Reviews

Who says zombie movies can't be fun?

The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale is probably the kind of movie that matches my slightly questionable sense of humor because I laughed way more than I expected. The whole premise is ridiculous in the best way possible. A zombie showing up and somehow turning into a business opportunity? Honestly, the absurdity alone already sets the tone that this movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s exactly why it works.

Normally I’m the type to nitpick things like “that’s not how zombies work,” but this time I just threw that logic out the window. It’s fiction anyway, so why not let the creators have fun with their own interpretation of what a zombie can be? Instead of being purely horror or survival chaos, the story leans into comedy while still keeping a surprisingly warm heart at the center.

By the end, it wraps things up in a really satisfying and feel good way. It’s funny, a little ridiculous, and oddly heartwarming all at once. If you’re looking for something light that doesn’t require too much brain power but still leaves you smiling, this one is definitely a fun watch.

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Pathos and Passion

This isn’t a BL; it’s a gay film, gritty passionate and political, touching upon the real grim choices some gay men face, choices the working poor face and the sometimes crushing contradictory privilege wealthy gay men labor under. Lee Young Hoon delivered a stellar performance deserving greater recognition than his career has drawn these many years past. Admittedly melodramatic the climactic ending seems all the more comprehensible in view of the very real trials gay men have faced forever and particularly South Korean men at the time this film was made. If you’re looking for a fluffy formulaic BL about an elite boys school seme and uke, this ain’t it. If you want a convincing facsimile of real tears, passion and redemption, as a cinematic mirror held up to life can hope to reflect No Regret has few rivals.

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Thank you, ORV! Praying for an actual Netflix release soon...

What's up with the countless accounts created on the first day it was released in Korea to give 1/10 reviews??? I've read so much of what they didn't like back then and when I watched it, I was stunned by how good it was and how twisted some of these claims were.

I loved Dokja’s personality in the movie, so it annoyed me to see people saying the original version is “cooler.” The characters and their stories might not be the same, and sure, they don’t use firearms in the original—but so what? The movie was incredible and diverse as it was (and honestly, I’ll take a sniper over yet another sword any day). The overall storyline stayed the same according to a friend (yes fans who loved it exist, they are just not the noisy crowd), and the CGI is insane, which they claimed to be bad when I've never seen something that good. Many of them either didn't watch it or in a bad quality, because there is literally no way you can say that. I downloaded it in 1080p so it was perfect.

On top of that, the entire cast was amazing. Their performances were genuinely strong, yet the criticism started the moment the actors were announced. At that point, it feels less like criticism and more like bias.

People also forget that the novel is huge. You can’t adapt 2,000 pages to the screen just like that—there are limits. Honestly, it’s better if the adaptation is different because it offers a new perspective, and this is only the first movie out of five. It would be such an amazing journey if the live-action were to continue as planned.

The video-game-like elements and style (even first-person angles), the psychology, the camaraderie, the concept of rewriting the ending you didn't like (and why), the whole “this character wasn’t important and I changed that” mindset—at what point was any of that bad?
And the final fight? Pure adrenaline.

I've rarely had so much fun and it had strong emotional parts too. This was a dream come true for me (especially as an SAO fan, but it also reminded me of As the Gods Will). Loved how it was cosmology mixed with Korean mythology, haha.
P.S. My favorite characters were Dokja, Sangah (she was so cute and I love healers/supports), Jihye (always been a fan of snipers) and Bihyung the Streamer Dokkaebi.

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Red Rose and Harmonica

I Love You to the Moon and Back is about a long-distance married couple who both want to visit each other for the Mid-Autumn Festival and plan to surprise one another, only to end up crossing paths and missing each other.

At first, I thought it would be a melancholic romance, but surprisingly it has a some comedic moments too, so it's not a heavy watch at all. Overall, the script, acting, and directing are good. I have no major complaints except that some parts feel a bit boring. I absolutely love the ending, it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time, oh how come some of red rose petals and broken harmonica make me in tears.

