Reviews

A tedious drawn out search for "the one"

First: the promo picture (on this site) is not in the movie. I watched this solely due to the good reviews & found it Disappointing. It did feel a bit dated, but I've watched series from mid the 2000's & enjoyed them. The beginning is very confusing & with no dialogue or voice over you just don't know what's going on. Then you flip flop between the lead's stories, which are not interesting . Finally, we are led into a tedious drawn out search for "the one". The last 5 minutes were the most interesting, but the resolution falls flat because we are never given a satisfying conversation between the 2 people that the whole plot revolved around. The lead female (Im Soo-jung) was made unattractive & written unlikeable. Her issues with not seeing things through to the end aren't given a reason (childhood trauma due to some issue with her mother, who is absent & never mentioned, would have worked !). And for having no reason, she comes across as selfish, paranoid, but mostly uncaring. She has no chemistry with the male lead & there is no reason the two come into attraction. The female lead's forwardness to the men she turns her attention to is just badly done. I just didn't find much about this to like, though I wanted to see Gong Yoo in a lead romantic role, but this was not a good vehicle for him.

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Lackluster & forgettable. The leads have no chemistry

lackluster & forgettable. the leads didn't have any chemistry that made them a compatible romantic couple. The plot device that first separates the young lovers is not something a westerner would understand & it came across as cruel. Later when they are reunited- they have a near death experience, the guy ,( in a fit of passion) is forceful in his kiss & it's NOT romantic because it's so aggressive (& she seems to not be receptive). Then he's so heated he pushes to have her stay overnight . Does anyone who lives in a city leave their curtains open at night, in their bedroom ? Really the whole bedroom scene just wasn't romantic . Over all there wasn't enough believable moments of liking the characters or the characters liking each other to make this what you want it to be.

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"My cabbages!"

I suspect Yamamoto Masashi’s 1987 film “Robinson’s Garden” is a polarizing film. Two hours of a counter culture woman creating a home out of an abandoned industrial site may either strike a viewer as profound or a colossal waste of time. I didn’t consider it a waste of time but also failed to see its profundity.

Kumi and her friend Maki make a meager living as small time drug dealers and live in a communal type dwelling with an international crowd of underachievers. One night while stumbling home drunk, Kumi climbs over a wall and enters a thick forest, unusual for Tokyo. There in the midst is an empty factory and surrounding buildings. The next day Kumi sells or gives away nearly everything she owns and moves in. She paints murals on the walls and plants small trees. After that she begins the arduous task of digging up overgrown weeds in order to plant a cabbage patch. She furnishes and decorates her home with castoffs she finds in alleyways. All does not go well when she invites her friends over and it ends in a brawl.

Robinson’s Garden was more about the feelings that it evoked than any plot. Conversations were sparse and usually inane and repetitious like a record skipping in place. Kumi created her own reality or at least tried to, the opposite life of the rigid salaryman or cooped up housewife. In a feverish moment she pedaled her bike through a group of identically dressed salarymen to drive home the point. The isolated, verdant island hidden somewhere in Tokyo had a mythical feel about it, especially when coupled with a mysterious tree at the center of strange events.

The industrial site transformed into a rustic home led people to have hallucinations. An odd mandala painted by a stranger could have been a curse or a blessing. Kumi’s physical and mental health deteriorated as time went on, was she a victim of nature or lead paint or having only cabbages to eat? Kumi wasn’t a great gardener and alternated between working feverishly and sleeping for long periods of time.

Robinson’s Garden had little plot and could have used some judicious editing from my perspective. For a time, Kumi’s off grid existence bordered on paradise as she spent her days living in the moment. Capitalism and consumerism were far away over the wall. Either Nature or her own ebbing sanity began clawing back the “improvements” she’d made, showing the impermanence of humanity in the face of whatever green goddess ruled in her hidden world. This film was interesting but didn’t convey very clearly the existential questions it seemed to dance around.

