The one with the pet store is cute. Episode 4, which I just watched, is terrible. That bratty bottom, always doing that fake-bitchy-pout-pretend-anger thing that bottoms do in Asian BLs, is totally annoying. I suspect the top actually just faked what seems to have happened, just so he could escape and start over with a new name far away from that snotty toad. And why in the world would he not have gone to the gathering he was invited to? I'm thinking for the same reason he dissed his BF when the friend came over in the bar: SHAME. The junior high-school-level acting didn't help. Can't imagine why you are praising this show like it is a cinematic work of fine art when it barely holds up as an after-school special.
Meh...I'm bored. The style of comedy apparently isn't my thing. Too presentational and smirky for my taste. Hard to fathom this is the same writer/director who came up with "The Last Ride," which I found mostly hysterically funny AND extremely moving, which is a difficult combo to pull off successfully.
A super-pale imitation of the Korean original, which I watched just a couple days ago. It's as though they took the original, sliced it open, removed all the guts, heart and soul, then sewed it back up again and called it a movie. I'm glad I watched this though, just out of curiosity to compare it to the Korean version, which I now think even more highly of than before.
It is so weird to me that China, which used to be a Communist dictatorship, and is now a Plutocratic dictatorship, both of which were/are god-less, is so freaking Puritannical. Everything that made the Korean film gritty and true, by which I mean the sexual element, has been excised and it's really sad how they do this to every film they allow to be made there. I'd say why didn't they just subtitle the original in Chinese and show that there, but then people would have thoughts about...wait for it...SEX!!!...and we can't have that, can we? Just awful, I feel badly for the people of China whose cultural life is so diminished by this weird government fear of sex. Bizarre.
Anyway, if you only want to watch one of the two versions, forget this one and go Korean all the way. It has everything this weak effort lacks.
I LOVE Suda but he's too young for this role. I keep wondering why one of the junior students took over the classroom and is pretending to be a teacher. lol
I am well aware that MANY people out there absolutely adore Nanon and think he's a great actor. There is just something about him, the way he moves, speaks, uses his face/body that really puts me off. I don't think he's a good actor at all, other than in the series where he played the complete/total NERD. He was born for that role and I love him in it. But everything else I've seen him in just doesn't work for me. While everyone else is swooning I keep wondering how he gets roles. :D Oh well...
Beautiful film. Deeply moving without taking cheap shots to the heart. I don't know if there would have been any other way to construct the movie, but I felt I knew what was coming from early on and so it didn't have the devastating impact on me it otherwise would have. However, Son Ho Jun was remarkable in his reaction scene. THAT devastated me. What a great actor. The mother was stellar of course and I liked that she realized her part in enabling her son, although I think that point could have been more clearly made. Her love and constantly getting him out of trouble prevented him from learning tough lessons early on.
Overall, even though tremendously sad in an obvious way, it was also beautifully inspiring and uplifting. Mom got her wish.
I understand that the drama might not be your cup of tea, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I completely…
OK, that's fine. I just get a completely different vibe from him. Here is what it boils down to: I totally believe that "gaydar' is a thing. Hell, I think a lot of straight people have gaydar. When I came out many years ago there were a good number of people who were like "what took you so long?" lol I am not the most macho guy but I'm not effeminate either. They just pick up on it with their "spidey-sense." People really do have sixth senses about things like this...so, when I see Gun onscreen in a straight role, the strong sense of his gayness prevents me from taking him seriously as that character. A lot of people disagree, or are in denial and that is fine.
I know Gun is closeted, but I wish he'd get real and come out already. It would do him and his fanbase a world of good. Hiding who you are is an extremely shame-based behavior; I know, I did it for a long time. Of course he doesn't OWE it to me or anyone else except himself, but I wish he'd do it for his own mental health. And I don't think doing so would cost him any straight roles if he's getting them already.
Off is either straight or able to project being so in a character to an extent that I totally buy him in those roles. Maybe he's somewhere along the continuum so it's easier for him to convincingly play straight, I don't know.
I am just becoming more and more a Korean film fanatic. From slapstick comedy to historical/romance/thriller to gay-themed romance/adventure, hell you name it and all my favorite films are pretty much Korean at this point, with some Japanese thrown in here and there, and a smattering from Taiwan.
