Reviews

Daigoro is an ugly mf

Made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions, Daigoro vs. Goliath is certainly a film that follows in the goofy, thoroughly ridiculous crater-like footsteps of other 70s kaiju films, one that I can't help but make the comparison with the latter Showa era Gamera films in all their painful child-centric antics. It's the kind of kaiju film that wouldn't appeal to anyone over the age of 6, despite being bright, colourful and laden with sing-along musical numbers, strained slapstick, crazy contraptions and abundant juvenile whimsy, there's certainly a crowd for this type of rubbish, unfortunately, I am not one of them. However, I can give credit to a lot of the special effects sequences, mainly the miniatures and pyrotechnics, both of which are top-notch, though they are few and far between the otherwise horrifically ugly kaiju designs (and I thought Minilla was the ugliest mf). The usually reliable director Toshihiro Iijima delivers some exceptionally heavy-handed social commentary, far from the more subtle approaches to his work on Ultraman, while Toru Fuyuki delivers a score that would make you think he fell asleep in the recording booth, the acting is no better and plays like a half-arsed classic sitcom. Daigoro vs. Goliath can be perfectly summed up as an experience in the scene where Daigoro uses a giant Toilet to do his gargantuan business while the human cast looks on in a bizarre fascination, this is not a film I can easily recommend and ultimately feels like a tax write off cause Tsuburaya couldn't make the historical epic they initially wanted.

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Could’ve Been Better With Better Subs & Fixed Plot

It’s 100% how most comments mentioned, the subtitles are extremely crucial in these kinds of movies and mainly in this one. I say “these kinds of movies” because I’ve watched a couple movies, mainly South Korean but also other countries, that have 18+ content in them and usually they’re portrayed as artistic or movies with deep/dark meanings. Even with good subtitles it is so hard to understand these movies because it’s either not portrayed properly or just too hard to understand or both. I had to use the little bit of Korean I knew to understand this movie in the slightest, because even with the subtitles I was lost, the subtitles would say random stuff that didn’t necessarily make sense in the context and instead made things more confusing. But even with my knowledge and visual clues I was still extremely lost. Then we move into the sex scene, which I need to mention looked extremely real, there’s no way that’s fake. Someone mentioned in the comments how they could probably find an uncensored or longer version in a porn site and honestly it’s probably true, cause Jesus Christ that looked so real I was questioning where I was watching this movie for a second. But anyway, there isn’t much going for this movie, the plot is weak, the subtitles are horrible, everything is extremely confusing, and half of the movie is just them fucking. As much as I like my fair share of NC scenes and chemistry, just having NC scenes and no plot doesn’t balance the movie out. I need the balance of everything, plot, chemistry, NC, cute moments etc. Yk? I wasn’t gonna sit and watch this entire movie knowing it would probably just be full of NC scenes and I was right cause I skipped through it. So yeah dropped. I also saw some comments and some review comments mentioning how this is LGBTQ+ and not BL so basically saying LGBTQ+ movies have a more broad way of it portraying different people in different sexualities and gender identities and more. Which is why I don’t always rate these kinds of movies too low for what they lack because it’s a certain genre. Though I can acknowledge the genre, I can also acknowledge what it lacks. So yeah. Overall I’m gonna rate this a solid 6/10

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Once is fine

Was kinda boring at the beginning. For me the rate doesn't make sense, yeah there's scenes they're funny, but it dont make the story better.

The way their relationship was presented to us didn't make me connect with them, but rather made me feel like they shouldn't have happened at all. Even when the couple had a little more intimacy and vulnerability I didn't feel it. And after all the problems faced in their relationship, there was not a moment when they sat down and really discussed how to improve. Like they had sex, some dates, went back to loving each other as if it would make everything work out. But if it didn't work before, why would it now?. I didn't really like how it ended either and a lot of my rating was because of the laughs I had in some scenes.

As for the acting, I think Somin did a good job. The ML one was acceptable too, but you can't ignore some crying scenes without tears lol and liked the role supports, thought they were an interesting addition, not all necessary although.

I would say it was worth the experience, but it's not a film I'm going to keep rewatching.

