Reviews

Life is Irreversible

This short South Korean film hits hard, especially for those who understand being homosexual in a place where everything (family, society, etc) is against you and you feel you have no choice but to follow along.

It’s a simple film, yes. Two lovers meet face to face after almost a decade apart. One is living his life with his wife and child, hiding who he was and being a shadow of himself. The other maintained his life and stayed steadfast, now seeking closure to move on & marry his new lover.

Many things are nuanced in this. Jihun’s daughter immediately takes to Taeil. Afterall, this is her father’s “best friend”. A meal is shared and while Jihun looks a bit uncomfortable, his wife and daughter have no issues chatting up Taeil. It’s good, Taeil sees the good life Jihun has chosen. But with Jihun, regret is clear (regret leaving, marrying) and the curiosity of what ifs lingers. You can feel that their ended was unplanned and abrupt. That almost a decade went by and while one lover gets married and has a kid, the other waited in vain for his return. You get this hinted at during the wedding invitation scene where Taeil mentions that he can count on his soon-to-be husband. The pain on Jihun’s face is clear. This is a man filled with remorse and longing. Wanting to reach out. Wanting to go back. Imagining if he stayed. But he made his choice. And that is irreversible.

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Pointless violence, unless that is the point. And suprisingly...memorable

Action movie outside its box. After watching this one I feel so unsettled. What was the point tell me? I am hurt, all over.

Then the chemistry between Jae Ho and Hyun Soo was impeccable. I did not care that everyone else was average, how well they sold their roles. I did not feel such strong emotion from a cast in such a long long time. Jae Ho filled a role for Hyun Soo that he did not have, and then Hyun Soo did the same for him. It seemed like a perfect toxic relationship of chosen a son and a father. Visual impact was 10/10 -- Cinematography and costume design.

Merciless is the perfect title for this movie.

Acting from both leads Kyung Gu and Si Wan was just phenomenal. I wish we had some closure, not just being okay with pointless violence. Unless that was the point. But this kind of seemed like a movie without point.

Then to break down acting -- Si Wan just trumps all of complex roles. He is such a gem of an actor, and is slowly climbing to be my fave.

If you like this genre, fast-action packed, pulp-fiction type. And some good acting, you should go for it. It is an action movie that goes out of its genre. Emotionally moves you and then leaves you. Hm, kinda manipulative if you ask me :D.


Watch it. Thanks for reading.

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I Enjoyed Being Fooled

It's been a while since I watched a kdrama movie and it was a nice respite from the 16-20 hour time investment for a series. Without even realizing who the FL lead was, other than "she looks familiar, hmm", I thought "what a pleasant, attractive character." Imagine my surprise when figuring out that she was the FL in When The Phone Rings, a series where she had basically two facial expressions, neither of which was smiling. Her nurse character, especially as she interacts and develops a relationship with her jaundiced patient (ML), made for a positive, good vibe. He certainly seemed out of her league and the fact that their relationship bloomed just added to the depth of her character. She saw something in him that maybe others had missed.

He was so inspired by his good fortune to be in a relationship with her that he decided to lose the weight, becoming more attractive and interesting in the process. That he was being depicted by a different actor at this point was just one of those things one comes to expect. He starts working long hours and still has feelings for the FL, but the relationship is challenged when she finds out she is pregnant.

At this point in the movie I felt that the SML (second actor playing the fit male lead) was sincere about wanting to stay in the relationship, but torn because he wanted to succeed in his demanding job. His attractive co-worker (SFL) was more interested in him than he was in her and in a moment of weariness he made what I took to be an honest mistake and called the FL by the SFL's name. FL wasn't too happy and was fully aware of how difficult it had become for SML to commute to visit with her and pressed the issue, to which the SML admitted that he felt sorry for her, indicating that there was some "duty" involved as his motivation for staying in the relationship. She gives him an out and he does something dumb and more or less succumbs to the advances of the SFL. I believed that he still had feelings, albeit confused, for the FL and the SFL was merely a rebound relationship. He finally realizes that he wants to try to mend things with the FL and dashes off to the airport to join her on a trip they had planned to Jeju.