I knew when I read the synopsis I would be dragging out the toilet paper again, but this was a wonderful mix of comedy and pathos and tragedy and love and perseverence and above all, the value of deeply abiding friendship. And Kim Dong Young running around in those extra-tight undies didn't hurt a bit either. :) Nice to see some gratuitous male flesh on display for once.
Now that I think about it, it's kind of amazing how much of a bond I felt among the three friends, given that the story begins with Go Hwan already bedridden. His request was really so human and honest and right, I love that the dad reacted the way he did. The professional lady was played beautifully as well. So many laugh out-loud moments. I will not forget this little gem and will put it in my rewatch list with my other 500 Korean/Asian films that I love.
One caveat and I would appreciate it if someone who is a Korean native or knows the culture very well might answer this: I don't want to over-state how much it sometimes weirds me out, but there is such a strong streak of violence in LOTS of Korean films, even a laugher like this where I wouldn't expectd the level portrayed. I mean THAT extent of child-beating is REALLY hard for me to laugh off, when kids' entire eyes are bloodshot red from blows to the head. And it's not as though the makeup was played for laughs either; the damage looked absolutely real. I mean, would a Korean father really beat his kid with a driver or whatever and not go to jail for years and no one would think that much of it? Again, I know this is comedy, but the violence is way beyond a level that would seem funny to me. The one dude had blood running down his face, for god's sake. So if a Korean MDL member or someone with knowledge of the culture could help me out here I'd appreciate it.
Oh...also in Korean films it is common to see superiors in schools and in offices beat the crap out of their juniors, usually over the head with a book or something, and there's the kicking the shins thing that happens a lot. I mean, that shit hurts. And it's not being played for laughs most of the time. Do office workers get slapped around by their bosses and it's considered normal? THE WORST is when I see fucking TEACHERS like the one in this film beat the living daylights out of their students with wooden canes. You'd be bruised for weeks and the pain would probably make me pass out. I wanted the dad to beat up that fucker when he walked in on him beating the two friends, but again it was down played. And the bastard was beating them for doing something HE WAS DOING HIMSELF, I don't care if they were under-age. Jesus Christ. There seem to be real hangups about sex and personal violence in Korea. Oh and the EXTRA-WORST: what the dad did to the mom outside the boy's hospital room! there were other physical options than that one for land's sake. OK, I"m done ranting, but this violence thing really freaks me out.
I know this is an old, old comment, but who knows, maybe you're still around: What were the few scenes that DID…
So are you saying that no one, having read what you "won't accept" after you shared it in a comment section, has the right to respond as to what they think of your stated preference? That would be called a "discussion."
Pretty hilarious you "won't accept" sex or nudity in film. Do you accept it in life?
If you don't want people to react to your preferences, keep them to yourself.
I understand that the drama might not be your cup of tea, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I completely…
I've replied to everything you wrote here in one way or another above, so I'm not going to repeat myself. If you think Gun is convincingly straight, as a straight character, in bed with a woman, then go ahead and think that. I think the notion is laughable. His gay vibe is overwhelming and I believe gaydar is a thing that even some straight people have...he "feels" gay onscreen. Yes, I absolutely believe that's a thing...a thing you are pretending not to pick up on. Off not so much. I'd like to see him in a fully straight role. I kind of think he could pull it off just fine. Gun...no.
lol...I really don't give a shit if you get annoyed...go right ahead. No, orientations aren't always written on faces but sometimes they are and in Gun's case it is written in bold, all-caps. An effeminate man is almost always going to turn out to be gay. Are you actually denying that? Where you're off is that being effeminate is in some way a bad thing. It's not. Lying to yourself and living in denial of these basic, common sense issues is also not a "healthy way of interpreting things." Get some information on that.
Love how you said bl is also about bisexuality and then immediately went "he slept with women so he's straight."…
Triggers are bullshit. Many academics in the U.S. believe trigger warnings actually make the encounter of a reader/watcher/audience member with potentially difficult material WORSE because it puts them in a heightened state of anxiety to begin with, on guard for the offending plot element around every turn. You can Google that too.
