Reviews

Such a good movie.

I usually don't write reviews, but The Paradise of Thorns truly moved me in ways I didn’t anticipate. This film is a delicate yet powerful portrayal of love, loss, and societal barriers. Set in Thailand, it follows the story of a couple navigating the complexities of their relationship in a world that doesn’t fully embrace their love. The cinematography is breathtaking, with every frame capturing the raw beauty of the landscape as well as the emotional depth of the characters.

What struck me most were the performances—each actor brings a deep, authentic vulnerability to their role, allowing you to connect with their pain, their dreams, and their struggles. The film’s pacing is slow but deliberate, giving you time to absorb the weight of each scene. It doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of discrimination and the consequences of living in a society that doesn’t legally acknowledge same-sex love.

The emotional rollercoaster of The Paradise of Thorns stayed with me long after the final scene. It’s a film about hope, defiance, and the undeniable power of love, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. It’s not just a love story—it’s a call to reflect on the world we live in and the people who are often overlooked. If you’re looking for a film that’s both beautiful and heartbreaking, one that’ll stir your emotions and leave you thinking, this is a must-watch.

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I think worth a watch

I don't know why everyone is criticising the movie so much, but for me it felt raw, like it was so straightforward that i felt suprised all the time, the acting was quite good too as expected from the female lead and i was suprised by how Jaehyun portrayed such a difficult character, the story also was satisfying and I really liked the ending, it was different from other k-dramas/movies, the main lead don't always have to end up together, they were good friends with an end to their chapter, i also gotta say that the meaning as i understood it was quite refreshing and also sad, but i usually like sad movies more (weird, i know).

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Hiroshima Death March

The political machinations of the yakuza world provide bloody, non-stop thrills in this deliriously anarchic sequel that is never less than fascinating for its attention to personal details and vivid pictorial exploration of a criminal, country-wide hornet's nest. Deadly Fight in Hiroshima may take a more linear direction than that of its predecessor due to its basis having not been finished at the time of filming, the screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara cleverly weaves an adaptation of real-life gangster Mitsuji Yamagami, whilst continuing to build upon the themes of the first Battle. Fukasaku's direction continues to impress, unveiling an eye for breathing space in the middle of the blood-flowing whirlpool; the action sequences are brutal and unforgiving with the camera work by Sadaji Yoshida, at times, mesmerising, especially in the film's final twenty minutes, where Yamanaka is hunted in the rainy laneways of Hiroshima, those are exceptionally beautiful. Despite Sonny Chiba's impressive performance as the ultra-psychotic Katsutoshi, whose manic, psychotic body language jerking movements are used by Chiba to hold Katsutoshi as a ticking time bomb keeping everyone on edge; Bunta Sugawara's weighty presence, despite taking a back seat in this episode, the film truly belongs to Kinya Kitaoji and, the lone voice of feminine voice within the first two films, Meiko Kaji. Their chemistry is fantastic; you get a real feel for these two forbidden lovers' plight, a testament to Fukasaku's handling of the romance, which is deft and touching without becoming cloying. Backed by another spidery score from Toshiaki Tsushima (who even includes a playful nod to Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter), Deadly Fight in Hiroshima might be a more commercial film than it's predecessor, but just as worthwhile, one that's magnificently vicious and brutally exhilarating.

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They found in each other their only hope

The film opens with an emotionally very hard scene: a student’s suicide, and from the start, the viewer understands that it will be difficult. BETTER DAYS has taken it upon itself to speak out against school harassment in all its pain and to talk about young people in difficult family situations. Two very hard subjects that are treated throughout the story without a pinch and with a poignant realism.

Carried by incredible actors, the viewer drinks the story and cries with the characters throughout the two hours... They managed to find a perfect balance between showing the violence as it is, and still preserving the viewer (which I liked very much because I am not able to accept this kind of scene without turning away).

