Reviews

Sh88ty college community project

This ain't a movie, it's a college community project gone wrong.
Messy acting, messy characters, f88ked up cinematography.
Horrible direction and a Horrendous experience.
The director who's also the screenwriter should be fired.

They chose a half-baked script based on some toxic relationship, like those f99ls who f88k around and created a screenplay out of it .
One could accept that the concept was good enough to proceed but the writing in such a manner.
All hell should break loose with such sh88ty dialogues.
Acting talent of both the leads was wasted.

I'm seriously angry at this lady who made this movie.
She shouldn't be found near the director's chair or writer's den.
Go do some other work blondie.

Leia Mais

Can see where they were going with it, but it's poorly executed.

Where do I begin....

After reading a few comments mentioning the snail pace of the movie, the awkward intimacy, the uncomfortable age gap, and still deciding to watch it - what surprised me the most is that none of those aspects are the ones that bothered me. From the first 5 minutes of the movie, I even thought I'll come to like it (ooh boy).

What did bother me is the normalization and romanticisation of the foundations of this relationship.

Sakurai is a 37 year old man who acts as if he has never been in a relationship before, and hence he does not know how to behave and control himself. He is displayed as the type of person to pick up a hobby (such as caring for a houseplant) and then neglecting and abandoning it after the novelty wears off. He proceeds to intrude on and quickly advance with a new housebody, the 19 year old Yoichi.

Yoichi lives a lonely life despite the fact that he's surrounded by 3 other tenants; whose backgrounds, personalities or significance are non-existent, as the only purpose they serve is to not only overlook the problematic advancement of this middle-aged stranger on their vulnerable 'friend', but to even encourage it, since that's probably cheaper than therapy.

Yoichi is just a kid who grew up surrounded by the rumour that his parents committed suicide together, hence abandoning their unloved son. His fist ever sexual awakening occurs due to a simple coincidence that Sakurai could guess what he was painting and could sense happiness emanating from Yoichi when he paints.

The setting couldn't be simpler - An emotionally stunted, depressed boy with daddy issues projects his need for a father figure and a sexual partner onto Sakurai, who, as a pent-up workaholic, can not keep it in his pants and upon realizing that he bit off more than he could chew, runs away. The only sensible thought that man coughed up was that their generation gap makes him uncomfortable.... and then proceeded to give the already constipated boy mixed messages and a game of push and pull (in the form of awkward hugs, fervent sleazy kisses, avoiding him, and at the end literally walking out in a middle of conversation).

The actor playing classmate Fujimoto, is out of place with how his acting is far better than all the characters combined.

In a nutshell, the movie was uncomfortable to watch. The overall vibe felt like a BL from 2000s Japan: undercooked and overly dramatized, but with really neat cinematography. If the ending was tweaked a bit and the couple did not end up together, making it a learning slope for Yoichi (such is life), then at least the whole situationship would not be painted rosy.

Leia Mais

Blood and Flesh

I have been trying to come up with a catchy first sentence to begin this review for the past hour, but I can't think of anything satisfying enough, so here we go.

Execution-wise the movie is splendid in all aspects from cinematography and directing to acting and music.
Unexpectedly it doesn't even feel draggy, even though it runs for two and a half hours.
However for some reason I don't feel like mentioning any of this is important, because it doesn't really matter comparing to the plot and what it felt like watching it.

Hunger deals with the theme of greed and the chasm between the poor and the rich. It doesn't romanticise anything and at some points it feels raw to a point that as a viewer I felt depressed, frustrated and angry but not in a way that it made it difficult to watch. It doesn't have any type of ''fairy-tale'' plot or the cliché of ''food made with love beats everything''.
It focuses on the importance of the choices that people make for themselves and how easy it is to turn into a person you hate.

Even though it doesn't feel preachy, I feel like they could tone it down a bit more to have a better balance.
I would definitely like a different ending, but it didn't degrade the rest of the film.

"The poor eat simply to satisfy their hunger, but when you have more than enough to eat your hunger doesn't end".