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An important and comprehensive historical record of the queer movement in modern China

Directed in 2009 by Cui Zi En, China's most prolific celebrated gay filmmaker, 'Queer China, "Comrade" China' documents the history of the queer community in the People's Republic of China from the 1984s to the 2000s.
Premiered on the opening night of the 2009 Shanghai Queer Film Festival (Festival that carried that name until 2012, but as of 2016 began to be called ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival), the first LGBT pride festival instituted in China and second in importance in the Asian nation After the Beijing Love Queer Cinema Week (previously Beijing Queer Film Festival, since 2001), the documentary 'Queer China, Comrade China' was recognized as the most authoritative account of the story queer culture in China to date.
Presented at the Vancouver International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival in 2009, the film uses a chapter structure (like a history book) to document advances in rights, literature and the arts, community and LGBT+ activism in this long period of that nation's history.
Through many exclusive interviews with more than three dozen prominent queer activists, academics and filmmakers, including Cui Zi En himself, Shi Tou, Li Yinhe and Zhang Yuan, as well as the use of historical archival material, the documentary becomes a record important and comprehensive history of the queer movement in modern China.
China's leading queer theorist, activist and academic includes rarely seen footage of the first appearance of gays and lesbians on Chinese state television in the documentary, including several featuring the documentary film's director himself.
'Queer China, "Comrade" China' documents the changes and developments in lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender culture that have taken place in China over the past 80 years up to the time of its release.
Like never before, this film explores the historical milestones and ongoing advocacy efforts of the Chinese LGBT community.
The film examines how changing attitudes in the law, media and education have transformed queer culture from an unspeakable taboo to an accepted social identity.
The film culminates with the submission of Dr. Li Yinhe's same-sex marriage bill to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress of China, the highest legislative body of the People's Republic of China in 2003, a milestone important in the fight for the acceptance of queer identity in China.

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⚔ Mission Fail °8.5° ⛩️ °spectacular°

“When can we see each other again?” “We cannot. We belong to two opposing sides. If we meet again, one of us will have to die.”

Right now, the emperor is weak. The government is corrupt. Factions have formed. The rebels are rising. The House of Flying Daggers is the most dangerous group of rebels. We're in China, 859 AD, at the waning of the Tang Dynasty.

HoD is a 2004 119-minute release that is rated 87/82 on RT, 7.5 on IMDB, and 8.3 on MDL. There's much more going on than meets the eye. We have wheels within wheels and gears inside of them.

The acting is China's run-of-the-mill-superb. Takeshi Kaneshiro (This Is Not What I Expected) is ML Red Cliff Jin. The actor's father is Japanese and his mother, Taiwanese, which explains his name - and his look, actually. Andy Lau (Tak-Wah, Singing When We're Young) plays the other ML, Liu Zhao Tou. The cast is rounded out with Song Dandan as Yee, Zhao Hongfei as Xiao Bu Kuai, and Jun Guo as a law enforcement Officer. The screenwriter is Bin Wang (Hero, To Live) along with writer/Director Zhang Yimou (Under the Hawthorn Tree & Hero).

Zhang Ziyi (The Rebel Princess-9.1, Hero & Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ~loved both~) is Xiao Mei, the new blind maiden at the pleasure house. Is she in the Flying Daggers cult? They lock her up following an unruly incident in between her and some house patrons.

The Tang version of the CIA local branch has devised a clever scheme. An officer, Jin, will break Mei out of prison in hopes that she will lead them to the Flying Daggers sect, so they can eliminate this dangerous group. Mei is not easily managed, though. Soon, Jin has to fight his own people to survive, because no one else knows about his mission. Things continue to get more tangled and murky.

The cinematography is gorgeous. Exotic forests, fields, fall foliage and flowers. Fighting, too! The fights are beautiful ballet. We see every season represented in the film. One fight takes place in a verdant bamboo forest. It's spectacular. Fall is a good time to fall in love… Finally, there's flakes of snow, moving into the finale. Probably some frostbite, too.

There's a good twist or two. They twist beautifully in this film. The whole movie is a magnificent twist-within-a-twist. My biggest complaint is that it's over with so quickly. Having gotten used to 25-75 episodes, I've been watching some unforgettable Cdramas. Sometimes the big budget items, like sophisticated fight scenes and pricey special effects, don't make much of a showing in the multi hour miniseries (sometimes they aren't bad) but it's hardly noticeable given the top-tier writing, acting, sets & costume. So, give HoD a watch and consider some of the recommended time investments below.


