Heracin

Disturbing: I'm not sure about the what and why, icky but kinda grossly fascinating

This very short movie of about 15 minutes is very indie as it focus on a very odd and relatively disturbing topic as one of the character has a strong secret kink. No judgment from my part, but I personally found it quite gross and icky.

The camera does not shy from the disturbing details and the main actor does an overall convincing job. The filmmaking has a very strong approach on featuring the specific kink of the main character. It is kinda fascinating in a way and I felt a bit sick watching it.

It is impactful in a way but I am absolutely not sure of what the movie is trying to say or why...Honestly there are many fascinating elements in the psyche of the main character that would be interesting to explore...But the short length of the movie prevent any kind of plot & character development.

I would not recommend this movie as I am so unsure of what to think of it after watching it. It is pretty short so you might want to give it a shot if you like indie movies featuring somewhat obscure and disturbing topic.

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Lack a point of view, too middle-of-the-road screenwriting making it rather bland despite the topic

This movie is kind of an adaptation of Cinderella fairy's tale but involving Little Riding Hood and centred around the resolution of a crime mystery...I unfortunately did not enjoy this film but it might be just a case of "it's me...not you".

In terms of fairy tales adapations, I think it is lacking a strong point of view. It is sweet but not much else. I wish they went darker but the scenario went for a middle-of-the-road tone that I found a bit boring. There are too much comedy / overacting to take anything seriously, so the ending with the "life lesson" felt totally flat to me. At the same time, they are adding grim touches with the crime itself and some of the elements relating to the characters, but it is done superficially and it never get even midly frightening...

I was not impressed by the acting but the production value was alright. Special effects were overall well executed and costumes were really pretty. The music was not memorable at all but fitted well with the movie.

I would not recommend this movie if you are looking for a darker take on fairy tales. It is really a matter of taste and expectations. Personally, I enjoy a lot Kaori Yuki mangas where she often revisit in a very dark and grim way various fairy tales...I would have wished the movie to take a similar approach. Here, it is more a family movie with a mystery for which I found the resolution pretty clumsy as well.

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So many issues, grotesque but somewhat entertaining in a confusing way.

This horror movie is such a mixed bag for me. It has some gripping and really WTF moments...But it failed on many elements. Indeed, in terms of horror, unfortunately, I was never really frightened. I often cringed and was quite appalled by some scenes...But the visual effects are quite bad and the acting is also very limited, which is problematic for the horror to properly work.

The main issue is that some characters are part of a theatre club doing grotesque and gruesome pieces, so they do "fake horrific scenes" BUT the real horror situations seems to be put at the same level...You cannot be really scared therefore because everything feel unreal due to the context in which the characters evolve. If they had a bigger budget to make the horror part frightening enough and different enough from the theatric club part, that would have worked so much better...

Regarding the acting, it got a bit better in the second half but most of the actors were average at best. Some were saying their lines in such an unconvincing way that it was comical. Some were clearly under-acting (instead of over-acting) which is an error because it did not match the craziness of the plot.

Regarding the story, it is a bit of shame that they did not lean more into characterization for the main protagonists. It makes it super difficult to care for whatever was happening to them. I think they were too many to be properly developped given the length of the movie. The adults roles were pretty limited and boring but there was a lot of interesting aspects relating to the students. It could have made a fascinating series expanding on each of the characters with all their kinks and unhealthy relationships.

I would not recommend this movie because I am very ambivalent about my feelings about it. It is objectively bad on so many aspects but still it is so WTF that it might be worth a watch (?). It is super gruesome and graphic, so if you are squimmish, it is definitely not for you. The scare level is not really there because of the acting and context in which the characters evolve make everything pretty unconvicing.

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Despite frustrating ending + writing flaws, worth it for the butterflies that the romance provides!

I have watched the previous chinese adaptation "Addicted" of the novel and was curious to see the newest adaptation and how the director and screenwriter will be able to build up this BL relationship while meeting the censorship criteria. Fortunately enough, I think they did a very good job regarding the development of the relationship.

They choose to develop the story in a less toxic way. I liked how toxic it was in the previous adaptation, but here they made it something else and it is as interesting and much more wholesome and candid. They managed to handle the censorship very well: the relationship between the two guys is clearly romantic and with a lot of chemistry despite not being able to show much. Everything is in the subtext, which I really enjoyed.

The downside of the story resides in the last third of the series with a not very inspired resolution to some of the familial conflicts as well as an abrupt ending that felt very much open and which was to me super frustrating. It seems that once again an adaptation of the novel is stopped in the middle of a narrative arc. A season 2 would be more than welcome to conclude better the series but sadly enough, I don't think anything is planned in that respect.