Leia Mais

Outstanding movie

Wow just wow. I’ve never written a review before but after been recommended this movie thought I’d give it a go. I love a movie or series that is slightly different and this was it. The actors, all of them where amazing but my heart just melted for Hwayi. He absolutely nailed his character, his eyes never lied, his expressions, everything. He was the true victim here. I’ve read a few reviews but my take on the ending differs to those. Hwayi’s ‘fathers’ where never his real dads, his real parents where the elderly couple who wouldn’t move home on the construction site. Hwayi was made to murder his real dad but at the time never knew he was his father, the flashbacks cemented this. I’ve seen a few comments that mentioned they wished one of the ‘fathers’ had killed Hwayi, not sure why. Each of his ‘fathers’ viewed and felt for Hwayi differently. I believe most of them would of killed Hwayi if the situation arose. There was only one dad however who I felt would save him if given the chance and genuinely cared for Hwayi. Another scene when one of the dads joined Hwayi at the toilet and mentioned to him about going to the baths. That concerned me, was it implying there was something untoward going on, however this was never explored. The ending I needed, he reached out to Young Joo who’d been like a mum to him. Very sad movie though.

Leia Mais

YNEH just gave me the hardest slap of reality fr!!!!

This is one of the well-made BL out there, raw and real. The roughest depiction of reality about the "back in the day" era where homosexuality is seen sinful and prejudiced by many. Yes those instances where a group of straight male peers who tried to set fire in a gay's dick in the bathroom! I love how the drama was portrayed especially with two commendable main leads. I'm really a sucker for actors who delivers the drama that I needed and what is needed. Edward Chen's acting is superb and outstanding especially where the drama became intense: Chang Jia Han having intense dialogue with the priest about how homosexuality is a sin and him and Birdy having steamy scene in the bathroom and the dramatic fight in the guidance's office where Jia Han defends Birdy from his father. Tseng Jing Hua as Birdy delivered very well too.

I also love how the drama swayed from stigma towards LGBTQIA to the realistically relatable feeling of Jia Han struggling to hold his emotions because he fell out of love bucz of Birdy. I was like being so invested in the drama that I love the sequencing of it. It didn't really stayed on one topic which is homophobia but also martial law, unrequited love and rebellion of youth group. The drama never failed to stab daggers in my heart everytime Jia Han get hurt. I imagined that I was him and just wanting to own Birdy all by myself.
One of the scene that stood out to me was the one dialogue of Jia Han something along the lines "If homosexuality is a sin and gay people condemned into hell then I beg Him to put me in hell to be happy to who I want to love, please I'm begging you!" That line from me is gut wrenching bcuz Jia Han begs to be understood as a man begging to be happy loving another man regardless.

Jia Han just stood out to me bcuz of how passionate he is to Birdy and how he go through extreme extent to protect him. Birdy, on the other hand, needs a brick in the head to realize how hurtful it is for Jia Han to be ignored and pushed aside just bcuz a girl entered the scene. I hate the scene where Birdy punched Jia Han bcuz he was interfering his confrontation with his father in the office. I don't really get why he did that. That's just awful bcuz Jia Han never deserve something like that.

I love the direction, the jumping on every different scenes in the series. One scene after another which overlapped beautifully. The cinematography is aesthetically nostalgic which kinda resembles that of I Told Sunset About You. It's just beautiful when they incorporate that effect to emphasize the nostalgia of living back in the day. The writings for this movie is well executed. The realistic depiction of this raw ass movie is just outstanding for me. The explicit scenes in the grave where these hoes getting steamy with guys in a cemetery lot, the sensual touch of Jia towards Birdy's body, the scene in beach where Jia and Birdy got naked enjoying the water and laying naked in the sand. Those, were just chef's kiss. One of the touching scenes of the movie that I also love was the one Jia conversing with Birdy through the telephone and tearfully played his written song for him to listen. It's just a beautiful scene just enough to make your eyes watery and provoke your emotions.

I also want to pinpoint very few flaws of the movie. The fact that the two never really end up together and they grew older separately only to meet up years later. That's something I think they need to change. While that can be something true to happen, it's just dissatisfying for me. Not really a fan of them being separated then grew older just to cross paths with each other again. I kinda like the ending tho but I think there must be another cool ending to that.

Overall, this is really a very good movie to just get you in your emotions and make your eyes sore from crying. I might add that this was one of the best BLs out there bcuz it mirrors reality about how people in the past being prejudiced toward gay people. This is just a masterpiece I never expected but greatly appreciated.

Leia Mais

Hunger is greed

Food here could be substituted with any materialistic object with the vs of rich people. You either run towards something and you lose time, ie poor people, or you have too much of something and you lose it's value
Life is about balance, about gratefulness and about giving more than receiving. Rich people might think they have more but in reality they have so much less because they're never satisfied
Poor people are never happy because they always want more


Great filmography quality the biggest benefit of Netflix production. beautiful food. a nice message of poor vs rich, hunger, greed, definition of success, and be satisfied with what you have vs what you could have.