〰🖍 IMHO

📣8.5 📝8.5 🎭8.5 💓6 🦋6 🎨8.8 🎵/🔊7 🔚8 🤗6 ▪ 🌞4⚡7 😅2 😭7 😱3 😯3 🤢3.5 🤔6 💤0


Age 12+ There's sword fighting and violence, but this is a great movie for people of most ages. Rated TV-PG: Parental Guidance Suggested

Re-📺? Yep



In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

🔮🐉-
C/🇨🇳:
Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10

⚡😱/🚀 -
C🇨🇳:
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
The Untamed-8.6

💓 -
C🇨🇳:
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1;

K🇰🇷 :
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;

🎎 -
C🇨🇳:
Overlord 8.4,
Story of Yanxi Palace-10 (I'm on ep 50 out of 72. So far every episode is a 10).
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
Ruyi's Royal love in the palace (episodes 1 - 49 are a 9.3. While looking up its historical accuracy, I learned how heartbreaking the rest of the show is. It's over 80 episodes, so that's a hella-lotta hurt. I am not up for it now, so I stopped at episode 49, which is a perfect ending).
The Rise of Phoenixes 9

K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9

⚡😱/🚀 - K🇰🇷:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
The Man From Nowhere 8.9
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4

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Ending on a high note

Despite Police Tactics ending on a high note, I guess Toei thought there was still more to tell with this story and mandated that we get a definitive ending with nothing left unresolved. The fittingly titled Final Episode maintains the series' exceptional quality, one that doesn't feel tacked on in the slightest, easily the talkiest of the series and burdened with the task of wrapping up dozens of loose threads, it's a testament to Kinji Fukasaku's incredible talent that he and his crew were even able to fashion a film out of so little material and on such a tight schedule. Though the incidence hasn't been perfect all along, five pictures deep, the trajectory of the ongoing narrative mirrors, at the first and the last, how the instalments are approached in terms of both film-making and storytelling style. The progenitor explored the violence of the yakuza in the early post-war years as Japan rebuilt, and it's quite fitting that as both written and executed it would bear wild, chaotic energy that was a veritable shot in the arm for the genre. Granted the pacing of this one is filled with stops and starts due to the loose structure of its script and the big players are mostly kept to the sidelines for the majority of the runtime; I'll be damned that it follows in the same vein as Deadly Fight in Hiroshima thanks to some exceptional performances from its cast, all of whom deliver fantastic performances. As compelling for its performances as for its historical detail, Final Episode keeps the energy level high, its technical aspects strong and its cast thoroughly engaging right up until the last body falls and the Battles finally end, one age of the yakuza fades to be replaced by another.

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REALISM AT ITS FINEST!

This movie brough me to tears.. I absolutely loved every aspect of it.

This is my first review because I just felt like this movie just deserves the best. The acting was amazing, the story too. I loved how the story tackled the harsh reality that a lot of people face in relationships where it be gay relationships or straight ones. I loved that this story focused more in the story aspect, the girl faced challenging stereotypes that society likes to place on people who are being themselves, society hates people being different.. Since Korea is a conservative country its good that this story showcased the struggles that many gay people face, where it be choosing to embrace themselves or please their parents.

This story hit a nerve especially when they showcased the homophobia and hate that the LGBTQ+ community faces, the scene where our main character was being hit by a group of mobs made my heart ache and I could feel the pain.. I also like the aspect of showing casing the difficulties of straight relationships and straight ones, the best friend, the girl (I don't remember their names) but she conveyed feelings of being naive and dumb, in the dating aspect.

The best friend showcased the hardships of dating in straight couples. We learned that she is actually a lover girl and has this tough exterior to protect herself. I also liked the fact they did not shy away from showing us the name calling and misogyny men do, they tend to name call women 'sluts' and playing women like a sport.

I liked how the ex of the main character did not end up with him, because I just think that its good that the main character learned the hard way and learned to, love himself and accept himself, and coming out to the world which I loved and finally being free. So its good that he ended up learning that love is not always going to wait for you to finally accept them, they will eventually seek it somewhere else. I thought it was touching when the main character finally bought gucci shoes for his ex, and I feel like the gucci shoes represented acceptance, closure and finally putting their romance behind them but still remembering it still happened.

Anyways this was a fantastic movie! I recommend this to everyone who wants to watch something that tackles real life problems.

