This review may contain spoilers
abusive love story...
when i watched this movie... i had to take multiple breaks to finish it... i see a lot of reviews of people saying it is 'pure art' and while i do see how they could come to that conclusion, considering the way the movie is filmed, (i like the way it was filmed, it really does give it a unique vibe) i still firmly believe that this movie was absolutely terrible. in the movie, the main characters brother falls for her, and one of the 'love interests' encourages her to send explicit pictures of her body, and her brother ends up finding out. the plot is dark, and none of the boys she is set up to 'fall in love with' had any redeeming qualities at all. if you look at this from a non-romantic point of view, then its a great movie about a girl who meets the wrong people and ends up getting into some bad stuff, but ultimately finds that she doesn't need any kind of romance. but when you go into the movie expecting a love triangle of some sort, it just feels like a psychological horror more than anything.to be completely fair, its been a while since i've seen this movie (i only recently got this app) but i figured i'd warn anyone who is expecting something good and romantic. to say the least, this movie was "black!"
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When it comes to the artistic part, the movie had an interesting cinematography, but, most of the time, it gave me motion sickness, as the camera zoomed in and out, the characters kept running and changing positions too suddenly and quickly. The story was also too thinly spread and the way it was presented it made it confusing. So, it was hard to enjoy it as the whole theatrical approach distructing. The performances seemed good though.
So, overall, four out of ten.
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This Movie is Filmed Like How You Feel Emotions
I will immediately start this off by saying that you're either going to love this movie or hate it. I have a genuine feeling that there is no middle ground. I truly loved it, but again, it's going to be a total trainwreck for some, and a piece of art for others."'First love' never turns into past tense." - Hot Gimmick
This is a powerful film about self-recognition, and learning about one's self. To steal moments for yourself and to share yourself with others and to make decisions for today while hoping that tomorrow, the sun will rise, and you will continue on.
The cinematography is flickering, fleeting glimpses at points just as these emotions change throughout the movie. This entire movie is filmed in the way one would feel emotions during the introduction of your first love. Everything is fast, confusing, and flickering. Did you feel sure of everything you did? Were your steps hesitant? Did you feel despair at point only to feel the thrill of elation shortly after?
The color changes the way emotions feel and each emotion and experience with a different person, or a different moment. The classical music that twists through the strife, the sexual tension, and the elated moments when Hatsumi accepts herself were (surprisingly) perfect. It's been a while since I've known every single classical piece on a soundtrack. It didn't feel tacked on either. It actually suited the film's artsy side, all while keeping it instrumental and not distracting you with lyrics.
I would definitely rewatch this movie.
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This review may contain spoilers
the only reason i watched this was because i wanted to see if it was as bad as everyone was saying. and yes, it is.i have not read the manga so i can’t compare.
the plot is cliche and overused, the execution of the story made it hard to follow and nothing made any sense. i couldn’t understand why any of the characters did any of the things they did, and nothing got explained in the whole 2 hours. the female lead is your typical damsel in distress who can’t seem to speak up for herself and has no idea what’s going on half the time (a bit like me throughout the whole movie) and the male lead is just a toxic asshole who has no respect for the girl yet claims he loves her. none of the guys in this movie has any respect for women and are just trash. and then more characters kept getting introduced and i had no idea who they were or what their role was. it was a mess.
the editing and cinematography was nice but nothing special in my opinion. although it was artsy and unique it made it hard to watch and keep up with things. everything was so fast paced with all the different cuts and angles, it was starting to give me a headache.
if you want a movie about characters who have no respect for females or themselves, do things with no explanation, cry with no explanation and seem confused half the time then hell yeah give it a go. if you want a movie that’s worth watching, then find something else to do for 2 hours
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An amazing film about self-determination
I watched this film twice, and both times have really left an impact on me at the end. For me it is an amazing story about self-determination and accepting ourselves.At the beginning it can be difficult to familiarize with the direction, which is a bit different from most typical dramas, but I really loved it. It really is one of the best direction that I have ever seen in a japanese drama.
The director also did a wonderful work into adapting the manga into the live action, and in my opinion in this movie the introspection of some characters (like Akane, for example) is better than in the manga itself. Nevertheless, some parts are explained a bit quickly, but I think it is due to the lack of usable screen time in the film.
