"Go the other way"
Samurai Wolf was directed by Gosha Hideo and starred Natsuyagi Isao in his first major film role as the titular character. Reminiscent of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, a down on his luck ronin stumbles into a town populated by people willing to do anything to reach their nefarious goals.While paying off his dinner by doing manual labor for the owner, from a distance Kiba the Furious Wolf sees two escorts killed by three bandits. He brings the bodies to a small dusty village looking for the law and finding none. The employees at the relay post immediately recognize their deceased co-workers. Nizaemon, the official messenger for the shogunate is a corrupt official who wants to force Chise, the blind owner of the relay post, to have to close down so that he can take over. Kiba takes an immediate liking to Chise and agrees to help her men transport the next big shipment. Nizaemon sends his men to kill Kiba, but the inconspicuous ronin proves to be “the devil.” The evil messenger calls in a ringer by the name of Sanai Akizuki, the only man who can kill Kiba. Other than the deadly Sanai, Kiba had his hands full with the deceptive and greedy residents as they double and triple crossed each other to steal a shipment of gold.
Gosha used a similar Spaghetti Western setup and music, the town even had a tower much like in Yojimbo. He also judiciously used sound. Several fight scenes began silently to increase the suspense and then implemented sound and music to drive the action on.
Gosha kept the action coming in this tight film clocking in around 75 minutes. Kiba was a poor, but clever ronin who was highly skilled with a sword and a pair of scissors. Much like Yojimbo he knew how to play people off of each other and had a good heart. Despite the short run time, most of the main characters were fairly well fleshed out. Nearly everyone in town wanted Kiba or Sanai dead or both, making it difficult for the accomplished swordsmen to have their epic battle. Unusual for a film from this era there was a fair amount of spurting and spraying blood.
I found Natsuyagi Isao utterly charming as the down on his luck, but never down on himself ronin. It’s hard to believe this was his first role. Handsome, flirty, and fierce, he made this film entertaining, even when the story hit a few rough spots near the end. The body count was high yet the film didn’t take itself too seriously and injected moments of levity. If you like old samurai films, Samurai Wolf is one to try.
16 May 2025
Trigger warning: Spurting blood. There was also a monkey that hopefully was not injured or killed during the making of this film.
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When I First Met You
Before everything else, let me clarify some stuff. I know this is a remake, and I have not watched the original or any of the other remakes. I do not know why I decided to start with this one.I knew the entire plot before I even started the movie, not because it's predictable, but because I found out what the entire plot was a while ago, around the time the Thai remake came out. So again, I do not know why I decided to watch it.
But I watched it, and it was pretty sweet.
Though the love story left me unfulfilled, not the ending, their love story itself, more often than not there's a bittersweet tone to first love, full of unfulfilled promise and the longing look of yesteryear.
That's what this movie felt like, a nostalgic lens on your first love, which doesn't quite leave an impact as itself, but does make you look back fondly on your first love.
That's a win in its own way.
The actors did a good job, it's the first time I'm watching either of their works and I know Jin Young has acted before, and that it's Dahyun's debut, and they both did a very nice job.
There's not much else to say, it was a nice flashback disguised as movie and it wasn't half bad.
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When women are once again cast as villains.
This is a story of villainesses, reflecting a reality where society is ever-ready to paint women as the antagonists.The film’s plot isn’t overly complex, but its psychological weight is undeniable, brimming with intensity and sharp satire. It centers on a woman deemed ugly by society’s gaze, ostracized even by other women who see her as an "outsider," a villain who defies their preconceived norms. A death unveils the grotesque schemes of an individual—or perhaps the rotten foundations of society itself—stemming from a woman condemned in the court of public opinion, judged by strangers who’ve never seen her face. Women are expected to embody virtue, grace, eloquence, and propriety, and any woman who falls outside these societal standards is branded a villainess—a demon. Her femininity is rejected, and society increasingly views the expression of womanhood as something repulsive, promiscuous, or sinful. Tragically, even those who don’t stand in the courtroom, who don’t wield the knife that takes a life, are complicit. They are perpetrators through their ignorance, naivety, and susceptibility to the manipulations of those truly pulling the strings behind the scenes. They are both culprits and victims—victims of manipulation, control, and even love.