Throughout the two hours, the film is dedicated to denouncing the Chinese school system as a whole. Indeed, it puts a monumental pressure on its young people who have no other hope of finding a job and succeeding in life than entering the best universities in the country. We also discover all the rites of passage of a high school student who, for westerners like us, seem so outsized. It is incredible, for example, that the examinations to enter universities are considered a real national event mobilizing the police... If you are interested, there are many reports on the subject (I had seen one about South Korea in particular) that you can find on youtube or elsewhere on the net.
In short, all this to say that the pressure on students must be released on something... or someone. And this leads to serious abuses such as school harassment where a whole class will be (actively or passively) on one or more comrades. And you can imagine, this will be the case of our poor heroine.

I loved romance passionately... There are several scenes that have remained etched in my memory for their beauty or intensity. A powerful romance between two teenagers who found in each other their only hope.

The story revolves around three endearing, touching and realistic characters.

CHEN NIAN (Zhou Dong Yu) is a very introverted character who has locked himself in a sort of silence and who, out of fear and selfishness, chooses to let one of his comrades be harassed, hoping that he will not be in his shoes. He is an imperfect character who touches us with his humanity, his despair and his fierce struggle to get out of a disastrous family situation and the absence of his indebted mother.
XIAO BEI (Jackson Yi) is a street boy who no longer believes in anything and gives his life no meaning. Without a family, he had to learn to manage on his own and his days are punctuated by fights, small trafficking of all kinds and great solitude and precariousness. When he goes to meet CHEN NIAN, he will suddenly find a meaning to his existence and will base all his hopes on it... Even if it means sacrificing yourself for success.
Finally, the third character I wanted to talk about is this policeman, ZHENG YI (Yin Fang), a young man who starts in the profession and believes in justice. His ideals will soon be upset when he discovers with horror that he fails to protect our teenager and it is a character who touched me very much for all his efforts.

Frankly, everything was so perfect in BETTER DAYS... The direction is excellent and supports the drama of the film, the actors are extremely good in their roles, the adapted story of a novel (itself inspired by a true story) is moving... In short this film made me cry, made me smile also sometimes and above all moved me a lot throughout.
I can only advise you this huge crush!

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"There's no joking in the army"

The “Iron Triangle” of Chang Cheh, Ti Lung, and David Chiang brought the pain in The Heroic Ones. This Shaw Brothers film was about as epic as they got for a 1970 martial arts film. Walled towns, plenty of outdoor scenery, treachery upon treachery, and pretty much every stuntman on the SB payroll made this movie a step up from so many of the throw away films from this era. It was also beautifully restored.

Near the end of the Tang Dynasty the emperor asked King Jin and his 13 General sons to rid him of the bandit usurper Huang Chao. Warlord Zhu Wen was also concerned about the bandit who had conquered Chang’an. King Jin sends nine of his sons to spy on Huang and assassinate him if possible. The 9 Generals are led by the youngest, Li Tsun Hsiao, which causes jealousy among two of the older brothers. Cracks in the brothers’ solidarity soon threatens them all.

The Heroic Ones was different from other Shaw Brothers productions in several ways. One of which was that it was not the Mings and Qings fighting but rather set much earlier in the Tang Dynasty. While there were two military antagonists, the primary drama, like a good old-fashioned Shakespeare or Greek tragedy, took place within the family. As this was a Chang Cheh film, there was no doubt going into it that there would be buckets of blood spilled and few, if any, of the brothers left standing. The man had a sadistic streak running through him. He outdid himself with one of the most gruesome deaths I've seen from this era. For another character’s death, someone said, “Your belly is open.” (Was disemboweled) I truly wanted the dying man who continued to fight to reply, “Do you honestly think I don’t already know that?” or “It’s just a flesh wound.”

I watched this movie for Ti Lung. But during this era when he and David Chiang made over 20 films together, in order to have Ti, I had to have the other. Chiang was enormously popular at the time, I just never saw the allure. I loved watching Ti Lung’s fierce fighting style, even when he was relegated to a supporting role. I’m always happy to see Ku Feng, although his character could be dimwitted at times as could Chiang’s. Eldest brother Chin Han also made questionable decisions that resulted in brothers being killed. The lone woman in the cast, Lily Li, had a brief appearance when the brothers needed a place to hideout.

