Reviews

Meeting and partings

I wanted to enjoy the idea of this movie. However the pacing and emotional core personally weren't built strongly leaving a somewhat lacking experience.

The main gripes I have with the movie was the way the story played out. Each character had reasonable reasons for you to feel like it matters but for some reason I felt a total lack of chemistry between everyone. I'm not sure what it is but all the couples didn't feel like couples. Kozue and Tsuyoshi had a really surface level romance that felt like it was just going from scene to scene.

The best example would be how they reminisced about them meeting each other. I felt like Tsuyoshi couldn't make me feel like it was an actual memory. Their banter was like it was meant to be playful digging but it didn't feel as if they knew each other for that long. The worst part about this is the emotional scenes at the end don't really hit because you don't feel that love beforehand from these scenes at the beginning.

Ruri, Akira and Ryunosuke also had this same issue. I'm not sure if I'm just not getting Ren Maguro's range yet seeing as how he's so popular, but I felt like he barely had any real connection to Arimura's character in this. I think it might have to do with again the scripting and general transitions from scene to scene. Akira felt really one sided and just sorta there. No real reason for them to even be so in love, next to making Ruri feel needed. Which is not a bad thing but in this movie it does not come through.

Arimura as well felt off more then usual. I didn't feel like she was her usual depressed character. She seemed to be struggling with the direction and line deliveries. Again I think this came down to what the director wanted. I don't feel like they understood relationship building. Kei and her also had barely anytime to set up their relationship and their fight scene was extremely poor. It felt so undramatic!

Music was also really off in this movie for me. They kept playing the John Lennon song in place where they wanted reactions but it ended up just being sorta annoying. I also felt like the movie had an extremely mellow Soundtrack that didn't help the movies scenes. There were also scenes that should of had music but didn't, like the home chase scene. It was very head scratching.

The camera work was fine. I could see they tried to infuse some unique angles to make it more interesting, like the first time they went to Akira's house with the overhead sweeping shot and the train ride home in the Final scenes. But either then that it was serviceable. The colour grading was good.

I think the main problem everyone will have is how the plot unfolds. The focus from story to story I think hurts the flow of this movie. I don't feel like it was balanced. Most of the time it was only Akira and Ruri's scenes. But as I mentioned these scenes didn't convey well enough what was going on between them. So then the rest of the movie also suffered due to lack of cohesion and connection. By the end of the movie it's hollowness is apparent due to the unbalanced use of screen time. Nothing really resolves. I wanted to really get a message of: "someday we will surely meet again, no matter how much time passes."

It was really off when Yui was at the grave with Tsuyoshi. The reveal felt out of place due to the previous scenes lacking any sort of indication that this happened already. I know they were trying to do a surprise reveal but it felt super flat. Like when Ruri convinced the father that it was her. They missed a super opportunity to redo the special hand bumps to reiterate its her! Something as simple as that would of helped immensely. You still get a few tears here and there but it's mostly at the thought of what is happening rather then the act itself. Callbacks in a movie about believing in reincarnation are really important to get that heart string.

I think personally I would retool much of the movie and interactions so they could match up better by the end.

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"A record is there to be beaten"

A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo was a rare period drama from director Naruse Mikio. Filmed during WWII, Naruse managed to side-step overlaying his film with heavy propaganda. In fact, the lessons involved were of sharing information and being okay with another’s success. “You don’t need to be in a hurry to die.”

