Reviews

Charming

Really wasn't sure what vibe the movie was going to give off going in but was pleasantly surprised at the layer of light-heartedness that topped off a serious case. It did a great job with highlighting the concept of "beyond a reasonable doubt" and keeping the human aspect of jurors. Jurors from different backgrounds, those who are anxious to get to a resolution because of the time it's taking out of their own responsibilities, and a judge with good intentions but has also become more methodical from years of experience.

For only less than two-hour session, it was well-paced and well-rounded.

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Heavy topic, average portrayal

It's hard to criticize anything that involves such a sensitive and heavy subject but this was done almost too idealistically and unrealistic. It's as if whoever wrote it or directed it doesn't really understand the complexity of severe abuse. Then again, one can argue that it is realistic as well because how many people really do.

The actors weren't fantastic and sadly, the stepmother is probably the best actor in the movie. Then there are scenes that irked me such as when the lawyer had the kid continually deliver gifts to the victim. Did he not learn his lesson from the first monetary gift he gave to them? Why would anyone think it's a good idea to send anything to the victim's house when she still lives with her abuser? The plot flow overall was too idealistic in how it went from no one caring, to suddenly everyone caring.

Nonetheless, it is still heartbreaking because no matter how average the movie is, you know scenarios like this one or worse are existing all around us every day still. But if you're seeking a similar genre that has far more substance, I'd recommend Endless Protection.

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sacrifice

I just watched Ms. Apocalypse and it left me with so many thoughts.

It’s not just a story about unrequited love, betrayal, or mistakes—it’s about motherhood, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the unexpected bonds women form through pain.

A woman nicknamed “Apocalypse” falls in love with a married man without knowing. After prison, she is taken in by his disabled wife, and what could have been rivalry turns into an unusual companionship.

This movie reminded me that even in brokenness, women’s strength shows in their ability to endure, forgive, and heal. Truly moving. 💔✨

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Two words. Relevant and tearjerker.

This one really hits home for me particularly in the older generation Asian culture for multiple reasons.

- The preference for sons has been so deeply ingrained in the system that no matter how despicable sons may have been to themselves and their families, they were always enabled and coddled. Not always out of malice, but because of the inability to remove this embedded and biased attachment. Many women from multiple generations, even in modern times, suffer from feeling lesser than, yet they often end up being the more empathetic ones.
- The older generations, constantly wishing for the younger generations to "live better" than they have, fail to understand that providing children with everything they need to the best of their abilities can also turn them into emotional and financial dependents. To make matters worse, younger generations often have little appreciation and sometimes even blame their elders for not being more successful.
- We all tend to get so caught up in the day-to-day expectations and pressures from multiple aspects of life that it becomes difficult to appreciate the people around us and the as-is situations we are in. And too often by the time we do, it is too late.

I really love the realism and details in the movie. They paid great attention to details and this always make it super special. If this hits home for you, be prepared for not only a moment or two of tears but almost an ongoing river of them.

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Peak HeiHua

This felt like an apology for the abysmal dynamics/writing of Hei Xiazi in the Reunion series. They brought back arguably the best actor for Xiazi and Ji Xiabing made a perfect Xie Yuchen, with their chemistry and character writing showing one of the best dynamics between HeiHua. Perfect communication and teamwork while the teasing fights and slightly homoerotic relationship was well portrayed. I appreciated how it showed Xiao Hua at his best - flipping all over the place and using his power to help those he cares about.

The story was simple and mostly self-contained, with a good motivation and well wrapped up ending. The visuals were decent for what was clearly limited time and budget and the fight sequences were well planned out and fun to watch. The fight scene around the coffin was especially fun! The first half hour was a bit too fast-paced to get all the setup going but then the director when lowkey god-mode at minute 30 with one of the best directed sequences in any of the Lost Tomb series. The rest of the movie was done at a reasonable pace, directing, and editing, and the side characters were simple but acted well in their roles.

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quietly perfect

10 stars across the board is usually the sign of someone a bit delulu and in the throes of an oxytocin rush after finishing a title. But honestly, I'm not going to take any of them away.

