Reviews

Silenced is not an easy film to watch. Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk (Squid Game), it is based on real events that took place at a school for hearing-impaired children in Gwangju, South Korea. The film exposes the systematic abuse suffered by students at the hands of teachers and authorities who were supposed to protect them, while society and the justice system turned a blind eye for years.

The story follows Kang In-ho (Gong Yoo), a newly arrived teacher who uncovers the horrors hidden within the school’s walls. As he confronts a corrupt system full of complicit silences, In-ho becomes the voice of those who could never defend themselves.

What makes Silenced truly harrowing is not just the explicit abuse, portrayed with sensitivity, without sensationalism, but the overwhelming sense of helplessness: the negligence of institutions, the corruption of justice, and the abandonment of the victims. The film does not aim to entertain but to move, to denounce, and to raise awareness.

Its impact was so powerful that after its release in 2011, Silenced provoked nationwide outrage in South Korea, led to the reopening of the real case, and inspired the “Dogani Law”, which imposed harsher penalties for sexual crimes against minors and people with disabilities.

Silenced is a tough, uncomfortable, yet profoundly necessary film. More than just a drama, it is a testimony, a reminder that cinema can also serve as a weapon for justice and a call for change.

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WELL PRESENTED BUT FEELS SHALLOW

This film tries to stand out by moving the classic gangster story from Korea to 1990s Colombia. It looks different, it feels bold, but in the end, it doesn’t bring much that’s new.

The best thing about the film is Song Joong Ki. His role as Kook hee, a poor immigrant who rises in the smuggling world, is strong and convincing. He gives the film its heart, even when the story itself feels weak.

The setting in another plus. A korean movie shot in Colombia is rare, and the streets, markets, and alleys give the film a gritty and dangerous vibe. It feels fresh, but the story itself is too familiar. It follows the usual crime movie path -rise-betrayal-donwfall- without much depth. Side characters don’t get enough time to grow. The result is a movie that looks well presented but feels shallow.

The tone is uneven too. At time it tries to be dark and realistic, other times it leans toward black comedy. These shifts don't blend well, leaving the film without a clear voice. Still, the film deserves credit for ambition. Even if it’s not perfect, it shows that Korean cinema is ready to take bigger risks.

Plot 5/10
Acting and Characters 6/10
Cinematography 8/10
Writing 4/10
Pacing 7/10
OST/Score 7/10

Overall 6/10

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Not For The Faint Of Heart

Watching I Am Trash left me unsettled, disturbed, and unable to fully process what I had just seen. This isn’t a film that hides its subject matter behind metaphor or suggestion, it strip down completely.

At its core, the film is about a family rotting from the inside out. A father and his sons are tangled in cycles of abuse, incest, and violence. The eldest brother tries desperately to resist, to stop his father and siblings from sinking further into depravity, but his resistance is powerless.

The film makes it painfully clear how perpetrators think, how their mindset infects those around them, and how children inevitably carry the weight of that corruption.

Unsettling, raw, and unforgettable , this is not a film you enjoy. It’s one you survive!

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Miss the old Dee Renjie directors

Lord Pei's quirky, weak and childish character depiction do not meld well with Dee Renjie character portrayal of a very focused and serious personality. This entire production is a little disappointing after getting spoiled for years with excellent Dee Renjie stories, wardrobes, casting, and directing.
Quite different from typical Dee Renjie works. This is my least favorite Dee Renjie production. The cast chosen is good but the way it was directed isn't fitting with typical Dee Renjie production. Need a different director who is knowledgeable about Dee Renjie characters.

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This short film is one of the more artistic of its kind. It follows the conventions of its genre -- it shows just the pivotal moment(s), gives only the minimum information needed, and expects the viewer to infer everything else.
Combined with the artistic way of filming, the style of acting I am used to seeing in modern theatre plays , and the stage-like one-room set, "Maybe it's Love" is not easy to follow or understand.

I believe that this is one of those short films where the viewer is supposed to understand what is being said implicitely, and that we need knowledge about gay life in general, and gay life in Taiwan specifically, to really get what is not being said.
The repeated mention of "Cat"'s age ("a mature man", "an old fart") might play a major role in it. "Dog", who has a boyfriend but still goes out cruising, maybe even starts affairs with more people than just "Cat". The boyfriend, who seems to be absent for long enough that "Cat" has lived with "Dog" for a while.

In the end, both men seek to escape loneliness. But at what cost?

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Anatomy of a Romanticized Trauma (Worse in adaptation, but certainly better than the series)

After the series I thought the worst was over. And yet no: Love Syndrome: The Beginning takes the toxicity of Love Syndrome III and turns it into a 90-minute film that is neither a true prequel nor a sequel, but an operation of “alternative reconstruction.” A sort of “what if” disguised as an official movie. A product that, on paper, could have remedied the mistakes of the series. In practice? Not only does it not correct them: it condenses them, amplifies them, and sells them as great cinema.

