Reviews

I appreciate this movie

The film is very similar in theme to another Korean film, Suddenly Last Summer, which is repulsion and attraction. But here, the director of such excellent and award-winning films as Night Flight and No Regret, this theme is upgraded almost to the maximum. Two young men have an intimate relationship during their military service and release their sexual energy. Youn Young has now left the army and is not so sure of his orientation and no longer wants to be in the presence of Gi Tae-ho, who has to stay in the army and is very uneasy about losing Young-a. A psychological drama ensues, the plot of which I will not describe, but I want to highlight above all the good work of both actors, they reached almost to the bottom, not only by being naked, but also by rolling in disgusting mud. Life is often cruel and when we lose someone, how often does it make us act desperate, and for that I appreciate the film.

Leia Mais

The whole review is a spoiler

I'll start by saying, I wasn't forced to watch A Frozen Flower, but it was hard to watch due to my background of childhood sexual abuse and a narcissistic parent who preferred either male or female.

The story: A teenage King who groomed a pubescent boy to be his lover in the guise of "service" to the King who was homosexual. Years later, the King needed an heir to keep his reign (or be killed). Disgusted at the thought of being with a woman, his Queen, whom he'd never consummated his marriage with, the King offered the services of his Chief Guard (his lover) to impregnate the Queen and hopefully no one would be the wiser. The Chief & the Queen fell in lust with one another (love?, NO.) after sneaking around behind the King's back well beyond the required "services" after finding their much needed freedom FROM the King and for both TO a first sexual encounter for both of them; she with her first lover and he with his first woman. They both were escaping a Stockholm syndrome situation with the King so they thought they "loved" each other. The King had the Chief's doonie cut off (castrated) in response to him being "betrayed" by the Chief & the Queen. The Queen had been impregnated so the King's plan did work, but now the King had to shut everyone up since too many people knew it was the Chief's dna and not the King who had gotten the Queen pregnant. The Chief, infuriated by not having a doonie anymore, and not having a future with the Queen, decided to kill the King. The King had also killed the Queen's maid and hung her head on a pike with the Queen's sachet (given to her by the Chief) making the Chief think the King had killed her. This gave the Chief all the more reason to kill the King. The Chief killed the King. The Chief was finished off by the other Guards and both bodies were to be hidden. The Queen could give birth to the throne's heir, and everyone could not live happily ever after. The end.

TL;TR: A gay King needed an heir, offered his longtime lover Chief Guard to service the Queen to impregnate her. The plan backfired due to the King not understanding people have emotions, and aren't robotic, thus he didn't contemplate his CG and the Q falling in lust with one another. Having lost control of his CG the King sought revenge by castrating the CG which prevented both he and the Queen from having a relationship with him in the future. The King was killed by the Chief. The Chief Guard was killed by the other guards. The end.

Korean films take leeway in explicit content, whereas their dramas don't.

SERIOUSLY, the movie should have a disclaimer attached to it (on Viki where I watched) as an EROTIC film, a Trigger Warning for sexual abuse (or grooming), pedophilia, explicit sexual scenes, nudity, profanity, & extreme violence, and restrict access for anyone under the age of 18. It also is not a BL movie and shouldn't be labeled as such. It is an adult erotic movie with adult content, plot, and storyline.

Leia Mais

"If you fight you suffer whether you win or lose"

Tomb of the River aka Paid in Blood is a Korean crime film about a gang war erupting over a casino being built ahead of the 2018 Olympics in Gangneung. While the story didn't reinvent the crime wheel, there were strong performances that made for an engrossing film.

Kim Gil Suk, played by Yoo Oh Sung in a brilliantly nuanced performance, was the head of one of the gangs overseen by an older gangster. The old gangster has become very zen and convinces Gil Suk against violence when he can. After the head of one of his other gangs allows drugs into his karaoke club, the old gangster offers Gil Suk management of the casino. Gil Suk, being the loyal guy he is, turns it down since it's not his territory. As far as he is concerned the casino belongs to the whole gang and not just anyone or any part of the organization. He is about to have his sharing is caring philosophy challenged when ruthless loan shark Lee Min Seok crashes onto the scene. Jang Hyuk gives Min Seok a lethal energy in a strong performance.

Min Seok starts slicing and dicing his way to the top in an effort to take over the casino. His brutally vicious pre-emptive attacks take the gangsters by surprise and it doesn't take long to carve them up. The code and loyalties are severed. Long standing alliances are broken, betrayals run rampant as everyone scrambles to survive and try to hold on or move up.

Despite all that has happened, Gil Suk makes a last attempt to negotiate with Min Seok to avoid more bloodshed. Min Seok trusts no one and believes that conversation never solves anything, he'd rather talk with his knife. Gil Suk's police friend, Lt. Cho attempts to reason with his friend, telling him romance isn't dead, let the police handle the villain. With the bodies of friends and colleagues having stacked up, Gil Suk has lost faith in the more civilized ways of doing business. "Romance is dead," he tells his friend. Min Seok puts it more succinctly, "Only death will end things."

