Reviews

A Funny, Charming, and Altogether Delightful Little Movie

The MDL synopsis does not in the least reflect what this movie is. It gives a detailed description of what happens in the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then omits the next hour and a half.

The actual movie is about 5 men who'd been friends since they were little kids, and parted ways for 3 years after high school, only to reunite after one friend -- who'd joined the yakuza -- went on the run from his boss and needs help. The yakazu boss is played by Yoshida Kotaro (many will recognize him as the older man from Ossan's Love), who puts in a comically flamboyant performance while sporting a floral patterned suite, fedora hat, and cane.

Since none of the childhood friends, now in their early 20's, has any gainful employment or direction they all readily agree when one says, "Let's go back to being the idiots we were during the best times of our lives!" This effectively translates to: "Let's help our pal who's on the run because the yakuza thinks he stole 300 million yen by finding the thief who truly stole it." There are multiple plot points intertwined with this as it comes to light who truly did steal the money, as well as how and why they did it.

None of this, however, really matters. Because the actual point of this movie is to watch the gang of pals displaying their hilarious comradery as they try to outrun the bad guys. In other words, it's a bromance. Only instead of a bromance between 2 men, it's between a group of men. We see them backslapping as they trade the same jokes and insults they'd been trading since they were little kids.

For instance, one of them fell in love with a prostitute when he was 10 and asked her to marry him, causing his buddies to tease him for still wanting to honor his promise to her as an adult. Another has dreams which dictate the future so accurately that the other guys ask, "Wait, did you see such-and-such happen in your dream last night? No? Ok, then we'll be fine." Then, son of a bitch, they truly will be fine. It's a bit of silly, supernatural fun, among the movie's many such sparks of originality. There are also some tender scenes of them uplifting one another when feeling down, as well as some amusing scenes of them as children.

The cast was clearly having loads of fun playing their parts in such an agreeable, charming little romp. I could tell that their laughing in many scenes was not acting, but them genuinely cracking up at what they were doing in that particular scene. The feeling was infectious, meaning the viewer ends up smiling or laughing as well.

Leia Mais

"The road ahead is more important"

Kurosawa filmed The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail in 1945 but due to Japanese and American censors the film wasn't released until 1952. Based on a Kabuki play which was based on a Noh play which was based on a famous legendary event in 1185, the film retained the look and feel of a play. The event involved a famous samurai and his six loyal retainers attempting to seek refuge far away from his murderously paranoid brother.

The story retells the tale of Yoshitsune who helped his brother defeat his enemies and become Shogun. Despite all his help, Yoritomo, like any loving brother would, decided Yoshitsune was a threat and ordered his "capture". Yoshitsune escapes with six loyal retainers, including the fierce monk samurai Benkei. As they travel through the woods dressed as monks, the audience is treated to a chatty, unhinged porter who informs them that the check point guards are looking for samurai disguised as monks. Some unlucky monks were cut down recently at the checkpoint---so much for capture being the goal. Yoshitsune disguises himself as a porter, but having never carried his own equipment, is shaky with handling the load. When they arrive at the barrier, Benkei works for their release by appealing to the magistrate, Togashi. Eventually, after several close calls, Togashi allows them to pass. As long as you don't read the next chapter in history, it's a happy ending!

One of the reasons that the Japanese failed to list Kurosawa's film officially, which caused the occupying forces to ban it, was that certain censors felt like Kurosawa had treated the revered samurai too lightheartedly, especially with the addition of the comical porter. The porter who mugged for the camera when he wasn't bouncing around was annoying. He was a prescient combination of the jester in Ran and Mifune Toshiro's deranged samurai in Seven Samurai/Rashomon. Whether he was comic relief or an avatar for the audience, I could have used less of him onscreen.

The main character in this film was not Yoshitsune, but rather Benkei, at least when the porter wasn't laughing maniacally and stealing focus. The monk did most of the planning and when confronted with the opposing forces at the border pleaded their case to Togashi. This included a 3 ½-minute reading of a Buddhist "proclamation" which felt twice that long. When Togashi sent the "monks" food and drink afterwards as an apology, there was an 8-minute drinking, dancing, singing segment. There were several singing segments, the film was much like a musical play.

Aside from Benkei, Togashi was the other compelling character. The way he was played it appeared he knew the monks were Yoshitsune and his men and purposefully let them go much to the consternation of his underling. When he sent the drinks, which Benkei took very seriously and ceremoniously, it caused me to wonder if Togashi would have to forfeit his life when it was discovered Yoshitsune had eluded him and Benkei was aware of that sacrifice as well.