MAJOR SPOILER FOLLOWS!!
Which is when the gotcha occurs. I was totally suckered in by the illusion that the ML had worked hard enough to transition into great shape as portrayed by the SML. In that moment of realization that in fact the SML wasn't the same character as the ML, merely shared a name and occupation, and as it turned out had a similar hospital experience where FL was the nurse, only on a different timeline, I had a great appreciation for a twist well done. The rewind segment helped fill in the blanks and also explained the strange "Sneakers" segments. That the SML tried to comfort his bruised ego by returning to pursue the SFL was a bit pathetic, although that relationship likely had a better chance of succeeding that the one with the FL and the ML. The look on the FL's face in the last scene seemed to me to say that she still had feelings for the SML and that the ML was just a convenient temporary substitution. Not a bad deal under the circumstances for the ML but I doubt their relationship would last very long. Too much water under the bridge for the original duo (FL/SML) to return to their relationship, but the FL's looks and personality were so attractive that I doubt she would have any problem finding other men who are interested in her.

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A nailbiter from beginning to end.

Fasten your seat beats and return all trays to their upright position. You're in for a wild ride. A bioterrorist releases a deadly virus on a flight from Seoul to Honolulu with 150 passengers/crew aboard, including the wife of the detective leading the ground investigation and a psychologically scarred, former ace pilot traveling with his daughter. Will any of the countries on the doomed plane's flight path allow them to land considering that the virus heretofore had no cure? This film is a nailbiter from beginning to end and raises moral & ethical questions that have been argued in classrooms throughout modern history. A must see.

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Kinda amazed Fukasaku didn't do more straight comedies.

A darkly comedic heist thriller exploding with pulp sensibilities, Gambling Den Heist sees Kinji Fukasaku try his hand at something a bit more light-hearted than the yakuza dramas he was more widely known for. It retains his characteristic cynicism and violence but has a degree of fun with the material to balance things out, showcasing the criminals of Japan as both hilariously incompetent and brutally effective. When friendship and loyalty become manipulative tools for our bosses, we inevitably wind up feeling lonely, disillusioned, and looking out only for ourselves. It's a briskly paced story, never getting bogged down in the details or too convoluted with character motivations. It has some hilarious scenes that thankfully never veer too far into madcap. All of Fukasaku's directional trademarks are here and out in full force, the cast is fantastic with a highly energetic Kinya Kitaoji in the leading role and the musical score by Toshiaki Tsushima is as upbeat and funky as you could want from a film like this. Gambling Den Heist is easily one of Kinji Fukasaku's more underrated films of his impressive filmography, the dude could direct a film like this in his sleep and it would still be fantastic, yes it's more lightweight than some of his more heavy hitters, but damn if this isn't just incredible fun.

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PLEASE give "Silent Sparks" a chance, despite the low rating.

This was an excellent, slow-burn, slice-of-life short film.

It's not a BL in the usual BL sense. More of a LGBT film, but.....not exactly that, either. It slightly reminded me of the multi-award-winning movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985).

I think in its short screen time (~1 hr 15 mins), "Silent Sparks" squeezed in a lot of character development, and the short plot - while not containing much "action" - was exactly as long as it needed to be.

The two main actors were very good. They had a real connection, and both did a great job portraying two small-time criminals with some unexpressed feelings between them, but hopeless futures.

Although at the end.....in a weird, twisted way, perhaps there was hope for them after all?

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I've read a lot of the comments from others on here, and it seems like a lot of people say it was "boring" or "lacking in development because it was too short."

But I have watched quite a few gritty Asian films, both full length and short, and IMO some of the most interesting ones were much more spare than other films, and almost completely devoid of what some would call "charm." The casts are always very small in number, and the actors spend the length of the movie showing us their seedy lives, with only a few - if any - moments of humanity and "just-out-of-reach" potential for happiness.