Seventeen-year-old Daihachiro has been secretly living at an inn under the care of the owner, Okinu. His father had once held the record at the Sanjusangendo Temple archery contest. His record was broken by Hoshino. Pressured to win back the honor, his father tried but failed, committing seppuku afterwards. For the past five years Okinu has been pushing Daihachiro to excel at archery so that he could win back the title. The poor kid is starting to crack under the life-or-death pressure, not helped by ronin attacking him. Out of nowhere, a skilled samurai appears at the inn offering his protection and help with Daihachiro’s archery training. It seems almost too good to be true…

I enjoyed this shorter film by Naruse featuring archers. Daihachiro’s doubts and people calling him a coward could be wearing. His doubts were understandable though. He was a teenager being asked to break a record and failure could tarnish his father’s death which would also lead to his own. Okinu was shown as being overprotective but at the same time her actions could be leading to the teen’s death. Into this pointy deathtrap sauntered in Kanbei who was completely unflappable with a word of wisdom for every crisis. His identity was revealed early on to the viewer. He stood ready to protect Daihachiro even from his own family. Most importantly, he tried to teach the boy what real honor was and that competition wasn’t a death sentence. My biggest complaint would be the awkward dumping of 20 pp of exposition on the viewer during the first six minutes of the film. After that, the pace of the story evened out.

AToAatS was simplistic yet also entertaining, largely due to Hasegawa Kazuo’s smooth samurai that understood honor went far beyond holding records. Tanaka Kinuyo’s role could have been played by a number of actresses, she of course, gave the limited character a modicum of emotional depth. Daihachiro was the last role for Ichikawa Sensho who died at the age of 29. While this was a departure for Naruse, I found it interesting that much like in other films of his, unruly family members were put in their place while the odd person out found their independence and own path. Worth a try if you are a Naruse fan and want to see a different effort from him.

4 June 2025

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Kid in that Mysterious Village doesn't AGE!? An Interesting watch!

To my surprise, it's Very Interesting to Watch!

A Good Horror story with Supernatural entities!
It's exactly like Scary Folklore Horror stories that are shared in villages
Or like the Horror Ghost Stories that we share at nights in childhood in group meets n get scared for no reason :) and I love such horrors!

***
EVERY SCENE from the beginning IS MYSTERIOUS and EERIE .
No jump scares (like usual horror movies) but Scary enough!

The premise of the plot is interesting to watch but COULD BE BETTER.
Anyways, a good horror to pass the time.

The Story is about Past Mysteries of 30 primary school kids in a village, missing 30 years back.

The Mystery and the Suspense of what happened in the past and what & who are those kids in the present, are well maintained.
The Horror of the supernatural entities visiting, is Scary enough.
(Imagine, U meet a supernatural entity in human form, one day :O -- Chills in the spine!😨, right? Haha )

*** STORY:
The movie starts with a kid being killed and in his autopsy, a strange truth is out that all his internal organs are missing.

The Main Lead is a reporter to cover this strange case.
When he meets the examiner for information, both of them experience something strange - the kid's dead body wakes up from dead, runs into the alley and vanishes.
Further investigation leads to the past mystery and that the kid is one of the 30 missing school kids and he hasn't aged from past 30 years :O

Then, the actual scary story begins :)
What happened back then,
who are those kids,
why are their organs missing,
why is everyone abandoning the village,
why only few elderly parents stay in the village,
why are the kids visit their parents every year only after the rains etc.

***
Direction, Pacing and Story Narration are Good (Suits to 2000s movies)

Special Mention:
I found it funny that ML n FL met just once and travelled to the mysterious village for a day and the next day, both of them moved in together -- Fastest Love story! 😂

*** WHAT DISAPPOINTED ME:
1) Plot is too simple, I expected something more Gripping n Compelling Storyline.
U can predict about who those kids actually are.

2) I expected that there will be few scenes showing what happened back then, how the kids met such eerie circumstances and lost their organs etc.
To my surprise, there is absolutely no scene about the Past or what happened 30 years ago.

***
My RATING is 8 / 10.
(Since it reminded me of ghost stories or folklore stories, monsters in human forms mingled with humans etc, that we share in childhood to scare each other :) )

Horror Genre Lovers, especially who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts, Watch this, U'll not be bored! :)

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A Woman's life was never easy

I watched the movie at the 16th Festival of Chinese movies in Paris on Tuesday May 25, 2025, pending another screening on Monday June 9 at the cinema Pathé Les Fauvettes.

