Reviews

"What secrets made you leave me behind?"

Peppermint Candy told the story of a man who knew the only light at the end of the tunnel was the beam from an oncoming train bearing inexorably straight for him. As his life passes before his eyes, we see seven chapters that made him the man he became. What we find is a man with his life set on self-destruct.

Kim Yong Ho crashes the outdoor 20 year anniversary party for factory workers who once lived in the honeycomb cells near the factory. Obviously distraught he stumbles toward the train tracks while most of the party goers turn up the music and dance. As he shouts, “I’m going back!” the oncoming train suddenly runs in reverse and his life is rewound showing the decisions he could control and the decisions that were ripped away from him.

Director Lee Chang Dong takes the viewer through Kim’s life during the 1980s and 90s. The ROK suffered a traumatic national wound during the times of dictators and martial law, student and union uprisings that led to many of them being arrested and tortured, economic failures, and the shocking Gwangju Massacre. Kim was thoroughly unlikeable, a man filled to overflowing with self-loathing who had nothing left to give but contempt. He felt no mercy had been shown to him so he showed none either. He had done things for which the stench and blood never left him. The backward running train seemingly appeared as a specter of the future at key interludes.

As Lee peeled back the layers of Kim’s life, I’m sure I was supposed to feel empathy for him. Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “Life is an ironic tragedy. It has to be lived forward but only makes sense in reverse.” We can use past experiences to create a path for the future. Some misfortunes can lead to growth and better decision making or they can completely dismantle a soul. Kim chose the latter. Every stupid decision he made just added to the weight of his suffering and the suffering of those around him. He could have chosen atonement but instead he chose selfishness, cruelty, and bone crushing hopelessness.

Peppermint Candy showed the unflinching violence that sadistic policemen and soldiers, and a jealous husband committed on other people. The harrowing times played a hand in Kim’s trajectory, but he played a larger hand in the act of bleeding out his own humanity. He never took responsibility or asked for forgiveness, never chose a better path. No one forced him to make the horrific decisions he chose so I for one shed no tears for him. I know Lee must have liked his full circle motif, but the story would have played out better for me if he’d traveled back to the furthest moment and worked his way to the present chronologically. Overall, this film was well made and Sul Kyung Gu gave a stellar performance. But I was unable to absolve Kim by saying he was simply a victim of the times he lived in.

12 August 2025
Trigger warnings: Frontal nudity-male and female. Sexual situations. Torture scenes.
#JusticeforPoppy!

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That it’s one of the best movies ever

There are movies you watch once, enjoy, and then forget within a week. And then there are movies like Always—the kind that stays with you long after the credits roll, quietly replaying in your mind when you least expect it. I went into this film knowing almost nothing except that it was a South Korean romance, and I walked away feeling like I had just been given a story that mattered.

The premise is deceptively simple. Chul-min (played by So Ji-sub) is a former boxer with a troubled past, now living a solitary and somewhat aimless life. One evening, while working as a parking lot attendant, he meets Jung-hwa (Han Hyo-joo), a young woman who is losing her sight. She’s vibrant and warm despite her situation, and their meeting feels like fate—messy, awkward fate, but fate nonetheless.

From there, the film slowly builds a relationship between them that’s both tender and believable. It’s not the kind of romance where sparks fly instantly and everything is perfect. It’s hesitant at first, filled with quiet conversations, small acts of kindness, and a growing trust that feels earned rather than forced. You can see the way Chul-min begins to open up, and how Jung-hwa’s optimism starts to chip away at his guarded heart.

The performances are what really sell this story. So Ji-sub doesn’t play Chul-min as some overly dramatic, tortured soul—he keeps him grounded, understated, and very human. Han Hyo-joo brings an infectious warmth to Jung-hwa, making her someone you can’t help but care about. Their chemistry is gentle, not loud or flashy, which makes the emotional beats hit that much harder.

Visually, the film uses a lot of close-ups and warm tones, giving it an intimate feel. The pacing is slow—there’s no rushing to get to “the good part” because the whole thing is the good part. Every scene feels like it’s there for a reason, even if that reason is just to let you spend more time with these characters.

Of course, this is a romance, but it’s also a story about redemption and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. There’s a certain grit that creeps into the narrative, moments where the sweetness is balanced by real danger and sacrifice. Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say the film doesn’t shy away from putting its characters through the wringer, but it also doesn’t leave you hopeless.

