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This review may contain spoilers
"If you keep on believing, the dream that you dream will come true." -Cinderella
Two of my favorite Chinese actresses, Zhou Dong Yu and Zanilia Zhao starred in The Palace. More Cinderella fairytale than actual historical tale but entertaining nonetheless.Chen Xiang and Liu Li came to the palace as 13 year-old girls to serve as maids and became fast friends. Chen Xiang lost her earring in an abandoned garden on her first day, think Chekov's gun or Cinderella's slipper. Quickly fast forwarded 7 years, the two turned into Dong Yu and Zanilia, now twenty-year-olds still prone to giggling and screaming. Each had their dreams of winding up with a handsome prince no matter how remote the possibility. But in fairytales even remote possibilities can become reality. Chen Xiang met the 13th Prince once again in the abandoned garden only this time she wore a scarf over her face as they had a chaste memorable time. Liu Li, uh, banged into the nefarious 9th Prince. Before you could say mistaken identity the 13th Prince and Liu Li were to be married. Chen Xiang found herself becoming her friend's servant while Liu Li turned into a wicked stepsister to keep their secret.
Chen Xiang was the childlike, virginal, self-sacrificing heroine complete with a repertoire of giggles and screams. Liu Li with her lusty desires for sex and power went from fast friend to Fast Times at Ridgemont High turning evil at the drop of her clothes. There was never much of a reason for Chen Xiang to keep her secret other than to be the traditional martyr and long suffering heroine. I wasn't crazy about the portrayal of the young women. In this fairytale all women were considered pretty much alike and were designed to please men in order to have any security, which given the times probably wasn't too far off the mark. There was no shortage of examples of what happened to maids or concubines who failed to please. The fact that the 13th Prince couldn't tell them apart reinforced their interchangeable nature.
The costumes and sets were luxurious, with mood fitting lighting and exquisite cinematography. Every shot was beautifully framed. No pumpkin coach or mice, but there was a stunning CGI dragon and lots of luminescent butterflies. The actors were cornered into stereotypical roles but still managed to bring their characters to life.
Once the movie got past the giggling, so much giggling, it became more enjoyable for me, even when it dipped into melodrama and political intrigue. Being a fairytale all that mattered was the romance and Chen Xiang winning the Prince's heart through her kind and selfless acts. But it was a Chinese fairytale so that meant being able to avoid being beheaded, beaten to death or exiled in the process.
9/5/22
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This review may contain spoilers
Ice Bar delivers a nostalgic, joyful story that goes down like a soothing ice bar on a hot summer day.Enthusiastic ten-year-old Young Rae and his single mother struggle to make ends meet in 1960's Korea. His mother sells smuggled cosmetics and gets into fights using most of her money on fines and not on Young Rae's tuition. Young Rae is often the target of harassment because he's a fatherless "brat" though he can give as good as gets. His best friend, Dong Su, is an orphan who hustles to make money anyway he can, and during the summer it's selling ice bars. The summer starts off with a bang when Young Rae hears his mom's drunk best friend tell him that his father is not dead, but alive and well in Seoul. His mother denies it, but Young Rae determines to make enough money to take the train to Seoul. Dong Su hooks him up with a job selling ice bars through his shady boss at the factory and that's when the fun begins. Young Rae struggles with ice bar turf wars and bullies and written and unwritten rules about where he can and can't sell. Finally, with some help from Dong Su and a young man, In Bak, the son of a "commie", who works at the factory he starts to figure out how to successfully sell the frozen treats.
The boys get into and out trouble, with no severe consequences for the most part. The biggest hurdle for Young Rae aside from earning the money is his mother who is firmly against him finding his father for fear he will take her son away from her.
Ice Bar is a lighthearted comedy that occasionally dips its toe into melodrama only to rise to a bubbly surface once again.
Park Ji Bin's bright performance as the young entrepreneur was the heart and soul of this film. His laughter and tears were infectious and touching. Future ahjumma Shin Ae Ra as his mother managed to turn what could have been a shrewish role into a sympathetic one, never letting you doubt her love and devotion for her son.