Not enough grittiness, aokbab is a great actress but her stoic richbitch vibe didn't feel as greedy as she should've been. The 1 second nudity was uncalled for and the downside of Netflix

The way those rich people ate was way too gross, and tho I understand the hunger metaphor and I don't doubt rich people do live their lives devouring their pleasures, but I also don't think they'd go around like eating animals, etiquette is a rich people nature
Overall good but not great

Leia Mais

A movie masterpiece honoring of the unsung heroes of China during WW II

The acting is superb, everyone in the cast giving a nuanced performance that adds to the tension and overall intrigue of the film. The editing and cinematography is top notch with every frame seemingly poetic with how Director Cheng Er juxtaposed both light and shadows for ultimate effect. There are a lot of notable scenes in this movie and Wang Yibo especially shined. The final confrontation between Yemi and Watanabe was so gripping, that one can almost feel the palpable tension and dread in the air. I highly recommend this movie. A must watch, although I highly doubt you’d be satisfied seeing it only one time.

Leia Mais

A Masterpiece of a movie that keeps you engrossed from start to finish

Having just watched Hidden Blade I can honestly say I haven't been so engrossed in a movie in a long time. The cinematography is exquisite. Storytelling by Cheng Er = amazing, love the non linear timeline. Tony Leung is top notch as always, his scene with Zhou Xun is chefs kiss. Honourable mention to Hiroyuki Mori.

As for Wang Yibo, he was absolutely riveting, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His duality, the strength and vulnerability he showed brought his character to life in a way know one else could. At parts he was absolutely chilling and made my blood run cold, someone please give him a purely evil role. He held his own against the legend that is Tony Leung and that says it all.

I will watch it again as there are so many little things that I know I missed out on.

Cheng Er did a brilliant job with all the foreshadowing, I love his mind and I will go check out his other works.

Leia Mais

Situational humor at its best.

I watched this for Lee Yi Kyung, cause him doing comedy can never go wrong but the show stealer is Kwak Dong Hyun by the end. He got the ending portion you couldn’t expect.

NK and SK fights are world known but for this lottery ticket, few of the military personnel of both countries join hands. They fight, agree, and disagree by finally making an alliance to be fair and the journey of frustration happens. There are some hilarious moments, which hurt my jaw from laughing. There is never a dull moment.

Go Kyung Pyo was silently hilarious but his farming skills were extraordinary. all the supporting characters are good too.
NK female soldier was so sweet and beautiful. Kwak Dong Hyun is winner.

Must watch for a stressful day.

Leia Mais

Bromance between Police Academy Students: a fiery midnight run !

This movie is centred on a duo of police academy students that find themselves investigating a crime in the middle of the night, literally running all over the place trying to help.

I found the pacing of the film really well done: it is never boring and manage to deliver a clear message. The protagonists are efficiently defined and well-conceived: the viewer understand very quickly their motivations, characteristics and their relationship. The plot is not that nuanced: it is not very critical on the current system and can be seen as a bit simplistic. But overall, what matters is that the story is earnest in its intentions and is gratifying.

The 2 main actors were awesome: they had great chemistry together, they wore their hearts on their sleeves and were really complementary. I'm not surprised by their amazing performances given their respective body of work.

The soundtrack was not overly present but I found the ending song upbeat enough to conclude in a satisfying way the movie. The filmmaking was really good in terms of fight scenes as well as training and practices scenes of our 2 "rookies"/ungraduated cops.

I would recommend this to people that love one of the main male leads and that are looking for a great and entertaining cop movie!

Leia Mais

You'll be dissapointed ...

I'm maybe late here but I still want to inform potential viewers about this movie

let's cut to the chase, if you had fell in love with the series i would suggest you to not put your hopes up on this movie.

you wouldn't get as much excitement as you would felt watching the series, for instance.
there are some aspects that are "chotto" unsatisfying, if you had watch the series I'm sure that you're familiar with the theme song.. sadly the theme song only played once in this movie and the timing isn't even right, it is played in the middle of the movie when kurosaki was talking about his plans, they didn't play it in crucial moments like when kurosaki revealed his final move to his victim (like usual and i find that really interesting and exciting as a viewer) and I found that really unsatisfying.. i just couldn't see the final blow being the final blow when "daite daite daite senorita tsuyoku tsuyoku tsuyoku hanasanaide" isn't playing

the other thing.. let's treat this "movie" as a long bonus episode.
Nothing happened in the movie that was able to make viewers goes "WOW" the story is obviously great, but this isn't worth being a movie i just felt as if it's another episode and the storyline here is just not what many people were expecting

overall, I'm disappointed in this movie and I'm sure I'm not the only one

Leia Mais

Still funny and entertaining as the first movie. But honestly, this can already stop here.