Second time through and I love it every bit as much. The soundtrack is unobtrusive and right for each moment. The closing song (by 25 hours) has been on my repeat lately. Not going to link to it, save the video until you've seen the movie. And do watch the movie if it holds any interest for you. It's quietly excellent.

The story is great. It's not earth-shattering, but that's the point. It's told in that fantastic unrushed Thai way. There's humour, and heart. And kindness. So much kindness. Small cast, and they're all perfect for their roles, including the kids.

Seriously, why change a thing in this film? They got it exactly right.

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What a confusing structure and plot progression…

So much happened, so little made sense. It’s a mix of prison break, enemies cooperation (really short lived), military/medical experiments - and it all feels like a long first episode for a drama. It’s not like the movie did not have a solid ending, the whole plot seems like just a beginning.

First of all I feel scammed. What is Seo In Guk doing in the main cast? If we talk about the actual plot, these are only 2 main characters. Then the whole first half could not exist and it makes no sense it was so long. Literally everything that happens in the first half is more or less inconsequential in the second half. There is an extremely sharp turn and cut as to where the story goes that made me think - so what was the point of watching the first hour?

I saw some people praising the action scenes, but realistically speaking there was maybe one good one closer to the end. The rest was just said “monster” taking everyone down with little to no effort. Yes, the movie was heavy on gore, blood, but it was not really that heavy on proper action. By all means it gave me a slasher vibes.

I don’t want to talk about the set up of the story because… what was it? They did not even try to make it believable. And I’m not even talking about the monster, I’m talking about the cops being idiots. You cannot first claim there are 20 police officers with all 10+ years of experience, to then make them act worse than rookies.

The villain/villains were generic with generic motivations. Comedic in their “evilness”.

Yes, the performances were great, but what’s the point when the story was bad?

Overall, This should have been 2 separate movies, or it should have been two first episodes of the larger show. In current format it’s weak, underdeveloped and confusing (directing an structure, not story wise).

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Slightly overhyped but I get it

Having had a brief experience with bullying and the street life, this is a pretty straightforward depiction of two people from two different walks of life finding a bond. Also having seen many variations of series and movies that revolve around bullying, this one is relatively watered-down. Maybe it has something to do with censorship or maybe it would just require a lot more episodes to really dive into the different perspectives of all the individuals at play from the parents to the teachers to the various backstories of the bully and her followers. But for those who haven't experienced much outside of their standard environment, this would be a good and to-the-point type of story.

It is disturbing of course how just recently in 2025, the bullies of a 14-year old in Sichuan Province, China in real-time seemed to have taken pointers from the ones in this movie. Despite the efforts of what the movie was trying to portray, the resulting punishments were just as minimal.

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shit

Man, how the fuck does this SHITTY work has 6.3 rating to this day? Like the fuck man.











































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A waste of my time

Wtf was this, yes it’s a zombie movie but why did they turn into zombies? How? Why tf do they have fangs lmao, are they vampires? 😂 also theres literally no story, it’s like 2 ppl who work together and have 0 connection, like… were they supposed to be a couple? It’s literally just zombies chasing the guy and girl for an hour straight lmao, 0 story, terrible movie. The characters have so little lines bc it’s just literally them being chased lol, terrible. If I could give 0 I would, “i’m a national athlete” and you think you could fight zombies? Guess you need more than that dumbass

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On the surface, this was a gentle food-centric documentary about an older man who is the owner of a ramen shop that brings together the neighbours, and who shows us the rhythms of his life during the seasons.

Now, this is only the fifth documentary from Japan that I have watched, so I might be hilariously wrong here -- maybe they were the exceptions, and this is the norm -- but something felt off.

The other documentaries all had a certain sensitivity to them for the mastery of the craft, for the people living it. And for those about specific people, "The God of Ramen" and "Sumodo", I was moved by them because the directors managed to get very close to them -- so close that we saw the men filmed not only in their high points, but also at their lowest, at moments when they were exceptionally vulnerable.
All of the other documentaries, whether they were about a specific person or a group of people, never shied away from the hard facts of life, and from the pain life can bring -- on the contrary, this is when they leaned in even harder, got even closer, focused even more on them -- because only then the good things can really shine.
And even though "Come Back Anytime" follows Ueda-san for a whole year, I never felt that closeness to him, nor that sensitivity for his craft. It felt much more curated, maybe even staged at times. It felt superficial.

