Reviews

waste of time.

I have nothing against cliche drama unless they are made poorly.

these stories are not groundbreaking but the audience still enjoy them because of their cuteness, romance and good feelings. this drama is void of everything.

the plot line is about a" Cinderella" taking part in a tv show in order to win a date with their favourite drama actor.

that's fine.. but there is nothing here to enjoy.
the script is ridiculous, the characters are so flat, it feels like a very uninspired movie.

there isn't really much to say.. it is a typical Cyrano the Bergerac story without much depth.

the only aspect I liked is the multicultural aspect. you hear Tagalog, English and Korean and as a language lover that's the only thing I really enjoyed.

if you are over 12 skip it

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the first half is good then its not anymore

the first half (about 30 mins-35 mins) was okay, this movie is so explicit i was surprised but i find it hot, there was an interesting story at first, the acting is alright too.. id say its better to stop when the fl's father decide to visit them because later on it went downhill.
as the synposis is , the ml is gay and he only married the fl for mutual interest, he has a lover and she knows, which he later told him to live with them.

*why i didnt like the last part and how it ruined it for me: *spoilers*
-Otoya trusted his lover and thats why he asked him to move in with them then Junpei betrayed that trust by cheating on him with the wife
-he said its not the first time he cheated and he or Otoya punched the girl then? => violence agaisnt woman, put your frustration on your partner instead as he is the one who is supposed to be faithful to you
-after cheating she ended up pregnant, and surprisingly its good for them as both his and her family want to see granddaughter/son, he got mad a bit ,went to sleep with another guy then forgave him

* what i wanted to happen:
-divorce her as she didnt commit to the terms that they talked about , break up with his bf and be with someone loyal (how many times he cheated on as he claims its not the first time, why keep staying with someone who is unfailthful to you)
- or even better, for this bs to not even happen, the couple could have talked about it then he get his consent to sleep around and have a baby

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I'm probably the least qualified person to discuss how Fatal Frame fails as an adaptation of its source material, given my exposure to this franchise is limited to Maiden of Black Water, and even then, that's because it features my girl Ayane, from Dead or Alive. But as its own entity, the film is a wonderfully moody and atmospheric production that at least understands the horror of the games, less so its spirit or mechanics. The visuals are definitely the film's strongest element. Director Mari Asato leans heavily on long, lingering silences with plenty of dim lighting, spooky buildings and soft, ghostly imagery, which attempts to echo the unsettling aesthetic of the games. It's undoubtedly creepy, but scary is up for debate. The narrative takes a more psychological and emotionally horror-tinged angle rather than relying on unnerving dread and tension, with the Camera Obscura conspicuously absent from the proceedings. Annoyingly, there are some compelling ideas about memory, loss and the lingering presence of the dead here, but the story is fragmented and underdeveloped that it all feels like a waste as characters drift in and out without any depth. The performances of the cast are fine, but the material afforded to them doesn't do them justice. Restrained and melancholic but lacking any form of strong emotional hook, anyone looking for an actual adaptation of Fatal Frame is going to be sorely disappointed here, relying more on its namesake than telling a compelling ghost story.

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Type of romance I don't understand

I'm not a big fan of teacher-student relationship movies; they are wrong. However, in this one, I appreciated that the teacher managed to keep his distance, even though it was still disturbing that he pursued the student. It’s a type of romance I don’t understand. I could accept it if the characters were university students, but in a high school context, it feels really strange.

Additionally, the way the story unfolded felt childish. If I were 14 or 15 years old, I might have understood it better, but watching it as an adult made it seem quite irrational. Overall, I'd rate it no higher than 6/10. Some of the cinematography was really nice, but the story itself was lacking. That said, I have seen worse stories featuring similar relationships, so I would say this one is somewhat decent.

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FORBIDDEN UNREQUITED LOVE SAGA of Jin Han! :(

Not the usual BL movie where u can feel "movie" vibes, this is like watching a fragment of reality, a slice of life onscreen. So it looks all realistic & natural like art.

***
Story, Direction, Cinematography and Story Narration are GOOD.
The locations are beautiful.

The story depicts the lives of Main Leads (Jin Han n Birdy) starting from their rebellious phase of 18 yrs age, their chaotic college life, their fun times together as besties, how they turned "more than besties", their unrequited love, acceptance, rejections, separations and finally their adult life.

It's mostly said from the POV of Jin Han.
We get to see very little of Birdy's POV.

Acting by the main leads is VERY GOOD.
They conveyed every emotion very well -- confusion, fear, pain etc.
They have good chemistry.

***
Initially, watching the scenes of their 18 yr old selves' mindless chaos, I have no emotional connection with the characters and the story as well.
(TBH, I'm lil bored since I'm not a fan of teen stories.
I watched this bcz many suggested me n bcz of the Hype, this movie has got).