The cast also does a very good job into representing the characters on screen. I absolutely recommend this film (despite the bad rating and reviews that it generally has on internet), and if you want to understand better the story I recommend reading the manga before watching the movie.
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A weird, bad, but fascinating movie
Usually when I give shows middling scores, it's because they're boring. They get mired in cliches, the drama is drawn out too much, everything is just average and forgettable. Hot Gimmick is a lot of things, but boring? Heck no. I don't even write reviews much, but I just had to for this one because I'm still trying to understand what I just watched. It was a mess, but an interesting mess.Story: 6/10
I don't know whose idea it was to make Hot Gimmick a movie rather than an anime or drama, but it was a terrible one. The manga it's based on is 12 volumes. They try to pack the entire story into 2 hours and the pace is INSANE as a result. Twists get revealed constantly and emotions go from 0 to 100 and back again in just minutes. This really should've been a 12-16 ep drama. As it is, characters just instantly have these strong conflicts when you're still trying to get oriented with their basic relationships.
For the plot itself, you don't see stuff like this explored often in East Asian dramas. Usually, mature topics are limited to stories with adult characters, but Hot Gimmick is frank in its discussion on teenage sexuality. It's pretty true to how my friends and I talked about sex as teens. At times, this feels realistic, but then some of the story beats are so nuts that it creates this cognitive dissonance between relatability and fantasy. It's off-putting, but well, it isn't boring.
Characters: 5/10
Because of the runtime, there's little space for characters to grow. They fall into two-dimensional cliches: the dumb naive heroine (Hatsumi), the arrogant asshole genius (Ryoki), the kind protective onii-san (Shinogu), and the charming flirty childhood friend/model (Azusa). Each of these characters has a second, darker side that gets revealed over the course of the movie, but it serves as shock value more than thoughtful character development. This is where the movie format is especially limiting, because these characters touch on interesting themes. There's so much spoiled potential here. Azusa, in particular, has deep pain that the movie throws out there and then promptly gathers back up for the sake of a tidy ending.
While each of the three guys are troubled in their own ways (to say the least), I have to give special mention to Ryoki. His abuse of Hatsumi is constant in the manga as well, but seeing it play out in live action is even more uncomfortable. It eases up in the second half, but that only reinforces the old fantasy of the abusive man who really loves you and can change for the better for you (while still calling you a slut when he gets mad). I wish he was mean in a more interesting way, at least. Characters like Ryoki were more common 10 years ago when the manga was running, and that's for the better.
Acting: 7/10
Like with everything else, I have mixed feelings on the acting. Shimizu Hiroya is the weak link for me, though I have sympathy for him considering the material. He mostly shouts and stews in anger, but because Ryoki is also supposed to be cold, Shimizu's delivery is empty and wooden. He did quite well during the one vulnerable scene. Hori Miona does as well as can be expected from such a meek character. Itagaki Mizuki's full emotional spectrum is the most convincing of the cast (though unfortunately, that hairstyle and color is terribly unflattering on him). Mamiya Shotaro struggles to convey the suppressed inner side of Shinogu's emotions, but it's a tall order to fit that kind of subtlety into such a frantic movie. I WANT to feel for Shinogu more than I actually feel for him.
Cinematography: 4/10
I wish I had enough filming education to fully describe the directing and editing choices, because they're nuts. Dark scenes are so dark you can barely even see the actors' faces, so good luck reading their emotions. In an effort to cram in as much dialogue as possible (I'm assuming), a lot of the breathing room between lines is cut out. If it was done once it could convey the emotions of an overwhelming, stifling moment, but the barrage is frequent. These are simple problems that make the movie hard to watch. If you can't see what's going on, if they're talking too fast to follow, you get confused. It's that simple.
But then there are the stylistic choices, too. You won't see simple shot/reverse shot scenes, that's for sure. The camera is moving 99% of the time, even if it's subtle. Sometimes the shots constantly cut back and forth. Sometimes it zooms way out to the background or way in to parts of their face for no discernable reason. The movie randomly becomes monochrome for its final minute. Why? There must be artistic meaning in there, but the cinematography fits a small-time indie production better than an adaptation of a mainstream romance manga. There's a reason the shot/reverse shot style is ubiquitous: it works. It doesn't distract from the story the way Hot Gimmick does. But is unmitigated chaos really worse than boring? Probably, but I have to give props for at least trying to make something interesting.
