Reviews

When Love Grows With You?

Life: Love on the Line — Review

⭐ 8/10

What I Loved
Omg, the way their relationship grew from high school to college to adult life... it felt so real and pure. ?? Watching them stick together through all those life changes was just beautiful. And honestly, for a show that’s only 4 eps, it showed sooo much without feeling rushed at all. I was lowkey emotional the whole time. ?

What I Didn't Like
Tbh, Akira's storyline kinda annoyed me. Like, after being with Yuuki for 11 YEARS, suddenly realising he needs a “normal” life? Bro, seriously??? He ended up hurting both Yuuki and his wife, Shiraishi Honoka. Even tho Akira divorced and got back with Yuuki later, I think it would have been better if, when Yuuki asked for a promise, he had asked Akira never to see him again. It would have been a very good ending for Yuuki.

Final Thoughts
Even with that one messy part, this drama was sooo good. So emotional, so real, and just hit different. ? If you love slow-burn, soft but painful love stories, def give it a watch.

8/10 from me — would totally recommend!!

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An effective solid disaster film throwback

An affectionate and well-realised update of Junya Satō's The Bullet Train, Bullet Train Explosion's devotion to delivering relentless edge-of-your-seat thrills ensures it's a blast from the moment it leaves the station. After his masterful reworking of Ultraman 3 years ago, I've been patiently waiting for Shinji Higuchi's next film. While the visual effects, direction, cinematography and camerawork are all top-notch, the carnage feels relatively restrained compared to Higuchi's prior work. However, even then, the film's greatest strength lies in its construction of tension and its commitment to showing how people respond to chaos. Some rise while others fall. Even with Higuchi as the film's conductor, this is still very much a one-track film, where Satō's original cross-cuts the action on board its Shinkansen with Ken Takakura's criminal antics, and here we are solely dedicated to the action on board. Despite its familiarity, there's also a fair dose of originality, although the late-game villain reveal had me howling with unintentional laughter. It's a long journey, full of near misses and assorted beats of suspense; although it abandons the complicating human factors that gave the original its soul, the film works very effectively as both a remake and a legacy sequel alike, even if the first half is far stronger than its latter half. Backed by strong performances and a rousing score by Taisei Iwasaki, Bullet Train Explosion is an effectively solid action disaster throwback, full of collectivism and collaboration.

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Carry On Shaw

A relatively faithful adaptation of the Carry On humour, Carry On Doctors and Nurses sees the Shaw Brothers taking a stab at creating their own interpretation of the classic formula. It repeats many beats from the four hospital films of the classic British institution but mixes them up just enough not to seem like a direct riff on the same jokes, just with worse timing. While there are plenty of great moments of slapstick pratfalls and an equal dose of Hong Kong's brand of absurdist humour, the film fails to come together satisfactorily and contains too much dead air to tickle the funny bones. Anthony Chan's direction isn't terrible and does enough to keep the picture moving with a shot of surrealist horror. I admit to getting a good chuckle out of the exceptionally lengthy Ghostbusters parody, but other jokes tend to wear out their welcome very quickly, being milked to the point of powder. While Carry On Doctors and Nurses certainly isn't awful, it does feel rather tired, although the cast's bafoonery does elevate it above the realm of disposable.

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Carry On Hotel

It's hilarious to me that the unequivocally British Carry On series was popular enough in Hong Kong to inspire its own set of exploitation films. Although Carry On Hotel doesn't really fit the vignette of that series and is as lightweight and inconsequential as they come, it still provides plenty of screwy all-star silliness and as many tonal mixes as something crafted by Wong Jing. As most of the stories are unrelated to one another, the film progresses without pausing for much unnecessary reflection or even explanation of what is happening, maintaining a comfortable pace to keep the proceedings moving without losing the viewer, however, director Jeffrey Lau struggles with consistency and pacing. We're merely expected to follow these numerous unimportant storylines while finding some form of entertainment in them. It seems that the presence of big stars and nonsensical comedy is meant to make everything all right, and it somehow does, ideal for spending a mellow afternoon with HK Cinema pals Eric Tsang, Cherie Chung, Joey Wong, Richard Ng, Cecilia Yip and Jacky Cheung. Unlike bigger and more ponderous all-star comedies, Carry on Hotel never attempts anything other than strange comedy and brief, amusing asides, a fluffy affair that can be suitably diverting, especially if watching these likeable stars engage in silly pratfalls is your idea of a good time.

