Reviews

What a sadist Xia Yan is !! haha Poor baby Shu Nian.

****
This uncut version has some 5-6 minutes of intimate scenes (of movie's part 2), nothing else related to the plot with any added importance
****

GOOD EMOTIONAL SADISTIC story (including both prequel and sequel, two movies with two endings to the story)

Well written, well directed and well acted.

CONTAINS UNACCEPTABLE THEMES of VIOLENCE EMOTIONALLY and PHYSICALLY.

Initially it is very creepy, sadistic, abusive , irritating and disturbing.

The amount of time, I wanted to thrash Xie Yan for his arrogant attitude n narcissistic behaviour n for torturing our Shu Nian, is countless!

Poor baby Shu Nian! :|
I can't bear his SUFFERING (orphan with a slave life and on top of it, unrequited love) :(
ONE SIDE LOVE is HELL n Life is hell! :(

Contains Master - Slave / boss - servant theme.
And has a plot of servant secretly in love with his arrogant master.
Has an emotional Unrequited Love theme n later forbidden love theme (forbidden by parents)

Master - Slave concepts are always uncomfortable, especially if the submissive has unrequited love for the dominant :(

Later Master, when forbidden, persuading his lover trope, is always satisfying in a evil manner.
LET THE MASTER ALSO SUFFER LIKE HELL! 😂

FORBIDDEN LOVE IS ALWAYS SPICY TO WATCH ! Haha

***** SPOILER*****

Read the NOVEL too.
Has two endings

Xie Yan is more pathetic and TOXIC in the novel n so I prefer the SAD Ending there.
He should not be forgiven for the hell torture he made to Shu Nian and has to take the punishment lifelong, crying and feelinh guilty for the loss of Shu Nian.

Movie has depicted both endings.
Liked the HAPPY ENDING here.
Xie Yan character is comparatively lighter n less toxic here.
So am happy for Shu Nian to find his peace finally with his loved one :)
(Though Xie Yan don't deserve such a kind soul like Shu Nian).

Their lovey dovey scenes, though very short, are very sweet :)

The post credits scene of the Happy ending movie version, is very funny and cute :)

OST - Both the songs, each sung by the main actors, are good.

(Watch both the movies and both the endings.
If possible, watch the uncut version with few added scenes too)

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What a sadist Xia Yan is !! haha Poor baby Shu Nian.

GOOD EMOTIONAL SADISTIC story (including both prequel and sequel, two movies with two endings to the story)

Well written, well directed and well acted.

CONTAINS UNACCEPTABLE THEMES of VIOLENCE EMOTIONALLY and PHYSICALLY.

Initially it is very creepy, sadistic, abusive , irritating and disturbing.

The amount of time, I wanted to thrash Xie Yan for his arrogant attitude n narcissistic behaviour n for torturing our Shu Nian, is countless!

Poor baby Shu Nian! ;(
I can't bear his SUFFERING (orphan with a slave life and on top of it, unrequited love) :(
ONE SIDE LOVE is HELL n Life is hell! :(

Contains Master - Slave / boss - servant theme.
And has a plot of servant secretly in love with his arrogant master.
Has an emotional Unrequited Love theme n later forbidden love theme (forbidden by parents)

Master - Slave concepts are always uncomfortable, especially if the submissive has unrequited love for the dominant :(

Later Master, when forbidden, persuading his lover trope, is always satisfying in a evil manner.
LET THE MASTER ALSO SUFFER LIKE HELL! 😂

FORBIDDEN LOVE IS ALWAYS SPICY TO WATCH ! Haha.

***** SPOILER*****

Read the NOVEL too.
Has two endings

Xie Yan is more pathetic and TOXIC in the novel n so I prefer the SAD Ending there.
He should not be forgiven for the hell torture he made to Shu Nian and has to take the punishment lifelong, crying and feeling guilty for the loss of Shu Nian.