The movie depicts the hard life and lack of choices of a woman assigned to work in a factory specializing in dyeing fabric while pushed into two unsuccessful marriages and painful births over a hard period (the Cultural Revolution in the early 1970s to the mid-1980s), it leaves an impression of a grey life, even if the end is more hopeful with the protagonist Kong Xiu publishing stories in a newspaper, against the odds. The movie was released on Women's Day, March 8, 2024, in mainland China.

Wang Chao, the director, specializes in the portraits of the underprivileged in hard circumstances since in "Orphan of Anyang" trilogy (which he wrote himself, but "A Woman" is adapted by him, also as screenwriter together with Dong Yunzhou, from the semi autobiographical novel of Zhang Xiuzhen : My Dream, as befits the theme of the festival which is "Adaptation of literary works into Chinese cinema").

This movie can be compared with the one about the tribulations of Xiangling Sao in 1956 "New Year Sacrifice" (adapted from a short story by Lu Xun) and of the classic 1934 "Goddess" (about a woman who sacrifices everything for her child).

Despite Mao's saying that "women hold up half the sky", doing so was not an easy task, even after the 1949 Liberation and the advent of the New China, when villagers still subscribed to early marriage to get a son who would keep alive the family line, while a daughter in law was regarded as only useful to cater for the elders and work in the fields. Especially during the Cultural Revolution when a factory worker, although also a needed category, was at risk of being politically scolded, slandered, or worse. Surviving the hardship, keeping up her spirit, and finding new hopes, Kong Xiu (played very precisely by Shen Shiyu) becomes a minor icon to be respected.

Yang Jinxia (played by Zhu Dongqing) was her first husband, obeying his mother who despised the daughter-in-law and forced him into divorce, keeping the son and leaving the daughter to Kong Xiu. Liu Hanzhang the second, crippled husband and father of her third child was played by Wang Xuedong. Yu Qingbin played as the timid factory electrical engineer Wu Beichen, who finally took courage to pursue Kong Xiu when she did not need a husband anymore.

The final images of Kong Xiu visiting her first husband tilling a field, and hearing that her elder son has been sent to boarding school, before she turns to the small bordering riverbed, become a stony wasteland, are bitter sweet.

The name 孔秀 also reminds of a hero from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but the fate of the woman in the movie is kinder than that of the commander of Donglin Pass who was beheaded by Guan Yu.

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Soulmates <3

So here I am again, not good with words thus won't use such heavy/formal words. 0.1% World. This movie tells the love story of a man & woman they got to know each other because of an accident that connected their bodies and mind to one another cause of Brainwaves and magic as we know. Even though the theme might seem absurd at first but it's a fluffy rom com movie.

An Yi, the female lead played by Zhou Yi Ran. She is an Assistant Architect living in China, working hard since she graduated, just wants to live a good life, hard working and young, but struggling and got rent to pay.

Gao Ang, the male lead played by Patrick Shih. A Piano Tuner, living in Germany and working hard to become a Pianist, holding grudges lol, if she did something he will definitely return the double.

Initially after being interconnected they were bickering a lot, trying to ruin one another's plan at every chance they got and that is without even meeting each other.
And both of them kinda resorted to self harm to fight one another is truly hilarious, and how he realised her heartbeat was rising and he just did a workout and BAAM! a self defense move got her senior in pain on the floor.

Gao Ang, after spending some time with eachother, even hanging two clocks, one for his timezone and another for hers. That scene had me smiling. And her being considerate and wearing gloves, these details melting my heart.
Sometimes if you can't win someone's heart they might not be the one for you, and it was good that She realised about the toxic relationship and broke up.
He tried his best not to cross the line.

The movie places more importance on Self love, like only if you love yourself others will also love you.

The Casting is really good, I haven't seen her before, but Patrick really took the limelight from my pov, good acting to be honest. Became a fan of his.