The fights were well choreographed for 1970. There were a lot of swipe and flip, or swipe with stuntmen jumping off walls or into the water. Martial Arts Directors Tang Chia, Lau Kar Leung, and Lau Kar Wing staged large creative fights with no lack of blood though not as spurt happy as Chang’s later films would be.

The sets were enormous and well built. I’m not sure why the antagonists guarded their gates so heavily. The brothers tended to scale the fortress walls quite easily. Upon its introduction, there was no doubt that the Bridge of Peace would need to be renamed, The Bridge of Pieces. I cannot imagine how many costumes had to be made for the extras or dug up from other films. As a Shaw Brothers film there was no shortage of bare chests and furry vests and capes. Sadly, no silver lamé. Surprisingly, a young, thin Chan Sing was almost unrecognizable in his fancy costume which he didn’t remove for the entirety of the movie! There were also numerous spears wielded by both sides. One character was so committed to destroying King Jin that he burned down his own town! Whether a miniature or a set, the fire was realistic.

Most martial arts films from this time ran around 90 minutes. The Heroic Ones clocked in at 2 hours, too long for this kind of film. In all fairness, Chang Cheh and writer Ni Kuang kept the action and treachery cranked up enough to keep my attention, though I could have done with fewer banquet and dancing girls scenes. In nearly every way*, this old martial arts flick was slightly above average for the genre and time. Still only for fans of these old movies and graded on a curve.

13 January 2025
*Never go into these films expecting Bruce Lee level of fighting, he was the one and only or modern CGI and camera aided fighting scenes that anyone can do. There were numerous martial arts trained and acrobatic stuntmen to sell the action in these more balletic bloody battles.

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A work of art

After finishing this I sat in silence for a long time processing. That was as incredible as everyone said! The actor for Tae Shik, Won Bin, had an absolutely jaw dropping performance. The subtleties he was able to bring to the role was incredible. My heart hurt for him, from his back story to the pain he went through to find the girl. The stunt choreography was some of the best I have seen. The fight scenes were extremely well designed. That child actress did such a great job. Her emotions were on point. While the plot was a bit convoluted at times with all the different groups of villains. It was impactful and at its core it was simple. It was heartbreaking. This was a visually stunning piece of art. The cinematography, the lighting and the play with shadows. This was simply a top notch work of art.

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Personal opinion

Really loved it , it was relaxing , romantic and peacefull i can watch a full 16 episodes series of this and not get bored by it .
It washes away your troubles and your fatigue like it's nothing , and when you finish watching it you will see a smile on your face beacuse while you can't hear most of their worlds their voices appear in your mind because of the amazing portrayal by the cast .
I really loved the acting by the cast but Roh Yoon Seo's performance blowed my mind so does her beautifull and innocent appearance.
It was like Love me , Love my voice a chinese drama no rivarly , no break up (except a little one) , just pure and light romantic comedie
The music isn't 10 just because it's not a movie that is music has a big impact but the backgroung music the calm and romantic one was perfect for it

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A rare gem of Chinese queer cinema

