Reviews

Grant me this wish God of cinema

As a lover of period pieces, I was looking forward to the setting of this movie. While the movie itself mostly takes place in the present, I found it hard to really get to grasp onto the characters struggles.

The main issue I had with was the lack of build between Yoshiko and Gou. I found that they lacked chemistry and that the story didn't actually touch too much on why they liked each other. Being the main core of this story, I couldn't help but feel disconnected from the story as their relationship was poorly put together. Gou and Terashin had much more impactful scenes together that made their relationship feel well thought out. Gou was probably the best realized as a character and his younger self had a good amount of the same characterizations. Yoshiko felt like two different characters, which makes sense in context of the story but was not really expanded. The film also does a little tongue and cheek nod about not explaining things and letting audiences figure things out themselves and I felt like this movie was that the whole way.

There was something also off about Yuta and Ayumi as well. Yuta, I'm not sure if his character was meant to be that awkward but he was really stiff in all of his line deliveries. His character kinda came off as someone with issues due to his disfunctional family. But he's just kinda there. Eventually his story plays an important part in getting things together but they don't really do much with that plot point. Ayumi also I felt didn't quite live up the daughter. I'm not sure if this was due to lack of chemistry but the cast to me didn't click as a family unit. She just didn't seem as upset in certain scenes or was really kind of phoning it in. Her most powerful scene was sitting the speech but even then it felt underwhelming. I understand that was one of the plot points but it seemed very haphazard.

The plot Itself was easy enough to follow, but there was a few odd swerves it took. I think the main issues were just the pacing and story didn't feel like it earned the emotional moments. The only scene that seemed to really get to me is when Yoshiko and Gou are reminiscing over a photo of her and when Sonoka does her final scene. The acceptance speech as well. That's when I think we truly get the movies' purpose of repentance. But I think it would of landed better off they spent a little more time on the Family dynamic.

Interestingly enough Covid came into play into this story. This movie came into theatres in 2021. So it seems it may have been unfortunately a casualty during the filming shutdowns and barriers due to social distancing. I wonder if this affected the movie's script?

I'm not sure I would recommend this movie overall.

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I just want to be a normal office lady

This is one of the silliest movies I've watched. The fact that this isn't a manga adaptation is hilarious. The movie itself goes through a typical shonen manga arc. It even explicitly tells you they based the whole story on manga arcs revolving Yanki men. I loved watching the cast, you could tell they were having fun indulging in this silly world. The movie had good comedic timing and a lot of the actors played their parts humorously. I particularly liked Shuri, Etsuko and Shiori.

The fights in the movie are silly and surprisingly mobile with their long skirts. They aren't amazing action sequences but they at least are fun to watch. It's really hard to take Mei Nagano seriously as a combatant due to her demeanor, but that's what's so fun about this production. I loved seeing this angry side of her. Alice was a hearthrob! I loved her hero like energy and style. The bosses of Tomsun were absolutely hilarious. I loved how the boss was so typical of a silly anime villain. I loved the aura of Reina and they really played that up with her speaking mannerisms.

The production had some fun cinematography, with it's comedic cuts and vibrant bright lighting. The music coming in every time a big fight happened was fun. The plot is super nonsensical and should just be ignored lol.You came here to watch ladies beat the tar out of each other and that's what you get. I thought it was so silly how a lot of fights ended with the same scars on certain characters.

Just turn your brain off and enjoy the idea.

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Not Your Average BL

Intro to this movie is a car driven by a man following another Attractive man -- the music which is a important passanger to this movie conveys the mood throughout -- the story arch is perfectly timed & the development carrys the viewer to it's emotional climax -- an ending giving hope that True Love exists but it exists in its ruthless selfish then beautiful passionate & undeniable way Back to climax there are alot of them in this film -- but not gratuitous -- without them an audience couldn't understand the emotional development and final exceptance of the main character Otamo nor would you understand the depth of Imagase's love for Otamo. Otamo is a married man that cannot be faithful to his wife & Imagase's the detective the wife has hired to reveal Otamo's infidelities -- of which it turns out are many In the meeting of the two men their roles are revealed and then the push and pull begins -- It feels like Imagase is aware on some level that Otamo's discontentment sexually is attributed to his denial of his true idenity -- Otamo is unable to make concrete decisions hence the title The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese -- won't go into anymore to do so would rob the joy of watching this movie uncorrupted