The music is also good, the background music and ost both are good. Along with the acting, both leads did a good job.

The lines I liked the most:
• The Greatest Happiness is that,
The Person You're Waiting for, Is Also Waiting For You.
The Person You Care About, Also Cares About You.
The Person You see, Can See Through You.

•It is said that in your world,
70% of people know you.
20% of people use you.
6% of people hate you.
4% of people like you.
But only 0.1% of People see you.
She is my 0.1%.

And for a fast pace movie like this one, it was good that only ml and fl were given the focus and no other characters so they had more time together.

The only thing I didn't like was adding his friend who was in a coma, like he had 5 seconds of screentime while conscious, otherwise he was on a hospital bed and he passed away, so I don't think that there was much need for him anywhere in the movie. And it didn't get any emotional touch even if he died.

But overall a really good movie and I'd definitely suggest this one to watch.

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I was just crying the whole movie and my eyes hurt.

I was just expecting to watch this and laugh since we have Jo Jung-suk as the main character who is almost always funny with his characters, but instead I ended up crying from 30mins in the movie until the end. Do Kyungsoo was also really good at acting, something about his acting feels really natural. Park Shinhye as always never fails to deliver, even though she is just a supporting role. Honestly, it is a star-studded cast with a good plot. The fact that I enjoyed it even though there wasn't any romance involved (I mostly watch romcom) means that it was really well-written.

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Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils

This is a complete narrative that creatively adapts the classic Chinese allegory 'Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils.' The protagonist Chen Guilin, embodying a 'chaotic good' moral stance, dispenses vigilante justice before achieving redemption through submitting to legal punishment—'a life for a life'—a resolution deeply resonant with Chinese values. The film excels cinematographically, with particular praise for its editing and score. Though lacking formal music theory knowledge, I found myself profoundly synced with the composers' intent.
Initially, some plot points gave me pause: that policeman's unexplained benevolence toward Chen Guilin, the mother's choice of suicide, or how Chen Guilin kept fighting after a abdominal stab wound. But on reflection, these all serve the film's internal logic—stylized choices prioritizing thematic cohesion over rigid realism.

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Passable as a skit, but fails as a proper story

Passable as a skit, but fails as a proper story. The premise is something I fantasized about in second grade - so cringe-inducing I can barely stand to read it, let alone watch it adapted into film. This movie exists in the worst limbo: neither authentic nor absurdist enough, neither riotous nor profound. At the very least, it should have articulated its core message clearly like Hello Mr. Billionaire did. Instead, audiences will chuckle mindlessly and forget everything afterward. Such wasted potential - it could have delivered a poignant truth: that parenting, whether too lax or too strict, inevitably becomes mutual destruction.

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"Life is what matters, right?"

Older Brother, Younger Sister was another Naruse Mikio family drama, yet where other of his families quietly turned the knife, this family exploded in unexpected violence. Throughout the waves of emotions, the youngest daughter San, tried to keep her life and family steady.

San returns home from school to find people giving her the side-eye in the small village her family lives in. Taichi, the boy she’s been romantically interested in, is forbidden to see her. Turns out, her older sister Mon has returned home pregnant and unmarried. Mon has worked in Tokyo to pay for San’s nursing school. San and their mother welcome Mon home, but the father ignores her and the older brother Ino, viciously berates her. Mon packs up and leaves which only creates further gossip and hurt feelings.

This is one of those films I wish I didn’t have to rely on subtitles. Mon didn’t appear to be a prostitute at the beginning of the film though the villagers seemed to imply that she was or at the very least sexually promiscuous. She’d been in love with a university student and the paternity of her child wasn’t questioned which seemed to negate their argument. Mon bemoaned her bad moral state after she lost her child with her brother implying she was working in the oldest profession. Or was she simply a “used” woman no longer with that shiny virgin smell men seemed to think was of great importance. Her churl of a brother was upset and gave her no quarter, letting her know exactly what he thought of her fallen status. Maybe too upset? When he explained how close they’d been even into her teens, it began to sound a bit incestuous. To cap things off, the violent fight between Ino and Mon took an uncomfortably erotic turn.