The pace of the story kept the events moving forward, tying together small side stories in aid of Young Rae's goal. Much of the action was child high, taking us on their adventures running through the streets and down to the train station. There was a real feeling of community among the regulars in the scenes as they interacted with the boys. Certain sets could feel artificial, but the characters' interactions made up for the almost play like settings.
Though a largely child friendly film, told through Young Rae's eyes, it does have the typical bullying and hitting so many older Korean movies and dramas have. There is also a disturbing incident in the last quarter of the film. Despite those detriments, Ice Bar is a feel-good movie with an effervescent score and delightful performances. Though narrow in scope, it's big in heart.
If the ending felt a bit contrived, that's okay, ice bars during childhood summers are meant to be enjoyed and not suffered through.
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Michelle Yeoh’s sister married a wealthy banker. Maggie Cheung’s sister married the revolutionary and ultimately leader of the Nationalist party, Sun Yat Sen. Later she was an integral part of the communist party. Vivian Wu’s sister married Chiang Kai Shek who would take over the Nationalist party after Sun’s death and later she would become the First Lady of Taiwan. And that’s about the extent of my knowledge on this subject.
I take all historical movies with a grain of salt, everyone has their own agenda or message they want to get across. I’m even more skeptical when governmental censoring is always lurking in the background. Someone else with more knowledge about Chinese history will have to judge the accuracy of the historical aspects of the story.
Purely as a work of art, The Soong Sisters was lovely to look at. The cinematography, sets, and costumes were lush. The OST gave the right amount of mood to the scenes that took place across several decades. Plus, I'm always happy when a film is F rated, Mabel Cheung was the director.
The actresses all gave strong performances. Wu Hsing Guo was quite charismatic as the mercurial leader, Chiang Kai Shek as well.
Where the movie faltered for me was that the sisters were rather thinly drawn. Ostensibly a movie about three powerful women, two who were the wealthiest in China at one point, the other a communist icon, should have fully developed the complex characters and given these talented actresses something to sink their teeth into.
Maggie’s Soong Ching Ling was the only sister who came across as three dimensional as she worked with the communist party to maintain the integrity of her husband’s legacy. Michelle’s Soon Ai Ling had the smallest role of the sisters. The tag line indicated she loved money, but there wasn’t much evidence of that. Vivian’s Soong Mai Ling seemed more like an infatuated school girl for most of the movie, finally developing a backbone in the last quarter of the story.
It felt like the three women were ignominiously dropped from era to era and place to place. Much of the time I wasn’t sure where or when the story was taking place. Their father’s story would have been fascinating to see made into a movie, but by devoting so much time to him and the women as children we missed out on the real meat of the story. His presence did loom over them as he had wanted a new China. Was his dream all that motivated them? What were they thinking? What kind of relationships did they have with these powerful men? Two of the them never had children, did that cause any conflict in their relationships? Extreme hardships were glossed over. The film did touch on the political conflicts between Chiang Kai Shek and Soong Ching Ling, he was bitterly opposed to the communist party and she had given up on the Nationalist Party when he took over and ordered purges. I can't even imagine how strained those family dinners were when they got together.
With all the wealth, power, egos, and rivalries, there should have been more depth to the characters and story. The Soong Sisters was a beautiful pool of water to look at, unfortunately these still waters didn’t run very deep.
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Michelle Yeoh was amazing as the young woman, Wing Chun, who had escaped a forced marriage and gone to study martial arts for years. Upon returning home and setting up a tofu shop she was often the wall between the townspeople and roving bandits. Michelle did nearly all of her own stunt work and truly shone brightly in this role.
Donnie Yen played Leung Pok To, Wing Chun’s childhood friend, who had returned after several years away to ask for her hand in marriage. He didn’t recognize her as she was dressed as a man and mistakenly thought the pretty young widow who worked in Wing’s tofu shop was her. Suitors competed for the women and there was some good-natured bed hopping. There was a love triangle, or maybe square, on second thought it might have been a love heptagon.