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what was this

honestly i dont know what to say. i like the visuals and the casting and their acting was great.
i tried so hard to understand this movie, but i just dont get it? half way through it feels like we fully lost the plot from then.

how do they connect?? why did the guy who kept protecting her start beating her to the point she literally looked dead? why did they never address her sister after the police station thing? where did the 2nd male lead go?

it wasnt that deep obviously, i still think its worth watching. just wanna let ppl know what they‘re getting themselves into.
great for aesthetic, not really a story line.

just very violent overall. idk what to think of it

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"Nothing changes. Nothing."

Sword in the Moon was a 2003 Korean attempt at a wuxia complete with running on rooftops. Because even in a wig and sword drama there has to be a childhood connection, the two main characters were blood brothers who trained at the same school but ended up on different sides of a coup.

Yun Gyu Yeop has the nickname “The Butcher” and serves at the pleasure of the king. This king stole the throne during a bloody rebellion. Ministers involved with the coup begin being brutally murdered. It doesn’t take long before Yun realizes that the two people involved were his friends from another life. Choi Ji Hwan and Shi Yeong have nothing left to live for except their revenge after the king’s men and Yun killed everyone they cared about.

Sword in the Moon had the basis for an entertaining wuxia. The filming and editing let me down greatly. The director overused the shaky and nausea inducing camera style as well as too many blurry slow-mo fights. The film jumped back and forth in time, introducing characters briefly and rapidly and killing many of them off just as quickly. New players entered the game and then disappeared. This film might have benefited from telling its story more linearly. The main characters were not well developed and relied on the old friends/brothers to enemies trope. At one point it seemed Shi and Yun might have had romantic feelings for each other, yet it was with Choi that Yun road horseback in the moonlight through the tall grasses as grand romantic music played in the background. It honestly felt like Director Kim was told to cut 30 minutes off of the film and he stitched together an odd patchwork with a chisel hoping no one would notice the characters that came and went without reason.

If you are squeamish, it’s important to note that there were numerous beheadings and dismemberments. There were a few fights that weren’t ruined by the shaky, slow-mo camera. As the characters were given little emotional depth, except for Yun, it was hard to care what happened to any of them. Even the traitorous ministers and king lacked any menace or interesting details personally or historically. Sword in the Moon wasn’t terrible, but I would have better enjoyed watching an old Hwang Jang Lee kung fu movie instead.

16 January 2025

Trigger warnings: beheadings and dismemberments

A scene with NUMEROUS snakes

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“We don’t discriminate”.

The thing I got the most from this movie is the complete lack of education about trans issues we have, honestly globally. The lack of education leads to insensitive comments and questions. The intent might have been just a normal curiocity, some might even think they are being playful or joking, some that it's just teasing, but the effect on the person being asked? Rather negative. “We don’t discriminate”, but we also do not care enough to take a second and reevaluate if the comment we are about to make might be insensitive or worded in the worst way possible.

Do I think it is a tricky situation for people who fall into the “norm”? Sure. Everyone has their own limits, boundaries, expectations. Things they feel comfortable about, and things they hate. There is no guideline “how to treat a transgender person”, because they are all different, just like literally every human being is different. The same question can be viewed as rude to one, and completely fine for another. Still, some comments and questions are objectively a big no-no. Sadly, most people don’t know what they are and don’t care enough to find out.

As for our heroine - Hikari. What a strong character. I am not one with any type of anxiety, especially none that involves social interactions, but the way the movie was shot and structured, I was feeling anxious for her. I was also getting annoyed, angry and frustrated watching her interactions with strangers and how… inconsiderate they were. “I am curious, so I am asking, because I am an egocentric asshole who only thinks about their own needs, and not about other’s feelings” - this is how I viewed the majority of them.

On one had it was great to see her move forward even when she felt hurt. On the other hand I wanted her to just start hell and say a few “rude” words to a couple of people. Easier said than done though. Still, seeing her walk with a smile on her face in that red dress (amazing look if you ask me) was to some extend liberating.

I’m sure there are a lot of hidden meanings and symbolism going on, sadly my brain is not quite wired to catch the hidden meanings and the poetic, less straightforward messages. Someone with a more abstract mind would for sure appreciate the movie even more.

I feel like the review is more me just ranting about society, and less how the movie was. For that I'm sorry...

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