It was as if Sang-sook (Ra Mi-ran) has already changed for the better, but old habits just die hard. Until karma hit her again, and this time, much harder than before.

I was initially apprehensive for this sequel, since the first movie was already adequate with its story and ended with a closure. This time, I am glad that it was still able to retain the foundations of its predecessor that made it funny in the first place, for the most part.

Sang-sook was as kooky as ever, and Hee-cheol (Kim Mu-yeol), as loyal as he is to her, was just as entertaining as well to watch. Their dynamic was explored more here, and it, being this story's core, was one of the better points of this movie, if not its highlight. Individually, they were already funny, and together, it was truly comical.

One thing to note is that the comedy this time was more superficial and toned down compared to the first one. Maybe it was because it was set on a provincial setting which is not as robust as the capital Seoul, but it was still enjoyable. I just laughed with their foolishness at the beginning, then towards the "return of the curse" at the middle, until the "plot twist" at the end. Also maybe, because I was just in the mood to watch a mindless comedy film in that this movie just clicked with me.

The pacing and story direction were satisfactory as well. New characters and settings were introduced here, and it was quite good how it was drawn out. Pony (Park Jin-joo) could've been more fleshed out, since the actress really shines in comedic dramas. Her character could've been given a bigger role on the story.

In terms of pacing, there weren't filler scenes all througout the movie, but since the story events were already predictable, the screenwriter and director had to bank on proper comedic timing to really make this sequel as interesting as the first one, and they were mostly successful on that aspect.

In terms of production, I was amazed on the CGI effects on one scene about the long term goals of a certain entity (I have to make this spoiler-free hehe). There weren't really standout production and screenplay value here, but nonetheless, it was coherently done.

The ending was more or less the same, bringing up again the possibly of another sequel. I, for one, though found this one to be still funny and entertaining as the first movie. But honestly, this can already stop here.

Leia Mais

Flying across the world was worth it

Ok so first I don’t speak Japanese and the movie didn’t have subtitles. I haven’t read the novels or listened to the audio cd’s.

I came across Utsukare last year and was beyond impressed by the acting and story. So getting news of a second season and movie with a theatrical release felt very special and I decided to go to Japan for the experience.


When I made that decision, I intentionally didn’t want to read the novel or synopsis until after seeing s2 and the movie because I came into the world of Utsukare based on the show/visual medium and I wanted to continue my journey unspoiled without overly knowing the written material.


So opening night, I get some merch, get a ginger ale, and sit and let the movie show me a story.

Absolutely true a lot of the nuance and context of what was happening was beyond me.
Here is my tumblr recap - https://www.tumblr.com/anotherblblog/713949084636119040/ok-so-i-came-to-japan-to-watch-utsukushii-kare

Some are taking criticism at my recap because I don’t speak Japanese.

I went to Japan to watch this on the big screen because I wanted to see Utsukare big and bright and I got that experience.

With 2 seasons of HiraKiyo, I felt the movie picked up and continued their relationship well. Hira is more direct and involved and even with his insecurities still is there for Kiyoi and not yearning in place beneath him.
The mentors are really solid in their lives. The music is mostly new but with some familiar elements.


What I wanted for this experience was for it to feel like a movie. Big cinematic set pieces but I didn’t wanna lose the feeling of Utsukare.

I think the movie delivered on both.

The movie took set pieces and vignettes from the television series - HiraKiyo sleeping together and elevated it for the big screen. More tulle. Longer runtime. More heat. There are 2 high heat scenes and a handful of domestic fondness. They’re a couple. They feel like a couple. When they look at each other. When they touch. And it’s continuing a lot of the emotional tension in season 2 with Kiyoi wanting more. And Hira gives it to him. And Hira even gives it to him in a bathtub.