The innovative Chinese filmmaker, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist, activist and gay academic Cui Zi En, known worldwide for his films 'Star Appeal' (Xingxing xiangxi xi', 2004), 'Zhi tongzhi' (2009), 'Feeding Boys' , Ayaya' (2003), 'Chou jue deng chang' ('Enter the Clowns'), 2001, 'Nannan nünü - Nan Nan Nü Nü' ('Men and Women'), from 1999, 'Queer China, Comrade China' (2008), among others, offers in 'Jiu yue' ('The Old Testament') a rare vision of the gay life in China.
Presented in the Official Selections of the renowned Berlin International Film Festival, the Outfest: Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Philadelphia Film Festival in 2003, two years after its filming and premiere in China, the episodic film, written by Cui Zi En and co-directed with Jiangang Wei, uses biblical references to weave three interesting vignettes on the themes of sexuality, homophobia and AIDS, while Greek-style choirs sing the moralistic conclusions of each of the trio of stories.
At the same time, it promises an ironic commentary on the tension historically between the Church and homosexuality, as the images show soapy shower scenes with naked men, underwear groping and bed scenes.
Produced by Cuizi Film Studio and Glory Film TV, and distributed by Water Bearer Films, the Chinese film has received praise from critics: "The film's roots are planted in the fertile soil of avant-garde filmmaking", he noted the film the Outfest jury.
In 'Song of Solomon', a couple of men receive an unexpected visit from the ex-boyfriend of one of them who is sick with AIDS. Faced with the commitment to provide palliative care to the former lover, the couple must face the breakup of their own relationship.
'Proverbs' follows the love triangle between a married man, his wife and his gay lover. As the bisexual husband tries to reconcile the two-way relationship, the conflicted wife and lover begin to wonder if he is worth the fight. 'Psalms' concludes the trilogy, with a denunciation of intolerance, through a story about a heterosexual couple openly hostile to the homosexuality of the husband's younger brother, who plans to have sex with his "special friend."
With a duration of 75 minutes and a cast made up mostly of non-professional actors, 'Jiu yue' explores homosexuality in China, and features the performances of the renowned Huanan Du, Luo Dong, Zhang Jian, Yang Qing, Yu Bo , Wei Jiangang, Yu Xiaoyu, among other Chinese actors and actresses.
As in other films by Cui Zi En, 'Jiu yue' is characterized by its low budget, an unconventional production method, few resources in production, a script without great needs and expenses, few locations, predominating real places to the detriment of the sets built for filming, and the use of reduced technical and artistic teams.

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Film is about a girl when she was in school she got tricked by a boy who she thought she liked, being gang raped by 5 other boys and filmed, this happens multiple times. The film portrays the helplessness of the victim, even so it eventually went to court and the boys all got sentenced.

Now this girl is a teacher, after the event she received a new name and a new life.
And it all seems to start again …

This film portrayed the helplessness of the victim very but she started to change, after on of the girls in her class got attacked and photographed, which got shared to everyone in the classroom.

The ending was in expected but it gave a good closure in the end.

Acting was good, and loved the detective who was all old style.

Not sure if I would watch again but as once was enough but overall a good film, dispute the subject of it.

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classic and romantic, realistic and tragic

With a recurring sight of an industrial chimney amidst a coastal town, Michihito Fujii's movie about yakuza and family, aired first in 2020 in Taipei, offers us a nice view on Japanese society: both romanticized and realistic, with not-so-good characters but good technique.


Starting concretely after an introductory first time period of more than 20 minutes of screen time (!), the movie offers a quite amusing, if not weird contrast for depicting yakuza. While they are pretty much shown as heroes in the second time period of the movie, carefree and admired by the population, they become total outcasts in the third time period. This evolution from a romanticized view to a realistic one feels a bit too astounding: I'd guess that Fujii wanted first to show the classic romantic view on yakuza in said second period to enter into the usual trope of the genre, before moving on to the newer realistic approach of its third phase — an understandable choice, that could have been more well performed nonetheless.

That being said, it is really for that third period that the movie shines. Recently, due to a series of laws passed in the 2010s, the yakuza world has been waning in Japan. Despite this, the world of art and entertainment still prefers to continue showing us badass and cool yakuzas. The view captured here by Fujii is not only realistic: it is also real at all. Today, being a yakuza is not fun, nor enjoyable, nor even a concretely possible life to lead: as one would stop being one, one would face strong ostracism for a rough 5 years, to the extent of losing one's friends, peers and even family, while struggling for even getting a cellphone. The Japanese society, highly cohesive, doesn't play around when it comes to dealing with outcasts. For that point, I found that the movie used very neatly the fact it was changing time periods: thus for the last one in 2019 that showcased the appearance of social networks and their astounding speed and strength for spreading quickly a small piece of information like a picture.