By the end, I found myself sitting there, a little teary-eyed, thinking about how rare it is to watch a love story that feels this genuine. Always isn’t just about romance—it’s about how two broken people can find something worth living for in each other. It’s a film that sneaks up on you, tugs at your heart, and leaves you a little different than before you pressed play.

If you’re willing to slow down and let it in, Always will reward you in ways you might not expect.

as for myself, this probably was the best movie I’ve ever seen…

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There is no hope!

I just finished watching this movie, and it was very heart-touching, and it made me think. The plot was a simple story about victims of the Hiroshima atomic explosion. Scenes are disturbing based on the context, and I think Shohei Imamura pictured the devastating suffering of people who experienced the atomic bombing in the best artistic way he could. All staff played their roles aesthetically, and I loved the last scene when the lead character said, “If rainbows showed up, it could be a miracle,” but the irony was the movie was in black and white, and even if rainbows showed up, you couldn’t see them.

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Childhood Movie Wonder

I remember this being the first ever project I watched starring Yamazaki Kento. I knew this from a manga and knowing the overall plot of a typical high school manga romcom, forced to live together, frenemy to a crush, fall in love, and ultimately have a relationship as a happy ending, this movie made it to my "top list of movies" during my childhood tween days.

its not much of a drama and plot but it still holds a significant part of my heart because it allowed me to enjoy live actions of manga and animes without being too judgmental towards the acting cast.

I will still rewatch this if I have some time to kill and maybe reminisce about my hopes and dreams during the time I was in my imagination stages.

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This ain’t a story for a 90 minute movie.

No proper setup, no proper development, ridiculous conclusion - this is what I’ve got from a story that was in fact quite interesting if explored enough.

As a movie it was bad. Honestly close to nothing works. I didn’t get to see the team long enough to care for their teamwork. I’ve got 30 seconds of flashbacks to know about their past, so as individual characters they are also giving me close to nothing. The world built up was just confusing because of how vague it was. Yes, I understand the most basic rules and premises, but with how complex the lore seems, I could as well know nothing.

Ba U is punching demons back to tell, Sharon is exorcising demons back to hell, Kim Gun is there making vlogs - the hell was this dynamic? Yes, they did show us Kim Gun doing some research, but they for sure focused more on him running around with a camera. He seemed quite… useless.

The exorcism scenes were ridiculous. Mix match of everything. It gave me Marvel meets Exorcist meets any fighting focused video game meets every found footage horror.

The best part of the movie? The animated ending scene. And here’s the thing - this would not only work better as a series, but especially animated series. With the crazy aesthetics and over the top drawings? This would be a hit. As a movie, even with crazy CGI, it gave discount vibes.

The acting was fine. The characters were such a stock bunch it’s hard to tell at times if the delivery was good or not. The effects were decent, but there was literally zero creativity behind the design of all the supernatural elements.

Overall, skip.

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Drawing Closer — A Tender, Heartbreaking Love Story That Stays With You

Drawing Closer is a deeply moving love story between two young artists—Akito with a year left to live, Haruna with only six months—whose lives intertwine under the shadow of terminal illness. From the start, that knowledge makes every scene feel precious. Their bond grows through shared creativity and quiet, intimate moments, turning their limited time into something luminous and unforgettable. I loved how their passion for art brought them closer and how the film’s gentle pacing let emotions bloom naturally. The chemistry between Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi feels genuine, their performances so heartfelt that I could feel every joy and ache through the screen. Bittersweet and visually poetic, Drawing Closer is heartbreaking yet strangely uplifting—a reminder that even short-lived love can change a life forever. By the end, I couldn’t stop thinking about them… And yes, I cried.

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Untold… and Unclear

Untold left me… well, kind of underwhelmed. The whole psychological twist + crime + ghost mix could’ve been intriguing, but the way scenes were spliced just left me confused instead of hooked. Reality and hallucination blended so thinly that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began — and not in a “wow, mind blown” way, more in a “wait… what just happened?” way.

By the end, I wasn’t sure what it really wanted to say or if there was even a clear resolution. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea — crime + fiction + ghost apparently isn’t my go-to combo.

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What the heck?!

"Hala Bala" tells the story of a police officer who sets out to track down a notorious drug lord, only to find himself trapped and tangled up in a haunted forest. The film's premise sounds promising, but unfortunately, the execution falls short of expectations. 

One of the main weaknesses of this film is its storytelling. The narrative is confusing and seems a bit out of place. The plots driving the story forward feel disjointed and without a clear end goal. One moment it's about chasing a bad guy, then it shifts to some cannibal, cult thing, and suddenly it dives into spirit possessions. The various twists and turns in the story seem to come out of nowhere. This lack of direction makes it hard for me to become emotionally invested in the characters and their journey.