Movie has depicted both endings.
Liked the HAPPY ENDING here.
Xie Yan character is comparatively lighter n less toxic here.
So am happy for Shu Nian to find his peace finally with his loved one :)
(Though Xie Yan don't deserve such a kind soul like Shu Nian).

Their lovey dovey scenes, though very short, are very sweet :)

The post credits scene of the Happy ending movie version, is very funny and cute :)

OST - Both the songs, each sung by the main actors, are good.

(Watch both the movies and both the endings.
If possible, watch the uncut version with few added scenes too)

****
The uncut version has some 5-6 minutes of intimate scenes (of movie's part 2), nothing else related to the plot with any added importance
****

Read More

What a sadist Xia Yan is !! haha Poor baby Shu Nian.

GOOD EMOTIONAL SADISTIC story (including both prequel and sequel, two movies with two endings to the story)

Well written, well directed and well acted.

CONTAINS UNACCEPTABLE THEMES of VIOLENCE EMOTIONALLY and PHYSICALLY.

Initially it is very creepy, sadistic, abusive , irritating and disturbing.

The amount of time, I wanted to thrash Xie Yan for his arrogant attitude n narcissistic behaviour n for torturing our Shu Nian, is countless!

Poor baby Shu Nian! :(
I can't bear his SUFFERING (orphan with a slave life and on top of it, unrequited love) :(
ONE SIDE LOVE is HELL n Life is hell! :(

Contains Master - Slave / boss - servant theme.
And has a plot of servant secretly in love with his arrogant master.
Has an emotional Unrequited Love theme n later forbidden love theme (forbidden by parents)

Master - Slave concepts are always uncomfortable, especially if the submissive has unrequited love for the dominant :(

Later Master, when forbidden, persuading his lover trope, is always satisfying in a evil manner.
LET THE MASTER ALSO SUFFER LIKE HELL! 😂

FORBIDDEN LOVE IS ALWAYS SPICY TO WATCH ! Haha.

***** SPOILER*****

Read the NOVEL too.
Has two endings

Xie Yan is more pathetic and TOXIC in the novel n so I prefer the SAD Ending there.
He should not be forgiven for the hell torture he made to Shu Nian and has to take the punishment lifelong, crying and feeling guilty for the loss of Shu Nian.

Movie has depicted both endings.
Liked the HAPPY ENDING here.
Xie Yan character is comparatively lighter n less toxic here.
So am happy for Shu Nian to find his peace finally with his loved one ;)
(Though Xie Yan don't deserve such a kind soul like Shu Nian).

Their lovey dovey scenes, though very short, are very sweet :)

The post credits scene of the Happy ending movie version, is very funny and cute :)

OST - Both the songs, each sung by the main actors, are good.

(Watch both the movies and both the endings.
If possible, watch the uncut version with few added scenes too)

****
The uncut version has some 5-6 minutes of intimate scenes (of movie's part 2), nothing else related to the plot with any added importance
****

