penel

Extreme in violence, sexuality, emotions and revenge, as well as depicting the depths of the human heart, hatred and desperation.
Masterfully scripted, filmed and edited, with a haunting music score and outstanding performances, this is a shocking, twisted & disturbing revenge story, a traumatising but unforgettable watching experience.
Definitely not for everyone...

A tender, bittersweet coming-of-age movie, with a nostalgic vibe, wonderful color palette and exceptional performances from the child actresses.

"The Korean war was nothing compared to this! Egh, hyo, hyo, hyo, hyo"

With a totally frustrating, illogical, superficial and over-the-top plot, lukewarm love lines and too many (selfish and materialistic) characters not particularly worth rooting for, this family drama was strangely entertaining in its outrageousness, oversimplicity and challenging morals and ethics.

A quiet, slow-paced and emotional melodrama with two beautiful love stories: the sweet, adorable first love of the young couple and the challenging, angsty love of their mature selves.
All four leads did a great job portraying their characters, while the cinematography, the colouring, the scenery and the perfectly-fitted music made the story more enjoyable.

Strong start, weak middle and a disappointing end, but a charming Roy Chiu that helped me get through it till the end.

A rom-com with a poorly-written story containing every single cliche anyone could ever think of and a supporting cast much better than the main leads, especially the unrealistically naive and annoying FL.
It had some beautifully decorated macarons and cupcakes though :)

Quirky and witty, with lots of light-hearted and deep moments - a brilliant mixture of skit, satire, family bonding and Yoshida Kotaro's charms!

on dramacool: https://www1.dramacool.fo/drama-detail/the-poet-and-the-boy

A slow-burn but intense and very engaging story, with a well-writen, tight plot and a stellar cast with top-notch acting, especially from the talented and charismatic chameleon Kim Nam Gil.

Not for everyone, since it's not the typical action-packed story, but rather a procedural and slowly rewarding, yet fascinating, journey of some ordinary, flawed but hard-working police officers towards understanding and thus successfully profiling the twisted minds of some evil serial killers.

A must-watch for those who like psychological, procedural, intriguing stories :)

Funny, touching, affectionate, heartwarming (without becoming overly dramatic) and very entertaining, this movie is inspired by the life and work of Masashi Asada and his wholesome family, the continuous support of which helped him realise his dream and become a successful family portrait photographer.
A great story, paired with a wonderful, talented cast - perfect for a comfort weekend watch!

A light-hearted, eccentric comedy with a simple, predictable story focused on sports and college life. Nothing spectacular, but feel-good and entertaining :)

A great balance of action, suspense and emotional moments in a very engaging disaster-themed movie.
Kim Nam Gil (the main reason I watched this) gave an impressive, heartfelt performance - this man
never disappoints!

Though all actors did a good job with the script they had, this drama felt lacking and lukewarm, mainly due to the the sloppy editing and camera work, the unbalanced portions of sitcom and melo moments, and as well as its partly 'documentaristic' format.
Not bad, but nothing memorable.

It took me a while to warm up to it, but overall this slow-paced, healing story was a nice watch.

Beautiful cinematography and colouring, ethereal directing and acting were its strongest elements, while the confusing first episodes, the overly dramatic tone of the last episodes and, especially, the feeling that sometimes 'it was trying too much' to tug at our heartstrings, weakened the final outcome.

"You don't have to know everything about something to understand it."

An intimate, slow-paced indie film -full of subtle silences and things remaining unsaid- that studies
family bonding in a case where blood is not what actually constitutes a family, the narrow-minded mentality of most secluded communities, the prejudice and discrimination for same sex couples.
The poignant, serene cinematography of the beautiful rural scenery and the eloquent performances of most cast members did compensate for the somewhat thin storytelling.

“Why is all this happening?”
“Cause you stay cool and don’t say anything.”

Violent and tender, brutal and heart-warming, action-packed and slow-paced, heart-wrenchingly sad and sappy happy, this film was a long, intense and difficult watch that somehow flowed like a river stream.

Chang Chen’s acting was superb, with all the emotions perfectly depicted for a character that delivers minimal dialogue.
And that little cutie pie of a boy! It stole my heart the moment he appeared on screen…

It’s definitely not for everyone, it has many trigger warnings, but it’s a movie worth watching if not only for the final, absolutely devastatingly beautiful scene!

A heartwarming coming of age story about unrequited love, school life, friendship, family relationships, adolescence and self discovery, full with bitter-sweetness and nostalgia - and a hidden storyline.
Zhang Zi Feng and Leo Wu were great at portraying the protagonists of the story and their youthful emotions.

Tense, suspenseful and engaging, though the characters could have been more fleshed out.
The story was a bit predictable and its pacing uneven, but the great performances from Suda Masaki, Fukase Satoshi and Oguri Shun made up for it.

We watched both movies during -what we call- 'family movie nights'.
Hubby couldn't remember anything from the first movie (tbh we watched the 1st movie a few years ago) and kept on asking for info all the time, but he could follow the main story ^^

It's better to watch the prequel first: though not the same actors, the character's past will help you not get confused by the story behind the flashbacks and those two teams' dynamics.