As I mentioned, the film felt theatrical and simple. Maybe Kurosawa was filming on a wartime budget which might have accounted for the short running time. There were very few settings, only indoor sets with painted backdrops and fake trees. With the exception of opening fog, his signature wind was missing. Unlike Kurosawa's wider shots from later films with action going on in three layers, most shots were narrowly focused in small frames. This film felt lacking in energy and urgency, especially for men on the run with the enemy lurking about. Instead of his fluid shots with action carrying the story forward, even if it was just the weather giving movement, much of this film showed men squatting or manspreading or simply standing around. For a Kurosawa film it felt strangely static.

As a brief lesson in Japanese history, it was interesting to learn a little bit about this famous samurai. What came after this story was even more fascinating to me. A few years later, to give his lord time to commit seppuku when they were betrayed and surrounded, Benkei guarded the way in, taking so many arrows he died standing up. Such was the nature of his reputation that the opposing side waited before checking to see if he was alive. While most foreign audiences wouldn't have known this story didn't ultimately have a happy ending, reading more about it did give what appeared on stage more depth to me.

I found the porter grating instead of humorous, although in the end he did show his loyalty and use. Benkei proved to be fast on his feet when it came to crossing words with the enemy. And the enemy turned out to understand that murdering one's own brother might not be the best way to instill trust in people. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail was fairly entertaining and a nostalgic look back at Kurosawa's fourth film. How well you enjoy it may depend on how well you enjoy the porter's antics and dialogue interspersed with song.

7/10/23

Leia Mais

Contrary to popular opinion, I thought this was actually a great length for this story. A lot of people have said they wish it was longer but let's keep in mind that when BLs are longer, it's not because of the content we like to see but the more frustrating stuff that I personally can't stand. I wouldn't want to drag out the misunderstandings or the horrible treatment of Light. This movie gave enough to show that it happened, why it happened and a swift and reasonable resolution.

The actors were good in their roles though nothing really stood out to me as far as outstanding or overly bad. They were pretty average though that's not meant as a negative thing.

I liked the change of pace from the lighter, fluffy BLs and was glad to still receive a happy ending after such a dark, more mature plot. To me, it makes the happy ending more worthwhile and meaningful.

I would definitely rewatch this and look forward to doing so again and again.

Leia Mais

Eh...

I feel like I have bad luck with BL movies. They are never good.

Story: The story progression of this did not make sense to me. It was mostly like watching a silent movie. Not many lines, no buildup, just a bunch of scenes pushed together. The lines you did get contributed to a very boring plot line. There wasn't even a happy ending.

Acting/Casting: The whole thing was just bland and seems to exist just for the sex scenes tbh. Those scenes were decent, you could feel the chemistry between everyone, but that's about it.

Music: Not amazing and not awful. Probably the only good thing in the movie.

Rewatch: Not likely.

Leia Mais

"I am taxi driver, you are taxi 손님."

There are at least two countries that I have learned a lot about and admire: the United States and South Korea. The book Human Acts by Han Kang accidentally came into my posession two years ago, and it's extremely vivid and graphic depiction of Gwangju Uprising made me want to learn more and more about Korean history to find out what have this nation come through to become a leading democratic country that the world looks up to nowadays.

?️There were only several foreigners in Gwangju on the first days of the massacre, including 5 Peace Corps volunteers, and all of them chose not to abandon their Korean colleagues and friends despite the direct warnings from the American Ambassador. Later, when a few foreign reporters, including this movie's main character Jürgen Hinzpeter, arrived, they helped them by being their interpreters. If you have seen the movie you already know what happened to the fictional character Jae Shik. A few Koreans who did speak English would not desire that attention from the ubiquitous KCIA.

?️I love A Taxi Driver for its amazing execution, production design, and a pretty much historically accurate timeline. It succeeds in capturing the sense of confusion and danger coming from all the sides and making spectacular and tragic scenes like the taxi cars battle and the arrogant German reporter coping with shock and guilt by filming his dead companion and the bloody havoc around. No one in Gwangju knew what was going on, later hearing the infuriating official news that the upheaval was incited by "bandits" and "impure elements from outside the city".

