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"No reward comes without a cost"
The Blossoming Love took 10,000 years to flower and at times it felt like it. A beautiful cast and a strong start, began to wilt by the final episodes.What worked for me:
I’ve had a soft spot for Bin Bin since TMOPB. He may not be the greatest actor but I find his presence comforting. Plus, he’s gorgeous.
Sun Zhen Ni gave a refreshing performance as Mu Xuan Ling.
Wang Duo once again came through as the elegant, but morally ambiguous character who threatens to steal the show.
The first half to two-thirds felt cohesive, and I was actually invested in the story.
Now for what didn’t work for me:
When the drama focused on Zhao Ming, it began to feel repetitive. While I preferred dark Bin Bin (he looked delicious in black and the darker guy-liner), the more childlike Pearl was a step backward.
There were numerous side characters, some worked, some didn’t. I tend to lose interest the further away from the main characters a story goes.
This drama is one of the most blood spitting dramas I've seen in a while. The props department must have shopped at Buckets O' Blood to keep the red fluid flowing. They also might have needed oxygen on hand for some of the long exposition dumps the actors had to spit out as well.
The last third of the drama as they hip-hopped through time began to drag. While waiting on the final episodes I watched other things and read books and completely forgot about the drama until I noticed it in my Currently Watching List which I rarely use. Forgetting a drama is not a good sign for me, despite enjoying the earlier episodes. The drama’s ending was convoluted in a timey-wimey twisted way to try and make all the pieces fit.
Final analysis:
Blossoms of Love was entertaining and pretty to look at. For the most part it kept my attention, and I enjoyed Vin Zhang and Sun Zhen Ni’s chemistry. I would have liked for it to have been shorter and had a more coherent ending. I don’t regret watching it at all, but would be hesitant to recommend to others without some serious caveats.
27 February 2025
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"It never ends until we're all dead!" That's the spirit!
Mercy for None wasn’t an extraordinary drama but it did what it set out to do-show mercy for none. As far as Korean revenge entertainment goes it succeeded for the most part. For those familiar with the genre there were no real surprises, but they never let the plot or action slow down. During Nam Gi Jun's lengthy revenge rampage they kept the “hero’s” plot armor to a minimum until the last two episodes. If nothing else, it was good to see So Ji Sub in a drama once again.Normally, I’d give a mini-plot summary about now, but this was a revenge drama so despite the twists and turns it was quite simple. Retired gangster Nam Gi Jun is called back into action when his brother is murdered. Nam Gi Seok was slated to be the JuWoon successor so there were plenty of people with an ax to grind. And grind and slash numerous characters did with axes, knives, bats, iron bars, with plenty of old school action. Gi Jun discovers how deep the treachery runs as he pounds through the bodies with his mighty fists. He could have given One Punch Man a run for his money.
So Ji Sub didn’t have to give an emotionally nuanced performance. He did what he needed to do, look fierce and bloody as he fought gangs of men. Mercy for None was a who’s who of ahjussis and harabeojis. The old boys gave a master class in acting. Sadly, there were younger actors who lacked the gravitas and menace required for their roles. With the exception of a female lawyer with a couple of quick scenes there were no women in this world, no molls, no nurses, no mobster mothers, this was all testosterone all the time.
The fights were well choreographed, especially for a drama. They contained more gore than your average Kdrama so if you are squeamish be prepared. This drama was an 8.5 for me until the end of episode four and then the “twists” and “surprises” began to weigh it down. Gi Jun’s fearsome abilities tread over into the supernatural as the drama wore on which took away from it. Despite only being 7 episodes long, it could have been cut to 5 or 6 at the most.
I desperately wanted to hold a class for these career gangsters. Things Every Bad Guy Needs to Know: 1) Round-house kicks are pretty but useless in a fight. 2) Never bring just your fists to a machete/gun/bat fight. 3) Never leave your weapon behind---there will always be another fight. 4) When using a gun, never let your enemy get too close. 5) Never trust someone who works for the enemy no matter how much you used to like them. 6) Be nice to the hired help. It could save your life. 7) Never turn your back on your enemy. Never. Ever. Like ever.
If you are looking for character development or innovative storytelling this is not that drama. If you are wanting to get an action and revenge fix with an easy on the eyes protagonist, you might want to give this drama a try.
13 June 2025
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"What's the real threat to us, man or Gojira?"
