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A little fantasy time-travel story
So this is how it went… it's a little movie of just 28 minutes. Nothing special or amazing here. But this isn't bad either…… Wasn't expecting much as it's so short and then it's not appreciated so much by others too… started watching it with no expectations and it just went medium like that… I loved the twist in middle. Was not expecting something like that would happen at all. I bet no one else could guess that too lol… I had a slight confusion in the beginning with a dialogue and I thought that's just a small error. But who expected it's actually well planned…This is good in terms of the time-travel theme cause so far at least I haven't seen a concept like that. Ending could have been better maybe (or what I was wishing for lol). Some people may not get this kind of ending tbh. So, it ended little confusingly… a thing that I can't help but notice was that girl's hand in the ending scene. Her hand was so red. Was it because she was nervous in acting or they made it look like that intentionally…
This story could be expanded I guess. This could form the base story for a long 2 hour movie. Maybe there's something like that already. No idea about that…
To conclude ~ Not bad. Give it a try if you're bored or in a mood for a small high school short film… Also, it's available in YouTube already with English Subtitles…
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Great action film: visually breathtaking, brutal, and explosively message-driven
Watch this if you:• love wartime action
• appreciate great cinematography
• want to check out some underwater wire fu
• are up for epic statements about inhumanity and war
• are willing to go with iconic characters and broad symbolism
• want to see Zhu Yi Long’s amazing acting and 9.5% body fat abs
• want to see Wu Lei's wonderful acting and his ability to embody goodness and justice
• want to watch Ni Ni's awesome acting and her character's role as a force for change
• are curious about why “propaganda” is not an insult in the Chinese filmmaking industry
Don’t watch this if you:
• can't take brutal violence
• prefer realism and naturalistic character development over powerful message delivery
• are never okay with demonizing villains
• are sadly insensitive to the awesomeness of Ni Ni, Zhu Yi Long and Wu Lei.
• always judge a film by the same standards as those of Oscars voters
• think “propaganda” is only and always a bad thing
This is a powerful action movie that made me cry buckets. It's a:
Stunning visual experience
Enraged condemnation of a Japanese war crime
Grueling, devastating ride
Hymn to justice and kindness
After seeing it, I needed a few days to move out of the loss and sadness.
A week or so later, I started getting curious about where Dongji Island's filmmaking style fits in Chinese filmmaking history. Because it's quite strongly message-driven. I mean, I usually notice ideological content in films and tv shows, whether that's a cultural stance in Hollywood products or political messaging in cdramas. And after some preliminary internet searching, I learned that being propaganda is not a movie flaw in China the way it would be in my country. It seems like within Chinese filmmaking, propaganda can be art.
Anyway, in my opinion, Dongji Island has elements of extremely well made propaganda, but overall it's great art.
Because of its propaganda side, though, I don't have much hope for it to become popular in the West. I think Oscars voters go for stories with realism, psychological growth and complexity that privilege the individual. Dongji Island is fueled more by the message than it is by psychological arcs. While its characters have individuality and uniqueness, their symbolic weight is emphasized. And the movie subordinates the individual to the collective.
What’s stayed with me the most are not only the deep emotional impact and the amazing visuals, but also the performances. Besides the leads, Wu Lei, Zhu Yi Long, and Ni Ni, who are all on fire, I keep remembering moments from supporting actors, especially Chen Ming Hao, Ni Da Hong and Yang Hao Yu.
I’m really grateful for the limited American release, because I was able to see this on the wide screen! The lowest score I gave it was for rewatch value, because I would have to take a lot of deep breaths before I walked into a theater to see this a second time. But it will remain with me from just the one experience.
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i loved the acting. my oppa, kang Ji hwang is an amazing actor and played both the nasty looking and suave looking sides very well. The supporting actors did very well, Yuri was convincing. The story concept was realistic, however the details were not. In most stories Ji Hwangs character would have been fired before the halfway point but as the main character in the story, he could do what he wanted.