Though they are still thugs in expensive suits, the waters are calm when the film starts, with everyone working together. Min Seok's gruesome entrance aboard a smuggler's boat strips away the façade of humanity, showing what he would do to survive. His rampage reveals the human greed and depravity lying below the surface of the unified gangs. Before it's all over, basic instincts are tested in a stormy war of survival.

Having seen numerous crime films, this was not a revelatory take on the genre, but it was well made and the acting set it apart from some others I have watched. The music, especially in the final scene, fit the mood perfectly throughout the film.

"Why did you turn this place into hell?"
"I didn't decide anything. The word decides these things. People just follow."

And indeed, one by one, the gangsters follow the path into hell, with no way back and no way out from the violent spiral downward. If you are looking for a new take on an old story, this will not be it. However, if you are in the mood for a bloody crime noir with good performances, this might fit the bill.



2/8/23

Leia Mais

Good movie, I didn't like the ending

This movie is pretty good, it's easy to get invested in and grips you from the start it really throws you right into it though it can be kind of hard to follow at times. Or at least, for me it could be

The entire first half is really good, but the ending left much to be desired for me and I'm not particularly fond of bleak and black pilled endings that are just heavily depressing, which is unfortunately a lot of Hong Kong movies that are in this vein tend to do

It kills a lot of the enjoyment I had for the movie, and the final 5 minutes are a very rushed epilogue kind of deal that feels very cheap when it brings back a one note character that was only prominent for like 4 minutes of the entire film, it doesn't feel earned at all and felt like a really lame way to tug at your heartstrings after a very bleak end

Leia Mais

I Loved This!

What a joy ride this is. It is a simple basic story of ‘first times’. This is an astonishing and brilliant look at how serendipitous, random, and interesting life can be with the possibility of a total stranger completely enveloping your world with more than perhaps you were expecting. All of it is so subtle yet profoundly directional. An exceptional and brilliant short. A stunning and beautiful slice of life story where two people by sheer randomness comes into each other’s lives, influences them, and maybe, just maybe, connects them in ways neither one dreamt would or could happen when they woke up that morning.

Leia Mais

Breath the same air as I Miss U (2012), the story is not exactly the same, but it has more or less the same vibe. About a guy who lost his fiancee in an accident and then began a new relationship; the fiancee, who was already a ghost, couldn't accept it, so there's clash between the guy's current lover and the fiancee's ghost.

I gotta say, I like this film better, surely at the beginning I came for the horror, but as time goes on, this film leaning more into romance and drama, and I like that.
Junchu and Sansan's relationship was not harmonious before because Junchu could not move on from Manli (the fiancee) and there was a disappointment because his mother lied to him about her illness so he would get married, but over time it developed into a sweet and heartfelt relationship (just not imagine it to be as good as those good romancce film); compared to I Miss U, which stay in the horror's path but trying to be melodramatic, so the feelings can't really hits because they keep trying to scare.

The horror, Fan BingBIng mostly appeared in her human form, pretty. When they try to make her creepy, the film is already overwhelmed with emotion, so she's becoming not scary. That doesn't mean she's an insignificant character tho, she's pretty much the one who helped Junchu and Sansan to be harmonious, she also looks friendly at first but later she can't accept seeing them happy (I really like her gaze from the attic), so she tries to get Junchu back and that's mean by becoming an evil ghost.

I'm glad that Sansan and Junchu had a chance to smile happily together before the film ends for good.

Leia Mais

"You don't sing, you die. Sing off-key, you die. Score lower than 80, you die."

A ghost who's gonna kill you if you bad at singing? damn.

Super hilarious; the comedy is very Thai. Just reading the premise made me chuckle.

At the beginning, there are character introductions. I thought it was going to be dull and plain, but they filled it with jokes that almost always hit me. There is talk about Mae-nak, Buppah, which was familiar to me; the parody of Lights Out short film ver. was quite funny.

When the night comes, Premika goes out to strike and hands her mic to her victims. I like it as it's usually always funny, and most importantly: the songs are such a bop. My favorite was the drunk guy at dinner; he sang a song from a Thai band called The Innocent (I looked it up), and the song title is ฝากรัก / Fahk Ruk (Entrusting My Love); it was so dreamy, interspersed with footage of the man meeting his wife in the past and fell in love.
When the people who were challenged by Premika failed, they died with bad CGI, but I can forgive it because the film is funny and I enjoyed it.

When I thought I was done, this film gave me more: Premika's ghost backstory, told through a song, titled ไถ่เธอคืนมา / Tai Tur Keun Mah (Buy You Back) (Orig. Singer: Pongsit Kumpee), and it was unexpectedly touching, heartwrenching; my eyes were teary.