The two actors casted as main leads were really good. They had a great chemistry together and I totally believed in their characters' strong feelings for each other. They managed to convey so much with just their eyes, the looks they were throwing to each other as well as each of their very innocent touching. That's impressive to express so much with so little skinship: every little hints they gave regarding their affections and even more felt like a precious gift to the viewer. The secondary cast was more of a mixed bag in terms of performances.

I enjoyed the production value of this drama. There were a lot of very pretty and memorables scenes between the leads showcasing very well sweet moments between them. I also enjoyed the soundtrack: I liked less the opening song but the other three songs were very solid and such a vibe fitting the romance very well.

I would recommend this to people looking for a Youth BL that really put the focus on developping in a wholesome and believable way the relationship between its main leads. The scenario might be a bit wonky at time as well as the actions of some of the side characters but the main relationships (as well as the two actors acting as leads) is really worth the time invested. Be aware that the ending might be frustrating, but the journey of the romance really offset this point to my eyes.

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Societal critic supported by a strong cast and impressive storytelling: very deep and impactful!

A beautiful movie very impactful and that made a deep impression on me upon watching. The scenario is one of the strong point of the movie: it almost felt like a theatre play in several acts. Every question find an answer, every element showcased at one point of the script has an importance for the rest of the story... The film approaches some very important societal topics and provide a sound critic of Japanese society without being preachy and with a lot of subtlety.

The cast is really great: the characters are multi-faceted and the actors and actresses manage to provide plenty of nuances to their roles. There are a lot of angsty and emotional moments that are played with expertise for the adults parts and candor for the children parts.

The production value is good, I loved some of the decors as well as the editing which really enhanced the various storylines intertwined with each other. The soundtrack was not overly present but there are some critical scenes involving music with a very interesting set up.

I would strongly recommend this movie to people looking for a film providing a critic of Japanese society, discussing important topics and very well acted. The ending made a very strong impression on me...I will not spoil it but the message behind it really moved me deeply. There are some triggering aspects to the movie but it is not too graphic, a lot happens in subtext and is understood as the story unfolds itself. If you are looking for some fluff or slice-of-life movie, it is not the film for you. But if you are ready for some great and poignant storytelling, give it a shot!

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Solid drama with great acting: some of the incarnations stole the show !

Death's game is a series about a man who decides to kill himself and is therefore forced to play an horrific game with Death herself (or at least a personnified version of it) as a punishment for insulting her while committing suicide. He will be reincarnated in several individuals facing imminent death circumstances and needs to find a way to survive in order to win the game imposed on him.

The idea of the series as well as the visuals and production value are really great. You are totally immersed in the drama and it is super interesting to follow. The soundtrack is not overly present but I enjoyed a lot the songs ending each of the episodes.

The cast is fabulous. The incarnations are played by good and different actors, each bringing his own touch and nuances to the role with their characters' own unique background. So far, my favorites stories were the ones of the 3rd, 5th and 7th incarnations. And the most traumatic for me was the 6th one...I really was impressed by the way the stories are somewhat interconnecting within each other, making the bigger picture more and more intriguing.

The series is not totally without flaws. I personnally do not like as much the parts that are set in the limbo with the main male lead and Death chatting and bickering. Those parts are critical for the set up of the story, as well as to see the evolution of the main character as he goes through failures...But I think they are missing something to make it as captivating than the incarnations scenes. I would have loved also to be more invested in the romance side of the story but the ending of Part 1 improved on that.

I would recommend this series to people that are looking for a thriller with a fantasy twist. Given the topic, this drama can be very triggering and is super violent. There are some elements I wish would be better developped but it is overall a very solid show which manage in only four episodes to keep you on your toes...It is never easy to review a series at the halfway mark, I hope the second part will successfully manage its landing because Part 1 raised my expectations.

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Enjoyed the musical moments and the bright colours & costumes, disappointed by the romantic aspect

This movie has a very interesting premise with an Indian wedding being organized in Thailand with the wedding planner being the ex of the groom...This is a good set up for a lot of shenanigans and could have made a nice rom-com movie with a cultural twist, mixing both Thailand and Indian casting.

Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed by the romance aspect of the movie. I had trouble to fell empathy for the female lead and was not that convinced by the storylines with the two males protagonists. It lacked emotions and was super focused on the comical / almost satirical aspect of things that I never managed to really care about any of the relationship of the main cast. The secondary characters were a bit better in terms of likeability despite being for some very caricatural.

What I preferred from the film relates to the filmmaking of the various cultural steps of the Indian marriage as well as the musical numbers which were really nice. The soundtrack left me with a very good impression. In terms of production, I enjoyed the costumes and decors, but I remains a bit more ambivalent regarding the directing choices, especially in the more "action" driven sequences where everything felt very cheap.

I would not recommend this movie as I was disappointed by the plot and the romantic aspect of the scenario. The premise is good and there are good musical moments...but the overacting and almost parodic directing choices as well as the lack of nuance in the storytelling prevent me to recommend this.