I had watched Shin Godzilla five ago and was underwhelmed. I’ve wanted to rewatch it in order to write a review and see if my opinion would change but the film has been unavailable for years. HBO Max recently added it to their content. I donned one of my Godzilla T-shirts in order to set the mood for a rewatch. SG still had the elements I didn’t care for on my initial viewing but I did bump my score up this time around.When a giant googly-eyed creature arises from the harbor and inexplicably crawls out onto land, Japan’s government has to act quickly in order to deal with the destructive beast. Best SpongeBob voice~~Two days later~~ Bureaucrats argue over who needs to take responsibility and who has the proper rank to make decisions and can be listened to. The Prime Minister refuses to use military force if even one civilian will be harmed. Um, dude, did you not notice the giant mutating monster crushing buildings, cars, and mass transit systems with hundreds, possibly thousands of people in them? A rogue government official puts together a team to find alternate ways to deal with Gojira, but the wheels of government move s-l-o-w-l-y.
The first time I watched this film I was bored out of my mind. It was described as a political thriller. Suffice it to say I found the endless meetings of stuffed shirts sitting at long tables with microphones less than scintillating. Same feeling this time around. Every time the rigid hierarchy blathered on and on and on and on I completely lost interest. I get that it was supposed to be a scathing commentary on the slow-moving ineffectual decision making processes of the government but it felt like watching it in real time. Yaguchi’s team which included Takahashi Issei was much more entertaining.
The PM’s decision-making process was mind boggling. "Evacuate the people!” “Where?” “Come again?” Later, evacuation was bad. “We can’t evacuate the people because it will cause them to be fearful.” You mean, a giant monster that has destroyed most of Tokyo didn’t instill any fear or panic in the people? Nearly two hours of bureaucrats fearful of making the wrong decisions and hurting their reputations dragged interminably. Even the international “intrigue” was bland.
What did work? While I was no fan of the initial googly-eyed bleeding carpet that crawled on shore, the rapid evolution of Godzilla was interesting. When he reached his “final” powerful form he was a destroyer to behold. Whenever the film shifted focus to Big G my score went up and then came crashing down as the government officials went back to their meetings. “We would have to convene a meeting to stop having meetings!”
The pointed commentary on the weaknesses of the government and international issues would have worked better for me if they’d tightened the story, reduced the length of the long ineffectual meetings (we get it, these guys are bad at making decisions!), focused on Yaguchi’s team and of course the star of the show. When the spotlight was on Gojira he was a terrifying sight even if the government was too busy deciding what to order for lunch to notice.
9 December 2025
Pet peeves: The one team wore their respirators wrong, unless they wanted the gaping spaces which defeated the purpose of wearing them. The bombers were B-2s, not B-1s. When on a limited evacuation schedule, instead of using helicopters to evacuate handfuls of people at a time, bring in the C-5s that could evacuate the city quickly. Eventually, as film producers and drama/tv show producers realize there is an international audience, perhaps they will work harder to find people who can believably speak what is supposed to be their native language.
Spoilerish comments: The final scene was a little on the nose regarding Japan always having to live in the shadow of its past and the atomic age. While the image was imposing, the climax was decidedly anti-climactic.
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Think twice before breaking your promise
1993’s The Bride with White Hair is a classic Hong Kong kung fu movie I’ve wanted to see for some time now. It finally became available on a site I use. I wasted no time making the popcorn and sitting down to watch this star-crossed love story encased in a bonkers package. Director Ronny Yu spared no weirdness in the making of this film.Cho Yi Hang is an orphan brought up in the 8th Clan, groomed to be his master’s heir. As he grows it becomes clear to everyone but his master that Cho’s heart is too gentle to take on a job where “Conscience is a hindrance.” When Cho was a child, a “wolf girl” saved his life, a deed he never forgot. Lien was also an orphan but raised by a psychotic conjoined sister and brother who lead the dark magic Supreme Clan. They trained her to be obedient and a ruthless killer. Both clans hate each other and have terrible plans to eliminate their enemy. As fate would have it during a battle, Lien spares Cho’s life and Cho in return saves her. Love blossoms and trust is promised, but those promises can be hard to keep with so much hatred surrounding them.