Donnie was as cute as a puppy in his role as Wing Chun’s would-be suitor. Leung was skilled in martial arts but not as accomplished as his childhood love. Norman Chu seemed to have a good time playing the Bandit King, he made a brash and comical villain. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to beat Wing Chun or marry her. The side characters were interesting and distinguishable--the money counting and intimidating sister who had eyes on a scholar, the scholar who was torn between Wing Chun and the young widow, the young widow who was in need of a man’s, uh, services, and a bandit who wanted the widow as his wife--all helped fill out the story in a meaningful way.
I liked this movie because unlike a lot of kung fu movies the romances weren’t tacked on and were relevant to the plot. These were all people trying to earn their happily ever afters in between kung fu fights, of course.
Yuen Woo Ping outdid himself with the creative fights, one particularly clever fight between Wing Chun, a hired fighter, and a plate of tofu was ingenious. There were no deaths or blood-soaked bodies, just lots of high wire, good old-fashioned fights with people who knew what they were doing. The action was fast, stunningly choreographed, and well-acted at the same time. Though some parts of the fights were unrealistic, who cares when they were so entertaining.
Importantly, they stuck the landing. I loved the final fight between Wing Chun and the Bandit King. I’ve never seen fight scenes quite like the ones shot for this film. The culmination of it was perfect. They also made me laugh. This film made me laugh several times and I rarely if ever laugh at “funny” kung fu movies. This was not a perfect film and some parts of it were dated. Regardless of its flaws, I enjoyed it.
Michelle and Donnie are two of my favorite actors and this film was a dream team for me complete with romance and spectacular fights. If you enjoy kung fu movies, this one is well worth seeking out.
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Lena is a descendent of Koreans who were forced to work for the Japanese mining coal in Sakhalin and then later trapped there after WWII. Their story would make an interesting film in and off itself as they fought for citizenship and many fought to go back to South Korea. They became second class citizens in Russia and those who made it home were less than in South Korea as well. Lena wants to bury her parents' ashes in South Korea and becomes a mail order bride to make the trip. This aspect is barely touched on and again, would have given more depth to the story to explore that process.
The male lead is a tea farmer in a remote area which lends itself to some lovely cinematography. He tries very hard to make Lena feel welcome and give her anything she needs. Lena in turn tries to help with different chores to show that she is invested in the relationship. She calls him ahjussi throughout the movie which seems to make their relationship an even further oddity. As she walks to the fields she makes friends with a photographer who is traveling through and begins learning to take photographs. Both the film's cinematography and her photos play a large role. Lena tends to be quiet, walking and taking pictures as she has much on her mind. I wish we'd been more privy to what was weighing so heavily on her.
The last thirty minutes or so give the movie the emotional thrust it sorely needed. While this was a beautiful, quiet movie, it could have been more meaningful if only the director had stirred the calm surface with the emotions running beneath.
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Dong Ju: The Portrait of a Poet is an eloquent story woven around the poet's own insightful words. Shot in black and white, the monochrome film beautifully fits the quiet, intense mood of the short lives of these two young men.
I will leave the historical aspect of this film to those who have a personal stake in it or are more well versed in it than I am.
This film is as much about Yun Dong Ju's cousin and revolutionary, Song Mong Gyu, as it is the poet. Their lives are intertwined, two different ideals in how to resist during a time of hated occupation. One willing to use a gun, the other a pen though at times those lines blur. Their friendship though challenged never waivers.
The story begins and ends with the young men in prison. The present takes place during Yun's interrogation by the Japanese. As Yun is questioned, the past is revealed to show the steps they took to end up in prison. Quoting Yun's poetry to the corresponding events paints the conflicted feelings he had over his role during the dark times and his attempt to find hope in the moment. The tripod of present, past and poetry is perfectly balanced.
Kang Ha Neul gives a restrained and poignant performance as Yun's younger self and later as the tortured prisoner knowing death is imminent, reflecting on his actions and inactions. All the performances are good but his stood out as the titular character.
Dong Ju is an elegantly filmed story of an inelegant and agonizing time told through the courage, defiance and beauty of poetry and a poet.
Prelude
Wishing not to have
so much as a speck of shame
toward heaven until the day I die,
I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves.