= A film that doesn’t clarify, but complicates

The title suggests a return to the origins, but in reality the film is nothing more than a romanticized re-cut of the same dynamics already seen: Gear/Night on one side and Day/Itt on the other.
And while the first couple has moments of real tension and palpable attraction, the second repeats the same toxic pattern without any filter. It’s as if someone had taken the most violent and problematic scenes from the series, lined them up one after the other, and said: “Here’s the cursed love you’ve all been waiting for.”

SPOILER RED ZONE

Day and Itt: trauma as spectacle
The relationship between the two is not built: it’s thrown at the viewer in crude scenes, without context, without progression. The film doesn’t show why or how the two should love each other: it just insists on Day’s obsession and Itt’s surrender, in a visual loop of violence disguised as passion.

The scene of total control
Day decides for Itt, strips him of autonomy, isolates him. There are no nuances: the message is clear, “you are mine.” And instead of treating this as the lowest point of the relationship, the film decorates it with a romantic aesthetic. Soft lighting, languid close-ups, background music. It’s emotional pornography of dependency.

Gear and Night as a decoy
Their story is more interesting, more sensual, more authentic. But it only serves as a distraction: the counterpoint that makes the brutality of Day/Itt’s relationship even more evident. The viewer is forced to compare, and every time the toxic relationship emerges more sick and more forced.

= Psychology reduced to clichés

Day: still the classic romanticized abuser. The film gives him more aesthetic space (heroic framing, “protective” gestures), but psychologically nothing changes. It’s still control, jealousy, manipulation. Just better packaged.

Itt: doesn’t grow, doesn’t react, doesn’t reclaim his voice. He endures. His surrender is total, and the film sells it as loyalty and patience. It’s the very negation of a character’s autonomy.

Gear and Night: the only glimmer of authenticity, but used as contrast and filler.

= Why it hurts even more

If the series was slow and diluted, the film is a concentrate. In 90 minutes you get no break: you’re bombarded with toxic dynamics without respite, without critical context, without even the pauses that let you reflect. It’s a compression that brings not intensity, but nausea.

And above all, the psychological impact is devastating:

If you’ve experienced abuse, it’s a constant trigger, packaged as a love story.

If you haven’t, you risk normalizing it: you learn that love = jealousy, possession, submission, total surrender.

= Conclusion

Love Syndrome: The Beginning is not a prequel, not a clarification, not a useful addition. It’s the same toxic story from the series, compressed, polished, and served as if it were the “true” heart of the saga.
A film that offers neither redemption nor reflection, but just another celebration of abuse as passion.

It’s not love. It never will be. It’s acceptance, dependency, annihilation.

The same sick fairytale, but in a useless, toxic “director’s cut” version.

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A fairly satisfying remake of a classic Thai horror.

This is the 6th remake of the classic Thai drama, but the first being produced for the big screen.

One of the standout features of this film is its production quality. It's undeniable that it's pretty uncommon to find a horror movie that pays such close attention to detail. The film has pretty good editing too. The transitions from scene to scene are quite seamless and manage to captivate the audience's emotions. So far, Kantana's projects have rarely let me down in terms of production and technical aspects. The costume design and hair and makeup are impressive too. You can see the detail to reflect the era as accurately as possible. And for me, the great production aspect always deserves an extra point. I would rate it lower than 7.5 if it wasn't for the production.

One more great thing about this film is the amazing performances by the three main actors. Their acting prowess truly shines. Nune Woranuch fully showcases her potential as Khun Lantom, creating a unique version of the character. Nune's beauty is ageless—how does she manage to look so stunning even as a ghost? At the same time, Gap Thanawet and Goy Arachaporn really show off their acting abilities, proving they can take on any roles with ease.

However, despite its great production and performances, this remake really struggles with its story and pacing. Turning a full-length series into a 90-minute film could be a challenging task for the scriptwriters, but they did manage to pull it off pretty well. Still, the limited time frame and the rush to build emotions might leave the story feeling a bit lacking. The first half is a slow burn, and the dialogues come off as a bit too careful before they finally gain momentum towards the end. And with only three characters steering the story and the main focus on Chev and Rossukon, it can feel a bit draggy.

In conclusion, the 2025 version is a fairly satisfying remake of a classic Thai horror drama into a big screen. While it may not be perfect, it's still quite well done.