This film started out gradually with the development of Cho and Lien. It was hard to tell who the good guys were as betrayals and cruelty were practiced on nearly all sides. The twins were clearly overly the line, but the government and clans had blood on their hands, too. Once it got cranking, the action, romance, and violence never slowed. The lovers were the focus of the film as they danced around each other, fell in love, and ultimately succumbed to betrayal. Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin were gorgeous and completely believable as two lonely people having found their soul mate. Despite their suffering they could almost taste the happiness and freedom within their grasp. Unlike the more believable lovers, the twins often went OTT in every scene they were in.
I would put the violence and gore in this film more in the campy than gruesome category. Bodies were cleaved in half and heads were removed but in that early 1990s unrealistic style. There was other violence that was more realistic and two brief sexual assaults. One scene with the White Witch was so pinball crazy as to be funny. I did not care for the martial arts choreography and filming. Everything was either undercranked or sloooowed down with jerky, blurred filming techniques. Kudos to the stuntmen who sold the overly stylized action.
The Bride with White Hair is dated in both storytelling and appearance, but for fans of these old films it’s worth seeking out for Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin. I’ve seen Brigitte in several films but never has she looked more beautiful or fierce than she did here. In comparing films from this time frame, Bride was above average. Filmed too late to be rated on my kung fu curve, I still gave it a little extra love for Brig.
6 November 2025
Trigger warnings: Cleaving, beheadings, dismemberment, blood spewing. Sexual assault. Nudity. Sexual content. Snake.
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This hopper tripped
I am both a fan of Gordon Liu and Jiangshi/hopping vampires so this seemed like a film created just for me. Sadly, Shaolin vs the Evil Dead which appeared to be an homage to the golden era of kung fu movies was not even as good as movies made 20 years prior.Master Pak and his two sidekicks Sun and Fire are herding corpses (jiangshi/hopping vampires) to their hometowns to be properly buried. Along the way they run into a haunted inn and his old clan brother, Hak the Black Wizard. The two are at odds because Black tortures the dearly departed and destroys them while Pak works to help them find their way to a better place. Black and his minion, the comely Moon scam villagers using his abilities. Little Fire creates problems for Pak when he eats an enchanted egg and has a spirit growing inside him. One of Black's scams goes horribly wrong. It’s all fun and games until someone lets a malevolent vampire loose.
Gordon has this Shaolin, competent, reserved character down. He might have been pushing 50 but he still had some moves. Unfortunately, the fight choreography wasn’t great and there was an over use of wires and poor CGI. Louis Fan was okay as the scamming brother. Jacky Woo, not to be confused with the excellent martial artist Jing Wu who also went by Jacky Wu, played the largely incompetent disciple. Shannon Yiu King had some spark as Black’s sidekick Moon.
This film obviously had a higher budget than old Mr. Vampire flicks but came across looking cheaper with worse editing. To say the story was uneven would be like calling the Tilt O’ Whirl at the amusement park a calm and steady ride. What drove my score down dramatically was the ending because before that I would have graded it higher for nostalgia's sake.
SPOILER ALERT BUT IMPORTANT TO KNOW BEFORE DECIDING TO VIEW There wasn't a proper ending. It ended mid-fight with a creature and another character in jeopardy. Oh, but Butterfly, don't worry there is a sequel. Don’t hold your breath on that one, as the sequel goes in a completely different direction, never addressing the events of this film. A hopping vampire unable to stick the landing? Unacceptable. Check the triggers below if you have any. Not filmed before 1990 so no curve for this kung fu horror comedy.
5 November 2025
Trigger warnings: A very long, gross scene with maggots. *shudder*. There were zombie-like creatures with rotting skin. Lots of rats. A child’s bare buttocks.
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Alien spaceships destroy a space station orbiting the Earth and then move on to creating havoc on terrestrial targets. RIP Venice. A covert alien base is discovered on the moon. Fortunately, the clever Earthlings have created a heat ray that can combat the invading force. Katsumiya, his girl Etsuko, and Professor Adachi lead one SPIP spaceship headed to stop the invaders. An international force commanded by Dr. Richardson mans the second spaceship. Unbeknownst to either crew, navigator Iwomura’s brain has been commandeered by the Natals. With their mind control, lasers, and anti-gravity machines, is there any way the people of Earth will survive?
The first hump in watching this movie is the “science”. The Natals froze objects in order to release them from gravity. Mmm…kay. The astronauts were constantly checking the barometric pressure in their moon vehicles. Uh, what? Three different times, a crew member was warned about there being no gravity on the ship and little on the moon when they floated about while everyone else’s feet were on the ground. Were they able to will themselves to not float?
