A horrid and depressing story of revenge
The first scene was just anguish overload. It introduced a grief-stricken Il-woo (Park Jin-young) seeking to avenge his twin brother's death. Park Jin-young's conveying raw emotions of grief and anger during the first 5 minutes was just flawless. It was just applauding that he was able to get rid of his flower boy Kpop idol persona and transform into a dirty, gritty, and morally-ambiguous character. "A Christmas Carol" is the pinnacle of his acting chops and just proved his versality. Basically, PJY is the highlight of this movie and deserves an award nomination at least.For the plot, it had a stable direction while it focused much of its first half on the violence/revenge part then addressing the problem on the second half. There are several trigger warnings and some people won't be able to digest or feel the same rage as me while watching it. If one could be able to get past through the first hour without having the urge to end it, the second half, although darker, would be interesting to watch.
It was emotionally-investing to see Il-woo's journey in achieving justice for his brother's death. The flashback scenes shed some light but at the same time, just felt utter pity towards Wol-woo's plight. Il-woo's realization later on was just heart-breaking, as with most scenes towards the ending.
Could've been better in terms of tension build up especially when it was revealing who was behind the crime. The reveal was still good, it was somewhat surprising but it also felt disjointed in terms of its execution. But when everything was then connected, it now all made sense, and it being gory is such an understatement. For seasoned movie watchers though, the "plot twist" could be already seen a mile away.
Even with all the horrible events all throughout the movie, the ending still provided a glimpse of light. Only a glimpse, since it doesn't yet evoke a societal-level change and the court verdict was questionable, but still a glimpse, since it triggered a talk, if not a controversy about this movie and its story. Maybe it can be a catalyst for such gruesome incidents to be stopped and prevented in the future. With that in mind, I think this movie was able to tell its message to the viewers quite well aside from few wonky sequences and story telling on the later part.
It's not obvious based on the final outcome, but this movie actually faced severe restrictions from the Korean movie board and had to be revised four times before being finally released. Yet despite the fact, 크리스마스캐롤 ("A Christmas Carol") was still able to portray a horrid and depressing story of revenge.
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3 Snake 3 Furious
Had some very fun elements, but felt rushed at times.The dinosaurs were a great addition, and the interactions between Kai and the snake were wonderful. However, the VFX was of lower quality than in the previous two Snake films, which was a bummer. It would have been cool to see snake vs dinosaur fights in higher quality. The parent-child dynamic is explored here, but was handled better in Snake 2. The acting is decent: Chen Zi Han is a believable overprotective mother, but she doesn't have a lot of material to work with. The side characters as well could have used more development, even if we only got a few lines of dialogue explaining more about their reasons for visiting the island.
Overall, still a nice addition to the Snake series, but not the best of the bunch.
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It deserves better rating
For those that are afraid of this movie, this is not an easy movie to watch as it deals with dark themes and it can be triggering, but it's totally worth it. I thought I wouldn't make it to the end, but half way into the movie it got better for me and my feelings. I could say lots of things about it, use many other words to describe it, but I'll simply say this: It's beautiful.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
No plot, just vibes.
I personally love this movie. It isn't your typical movie with story telling through actions and countless scenes, but instead tells stories of different characters through conversations that the main character has with these individuals. It really is just the main character meeting different people and listening to what they have to say with a *small* plot twist with one of the characters. I guess you could put this movie into one of those "no plot, just vibes" list but personally that's the type of media I love, I also loved listening to the characters myself and empathizing with them.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Delicate Spring makes way for powerful Summer
What's remarkable about this film is that it appears completely unremarkable. The pace is slow, there's no action, the characters look lethargic, and the dialogue and cinematography involve us with mundane matters and scenes; the music is painstakingly slow - even a tune we all know well, "Wedding March", is slow and somber; there is virtually no excitement; even the trains move slow. It is remarkable how this film kept me emotionally and intellectually engaged for ~2 hours and prompted ample reflection after the film ended.Since this film is a part of the classic film canon, you can easily look up professional critics' and filmmakers' commentary. Consider that so many have put this film in their top 100 films of all time list; that's not an easy list to make! However, I'll share a few thoughts on how I connected with the film.
Consider the title, "Late Spring". The film was inspired by the short story, "Father and Daughter", by Kazuo Hirotsu. The short story title is directly related to the film's characters and plot; we don't get many explicit clues that the story takes place during Spring, so the film title is more evocative than descriptive. So, why not call the film, "Father and Daughter"? I don't know the reasons the filmmakers chose "Late Spring" as the title, but its suggestion to think about the film metaphorically is quite effective.
Noriko and her father, Somiya, are delicate souls, and their relationship with one another is tender in love to an extreme. After father is told by daughter "no play until work is done", the father's impatient response of "go bring the tea" is the comical peak of his anger (if only tiger parents could study this scene). The impending transition of their relationship status from live-in daughter/dad to no longer living with one another signals a change in their 'season' as a family. Daughter and father were happily living in a delicate Spring. With Noriko's upcoming marriage, they quickly move to Summer.
