Reviews

"Swordsmanship means right-mindedness"

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple continues the story of Miyamoto Musashi from the first film. Where a young Takezo/Musashi spent much of the time in the first one running around in the woods with angry villagers chasing him, this time he spends a lot of time evading ambushes by a school of samurais that are offended that this nameless swordsman can soundly beat any of them. He also has the two women who loved him from the first film hot on his trail. What's a swordsman to do?

True to his word, Musashi wanders the countryside in order to hone his skills. He duels a man with a chain and scythe, defeating him easily. A monk watching the duel tells him he's too strong and that a man's strength is not forever. To become a true samurai he must learn chivalry as well. Musashi puts a pin in that and takes on the Yoshioka School demanding a duel with the young master of the house. The samurai in the school don't think their master is up to it and seek opportunities to ambush the unknown swordsman.

Meanwhile, the characters from the previous film have moved on. Otsu has gone back to the temple forlorn over Musashi choosing the sword over her. Akemi is working as an entertainer for men, with her mom pimping her out. Her mom, Oko, now married to Musashi's friend Matahachi is cheating on him and waiting for the chance to sell her daughter and ditch him. Akemi still pines for Musashi but is being courted hard by Sasaki, another gifted swordsman. And of course, Matahachi's mom is still crying out for Musashi's blood even after she literally bumps into her ne'er-do-well son. Just for good measure she adds Otsu onto her blood list.

Some battles are better than others as we aren't always shown the end of the fights, only the deadly outcomes. Many fights are at dawn or at night, filmed in the day to look like night which can make the action hard to see. The final battle shows Mifune's fiery fury as he battles 80 samurai, having to use strategy as well as his sword. He also learns much to the priest Takuan's delight when to beat a hasty retreat. Even after treachery and blood lust, the future noble fighter, writer, and artist learns compassion or at least chivalry. He also renounces women. With the crazy ones in his life, might not have been a bad idea.

Mifune Toshiro truly made this character come alive with a wide variety of emotions. His energy and charisma are hard to resist watching. Godzilla's Hirata had few scenes, but the terror in eyes facing Musashi was greater than when facing the Big G. Once again, the women were portrayed in typical 1950's sexist fashion. They were dangerously jealous, short-sighted, obsessive, liars, and emotionally unstable all around. Throw in murderous as well. And then there was Akemi's mother who sat idly by while her daughter was raped so that she could profit off her. Not a good apple in the whole feminine basket.

Though there weren't as many scenic outdoor scenes as the first film, there were still enough to satisfy most viewers. The indoor and outdoor sets varied as to how well they came across. Some were quite realistic and others might be found on a theater's stage.

Samurai II was a more compelling film than the first with more dire consequences and challenges for a majority of the characters. I look forwarding to watching the final installment to see how Musashi transforms on his walk to become a better swordsman and more mindful person. And whether in all the spiritual enlightenment he receives he learns how to take a woman's rejection better.

3/8/23

Leia Mais

It's a short film worth seeing because it's pretty good, funny at times, and has some really good actors.

It's about how a particular woman perceives her body. I think a lot of people can relate to this situation. The presented situation concerns a mother who doesn't want food to go to waste. She is the one who eats all the leftovers, which results in a slight weight gain. This makes her anxious. Her husband sees all this and the events are also presented from his perspective. Ultimately, he tries to support her and not lead to a situation where the woman eats between meals.
I liked how the husband's perspective was shown. He tried to explain and appreciate everything.

Leia Mais

Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto is the first in a Samurai trilogy starring the charismatic Mifune Toshiro as the titular legendary swordsman. This film sets up the story from the time he was a brash "lawless" teenager looking to become a samurai to the point when his wild will is tamed.