It is a comedy and it makes you laugh, but be prepared to watch some slapstick because thats what it comes down to. although there are poor jokes, penis innuendos, and other tom foolery, runway cop is chuck full of man eye candy (with their shirts off!!) so watch just for that.
As a Ji Hwang fan this is a must see! seeing him in a fat suit with great fat makeup made me love him even more. I squealed the whole movie and at the end got a bloody nose. no matter how poor the storyline was it was a worthwhile watch for me and i will probably rewatch the end a few times.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Refreshing tale of revenge & childhood connection with lotsa sexual tension
I was ecstatic on Thursday when I found out that Zhao Ting Yi has 2 dramas released on Friday 25 July. I liked him so much in Nanny, Don't Flee that I created his MDL profile which got approved today. I had some expectations on this drama since I also enjoyed Song Yu Jia's acting. My expectations were met and I am writing this review at 1 am immediately after completing the drama.What I liked:
1. ML characterisation - He was mysterious, brooding boss in the opening scene. However that was just a façade he put on to catch a suspected baddie. Fu Li Shan was Mr Nice Guy! He was genuine about his feelings for FL - he was happy to be used.
2. Romance - Now the video that I watched was 2 hours 34 minutes 32 seconds. The moment at 1 hour 39 minute mark seemed off so I am not sure if there was a heavy makeout session. Putting that aside, there were several good kisses - I didn't feel they were steamy because of FL. I'd say ML was openly affectionate with FL and I liked it a lot. There was good balance of push and pull dynamics.
3. FL characterisation - Wow, the last 30 minutes I was swearing heavily at FL. What a twist!
4. Acting - Great acting by Song Yu Jia & Zhao Ting Yi. I liked their emotional scenes because they looked realistic. The supporting cast gave a wonderful performance too.
5. Styling - Impeccable styling for FL & ML. I was giddy when they wore white twice. FL's styling seemed very Song Yu Jia (I have seen her in that style) and gosh Zhao Ting Yi looked damn handsome.
6. Framing - Now I noticed there were 3 frames that transitioned from horizontal / landscape to vertical / portrait. The first and the third frames seemed to play around being on the opposite sides. I wasn't sure about the second transition frame. Nevertheless the drama was beautifully shot.
7. Supporting characters - ML's assistant Feng was the bomb. The actor who played him was handsome.
What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - FL's ex didn't feel like an ex. I didn't understand why he was gung ho about catching ML because the victim was FL not him. So annoying! Brother Zheng was a typical villain that I knew where he was heading.
2. FL's actions - I was irritated by FL's closeness towards her ex.
Favourite scene
The opening scene
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The acting of Kimura Takuya as usual was great. I guess I have to say that I am an official fangirl of his!! Even though this is an older drama and it does not focus solely on romance, it is still a really, really great story! Well worth the 10 hours to watch!!
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An Absolute Mindfuck
Everyone here needs therapy, including me.Did I just single-handedly binge the one and only drama that managed to score relatively close to my sleep paralysis demon, Mouse (2021), which had a chokehold on me for two years since it’s release?
Possibly.
First things first before I get into the actual review. How the HELL does this drama only have a rating of 7.8/10? Imo, it deserves at least an 8.6 if not greater!
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CINEMATOGRAPHY
Had some meaningful shots and unique transition scenes as well. The lighting in the drama changed depending on the scene. Overall, it was very fitting and helped to set the mood for the scene extremely well. The shots were also done very professionally and in a very abstract, artistic manner. I was blown away by how impactful doing something as simple as placing a camera and adjusting the lighting so that a character’s eyes had absolutely no light in them was. It really sent shivers up my spine and evoked a lot of complication emotions in me.
ACTING
I have to say, every actor and actress nailed their roles. I’ll especially acknowledge Yamada Rouske for delivering an impeccable performance throughout. After all, he played two roles that were drastically different from one another, but his acting blended seamlessly with each character’s personality. In all, emotions ran high for the drama, and that was mainly due to the fact that everyone in the cast were seasoned actors and actresses. Everyone acted with their eyes, which managed to capture the rawest emotions.