For that matter, the movie also shows some other interesting societal aspects. The most obvious is how the police is corrupted to the core and tied with the yakuza and their affairs: it's not by chance that the yakuza were so deeply rooted in Japanese society before. More interestingly, the movie asks the real question of how to deal with former criminals after they have served their prison sentence and their reintegration into society.

As its title shows by mentioning the word twice in Japanese and in English, the movie especially insists on the theme of family: its main character hasn't gotten the opportunity to grow within one, and has been longing for it — even if that were to be yakuzas, even if it would mean losing them quickly. As such, the movie shows that one can long for loved ones, be them related by blood or not, and that at all costs.

Sadly, Fujii's characters aren't so well written, nor is their development. Because of this, we don't clearly understand how Yuka fell in love with Kenji, nor how far Shibasaki played a father figure for Kenji. This lack of character development is a pity, because it would have elevated the movie a lot. Next to that though, Fujii tells his narration through clues and not just simple lines of text (like for Kenji's dad's fate), which is quite pleasant.

Otherwise, the movie uses interesting techniques throughout, most notably for the camera and the image. The camera's motion differs depending on the scene: it can as much shake (maybe too much though), reflecting Kenji's mind wandering, or being steady when it wants to engraves a scene. There was a very nice scene where the camera, literally a passenger in a car, was accompanying the viewer all along. As for the image, its overall aspect changes depending on the period, gradually becoming forlorn, darker in color and light as we move further in time.


Despite its flaws, I personally loved this movie, and would recommend it for its portrayal both romantic and realistic of yakuza, and of Japanese society as a whole. If it can fail to grasp the viewer's interest in its first segment, the tragical turn it takes in the second segment is striking and definitely worth watching.

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It looks like animals where harmed in the making

It was an interesting film but upsetting about the animals harmed in this film. The film is about a mute woman who rents out little fishing platoons with a little house to sleep in on the top of the platoon.

The guests to this place are a mixture of fishermen who come there for a break, group of men who get the local prostituted over for a visit or criminals who hiding away from the law.

The woman who runs this, provides a service in the day time ferrying the guest, prostitutes and food around to the fishing platoons and prostituted her body in the nighttime.

She meets this man who came with his bird to kill himself, but due to an intervention by her he did not proceed. She seems to be obsessed with him quite from the start.

Possibly due to the lonely life she leads she is quite strange in her behavior, properly because she just sees the bad in people there constantly.

The film was well made and it shows more the lower and poorer end of Korea, which I find always quite interesting and less K-Drama like.

There are quite a few people who are loosing their life for various reasons in this.

Also the ML and FL have a tendency to hurt themself and each other in I would say unusual ways.

I would probably not rewatch this film as I did not like the animal cruelty, from kicking the dog, to drown a bird to just kill and make fish suffer unnecessarily.

But the acting was very good all around from all the cast.

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Guerrilla cinema and gay life in the Philippines