Mifune was already thirty-four when this film was released and looked every bit a man, but he did try to give Takezo a younger man's emotional vulnerability. Takezo as he was called in his youth and his buddy Matahachi run off and join the wrong side of the Sekigahara Battle. Carrying a wounded Matahachi, the two end up at a hut with a mother and daughter. The women take them in and care for them until bandits show up. Takezo fights them off while Matahachi and the daughter Akemi take the more expensive items the women have stripped off of fallen samurai to hide. When the mom, Oko, puts the moves on Takezo (just like her daughter had done before her), the young man refuses her and runs to the river to bathe. Upon returning he finds that everyone, including his feckless buddy, have evacuated the premises. When he arrives at his home village, he's turned into a fugitive because Matahachi's mother and the rest of the villagers want their pound of flesh from him for supposedly abandoning Matahachi! Eventually the local Buddhist priest talks him into turning himself in. Matahachi's ex-fiance, Otsu, who received a letter from his new wife is now firmly on Takezo's side and frees him and runs away with him. She is later captured and in the process of attempting to save her, Takezo is once again caught or better, rescued, by the priest who locks him in a room filled with Buddhist texts. Three years later, he's calmed down, more enlightened and ready to travel the wilds in order to further his training. He is gifted with a new name---Musashi Miyamoto.

The film was beautifully shot in color which showed off the stunning scenery as Takezo traveled through the countryside. The battle scenes captured the fear many of the men felt as they were outnumbered and literally outgunned by the opposing side during the great fight. The tall grasses and trees could come monotonous though when Takezo was relentlessly hunted by the people from his village.

That same monotony began to set in with me when a large part of the film was devoted to Takezo being chased and hounded on the thinnest of charges. He'd come home to let Matahachi's mother know her son was alive though he wouldn't give the shameful reason why he hadn't returned home and in return Takezo was left out to dry. Though all this might have been to show his untamed and fierce nature, it dragged on too long for me. It mirrored Takezo attempting to tame Akemi's wild stallion. He never did through force. The priest's gentle nature and spirituality was able to reach deep within his depths and help calm the young man and center him. I would have loved to have seen the actual growth period in Takezo instead of skipping over it. He went from unfocused and out of control to self-disciplined with more insight. It would be like a baking show giving all the main ingredients and then displaying an ornately decorated cake without showing how it was made. I want to see how he went from a bare-footed, half-naked, wild-eyed teenager to a confident, restrained, and dare I say it, elegant looking young man.

Aside from the journey of self, this film was helped by the powerful presence of Mifune Toshiro who went through a gamut of emotions believably. I don't know if this film would have succeeded in lesser hands. As with many of these 1950's film, the women's characters didn't fare so well. Akemi and her mother both throw themselves at Takezo, with the mother lying that Takezo attempted to assault her. Akemi's mother contemplates selling her near the end of the film. Otsu goes from completely devoted to Matahachi to eternal devotion to Takezo. And Matahachi's mother refuses to listen to reason so deep is her bloodlust.

I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I was underwhelmed with this film aside from Mifune's energetic performance. However, I am looking forward to the second film and seeing where Musashi's journey of self-discovery and swordplay take him.

3/8/23

Leia Mais

Not for everyone, but for its target audience, it's brilliant!

Slow? Yes.
Pretentious? Some will say so.
Worth watching? See the above.

A man is found dead at the bottom of a mountain; the lead detective is very thorough but also unhappily married, and the widower is a stunner he feels himself gradually falling for. As emotions begin to cloud his judgement and the case becomes much too personal, can the detective re-establish a professional distance... and does he want to?

This film reminded me of Hitchcock's stuff; I personally enjoyed it a great deal but I can understand why others wouldn't like it.
The acting is really good - I was totally enthralled by the characters - the script is definitely faultless for the most part and, where I really liked the way it was shot and cut together, there will be many who will say it's "arty" or "pretentious"... and I can see their point, but it's by no means one of those crappy style over substance type of films.

Recommended.

Leia Mais

Cute Umbrellas and Sweet but meeh

This is a story about the poor girl who wanted to marry Jungkook as a way to avoid getting in to a complicated relationship and the boy who come from a very complicated yet wealthy family...

The two basically fall in love if it was before or after an umbrella unfolded is unclear but I am pretty sure a see though umbrella had something to do with their feelings of attraction.. .in another Donny and Belle movie... one of those where you basically know what you are getting in to ones you start watching. Not a lot of substance but more melted cheese than Pizza Hut uses world wide in a year.

The leads acting and chemistry is decent, they look very comfortable with each other on screen which is probably a result of being paired together a lot, but I do not see a lot more. There is not much steam instead we get a cloud of fluff to cover 80% of the film.