That, to me, is what "Silent Sparks" is - a brief interlude in the main leads' lives that ends up leaving the viewer feeling forlorn and frustrated, because the characters are stuck in a never ending cycle with no real opportunities to step away from that and take a different path. It's not meant to be full of action, and it's not constructed in such a way that we get a deep dive and well-rounded picture of what happened in the past, and what might happen in the future. We only get to see the present moments, and the actors' superb character portrayal.

I really enjoyed "Silent Sparks," and I hope others will give it a chance.

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Feel good drama for small heart who like fluffy romance ♥◡♥

The story : Upon getting engaged, a woman finds out that she is already accidentally married to a stranger and goes about getting her marriage annulled.

I don't know what it is with Philipino movies. They always hit the mark and touch my heart so deeply.
This movie is not perfect but a beautiful feeling lingers, after watching it. And how it is funny sometimes too.
If you have a small heart and you like fluffy romance with a touch of comedy, this is for you. ♥◡♥
There was so much sweet moments in this movie. I would I have liked it to be a drama to stay with the main couple longer.

The story is full of cliché and Female Lead find her way to happiness by overcoming her weaknesses. This is just perfect. I will forgive the flaws and enjoy the drama.

The plot being simple. It is better not to say a lot and just dive into it and enjoy it. Happy watching.

That eponymous song from elvis is just perfect. ( performed by Male Lead : Daniel Padilla.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVu__EKm2xk

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The axe ought to be sharpened

Take a fairy tale, turn it into a novel and then into a movie: here you have the recipe for Takahashi Miike (崇史 三池)'s movie 『怪物の木こり』. Adapted from Mayusuke Kurai (眉介 倉井)'s novel of the same name, and englishly renamed 『Lumberjack the Monster』 for English audiences and beyond, this movie aired first in October 2023 tells the story of a serial-killer who follows the path of a fairy tale character. Through a thrilling story, the movies takes you to a travel where you'll remember what it means to feels something, though with a handful of poor handling here and there.

Let's begin with the story. It is in itself pretty cool, albeit a bit too over-the-top. You have several children who were kidnapped and underwent surgery for implanting them neurochips… and one day someone decided to kill them all, because all of those children became psychopaths following their operation.
ngl, i was surprised by who was the real serial-killer, although there were too many hints given as the end was getting closer. But the real surprise was the end of the movie, which is imo the best part of the movie, as it makes you ponder on the idea of redeeming and the costs of your actions.

On the contrary of that end, the characters feel a bit cliché, or should i say stereotypical: the protagonist who is lacking emotions and ends up retrieving them, the big brain forensic, the old-timer, the gentle villain motivated by a superior goal… all common tropes in Japanese works. Also common is that only the MC and the villain evolve, which makes the other characters lack depth. It also doesn't help that some actors don't play so well: but to be fair, as a review made by The Arts Fuse magazine puts it, « what can you do with a role and a story this clichéd? ».

In addition of the characters and their actors, the dialogs feel somewhat dull. As much as they don't feel "artificial" per se, they do strongly feel fictional: like, you wouldn't hear that IRL. I'm thinking here especially to one of the last scenes where Akira and Takeshi speak together, and they begin to philosophize about emotions and life: this is such a Japanese way of handling dialogs, so dramatical, but so unrealistic (especially when not done correctly)!
That being said, I have to admit that this kind of philosophical pondering makes in itself the work more interesting, as it gives it a supplementary literary value and elevates the work beyond itself, so to speak.

Continuing with meh aspects, the pacing isn't great. Those aforementioned dialogs are often too long, whereas the scenes between each of the dialog are too short. It all makes more sense considering the movie is an adaptation of a novel: you really feel that this novel — or at least that adaptation — put emphasis on its dialogs more than the scenes between them. But here it feels just like one jumps from a dialog to another. And considering that most of the time the camera doesn't move a lot and/or uses uninteresting angles, the scenes sorely lack dynamic.