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amazing movie

"The Paradise of Thorns" is an exceptional Thai film. I don't know if it actually reflects only the Thai world or if it is simply a universal film about survival in poverty, about hope for a decent life, hopelessness, frustration, a lot of frustration... I think this can be found anywhere in the world. It seems to me a film about feelings, experiences, not about same-sex love, it could be any couple, it could be man with man, woman with women or man with woman, this film seems to be more of the inner life of some characters more than the fact that the main couple is gay.
What I liked the most is the relationship of growing hatred and frustration between MO and Thongkam. The actors played absolutely superbly ... brilliantly ... I really felt all the hatred between them.
Then I also liked it, although it is ugly and painful for the characters, but I liked that "Sek" took a wife to take care of his mother and a husband to work and make money for him .... so the screenwriter is absolutely brilliant ... I really liked this duality and use, even though he died in a stupid accident, but ... in the end poverty pushes you to do bad things, and the thing in the end that Sek loved Thongkam didn't convince me 'cause he used his money for the land ... for his land ... so ... he used him ...... I really don't think SEK loved anyone but himself. But the ideea of the movie is great.
What I regret is that the relationship between Jingna and Thongkam was not developed. Somehow the whole relationship was in a hurry, and even if Jingna had some feelings of love for Thongkam, he was still on MO's side when Thongkam was at the temple, and flooded the durian plantation.
Somehow the film talks about duality, everything seemed to me to be about duality ... I love you, but I have to do what my family tells me because I have moral obligations to them ... actually you don't even know what the real feelings are, because everything is an abstinence and a frustration.
The landscapes were beautiful and the music actually completed this carousel of feelings.
Unfortunately the ending was quite bad, it left me with a taste of .... why so? ... the way Jingna died is quite stupid, MO's new husband doesn't even make sense to talk about him. It would have seemed fair to me for MO to stay with the land, ok, and for Thongkam to leave as he did, to start his life from the beginning, but with Jingna ... it would have been a fair balance ... at least he would have something left ... 'cause otherwise in the actual ending Thongkam loved SEK, who actually used him, he gave his money to buy SEK's land and in the end he loses the durian plantation and the new lover dies, he leaves beaten ... we don't even talk about frustration anymore, we're heading for depression. I mean why is Thongkam such a loser in life ... why life hates Thongkam? he lost 2 lovers (they both died in a stupid way), he lost all his money, he lost the right to the land, he lost evrything ... but why?

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This project will save the company -- no, Japan -- NO! THE WORLD!

Japanese companies have made running shoes out of tabi, dictionaries out of collected words with minimal budgets and huge amounts of earnest shouting, so why not make a hangar for a flying robot out of nothing?

I cried with laughter throughout the film, a perfect mix of
a) those popular business stories, where earnest shouting and lots of "ganbarimasu!" combined with Japanese ingenuity save the Japanese economy (or, at least, the company),
b) fan culture, the kind where fans earnestly discuss how things would work in real life (like physicists trying to work out space travel in SF, or biologists drawing up an evolutionary tree for Pokémon),
and
c) the passion of engineers. (Muck is a serious issue!)

Did I like it? -- Absolutely!
Was it good? -- Without doubt!
Would I recommend it? -- YES! Especially to those who are either in the kind of fan communities which I described above or who have seen one or more of Japanese business dramas/films.

When I watched the film, I wasn't aware that Mazinger Z is an existing anime series (it's from the 1970s) -- and I wasn't sure if Maeda was a real company. But it is!
And what makes it even better is that this film was based on a real group of Mazinger Z fans, who worked at Maeda and made detailed plans for the construction of sci-fi anime bases.
(https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-01-31/live-action-maeda-kensetsu-fantasy-eigyobu-film-features-cameos-by-mazinger-z-creator-go-nagai-yamato-desslar/.155963)

I really loved the characters, who are all so likeable, and how each of the the core group members gradually discovers their own niche of passion for the project. There was never a dull moment for me; the overall development of events was gripping (Japanese films can really make you care about the most niche of interests!) and the comedy pacing was spot on -- although if you are not a fan of passionately shouted speeches and the Japanese style of comedy, this may not be the right film for you.

I also liked how towards the end, the line between fantasy and reality became increasingly blurred for all of the characters, both main and supporting, until even we, the audience had a hard time telling them apart.

One minor point I did not like as much -- they could have left out the romance. There is only one female character in the team -- why does she have to get a crush? There was no reason at all for it, and I would have found it much better if she had developed a crush on the niche interset, not on the person who has the niche interest. But since it's minimal, and I could easily disregard it (I don't think her crush is even aware of it, and she denies it), I don't mind too much.

Overall, it's a great film! Do watch it!

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Wasted time.