There are som nice lines here and there, cliches... Lovely umbrellas, the umbrellas of this drama are mentioned more than most of the supporting characters, so the creators of this did indeed show some umbrella appreciation. There is alos some obvious IKEA presence done cute.

The parents including step paren are portrayed as as both loving, selfish, controlling I will leave it to you to find out which is which, But warn you that some of these people could use an acting lesson or 10 , which is a shame.

There are som cute portrayals of friendship as well as brotherhood. To be perfectly honest I am not really sure if the brother is there to add depth or spice, but there is a brother with a mental disability in here that is portrayed the same way people with mental disabilities are often portrayed with the added bonus of how his own family treats him.

All in all an ok watch, nothing I recommend but nothing I advise against either.

Leia Mais

Tension, Nightmares, Dream Reality. Blood, Beautiful AND Nothing You Expect.

I hope potential viewers read many of the reviews for a more balanced understanding of what is ahead of them. (I usually prefer not to be influenced and didn't read until afterwards.)

If you haven't watched many surealist films (there are actually many) perhaps it will be confusing. There are in a way more than one story being told. The linear movement that leads to the change of location and gives the main character her instructions AND the story which is contained within the nightmares and flashbacks of the main character. The nightmares become clues for the viewer despite not yet being clues for the dreamer. There are also clues to look, AND listen for in the dreamy reality of the daytime scenes.

Some have complained about the subtitles but I didn't even notice. In most dramas or films I usually have to rewind several times to catch what is said.

The music is a nonentity except for the occasions where it is performed by a character. This is when the subtitles are a bit more difficult.

The cinematography is beautiful.

In my opinion the acting was great.

I liked the script.

Therefore I think the director did a great job.

Some reviewers thought there was not enough fleshing out of the family members shown in the actual memories. I suggest this be interpreted as how the main character experienced those people.

Rewatch potential; immediately after watching I thought, well if I could see it on a larger ( TV ) screen rather than my tablet I might.

After reading many of the reviews I feel more eager to watch again.

It is Beautiful AND Nothing You Expect.

Leia Mais

Humans who are demonic and demons who are humane ... no "black and white" to this story

WOW I am giving this a 10/10 because it I found it so profound. The pace of the movie is a bit slow so I upped the playback, but still, it is not bad for a 2004 production. I thought the acting was a bit average ... but it didn't bother me because the story line was so compelling (for me anyway). I thought the visual FX were pretty good too for back then. There are slight differences between the movie and the anime (which I finished watching before I watched this movie), so I want to read the original manga (published in 1972) as this story has a hell of a lot to say about humanity; good and evil; god and demon etc. It reminds me a bit of Alice in Borderland ... I just love that kind of in your face mental / psychological challenge. Given the themes to this movie I found it rather ironic that the actors playing Ryo and Akira are brothers ＼(^ᴗ^)／

I thought the movie was very existential ... what is it to be human ... are all humans the 'same' ... should there be some distinction made between them (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ... do ALL lifeforms have the right to live or only 'designated' lifeforms ... and if so, who gets to designate and by what right (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ ... if there is a 'Satan' then who and what is 'god' ... if 'god' hates and has favourites then what kind of god is it ... is it just another entity with its own vested interests (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ ... so much to think about.

Seeing humanity release their own inner 'demons' like crazed rabid animals, makes you wonder who the real demons are ... killing indiscriminately and justifying that with a perverse hypocritical sanctimoniousness and irrationality ...it is just sickening. The devilmen had more humanity than the humans do. The movie is like a conglomerate telling of human history repeating itself ... the witch hunts ... ethnic cleansing ... religious purging ... political purging ... mob murders ... the vigilante groups ... bullying because of 'differences' ... humans have been doing this throughout its history and sadly has NOT learned anything in the process ... not 'advanced' in anyway.

The portrayal of mob psychosis and its blood soaked results is a terrifying portrayal of humanity and how easy it is for people to slip into that demented state. Is there another course of action (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ ... beautiful Miki and Miiko ... human and devilman ... emanate a type of acceptance and kindness that sees lifeforms not by their designation but by their heart ... seems to me that kind of approach to life can go a long long way to reducing the collective misery on themselves and other inhabitants of the planet ... but how come they have it but others don't ... is it something you are born with or can acquire (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ.