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Damn

I am at loss of word. I was not expecting THIS when I dived into this movie. I though it would be a cute movie but MAN it was definitely not. Thailand has been boring me with the same old plot and same boring actors with their series and movies lately but this, takes it to a new level. The plot was literally insane. Plot twist after plot twist. Wondering who is in the right and also if anyone could be evil enough to do all that. This movie really showed what desperation can do. When Thong was willing to show his asshole to show they fucked and him almost 'raping' ('' cus i dont think he would have actually done it)Mo just to have any sort of connection to the land and also Mo to 'killing' Saeng and Sek. But in the end, they both ended with nothing. This movie is just cruel. Just when you thought there would be a happy ending for all, it snatches the hope from you and spits it back in your face. I genuinely thought that at LEAST Thong will have a happy ending. IMO he suffered the most next to Mo. He invested stupidly everything he got into this field of thorns only to get pricked by the thorns and when he was given a hand by someone to leave this place that someone was dragged into the field of thorns. It is just so sad. You really feel for the characters as they are both so pathetic and sympathetic. That you can't just help but root for both of them but alas. The acting as well was just outstanding. Jeef and Enfa did very well. This is a really good movie. Bitter but good.

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Review of the film All These Years, in my opinion this is a very good film about romance and family.

Here it is told that Chen JianXia, a student from the village, gets accepted into a high school in the city because she is ranked first in the school in her village. In the city she meets Li Ran, a rich student who also goes to school there.

Chen JianXia and Li Ran both come from troubled families so they can understand each other and go through their daily lives together as students.

But when they were in college JianXia and Li Ran separated because JianXia studied abroad. A few years later they met each other again.

When watching this I cried when I was in the scent of her family because I also felt what Chen JianXian (played by Sun Qian) experienced who was opposed by her mother and her father's inability to defend her because her mother made decisions at home and in her life.

I like the romance between Li Ran and JianXia even though their relationship sometimes goes up and down, sometimes angry, sad, and disappointed Li Ran is still good to JianXia and only wants to do the best for JianXia.

In the end I also like it because it's a happy ending even though there's a lack of conversation between her mother and JianXia but in my opinion with her younger sister who is getting more mature who finally doesn't look for trouble with her older sister (JianXia) and JianXia knows that her mother cares about her even though she's often rude to her that's enough because in my opinion the wounds that were caused by her mother when she lived with her mother before can't be healed immediately it takes time and to change someone and people's thinking especially our mother who feels she's right is very difficult because I've tried and in the end it's still only us who are wrong and she herself is right.

I really like Li Ran's sentence telling JianXia to ignore them and be yourself. I think people like JianXia who have a problematic family or patriarchy find it very difficult to ignore the words of those closest to us such as our family, friends, or acquaintances sometimes we want to reply to their words sometimes we just listen silently but in our hearts it feels very painful and sometimes their words will fill our heads for days or even months. To be ourselves is also very difficult because even though we know what our likes are, what our weaknesses are, what our fears are, we are often forced to make choices that our families think are right and do not burden them.

Chen JianXia's life at school, he only focuses on studying and his cellphone contacts are only his family when watching this I feel grateful that JianXia met and even dated Li Ran. Because I really remember that I used to have many friends and didn't even have close friends because I wanted to focus on studying and my mother scolded me for often being close to my friends. So I also felt that Chen JianXia couldn't be close to school friends. In this film I also feel grateful that Chen JianXia, who was initially a quiet person and didn't want to explain anything when he was accused of being someone who dared to say what he wanted to say to people who made rumors about him. So I also hope that I can be as brave as Chen JianXia because I am the quiet one and don't want to explain to people when people make rumors or badmouth me. I also hope that I can meet someone like Li Ran who doesn't force me, helps me, will support whatever decision I make, and will always be by my side.

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DIE WITH A SMILE .