With my heart singing to the stars,
I shall love all things that are dying.
And I must walk the road
that has been given to me.
Tonight, again, the stars are
brushed by the wind.
-Yun Dong Ju
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The cinematography is dark and melancholic, reflecting the mood of anger, guilt, sadness, and regret. The score embraces those same feelings.
JDY gives a good performance as the angry son, Zhen Chen, who travels from China to South Korea to find his mother due to his dying father's wish. What he finds only deepens his anger and resentment. Lee's mother shows restrained emotions, a woman who has long dealt with sacrifice and hardships. The story deepens when a disappointed Zhen Chen on the return trip home finds the diary his mother left him and her long buried secrets and his are slowly revealed.
The film dips into the overly dramatic waters on occasions, but never completely sinks into them. Though not for everyone, and not a perfect movie, I found the struggles of this mother and son compelling.
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"You need to write it yourself to get the ending you want"
Veil of Shadows was a rollercoaster of pain, death, pain, death, pain, death… Oops! Got caught up in a time loop! If you like for your characters to suffer and cry, be torn between love and duty, and question what is real and a replay, here you go!What worked for me:
I enjoyed the cast, many of whom were new to me. I’d only seen Tian Jia Rui in Journey to You so the verdict was out on him. I thought he handled his roles well making each distinct, believable, and sympathetic. Yan An did admirably with his multiple roles, even as an evil butterfly. (One member of the family we don’t talk about at Butterfly reunions. lol) He and Tian had great chemistry. Ju Jing Yi and Chen Du Ling as the nine-tailed foxes were at their best when they were in scenes together as tactile and fierce “sisters.” Joseph Zeng did the best he could with what he was given. Honorable mention for Wu Han as the loyal and playful Weasel in his first credited role, at least on MDL.
The settings and costumes were beautiful.
There were arcs that I found compelling and emotionally engaging.
Cdrama characters did more than kiss!
What didn’t work as well for me:
There comes a point when people keep dying and coming back that the stakes and deaths become less impactful. The same with the pain porn dished out in this drama. After numerous suffering scenes, I was like, “Rub some dirt on it, spit up the blood, and you’ll feel better, honey.”
In the first story arc, it appeared that the mains were on equal footing narrative-wise. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. Much of the drama focused on Ji Ling and Lu Wu Yi’s tortured romance, as well as Ji Ling’s past. It gave the drama a lopsided feel, especially when it was revealed that Wu Shi Guang was a “Very Important Character.” He ended up being a VIC that got bumped down to a supporting character along with the 1000-year-old fox, Wu Wang Yan. And the little Weasel was often banished to WSG’s purse.
Much was made of Ji Ling’s man pain and loneliness, but I’d put the dragon speared to the ground for 100 years right up there with him. At least Ji had a bevy of handsome helpers and demons that called upon him often.
The fights were awful. Stunning, but much like the 10th dragon--useless. Lots of posing and CGI. There were also numerous slow-mo shots of pretty people with wind machines blowing their hair and clothing accompanied by overly dramatic music. Way too many hero walks with the team gearing up to face a challenge. Like death and torture, if they are overused, they become redundant and meaningless.
Speaking of overuse---time travel.
When I was enjoying this drama, I was really enjoying it and planned on rating it much higher. The drama was beautifully styled and featured beautiful people. I actually liked most of the characters and found myself invested in the secondary demons (Bai Ze!) and demon fighters. Then it hit a wall with repetitive deaths and agony which actually numbed me to the characters instead of ramping up my sympathy for them. When the pain porn began to feel sadistic, the ick factor started overwhelming my desire to finish the drama. The time travel issues didn’t help either. I’m not sorry I watched the drama, and it was a good average drama, at times more than that. Sometimes, less is more.
21 April 2026
Trigger warning: A snake was featured in one of the story arcs. : /
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Park Se Ri and her posse work tirelessly to find the perfect moment for her to confess to Kim Hyeon. She returns to the secluded beach where they both ended up swimming one day only to rescue new student Han Yun Seok from drowning instead. Park’s posse helps Han out as his leg is broken and soon he’s working with them to create origami love eggs for Kim. When Park discovers that Han’s mom has a process to straighten her unruly locks, she further ingratiates herself to him hoping the mom will give her a discount on the expensive treatment.