The ending was poignant ... the pure demon did not want to lose the human/devilman and the young human child and devilman woman come out from the rubble and walk into the future ... I wonder how they will go ... what will they do differently and is that even possible (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ ... they are kind of like a new "Adam and Eve" walking in hell.

I wonder if what we think of as 'human' is not so much a human body, but more of a "quality or state of being" that can be expressed regardless of the form an entity takes ... human, demon, animal, plant etc. (•ิ.•ิ)ゞ
Anyway, this was a profound and poignant movie and, for me, definitely rewatchable.

Leia Mais

Monstrously bad

Kung Fu Monster is an uneven comedy that fails with the comedy more often than not. It also fails to live up to its title with very little monster or kung fu.

The beginning of the film is all over the place narrative wise, making it very hard to keep up with who is who, especially when some of the faces will never be seen again. To top it off, it's not told chronologically so you just have to go with it until later on when flashbacks explain what happened and to whom, although those events aren't in order either. They leave it to the viewer to figure out what happened. Basically, a group of bandits and rebels gather together to steal the reward for the capture of the Imperial Secret Policeman Si Hai (Louis Koo) who released a furry monster with big eyes that looks a lot like a gremlin from a secret jail because he couldn't train it to be a killer as the evil Eunuch Yehe wanted. He also sprang Bing Bing, the beautiful incarcerated daughter of an executed man. Basically, in for a penny, in for a pound. He's ultimately caught and encased in a coffin to be sent back to the eunuch. Meanwhile, the group of miscreants plan to steal what they think is silver in the coffin by staging a trap at an abandoned inn. All but Bing Bing are furious when it turns out there's no silver, only the wanted policeman. Not a problem, there's a bounty on his head and they are prepared to turn him in. When the furby shows up, I mean monster, now they can collect 30,000 more for it. This being a movie short on logic, of course they change their minds and decide to help, especially when there isn't another choice as the eunuch closes in on them.

There's almost no kung fu, there's a little magic fu, but not much fighting at all. Near the end of the movie there's finally a little monster kung fu, but that's a generous interpretation. So, if you are looking for some good fights, this isn't the movie. They even rip-off the Hulk's funniest scene with Loki from The Avengers movie.

The only thing that actually made me laugh was an officer named Detective White-browed Fei whose white brows were removable. Even when being used as a practice dummy for the gang's knives he was insisting on martial arts decorum. How funny you think the movie is depends on how well you like slapstick and apparently I have a very low tolerance for it. I also have a low tolerance for lots of random events happening just to have something moving the story along.

I found the movie to be too frenetic, jumping from mood to mood. One minute a monster is recklessly charging through the inn, the next there's a romantic dance scene, then death is on the line. There wasn't remotely enough time to develop any of the characters. Most of the actors did the best with what they could for their thinly drawn characters. Zhou Dong Yu gave the most complex performance even though her character was initially very annoying. Louis Koo looked as if he was thinking, "What has happened to my career?" The CGI monster was not the greatest even though it was supposed to be adorable given that it cooed whenever it was onscreen. A "cute" monster doesn’t draw me in unless they give me a reason for it to. It would have also been nice if they'd explained the presence of monsters in the late Ming Dynasty. World building matters.

Kung fu and monsters are two movie genres I enjoy, but this movie was the dumbest and most chaotic movie I've seen in a while. Honestly, the outtakes were better than the movie. Kung Fu Monster should have been fun, but I found myself sympathizing with Louis Koo---someone get me out of here!

3/7/23

Leia Mais

"You live, I'll live. You die, I'll die."

The Lady Hermit is a rarity in the kung fu world. Its two main characters are both female fighters. In this movie, Cheng Pei Pei, much like she did in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", has to train a headstrong younger female. And also a rarity, even though Lo Lieh was a good guy and training with the two women, it was the women who faced down the Big Bad in the finale instead of leaving it to a man to handle. The main character throughout is actually the one in the title.