The film’s protagonist, driven by subjective emotions, ingrained biases about women and societal norms, and her own experience of love, destroys her family and, ultimately, herself. In doing so, she transforms into a true villainess. To say that women are often scapegoated as villains doesn’t mean men are always the perpetrators. Beyond gender, this is about society, prejudice, and public opinion—and the film seems to echo this. Without the one-sided biases that fuel these narratives, could the puppet masters behind the scenes have succeeded in their schemes? Betrayal doesn’t only wound those who are unloved; it also scars the betrayers themselves, who forsake a piece of their conscience (if they have any left at all).
Ultimately, the film is far from difficult to watch. Everything has its own story, though the pacing feels slightly off, and the characters lack depth. The film doesn’t quite break new ground, and it doesn’t demand intense focus—sometimes to its detriment. Still, the ending delivers a satisfying punch, leaving a lasting impression.
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My May 2025 recommendations challenge
Watch this for my May 2025 recommendations challenge by DaffodilDaze. As usual, it was quite a headache trying to read MDL’s summary, so let's start with the story…This is a story about family dynamics, self-discovery, and friendship.
The story about Tong and Mew, who meet when Mew moves into Tong’s grandma’s house and becomes his neighbor. Mew is a quiet boy who is often bullied by his classmates because they think he’s too feminine or "sissy." Their friendship begins when Tong saves Mew from bullies one day.
One day, Tong’s older sister goes missing during a hiking trip with her friends. Because of that tragedy, Tong and his family decide to move out of their old home. As a result, Tong and Mew grow apart and lose touch.
Years later, they meet again and begin reconnecting. This time, Mew is forming a band with his friends, where he serves as the lead singer and composer. When Mew reunites with Tong, he’s struggling to write a love song. Meanwhile, Tong is dealing with his own issues—he’s in the middle of questioning his sexuality, and there are problems at home due to his father turning to drinking after losing his daughter.
So, how does their story progress from here? Will rekindling their friendship help them face and overcome their personal struggles?
That's pretty much the story without giving the spoiler. Now what I like and don't.
What I liked:
- The story feels very close to reality.
- I really appreciate how Tong and Mew take their time to understand and admit their sexuality, instead of rushing into things like many typical teenage characters do.
What I don't like:
- The mystery involving June. I’m really curious about who she is.
- It’s a beautiful theatrical drama, but I don’t really like this kind of drama.
Overall, I’m happy that DaffodilDaze picked this for me. If I had waited to watch it on my own, it would’ve stayed at the bottom of my list
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Emotionally Exhausting.
This psychological thriller felt predictable to me when it comes to the plot, but its manner of execution combined with the taxing performances, particularly by Kang Ha Neul and Kim Mu Yeol is what makes it brilliant.I'm sure that I might forget the name Jin Seok somewhere in in the future, but in no way am I going to forget his face and the rollercoaster of emotions that I felt while watching this.
[Though, there was one pivotal scene which seemed quite illogical and poorly written, considering the circumstances.]
Kudos to each and everyone who worked on this movie.
Sometimes there are instances and feelings which are absolutely impossible to put into words. And this movie is a paradigm example of that.
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I loved it until...
I loved this until the ruined the ending.This needed to be a bit longer which is the Korean BL curse. The series had 8 episodes so things didnt get fleshed out as well as they should have mainly the ending which always feel rushed.
Loved this until the actual contest on for theses reasons ( and yes will be huge spoilers now):
1. The contest is still rugged absolutely nothing changed there.
2. Everyone congratulates Chef Choi after not really liking him and being so loyal to Chef Yoon.
3. Chef Yoon forgives Laura? Are you kidding me?! So no lesson was learned except it is ok to screw loyal people over for your own personal gain!
4. Why on earth did the 2 Chefs not open the restaurant together?
All of this needed to have some type of explanation so we arent all left scratching our heads as to why? So very frustrating because the rest was right on track to have this be 9's across the board!