STORYLINE
Holy shit. That’s all I can say to summarize the plot of this drama. To put it more informally, this drama is a complete mindfuck. It’s convoluted.. but somehow MAKES SENSE. Even after all the series of events that unfolded, there were maybe only 2 plots holes left at the end that weren’t filled, but since they’re not vital to the plot as much as some of the other plot aspects, I’ll excuse it. The premise itself is very unique and almost mind-boggling of how good it is. Be warned that it is quite makjang— a Korean term meaning that a drama has an over-exaggerated, "what the fuck is going on?" kind of plot with a series of ridiculous twists and turns at every corner possible. This style of drama may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those with short attention span like me who can’t handle slow burn and thrives off action, this drama will be right up your alley! The pacing of the story wasn’t too fast nor slow, and the flow of the events in the drama blew me away at how good it was. Every event linked to one another, so it really put me in that detective sort of mode when trying to connect them. Spoilers, but the ending couldn’t have been more perfect imo. Relationships between the characters progressed naturally and the screenwriters even sprinkled a generous amount of character development for the characters who needed it most towards the end of the drama. Possibly my only complaint regarding the plot is its predictability. Nonetheless, it really messes with your mind. One moment you’re sure that the person is the culprit, and 5 seconds later you’re questioning the meaning of life. Also, the length of the drama was great. At one point, I did feel like the plot got unnecessarily draggy, but those series of events really managed to unfold into something grand later on. Finally, one of my favorite aspects of the plot is the amount of morally-grey characters we have. It’s safe to say that almost all of the characters were developed, dimensional, and fully-fledged. Towards the end, the drama makes you wonder if justice was really served or not. Did the culprit deserve the punishment they got?
EXPERIENCE
Although there were some aspects of the plot that were relatively predictable, the thrill the drama brought along with it made up for that predictability. For the first time in a while, I truly felt like I removed the experience of watching a good thriller. Every since Mouse (2021), I was getting some serious PTDD (post-traumatic drama disorder) and still haven’t recovered from it, even two years later. However, watching this drama gave me so much thrill and really put me into the mindset of a detectives. It’s just a crazy, convoluted story that seems like there would be many plot holes, but before you even know it, all those plot holes got filled in seamlessly— and that was extremely satisfying to witness! It’s also a very thought-provoking experience. The drama really lives up to its psychological thriller tag. Every now and then I think back on some scenes and feel like my heart aches at how sad it is. Every character is pitiful, there isn’t no "pure villain." This drama really deserves some sort of tragedy tag because my heart simply wasn’t ready for the amount of angst it delivered.
SOUNDTRACK
Although the songs were very good, there was a lack of variety. Additionally, some scenes had improper OST / song placement, but hey, all the songs were fitted to the theme of the drama and were catchy!
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The titular Sakura is played by Takahata Mitsuki in a rigorously disciplined and idiosyncratic performance which is similar in some ways to that of her Sachiko in Boukyaku no Sachiko, but here the script takes her character much more seriously, and she is allowed to go much deeper. I am no expert in neurological classifications, but Sakura appears to be autistic, rarely smiling and unrelentingly honest for which the large construction firm which hires her repeatedly punishes with demotions and transfers.
The episodes themselves are highly structured. Each tells a story in Sakura's corporate life from ten successive years told by her co-worker friends to her while she is in a coma in 2019. Through repeated encounters and motifs in each episode we learn about how she became their friends and the positive impact she has had on their lives.
The series is unquestionably good through episode 9 where the episodic structure is intentionally broken, and there is a very interesting tension well into episode 10 of whether the show can actually stick the landing without betraying the spirit of its characters. Surprisingly, it does so. A bit unrealistically and conveniently, perhaps, but the show does remain true to Sakura's character while providing a satisfying, if a bit pat, ending to the series.