I’m a Godzilla and Mothra girl so I just roll with the miniatures. Tsuburaya did an excellent job with the Earth cities, alien ships (the smaller ones looked like Manta Rays), and especially the moon’s surface. I did giggle at the moon vehicles because they strongly resembled the Oscar Mayer Weinermobiles from my country. In all, the special effects and miniatures and sets were better than average for the time. The acting was pretty good though Etsuko was not the brightest bulb.
This was supposed to be a follow-up to The Mysterians (1957). Apparently, the only thing from the original script that survived were the characters having some of the same names as the predecessor. Mount Fuji survived this flick, but other cities were not so lucky. An alien kaiju or giant robot would have been nice to have, but that’s nitpicking. Overall, the film was quite watchable largely due to Tsuburaya’s efforts. If you like Honda’s early films in this genre, Battle from Outer Space is one to try.
27 October 2025
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"Heed my warning or we're all doomed!"
South Korea brought back their 1967 kaiju in Yonggary 1998. This time Yonggary is a fossil discovered by an unscrupulous professor. His mentor tries to warn him and the government that a global disaster is at hand. Per usual, the dire warnings go unheeded until an alien spaceship arrives and reanimates Yonggary!Professor Campbell discovers a fossilized dinosaur fifty times bigger than a T-Rex. As it is excavated crew members beginning dying horrific deaths. His assistant, Helen, quits over the cover-ups. She is approached my Professor Hughes, Campbell’s ex-mentor. Hughes tells Helen that with Yongarry being disturbed, aliens will soon arrive and bring Yonggary back to life. She is skeptical, but almost immediately his prophecies come true. The government calls them in to help find a way to defeat not only the massive kaiju but the aliens in orbit controlling him.
The first thing that has to be said is that this may have been a Korean production, but there weren’t any Korean actors in it. The cast was predominantly white. I had to stop the film and make sure I was watching the correct movie.
This film was made for 7 million USD/10 billion won and I have no idea where the money went. The CGI was laughably bad. It truly would have been better if they had guys in rubber suits stomping through town. The acting wasn’t much better and the dialogue was awful. There were lines lifted from other films such as Independence Day. I laughed all the way through it, especially every time Capt. Cue Card had trouble reading his lines! I took off a ½ point for one guy calling Godzilla a p*ssy. Seriously, we do not denigrate Big G. The military war room was hysterically funny. There were tall living room lamps for lighting and posters on the wall, even a stuffed animal displayed. One general smoked a cigar through all the hand-wringing and planning causing everyone else to have to hotbox his stinky smoke. Definitely, not a designated smoking area.
Despite the extremely low quality, Yonggary aka Reptilian had one thing going for it—there was a lot of kaiju action. It might not have been good CGI but planes, helicopters, and people in jet packs battled Yonggary and later another kaiju, Cycor, appeared to throw down as well. I laughed in all the wrong places which was its own kind of entertainment. Even for fans of kaiju flicks, this one might be a giant footprint too far. Best to watch the original from 1967 rather than this terrible effort.
17 October 2025
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"Love is the strongest weapon of all"
Love is a twisted path when one person is a fraidy cat scholar and the other is a tantalizing ghost. 1987’s A Chinese Ghost Story set the bar for Hong Kong haunted offerings that would follow.Newly anointed tax collector, Ling Choi San, travels in tattered shoes with no money for food or shelter. The town he enters refuses to put him up for the night and sends him to the Orchid Temple. What Ling doesn’t know is that the monks there are no longer living and other creepy creatures have set up housekeeping, along with a virtuous Taoist swordsman. At the temple he meets a beautiful young woman who hides a deadly darkness.
Leslie Cheung made a great bumbling scholar who inadvertently saved himself and others through his clumsiness. The schtick only caused me to want his character to be eaten a couple of times with the rest of his screen time resulting in a more endearing response. Joey Wong’s ethereal Lip Siu Sin was believable as both the seductive and vulnerable ghost. Wu Ma stole the show with his bearded ghost hunting swordsman. Always confident and under control he looked out for the good-hearted, if not very bright, tax collector.
Tony Ching Siu Tung both directed the film and worked as one of the martial arts directors (there were five). Much of the martial arts was sword work (often magical) and/or wire-fu with Wu Ma carrying the load on the fights.