Where in season 1 Hira ran alone through the school a lot, in the movie he runs leading Kiyoi through a slo-mo cinematic fantasy run through the school but also through their past that they didn’t quite have in season 1. But seeing them again in their full school uniform and their casual wear felt real for me because it felt real for them.

The 10 episodes of seasons 1 and 2 led to this experience and I was very happy to have seen it, now three times.

I will love going back with subtitles and seeing how it’s translated for the international audience. But I’m content and impressed by what I’ve seen.

10/10.

Leia Mais

TOO SHORT

Everything is amazing about the movie the only problem is I think is that the writer or the director were in a hurry to do the shooting cuz if the film had been an 1 hour longer it would have been a blockbuster at least outside South Korea(i don't know about the taste of people there). The scenes were really sped up jumping from one plot scene to another. The fighting scenes looked very real. Still all I could think was if the makers increased their budget and instead of making a movie they made a short series this show would have been the first recommendation if people searched Lee Min Ki on internet.And i think Lee Min Ki would have done good in Hollywood too if he knew fluent English

Leia Mais

"Is it expensive because it's special, or special because it's expensive?"

Hunger followed Aoy from street food chef to the world of decadent fine dining. Thailand's class divide was explored through the world of cooking with a rather dismal view of the wealthy and the chefs who catered to them. The competition for food and domination led the main characters to define what it was they were really hungry for and what they were willing to sacrifice to sate that craving.

Aoy works in her family's small, crowded restaurant. Her friends are all searching for jobs, envious that she had a job waiting on her after graduation. Tone, a sous chef for Hunger, an exclusive catering company for the extremely wealthy, gives her a card to audition for a job opening. As run down and hot as the family eatery is, Hunger is large, militantly clean and organized, and run with an iron fist by Chef Paul.

During Aoy's tenure with the volatile chef, she learns much about herself and her hunger. Initially, she hungered to be special. As she is introduced to the lavish styles of the rich and famous she yearns for some of that for herself, especially when she sees Chef Paul treated like a rock star. Chef Paul hungers to remain relevant and on top, willing to do anything necessary to stay there. When he crosses the line legally, Aoy realizes she can no longer work for the popular chef. But she goes from one frying pan into the fiery wok. A promoter named Tos hires her to be the head chef for his new restaurant. She becomes scarcely more than a marketable commodity which all comes to a head at a bacchanalia party pitting her against Chef Paul in a cook-off.

Chef Paul's disdain for the upper class that kept him in his expensive home and lifestyle was shown through the meals he prepared for them. Bloody food, red sauces dripping from lips, raw meat lowered from the ceiling in a theatrical show brought out the primal, even sacrificial instincts in the diners. They didn't have the ability to understand quality, only the showmanship and popularity of the chef. In contrast, Aoy hungered to cook with love and with the flavors that had meaning for her. She hoped to touch the place inside where familial memories remained.

Hunger asked some interesting questions. "Is it expensive because it's special or special because it's expensive?" Which begged the question in regards to Chef Paul, was his food any good or did the diners perceive it to be good because of the display and rarity of ingredients? When Chef Paul insisted a diner drag the lobster tail through a gray sauce reminiscent of clay, did it actually taste delicious or was it supposed to because of the presentation? Also, "What you eat represents your social status." Which, again, doesn't always imply quality, just more rarity of delicacies.

Hunger went beyond the desires of food and class and even briefly delved into the physical. While massaging a slice of meat, Aoy and Tone shared a primal intimate moment as they caressed each other with their meat covered hands. Tone did not share the same level of hunger for fame and success as Aoy and Chef Paul leading to problems between the two young people.

The two ambitious chefs ended up seeking different routes to satisfy their ravenous cravings to be the best. Chef Paul was willing to sacrifice anyone and anything, including his morals to remain the supreme chef to the wealthy. Aoy had to determine what she was truly hungry for. Could only the hedonistic rich crown her with success and self-esteem or could her hunger be satisfied elsewhere?

If hunger had a flaw, it would be that the hammering of the debauchery of the wealthy was done too repeatedly and without any nuance. The film did seem overly long as well. I can't say that the bloody looking plates of food seemed appealing but they did showcase Chef Paul's inner contempt for his clients.

The central thrust of the film came down to Aoy's choices. Aoy had to decide what she truly hungered for and what would satisfy that inner craving to be special. What would she be willing to part with and what did she want to embrace? Hunger may not have completely satisfied me or introduced me to anything new, but I found it comforting and not too overbaked.

4/8/23

Leia Mais