You apparently have no idea how insulting and condescending your comment is to normal, intelligent audience members, do you? The average audiencce member already KNOWS RAPE and SEXUAL ASSAULT are bad, just as they know murder is bad. Perhaps YOU don't, but I assure you most people do. Please present evidence that the average BL audience member thinks RAPE is just A-OK. I suspect, however, that your actual agenda is to control what is considered RAPE. I'd guess you think Tharn was RAPED in the dorm room shower, when in fact what happened is that he got a really great blow-job. The actual RAPE in the plot was off-screen and several episodes in.
Why do you think straight people, having happened upon a BL and already knowing straight RAPE is wrong, would somehow think "oh, well these are gay people, so it's OK if they are raped?" You assume everyone but yourself to be a moron apparently. Or once again...is it that you want them to think Tharn WAS RAPED and that's what's really going on here?
I'd go so far as to say almost all actual RAPISTS also already know what they have done or are going to do is wrong, that's why they hide/conceal/intimidate victims/whatever to keep from getting caught. No one needs you on your preaching pedestal in a BL letting us all know what we already know.
You are a classic SJW with all the classic buzz-words and stereotypes and cliches that go along with the type. Arrogant, self-righteous, prudish, fearful, sex-phobic, and a lot of other things. You are just a newer version of the Puritannical blue-noses that have been around since entertainment became at thing. Your primary fear is that at any given time someone, somewhere, might be having a good time. :)
Beautiful, perfect, love it. Wow, the more Korean flicks I watch, the more I see what a remarkable actor ShinHa Kyun is. And this is only the second Lee Kwang Soo movie I've seen, and I'll have to look back to see what it was, but he is amazing here as a little boy in a great big tall, long, adult body. Their chemistry is off the charts.
A heartwarming story of how very different humans can compliment and support each other. As much as their physical and mental challenges brought them together and are the foundation of the story, their very clearly defined and different personalities shine through. I love that this was inspired by a true story. Also, this movie is very touching and I shed some tears but it was not overly sappy or maudlin. The last pool sequence got close but by then I was so in love with the characters and the film that I forgave immediately. :D
I find it hilarious that you'd mock people for their word choices when they're trying to communicate in a clear…
No, being gay does not preclude anyone from acting like a bigot. Nor does disagreeing with you. I think you unreasonably cling to your beliefs and show extreme intolerance for me because I disagree with YOU. I have been pelted left and right with insults in this thread from the first reply because I think it's garbage. The NOT saying one is a bigot, just that they act like one, is a bogus little word-game trick that doesn't hold water; pretty sure if you ACT like something you ARE that something.
I just told you QUEER is the equivalent of the N-word to me and millions of other gay folks who don't go to film school and don't speak in current, PC-speak, and so you proceed to use it again. Using QUEER is a political speech-choice, an effort to "reclaim" the word from bigots and haters. WHY we need to reclaim it is something i've never understood.
Actually, why don't you explain to me how those two phrases differ. I'd love to read that. To 95% of normal people, "gay-themed narrative" would work just fine.
Why stick to basic when you can widen the genre? I've read all the replies and I think you need to be more acceptable…
hmmm...maybe I "rip apart" ccomments because they are poorly-based to begin with. That I "seem" angry and furious is simply your interpretation. I am not the least bit of either. Folks like you who can't support their arguments often accuse others of such emotions as a way of discrediting their opponent: "oh youre SO emotional and angry...why is that?" lol
What I am is tenacious and persistent. And of course you ignore the ugliness with which many commenters here have attacked me for daring to have a negative opinion of their pet show...from the very beginning. I wonder if they, too, are "angry" and "furious?"
Never been accused of "gaslighting" other commenters before. haha Can you even gaslight people by writing to them? I always thought of it as something you have to be present in the flesh to do over a period of time. But if you say so...
I would have welcomed an engaging film on this topic, but I don't know...I got bored a little more than halfway through. That bratty teen daughter who hates her parents is annoying af. Yes, I understand that she is horribly abused, but she just constantly yack, yack, yack as though she knows everything and it really got on my nerves. Then we have the lead woman who keeps telling her to forgive and love and stay with these awful parents of hers...I mean the dad beats the living shit out of her, does the lead not know this? She keeps downplaying the beatings. It's just bizarre. But the way the kid talks about them it almost sounds as though she exaggerates a lot and maybe that's what the lead thinks, so why not find out? Then she told the brat to go away and stay away and she comes right back when she chooses and the lead lets her in. Annoying.