25 June 2025

Trigger warnings: Partial nudity and sexual encounters

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The best one yet

This is by far, the best entry into the franchise and it's surprising that it took so long for them to use the plotlines they did in this movie!

Pee Nak 4 follows First, Balloon, Min Jun and Nott from the previous movies as they both vacation and attempt to repair an old chapel that belongs to Min Jun's family. The repairs have stopped for some reason and when the four of them find themselves haunted by yet another Pee Nak, they need to find the spirit's identity and figure out what their connection to the chapel is.

This was the first movie that properly utilized the mystery aspect of horror movies, in the previous three, the huge reveals weren't as surprising as they were meant to be, and though this one didn't have that shocker of a reveal either, they did manage to create a ton of mystery while also using their tried and true Naga mythology story aspect. And the legend they used in this one was amazing as well, definitely my favorite of the four.

The horror was actually good! There were jump scares? I was surprised watching it and surprised myself again after I realized I watched a jump scare in a Pee Nak movie.

And the comedy was back. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy in this one, absurd, dark, and self - aware comedy? Yes please!

The thing they did best though - creating an emotional connection, I'm surprised it hasn't been done before. It's a tried and true way to get the audience invested and this one was executed beautifully. I genuinely teared up a bit, without giving away too many spoilers, the backstory in this was absolutely amazing and you could truly feel the emotions.

I would definitely recommend watching this one - as well as watching the others for continuity purposes, but if you had to pick one? This is my first pick. The plot was set up in movie three, but even without watching it, you won't be that lost. This was so very good and they did set up another sequel, which, considering the fact that I've pretty much binged the franchise, I hope is just as good.

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To say "awesome" is, of course, to say nothing. The film is a bomb, from the beginning to the end there is complete tension. As if my body was shackled. The acting is top notch. And indeed, appearances can be deceiving. It's a pity, of course, that we were not told the story of the maniac, why he chose this path in life and what prompted him to do such things, which blew his head off. After all, in any case, something happened in his childhood that so crippled his psyche. But here we were shown exactly this moment and a separate story that made me nervous. Even now, I am writing this review and I can't catch my breath. A difficult film to watch, not to everyone's taste, but it is worth watching. The only thing is that after such films it becomes even more scary to live. But unfortunately we are not able to influence this, because psychos have always been and will be, if a person is mentally ill, few people and things can help him, no matter how hard you try. So it all depends on luck, who is lucky and who is not. But think about it, if it weren't for maniacs and murderers, there would be even more of us on the planet and the problem with overpopulation would be even more serious, no matter how much we would like for such people not to exist... In general, I am becoming more and more disappointed in the performance of civil servants' service. They simply work disgustingly. I wonder if it is the same in life, or are they at least not so stupid? It is terrible that they did not even try to understand (or did not try to understand) a deaf person and listen to her. I heard that in Korea the problem with such psychos and maniacs is very common and it is terrible... People go cuckoo not because of a good life. Even these alarm poles do not help the poor girls... Vi Ha Jung, of course, is smart. It is amazing how a person can transform into different roles. I'm watching him after Squid Game, that is, this is only the 2nd drama with his participation and I already admire his acting skills.

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A good sequel

This was.. this was good but I think I expected it to be a bit better.

The third movie in the franchise follows the characters from the second movie, First, Balloon, Min Jun, Novice Monk Noht, Aod and Kiddie, as they travel to the Mekong region along with new character Bam Bam to discover the reason for Aod's sudden illness and the history of a cursed anklet.

As far a world building goes, this movie did perfect. They had already established this storyline in the prequel and bit by bit, we see the continuation of that final scene from the second movie play out here. This movie was also very connected to the Naga mythology, more so than the first two I'd say, and they explained it much better as well.

The horror.. was actually not bad. Still not scary, but as far as the franchise goes, might be the best until now.

So why am I a bit disappointed? The comedy. I expected a bit more and better comedy after the first two movies, and with this good story, I think they could have definitely better on the humor front. It was still funny, but I didn't find myself laughing as much as I did during the other two. I still loved the chaotic and absurd comedy style though.