The ahjussi elephant in the room was that Gong Myoung was 31 in 2025 compared to Shin Eun Soo’s 22. If you are a fan of Cha Woo Min, he’s a small supporting role rather than main character. The twin sister mentioned prominently in the intro faded away almost immediately. None of the characters in the friend group were developed enough to tell them apart. Their sole goal was to support Park Se Ri which made her come across as self-centered. She wasn’t afraid to be manipulative with them or with Han Yun Seok. The first hour with her whining, ranting, and pouting was hard to watch. Only as she started appreciating the person next to her, did she settle down and think about someone else. The second half of the film was a much easier watch for me.
Unlike characters who are considered ugly because they wear glasses and capitulate to wearing contacts, Park’s inner war with her hair became less important as she matured and accepted herself. After all, she had loyal friends, found love, and had a great family. Humans always seem to want what they don’t have be it straight hair or curly. The first half of the film had Park Se Ri living her life superficially, in the second half she dug a little deeper to discover other people had their own problems and she needed to be a friend to them even if it required sacrifice on her part.
15 August 2026
Cameo spoiler note below:
*Sweet Baby Gong Yoo made a cameo near the end of the film along with his Kim Ji Young: Born 1982 costar Jung Yu Mi!
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Qiao Yan is a successful actress with an overly clingy manager. She’s rigidly unhappy and desperately seeking her freedom from the life she’s living. Her manager has other plans for her future and is unwilling to take no for an answer. Into this abyss her pregnant sister from Myanmar walks in. Her sister is looking for her deadbeat husband who is trying to escape his gambling debts. Due to Qiao’s secret slipping out, a long list of people line up to extort an exorbitant amount of money from her. Qiao will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect herself.
The characters were thinly and inconsistently written. The old, “if I’d had the opportunities you had, I’d be a famous actress and wealthy instead of you,” trope was used because yeah, life just works that way. Anyone can become rich and famous. That petulant phrase was overused. The older sister’s emotions and ethics swung back and forth like a pendulum. Her husband was utterly vile and made me wonder why she stayed with him.
What actually intrigued me about this film was that the entertainment industry was shown to be a patriarchal, capitalistic den of iniquity where wealthy men thought they owned the talent and could do what they wanted with them. I’d heard rumors about this type of behavior for years, just never thought I’d see a Chinese movie airing that dirty laundry. (I write this knowing Hollywood has had its issues, too. It’s always a problem when people hold unchecked power.) They also showed the negative side of the “one child” rule. Another shocker.
The story itself was uneven and dragged on too long. The actors did the best they could with the material. The movie Qiao was shooting gave Zhao Li Ying more of a chance to shine than the actual movie she was in. The Unseen Sister was watchable, but could have been better.
20 August 2025
Triggers: Lots of smoking if that bothers you
Attempted Sexual Assault
Dismembered finger
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"Only the cloud knows the feather"
Spies, assassins, poison, sword fights, and a struggle for the leadership of one of the last sects not under the thumb of the evil Wufeng sect, My Journey to You attempted to cover a lot of ground. Populated with beautiful people and costumes, this drama was sometimes more stunning to look at than compelling.What drew me to this drama was the promise of not one, but at least two female “assassins”. This felt like a bad translation, as they were more spies than killers. Yun Wei Shan had real possibilities for a dark and intriguing character. Once the Gong male characters were introduced, it often felt like the Wufeng spies had little to do other than talking in whispered tones. When a double tragedy left the underachiever, Gong Zi Yu, as the only choice for Sword Wielder, I had to agree with the snide Gong Shang Jue. Zi Yu was pitifully unprepared for such a task. Of course, it was difficult to side with Shang Jue and his “brother” Yuan Zhi, as they could be insufferably contemptuous. Much of the drama focused on Zi Yu’s trials in the Three Realms of the Back Hill with some assistance from Yun. Shang Jue had his own undercover bridal spy to deal with as well.
