films watched in 2025 (notes)

honestly i have been burnt out on movies for a few weeks now, always disappointed after finishing anything. this one was a pretty good distraction.

takeshi kaneshiro is so cute in this. i absolutely loved the segment of this movie that is just the retelling of chan kar-fu's novel. i enjoyed this much more than the previous kelly chen/takeshi kaneshiro movie "lost and found" from 1996.

the concept unnerved me when i was fifteen... i kind of wish this was just a more realitsic drama with a fantastical element of the stairs

you just have to love HK movies... this film looks great and is fast-paced and fun. also i like the brief dance sequences and the action set pieces, and i always adore when the soundtrack with pop/rock songs isn't just 80s synth

also i don't know why its tagged gay male lead, the 2nd/3rd most important character is gay with no ambiguity  but the main/lead character is potrayed by chow yun-fat and his characters not gay

saw the gorgeous poster and the on-the-nose title and decided to give it a try. some of the set design and imagery was as ephemeral and beautiful as the hourglass sanatorium. fairly good

the title slowly becomes an insignificant premies as the 'plot' carries on. i really admire the poster, but its yet another case of the beautiful dress on the cover/poster not being anywhere in the movie.

i was caught off guard and disturbed by the ripping off of the high school girl's uniform, and cat death...  the appeal was a wide assortment of action setpieces.

also, characters played by toru nakamura seem to just emit a love-at-first-sight beam, huh?..