It might also feel more distant because in "The God of Ramen" and "Sumodo" the director was there with us all the time -- both of them commented on what we got to see in the films, and even brought in some of their own thoughts and feelings; and I could see how they themselves had grown closer to their subjects during filming. Here, however, the director is only heard posing questions two or three times, probably because he couldn't edit himself out. This director didn't take us on a journey nor did he offer his own perspective, even though the film itself *is* his perspective, so there's no reason to pretend it's objective.

Another thing that bothered me was the Western / European piano music -- it felt wrongly placed in some scenes, when silence would have been preferable; and during some of the talking head interviews, the music was almost louder than the words of the customers.

Maybe the reason why this documentary feels so different and "off" is a very simple one: The director, John Daschbach, is US-American, even though the producer is Japanese.

And still, even with all of this, there are times when the Japanese perspective shines through. When Ueda is humble about his success -- but still takes pride in his craft. When the customers speak with such love about the simpleness of a good ramen soup. When Ueda and his friends handle food and ingredients so gently as if they are their own grandchildren.

So, overall, watching "Come Back Anytime" wasn't a complete waste of time, and I wasn't bored or confused -- but in the end, I have to ask myself, what was the point in showing us this man's life?

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Be careful what you wish for...

Princess Yang Kwei Fei was one of only two films Mizoguchi Kenji shot in color. Based on the lives of Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong and his beloved consort Yang Yu Huan aka Yang Gui Fei, it covered their brief moments of happiness before a bloody uprising tore them asunder.

This film was made in conjunction with Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers. Aside from Japanese being spoken which was jarring, it looked much like a SB film minus the sword fights and kung fu. This film would have benefited from a little wire-fu. Despite having famous actors in the main roles, the film was terribly dry. Gui Fei was shown to be a kind and caring consort. Xuanzong adored her and she helped him not feel like a bird in a suffocating gilded cage composed of regulations and schedules. The Yangs he appointed to important positions abused their power and angered the people and Imperial guard. An Lu Shan who had been responsible for introducing Gui Fei to the emperor resented not gaining an even more prominent position and coveted the throne for himself. Before long the music minded emperor had a revolt on his hands.

The acting by Kyo Machiko and Mori Masayuki was fine. The sets and music were fine. Perhaps the run time was too short to properly build the story. Why did the people come to hate the Yangs seemingly overnight? What was the treacherous Crown Prince up to, a character we never met? The emperor and his Gui Fei were together for around 11 years IRL but the movie made it seem as if it was a matter of days or weeks. This tragic love story deserved a more in-depth journey into their relationship and the complexity of the world around them. Princess Yang Kwei Fei was fine, but I expect more than fine from Mizoguchi.

16 August 2025

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You're So Precious to Me is a quiet masterpiece.

You're So Precious to Me is a quiet masterpiece. It’s not flashy, not plot-heavy, but it doesn’t need to be—because the emotional core is so powerful, so pure, it carries the entire film. This is a story about love in its most unspoken form—raw, protective, flawed, and deeply human.
The movie follows a man who's rough around the edges, caught up in a scheme he doesn't fully understand, who finds himself responsible for a young girl with hearing loss. What begins as an obligation slowly, painfully, and beautifully transforms into one of the most moving bonds I’ve ever seen portrayed on screen.
The child actress is incredible. She communicates volumes without saying a word, and the way her presence slowly softens the lead’s hardened exterior is both heart-wrenching and healing. Their journey together is filled with awkward moments, tension, and growth—but it’s in the small gestures, the shared glances, and the final act where everything truly hits.
And that last scene? It broke me. So beautiful. So emotional. So real. It wasn’t dramatic—it was honest. And in that honesty, it was absolutely perfect. I sat in silence when the credits rolled, just trying to process the weight of what I felt.
Pros:
✔ Deeply emotional without being manipulative
✔ Stunning chemistry between leads
✔ Honest, respectful portrayal of disability
✔ A slow build that pays off in the most moving way
✔ A final scene that leaves a lasting emotional impact
Cons:
✘ Some pacing may feel slow for those expecting traditional drama beats
✘ Not a film for viewers looking for light entertainment

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