A Chinese Ghost Story offered ghosts, zombies, a powerful life-sucking tree demon, and the lord of the Black Mountain with his underworld army. Nothing an old swordsman, an inept hero, and a lovely ghost couldn’t handle. The special effects and storytelling may have been dated but the film certainly had its charms. As always, I rate older films in these niche genres on a curve.
4 October 2025
Trigger warnings: Snake, a tree with an enormous tongue, implied wolf killings, zombies, decapitations, and a brief sexual encounter.
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"There are no coincidences in this world"
Missing: The Other Side S2 picked up two years after the last story ended. Kim Wook and Jang Pan Seok can once again see the dearly departed as well as one of the villages where those whose bodies have never been found are trapped. Enemies from the past re-emerge as well as new nefarious opponents.Lee Jong A busts Wook and Jang’s chops over not being able pay their rent. Hero work, it turns out, doesn’t pay very well. Just as the ex-ghost busters decide to attain traditional paying jobs, Wook saves a woman from a scammer with the help of a wandering ghost. Despite not being able to see the old village, with Oh Il Yong’s guidance, they discover a new village filled with children and a few adults. Captain Kang, who has been there for 30 years is the de facto director. Various mysteries are in need of solving. Jang discovers he has a connection to the village. Wook is faced with a blast from the past that shows up on his doorstep. Il Yong has ties to a vicious criminal syndicate and can travel in between worlds and villages unlike the rest of the undead inhabitants. After their first trip to the Industrial Complex Three, Wook and Jang needed no coaxing to aid the village children so that they could move on. They’ll have the assistance of Jong A and trusty Detective Shin to hunt down the lost bodies and people responsible for the disappearances.
S2 had a nice mix of heartbreaking and heartwarming stories. The resolutions usually came easily with the characters even commenting how quickly the Scooby Gang found the missing bodies. This was mostly comfort food that held no surprises. Even the more sinister criminal characters and actions weren't scary. There were elements that dragged on too long for me. Jang’s obsession with staying in the village due to his daughter’s connection to it began to wear thin as well as the focus on entertaining the children. I found it baffling and sad that children who had been living in the village for years were never able to mature mentally though if they were stuck in their small bodies forever it made some sense. Lee Jung Eun as Capt. Kang truly made the village compelling through the force of her screen presence.
Go Soo and Huh Joon Ho still had chemistry but it was Wook’s bickering bromance with Il Yong that stole the show. I have to say I enjoyed Go’s Farrah Fawcett 1970s hairdo. He started out dressing like a surfer dude and transitioned to more stylish clothes after the halfway mark. For a guy who couldn’t pay his rent he had an extensive selection of expensive jackets. Il Yong’s look also transformed substantially as revelations were made about his character.
Missing: The Other Side S2 may not have had any jump scares and could strain its own world building at times, but I enjoyed the camaraderie between the characters. At its heart it was grand wish fulfillment that those denied justice would finally have it. The drama ended leaving room for a third season. I have to admit, I’ll be back for another round of mystery solving with a side dish of emotional healing for the living and the dead.
4 October 2025
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"We're all alone in life"
Plan 75 took a calculated approach to culling the herd so to speak. As Japan faced a shrinking younger population and growing older population, Plan 75 was implemented. Anyone 75 or older could chose to be euthanized and receive $1000 and funeral expenses. But is it really voluntary if the poor elderly are financially ostracized leaving them with few choices?Michi is 78-years-old and working as a cleaning maid with other elderly women. She has no family and her apartment is scheduled to be demolished. When she loses her job, she is left with few options. No one will hire her, no one will rent an apartment to her without a substantial deposit, and the welfare office is “closed.” Michi meets with Plan 75 agent Hiromu and signs up. Hiromu’s estranged uncle also signs up causing him to look into the program more closely.
My first thought was that this felt like a re-working of Kinoshita’s The Ballad of Narayama (1958). In TBoN when a person reached 70 in an impoverished village a family member carried them up the mountain where they were left to die of starvation and exposure. The opening sequence of Plan 75 featured a mass killing of people in an assisted living facility reminiscent of a real-life mass murder in Japan in 2016. The film killing and other hate crimes against older folks spurred the creation of Plan 75.