Somehow I missed the "bittersweet" tag. Luckily I wasn't too invested. There were a few cute moments between the two leads, but otherwise I just kept waiting for the story to start before realizing it was over. There was nothing compelling about any of the characters- no depth, no connection. The FL's face was pretty much set in a perpetual emotionless void. The scenes were not well connected, and a few random unexplained events didn't help the situation. The crying scenes were not the worst I've seen, so I suppose that is the the young actors' credit. Overall it was underwhelming and a wasted 90 minutes.

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No is No

Social commentary on gender roles and SA through an unusual—and what many might consider an uncomfortable—lens of literal role reversal. The story does not give the viewers any context as to why the gender roles are reversed, not that it matters; in this world, men get pregnant and women do not. That is all we know, and that is all we need to know.

We follow our main character, a young man having a pregnancy scare. There isn't a whole lot of time to dwell on this fact due to the runtime, but it does a good job of making us feel the distress he is in. We learn the circumstances of how this situation came to be and are able to sympathize with him and his feelings. That being said, unlike what the synopsis might imply, we see almost nothing of the FL.

The story does well in showcasing the struggles women face with their bodies and how a lot of men do not understand, much less care to do anything about these issues, all from the perspective of what would happen if the roles were reversed.

Despite enjoying the premise as an avid fan of role reversal and everything wacky, I understandably found it to be lacking in its overall execution of the themes and presentation. I believe a work like "Hiyama Kentaro no Ninshin" to be better, not just because of the vastly longer runtime but also because of the approach. At the very end of this short film, I'm still not quite sure what exactly it DID intend to say. That forcing someone is bad or that our ML was overreacting in everything? Maybe that's the intrigue, the fact that it is left ambiguous without a clear final message. Sometimes things just are.

Overall, it's an interesting short watch but no masterpiece. If you're a fan of role reversal, you'll enjoy it, and if you're not, you might find the perspective interesting regardless as long as you can accept the initial premise.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅

◇ Was it what I was expecting? Yes
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Mostly
◇ Would I watch it again? Perhaps
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Sure

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Mature Fiction

If you don't know anything about the movie, you might be entertained. The first half of the movie, despite some nice music and eroticism, for me was quite boring, but in the second half, this mature drama movie turned into a suspenseful triller out of nowhere. I thought I will have to force myself to watch the entire movie but surprisingly it turned out to be a worthwhile watch. The main actors were a little static but solid. The main quality of the movie is the story with mature themes of complicated relationship and some unusual elements.

Without revealing the story, I can mention a theme of reality. This movie is obviously a work of fiction, and it is difficult to accept it as realistic. Nevertheless, the movie makes us think what reality of our lives do we choose to live. There is a reality of our emotions and reality of our reason, the reality of our relationship and the work that we do to contribute to society, the reality of our beliefs, of our history, but there is also a hidden reality of our passions and imagination. Which reality do you choose to live?

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You are my home, but what if that home is full of regrets?

As the movie title suggests, it is a simple second chance romance storyline with full of crying, shouting and regrets.

I loved LOVED the prequel movie "Hello Love, Goodbye!" and been eagerly waiting for this to release. But after watching it, the excitement, it's gone. Completely gone. It's not like I didn't know what will happen but there are certain things that were overlooked for the sake of "love" even if that love questions you "will it last this time?"

One thing that I'm not quite happy with is Ethan cheating on Joy. I know he was not sober, not in his right mind, completely lost, mourning but still, still I can not help but wonder, can you rebuilt trust once it's broken? It takes time. I was totally happy with the previous ending, I was ready to accept sad ending but this happy ending disappointed me.

All above thess, my love for Kathryn Bernardo is infinite and irreplaceable. She singlehandedly carried the whole movie. Her expressions, crying, antics are to die for! God, what an amazing actress she is ><

Overall, whoever watches the first part and dying to know what will happen and sucker for happy endings, then please go ahead and watch it. It's still a pretty movie with foreign setting and beautiful scenery.

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If you gotta do both, watch movie before drama version of this series

Fresh off my Love O2O high I of course had to check out the movie adaptation and was kinda disappointed. Not only did they have to compress the story, they ended up compressing some of the special effects as well, or at least that was how it felt like. Those fight scenes were super lame and staged, man.