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Where plain storytelling is the drawcard

For the record, I don't give out 10 star ratings lightly. In fact, I think this is my first one on this site.

Liway isn't particularly intricate in its storytelling or production. It tells the story of a couple of freedom fighters who are imprisoned with their two kids under the Marcos regime. But its simplicity is Liway's greatest strength.

The plain storytelling works so well for two reasons. One, the characters are rich and tactile. The actors do an incredible job in demonstrating what make each character tick, their fears, and their raison d'être. It makes them feel incredibly human and incredibly real.

And thus reason two: the story is a true one. The punch of this really follows through in the epilogue and credits where the connections between the film and real life are made explicit. I already knew about the big reveal at the end before watching Liway, but it still hit me emotionally like a tonne of bricks.

All in all, despite the occasional cliché (though these are done well) and a little heavy-handedness with the music, I think Liway does have an important place. The emotional weight of the storytelling aside, releasing this film during Duterte's presidency – and having watched it now with Marcos Jnr in power – really highlights the necessity of stories like this in contributing to collective memory.

And, yes, you will need a tissue box for this one.

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The Movie That Had Me Questioning My Entire Moral Compass

Okay, so Green Bones?? I walked into the theatre expecting a solid crime thriller, but walked out re-evaluating my entire worldview. Like, no exaggeration, this movie wrecked me.

The premise is already wild—a person’s ashes turn green if they lived a life of goodness (which, excuse me, that’s a concept I’m obsessed with??). Then the film throws us into a tense prison drama with Xavier Gonzaga (Ruru Madrid), a corrections officer who takes his job wayyy too seriously, and Domingo Zamora (Dennis Trillo), a convict fighting for his freedom. From minute one, the intensity was unreal.

I loved how this movie made me second-guess everything. Like, do people actually change? Can redemption be real? Are our justice systems as fair as we think they are? The performances?? Chef’s kiss. Dennis Trillo had me on edge the entire time, and the suspense just kept building. Every scene had me gripping my popcorn, convinced something was about to go down.

By the end, I was just sitting there, staring at the credits, emotionally compromised. If you’re into movies that make you feel something—like really hit you with ethical dilemmas and gut-wrenching performances—you need to watch Green Bones. Just trust me on this one. 10/10 would spiral into deep thought again.

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"If your sword skill is poor, best to not carry it."

Pursuit of Vengeance was a 1977 kung fu flick whose cast was stronger than its story. Based on a Gu Long book, Chor Yuen must have struggled to contain the story in a 90-minute film. While the story may have been convoluted, the potent combination of Ti Lung, Tony Liu, and Lo Lieh made the film entertaining.

Fu Hong Xue and Ye Kai wander into town and are invited to Ma Kong Qun’s school for dinner along with four other fighters. Six coffins are delivered ahead of them, not a good sign of a friendly welcome. Amongst the attendees is the unknown surviving son of Master Bai. The family leader was ambushed by thirty masked warriors and brutally murdered twenty years prior. Fu and Ye develop a friendship as they fight together or watch the other one fight. Into the mix, a sword for hire and playboy, Lu Xiao Jia drops into their laps. Lu has been sent to kill them, but as he hasn’t been paid yet, he works to keep them alive until he sees the money.

The Gu Long story behind Pursuit of Vengeance was also made into the 1993 movie, A Warrior’s Tragedy. I’d hoped by watching this film that I would better understand AWT, but alas not. The original story must have been quite complex with numerous characters as both films struggled to narrow down the focus and make it understandable. Frankie Chan wrote the music for this film and then 17 years later directed and starred in the remake. Ti Lung played Fu in both adaptations. At least he was closer to the character’s age in this one and didn’t walk around with that ridiculous limp as he did in AWT.