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it's like the type of movie you'd want to live in.

oh how this film spoke to me

this was actually one of my favourite asian queer films i've seen. its so beautiful, the cinematography, the setting, the story, the characters - everything. it's like a once in a life experience to get to watch this film for the first time.
of course, the second time was when i truly felt its value - its just that film. you need to watch it more than once and realize what a freaking masterpiece it is (obviously varies from person to person).

the chemistry was insane too, how they compliment each other so well is beyond me. the dark wavy medium length hair contrasting the soft short auburn hair, the darker features with the lighter features and the height of course - undeniably my favourite contrast, very cute.

then theres the charcters, whom i also loved. flawed charcaters, flawless film? i dont know how that happened.

shun's character was so eternally beautiful i dont know how to word it, how strong his love for nagisa was and just how forgiving he was. favourite character for sure.

nagisa is a complicated character. the impulsive, captivatingly dominant type. you only understand once you watch the film-type.

basically perfect, maybe not because what is?

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First things first, why this movie is here? It doesn't meet the requirement to be here I suppose?

The story is quite lightweight, animated movie level. It's about an idol group HUNTR/X who is also a demon hunter part-timer. The idea is excelllent to be honest, but the execution relies too much on the music. Like for every problem, the solution is always music. The animation is excellent, but somehow the motion is a bit not smooth. For the cast I prefer to have the actor/actress who do both the voiceover and singing, though the current option is still excellent. Jinu's voice alters a lot between his normal and singing voice.

I have seen a lot of KDramas, they often disappoint us with lackluster ending. Although this movie isn't even Korean, I don't understand why they replicate this "culture". With such great story idea and decent build up, they bottled it so hard. The ending is quite anticlimatic and lazy. Think about it: after winning such big fight, then it's... the end?? I think they didn't show whether Gwi Ma is defeated or not for potential sequel. However, the way they didn't tell us how can Rumi become half-demon/half-hunter is pretty disappointing. Another thing annoys me a lot is HUNTR/X never complete their main songs on screen.

This movie relies so hard on the soundtracks, either existing or new songs all are lit. They have #1 Billboard 100 song and #1 Billboard 200 album now, INSANE! For the lightweight story and catchy soundtracks, it is very recommended for rewatch, escpecially for younger people.

PS: Since it's a US show, I'll give my rating with US standard instead of "suggested overall".

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Sorry, I did not like this one.

First the good things:

The teenagers' acting was overall good. I liked the background characters, and Nazuna was very well acted. Kuwahara was cute as a button -- but why did he constantly had the same tense posture, regardless of how he felt?

The script told the story in just the right pace and fit its elements together into a whole.

But that "whole" was unfortunately overly sentimental and contrived. The plot was predictable and characterizations superficial. Major events always were very obviously conveniently timed.

Several plotholes were left at the end:

Why is a professional pianist allowed to teach at a Middle School?
Why does nobody know that she is no longer active as a pianist, and not even a search turns up that she withdrew from engagements?
Why is the boy's father suddenly okay with him singing?


As far as I know, the song the choir sings in the contest was the insoiration for the novel this film is based on -- the song is about looking into the future, not giving up despite obstacles in life, etc etc. In my opinion, the problems in the protagonists life didn't fit the song and its intended audience of fifteen year olds. How many teenagers have a dead mother and an absent father? How many have to take care of their autistic older brother? Normal teenagers's problems are very different -- and for them often as insurmountable as those presented in the film.

So, slice-of-life problems would have fit this song better. And the moments when the children were children -- girls complaining about icky boys, boys peeking at girls and crushing on the new beautiful teacher, kids forming and maintaining friendships, a boy secretly being in love with a girl, those were the only moments when the film felt real. But there were precious few of them.

Another interesting avenue to explore would have been the boy and his questions about his own purpose. If you (think you) know why you are on this world, or rather, why your parents had you -- what does it mean for your own sense of self, for your dreams and feelings?

The worst thing is that in the end, it feels as if none of the children's problems are solved -- nor does it feel as if they took a significant step forward in their lives. Only the pianist can leave the island with a lighter heart and look into the future. Were the children's stories just a means to an end?


In some scenes, as well as the island setting, I wondered if maybe this was a callback to the seminal film "Twenty-Four Eyes" -- especially the scene on the grassy hill with the teacher and her students singing felt like it was. But where "Twenty-Four Eyes" made me feel deeply, this film left me mostly cold. Near the end, I even predicted what would happen constantly just a minute before things happened, and then rolled my eyes at it. Only the two minutes of conversation, the one flashback and the song after the competition was somewhat moving -- but then I am weak when people are being kind to each other.


Was it good?
For me, it wasn't. The obstacles were nothing new, and didn't fit the song.

Did I like it?
No. I found it superficial and overly sentimantal, when it didn't need to be. Other viewers loved it and called it "heart-warming".