This was a good sequel, I do think watching the other parts would help, especially since they make a ton of references to them, the storylines and the characters, and it is quite literally a continuation of the second movie, so I would definitely recommend watching them all.

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1st half: Romance
2nd half: Drama
Ending: Happy
Recommendation: Watch it

This Korean remake of the Taiwan movie "Hear Me" has a more sweet, romantic and cute vibe than the original which was more romcom. Main differences are the sibling roles are swapped, and this adaptation focuses and shows more on how deaf people live life and how they are treated. This adaptation also gives more screentime and story to the swimming sister, also Kim Minju is such a visual haha. We also see a much bigger sister bond and relationship. The Taiwan version is also more OST heavy while this adaptation relies on BGM.

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chaotic mess

I've anticipated this movie for a few months now and idk what I expected but not this-

on one site its interesting because there aren't that many movies about streaming (as in thriller genre ofc) and I liked that most of it was actually "streamed" by the ml

but there are multiple situations that I genuinely don't understand, why was it added for example there was a scene where he was parking down and a guy asked him to not park there then after a small argument he started undressing in public til underwear - aware that he's being filmed too and tried jumping on the car. like wrf 😭
i don't mind comedy mixed with thriller if it fits but shouldn't it make sense??

it just got very weird in multiple scenes but I don't want to spoiler anything so I'll leave it at that!

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"Among all the people you know, how many do you really understand?"

The summary of the movie reminded me of my favourite childhood movie "Matilda". Though both are centered around an abused young girl developing a friendship with a teacher, House of Hummingbird has a more in-depth approach, exploring relationships and sexuality, further outlining the historical context and gender roles in the '90s, and portraying the mentor being as a flawed individual.

This movie's strength lies in its ability to deliver an impactful message and elicit a powerful emotional response, while being filmed and presented in a plainly. Being part of a working-class family, there is no flashiness in Eun-hee's life and the movie is delivered in a similar way, often making the viewer feel as if physically there with the characters. While watching the movie, it is very easy to empathize with Eun-hee. Through the abundant number of hardships, I found myself holding on to the little happy moments in the film, in a similar way she did when they appeared in her life.

I would recommend this movie to any fans of "coming-of-age" films, as it hits all the key points of the genre and delivers social commentary in a way that is easy for the viewer to digest; through the eyes of a young girl.

Overall rating: 4/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Enjoyability: 3.5/5

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A better executed sequel

I don't usually hold much expectations of sequels, because they either mess up the plot of the prequel or feel like an attempt to capitalize on a story that doesn't require a sequel. This was one of the instances where a sequel, although not really necessary, surpassed the quality in all aspects of the original.

The second movie in the Pee Nak franchise follows the leads from the prequel, Nong, First and Balloon, haunted by yet another spirit in the same temple they were all ordained, but this time, the spirit seems to be even more vengeful than the last, and seems to hold a special grudge towards First and Balloon. They are joined by K-Pop idol Min Jun, who is to be ordained at the temple, and several novice monks and people who live at the temple to solve the new mystery.

The story flowed much more seamlessly this time around, the plot was still rooted in mythology and could have been explained better because I had a hard time connecting it to the actual story, but the main narrative itself was written without being too fragmented.

The horror.. it was still not quite scary but I'll forgive them because I don't come for the scary, I'm not a huge fan of the scary.

What I do come for is the comedy, which was also better in this movie. The same absurdist, dark comedy, but a bit more well written and enhanced by the fact that we had some established characters and could read into how they would behave during certain situations.

The sequel does have connections to the first movie, so be sure to give that one a watch before this. It's actually alright if you don't as well, there a few details that may be confusing if you haven't watched the prequel, but this is a brand new plot and the biggest connections to the first movie are the characters. I would recommend this over the first one, but I would also recommend watching that one if you want continuity.

Overall, this was a decent horror comedy, nothing too brilliant but it gets the job done, much like Pee Nak.

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