This is a dream casting for me. I loved the chemistry between Cheng Pei Pei and Lo Lieh in 1968's Golden Sparrow. They still had a good chemistry in this one. Leng Yu Shuang, aka The Lady Hermit, has been recuperating in hiding after nearly dying from the wounds inflicted by The Black Demon (Wang Hsieh) three years earlier. She and Chang Chun have a friendly relationship but he clearly wants something more from the maid at the escort service. Along comes a hot-headed martial artist with a whip, Cui Ping (Shih Szu) who's looking to make a name for herself and also wants the legendary Lady Hermit to train her. The Lady Hermit has to rescue Cui when she ends up surrounded by a sea of sword carrying bad guys. The Black Demon likely had to put a help wanted sign out after Leng finished with them. Cui's actions lead to Leng's whereabouts being known and the two women go on the run. Leng relents and trains Cui and later Chang when he shows up. When Cui sees a close moment between Leng and Chang she storms off in a jealous fit to take on the Black Demon herself. Fortunately for her, Leng and Chang follow her as there are enough baddies for everyone to take on, in the race to reach the Black Demon's lair and the evil martial artist with the ugliest of rodent fingernails.

The Lady Hermit took its time developing the relationships between the three main characters. And though it's said there was a love triangle Chang only had eyes for Leng. Cheng Pei Pei had an intense and graceful charisma as the noble warrior for justice. Her expressive face draws you into her story and makes you believe her. At the ripe old age of twenty-five, Pei Pei was near the end of her tenure with Shaw Brothers, Shih Szu at eighteen was just rising in the ranks. Shih's performance depended on a lot of pouting which could wear thin at times. Lo Lieh was striking in one of his good guy roles before being relegated to villains. It wasn't often he played the romantic lead and was able to utter lines like, "You live, I'll live. You die, I'll die." Wang Hsieh as the Big Bad had little to do until the end when he had to wag his nasty fingernails and battle his fierce feminine rivals.

Though most of the fights were sword-fights or with a whip, people died in a variety of gruesome ways. When Lady Hermit said she wanted an arm, a leg, and a head, she was being literal. Objects like plates and chopsticks became imbedded in people's heads. You'll think about bamboo skewers differently after watching this as well. For 1971, the fights were decently fluid and dynamic.

The sets were top quality for SB, both on the sound stage and outdoor sets. Some SB movies had what were obviously disposable sets suitable for throwing opponents through, these sets were more substantial. A rope bridge was a nice touch especially when you knew someone was going to cut it. The dummies falling into the river below though obvious added depth to the scene. If the falling dummies added depth, a tall temple that had to be climbed added height. Some costumes were better than others. No gold or silver lamé, but the upper tier minions wore badly ornate gold headbands.

The Lady Hermit took the time to develop the three main characters enough for you to care about them and though there was a love interest, it wasn't the focal point of this movie. Like her male counterparts, The Lady Hermit was a lone warrior who liked to be alone. If you are a fan of old martial arts films this is definitely one to try. I enjoyed this film, as much for the chemistry between the characters as for the fighting and in these old films that is almost as rare as a female warrior who is able to fight her own battles and doesn't die a bitter death at the end for breaking with tradition.

3/7/23

Leia Mais

One love story that tell you when you know you know...

One love story that tell you when you know you know... Hyun Woo & Mi Soo from the first time we already know they will gonna end up together, just the matter of how & when, and themselves also know this as fact, of how attract them one and the other.

Very impressive how all the coincidental meeting & how they keep their feeling for each other after that many years... After that the love just that easily blossom just like they wait for so damn long time for this to happen...

But of course, not life if they don't give us surprise & problem.

Here comes the part that I'm not too like about this movie...
What is the hell of Hyun Woo's problem? we never really get the fully answer about his past. What is the reason he go to prison? Is the push is accidental or what the heck happen that day...? I don't know why the cut scene very explisit like that, they don't even show us the blood or the body at the ground.... And more over what about his friend...? Are they really bad or what...?

For me the lack of explanation is very ambiguous & not clear that make this movie ending with unclear tone...

Leia Mais

New fear Unlocked

I enjoyed watching it but there's nothing spectacular about it. Just like a typical psychopath story. There wasn't even twist and turns. It was a straightforward story.

The story of a woman who lost her phone and became a victim of targeted online crime of a serial kiler psychopath. The perspective is unique though because it uses spy-cam like footages and screen recording which made it unique than most common movies/series.