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if you're a p1ece, sure
it is i, the niel.this review is inherently biased in favor of p1harmony. it was ambitious, but weird and incomplete. fnc dedicated actual money and resources to this, and i think everyone involved gave it their best shot. some of the members of the group delivered better performances than others, though none of them were glaringly bad. the actual actors in it did a good job. i did think that the story was interesting, and i wanted to see where it was going. unfortunately, it has an intentionally wide open ending to leave room for further lore development as the group releases stuff (though, the stuff they've released since hasn't answered any questions i've had since the completion of this film).
it was a very unique and interesting way to debut. i think it was an overall fun watch if you're okay with a non-ending. with that being said, i don't see any reason for anyone who's not already a fan of this group to watch this movie. i don't think it stands alone as a sci-fi film, but it's pretty fun if you like the group.
gawrsh!!!!
best,
the niel.
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predictable, but still fun!
I think since they show at the VERY BEGINING (like first scene)... who the killer was, it was really obvious what was going to happen throughout the movie, but it was still fun to watch!! I read that this was a sequel after I watched it, but I couldn't even tell, so it's perfectly fine to watch as a standalone. It might put into context some things the characters say, but I don't really know since I didn't watch Veteran (the first movie), and not knowing didn't take away from my experience.They do the action scenes very well, and it was cool to watch them, although sometimes it had me cringing in phantom pain,, I think that they reallyyyy hit the nail on the head for thriller (It's not scary at all, just creepy in case people think that might be a turn off), especially Jung Haein!! I loved his his acting in this sooo much, like the kind of acting that makes you wanna go back on their past work and watch all of it?? But I already watched all of his action dramas and movies so
I think when it comes to comedy, they didn't really harp on it that much throughout the movie, but it makes sense since it's a thriller. They still did a good job with sprinkling it in here and there despite the serious tone of the movie. I wouldn't suggest watching it if you're only here for the comedy though.
I think they also managed to play in social media without making it feel unrealistic or like an old person wrote the scenes, so that's even more kudos. When I'm watching shows, how they portray social media can make it soo hard for me to watch, but I had no problem with this movie!! I also loved the composition of the shots, the coloring, and how they made certain funny scenes feel creepy. Usually I side with the vigilante in shows/movies (i don't know why, I just do). But this movie made me route for the detectives, even from the (sort of) beginning.
But other than that, I think it's a good movie to watch when bored!! (that's what I did...) My rating honestly might be impaired cause I started watching this movie at like 10pm, and finished at 12am even though I woke up at 5:30am that day saurr idk... I really do think it's a good movie besides the predictability!!
They also tease a part 3, which I find exciting!! It was something I completely missed since I thought I checked for post credit scenes,, but it was 12am so... It had a slightly comedic aspect to it though, so I hope maybe the next movie will have more comedy to it, but I would understand if not.
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“Love, Fate, and a Dash of Magic: The Heartwarming Whirlwind of Windstruck”
Windstruck (2004) swept me away with its charming blend of romance, comedy, and bittersweet drama. Starring the effervescent Jun Ji-hyun as Officer Yeo-jin, the film follows her spirited journey through love and loss, marked by a quirky connection with a mysterious stranger. What felt like a simple romantic tale quickly turned into a heartfelt exploration of fate, grief, and the delicate dance between holding on and letting go. 💕🍃🌧️The movie’s lighthearted moments—packed with playful banter and quirky antics—balanced beautifully with its emotional depth. Jun Ji-hyun’s vibrant performance made Yeo-jin feel instantly relatable, full of warmth and vulnerability. Visually, the film sparkles with soft pastel tones and whimsical scenes that add a fairy-tale quality to the story. Though some twists tugged on my heartstrings hard, it’s that blend of hope and melancholy that made Windstruck linger with me long after the final frame. ✨🌬️💔
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Into the Mind’s Fog: How Cure Unsettled My Reality and Haunted My Thoughts
Score: 8/10Watching Cure (1997) was an unsettling journey that really got under my skin. Set in Tokyo, I followed detective Takabe as he delved into a string of bizarre murders where the victims all had the same eerie 'X' carved into them. What gripped me most was how Takabe’s obsession grew, and how the mysterious, amnesiac man Mamiya seemed to cast a hypnotic shadow over everything. It felt like slipping deeper into a foggy nightmare — confusing, haunting, and impossible to shake. 🌀🩸🧩
This film isn’t about cheap scares or loud shocks — it’s about the slow, creeping unraveling of the mind. The mood Kurosawa creates, with those long, silent shots and that pervasive feeling of detachment, made me question what was real and what was illusion. I found myself drawn into the eerie silence, feeling the tension build inside me. The horror was subtle but powerful, touching on ideas of control and madness in a way that felt deeply personal. Sometimes the pacing felt slow, but it only made the tension stronger. After watching Cure, I couldn’t stop thinking about identity, influence, and how fragile our minds really are. This film stayed with me long after the credits rolled. 🕯️🔍🧠
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For me it' a good story but suddenly why did they break up suddenly after dating then after military service of ml I thought that call of ml they be together forever but a twist that the fl had a wedding he invited the ml to her wedding so sad that they don't end up together....please your next drama Dahyun with a happy ending please🥹More drama for Dahyun please😭 Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful and sad.