Also about the scenes, the setting and scenery aren't so innovative. Unrelated parts of a city and an old abandoned mansion of horrors: those two hardly feel connected, and as much as it's understandable from the point of view of the story, they could have created decorations that'd convey a connection better, and also that have more personality. It works enough, not gonna lie; but in addition of the aforementioned other bland parts, it doesn't help.
What wasn't bland was the gore: my gosh, Miike really likes his flows of blood! even if they are REALLY exaggerated lmao; but they weren't so frequent, so that it gives an interesting startling touch when they appear.

All in all, 『怪物の木こり』 is not bad, and its story and the philosophy at the end make it worth watching; but the various lacking elements pull down the overall quality.
It's my first movie from Miike, who i heard is well-known for his handling of the horror genre; i'll try to look into that part of his filmography next.

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Pioneering Chinese queer cinema in not having a fixed protagonist

The long-haired rent boy from Shanghai, the middle-aged lady who settled in the city upon arrival and today works hard to earn money, the young man who broke up with his ex who never returned to his hometown and now works as a pimp middle-aged, a bald and perverted old prostitute, a laid-off worker who once acted as a guest star and now runs a sexually transmitted disease clinic, the gay husband of a laid-off worker and their modest son, the introverted and taciturn son of a worker farewell who kept company with a puppy found on the road, the murderous gangster disguised as a member of the joint defense team, the young woman from Yunnan who asked for directions to the Bund, the Zhabei girl who works as a prostitute, the taxi passenger, the beautiful girl from out of town who took her younger brother and her boyfriend to a small town south of the Yangtze River...
Before 'Babel' and 'Crash', the American films directed, the first by Alejandro González Iñárritu in 2006 and the second in 2004 by Paul Haggis, achieved international success due to their main characteristic of not having a fixed protagonist, and being benefited by the presence of Brad Pitt in one case and the Hollywood studio system in the other, 'Welcome to Destination Shanghai', the docudrama written and directed in 2003 by Chinese filmmaker Cheng Yusu also does not have a single protagonist.
Premiered at the 32nd Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands, then screened at the 27th Hong Kong International Film Festival, the film, starring Yang Zhiying, Cui Zi'en, Xiong Dailin, Yi Jin and other actors and Chinese actresses, cross stories, intermingle lives of queer characters in their daily lives on the streets of the important Chinese city.
Winner of the FIPRESCI Award from the International Association of Film Critics and the Fipzig National Film Critics Award, through a collection of vignettes involving male prostitutes, elderly prostitutes and other sex trade workers, Shi Yue's precise photography combines the Shanghai on the Bund with the Shanghai on the Suzhou River, the ever-changing political Shanghai with the ever-changing economic Shanghai, the Shanghai with Chinese characteristics and the Shanghai in the process of globalization, the people common Shanghai and the people of prosperous Shanghai to present realistic Shanghai and allegorical Shanghai in a somewhat linear, full and white manner, forming a group of postmodern Shanghai images with various expressions and charms.

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Worth rewatching again and again

I've already watched this movie 5+ times, its that good. The story is amazing, giving you a feel for what it is like to go through school being heavily bullied, but also with a little bit of hope through the tiny bits of romance that shine through. This is my go to movie to make me ball my eyes out, the acting is so good you can't help but cry with the characters! I can easily cry within the first 10 minutes of this movie, its that good.
The music is beautiful and they did an excellent job of putting the right music playing in the background of sad scenes to make them even more depressing and feel like a punch in the gut when you hear the music start. This movie is a literal gem and you should not miss it because it is my favourite sad movie of all time! Will definitely bring you to tears.

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similarities, changes, growing apart, and letting go.

It's a shame that I'm only watching this now because the movie was really good. I loved every single part of it. It showed that even if you try so hard to fix your relationship and avoid breaking up, sometimes the only answer is letting go. This movie was very realistic because relationships and people are always changing. They're not constant. People learn new things, gain new perspectives, develop new habits, set new goals, and adopt new mindsets. As much as we want them to stay the same, they will never be the same. The same goes for relationships.