The first thing that hits you is that all of these people were near the poverty line if not below it. They either had no family or their families had largely abandoned them. None of the people who agreed to be euthanized as good citizens were wealthy. Shocking, I know. It’s briefly implied that businesses were profiting off the human loss of life driving the application age downward. However, there was no real discussion of the glaring pitfalls of such a program and the de-humanization of the elderly. Who has the right to decide if a life is of value and when that life should end? Were the wealthy and powerful held to such a standard? Who will be called on next to make sacrifices? Homeless people or the poor? The handicapped, the sick, the infertile? The LGBTQ+ community? People who aren’t living up to society’s expectations? And when does it stop being encouraged and start being enforced? The lack of a deep dive into the potential for corruption was disappointing.
Plan 75 showed the sad truth that many elderly live alone and on limited funds. When they die, they often die alone. In this film, Hiromu discovered that his uncle had helped build Japan’s transportation infrastructure. Michi had worked her whole life---Basho Chieko gave a quietly inspired performance in this role. Now they were considered a drain on society. Instead of cherishing them, providing for them, and recognizing the value of their lives and contributions they had become disposable. When one group of people is dehumanized, it’s not long before another one will be. Only the poor and powerless were called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. Characters came to realize that life is precious and death should be handled with dignity. Not everyone is ready to leave this mortal coil at 75, there might be one more glorious sunset to bathe in.
“In the shade of the old apple tree,
Tomorrow let’s meet once again
When the red setting sun sinks in the west.”
18 September 2025
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"I see me in them"
What happens when a high school girl tries desperately to fit in with the cool girls and everything goes awry? Second Life gives Seon Hee a second chance, but will she learn to accept herself and take responsibility for her actions?Seon Hee’s parents are either arguing or so involved in their own lives that she is merely a second thought. Shy, and lacking confidence she looks on with envy when Jeong Mi’s friends celebrate her birthday at school. Seon Hee goes to great lengths to find a way into their group. Her constant lying to fit in is obvious to the girls who decide to reject her. When Seon Hee takes revenge, tragedy strikes. She runs away and starts a second life in a rural village orphanage. Life seems to be taking a turn for the better, if only her past could stay hidden.
The beautiful scenery, cinematography, and score were all well done. The acting, however, was very hit and miss. I thought the story’s concept was interesting yet it ultimately left me unfulfilled. High school is a tough place for shy students, especially ones desperate for attention and acceptance. One lie can lead to another, until those lies are inevitably revealed. Even worse are the lies we tell ourselves. Actions born out of revenge can also have unexpected consequences. Seon Hee found that there are people who will accept you for yourself. But growing up and learning to take responsibility for your actions isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight…or maybe ever.
11 September 2025
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"We're all waiting for that someone to forgive us"
Heiward Mak directed Fagara, a story about three half-sisters who meet at their father’s funeral. The three women have different mothers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. Having dealt with a largely absentee father, the three have wounds to heal as they get to know each other.In Hong Kong, Acacia receives a call saying that her estranged father is in the hospital. He dies before she arrives. When she charges his phone, she discovers a secret, actually two, she has a sister in Taiwan and one in China. She invites both of them to the funeral where they awkwardly meet. Branch is a professional pool player while Cherry is a wannabe influencer in China. Acacia has to decide what to do with her father’s hot pot restaurant as there is another year on the lease. She discovers that her father did most of the work and is exhausted attempting to keep it open. The staff call in her sisters to help. The three grow closer as they search for the hot pot broth’s secret recipe, which might turn out to be a bit of a family scrapbook.
I enjoyed the sisters learning about each other and supporting each other. They all shared unfulfilling relationships with their parents, especially their dad. Through taking over the hot pot restaurant they worked through their feelings about him and others in their lives. I liked that none of the three relied on men to tell them what to do or to support them. They were independent, making choices that best served them in their lives. And they made a loving sisterly family where none had existed before. All three actresses created three very different characters that felt real---Sammi Cheng as the sullen, hurt Hong Kong daughter, Megan Lai as the pool player with a secret love life, and Li Xiao Feng as the effervescent influencer who adored her grandmother. It was fun to see Wu Yan Shu (Meet Yourself) play Cherry’s feisty grandmother. Liu Shui Chi looked like she could have been Branch’s mother in real life. The women's stories and relationships were heartfelt without plunging headfirst into melodrama.