At the beginning I was completely engaged with this drama. Then it began to rinse, lather, repeat for me one too many times. Zi Yu and Shang Jue kept being hauled before the elders where they could accuse the other of causing problems. At this point I felt like neither one deserved to be the Sword Wielder. The Back Hill provided some interesting characters and trials when the two Gongs weren’t arguing over who was prettiest. There were multiple attempts at humor, usually involving the overly dramatic and over acted role of Gong Zi Shang and her crush on Zi Yu’s bodyguard, Jin Fan. Which brings up the point, this was the martial world and only the “bad” girls knew martial arts. The Gong women all seemed to be rather defenseless. To quote Eowyn from LOTR: TT, “Those without swords can still die upon them.” The oldest surviving Chinese wuxia starred a woman! I was disappointed by the lack of Gong women wielding swords.
The beginning was strong and I enjoyed some of the middle until it became bogged down in recrimination after recrimination. The last part with the fights that had real consequences was more engaging. Then the big “twist” was almost a movie length of exposition. “I suppose you all wondered why I gathered you here today…” The acting varied from adequate to excellent. This drama should help Ryan Cheng graduate from web dramas for good. I also quite enjoyed Wen Zheng Rong’s performance as Lady Wu Ji. She was able to go from calculating to maternal in the blink of an eye.
Overall, I found this to be an entertaining and binge-worthy, if flawed, drama. Had it not been for my least favorite ending-the open end, I would have bumped it up to at least an 8. Maybe there will be a S2, maybe there won’t. If they develop a compelling S2 that coincides with this story well, I’ll revisit my rating. Even with the disappointing ending, this was a journey worth making.
1 July 2024
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This review may contain spoilers
The devil is in the details
As this is a 14 minute short film I won’t say much. You need to be prepared for very graphic talk about sex. It is not for the squeamish.The premise is a man meeting a school girl to have sex with her thinking she is a virgin. They begin to talk and he nauseatingly starts negotiating the price according to what he thinks her experience is. If you’ve gotten this far and are as repulsed as I was by him, don’t give up, keep going…
For a short film the production values were good as was the acting. The filmmakers packed a wallop of a story in those short minutes.
Again, not for the squeamish.
11/14/22
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"You'd be the last one to notice"
The first thing you have to come to grips with when watching "Shall We Dance?" is how ballroom dancing was perceived in Japan in 1996. Too intimate, too suspicious, possibly shameful. The men involved could be misconstrued as perverts just looking to hook up with younger women. Not exactly a hobby that one would want to start or discuss. So, when a depressed middle-aged Japanese accountant begins taking classes, something is definitely up.Sugiyama Shohei works long hours as an accountant, taking the train every night, eschewing drinking with colleagues. He comes home and goes straight to bed only to start the whole process over again the next day. His wife worries for him. One evening on the train he notices a beautiful woman staring out a dance class window. He begins to watch for her every night. Finally, one night he gets off at the stop and enters the building. The next thing he knows he’s signing up for ballroom dance classes taught by an older woman named Tamura Tamako. While he attempts to learn the steps, he can’t keep his eyes off the aloof Mai. When Mai firmly rebuffs his advances, Sugiyama has to make a choice of whether to stay in the class or not.
There was much to like about this film. First up-the excellent Yakusho Koji. It’s one of the few films I’ve seen him in where he was clean shaven and had short hair. Takenaka Naoto always provides a ball of energy in his roles and he did so here as well as the Latin dancer with a horrendous wig. Watching the two office workers lead secret lives that energized them and gave them joy was entertaining to watch. Watanabe Eri and Kusamura Reiko as the older women dancers often stole the show. I didn’t find Kusakari Tamiyo as Mai nearly as alluring as Sugiyama did, but she offered dancing cred to the film.
The film was a love letter to ballroom dancing showing the difficulty and art form that it is. It requires grace, skill, physical fitness, and a devotion to practice that few are willing to invest in. That the men felt they had to hide their love for it was sad. For the dance students and instructors, it gave them a lift in their spirits and an emotionally creative outlet. Sugiyama was brought back to life as he immersed himself in dance.