'Bathhouse', the highly provocative drama by Crisaldo Pablo ('Moreno', 2007), is a precursor of a cinema that has its dramatic epicenter in spas, saunas and public baths, where homosexual men congregate to relax, organize clandestine dates and having sex, such as the American 'Spa Night', directed in 2016 by Andrew Ahn; the Finnish 'A Moment in the Reeds', written and directed by Mikko Makela in 2017; the British 'Sauna the Dead: A Fairy Tale', directed in 2016 by Tom Frederic, the Spanish short film 'I come to look for you', written and directed in 2023 by José Provencio, among other films.
The Filipino director draws on the waters of 'Hamam: Il bagno turkish', the Italian film written and directed in 1997 by Ferzan Ozpetek, among others, to deliver an emotional 106-minute film about first love and leaving closet, which takes the viewer on a dark journey to a world where meeting the wrong man could mean paying the ultimate price.
After his first film, 'Doubt', in 2003, the Filipino filmmaker films the queer comedy-drama 'Bathhouse', which has a script he wrote.
With a tone typical of many Filipino gay films, although a little different given the style of the director (who plays Cris's father in the film), 'Bathhouse' revolves around the college student Rico, played with great sensitivity by Ray-An Dulay, a young man discovered by Crisaldo Pablo and introduced into the Philippine film industry with him, until he became her favorite actor, starring in his films 'Retaso' and 'Moreno', both from 2007, and 'Pitong Dalagita', 2006.
Ray-An Dulay also starred in other LGBT+ themed films directed by Joselito "Jay" Altarejo, another of the great filmmakers of Filipino queer cinema, such as 'Little Boy Big Boy', from 2009, 'Kambyo', from 2008, and 'The Game of Juan's Life', 2009.
In 'Bathhouse', as Rico awakens to his sexuality and accepts being homosexual, he finds himself drawn to the local gay bathhouse, where he longs to establish a connection with the regulars in the clandestine world of homosexual encounters.
At the gay club and sauna, Rico establishes a friendly relationship with Genesis, a role played by a magnificent Andoy Ranay, an actor who had already worked under Pablo in 'Doubt'.
Rico receives an exclusive invitation from a stranger about 15 years older, named Cris (Jet Alcantara, an actor who debuted in 1999 in the action film 'Bullet' and starred in 'Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa', by Peter Solis Nery), to meet that night at Klub Hombre, a private bar for gay men, also attended by heterosexuals looking to have sex with other men in the anonymous comfort of darkness.
In the darkness of the sauna, Rico can also glimpse bisexual and transsexual characters; people who, in the anonymity of darkness, seek to form a bond and a kinship, although they cannot later identify themselves in the light of day.
After having sex with Cris, the college nerd will fall intensely in love with the heartthrob, and accepts his habits as a gigolo or man-slut. All of this is set against the backdrop of the evolution of gay hookup culture in the Philippines, from meet-ups in parks to personal ads, to phone lines, to pagers.
In this sense, while Rico sings and plays the guitar in a park, he is interrupted by some religious boys. This sequence gives a very Wong Kar-Wai feel that I really liked.
At almost 20 years old, Rico has evolved from these primitive forms of human connection before the advent of cell phone services and gay dating apps, to a clandestine club where random sexual encounters occur, except our main character, Rico, looks for love, not sex, and gets a little lost along the way.
The reason for turning the corner is that the man she has fallen in love with is a jaded person who has combined all hopes of love and emotional connection with his nocturnal descent into the bar's orgy den.
When Rico claims that in the darkness of the sauna he can only see silhouettes of bodies around him, Cris responds: "Because we are all here for lust. Lust has no face, only flesh," to defend himself from the instant affection that the boy feels for him.
For his part, Rico will respond: "I don't want to have sex in the dark. It's for the same reason I hate movie theaters... It's very dark like you're having an illusion... When you're done, you leave the room." cinema and it's as if nothing had happened.
And Cris doesn't listen to him, and drags him into his world, a very dark world, but full of fun.
The chemistry between them is immediately hot and intense. In love with Cris, Rico rejects the other sauna customers who are looking for a night of adventure.
Once the fire cools, Rico believes he has found "Mr. Right", but finds himself on a roller coaster of love, jealousy and infidelity, while Cris continues his conquest of the baths.
Through the performances of exotic dancers on the club stage, the film pays tribute to or pioneers the Filipino queer film aesthetic that follows young people who work in the world of sibak, or in other words macho dancers, but identified with the figure of the hustler or prostitute, such as 'Sibak' ('Midnight Dancers'), 1994, by Mel Chionglo; 'Son of the Macho Dancer', 2021, by Joel Lamangan; 'Macho Dancer', 1988, by Lino Brocka, among other films.
A lot of nudity in this film, a lot of sex, and this, instead of detracting from it, supports the plot and the performances.
Rico is a very attractive character, but fortunately this is not the only thing that makes you invest in him.
'Bathhouse' also reminds me of 'Fuccbois', but in my opinion it is much better, having a more developed main character than Kokoy de Santos' Mico Ramos, Royce Cabrera's Ace Policarpo and Migs Villasis's Thor Villasis, protagonists of the Filipino LGBT+ themed film written and directed in 2019 by Eduardo Roy Jr., since in this case it presents a backstory of what Rico's life is like and how his sexuality and coming out to his environment and the people around him.
Likewise, it is commendable that the sexual scenes do not distract the viewer's attention from the dark and depressing situation in which Rico finds himself. Instead of telling a story in which the sexual scenes create a terrifying fantasy, which makes you want to escape in that situation, the explicit scenes cause the viewer to constantly worry about the fate of the characters, because you understand what is at stake for them.
Characterized by its low budget, the intervention of a small number of actors, mostly non-professionals; an unconventional production method, few resources in production, a script without great needs and expenses, few locations, predominating real places to the detriment of sets built for filming; filming where necessary without asking for the relevant permission, filming with reduced technical and artistic teams, 'Bathhouse' follows a raw and independent approach to the so-called guerrilla cinema, as Pablo did in his debut film 'Doubt', to show a somber story with a happy ending.
Heir to the guerrilla style, Cris Pablo has turned his cinema into an integral pillar of Filipino, Asian and world independent cinema, celebrated for its ingenuity, authenticity and unfiltered vision, to which he gives a documentary touch.
On this occasion, the filmmaker once again uses shocking images and strong characters to tell, through naked bodies, extreme sexual content, the squalor of the world of gay saunas and characters with an age difference, the story of gay life in the Philippines, while recreating an idea of how a Filipino bathhouse works, where emotions vibrate, love is made, love is lost and in the end true love is found.