From "Witnessing Gwangju" by Paul Courtright: "The [elderly Korean] halmeoni's grip tightened on my arm and she turned to face me. 'We have no voice. You have to be our voice. You have to tell people outside our country what they're doing to us'. She glanced around the street, then returned her fearless gaze to me. I was rooted to the spot. I was to be the "witness" and she had given me a clear task."

?️No country exists in a vacuum, and I find it fascinating how people from different provinces, from different nations can work together, bond, and help each other, i.e. Seoul and Gwangju taxi drivers, Gwangju people and foreign reporters, volunteers. Man Seop didn't choose between his daughter and a grown-ass foreigner reporter. He was choosing between what's best for his family and what's best for his country. Along with self-sacrifice this makes it a clear patriotic idea for the movie.

I've been learning about the Gwangju Uprising from the article of the witness Peace Corps volunteer Tim Warnberg "The Kwangju Uprising: An Inside View", 1987, and the memoir "Witnessing Gwangju", 2020, by Paul Courtright. I highly recommend to read them if you're interested, as the writing is highly detailed, captivating and visual.

Leia Mais

Impressively goofy yet equally dark

A spiritual successor to Yuen Woo-ping's earlier triumph, Drunken Master, The Magnificent Butcher does take a while to get going but once it does, it doesn't let up. Its action is consistently wonderful, often the result of a misunderstanding due to Sammo Hung's character being too impatient to hear the whole story leading to a series of unfortunate events throughout. The combination of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao is always a treat and here it's no different, but as a comedy film first, the tone is right down the middle, featuring everything from fart jokes and the Popeye theme to an incestuous rape which drastically changes the direction of its story, if a little clumsily. Regardless, what The Magnificent Butcher does offer is Woo-ping patterned precision and creativity when conducting a fight scene with the two different tones of the movie offering such visceral moments of martial arts excellence.

Leia Mais

The only "BL" series where I have cried all the way through the BL NC scene!

There is a BL element to this--a very important one--but there is also a hetero romance.

This is an affecting and heart-warming story. It's not for everyone due to the May-December aspect. But the emotions are so well-portrayed and the story is so well-written. It's a tear-jerker for sure. And I don't cry during most films/series that other people say affected them.

I loved all three characters. We could perhaps have done with a little more clarification about why May fell for December (other than sex)... had she not dated for years, and if not, why not? It's hard to imagine a much younger man providing enough interest for her--other than love and sex. I'm not at all saying it's not possible, just that we needed to see a bit more of her to understand why she fell so hard. I would have rated it 9+ if that had been included, even briefly.

May's wish for her son's desire to be fulfilled before he died was so moving. It was a brilliant lead-up and climax to the story. And this is where I couldn't stop crying, with sadness and joy.
I'm so glad I watched this even though it stills makes me sad when I think about it.

Leia Mais

Good !

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but the movie had some flaws within it.

for example, It didn't exactly finish the plot once introduced, which was a bit annoying as I found that the plot was quite an interesting one.

Another example was with Hur Hyun-jun, actor of Go Yoo Han, who's acting felt a bit tasteless, almost as though he didn't want to be there.

There was good Things about this movie as well though!

Such as the acting of Tae-ui Hong, whom plays Choi Yon Woo in the film. His Emotions throughout it are strong, showing signs of grief, happiness and other emotions beautifully.

The storyline and overall plot was great too, giving a good opening to the film.

Overall, a good watch if you're bored and want to watch something that has a light horror aspect to it.

Leia Mais

I just finished watching and... I'm obsessed!! OOO did amazing job. This is right to slap the haters for calling them out to queerbait. As someone who stanned them since debut, I'm extremely proud of them. Hopefully with the drama more people will be able to recognize this amazing group. Special mention to LOML Taeyeob, you did great bby xo. I haven't read the manga yet however I'm considering it now after watching it!! It seems genuinely so good so I am looking forward to it. Please support our boys on this journey, fellow LyOns and people who are watching drama because they really deserve the recognization and appreciation for the stuff they do. They are extremely talented artist so please.. Support them.