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Enjoyed the thematic and the bromance, less convinced by the romantic side of the relationship

I enjoyed the story for what it was: a sweet and platonic (b)romance between a city student emotionally wounded and a joyful and simple farmer. I found interesting the fact that farmer was younger than the city guy because that allowed the development of a refreshing hyung-dongsaeng relationship where the older man has a lot to learn from the younger one (in terms of farming work but also on life outlook).

Unfortunately, I was less convinced by the last third of the series. For me the romance never really picked up the pace: it remained quite at a more friendship level than at a romantic one. I had trouble believing in the chemistry between the actors. I honestly appreciated a lot the performance of Do Won as the city boy: he is to be fair super good-looking and I found him pretty charismatic in his role. However, I did not appreciate as much Yoon Do Jin, acting as the farmer: he played well enough the simple-minded guy but I had trouble enjoying his scenes when he starts acknowledging his feelings. He acted in a much too young / boyish / "simp" way making it not really possible for me to see how the character could move from a dongsaeng figure to a potential love interest.

The production was rather nice with some pretty and cute scenes in the countryside. I appreciated also the soundtrack of the drama: a few pop songs balancing well with the show.

I would recommend this to people looking for a cute and rather platonic BL story in the countryside with little angst. It has a likeable pairing which for me lack a bit of chemistry and passion, but it is still a very sweet watch.

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Not a lot to say so far but I want to watch this BL series for sure!

This special drama consists only in 1 episode of 15 minutes and is clearly the prologue of the BL series "Stay Still" . I am not really sure why this episode is separated from the main show because it is the introduction of the story and shows how the two main leads met each other. So it makes little sense to have it separated as a "special" episode.

There is not a lot to the plot so far but it made me want to watch the full drama for sure. It is my first Hong-Kong production so I do not have a lot of comparable points. The series has an "indie" feel to it which I found pretty interesting, it seems like a slice-of-life series with dark/dramatic undertones.

The actors introduced here are good-looking but there was little to see at this stage. I'm really curious nevertheless to see how this is going to play out.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a BL story set in Hong-Kong. So far, nothing has happened but I enjoyed the atmosphere of the episode and it successfully managed to make me curious of what's going to happen next.

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Entertaining action sci-fi movie, not surprising and flawed but does the job

This movie takes place in a dystopic world as we follow a crew of misfits working as "space sweepers", therefore literally cleaning junk floating dangerously around various orbit stations. The story in itself is not that innovative for the sci-fi and action genre, the peaks and valleys of the script are quite similar to what's already been done but I still found it quite compelling even if not surprising.

I have two main complains regarding the scenario. One being that I found the nanobot technology used too much as a magical tool able to fix a lot of things but not supported by a lot of well constructed storytelling. The way it is used seems rather random and only there to move the plot along than really making a lot of sense. The other flaw being the writing regarding the antagonist who is totally written as a cartoonish villain with very surfaced-level motivations rather than some nuanced character that could bring some deepness to the film.

Regarding the cast, they are some ups and downs as well. I liked a lot the main cast playing the space sweepers team (especially Tiger Park and Buds) as well as "Dorothy". Other than that, I have more mixed feelings regarding the performance of the actors playing the secondary characters (in particular the foreigners). It was mostly average: for some, I even noticed that the language in which they were playing was not their native one (but the script was implying it was), so it gave a really strange vibe to the dialogs which sounded unnatural.

The production value was pretty high: I found the spaceships scenes really nice looking and the visual effects regarding the robots and the technology looked really good overall. The soundtrack was alright but did not make a lasting impression on me.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for an entertaining sci-fi movie. If you enjoy shows like "The Mandalorian" or movies like "Star Wars" or "The Guardians of the galaxy", you might like it (even though you will for sure not be surprised by anything if you have seen / read a lot of similar stuff).

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Cute 15 minutes ad for a laundry liquid, totally dispensable

This special episode is in fact a 15 minutes ad for a laundry liquid by the two main characters of "My School President".

The actors are still super sweet and cute together, but unfortunately I was a tad disappointed by the central plot element. It did not ring true to the personality of both characters in the context of the main story of the drama from which this special episode derivates from. In a nutshell, the plot did not make sense given the relationship between the two main lead at this specific stage of the story.

It is still a fun and cute watch, with some WTF moments that made me smile as the characters were singing and dancing around the laundry machine XD.

I would not recommend this to people, you can skip it as it will not bring anything in terms of story concerning the original drama. Anyway it is short and cute, so you might give it a go if you particularly enjoy this pairing.

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Simple BL story quite wholesome, in a classic way - looking forward season 2 !

The drama is quite classic in its form and content: it is a BL story in a college setting, with a rivals-to-lovers trope. It could have been quite mundane due to its very typical concept but it managed to keep my attention all the way.