What didn’t work for me---The dad was portrayed as a great guy, misunderstood, but always willing to give people a chance and helpful advice. He was still a man who created three children with three different women and wasn’t a real father to any of them. He withheld the words and time his daughters needed. Acacia and Branch felt rejected and tended to emotionally isolate themselves. Cherry quipped she had never been anyone’s choice. Her mother had moved with her to Canada, calling her a niece and not a daughter. Eventually, she ended up with her grandmother in China. All three dealt with resentments and feelings of rejection that were too often smoothed over or seen as overreaction. The film kept circling around trying to make the dad out to not have been a deadbeat and worthy of great respect, but I never made it to that point. That all three needed to come to terms with him and make peace with a flawed parent was understandable. Painting him to be better than he was caused me to drop my score. While I’m ranting, Andy Lau’s character mansplaining men to Acacia was grating. No Andy, “want to be with you” and “can be with you” don’t mean the same thing. Get a dictionary and a clue.
Aside from the writers trying to make the father out to be better than he was and expecting the women to accept the crumbs he gave them as better than they were, I really enjoyed this film about sisters coming together and healing through love and food. And I loved that Acacia not only learned how to drive, but learned when to drive away and when to drive toward something she wanted.
9 September 2025
I used the names given in the movie version I watched: Acacia Ha=Hsia Ru Shu; Branch/Blanche Ha=Hsia Ru Zhi; Cherry Ha=Hsia Ru Guo
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"Dignity is important, but winning is way more important"
If you are squeamish around a lot of bare skin, best to skip Sanctuary. This sumo drama abounded in nearly nekkid men as the sport requires. Big, bountiful butt cheeks and bellies everywhere. I knew very little about the sport so was interested in peering into their world. My review will show I still know next to nothing but it is up a step up from nothing.Oze Kiyoshi had a troubled family life after his father lost their sushi restaurant. His mother ran off with other men and racked up enormous debt. His father who had physical limitations (maybe from a stroke?) was relegated to working on a road crew as the flag man. The Ensho stable master, Ensho Oyakata, recruits Oze after he quits judo telling Oze he can make a lot of money in sumo. Oze refuses to learn the sumo way, preferring his own bag of mostly useless tricks, he is pounded repeatedly in every practice. His unconventional approach to sumo will be sorely tested when he goes head-to-head with Shizuuchi, a mountain of a man with a more painful background than his own. In a similar vein, reporter Kunishima Asuka has been demoted from the news desk and reassigned to covering sumo. Sullen and sulky, disrespectful of sumo, she is a petulant thorn in her boss’ side. Can the two people on either side of the ring come to appreciate and respect the ancient sport?
The most difficult aspect of this drama for me was Oze. He was thoroughly unlikable. Rude, cocky, and violent, disrespectful to everyone, and on top of that, he often behaved stupidly. It helps to pick an unlikable trait-unrelentingly rude or stupid, Oze managed to be both. I was not rooting for him, in fact, was hoping someone would knock his block off. Boy, did I get my wish. Oze was not alone--devious stable heads, other wrestlers, parents (dear goodness his mother was cartoonishly awful)—all behaved badly. The hazing could be violent and there was also college frat boy childish hazing behavior that I didn’t find funny. Kunishima’s growth could at least be seen episode by episode, Oze became embarrassingly worse with each episode until his world view was shattered and he was forced to make a life decision the audience had been waiting six-and-a-half episodes for.
Sanctuary did give insights into the secretive sport with brutal hazing and masculine spaces that had invisible yet strongly enforced “no girls allowed” signs. Any criticisms were quickly swept under the rug, even Kunishima abandoned them as she became enamored with the sport and Enno. Side stories and characters were unceremoniously shoved under the same rug. The last couple of episodes were more entertaining and what I wouldn’t pay to see a gaggle of nearly nekkid sumos running through the streets Rocky style. However, the journey to redemption was just so slow and awful, perhaps more realistic, but not much fun to watch. The ending was also a bitter letdown after a huge emotional buildup. While I enjoyed learning more about the ancient sport with its intricate traditions, Oze/Enno was an irritating guide for much of the drama. I’m still glad I watched it for sumo educational purposes, but the drama itself was a challenge to wade through.
30 August 2025 7.25 could go either way on a coin flip, 7.0 or 7.5
Trigger warnings: bare derrieres, sexual content, lots of boob grabbing, numerous vomiting scenes, a suicide, and a very violent bloody scene.
SPOILER TRIGGER: Ended on a Cliffhanger with lots of dangling stories.