Leia Mais

talk about surreal, OMG this was a trip & yet am confused. did any of what i saw happen? or this just Vita reading Jan Wen & Xu Axing's online web comic ?‍♀️ either way this Not(!) Horror (& this not the only pace it's tagged as such). get that anyone randomly shooting people is scary, even horrifying. but when u see a "Horror tag", it means something super nature, this psychological -

on a whole it was depressing & gloomy. the movie was separated into 3 acts.

the 1st half bored me out of my mind. Jan Wen walking around like a morbid, robotically depressed entity didn't arose my interest - heck i was bored out of my mind - zoning out, not even trying to bother & figure out WTH was going on, even though it was pretty straight forward so wasn't missing anything major (heck the 1st few sec already knew Xu Axing was infatuated with Jan Wen...) even before we find out he's gay.

the 2nd part was even more depressing, but at least wasn't bored - u got more of why Jan Wen walked around defeated (but for the life of me, i don't get how he goes from depressed bordering on total defeat / submission to despondency, to lets just randomly shoot people). isn't it more logical to shoot ones self & put an end to the suffering?!? u usually go shoot people cause u hate a group of people u think done u wrong - so this bit bothered me till the end.

the 3rd part was almost a rewind & re-figuration of the 2nd part - everything started off a bit different & Jan Wen chose a different path which is so much more optimistic & hope inducing until that bitter end (which makes u wonder; if someone is gonna have a bad end, is there a way to change that ultimate outcome or u doomed no matter what)...
*had to add, that i did feel sorry for Xu Axing who wasn't just infatuated but in-love with Jan Wen - after the lengths he was ready to go in the 2nd part. so even if he was ready to never admit this fact to his best-friend ever, it was all the more heartbreaking watching him long for something he would never have.

then come the after credits which left me "scratching my head" wondering WTF... so maybe i need to rewatch this a couple of time to get all the nuances / clues i missed the 1st time around. or need to understand Taiwanese let alone know more about the culture, but as this depressing & boring that wont be any day soon. ✌

Leia Mais

A beautifully sad tragedy

When we look at internationally acclaimed Filipino movies that have been released since 2019, we stumble across a bunch of young actors who I would call a ”golden generation”, because they all prove an outstanding talent as well as acting skills you simply wouldn't expect from actors below or in their early 20s. It all started in 2019 with ”Fuccbois” starring Kokoy de Santos, Royce Cabrera and Migs Villasis, ”Kalel,15” that was the foundation of Elijah Canlas' international career, and ”Metamorphosis” with a stunning performance by Gold Aceron.

Then think of some of the most beautiful BL series, like ”Gameboys”, where Elijah and Kokoy helped people around the world endure the pains of Covid lockdowns, ”Gaya sa Pelikula” which made Paolo and Ian Pangilinan international stars, ”Meet My Angel 1 and 2” with wonderful acting by Kaleb Ong and Enzo Santiago, gay series like ”Love at the End of the World”, ”Daddy Love” and ”Papa, What is Love?” starring Rex Lantano, plus lots of short films with the actors mentioned above, and you'll understand why I'm talking about a ”golden generation” of Filipino actors.

Today, I'm reviewing another example of a high quality movie, ”May December January”, which makes Kych Minemoto join this exclusive club of Filipino ”golden generation actors”, and I'm soon going to review the next highlight, ”About Us But Not About Us”, again with Elijah Canlas.

I'll keep the summary of ”May December January” short because I don't want to spoil all the wonderfully written and acted scenes of this tragedy – and a tragedy it is! It is the story of Pol (Gold Aceron), who is terminally ill with a heart disease, and who lives with his mother Claire (Andrea del Rosario) in a beautiful house in a remote part of the mountains. Pol's best friend Migoy (Kych Minemoto) spends a lot of time in this house, and he falls in love with Claire. Their affair turns into mutual affection and love, which they hide from Pol first. But Pol, who is gay and has a secret crush on Migoy, finds out about his mother's relationship with his best friend Migoy. His reaction reveals deep sadness and at the same time a deep love of his mother.

When Pol's health deteriorates, with the prospect of a sudden death, Claire asks Migoy to have sex with Pol so that Pol can experience this feeling before he dies. Pol and Migoy's sex scene is the climax of the movie, the more so as the viewer senses that Pol will die very soon after. It's heartbreaking when he actually does, and Migoy and Claire's wedding at the end of the movie may be the saddest wedding ever seen in a movie.

The story may sound like the plot of a cheap porn movie, and it could have been something like that if it hadn't been written so sensitively so that the backstories and motivations of all three characters become completely understandable. Even the sex scenes aren't voyeuristic, but they rather illustrate the steps of the evolution of the protagonists' relationships.