In the end, the series makes a fairly clear case that the company would be better were it more open to Sakura's way of seeing the world. The story talks about corporate power and intention, and provides an interesting though probably simplistic view of what the source of that power and intention should be. Sakura comes to her company with a dream of building structures with her friends that will make the world a better place, and ends with her having helped those friends define their own dreams. They become more Sakura-like, and she becomes more empowered by their increased authenticity.
It's worth checking out.
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Be careful what you wish for!
What happens when a lonely nerd uses an ancient spell to summon love? He ends up with My Undead Yokai Girlfriend. A mix of comedy, romance, friendship, the supernatural, and mystery, Boku no Itoshii Youkai Girlfriend had a little bit of everything.University student Hachi and his friends belong to an E-games team called the Underdogs. After a “romantic” betrayal, desperate Hachi and his friend Tanuki use a forbidden spell book to conjure him a girlfriend. The girlfriend ends up being a nine-tailed fox, Princess Izuna Imiki whom Hachi calls Izzy. Izzy’s first priority is getting laid so that she can stay in the human world. It will also bind her to Hachi and him to her. Izzy’s other goal is separating the heads of her enemies from their bodies so that she can release the other yokais from the place where humans trapped them---The World of Nothing and Timeless Darkness. Along the way evil humans conjure zombies and strive to stop Izzy from completing her goal. Hachi isn’t sure how to handle this new girlfriend who appears to be a serial killer.
I would have rated this cute drama higher if not for some of the acting. Sano Hayato’s Hachi drove me to distraction with his over-exaggerated acting and Hachi’s childish behavior. It was painful to watch. Some of that is on the writers to be sure. The female cop also behaved childishly and erratically while the other cops played their roles straight. On the other hand, I loved Yoshikawa Ai’s portrayal of Izzy. Izzy was strong and didn’t act like she’d eaten too much sugar. Not everyone can pull off a warrior princess role but she did a good job. The Underdog gang was a mixed bag of characters. I enjoyed Tanuki and Hikari’s budding romance. A word about best friend Tanuki played by Anthony. I’ve seen rather crass comments about his casting. Anthony is Japanese, born to a Japanese mother and American father. His father died when he was two and his mother married a Japanese man when he was five. As he said of growing up, “There were girls and boys and then there was me, this mysterious black being.” He grew up around Tokyo and doesn’t speak much English because he is Japanese and was raised Japanese. So bitch about the Amazon and Coke PPLs all you want but this man does not deserve the ire for not fitting some people’s narrow view for Jdrama casting. I’ll get off my soapbox now.
The production values were uneven but in a story like this it wasn’t terribly important. Some random thoughts…The producers must have spent most of their money on the special effects as the sets weren’t very memorable. A wealthy lawyer’s office looked more like a storage room. I thought it was interesting that several characters had blue streaks in their hair like you might see in comic books. Bonus points to the drama for working one of my favorite songs, Chicago's Hard to Say I'm Sorry, into the story. Demerits for a Coke float that had ice in it! Lastly, anyone who knows me knows I have kinemortophobia. Hate zombies and the zombies in this drama were creepy. But even I have to admit peering through my fingers that trying to figure out how many zombies you can fit in a VW van was funny.
My Undead Yokai Girlfriend was entertaining. The ending left room for a second season though that remains to be seen. Maybe enough time will pass so that Hachi can grow up and control his emotions better as he discovers how deeply entwined he is in the supernatural goings on. I would definitely be open to seeing more of Princess Izuna Imiki’s story.
10 October 2024
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Happy ever after
After watching Episode 35 of The Sleepless Princess I was on tenterhooks waiting for the epilogue. Thankfully it was a happy ending. It’s 31 minutes duration with first half of ML, FL , their son Xue Meng ( 盟 meaning Oath) and XC . It was 4 years after Dongshi released the poisonous smoke. The second half was for the rest of the second leads and their happy ending. The second half could have been shorter, I prefer to watch ML and FL. I enjoyed the main theme song Sleep ( opening scene in the carriage)sung by ZYC and HYX.Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
Strong murder plot that is hampered by terrible pacing and lackluster acting.