Now while Weiwei in the novel visually looks closer to Angelababy than Zheng Shuang, AB's acting is just scraping the surface of stuff. Jing Boran does not look too great in his game character get up (that silver wig is atrocious) after the memory of Yang Yang in the same role so I had trouble believing he was this amazing charming dude that everyone admired.

It's good for eye candy and I guess MV material if you take some clips, but this is like the low carb low sugar version of Love O2O.

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A Heartfelt Summer Tale with a Deeper Message

Hear Me: Our Summer is a beautifully crafted romance drama that effortlessly captures the essence of a sweet, breezy, and soothing summer love story. With its warm, atmospheric storytelling, the film feels like a gentle glide through the golden hues of summer, making it an easy and enjoyable watch.

The two lead actors deliver outstanding performances, bringing depth and authenticity to their characters. Their chemistry is both heartwarming and genuine, making their romance feel natural and deeply engaging. The film does not rely on grand gestures or dramatic twists but instead focuses on the quiet, tender moments that make love stories truly memorable.

Beyond its romantic elements, Hear Me: Our Summer subtly raises awareness about the lives of the hearing-impaired community, shedding light on the discrimination they often face from so-called "able" individuals. The film thoughtfully portrays how they are just as capable as anyone else, proving that they can contribute to society in meaningful ways rather than being seen as burdens. This underlying theme adds a layer of depth to the narrative, making it more than just a love story—it becomes a powerful statement on inclusivity and acceptance.

The cinematography beautifully complements the storytelling, with warm, sunlit visuals that enhance the film’s emotional appeal. The supporting cast also does a commendable job in bringing the world of the film to life, adding richness and authenticity to the narrative.

Overall, Hear Me: Our Summer is a heartwarming and thought-provoking watch. It seamlessly blends romance with social awareness, making it both touching and enlightening. With its charming leads, meaningful message, and soothing summer ambiance, this film is a must-watch for those who enjoy heartfelt dramas with a purpose.

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Pretty packaging but plot misses the point

Technically, this movie visually was a feast—all pretty, bright colors and CGI throughout. Chen Kun as Qing Ming was also very pretty and of course Wang Likun as the Peach Blossom Fairy was absolutely gorgeous. But honestly while I was really looking forward to seeing it when it released, having just come off the high of Mark Chao/Deng Lun's Yin Yang Master, I just couldn't "get" the film once I started watching.

The two characters that were supposed to be relatable to the audience, Shen Le (Shen Yue) and Yuan Boya (Qu Chuxiao) ended up feeling irrelevant and annoying; it felt like they were just there to conveniently push the plot along at certain moments and be clueless/weak/helpless the rest so Qing Ming and co. could save them and be cool. I had trouble connecting emotionally with the cast—that is, I couldn't buy their sudden camaraderie. One minute they didn't get along and the next there's an impromptu drinking session where everyone gets drunk around a table and smiles and are friends? So when the "final battle" happens over that bridge above a cliff, they can all rally together and be angsty at the male lead (Qing Ming) as he angsts about his past? And then the whole thing just ends on a cliffhanger with a blatant open ending that leaves me unsatisfied and plot elements unresolved? Look, the other yin yang master movie did this too but they at least wrapped up the main story in the first movie first! It can stand alone just fine! This one makes me think of a movie missing a limb or something—or maybe a heart, because I couldn't get the emotional cues (and I cry really easy at stuff!) and no matter how sad or awful some characters' past were I just felt bored seeing it and wish they'd move on to clarify what was going on with the main storyline first!