Something dull and lifeless in the acting and direction of this film too. And every street is pretty much deserted when they're outdoors...did they film at 6am or something? There are no sounds of the city. It has the feel of a European flick from the 60s.
This is a subject I care about. I am against the death penalty but feel some perps should be in for life. It doesn't have to be black or white, death or unwarranted leniency. And of course victimes and families should always be kept informed about anything regarding possible release/parole of the perpetrator.
Episode 4, which I just watched, is terrible. That bratty bottom, always doing that fake-bitchy-pout-pretend-anger thing that bottoms do in Asian BLs, is totally annoying. I suspect the top actually just faked what seems to have happened, just so he could escape and start over with a new name far away from that snotty toad. And why in the world would he not have gone to the gathering he was invited to? I'm thinking for the same reason he dissed his BF when the friend came over in the bar: SHAME. The junior high-school-level acting didn't help.
Can't imagine why you are praising this show like it is a cinematic work of fine art when it barely holds up as an after-school special.
5/10
Anyway, I'm out, about half an hour in.
5/10
It is so weird to me that China, which used to be a Communist dictatorship, and is now a Plutocratic dictatorship, both of which were/are god-less, is so freaking Puritannical. Everything that made the Korean film gritty and true, by which I mean the sexual element, has been excised and it's really sad how they do this to every film they allow to be made there. I'd say why didn't they just subtitle the original in Chinese and show that there, but then people would have thoughts about...wait for it...SEX!!!...and we can't have that, can we? Just awful, I feel badly for the people of China whose cultural life is so diminished by this weird government fear of sex. Bizarre.
Anyway, if you only want to watch one of the two versions, forget this one and go Korean all the way. It has everything this weak effort lacks.
Overall, even though tremendously sad in an obvious way, it was also beautifully inspiring and uplifting. Mom got her wish.
I know Gun is closeted, but I wish he'd get real and come out already. It would do him and his fanbase a world of good. Hiding who you are is an extremely shame-based behavior; I know, I did it for a long time. Of course he doesn't OWE it to me or anyone else except himself, but I wish he'd do it for his own mental health. And I don't think doing so would cost him any straight roles if he's getting them already.
Off is either straight or able to project being so in a character to an extent that I totally buy him in those roles. Maybe he's somewhere along the continuum so it's easier for him to convincingly play straight, I don't know.
I knew when I read the synopsis I would be dragging out the toilet paper again, but this was a wonderful mix of comedy and pathos and tragedy and love and perseverence and above all, the value of deeply abiding friendship. And Kim Dong Young running around in those extra-tight undies didn't hurt a bit either. :) Nice to see some gratuitous male flesh on display for once.
Now that I think about it, it's kind of amazing how much of a bond I felt among the three friends, given that the story begins with Go Hwan already bedridden. His request was really so human and honest and right, I love that the dad reacted the way he did. The professional lady was played beautifully as well. So many laugh out-loud moments. I will not forget this little gem and will put it in my rewatch list with my other 500 Korean/Asian films that I love.
One caveat and I would appreciate it if someone who is a Korean native or knows the culture very well might answer this: I don't want to over-state how much it sometimes weirds me out, but there is such a strong streak of violence in LOTS of Korean films, even a laugher like this where I wouldn't expectd the level portrayed. I mean THAT extent of child-beating is REALLY hard for me to laugh off, when kids' entire eyes are bloodshot red from blows to the head. And it's not as though the makeup was played for laughs either; the damage looked absolutely real. I mean, would a Korean father really beat his kid with a driver or whatever and not go to jail for years and no one would think that much of it? Again, I know this is comedy, but the violence is way beyond a level that would seem funny to me. The one dude had blood running down his face, for god's sake. So if a Korean MDL member or someone with knowledge of the culture could help me out here I'd appreciate it.