I don’t blame either of them because I can sympathize with both. I can't blame Mugi for changing because he realized that his passion for drawing couldn't provide him and Kinu with a stable and successful life. However, it wasn't right for him to neglect her just because of that. On the other hand, Kinu wanted a life they could enjoy together, because that was more important to her. She fell in love with him because of their similarities, so I admire her for staying despite watching him slowly change.

Well, aside from the fact that I’m obsessed with shows where the characters don’t end up together in the end, I strongly believe the ending was the best one. Why couldn’t they just be together again? Well, would you take the risk again if you were in their position? For me, no. They both tried their best to rekindle their spark, but it was already too far gone. Their relationship was really fun, and if I were in their position, it would also be difficult for me to let go because, even though it failed, I don’t think it’s easy to find someone who can give you the same feelings. But sometimes, people are meant to give you lessons and the best memories, but not be there for the rest of your life, and I think that’s just life.

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THE BEST K-MOVIE

Omg i did not expect this movie to be so good because the past recent Korean movies I've watched were all either boring or having a sad ending.

Hong Kyung, Roh Yoon-seo and Min-ju slayed their roles. Like i just knew yoon seo would deliver and she did amazing despite this being a movie where the characters and actors mostly had to portray everything through their expressions. Not to mention them all having to learn the sign language. It was my first time watching Hong Kyung but wow is he a great actor and so handsome toooo. Minju as well really proved herself a spectacular actress here. Moreover i was wondering where i had seen the make lead's mom actress before and turns out it was in 'playful kiss' cant believe she looks as radiant and beautiful as then and still playing the sweetest mom character.

Loved the calm and cutest love story, loved having no villians no toxicity no unnecessary drama in this film. And obviously LOVED getting a happy ending!! I'm so glad i watched this.

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it must be gambling debts, it's gotta be

You don't drop all the way from Audition to this unless you are about to be found dead because you have lost money in a pachinko machine or whatever.

Audition was trippy. Trippy ain't the problem, but this movie is boring and dull and I feel like yeah, because the manga does this and that, but I ain't reading no mangá, I'm watching a movie and it should be able to convince me on its own.

It's not the outlandish premise, it's not the absurdity, it's how boring it is in all its edgelordism. It reads as another boring death game story, with a boring main character who is smart beyond what is believable from him. Every time he has an solution is a Deus ex machina working (expect for the end solution).

Amaya and Ichika's actors were really compelling, each in their respective alignment. Visual effects were real nice too.

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Don't be put off by the first half

Representing the first starring vehicle for Yuen Biao, he had a lot riding on Knockabout, a chance to show that his combination of martial arts prowess, good looks and acting skills could blossom into the charisma of a movie star, someone who could be at the centre of a major picture. Surrounded by a combination of old pros and rising young stars, given a script no worse than most kung fu comedies of the period, he was given every chance to flourish, which thankfully he did. As a comedy, the film doesn't quite work as well as intended, the humour is extremely laboured and chock full of poor jokes that admittedly probably work better with a crowd; once the humour backs off and Sammo Hung's action choreography is allowed to take centre stage, the film massively improves ten fold to the point I'm willing to forgive the majority of bad jokes and Karl Maka mugging the camera. While Sammo's direction is fantastic, unfortunately, the pacing is completely borked. It could have really benefitted from the odd trim here and there to tighten it up, especially during the rather painful first half because once the second half begins, it becomes something truly special. Despite my negativity, Knockabout truly benefits from Yuen Biao's effortless likeability, a strong supporting cast, an extraordinarily evil villain played perfectly by Lau Kar-Wing and some outstanding fight sequences that keep it from becoming an otherwise disposable venture, improving the longer you stick with it. I probably would have liked this a lot more had it not been for the sour first impression.

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