For me, I enjoyed watching it and shouting on my screen to tell the main lead how stupid she was but maybe if I were in her shoe, I might be dumber. It was a fun watch but I might not watch it again. You try it for yourself if you want to be kept on the edge of your seats.

Leia Mais

"You're not known as a hard man for nothing!"

The Murder of Murders aka The Massive is not your typical revenge kung fu flick. It's a murder mystery where nearly everyone in town is hiding a secret and wants to find a fortune in stolen gems with a little kung fu thrown in for good measure.

The Jade Dragonfly, a jewel thief, has been hitting all the major cities. When Lo Lieh comes rolling into town and wanting to buy some jewels at a high end shop it doesn't take a genius to know who the culprit is. He manages to get away with 6 precious stones but not before the town's inspector tells him everyone in the shop is a suspect and he'd better not leave town. If the thief isn't caught in five days, the inspector will resign. It seems like everyone in town is hunting for the stolen gem stones. Lo Lieh seems unbothered and has no problem dealing with the cops and baddies until he's poisoned and dies on the spot.

The Jade Dragonfly's brother, Chi Kuan Chun, shows up looking for his brother's killer and he has a plethora of people to choose from. The local gambling den boss, Yi Yuan, and his gang of thugs, including Phillip Ko Fei, Lei Ming, Lee Chiu, and Shih Ting Ken all have had motive and opportunity. Yueh Hua shows up as an art forger with a bad habit of serving suspicious tea. Miao Tien plays The Light in the Darkness, an assassin who uses a pole with a paper lantern to fight his opponents. Phillip Ko Fei uses a pipe with 490 poisoned tipped darts and Lei Ming has a poison dart fan. Chin Kang is the no nonsense straight arrow hard fisted Inspector. As a fan of Taiwanese kung fu movies, it's a grand slam of actors and stunt men to enjoy fighting as they scramble to be the one to obtain the stones. As one character says, "Never think a man has enough money because that's a lie." There are a couple of twists at the end of the movie that given the casting didn't seem too surprising but gave a little depth to the plot.

Lee Chiu was the martial arts director. Most of the fights were decently fast with a variety of weapons as stated before. The fight between Chi Kuan Chun and Yueh Hua was a stiff as Yueh's acting. The fights featuring Chi and either Phillip Ko Fei or Lee Chiu or Chin Kang were far more entertaining. A couple of fights were shot in the dark and with the aged film's fading were more difficult to see.

The Murder of Murders was a fun "who done it?" with plenty of villains and shady characters to choose from keeping the guessing going until the last minute. The fights were better than average 1970's caliber especially for low budget Taiwanese fare. As always, I grade on a curve for these old kung fu films.

3/6/23

Leia Mais

bittersweet slow burn

This has instantly become one of my favorite jmovies. Once I was able to completely grasp the time traveling concept, it became super bittersweet but it was still beautiful. The concept is so creative and well thought out, I think something about it not being a perfect happy ever after is what makes it so perfect. My heart broke after the midway point when Emi revealed to Takotoshi the truth about the future them and how the times are reversed for eachother. honestly a slow burn. Some tears were shed but I honestly knew what I was signing up for, except I didn't know how well thought out and well-executed the plotline was.

Nothing surprising from Nana's top tier acting :) Fukushi Sota was also super suited for the role so the casting was 10/10 for me. (he kind of resembled Kai from exo in the beginning lol) OST was really good as well. Overall, really recommend this movie if you're down to watch something incredibly cinematic and beautiful but sad at midnight haha.

Leia Mais

The beauty of existing

That was absolutely moving.
I felt so many emotions, all at the same time.
I'm still quite shocked and trying to process what I just watched and had the chance to do so.
It is a heart-moving film that allows you to be more understanding of human beings and have that “sonder” moment where you are obliged to face the truth and accept that no one is perfect – no matter what they would like you to see.
Everyone is hiding something from the world, something they try so hard to escape from by hiding behind a costume or an image that protects them from letting the truth escape on its own.

[I rated it an 8/10 for the rewatch value because it was so hard for me to watch a few scenes.
They were breathtaking, and I felt weird and uncomfortable with what was at my sight.
I still highly recommend watching it!]

Leia Mais