[✔]Movies watched in 2025

2 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/ozVQAs0

If I had a nickel for every "punk-turned-buddhist monk suffers from an identity crisis" film I've seen, I'd have two nickels. Isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, eh?

Abraxas is a mix of heavy drama and existential comedy (is that even a genre?), a tale of finding and losing "self". It's also an epitome of a pretentious festival film xD

25 01
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/Lrq72u2

I watched it purely because of LIN (who also did 11Left) and at first was disappointed - it looked like yet another "trying to be profound" short film, but somewhere along the 10-minute mark everything changed :o LIN truly knows how to do storytelling.
Not quite as good and aesthetically pleasant as 11Left but decent enough, and it's probably one of the best short films I have seen recently (and I saw a fair share of them)
7.5+/10 and Meng's seal of approval

4 02
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/LrR5nU2
Wen Shi Pei, you wild thing, I love you.
Not as good as his debut (Are You Lonesome Tonight?) but thrice as trippy. Didn't know I needed Zhu Yi Long as Bruce Lee until now...

4 02

5 04
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/lzPQ1ue
It's certainly unique - even if not exactly good. To be fair I'm pretty sure I didn't understand Jude Chun's message - it's THE activist arthouse. I'm almost certain it mentions being environmentally friendly and not killing the animals a lot - but what else? I bet it actually meant to tell me something.
 It also is shot like a documentary with interviews where people talk about their alienation, feeling of belonging (or lack thereof) and their past/parallel lives. Talk about their dreams, their lives, their beliefs...
This film features a great soundtrack with great dance choreography - it sometimes feels like a musical; or some kind of commercial.
To be fair I'm not sure what to say, it's one of the arthousest films I've ever seen; it's like Koo Kyo Hwan and Hong Han Soo's productions had a baby.

Do I recommend? Yeah, if (AND ONLY IF) you like arthouse and want to see something (literally) out of this world or you like trying new things. Otherwise you'll just end up hating it, it's... an aquired taste.

12 04
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/lzZeKHe

Not quite Sonatine, but still very good and 100% Takeshi.
Come on, their little trip to the beach? Takeshi. His loyal sidekick that appears in every movie? Takeshi. That bloody damn ending? Takeshi

13 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/y05kzH6
What is this shit, why did I add it to my ptw and why was I stupid enough to pick this one out of everything that was available?

14 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/5zAPrHn
Exactly what you'd expect based on description... Nothing ground-breaking, but it's not bad. A little too on-the-nose for my taste, otherwise acceptable. 

26 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/1wbBnRi7
I was browsing a "camping" tag and encountered this title. I like it, I actually like it, but I wouldn't say it's for everyone. It's really slow-moving and there's not really much plot, mostly just views and shots. It's just 16 minutes long so you should give it a try anyway
Perfectly Meng

30 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/8y7VLT6
Absolute garbage, Bad even for modern HK standards (which are... low). Frankie Tam, Philip Lui, what were you on when you directed this crap? Holy shit, absolute blacklist. Never again

31 08
https://kisskh.at/profile/mengosteen/feeds/JQLXAHR
I actually started watching this film a couple of years ago but it wasn't what I expected so I put it on-hold. What IS it though? An old-school troubled youth film Taiwan does best - this could've very well been a 80's film (just remove the mobile phones) and for this reason I like it. I gotta say it's way more wholesome than majority of movies in this genre :) Just your regular "finding your way back to being a good person" stuff