In addition to the poor storytelling, this film also suffers from weak character development. The main protagonists - the cop and his wife, are not given enough depth or backstory to make them compelling leads. Other supporting characters are also underdeveloped, making their presence in the film feel pointless.

Despite these shortcomings, there are at least two positive aspects of this film—the actors' performance and good production values. Ter Chantavit and Nychaa Nuttanicha deliver solid performances in their respective roles. Their acting talent shines through, but even their skills cannot elevate the film to a more impressive status. And the well-shot scenes and good cinematography only do a little to compensate for the film's weak storyline and character development.

In conclusion, Hala Bala fails to live up to its promising premise. For viewers looking for a suspenseful, thrilling, and compelling experience, this film may not be the right choice.

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Probably better as a movie to put on when your bored

First off the general atmosphere of this movie is good. It's moody and dark without being angsty. It has a color palette that is very dark and mute but it works well for the atmosphere for the film. It's surprisingly low key in terms of locations. I thought we'd see more places but it's extremely narrow in locations.I wonder if that had to do with budgetary or filming restrictions.

I loved the acting by Fumika. She was doing so well with the personality switches while doing body movements still in character of Kudo. It's probably one of the best parts of the film.I kinda wish they kidnapped Maho or something to bring her into the film more. Otherwise her character was sorta wasted. Kudo was really just alright for what we saw of him. I didn't really feel attached or remorseful for his character. Kagehara was a likeable character I thought. He had a really quick character arc though.

The plot is really thin. Like it doesn't really tell you much about anyone. I think if this movie had that extra 15 mins to explain their motivations it would of been a much better movie. It's really more of a premise and we just want to shoot cool fight scenes.

Now what we really want to hear about is the fighting right? Well the fight scenes are pretty cool. Nothing mind blowing but perfectly ok with how they were choreographed. The action shots were well focused and not some blurry mess.The strikes are fierce and precise. The particular fight scene with the expert hitman was pretty slick. It reminded me of fights in some Donnie Yen movies.

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The resilience of college students knows no boundaries.

This is how action comedies should be - simple and borderline silly plot, well choreographed exciting fighting scenes, fun comedy and likeable characters despite their questionable circumstance with a tiny bit of positive message hidden deep behind the badass punches. You truly do not need more and you should not add more.

If you read the synopsis you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. Tone wise it’s for sure leaning more towards dark comedy than grim serious revenge, but that’ s exactly why I enjoyed it. Making it serious when you have a college student being possessed by a hitman would be a circus not many people would enjoy.

What I enjoyed is the fact Matsuoka Fumika was not this defenceless baby who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time - she had agency in what was happening, she made her own choices. That said, she also was freaking out about things that were happening, not being able to fully grasp her situation and potential consequences of her actions.

Initially I was not sure Kudo Hideo as a character makes much sense. He is a hitman, murderer. Why is he so… polite? Nice? Would death truly change who he is at the core? But as the movie ended, it actually made perfect sense - be it flashbacks or current dialogues, they explain his reasoning quite well.

Then we have baby boy Kagehara Riku - the least fleshed out of the main trio, but also the one of the best chemistry with both leads. Not gonna lie, I’d love another project with Kuroba Mario and Takaishi Akari - I don’t care about the genre nor the plot, just put these two together on screen again.

What’s more to appreciate? The fighting scenes. First of all I want to give props to Takaishi Akari for actually doing some of them. With this set up they could have easily made her take a seatback and let Mimoto Masanori do all the hard work as Kudo Hideo possesses Matsuoka Fumika. We had a solid number of fast paced, well choreographed and amazingly executed fight scenes done by all 3 leads. I also really liked the transitions between showing Matsuoka and Kudo fighting moments - the flow was just right and the cuts never felt jarring.

I personally loved the aesthetics of the movie too. Contrast turned up a bit more than usually, colors darker, but popping anyway. While a lot of fighting scenes were filmed in “darker” locations, they were never so dark you could not see anything.

Overall, I had so much fun. Was grinning throughout all the fighting scenes. It had a solid conclusion, though I wished for a different, but for sure less realistic one.