This is a very nice movie about true friedship. The story is very good and takes several twists to keep it interesting.The cast did a good job and the visual were ok.
I cried several times, so keep a box of tissues at hand. I really recommend watching tis movie, you will not be sorry.
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lacks the charm
they lost the charm that the other versions had.the interactions between the ml and fl were so limited, they barely had time to connect and fall in love. they made the ml more 'heroic' and less quirky and the fl a side character instead of the headstrong girl. fl had clear dreams and aspirations in other movies while here they are just reducing her to a love interest.
the lack of connection between the leads helps with the ending, in the other versions it feels painful but here it makes sense.
its very telling abt korean culture with the changes they made. in the other versions the fl's friend is pretty but here they tried to make her as unflattering as possible. also the chubby friend was the one who goes behind the fl and actually dates her but here it the handsome rich guy
good debut by dahyun even though she does not have much to work with
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"Widows grow flowers"
The Widow aka Yamome is a short film that has won several film festival awards. The poster and the awards intrigued me. I thought there would be a cruel or vengeful twist to the short. Instead, I was left wondering if I'd missed something.Oohara Tokio plays Tanai Tomoko, a forty-year-old widow. She believes that widows can't be alone and need a man so she joins a dating site. The woman might want to find a hobby, make friends, or join a club. Instead, she meets Higuchi Satoshi who is 15 years her junior. He's handsome, charming, and has no problem letting her pay for their meals. Because Tanai is a bad drunk, she refrains from drinking on their dates. She buys him gifts and he suggests they move in together. Things take a downward turn from there.
Again, based on the poster, I was ready for the knives to come out. Instead I found the ending tepid at best. The short films it was up against, must not have been very strong. To quote Tanai, I wasn't angry or sad, just disappointed.
13 May 2025
Spoilery comments below---
The following comments are spoilery, if you are spoiler sensitive, please skip---
This short film was perplexing to me because Tanai never smiled and remained rigid through her dates. You would never know that she was serious enough to buy an apartment for them. Or gullible enough to hand over her various forms of identification to a man she'd only known for a few months. Higuchi spent their dinners talking about himself and taking phone calls---red flag warning signs. When Tanai realized she'd been had, she didn't get angry or sad. She wouldn't sue Higuchi because she didn't want him to hate her, after all, "Men will be men." For the love of Pete, that attitude was ridiculous and horribly outdated. She was 40, not 104. In the end, this came across as a Public Service Announcement warning widows about "commercial daters". I can only hope during the final scene when she did drink it meant she was going to give as well as she got to the next man and really cut loose.
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A Quiet Reflection on Fleeting Connection
The Morning After is a short yet emotionally layered film that explores intimacy, detachment, and the unexpected weight of casual encounters. Set in the post-pandemic haze, the story follows Tien and Jay—two men who meet once a year for a physical connection that somehow feels both familiar and distant.The 16-minute runtime works in the film’s favor, keeping things intimate and focused. The chemistry between the leads is understated but convincing, and the dialogue feels natural, even when loaded with unspoken tension. The heart attack incident acts as a quiet but powerful turning point, forcing Tien—and the viewer—to reevaluate the meaning of their yearly ritual.
Visually, it’s minimalistic, but the cinematography captures a sense of quiet isolation that mirrors the characters’ emotional states. While it doesn’t break new ground in terms of narrative, it effectively captures a very specific kind of relationship—one shaped by habit, vulnerability, and the things left unsaid.
Overall, The Morning After is a contemplative watch that lingers after it ends. It might not be for everyone, but if you enjoy subtle storytelling and emotional nuance, it’s worth your time.
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