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The Puzzle Isn't Complete

Go Brother! follows the story of Shi Miao and her "annoying" older brother, Shi Fen. At her birthday party, Shi Miao makes a wish for her brother to disappear from her and unfortunately, the universe granted her wish and make Shi Fen become the older brother of Miao Miao, Shi Miao's friend instead.

It has the kind of good comedic style that I really enjoy. Everything feels fun right from the very first minute. The chemistry between Zhang Zifeng (as Shi Miao) and Peng Yuchang (as Shi Fen) as siblings is really great and becomes the highlight of the movie. Zhao Jinmai as Miao Miao is cute too. The story is also quite good. It's has balance of the comedy and heartwarming moment.

Overall, it's a nice watch for killing time.

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Suprisingly Enjoyable and No Boring Moments

Cry Me a Sad River is about a Yi Yao who lives in poverty with her abusive mother, shares a close childhood bond with her neighbor and classmate Qi Ming, but everything spirals when a new transfer student, Tang Xiaomi, arrives and triggers rumors and jealousy. These rumors turn into cruel and relentless bullying that destroys Yi Yao's life and unfortunately leading to some tragic consequences.

Surprisingly, it's such an enjoyable watch with no boring moments, despite the overall vibe feels gloomy and heavy. The directing is amazing, with some really beautiful shots. The acting is incredible, and the story is good overall, but some plot events happen really fast, so I couldn't fully feel the depth of the story and characters.

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"Why are you trying to kill me?"

Legend of the Bat teamed up Ti Lung, director Chor Yuen, and Gu Long’s source material once again. Typical of these films, there was a huge cast list, betrayals, and hidden identities galore. The fights took place on the ancient version of yachts, dungeons, and of course, a villain’s lair fit for a drama queen.

Famous swordsmen Chu Liu Hsiang and Yi Tien Hung come across a massacre of heroes on their trip. One thing leads to another and Chu is headed to Bat Island to help out a couple who tried to murder him. Yi ends up on the boat to Bat Island for his own professional reasons. They are joined by others who have their own incentives for going to a place where anything is for sale. On their journey, they face death repeatedly with some not escaping the Grim Reaper’s scythe.

Legend of the Bat was a sequel to Clans of Intrigue. If there is one thing to be sure of in these loosely related films, the cast will be bloated and the bodies will stack high. You know to brace yourself for numerous characters when the actors' names pop up on the screen as everyone is introduced. Characters revealed their courage and integrity, while others revealed their nefarious motives. There were actually a couple of touching moments of personal sacrifice, even if the reasons stretched the boundaries of believability. Like a good soap opera, several characters came back from the dead.

Ti Lung was back as the fan carrying hero. Ling Yun yet again donned his big hat and moral ambiguity. Yueh Hua and Ching Li played a devoted married couple. Ching Miao took on two completely different characters who were unrelated hoping the audience wouldn’t notice. This time Yuen Wah had a fairly significant role as a loyal bodyguard which I was happy to see. Many of the same actors and stuntmen from previous films were in this film as well though as different characters.

Tang Chia and Huang Pei Chih designed fast, creative fight scenes for the time. Whether on floating houses, yachts, or in the villain’s lair, the swords flashed and the blood flowed. The heroes had to make their way through caves filled with deadly traps with only each other to rely on…and their trusty secret weapons.

Legend of the Bat was wonderfully convoluted with betrayals, family secrets, revenge, unusual characters, and elaborate traps. Billionaires would envy the floating palaces where murder and mayhem took place, minus the murder and mayhem, I guess. Who knows what happens on those yachts. In the previous film in this collection, there were daddy issues. This time around grown-ass children had mommy issues. Instead of murder and crime, couldn’t these people go in together and ask for a discount on group therapy? As always, rated on a curve.

5 March 2026
Mammal note: No bats in the film
Trigger warnings: A rather long scene of four nude “dead” women. Suicide and a person suicided.

Tiny spoilerish comment: The lightbulb gimmick near the end was hilarious!

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A story with no heroes?