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Forgettable with unsatisfying ending. Think: 50 first dates

you can tell from the start, that there is no way, short of them inserting a miracle , that this can have a satisfying happy ending. Somewhat interesting plot really stretches you to suspend disbelief that these 2 would even meet. Weird plot holes, like was the female lead really out of the country or was it just in her head ? What exactly was her relationship with the male lead's deceased girl friend ? As for the ending; it left me underwhelmed & though it was nice that the main couple were together, the way they tidied up that wasn't very warm fuzzy inducing. All & all, unmemorable

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**Film Review – *Monster of Er Long Lake***

*Monster of Er Long Lake* blends creature-feature suspense with an environmental cautionary tale, set against the atmospheric backdrop of a remote fishing village. The story follows a seasoned diver and a rescue team as they confront a terrifying aquatic beast, only to uncover that human interference with nature lies at the root of the chaos.

Visually, the film makes strong use of dark, murky water scenes, creating tension and an uneasy sense that danger lurks just out of sight. The CGI for the monster is serviceable for its budget—at times impressive, particularly in close-up attacks, though some sequences feel slightly rushed. The pacing alternates between quiet investigative moments and high-energy action, keeping the audience engaged without losing narrative focus.

The performances anchor the film. The lead actor delivers a convincing portrayal of a man torn between personal survival and protecting the community, showing grit without slipping into melodrama. Supporting actors provide solid emotional beats, especially in moments of loss and fear. While some dialogue feels formulaic, the cast’s sincerity elevates the script.

What stands out most is the underlying message: nature, once disturbed, will inevitably fight back. The film works not only as a monster thriller but also as a reminder of environmental responsibility. It’s a satisfying watch for fans of action-horror with a conscience.

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Terrible story, great kung fu

The Magnificent Butcher starring Sammo Hung was a mixed bag for me. I didn’t like most of the comedy surrounding Sammo’s character, in fact, I found his character grating at the beginning of the movie. Around the 60 minute mark the fights picked up in quantity and quality. With both Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo choreographing the fights, there was no doubt they would be fast and destructive.

Butcher Wing goes to the Wong Fei Hung school and is always causing problems. When WFH goes out of town on vacation he gives Wing the strict order to not cause any trouble. Unbeknownst to Wing, his brother and sister-in-law are in town searching for him. They run afoul of the smarmy and treacherous Ko Tai Hoi who kidnaps Lam Sai Kwong’s wife. The Beggar King comes to town when the brothers who are still unknown to each other end up on opposite sides due to Ko’s nefarious actions. The kung fu drunkard stumbles around and helps them sort things out. Ko is not done with any of them and has murder in his eye.

Like many of these kung fu comedies made famous by Jackie Chan, there was plenty of death to go along with the slapstick antics. A violent attempted sexual assault was disturbing and led to other prominent deaths. And those deaths led to more deaths as each side sought revenge.

Sammo was 27 and acrobatic. Neither villains nor stuntmen wanted to connect with his meaty fists. Fan Mei Sheng played Wing’s drunken mentor. He was not a kung fu artist though he could mimic moves. The big floppy hat, hair and beard allowed for the stunt double to take over when the real fighting began. He is also famous for being actor Louis Fan’s father. Kwan Tak Hing was 74 and still limber and spry. Famous for playing Wong Fei Hung at least 77 times, he acquitted himself well in his calligraphy brush action scene as did his stunt double for the more strenuous moves. Poor Fung Hak On was an accomplished martial artist who acted in over 200 films though usually as an extra, “thug”, or criminal of some sort. Here he played the vile Ko Tai Ho. Lee Hoi Sang was the rival school master Ko Ba Tin and in the grand finale fight with Sammo which was a thing of beauty.

I truly disliked the first hour of the Magnificent Butcher, the comedy and sexual assault did not set well with me. If you love early Sammo humor, I’m sure you’ll like this film more than I did. Once the more entertaining fights began (fans, elbow knives, poles, and cat style-hiss!) the film drew me in. There was no denying that Sammo and Woo Ping knew how to choreograph exciting fights. As always, I grade these old kung fu films on a curve.

11 August 2025

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Baby Assassin Goes Supernatural

A no frills movie with one of the actors from the Baby Assassins series of movies and TV shows playing a college student who stumbles into being possessed by the ghost of an older hitman betrayed by his new boss.

The only way to get unpossessed is to resolve the hitman ghost's grudge. When the ghost actively possesses her she has his super skill level at fighting, shooting etc.

The action and comedy scenes make up for the usual over emphasis of Japanese productions on melodramatic exaggerated acting styles.

The production would have been improved if the comedic side of the college girl being possessed and suddenly becoming an ultimate fighter would have been given more screen time and some of the very long intricately choreographed fight scenes would have been downplayed.

However, despite a few choices I didn't appreciate the overall end result is very entertaining.

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