The fantastic acting adds to the impression that we aren't watching a movie targeting the viewers' inferior curiosity, but a beautiful character study that makes the obscure situation in the secluded house in the hills an interesting story of love, yearning, and fulfillment, albeit with the most tragic ending thinkable. We believe that Claire is overwhelmed by Migoy's love confession, and we understand that she struggles with herself before she accepts her own feelings towards the young man. We also believe that Migoy isn't aiming at a quick conquest, and we suffer with Pol when he accidentally discovers what's going on in his mother's bedroom.

After Kych's convincing acting as effeminate Achilles in ”Gameboys 2”, I was sceptical about him playing a seductive, obviously straight young man, but it is an indication of his acting skills that he masters both, somewhat opposing roles convincingly. Gold personifies Pol's character equally credibly – he has a talent of intruding viewers' minds so that they fall in love with the character he plays (sorry, Gold's amazing presence as an actor carries me away sometimes).

Kych and Gold have beautiful scenes together which prove that their respective characters really love and care of each other. There is a scene when Pol tries to steal a kiss from Migoy when they sleep in the same bed, and Migoy's reaction on Pol's confession of his secret crush is just beautiful acting from both Kych and Gold.

When it comes to the cinematography, I think it matches the sensitive approach of the script, as it is very cautious about disturbing the characters' privacy, which may sound contradictive since there are very intimate scenes indeed, but the camera always keeps a distance, or the scenery is a semi-dark room.

The setting is beautiful, although I must admit that this may be my personal prejudice. I simply love a rural setting, and in this movie not only the seclusion of Claire and Pol's house, but also scenes in the forest are very much my taste.

All in all, this movie approaches a sensitive subject very cautiously, and script, directing, and acting make it a piece of art. If you prefer light entertainment, I would advise you to avoid this movie, but if you can cope with a beautifully sad tragedy, this will be one for you.

Leia Mais

PSEUDO HISTORY AGAIN

This movie is a whole mess, a total wrong doing.
Lack of historical facts, lack of historical authenticity ( except that koreans were, and still are, so stupid that they didn't know any formation. In 1636.
This is one of the reason why Qing Dynasty dignified ruled in Korea, with a rightful conquest. In history, korea pretended to struggle, because they lacked any proper war tactics and techniques.
The movies shows that the fortress was an helpless way to struggle ( i would have preferred to show the General who fought after the King surrendered, to see Huang Taiji forgiving him and sending him back without any harm).
The King kneeling towards the rightful and good Great Qing could only be the only outcome.
They only accept their destiny of slaves, and it's not even nationalism of pride, it's even inferior that the ""Barbarians"" they fought, showing the real Barbarians is Korea itself.
And obviously, always cheering for our Great Qing.

Leia Mais

Insanely beautiful, a masterpiece in itself; this saga is one hell of a ride.

Everything has been said and done in almost all of the reviews so I'll keep this short.

The main protagonist, Himura Kenshin’s journey remained unexpectedly strong in all five movies. As the protagonist, him alone has been a unique and enjoyable character to follow, both for his dangerous "jinchuu" messages and his iconic "Oro" expressions.

I was definitely immersed all the way while following Kenshin and Kaoru's journey of protecting their "truth" in all five movies. I'm afraid I'd have a hard time forgetting the other characters as well. I pretty much got attached to Sonusuke, Megumi and Yahiko and It will surely take a while before I could move on from this family. Not to mention the smooth transitions and epic action scenes, I'm already feeling the urge to rewatch. I truly commend the Directors for their amazing work.

Now for the negatives. IMHO, Tomoe and Battosai's tragic but beautiful mess of a past almost overshadowed the main OTP. Maybe if they added more scenes between Kenshin and Kaoru-dono, their OTP would’ve really made a stronger impact than the former. Although Ken-Kao made me swoon a lot, they felt more platonic than romantic at first. Also, it really felt like Kaoru was just there to be a damsel in distress in the movies.

However, while Kenshin and Kaoru rarely interacted, the way their relationship played out was unexpectedly heartwarming. In the end, I found the main OTP to be a lot more meaningful and fruitful especially after watching "Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning". It was so beautiful how Kaoru turned out to be Kenshin's salvation and hope for a peaceful future.

I'd still say I rated "Rurouni Kenshin: The Last Saga" higher but overall, it is undeniable that this has become one of my top favourites. Satoh Takeru's acting really made me love this series more than I should have. Now, I heard Kaoru's a girl boss in the anime and manga, so now I'm off to check them out.

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