Would I recommend it?
Not really.

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"Happiness is always remembered"

Show Me Your Love showed how poor communication and even poorer choices can lead to years of unnecessary unhappiness and resentment.

As a child, Nin and his mom move from Hong Kong into her father’s house in Selangor, Malaysia. Sze Nga works long hours at odd jobs trying to pay off debt. One day she leaves for work abroad, giving Nin to her sister, and doesn’t return for 10 years. Upon her return, Nin is readying for university in Hong Kong. This time he is the one who leaves without a goodbye or forwarding address. Years later, married and with a child, Nin is told his aunt has died. His mother who has become a stranger and who is in deteriorating health becomes his unwanted responsibility. Mother and son struggle to bridge the chasm of misunderstandings lying between them.

The strength of this film lies in the performances. Pau Hei Ching was given a role that older actresses salivate over. Sze Nga was a complicated character with a wide range of emotions, all of which Pau covered admirably. Raymond Wong kept Nin’s emotions tucked close to his chest like the perfect hole card while holding a royal flush. All of the supporting characters added to the story without detracting from it. I honestly thought I was going to hate Nin’s wife after her opening scene but she ended up coming through for Nin and her mother-in-law like a real trooper. The biggest faux pas was Sze Nga’s return after 10 years but looking 34 years older as they swapped out the actresses too soon. Michelle Wai should have had those crucial and painful reunion scenes.

*****Depending on your idea of spoilers, this paragraph might hold one. Skip to the next paragraph if you are super sensitive to any plot elements. *****
My problem with this film was the basic premise. Sze Nga left her son to be raised by her sister which crushed him. The film implied there was very little, if any, communication between mother and son through the years, even after she returned. Did they not have mail service where she was working? No postmen in Malaysia or Hong Kong? Nin felt abandoned and deeply hurt and rightly so. It was only at the point of being too late he came to understand her behavior. Her cruel disappearance was all in service of fabricating a false memory of his father—who in reality was a deadbeat dad who had buried his family in debt. Her decision cost her time with her precious son. Losing his beloved mother for the majority of his childhood and adult life hurt Nin far worse than finding out his father was a jerk. Dude never showed up or contacted him once, pretty obvious he was not worth all this effort.

Show Me Your Love pulled all the strings available to manipulate tearful responses from the audience. None of the overtly sentimental tropes worked on me. My heart was broken for Nin who had been a happy child until he lost both parents for all practical purposes. Sze Nga’s actions deprived her of seeing her son marry, hold her newborn grandchild, and revel in her son’s adoration of her. Words matter, words children need to hear-often. The synopsis says that mother and son patched up their differences, a broken heart can be mended but the cracks, especially those created by regret, will always show and be felt. To quote an old saying, "Time wasted, is time lost, never to be regained."


23 August 2025
Trigger: Noble idiocy

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Love is Virus

Really liked this movie. It was very engaging and fast-paced. The plot develops quickly, without unnecessary additions, but also without rushing, so I would say that the duration of the movie is perfect. At first, I was expecting a thought-provoking thriller about viruses, so the early comedic tone confused me. But the movie managed to explore a serious topic about a deadly virus in a bright, comedic, and even romantic style. I was also glad that the light tone remained from beginning to end. Surprisingly, this can be considered a light romantic comedy. It really seems that love can be compared to a virus.

The actors did a great job. They brought a lot of charisma and, even though the characters were a bit clichéd and one-dimensional, the cast played their roles just right for this movie and for the story. If you are looking for a cinematic masterpiece, this is not it—but for a fun and exciting evening, it’s a perfect watch.

Where can I get infected by the virus of love?

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AMAZING warm inspirational story with AMAZING music and acting - a true kdrama gem

This is of those Korean art storytelling pices that is so typical for why kdramas and kmovies are so famous -

bc it is fresh, creative, unique, warm, positive, uplifting, and generally an educational story with meaningful content and powerful messages.

The music is just outsanding, from funk for twists to classical for gloomy scenes and some high school ... kinda rappy music for the positive end.

This is an example of a kdrama masterpice and shows exactly why kdramas won all over the world.

It is humorous, deep, tragic, positive, uplifting, etc, shows a progression of character and improvement in one's life

nasty families, nasty guys, social commentary, etc etc

This is gone off Viki but you can still watch it at without spaces
https://www.asian c tv . co /familyhood-episode-1.html

cdramas never make this.... bc they are never social commentary or willing character growth or humor.....

I guess that's the feel - cdramas have the feel of the "cultural revolution" and kdramas have feel of "kicking out occupators and taking down corrupt president" somehow Korea is a lot more .... righteous.... and generous....

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