Despite the fact that this film was absurdly written, I enjoyed watching Ti Lung and Lo Lieh. Ti, as he usually did, played the straight man, this time to Lo and Tony Liu who delivered their comedy without going OTT. There were so many fights that many bit actors and stuntmen died at least twice! Mama Hung who was normally cast as a random villager even got in on the action as did Oyang Sha Fei! Tang Chia designed the fights which meant that they more theatrical than realistic. Unlike the remake’s over the top wire work, PoV had a modicum of super leaping individuals. It more than made up for any realistic elements by overusing the Mission Impossible face masks.

Pursuit of Vengeance had trouble with what must have been an unwieldy book to translate onto the screen. The fights were typical of the time, including bizarre weaponry. What made the film entertaining for me was the camaraderie between Ti Lung, Tony Liu, and Lo Lieh. They were fun to watch banter and fight back to back. I can honestly say I’ve never seen so much of Lo. Only for fans of old kung fu flicks and as always, rated on a generous curve for the genre.

26 April 2025
Trigger warning: Lo’s bare bottom on two occasions.

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It’s not a perfect movie, and I’ll admit I thought about watching something else at first, but I decided to give it a shot and I’m so glad I did. I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much. The film is a touching story about a group of misfit teens who get a chance at redemption and a fresh start by competing in an international ice-sculpting competition. It blends comedy with some emotional moments, but the overall plot is super inspiring and easy to connect with. The acting is solid, with Chom and Jab really standing out. The story that moved me the most, though, was Jo’s. You should definitely give this one a try, it’s worth it!

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It's a pretty confusing movie that could've delivered a more engaging story. At first glance, it seems like there are three separate storylines, but a twist at the end ties almost everything together and explains the movie's title. I enjoyed the first and third stories the most. The second one is just way too bizarre. The acting is a bit inconsistent, but considering the material they had, the cast did a decent job, and you can see the performances improve as the film progresses. Keep in mind, this is an older movie (12 years old) and was likely made on a tight budget. Still, it was interesting to observe the evolution of the Thai BL production timeline. Intentional pun!

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Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this film to be so intense in just 30-something minutes. This is a deeply emotional and thought-provoking movie that touches on heavy themes and reflects a harsh truth about human behavior. It's shocking how cruel people can be, simply for the sake of being cruel. Seeing such cruelty on screen is jarring, but sadly, it reflects the reality faced by so many people around the world who are bullied for being poor, black, overweight, gay, or even just for their nationality. I broke down during the scene where Li Yang is on the bleachers. The mother was absolutely incredible. It’s not a perfect film, but it resonated deeply with me. The ending really got to me. And that post-credit scene was truly heartbreaking, serving as a powerful reminder of how much we still need to grow as human beings.

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Gripping and Quietly Intense

I think my most favourite of this is the technicality because it showed how high the stakes are. I mean it was already like that but that aspect of the film made me feel invested and thinking how they will pull this off.

It was two hours long which I thought was too long but it as actually a good length. I really like how they just got into it. My favourite character, alongside the main, has got to be the General Commander - I think he pulled off being calm, focused and highly principled so well. I'm quite surprised he's listed as a supporting role. I think his role made such a big impact on how invested I got. His character was so impressive.

I think the only thing that I didn't feel convinced about was regarding the suspect. I don't know, just the way it was revealed and the motivations I guess made it feel far fetched? Plus the enormity of how it was done and who's done it just didn't feel believable.

Overall, I'm really glad I watched it. I think the main role, Takaichi, really rounded off the feel of the film with his good natured character. He was dependable and in charge which made you trust him and felt like everything's going to be okay even with the seemingly impossible situation.

Plus the scale of the production was amazing. The director/writer/team behind this are so so impressive. I also really liked Chika, the train driver. I think she was quietly holding everything together and wasn't thanked properly by the passengers when she was introduced 🙈

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Silly and lacking process

This movie could have been good but there is no process, every single scene is under developed and I am not really sure what they are trying to say here, unless it is don't get caught up in what people say and an eye for en eye makes you the eye.

There could of course be more to it, something about society being quick to judge and that nothing really changes, or maybe some type of you we are all the villains in a world where people suck. Careful what you wish for, careful what you say someone may take it seriously... But it was all cluttered by the loudness, the mobs an the flickering camera.

Making my wish for depth... or my wishful interperted depth and the presence of some good actors up the score but my honest opinion would probably be meeh...

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