But once the "feelings" are involved, boom, the acting and the emotions captivated me. It is very interesting.
(Aigoo Me, this is very sad to watch :(
Unrequited or Forbidden loves are always painful to watch!
Taiwanese BLs hit different when they have to show sad loves -- very realistic n painful.
And Yes, The Hype for this movie is Real! :) )

***
My Rating is 9/10.
Don't miss this movie!
BL lovers will definitely like this.

Good to know that the Title is from the lyrics of a Taiwanese song.

***** Just a Fun thought about the actors:
While watching the movie, my funny thoughts:

Halfway through the movie n still I couldn't differentiate the main leads' handsome faces though they are known actors, haha.
Maybe the Teenage Chaos, their silly mindless running n so no clear view of their faces properly, created this confusion to my eyes, hehe.
Their physiques n hair styles -- They looked so similar at one point, Aigoo my eyes! :/

And my mind found a funny way to recognise them -- Once the "feelings", pains n cryings started, they calmed down without silly jumping n so the camera(hehe) n I can tell who is who, very clearly :)


***** SPOILERS -- SKIP this part if you are going to watch the movie ******

My thoughts on the ENDING:

1)
Meeting after 30 years n after saying past confessions aloud, atleast then, they could have given an Exclusive Ending like whether they parted ways forever again or going to be in touch as friends / couple.

To me, It looked like an Open Ending as though they are going to be in touch (maybe as friends n not as lovers though they exclusively love each other only) n So I'm lil less sad, haha.
(I'm super sad when Birdy avoided Jin Han n got married, whereas 30 years of Jia's life is lost in pain).

Birdy's POV is not shown here. This movie is exclusively Jia's POV n still I can say Jia's pain is more than that of Birdy (bcz Birdy chose rejection, he didn't dare like Jia to express his love bcz of his fear or societal restrictions).


2)
(My source might be wrong ):
When reading the comments n director's MDL page, I came to know that character Jia is based on his own life n his failed first love! :O

And so it means that Open Ending is just his imagination ?! -- So, They never met in life again ?! :O -- Now, I'm sad!!

So for a Fictional story, Open Ending is Good.
Usually, I don't like Sad or Open Ending dramas but since it's a personal story of the director, Sad Ending is inevitable n though I'm sad for him, I have to accept what it is :(

***

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I had to drop it

If you’ve moved on with your life and found someone else, it’s important not to leave another person hanging. That’s what I would call cheating, when you don’t break things off but you are dating someone else.
One person keeps waiting for you while you’re already with someone new. The truth might hurt, but it’s still much better than cheating and hiding it, which only makes things worse.
I also want to mention that this has nothing to do with sexualities. Cheating is about a person’s choices, not their sexuality.
Then it gets even worse, she starts to threaten him then slept with his lover... This show is pissing me off, so I’m dropping it.

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Watch until the very end

"Go Away Ultramarine" is one of those movies that you must watch until the very end. It begins with a big mystery, and initially, nothing really makes sense. The characters seem uninterested in exploring the stranger events around them, which makes the viewer wonder about what's really happening. However, in the last 30 minutes of the movie, everything clicks into place. You finally understand why things occurred as they did and why the film was filled with question marks.

**Possible Spoilers.**

The entire movie is about a mysterious island where 2,000 people live, and not a single one knows how or when they ended up there. They just found themselves on this island, which is overseen by a witch. According to the lore, the only way to leave safely is to find what you have lost. Although the island appears to be shrouded in mystery, its residents have accepted their fate and show little interest in discovering how they arrived there—until a new girl named Manabe joins the island. Manabe is determined to uncover why she’s there and encourages those around her to ask the same questions, but no one seems truly interested.

As Manabe embarks on her journey to find these answers, we gradually learn what this island really is.

**Spoiler!!**

It's an island created from discarded personalities—parts of ourselves that we let go of when we feel they no longer serve us. One character, Nanakusa, who was plagued by pessimism, decided to leave that side of himself behind, leading to that pessimistic trait becoming embodied in the island. When he meets Manabe, he realizes that in the real world, she's let go of her idealistic, carefree personality. This revelation drives Nanakusa to try to save Manabe. While Manabe believes that side of her personality has no value, it’s that very trait that made Nanakusa love her in the real world. As he encounters her on the island, he sees that she has abandoned what made her beautiful, so he seeks to help her return to the real world, ultimately trying to show her that she should not discard that part of her.

I think the movie does a wonderful job of illustrating how, in the process of growing up, we often let go of parts of ourselves that no longer serve us or even hinder us. Instead of focusing on how letting go changes a person, the film highlights those discarded personalities, showing why they were cast aside and how sometimes what we perceive as useless or negative traits can actually be the most beautiful. It’s definitely a movie worth watching, and you absolutely need to stick it out until the very end to fully grasp the story.