It's your typical manga turned Jdrama adaptation. Hire actors where specs trump acting capability. What starts off strong as a murder revenge plot quickly turns sour due to terrible pacing. It was actually good in the first half, especially around episode 4 or 5 or so, but then becomes mediocre due to a shoehorned love triangle and a pregnancy. It's supposed to be romance but there was no chemistry at all between the leads. The female lead was marginally better than her male lead who wears a poker face the whole time. I felt nothing when they broke up. On the one hand, it was supposed to be a murder mystery but on the hand, it was a bad soap opera. The ending was at least ok. I ended up caring more for Tsubaki's mom than his whole relationship with Nao.The gist of drama is Hanaoka Nao goes undercover under a false alias and a fake marriage contract with her childhood crush Takatsuki Tsubaki at the Kogetsuan, the place where her mother last worked. Her mom was wrongly accused of a crime she didn't commit. Nao wants to undercover what really happened to the late heir to Kogetsuan and why and how he was killed and ultimately salvage her mother's name. From there, the pacing just falls apart. On paper, the plot sounds great.
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This review may contain spoilers
I laughed like crazy!
I started watching this drama because of the typical story: a secretary, a bastard boss and so on.I ended up laughing like crazy because of the ML manners, the way he talks, the way he behaves (when he lifts his leg to open the bin, come on!!). And the FL suddenly becomes a new person who is not afraid to tell what she wants because she thinks she's running out of time. That wonderful episode when she goes to his house and hits him with onions? That was pure gold! What I mean is that there were several scenes which I didn't really expect to watch, so they ended up being the best ones.
I also think that there are things which could have been better because, from my point of view, they ended the story too fast or didn't focus in important things. The way they solved everything in the last chapter was a little odd. They decided not to deepen in the character's relationship. Everything was packed with everyone's goodwill. Why didn't they allow us to see what happens with Shin-A's dad and friends, for example?
In any case, I liked the drama and I laughed a lot! The music, especially "I'm crazy", was wonderful. The acting was very good, specially for the ML lead, who I think did an amazing job.
I recommend you watch it, since you will laugh a lot.
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This review may contain spoilers
I am aware that this is a remake of a Korean drama and the production team did not have the liberty to change the plot as they please. I usually only watch remakes of Kdramas that I loved but I made an exemption for this one. I don't have a comparison with the original story line in this review.The storyline is not novel but I am a sucker for older woman-younger man romances (noona romance!). It did not have so much plot to offer compared to other noona romances that dealt with external factors of the relationship. It was more focused on how Najai would accept her feelings for Tofu. A bonus though is that I have unexpectedly liked Rachanu and her baby daddy. They looked so cute together. I wish we got to see more of that relationship too. Kan and Kiss shouldn't be back together. I was so happy she returned that necklace to dump him but I was wrong.
I wished they could've cut the chase about Najai's feelings and gave us more cute scenes with our leads and we see how their relationship progressed. It felt like they pushed everything on the last episode. But I still loved the slow-paced tone of the drama though. No major highs and lows. The opening score in every episode fits the show perfectly. It lowkey feels like a warm cup of coffee on a rainy day.
New always have had great chemistry with his co-stars. He and Pancake are good actors but they kinda lacked that burning chemistry I was expecting. This does not have so much fluff so if you're looking for something like that then this is not the drama for you.
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A few thing that I cannot stand in drama
1. long misunderstandings - misunderstandings were resolved fairly
2. fake kisses - the kisses in this drama were steamy! :-)
3. female leads acting all shy and coy - not a problem in this drama
I loved that the male lead was an emotional person. His love language was definitely touch. This drama gave you a glimpse into fan girls, which I found extremely interesting.
If you like steamy kisses; hot male lead that can add; minimal understandings then this drama is for you. If you do not like those things..umm keep it pushing and move on to the next drama.
Happy watching!! :-)
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