Regardless of Mon’s profession, she relished her independence and took care of her sister and family. The two sisters were very different yet San wished to follow in her big sister’s footsteps toward independence and was in no hurry to marry. Much like the daughter in Lightning, she wasn’t afraid to tell people what she needed, including her milquetoast love interest. The mother held her own and supported the family with the small shop she ran. The relationship between the two sisters was the backbone of this film given a solid assist from the mother.

The men were not shown in a favorable light. Ino spent what little money he made on “slutty” women, oh, the irony. He was also a thoughtless brute who justified his antagonistic behavior as just being a good brother. The father idled through his days drinking and reliving his past as a prosperous business owner. The noodle maker and the university student both lacked courage and the ability to stand up for what they believed in.

The actors’ ages were tough to ignore. In real life Yamamoto Reizaburo (Father) and Urabe Kumeko (Mother) were 51, Mori Masayuki (Ino) was 42 and looked every bit of it, Kyo Machiko (Mon) was 29-close to her character's age, and Kugo Yoshiko (San) was an age appropriate 22.

Naruse is one of my favorite directors from the earlier years of Japanese film. Unlike Mizoguchi who seemed to delight a little too much in torturing his heroines and Kurosawa who struggled with female characters, Naruse often showed women acting as independently and courageously as possible within a rather rigid patriarchal society. San and Mon brushed off what the townspeople and their own family said about them and mapped out the best lives they could for themselves. I should also mention that Tanaka Kinuyo was an assistant director, which delighted me to no end. Older Brother, Younger Sister was an odd film about a complex family with no easy answers, but it still left me hopeful that the sisters would keep their ties to each other without losing themselves in the process.

3 June 2025

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it’s magic…

ahhhh, I don’t know where to start…such a wonderful movie, just wow.!!!! The script is exceedingly well written…I really love how they tackled the whole troupe and how the story was not all over the place.
it paced extremely well and gave me sooo many surprises as it progressed..!
Really loved this one..!
for me, it’s a 10/10, although I see many had that ick about the 15 years age gap, but guys it’s a movie, and in a way that’s destiny, you’ll be with the one you are meant to be, at a point I did find it weird but then as the movie progressed I somehow made peace with the fact…
I really recommend you to watch this movie at least once, you’ll surely not be disappointed, this movie has something for everyone to carry with them..!
not gonna lie and not exaggerating at all, but so far this is the best movie I watched in 2025, and it is going to stay with me for a very veryyyyyy long time..!
I am surely going to come back to watch this one, for it made me feel beautiful and there were times when tears just silently fell down my cheeks without me even realising…that’s the level of movie I assure you this is…!!

if this doesn’t convince you to watch it, please don’t..!! because at 2:30 AM my mind is blown after watching this wonderful movie and every single word is heartfelt as I write this review…I usually don’t write reviews but this one was special enough to make me want to write one and seeing the comments I felt this movie deserved a good review..!

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It Really is Complicated!

Geez, was I big relieved that this movie ended at the point at which it ended. I was sitting on the edge of my seat praying that a line wouldn't be crossed. What a relief!

Let's get the admin out of the way. The directing was impeccable, the script flowed logically, the cinematography very catchy and satisfying in the sense that you got a good grounding on both international locations and the living conditions. The casting was just as great because the actors met the characters where they were and they delivered brilliantly. I know the male lead from other productions and I didn't feel at any moment that they slipped out of character. That was satisfying to see as it meant full immersion into the story could be achieved.