What didn’t work as well for me was Sugiyama’s motivation for beginning the class. His obsession with Mai did not sit well with me. He didn’t tell his wife about the classes initially because of why he was going to them. Later, he’d gotten too deeply into “something strange.” My first thought after he took a class was that his wife would smell another woman’s perfume on him and sure enough, she did. Despite her love and loyalty to him, she was too afraid to ask him if he was having an affair. He was spending an inordinate amount of time in the evenings and on the weekends taking classes and going to dance halls. Sugiyama was so wrapped up in himself that he never thought what his wife might be thinking or how lonely and sad he was making her. While he was finding new life, he was sending his wife down a dark path.
On the surface, Shall We Dance was a warmhearted film showing a variety of people finding meaning and purpose in their lives through the art of dance. Friendships were forged during the sweaty rehearsals and in the men’s bathroom at work. Old wounds were healed and new horizons shone. Although, I think an actual marriage counselor and not a private investigator was needed and a better ending. Most people will find it satisfying, I found it to be a letdown.
9 November 2026
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YouTuber Jung Gi Hun is called in by a couple of monks to aid them with a cursed Buddha aka a Gwibul. The governor of a mountain province dug too deeply and excavated the statue, uncovering its eyes and possibly releasing an evil into the world. The governor decides to use the statue as a money maker by attracting tourists. A black rain falls along with hail in the shape of skulls portending an ominous future for the town.
Monstrous harkened back to horror movies from the past even including homages to The Birds and The Mist. The reverse of Medusa, the stone Buddha turned people into the monsters lurking within themselves. If you are averse to zombies like me, you may be unnerved, as these humans affected by the malevolent statue looked and acted very much like zombies.
Long, useless, repetitive flashbacks were used to engender sympathy and understanding of the characters in lieu of better character building. The flashbacks actually made one of the characters less sympathetic, regardless of how much they tormented this person. The FL was useless for 5 ½ episodes. There was only one rule for dealing with the Gwibul and person by person who knew this fell right into its trap. It wouldn’t be a Kdrama without a bully and Kwak Dong Yeon reveled as the gang leader who manipulated the situation to his benefit as the townspeople abandoned reason and humanity in search of safety.
This drama could easily have been a movie if they cut the fat out of its script. As little as they developed the characters, they could have just culled it into a 2-hour film. Koo Kyo Hwan spent an episode stuck in a parking lot twiddling his thumbs. Shin Hyun Been spent most of her scenes quivering in the past-over and over and over. The chief of patrols and her son were thinly drawn, with the flashbacks not doing much to fill out their characters. This drama would have been a 7.5 for me until the final episode when characters did stupid things to pad the episode and stretched my patience too thin. For the most part, this was an entertaining, if incredibly average drama. Worth a look if you enjoy the genre or the writers (Yeon Sang Ho &/or Ryu Yong Jae), or actors, and keep your expectations low.
15 October 2026
Trigger warnings: I don’t care what they called them, there were zombies. Gore. Cursing-I’ve seen enough Kdramas to know they sanitized the cursing on Tubi. Lol. Smoking. Big spider. Death of a child.
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"Friendship is built on trust"
Writer/Director Stephen Lopez created a surrealistic dystopian wild ride called Hito (Catfish). The short film centered around a teenage girl named Jani and her pet catfish named Kiefer. Would that it was that simple.Jani lives in the shadow of the nuclear reactors. She’s bullied at school and at home. Her mother gives her money to buy something for dinner. In the process of buying a fish, a talking dog in a levitating chair transports her to a hair salon. There she is given a talking catfish as a pet. Her world is only beginning to turn upside-down.
I won’t write more so as not to spoil the film. Suffice it to say that it was energizing to watch a teenage girl and a catfish bloody the nose of an authoritarian regime. Worth a try if you like strange, short films. Or catfish.
12 October 2026
Trigger warning: Spewing blood. Dismemberment.
Déjà vu note: Slightly reminiscent of Calamari Wrestler
Slightly spoilery comment: I wish they would have shown the worker’s face at the drive-thru near the end of the film. Friends forever!
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