Granted, my memory of this film is a bit fuzzy now but my impression of it remains (I even watched it twice when it first came out to make sure I didn't miss anything, the plot was just so fast and zippy). It just gives an impression of "let's bring all the cast together to highlight how cool and tragic Chen Kun's Qing Ming is and set it up for a sequel later." The overall impression of the movie is a lot of style (like the other Yin Yang Master) but not so much substance, and if you dig too deep into the plot you find that it is generally kinda empty. You can't just look hot and broody and expect the audience to sympathize with you based on your looks! That's just superficial stuff, it won't resonate!

Also, I can't remember a single song or track from this movie while I still remember the main insert song + leitmotifs from the other one. Nothing resonated enough with me to stick! All I remember is that one colorful fight scene with all the sliding doors...but you can't use a fight scene to prop up an entire story, you know.

Don't take my word for it though—watch it yourself. I can't help but think that others feel the same way, since YYM:DOE (Dream of Eternity) inspired so much from it and this one...just doesn't. Look, you can always check fanworks to gauge audience reaction to a work. Both yin yang master movie fandoms are tiny overseas, but there are currently 17 fanfics for this movie on AO3 (https://archiveofourown.org/tags/%E4%BE%8D%E7%A5%9E%E4%BB%A4%20%7C%20Sh%C3%AC%20Sh%C3%A9n%20L%C3%ACng%20%7C%20The%20Yin-yang%20Master%20(2021)/works) compared to the 748 for the other one (https://archiveofourown.org/tags/%E9%98%B4%E9%98%B3%E5%B8%88%20%7C%20Y%C4%ABn%20Y%C3%A1ng%20Sh%C4%AB%20%7C%20The%20Yin-yang%20Master%20(Movies%20-%20Guo%20Jingming)/works).

I think the numbers speak for themselves.

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Dark action fantasy, has depth the more you watch

Wang Xiwen's acting is so good in here okay her crying scenes broke my heart.

That aside this movie was something when it came out, I think it was the only one I've watched more than 5x in a row. I loved the mythology, the cinematography, and I'm frankly surprised it came from Edward Guo's hands since he's know for convoluted storylines but this one was clear and poignant throughout. I even joined a Discord server for the series and wrote stories for it after a while, it was just that addictive.

It has high rewatch value to me cause I picked up on details every time I went back and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially those who are a fan of bromance. Also Wang Duo is in it as a morally-gray villain again and he is sooooo good at those roles, you can watch just for him alone!

You can always trust Guo for his visuals so the overall style was dark, broody, and super stylistic + symbolic, he loves his blatant symbolism as well as his subtle hints so it's fun to catch details he slipped in on a rewatch. Music is dark and melancholy to match. I feel like a lot of his works have a subtle Japanese tinge to them so he really was the perfect director for this story based on Japanese onmyoji xD

The story was simple and straightforward but I liked the twist with the princess being the villain in the end and all the mini story arcs that wrapped up for each of the characters as they progressed. I also love the parallelism that Guo favors so much, fir st with Qing Ming listening to his master's farewells in the beginning of the movie and THEN how that elegantly segueways into his master bidding farewell to the princess that part was sooooo good it gave me sadness goosebumps.

Really sad Deng Lun got canceled in c-ent because I WANNA WATCH THE SEQUEL SO BAD DANGIT AND NOW IT'LL NEVER COME OUT...sobs have some leaked clips here I guess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEVaOqoE40M

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As a fan of the Blue Period anime I think the movie took unnecessary liberties with some of the characters like Ryuji and Yatori's 3 best friends. That being said the movie still overall follows the themes of the anime. I haven't read the manga so I am not sure how different the movie is from that.

Maeda Gordon is actually perfectly cast as Yatori. I really liked his performance. The scene with Yatori and Shin at the pastry shop and the scenes with Yatori and Ryuji were very well done and we see the growth of those characters in those moments. Takahashi Fumiya played Ryuji and he was absolutely stunning. Another great performance by him as well. However, I feel like his character's arc was rushed.

It's a better movie in my opinion if you haven't watched the anime. If you have seen the anime you can't help but compare and find the inconsistencies and flaws. It's worth a watch, all the same though.

2/25/25

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