Consider Spring, as a social metaphor, representing individuals' inner thoughts and desires. Spring is our most intimate selves. Like the ephemeral spring blooms of cherries and irises, our Spring selves bloom beautifully. But Summer comes roaring like a lion. Spring is never long enough for us.
Summer is the metaphor of group-level or societal thoughts, expectations, and values. Summer is powerful, (more) lasting (than Spring), and self-assured. Societal and group structures like work, school, and family ask us to 'grow up' and 'ripen' - be practical, be productive, is what society says to us. It's as if they say "Enjoy your spring blooming self, briefly, but not too long; we need crops to feed our society, so please get to work; we needs kids to keep our species going, so please get married; we know what's best so please do what we say".
Doesn't it always seem like Summer is rushing Spring? And Spring is too kind to overtake Winter?
As I watched this film, I was aware of my 'Spring' thoughts/feelings and 'Summer' thoughts/feelings. In summer mode, I bought what dad eloquently said about the cycles of life, how marriage is part of that, and father and daughter must move on from one another. That's the script of societies, of families, of 'normal' human relationships. In Spring mode, what dad says seems forced, manipulative, inauthentic. What's really wrong with Noriko living unmarried with father for the remainder of her days? It seems almost every character besides Somiya and Noriko are happy with the upcoming marriage, even relieved, as if the father and daughter's relationship was overripe and soon to rot. That's the summer thinking.
Many of the relationships in this film can be viewed, in the spring sense, as pure, intimate, and innocent. But switch to summer thinking/feeling, and those same relationships are now viewed as impure, vulgar, and lacking appropriate distance between expected social roles. Noriko's playful relationship with Mr. Onodera (father's friend), can easily be viewed either way; she's having a playful chat with someone she trusts or there's something inappropriate since their age gap is too great, and Mr. O shouldn't be playful with his friend's daughter since he was recently re-married; they even hang out and shop together without Dad's presence/knowledge -- Oh! The scandal! Our initial response to these scenes speak to what season our minds and hearts are in. If you're still not sure what I mean, consider the famous film by Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki, "My Neighbor Totoro". There's a scene with the father bathing with his two daughters. I'm certain many people will see this as a beautiful, tender, and loving scene, while others, no doubt, will watch uncomfortably believing this is inappropriate. Spring thinking vs Summer thinking is what I'm getting at.
In the final scene of "Late Spring", we're reminded of how precious Spring is to us, especially as we've weathered in life. At the film's end, we see Somiya peeling an apple by himself. His feeling of loss of something never to return is something we all identify with; the gravity of summer and society is simply too strong and much of our inner desires are squashed.
Pause to consider how universal this film is with its seasonal metaphor of loss. This film from 1949, from a country/culture few of us experience directly, is indeed remarkable.
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Hits so close to home
The best films are the ones that creep up on you and this did exactly that. It's a slow burn for sure but it never feels that way and every scene hits really close to home. As someone whose immigration journey was the other way around (Taiwan to the U.S.) I honestly expected a little bit of distance between me and the content, thinking that Fen's experiences would be very different from mine.So imagine my surprise when watching this movie felt like reliving memories; the feeling of being a fish-out-of-water, of missing home, of feeling lonely — I've felt that before. The ugly words that uncontrollably come out of your mouth during a fight with your parents — I've said those before. And at the end of the day still knowing you love each other, that "can you clean my ears for me" or "I cut a plate of fruit for you" means "I love you and I'm sorry" — I lived that too.
This movie is beautiful and I cried my eyes out. I didn't expect it to end when it did, but in hindsight I'm kind of okay with it. The film is a snippet of the life of a family against a historical backdrop and even after the movie ends, real life goes on.
這部影片就是那種會悄悄的走進你心裡的那種。劇情的速度緩緩的，但永遠不無聊，也不停的讓人念舊。因為我的移民方向是反的（臺灣到美國），我錯以為我和女主的經驗會有距離。
看這部電影的感覺反而跟回想自己的回憶一樣。那種不自在，想家，寂寞的心情我感受過。那些失控中說的難聽的話我也說過。那句『媽媽，妳可以幫我掏耳朵嗎？』中的『對不起，我愛你』我也都體會過。
《美國女孩》真的是一部溫馨，令人感動掉淚的電影。結局是有點突然，但越想越有理。畢竟，我們看到的是一家人的一時刻。影片結束了，人生卻不斷持續的。
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Déjà le pire film sud-coréen de 2023 ?
A la seconde ou j'ai écris le nom du film sur google et j'ai vu la durée de 1H20 je savais que le film allait être nul. Mais je m'étais dis pourquoi pas, il faut regarder pour pouvoir donner son avis. Je ne comprends pas comment c'est possible de sortir un film pareil, ils ont été obligés de le diffuser?Je suis tellement déçu du film, j'adore les films/séries de zombies (#Alive, Happiness, Dernier Train pour Busan) mais celui-là est trop trop nul. Il n'y a rien de bien, allez peut être les scènes d'actions et encore.