I'm really satisfied with this film. Thanks.

Leia Mais

The story is quite intriguing, about a guy who had a nightmare or vision of a man mutilating a woman, and then the ghost of the woman haunts him, the guy thought she's asking him to find her, so he try to find her, that's pretty much it.
About the scare, I don't think it's creepy, not because for the cheap jumpscare but this film addicted to CGI, the ghost in CGI was just not it, even though the use of CGI gave an opportunity to make the death scenes to be kind of creative, but overall the CGI doesn't look good.

The twist... I almost got it right, it is what I imagined, but they kinda twisted it, and I didn't expect that. I knew the man is the murderer afterall, there's also hypnotize thing I consider but then... SHE CAN DO THAT?!!

Leia Mais

You had a crush, you found out your crush already in relationship, WTF you're going to do about it? Normal people probably just go on with their lives, waiting for a chance that probably will come someday, but not for Kimura Ai, she's going to sabotage it.

Kimura Ai, a young, brave, egocentric, and aggressive girl; I believe that after learning that her crush, Tatoe, had a girlfriend, she became obsessed with this thing she thought of as love, allowing her feelings to control her and turning her into a "very" irresponsible person to those around her and even to herself.
The way Ai tries to sabotage Tatoe's relationship with his girlfriend, Miyuki, is by approaching and befriending her.

"Thank you for teaching me how it feels like to be touched. If only you could be patient with me, even if it's out of self-regard, even for a split second. If that means you're opening your heart to me... I'll cherish that moment forever."

I love this film for how it made me feel, how compelling the story was, how beautiful the visuals are, how great the actors' performances are, etc. and this film kinda reminds me of The Half of It, this GL thing that gave me butterflies, even though in here would be realize late but the moment Ai and Miyuki is there and very intimate.

Anna Yamada's performance was very good, her expression, and how she showed Kimura Ai's desperation to be loved was so good, and why the hell she could be this kawaii, if I'm Tatoe, this film could be over in 30 minutes, because if she confessed her feelings, I'd accept them right away, and I'd be a simp for my queen, Yamada-sama 4eva.
Like the others, I also want to mention Haruka Imoe; she's really did a great job. She and Anna always have that intimate scene, and she as Miyuki, can keep up with Ai's aggression, resulting in the most beautiful kiss and sex scenes in Japanese films I've watched.

I think that's all I wanted to type. Thanks.

Leia Mais

"Life is an unknown course"

Like the languid lapping of the waves against the shore near the quiet fishing village in this film, Director Ozu brings a gentle rhythm to the past meeting the present and directing the future currents for the people involved. Komajura and his troupe of traveling actors will find their lives changed as they navigate their circumstances and decisions in this remote place.

Komajura is an aging actor with a less than successful acting troupe. He readily admits their Kabuki plays are not very good. Most of the players have only known the stage for most of their lives. In the sweltering heat of the day, they form a small parade in their costumes as they enter the village, handing out fliers. Some of the men seek out the prettiest women in town to invite to the play. Komajura seeks out an older woman and her 19-year-old son, Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi is actually Komajura's son, but only knows him as an uncle for Komajura doesn't want his son to have a poor actor for a father. Komajura's current mistress, Sumiko, becomes enraged when she finds out about his devotion to his secret family and hires one of the girls in the troupe, Kayo, to seduce the dutiful Kiyoshi setting into motion a wave of changes.

Though Floating Weeds has a romance with the young lovers, the main focus of the story is Komajura as the tides in his life change. He faces the loss of his troupe, his lover, and his son. He lashes out in fury in some of the most violent scenes I've seen in an Ozu film. He is forced to deal with his lack of control over his life circumstances and other people. Eventually, he comes to accept where he is in his life and what his relationships have come to be and that his loved ones will make their own decisions about their lives which he may not agree with. Many of the characters must decide who and where they want to be.

There are two scenes where Komajura becomes violent with the women who crossed him and his son. Though this male dominance may have been acceptable in 1959, it is jolting in this present time and incredibly offensive, making Komajura less sympathetic as he seeks to control the people around him through force. As with all Ozu films, the acting is normally quite restrained, making these outbursts all the more difficult to absorb.

The film itself is a beautifully staged and shot film. Ozu's scenic frames tell a story in and of themselves. They are contemplative, quiet, familiar, giving the characters and the audience room to think and breathe. Many of his frames would make incredible still lifes. His red tea kettle makes an appearance in the barber shop! In a powerful scene, Komajura and Sumiko have it out during a rainstorm. Each stands on the opposite side of the street, unwilling to budge, unwilling to move closer or get wet, unwilling to see the problem from the other's point of view. The words are vicious as the water pours down. Later, in a subtle bit of acting near the end in a train station, the same two actors drop their walls ever so slightly to let the other in as cigarettes are lit and forgiveness is given.