I have been sleeping on such an amazing movie for so damn long. To be honest, it's the typical zombie movie, same effects and all but THE ACTORS, THE EMOTIONS! It all make this movie so special. Gong yoo gave his BEST and his chemistry as a father with the child actor SPEAKS VOLUMES. The scene in which he dies saving his daughter and smiles while remembering her at birth made me cry a loads (i don't normally cry watching sentimental dramas/movies). The first thing that came to my mind was the song DIE WITH A SMILE ! The ending was beautiful and sad at the same time. The daughter singing the song in the last scene was SO EMOTIONAL.

Overall it's THE PERFECT WATCH! GO FOR IT RIGHT NOW! NO REGRETS!

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No a great movie. But enough for me to finish it

Great acting. I feel like they did a great job in choosing the people that are right for the role. I also like how the story evolved. However, not including Soo-Chan and Sung-Tae in the last part doesn't feel right to me. I'm no expert. But I feel non-biased feedback is also important.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is the 2 should be on the last part. Apart from that, the last part felt a little off as if it was just added in a hurry. I think the 1 hour and 57 minutes is too short.

Nevertheless, it's still a good movie for me. Not a great one though. But enough for me to finish the movie.

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A drama where no one wins

Motherhood is hard to watch. Many of the characters go through such demanding circumstances that you feel generally bad all around. Though through innovative storytelling we unravel the many failings of displaced trauma. The story is told into two view points. We initially see the mother's side of what she thought happened. Then we are treated with what the daughter experienced. Now the question is, which is the correct reliable narrator?

Storywise, the grandma's offer two distinct types: the over bearing hater and the gentle enabler. What I liked about this story is that they show the issues with both these sides of motherhood. Despite Rumiko growing up with a caring mother, she developed a complex to only please her mother and others above herself. Meanwhile Rumiko's mother in law is a straight up maniac. Just constantly degrading Rumiko and coddling Ritsuko while ignoring her son's plight in his younger years. The movie scathingly shows up how neither is sustainable on a child in the long run. Rumiko's mother in law is played so convincingly harpy like it's hard not to hate her. That was impressive act. While Rumiko's mother was shown with such a gentle nurturing side. She was like a ideal mother in terms of composure and warmth, which made her final scene heart wrenching.

Erika Toda herself reminds me of Shelly Duvall. She has a gentleness that comes off as a ticking time bomb. Where her emotions are just seething slightly below the surface. There were many times I was expecting her to just explode at her daughter. During her scenes, Rumiko I felt had a really interesting way of speaking about how she was trying to keep things together. It was in her line delivery that made me felt like she had so much to say but was keeping it all in.

Sayaka is played lovingly by two different people. The younger version played a very convincing child who was scared of being reprimanded by her mother. Her eyes told so much. It was great acting on her part. Mei Nagano who plays the older Sayaka has always a slight sparkle in her eye and has played this sort of part before. It was actually somewhat funny seeing a reverse of "And so the Baton is passed," her previous movie that had a very similar idea but in a completely opposite direction. Mei plays Sayaka brilliantly. You can tell all she's thinking with every little side glance. I particularly praised the scene where Sayaka comes home to her screaming grandmother who wants hot water. Both actors in this scene rely so much on body language and emotional rage. I loved it.

The father was basically non existent in this movie.

Much like how it is in asian families, father's tend to do absolutely nothing to help their children and rely on the mothers to raise their children. He barely even had many lines and for the most part he was basically shown as uncaring and emotionless due to his own background. I was hoping they were going to allow him to speak up. The focus on his painting's emotional state in the beginning was the perfect way to allow him to have some sort of emotional control. Alas that moment never really came. even when he had his scene allowing for him to explain his actions. He rarely got a word in.

As for the guts of the movie itself, the movie is shot beautifully with vivid colors and great color coordination. Many of the outfits and sets were very well done with the older 1990s setting it seemed like the world was well executed. The music, I don't really remember much of so I can't really say anything there. For the overall plot it was very meaty and I liked being able to re-frame each scene with the differing perspectives. The ending is a little iffy and kinda abrupt. I wish they spent a little more careful time for better impact. But this is how it is in relationships in reality, they are messy and they don't clean up easily.

This movie is probably best to watch when you're in for some serious drama. Although the Mother in Law is almost comical with how mean she is lol.

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