Oh...also in Korean films it is common to see superiors in schools and in offices beat the crap out of their juniors, usually over the head with a book or something, and there's the kicking the shins thing that happens a lot. I mean, that shit hurts. And it's not being played for laughs most of the time. Do office workers get slapped around by their bosses and it's considered normal? THE WORST is when I see fucking TEACHERS like the one in this film beat the living daylights out of their students with wooden canes. You'd be bruised for weeks and the pain would probably make me pass out. I wanted the dad to beat up that fucker when he walked in on him beating the two friends, but again it was down played. And the bastard was beating them for doing something HE WAS DOING HIMSELF, I don't care if they were under-age. Jesus Christ. There seem to be real hangups about sex and personal violence in Korea. Oh and the EXTRA-WORST: what the dad did to the mom outside the boy's hospital room! there were other physical options than that one for land's sake. OK, I"m done ranting, but this violence thing really freaks me out.
8.5/10
Pretty hilarious you "won't accept" sex or nudity in film. Do you accept it in life?
If you don't want people to react to your preferences, keep them to yourself.
lol...I really don't give a shit if you get annoyed...go right ahead. No, orientations aren't always written on faces but sometimes they are and in Gun's case it is written in bold, all-caps. An effeminate man is almost always going to turn out to be gay. Are you actually denying that? Where you're off is that being effeminate is in some way a bad thing. It's not. Lying to yourself and living in denial of these basic, common sense issues is also not a "healthy way of interpreting things." Get some information on that.
You apparently have no idea how insulting and condescending your comment is to normal, intelligent audience members, do you? The average audiencce member already KNOWS RAPE and SEXUAL ASSAULT are bad, just as they know murder is bad. Perhaps YOU don't, but I assure you most people do. Please present evidence that the average BL audience member thinks RAPE is just A-OK. I suspect, however, that your actual agenda is to control what is considered RAPE. I'd guess you think Tharn was RAPED in the dorm room shower, when in fact what happened is that he got a really great blow-job. The actual RAPE in the plot was off-screen and several episodes in.
Why do you think straight people, having happened upon a BL and already knowing straight RAPE is wrong, would somehow think "oh, well these are gay people, so it's OK if they are raped?" You assume everyone but yourself to be a moron apparently. Or once again...is it that you want them to think Tharn WAS RAPED and that's what's really going on here?
I'd go so far as to say almost all actual RAPISTS also already know what they have done or are going to do is wrong, that's why they hide/conceal/intimidate victims/whatever to keep from getting caught. No one needs you on your preaching pedestal in a BL letting us all know what we already know.
You are a classic SJW with all the classic buzz-words and stereotypes and cliches that go along with the type. Arrogant, self-righteous, prudish, fearful, sex-phobic, and a lot of other things. You are just a newer version of the Puritannical blue-noses that have been around since entertainment became at thing. Your primary fear is that at any given time someone, somewhere, might be having a good time. :)
A heartwarming story of how very different humans can compliment and support each other. As much as their physical and mental challenges brought them together and are the foundation of the story, their very clearly defined and different personalities shine through. I love that this was inspired by a true story. Also, this movie is very touching and I shed some tears but it was not overly sappy or maudlin. The last pool sequence got close but by then I was so in love with the characters and the film that I forgave immediately. :D
BRAVO 9/10
I just told you QUEER is the equivalent of the N-word to me and millions of other gay folks who don't go to film school and don't speak in current, PC-speak, and so you proceed to use it again. Using QUEER is a political speech-choice, an effort to "reclaim" the word from bigots and haters. WHY we need to reclaim it is something i've never understood.
Actually, why don't you explain to me how those two phrases differ. I'd love to read that. To 95% of normal people, "gay-themed narrative" would work just fine.
What I am is tenacious and persistent. And of course you ignore the ugliness with which many commenters here have attacked me for daring to have a negative opinion of their pet show...from the very beginning. I wonder if they, too, are "angry" and "furious?"
Never been accused of "gaslighting" other commenters before. haha Can you even gaslight people by writing to them? I always thought of it as something you have to be present in the flesh to do over a period of time. But if you say so...
Something dull and lifeless in the acting and direction of this film too. And every street is pretty much deserted when they're outdoors...did they film at 6am or something? There are no sounds of the city. It has the feel of a European flick from the 60s.
This is a subject I care about. I am against the death penalty but feel some perps should be in for life. It doesn't have to be black or white, death or unwarranted leniency. And of course victimes and families should always be kept informed about anything regarding possible release/parole of the perpetrator.
Just got bored, so dropped. 5.5/10