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A dance of optics, but with little emotional pull

The set-up of The Eight Hundred is immediately an intriguing one. A last Chinese battalion is left at an abandoned warehouse in Shanghai to make a final stand against the Japanese. Their struggle is not just one of bloodshed. It's also a performance.

Because just a stone's throw across the river is the international concession where the Shanghai elite and entertainers – as well as foreign journalists – gaze on as the Chinese battalion endures assault after assault from the Japanese.

This dynamic is what makes this film stand out, in my opinion. You have this interesting dance of the concession-side watching the warehouse soldiers as if the entire thing is a show. But then you also have the soldiers watching the concession-side, pulled in by the dazzling performers and lights.

It's not only about watcher/watched either. Individuals from both sides attempt to make crossings from one side to the other. The film seems to refrain from judging the actions of anyone too harshly – including deserters and snobby journos – which keeps the watcher/watched dichotomy all the more fluid. Except the Japanese, of course. Their sole purpose in this film is to be condemned.

I think a lot of this analysis may be my projection, however. As ultimately, The Eight Hundred doesn't dwell with much depth on this interesting dichotomy. A massive chunk of run time is consumed by massive action scenes which, while essential for war films, are my least favourite part of the genre. (No shade to The Eight Hundred, I just don't like war films that much generally).

Normally, I can forgive super long battle scenes if there's strong emotional pull. Unfortunately, this was the big let down for me. The Eight Hundred tried to follow the storyline of too many characters. The result was breadth, but no depth.

Like c'mon, pleeeease, I'm such a sucker for having my heartstrings pulled. I can jump from six to eight stars so damn fast when you tap into my soft side, but The Eight Hundred missed the opportunity. Which is a shame. Because there were some potentially gorgeous characters, they simply weren't fleshed out.

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Very Intense

This one will stay with me a while. The acting was excellent, in fact everything about it was excellent. After you watch this, it will leave you depressed and frustrated at how unfair life was for the ML, and it doesn’t get better. I cried at the end, and wanted the FL to get payback for every underhanded, selfish, mean thing she did to pretty much everyone she came in contact with. Like others have mentioned, I did not like the end. If it had a good ending, it would have been a 10 for me. I will not watch this again, it was too frustrating and sad. But, it is one of the best I’ve seen. No other way to describe how I feel, it was so frustrating, it was hard to watch, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

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Uninteresting on the main part but a strong ending

To be honest, I might make the difference here and say I really liked the ending. It was an unexpected plot twist that I definitely didn't see coming and it really caught me off guard. To that, I'll give them props. I also really liked seeing Jang Kiyong at a more "controversial" character that differs from the usual perfect style he has. He really delivered his role well.

Other than that, I feel like the main part of the movie has nothing much to offer. It is quite boring and repetitive with nothing much going on. I expected him to cheat on his girlfriend with his coworker. I also felt bad about the whole miscarriage case, that I feel that was treated too lightly.

Would love to know more about the second guy the FL dated... At first I thought she was genuine with him but the movie left me with the feeling that she only dated him cause he represented a "perfect" image of her ex.

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Closing Out the Tiny Times Series: Quietly Satisfying

"I didn't believe in those happy endings before. Because as they say, sometimes things don't work out the way you thought they would. However, we, though stumbling along, seemed to have ushered in the happy ending of our own."

I absolutely loved the fourth installment. It’s highly comedic, thoughtful, and dramatic, all balanced by a soundtrack that perfectly complements each scene. While it might hold up as a standalone for those who don’t want to watch the entire Tiny Times series, I believe it’s important to follow the characters’ journey through college and adulthood. Watching them face different hardships at various life stages deepens the impact of the conflicts and strengthens our connection to their development by the final movie. The series centers on the ups and downs of four women, each with distinct personalities and life goals—but what unites them is a deep, unbreakable friendship. No matter what changes they experience, their ties to each other provide a lasting foundation that supports them throughout their lives.

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Emotional to Comedic Absurdity

I thought the first movie was underwhelming, but I loved the sequel, and the trilogy is no different. While the conflicts peaked in the second installment, the third film engaged me by turning absurd and unrealistic scenarios into comedic moments. Despite the uptick in humor, there were still tragic and human moments that connected the characters and drew me into the storyline, allowing me to empathize with what was happening.

What I’ve noticed with Guo Jingming’s modern work is that he story tells in a compelling way that keeps me engaged, but it takes me time to get invested in the plot. As his characters evolve, I find myself gradually drawn into the story, and this has been my experience with his Tiny Times movies.

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