Vraiment ma déception est énorme, ils auraient pu vraiment faire un bon film rien que le nom est bien... Et surtout comment les acteurs ont pu acceptés de joué dedans?? Park Ji-yeon est membre du groupe légendaire T-Ara et s'est retrouvé dedans...
Puis sérieusement les bruits de zombies de Minecraft j'ai halluciné j'ai cru j'avais laissé mon jeu ouvert..
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A well-intentioned story with a troubling execution.
Being a caretaker for a loved one and requiring loved ones to be caretakers is often a complicated situation for everyone involved, and "Shakespeare In Tokyo" does its best to approach this situation from both sides. The goal of this short film is to promote understanding and a different perspective on life, and it does largely succeed despite some clunky moralizing along the way.A lot of Ben's interactions with the people he meets in Tokyo are very wholesome and offer several sweet demonstrations that art and literature connect people around the world, but two scenes in particular pulled me out of the sentimental bonding moment they were setting up.
I really didn't like the way Ben inserts himself into situations with women who very politely tell him that they would prefer to be alone, ignores their requests, and uses Shakespeare's words to explain their careers, their problems, and their lives to them. The seemingly well-intentioned writing frames this as charming because of his Down Syndrome, focusing on the way people transcend cultural and personal barriers to relate to each other, but the fact that I have been in situations like this with strangers who made me feel unsafe when they crossed my boundaries (especially with physical touch) made it hard for me to relax or find it as sweet as others have.
Overall, this movie asks us to live our lives to the fullest and be more understanding of each other - so if you're searching for media about people with disabilities just living their lives, you may want to consider adding this to your watchlist.
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Life is really beautiful.. let us live it as we want
Life is Beautiful (2022) is a musical romance film that stars Yum Jung-ah, Ryu Seung-ryong, Park Se-wan, and Ong Seong Wu. The film depicts the journey of a woman who discovers she has cancer and takes a road trip to meet her first love from high school.Despite wrapping filming in 2020, the film experienced long premiere delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Korea Times. After a nearly two-year-long wait, the film premiered at the 36th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland, and is now ready to take us on a beautiful adventure.
The film takes its audience on a wonderful rollercoaster of emotions, with seamless mood shifts. From the sadness of a terminal illness to the hilarity of the main couple’s endless bickering, you can’t help but be immersed in the drama and empathise with every character. By the end, there wasn’t a single dry eye in the house.
Of course, with a star-studded main cast, hopes were high, but the actors’ performances exceeded expectations. Yum Jung-ah and Ryu Seung-ryong’s chemistry as a married couple was especially fun to watch.
This musical extravaganza will not only bring you on an emotional roller-coaster, but also take you on a tour around Korea through the ages.
Needless to say, audiences can be sure to walk out of the cinema with that nostalgic feeling of first love, knowing that life truly is beautiful.
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That was dramatic...
I'm just amazed of how the movie's mood changed so fast without being weird, it was shocking of course and I was kinda traumatized by it (?) but it wasn't bad at all. The visual aspect of the film is good, at least from the pov of a casual movie fan.I wish they had developed how he died better tho, like, he just died, and also Kim Yoojung acting in this is not my cup of tea, especially when she's crying lol.
In any case I recommend the movie and I'll probably rewatch it in the future.
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ambitious clickbait title leads to astounding discovery
this drama was truly a diamond amongst hundreds of other films, and definitely not what I expected. to be honest, this drama far exceeded my expectations, and without a doubt i would definitely be rewatching this with my friends. Somehow, even though the story is somewhat unlikely to unravel the way it did in a real-life situation, it is undeniable that this is one of the most compelling movies I've ever seen, and I really appreciate the direction this movie took. Lim Soo-Jung is a very talented actress, and definitely followed the assignment. In this movie, she maintains her composure, even in the most trying of times, and not only is she the FL, she also carries this whole movie. This movie has suspense, thrills, drama, romance, action, and crime, all wrapped up with a perfect pretty bow. The Fl and ML executed their roles with undeniable commitment, and I wish more people could be exposed to this gem of a film.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
A thriller that will blow your mind with every plot twist
Parasite easily became my favorite movie as soon as I watched it, over a year ago.It has to be one of the best narrative films I've ever seen! Nothing can be truly compared to it.
Every single scene feels super intriguing, and it had me hooked from very beginning because it just keeps getting crazier and crazier.
The plot revolves around two families, a rich family, and a low class family, that "without a plan" starts making their way into the wealthy's life to work for them in order to get away from their flooded apartment and the poor Wi-Fi connection, not knowing that it'll just just make things even more complicated for them.
This movie made me reflect a lot on capitalism and how much society makes us think that in order to be happy, you have to be living someone else's life. And unless you fake it till' you make it, you will be looked down upon because you stink.
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Edit: so I did see a couple of reviews saying that some questions weren't answered at the end, but I feel like they shouldn't necessarily be answered. Us, as watchers, we can assume and play around a bit to see how the story played out. I do agree however, that the plot dried out towards the end, but the feel of the movie itself made it up for me to enjoy it a lot.
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