This film is a remake of his silent film, The Story in the Floating Weeds which I have yet to see as the film has no English subtitles. Floating weeds refers to itinerant actors. There were few weeds in this film, if I have any complaints, the movie did begin to feel long as some of the problems were dragged out and it felt as if some scenes could have been trimmed. Most of the acting was absorbing with the exception of the actor who played Kiyoshi. This young actor gave a rather wooden performance.

Ozu was a master of making family concerns and life decisions go from simple to complex to simply masterful. Though this film was not completely centered in a home, Komajura's family both biological and extended family with the troupe was explored. Ozu never ventures far from home and hearth, simply showing us different views of it. There is something comforting in his movies, we come to know the people and their struggles, their strengths and weaknesses, sometimes even see ourselves in them as they try to make the best of their lives. Komajura tells his old lover, "Life is an unknown course." The longer we live, the more these words resonate.

2/7/23

Edit—I have since watched and reviewed the original silent film.

Leia Mais

Trust & Suspicion ... what if you get it wrong?

WOW ... this was a very profound movie. Trust and suspicion ... it really is a case of walking on a razor's edge. How can you really know when it is safe to trust ... or when it is best to be suspicious ... and what if you get it wrong ... can you survive that, can you move forward or will you be consumed by rage and possibly contribute its perpetuation on to the lives of others?

This movie really plunged into the depths of these questions and the ensuing rage and despair when it goes wrong ... and if the situation is redeemable / survivable. It is gritty, confronting and very raw ... the way it was filmed, scripted and acted was nothing less than masterful ... it is like you are grabbed and literally thrust into the lives of the characters and forced to being a witness to the unfolding events which were so realistically portrayed and delivered to the screen.

TRIGGER WARNING: confronting rape scene. I had to skip the actual rape scene ... I couldn't just sit there and watch it without doing anything (ノಠ怒ಠ)ノ ... I was so wild about those rotten mongrel b@stards ... they were in positions of trust and are supposed to protect civilians ... not to get pleasure from brutally raping an innocent girl. Where is Sha Qing when you need him ... where is Ryuuk, write those b@stards' names in your Death Note and give them a very slow and excruciating death ... how about that for rage at the abuse of trust.

Hmmm which brings to mind something Orson Scott Card (an American author who wrote Ender's Game) said that really nails the connection between trust, suspicion and rage:

"There's a sort of rage a man feels when he's been deceived where he most trusted. It compares to no other anger."

And in the end, after all has been said and done, what is left ... ? ...
loss, grief, rage, death (yours and/or others) <> forgiveness, relief, moving forward, alive

Leia Mais

Nice movie worth the watch

Not a bad movie. I did enjoy it.

Synopsis- cannot find one on IQIYI or MyDramaList. I will do my best…about a woman who is a model/actress (I assume) who comes from a rich family but has had differences with her father and she leaves home. She has an agent who is a bit eccentric. He signs her with a company to endorse their product. Turns out to be her ex who is in charge. He left her years ago without a word. They reconnect and she finds out that her half sister is behind all her misfortune over the years. That is my synopsis lol.

Storyline - was not bad. It flowed fine. You understood what was happening and the ending was nice if a bit short for my taste. Some parts I felt they could have gone a bit longer to explain. But all in all I liked the story.

Acting/Cast - was not bad. I liked the actors and felt they did not to bad of a job.

Rewatch - yes, I would rewatch this movie. Only wish the ending was a wee bit longer.

Leia Mais

Pretty Depressing...

If you ever find yourself thinking it is a good idea to try to run fast enough so that despair won't catch up you may just want so slow down or you may, just may find yourself running off a cliff...

So you may want to slow down and watch a Tokyo Sunrise... or any sunrise for that matter, you could also get one of those paraglide Glider thingies used in CLOY so you can fly once you reach that cliff... but that is way beside the point. This is a slow paced depressing movie, as to be expected of a movie about a guy who is driving in to the night to find the first love of hid dead best friend... In a journey to try to move on or maybe understand why the best friend who chose to write a note and a picture instead of using a paraglide thingy when he jumped off a cliff.

So this is sad, the music is sad, the people are sad (in a lot of ways), even the lighting is sad...there is not much dialog but the little dialog there is, is pretty powerful, interesting, self aware and witty at times. The characters are real human being dealing with real human being stuff. Though there is a slight message about moving on and living on it did not take away from the over all depressing theme to this movie. So this is a movie to watch when you just need some depression in your life... be it finding people as depressed as you are, or if you are just too cheerful and need to tone it down a bit this is a great place to find it. Though there are some entertaining elements to this movie, I would say it is more of a movie you watch for its depth and sadness and not for pure entertainment.

Leia Mais