I really enjoyed the pairing of the two main actors. They are handsome and had a good chemistry together. Acting-wise, it was not perfect (with a bit of over-acting) but they managed successfully to transmit emotions in the more painful scenes. I found them believable, even though the relationship progressed quite suddenly (which was expected given the length of the show). I was less convinced by some of the monolog scenes, they were a bit too explanatory. Once again, it was a case of "telling" rather than "showing" the feelings of the characters.

The soundtrack was not memorable but still quite nice with some lovely romantic and sorrowful ballads as well as some classical music. The production value was standard for the genre, it is low budget but effective.

I would recommend this to people looking for a simple BL story quite wholesome, it is super short and bingeable. The tropes are classic but well executed, it will give you all the feels.

To be noted: There is a Special episode 6.5 to complete the Season 1 story as well as a "Special version" of the whole season 1. (=> So either watch the "regular" version of S1 + its Special episode 6.5; either you watch the "special" version of S1).

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Riveting thriller movie, quite disturbing: a "must-see" but an unlikely "rewatch"

I enjoyed the film, it was a riveting thriller to follow and I was surprised by some of its twists. The movie is set up in Japanese-occupied Korea, which provides an interesting background to the story but is unfortunately not that exploited. I must say that I preferred the first part of the movie to the rest which required quite a bit of suspension of disbelief given the overall context of the plot.

The cast did a good job playing multiple-layered roles from various perspectives. Some of the characters were truly repulsive and I felt physically ill watching some of the scenes featuring the craziest sides of the antagonists. I would have appreciated a bit more nuances from some of the characters, but I'm convinced that the actors did exactly what was expected from them (especially in some of the over-the-top, oversexualized and violent scenes).

The soundtrack was enjoyable but it is foremost the overall production value which is praise-worthy. The majority of the story is set in an enclosed space: a very remote manor mixing strangely UK and Japanese building styles. The decors, costumes, accessories and directing choices worked great all-together in conferring to the movie an oppressing, dark and creepy atmosphere.

I would recommend this to people that love movies directed by acclaimed director Park Chan Wook or even enjoy thrillers in Victorian-era Britain (as the film is an adaptation of a novel set up in that time). If you have watch any works from Park Chan Wook, you know that there might be some triggering aspects...It is for sure the case here, so be mindful of that if you have any trigger.

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Could have been deeper and more thrilling, still entertaining with interesting concepts showcased

I am generally a sucker for that kind of sci-fi movie set (more or less) in our contemporary world but with futuristic elements making it quite different from our real life. The first part of the picture was quite a wild ride with some interesting conflict: it was a bit too melodramatic but worked quite well overall to set the stakes. In its second part, the story lost a bit its potential as it became too easy for the main lead. Due to the concept itself, there was a lack of suspense and thrills. The ending was good but would have benefited of more fleshed out relationship between some of the characters to be properly rewarding.

The acting was ok overall. I quite enjoyed the performance of Yamazaki Kento who was the central figure and his interactions with the cat were super cute. I also liked Fujiki Naohito: his character was pretty interesting to follow. Unfortunately I found that the rest of the casting was a bit bland for some of the roles and a bit over-the-top for some others. I would have loved to be more transported by the main relationship and would have appreciated more nuances regarding the antagonists.

I found the filmmaking quite good, with a certain poetry for some of the scenes. The various inventions with their related sketches were nicely made and were a crucial addition to the fulfillment of the plot. The OST (with more specifically one key song for the characters) provided a lovely nostalgic vibe to the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a sci-fi movie. I do not want to give too much away but if you like series like "Fringe" or books like "The Ice People" from Barjavel, you might give it a go (as it plays roughly with some of the same topics but in a more superficial way I would say). I wish it would have been deeper and more angsty but I still had a great time watching this film.

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BL office romance: platonic and cute, with a cohabitation trope and some amusing bickering

The story is quite simple but effective: the two main male leads find themselves forced to cohabitate and work together. Despite the short length of the drama, the script manage to make the viewer care about the characters and be invested in their relationship and professional successes. The plot is not really original but it is a compelling watch with some very cute moments.

The main actors were pretty good. I found their acting totally believable and they had a good chemistry together. Maybe some of the more comedic scenes or dramatic ones were a bit overacted, but overall they did a good job conveying the feelings of their characters. The performance of the supporting cast was also quite solid even if the side characters were a bit caricatural and not super developed given the shortness of the series.

The soundtrack was really pleasant with some catchy songs even though quite forgettable. In terms of directing, I was happy that the director did not shy away from the couple of kisses, it remains rather chaste but it has the merit to exist and to be visibly showcased.

I would recommend this to people looking for a cute BL office romance. If you like cohabitation trope, bickering and secret relationship in an office setting, this one is for you!

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