâclé, le scénario prend le temps de nous faire apprécier les relations entre nos protagonistes. La simplicité de l'intrigue nous permet de suivre avec intérêt l'avancé de la guerre et les enjeux de l'état de Qin.
L'action est fluide et les combats dynamique. La petite touche d'humour typiquement japonaise parsemant les films déride, le film n'a pas vocation à se prendre au sérieux et c'est tant mieux. Le sentiment de se trouver devant un manga ou un animé est très plaisant, bien que parfois "absurde", nous n'en voulons pas au réalisateur puisque c'est un parti pris.
Le jeu d'acteur est plus qu'honorable et on apprécie grandement les personnages que cela soit principaux ou secondaires. Une petite mention au général Ouki qui provoque un sentiment entre respect et effroi. Son sourire carnassier et la lenteur voulue d'une voix lancinante engendre une impression de perversion (à la limite du psychopathe) très vite démentie par des actions qui piquent notre curiosité.

C'est donc avec une grande impatience que nous attendons le film numéro 3 qui ne saurait tarder, puisque prévu pour juillet 2023!

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