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Morally ambegues to say the least, but an interesting story

Is this teh real life, is this just fantasy... Delusions can be lovely fluffy and bring som much joy that you may want to stay in them....

Staying in the dream is dangerous, living in a tough and broken reality is also dangerous...

This movie does a great job inviting the viewers in to the world of the delusional as well as the world of the messed up psychiatrist. Showing us a spectrum of psychological and psychiatrical issues and fears as well as different consequences. All done really well.

This is not a happy movie, nor is it really educational or what one would say a guide to how one should live ones life. It is not a story that will make your heart flutter but rather one that will make you feel uncomfortable in a good way. It is a small window that gives you bits and pieces to show the reasons behind the actions, The reasons for staying in the delusions, reasons to avoid rocking the boat.

It is a los a movie that shows that the so called sain arn't that perfect offering a palatte of not only sanity but also power relations in a beautiful parallel mix that at least in my case got my head to spin...

Basically saying it is complicated.

However the filming is very much HK...

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Visuals, Storytelling, Actors and Action

"Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms" is a Chinese fantasy film that draws inspiration from ancient mythology and folk legends, specifically the "Fengshen Yanyi" or "The Investiture of the Gods." Here are some aspects that were highlights for me.

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms certainly brings this ancient myth to life!

1. The Visual Effects fabulous - One of the major highlights was the impressive visual effects, which created a vivid and immersive world of ancient China filled with mystical creatures and gods. I feel that the CGI effects blended successfully with the live-action.

2. Storyline - The movie attempts to weave a complex narrative based on legendary tales. Not being familiar with the books or story I cannot comment on the adaptation. I have seen many Wuxia Fantasy dramas over the years, the story telling was good. The pace and coherence of the plot kept me watching.

3. Character Development - Character development of protagonists and antagonists brought the myth to life which made the film engaging.

4. Costume and Settings: Given that the roots of the story are in Chinese mythology, the film’s portrayal of cultural and historical elements made the film credible and immersive - I had to rewind to see the Sacrificial Pyer! Costumes throughout were eye catching.

5. Direction and Cinematography - The director’s vision and the cinematography, the creative camera angles, lighting, certainly brought this story alive stimulating my senses from start to finish.

6. Performances - The actors all executed their roles and characters very well, elevating the story from other Wuxia Fantasy dramas I have seen in the past.

7. Soundtrack - Music and sound effects complemented the epic scenes and scope of the film enhancing the dramatic moments and overall impact.

8. Pacing and Length - This was an epic fantasy, the pacing was just right giving me a good viewing experience.

I will definitely watch this again…

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