Music: 3/10
Again: WEIRD. The soundtrack features odd remixes of Pachelbel's Canon and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, among other classical tunes. They don't do anything interesting with them. They're slow and stripped back and sound like they were made on the cheap, as does the other music. It all gives off royalty free vibes. The classical music here is going to be familiar to any Western viewer, and it takes you out of the moment. You'll try to remember the name of that song and think about all the other times you've heard it. Maybe there's artistic merit here too, but I don't hear it in the original instrumentals either. I just hear cost-cutting. Boo.
Replay Value: 8/10
I gave the movie high marks on replay value because you're going to have to watch it twice to understand what's going on, especially if you haven't read the manga. And honestly, this could be good inspiration for aspiring writers who want to explore the movie's themes or filmmakers to study the unusual techniques. It teaches you a lot on what to do and what not to do.
Hot Gimmick is both more and less than the sum of its parts. It's a pretty bad movie from most angles. I can't say I enjoyed watching any part of it. You'd think that would make it a 3/10. But still, the artist in me really appreciates what they tried to do (even if I don't understand what exactly that was). They took risks and made something unique- a true rarity in the romance genre. If I had to choose between re-watching Hot Gimmick and any other drama I rated 6/10, I would choose this in a heartbeat. Not any time soon, though. My head still hurts from this go.
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This review may contain spoilers
well..
This movie is very interesting to say the least 😂 I've watched it a couple times but only to show it to different friends and show them the bad wigs and crazy characters, but the more times I watched it the more I understood what was happening. Its overall an okay movie, definitely not award winning, but okay. I think the three "love interest" are all bad lol, I mean, one CONSTANTLY belittles her, another drugs her, and the last is her step brother. it's all very odd, and the first time I watched it I thought the best option was her brother, because all of the other ones were just so bad, but now I think she shouldnt have gotten with any of them. who she picks in the end is just... not it lol. I didnt like the whole ending scene, it was long and drawn out. it was a weird movie, I mean, if you like weird definitely watch it lolWas this review helpful to you?
What. Was. That.
There are people claiming it's a cinematic masterpiece. I'm sorry, swinging the camera around is not art? I do not know what was trying to be achieved. I felt violated watching this movie. I don't exactly know whyIt has a strange, powerless protagonist getting played around with three different men. She doesn't even seem like a real character. The whole arc is cheap and the execution is even worse. The guys were all red flags, toxic and disturbing. The whole vibe was off. I don't even know what exactly happens in the end and I don't think I care, to be honest.
If you want to watch something which leaves you ''????" go ahead.
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Read the manga synopsis
Protip: if you want to even remotely not be slapped in the face by this movie, read the wikipedia synopsis & characters for the manga Hot Gimmick. It will give you enough context to stomach this movie. You get a general sense for why everyone is so tragically messed up af.Ngl, I only watched this movie bc of Mizuki Itagaki (orange hair guy). I would not watch it again. I cringed a lot. But at least I wasn't as horrified as I would have been without the context of the manga. You understand a bit more of reasons for why each of the MLs are so toxic bc they themselves were traumatized. This is not a healing movie. More like "here's how effed up lives become but they kinda end up ok maybe?"
Idk, I don't think the extra time I got to spend watching Mizuki Itagaki was worth it. If you must watch this movie, try reading up on the manga by the actual books themselves or just the wiki synopsis.
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hot gimmick? more like hot mess.
note- contains incest and toxic relationships. It is very choppy when it comes to both storyline and cinematography. Any character development just isn't explored. The soundtrack is laughable and I wonder how anyone can take this film seriously. The ending was dramatic but everything in between was confusing with many plot holes. My only praise goes to the actors (as they were actually quite good and managed to stay in character whilst filming some questionable scenes) and the person in charge of lighting ( the constant dark blue tint did add to the atmosphere of the setting).Was this review helpful to you?
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