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"When you're stuck, try another thing"
Everyday Hero was based on the efforts of Guo Jian Nan aka Brother Nan, an engineer who worked for the Poverty Alleviation committee. All but deified in the film, Brother Nan travels to the village of Li Tan that has been damaged by a typhoon. He dedicates his life to lifting the villagers out of poverty.When Guo Jian Nan is called into his boss’ office and offered the job of surveying Li Tan for a factory, he jumps at the chance. A factory would offer 500 jobs to the local villages and help raise the people out of poverty. He and his sidekick Da Zhi discover there is no place for the factory but instead of giving up they remain and work to find other projects that will benefit the people.
The film was an idealized vision of people and offered little conflict. The villagers largely accepted Guo with open arms and were willing to do whatever he asked of them. Liu Bao, the local who benefited from the Pioneer of Prosperity hadn’t shared his wealth from oyster farming. Yet with the arrival of Guo his behavior became overtly generous. The primary beneficiary of Guo’s plans was Aunt Ya/Aunt Mute and her geese. There were few obstacles that Guo could not find a solution for. Though the heartbreaking dilemma of parents having to leave children behind so that they could work in the city was highlighted through the child Papaya and students at the small school. At one point Guo was reprimanded for telling the truth regarding the issues of building a factory to his bosses but that seemed ludicrous. One way or another they would discover why it would be impossible. Another criticism from on high blew over quickly as well. Family troubles were forgiven and support was shored up for him. Everyone understood he had a higher calling of establishing new sources of income for the village and eliminating privation.
The editing could be choppy and situations weren’t always explained well. Maybe they were but were lost in translation. While the characters and events could have been developed better, overall, I enjoyed this film. Watching people work together harmoniously for the most part is a nice break from the real world. The PRC has dedicated significant resources to reducing poverty with Brother Nan and Li Tan being one of the success stories. Everyday Hero (Everybody’s Dream) was an homage to Guo Jian Nan who gave everything he had to improve the lives of one village. The film stated that poverty is a worldwide problem, which is absolutely correct, a problem that would benefit from more enlightened solutions, cooperation, and resolve from the global village.
27 August 2025
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"It's important to see everything around us well"
I have to say, I have not been a great fan of Lee Chang Dong’s work. That changed with Poetry. Despite the difficult subjects, a shred of humanity and dignity survived.Though barely making ends meet while taking care of her sullen grandson, Yang Mi Ja dresses well and is always composed. She works as a caregiver for an older man who has had a stroke. Passing by a notice she sees there is a poetry class being offered. For over 50 years she has harbored a secret desire to write poetry and begins the class. The students are challenged to really look at the world around them, to dive below the surface and discover the beauty hidden in plain sight. Mija’s world is rocked when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But worse than that she’s informed her grandson has a connection to a young girl’s suicide.
Yoon Jeong Hee was mesmerizing as Mija. Always polite and soft spoken, hiding her true emotions, until they spill over in the rain. Mija sees and empathizes with a grieving mother and joins her by grieving the loss of an innocent child, brutalized by cruel boys. The other parents and the school heartlessly only care for burying the truth with the body, for boys’ live and futures must be protected no matter how reprehensible and inhumane their actions. Mija faces the painful reality in her family with a higher vision. A more poignant game of badminton you are likely to never see. Knowing her independent time was on a countdown, Mija looked for what was beautiful, what was true and gave witness to it. In doing that she gave Agnes a voice, recognizing her life, her love, and her loss.
14 August 2025
“Agnes’ Song”
How is it over there?
How lonely is it?
Is it still glowing red at sunset?
Are the birds still singing on the way to the forest?
Can you receive the letter I dared not send?
Can I convey the confession I dared not make?
Will time pass and roses fade?
Now it’s time to say goodbye
Like the wind that lingers and then goes, just like the shadows
To promises that never came
To the love sealed till the end
To the grass kissing my weary ankles
and to the tiny footsteps following me
It’s time to say goodbye
Now as darkness falls
Will a candle be lit again?
Here I pray
Nobody shall cry and for you to know
how deeply I loved you
The long wait in the middle of a hot summer day
An old path resembling my father’s face
Even the lonesome wildflower shyly turning away
How deeply I loved
How my heart fluttered at hearing your faint song
I bless you
Before crossing the black river,
with my soul’s last breath
I am beginning to dream
A bright sunny morning
Again I wake, blinded by the light
and meet you standing by me.
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