The characters themselves were complicated; these were not easy people to watch. The young years revealed to me what I felt were character flaws in the sense that one was willing to give beyond what was required and the other took without reservation. This they carried into adulthood and such imbalances frequently lead to resentment. The immigration was difficult for her. We see the struggle to integrate, there are language challenges and although this is not her decision and what is happening is out of her control, she clings to what she knows - hard work and a possible dream. In that process she abandons who she imagined herself to be and is hyper driven by ambition. He makes an attempt to move on, but is held back by the promise made by memories.

Twelve years later, married to a Jewish man and living in the East Village, his visit is a resurrection of the little girl who left South Korea and I don't think the memories are welcome, but in the same breathe they cannot be disputed. So, this creates this state of limbo where the husband is a reflection of what is present and real and the male lead represents loss and an identity she would rather not deal with. There's almost this push and pull between how far back South Korea is and yet how unreachable New York is.

I was struck by the maturity of the husband and brought to feel that this is a reflection of how relationships should be. Not afraid to show vulnerability, not afraid to ask questions and not afraid to sit quietly and wait for the whirlwind to pass. There's also the recognition that our beginnings are not the same; we carry the differences even today, but there's a point where we can meet each other and create something warm and new and wholesome together. However, there's this threat hanging over everyone's head called destiny. The husband feels in the middle because in many ways, he's a romantic. They themselves are grappling with how much control to give to destiny. Should we allow destiny to dictate the direction of our present lives or recognise that perhaps our story is for another lifetime past or in the future.

I strongly recommend the movie if you are into all things Korean, but also all things English.😁😁
A mature, romantic drama that showcases just how complicated human beings truly are. Thank you to the Bestie for the recommendation🥰. This was completely off my radar.

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Exit is a breath of fresh air in the disaster genre.

Exit is an incredibly enjoyable experience, combining action, humor, and genuine emotional moments.

What makes this film unique is its inventive use of climbing and survival aspects, which sets it apart from standard disaster films.

The comedy works well, and the emotional conclusion is fulfilling without being overly dramatic.

What I Liked:
- The unique mix of action and comedy
- Lovable, down-to-earth main characters
- Creative use of climbing for the escape scenes
- Heartwarming family moments

What I Didn’t Like:
- The disaster’s cause is barely explained (but honestly, I didn’t miss it much)
- Some side characters could have used more development

Recommended for:
For those who enjoy disaster movies, action comedies, or anyone in the mood for a light-hearted film that combines heart and humor, this is perfect.

If disaster movies, action comedies, or a fun, uplifting film with a mix of heart and humor sounds good to you, then check this out.

Fans of disaster films, action comedies, and anyone wanting a joyful movie with both heart and humor will love this one!

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MUSICAL (!) BL Story (they sing)

They tried...
This is about a boy who falls in love with someone who is in the same club. They connect through the music, yet there is a little conflict to when it comes to one of the MLs songwriting.

This is a fully felged musical BL. They start singing every few minutes and it's really hard to take this seriously. The acting is a bit awkward, but I like to believe they did their best with what they had.
Their singing wasn't bad, simply a bit random, but considering this is a musical I guess you have to expect that there are a lot of musical numbers.

The problem is that the movie is already so short, there isn't a lot of time to tell a story and the songs didn't really help with building the plot.
And while I'm talking about the plot, it was a slightly confusing. Some things didn't really make sense (for example: why couldn't You Jia sing the song himself?). Suddenly singing to "explain" emotions felt forced and made watching a bit cringe at times.

I didn't really enjoy this, but I'm trying to not be too harsh (yes I could've been harsher).
I hope you see that it's a musical beforehand so maybe you can go into watching this with different "approach"/expectation.
I do have to say the singing was so unexpected that I found it quite hilarious and had a good time laughing. Maybe that's a reason to watch it.

Last but not least: the camera and lighting was really nice. So that's a plus, it's a pretty viewing experience, the content was just lacking a little.

Hopefully the actors have a chance to do something else to showcase their acting a bit more rather than their singing... 💕

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