I watched this without any background of it as I just stumbled upon it on Daily Motion. The scenes reeled me pretty quickly not to mention the handsome male lead that I was shocked to find out is 45. I knew I was ready for some great acting and fighting scenes only to be left disappointed with the ending, like what was that? My hero's not a hero? I was drawn in and also drawn out? This is definitely not your typical story line. I was rooting all the way for my happy ending. So let's just say I'm still waiting to see what the moral of the story is. The acting is up to par. Actors did the best they could with the script given. I give this a high score because quite frankly, you will watch it til the end. And if that was the agenda, mission accomplished. There was a glimmer of hope with humming of the song, row row row your boat at the end. Maybe that sums it up. Maybe the title should have been, My Stranger Hero 😌

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"and if you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

It’s definitely not a film for everyone, but it expressed something I deeply relate to and that was cathartic for me. Anyone who dismisses it as merely weird or perverted is missing how profound it truly is. It touches on everything — from the struggles of adolescence and mental health to a subtle critique of Japanese society with the lack of mental health support, stigma, detached overworking parents, etc. It’s raw, powerful, and honest. The opening line even states it’s meant for those who have suffered through puberty, which sets the tone perfectly. Of course, Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal is part of the film.

The symbolism is brilliant — I especially loved the “other side” theme. It’s probably this impactful because it condenses a massive, masterful manga into just two hours, making the experience intense and overwhelming in the best way. Honestly, this movie found me rather than the other way around.

My personal highlight was Takao's actor — his performance resonated with me like no one else’s could. And the cinematography? Absolutely stunning — every frame was thoughtful, beautiful, and full of meaning.

Links -
Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4y74UaBIDA
FMVs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVlEiYP-9el67fqgK0z9jHvdN3-WXNU2b

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Excellent Acting but full of Plot holes and stupid decisions by an Elite

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75-8.0
Objective Rating: 7.5

I was lucky enough to watch this movie at the theater, which probably increases the suspense and excitement. As I finished watching the movie, I had one big question and one production value complaint. But as I thought more about the movie and read some other comments, there are more and more plotholes.

The acting of the cast is this movie’s strongest point. I am already a big fan of Zhu Yi Long and never really question his acting performance. Jackson Yee acts in more movies than dramas, but his acting is just as good and more subtle than Zhu Yi Long’s more expressive and explosive acting. Rounding up the cast are the veterans Song Jia and Lei Jia Yin, and supporting roles in Yang Mi, Liu Shi Shi and Lin Bo Yang.

If I don’t use my brain much, this movie is full of action, suspense and emotional outbursts. With great acting, time went by really fast. I was engaged and followed along the story, tried to see who the mole was and then looked forward to the decisions made and the ending of the mole.

But once I start to use my brain, then things don’t act up. Why did the mole finally act on being the spy and do bad things? Yes, it might be a scandal since he used his genitals instead of his brain. But that should not force him to act on continuing being that spy. He actually hasn’t done anything horrible yet when he figured out he was set up in the beginning. For someone who is an elite, the dumb decisions made by him are incomprehensible. You knew who set you up, yet you continue to protect her (and think with your genitals) instead of reporting everything to your supervisors to save your ass. Where is his brain??

Women in this drama are resorted to side characters. Yang Mi might have a slightly bigger role. She’s pretty and sexy, and was selling her sex appeal in a way. Liu Shi Shi has a much smaller role. All she did was cry. What a waste of talent. Even Song Jia as the female lead has a lot less screen time than the two male leads. She also didn’t do much aside from a few conversations here and there. Lin Bo Yang disappeared after the initial 10-15 minutes of the movie.

My initial production complaint is the inconsistency of the depiction of this future world. Aside from some fancy drones, fast technology in locating criminals, fancy security cameras, the general feel of this world does not seem very futuristic. The taxis look like regular slow pokes. The cop cars look like regular cars these days. Even when one of the male leads is stalking the other one, it was done in such a low-tech way. Disguise is putting on a wig, mask and changing clothes. Leaving cell phones wrapped in plastic inside trash bins everywhere is child’s play. I guess the janitors don’t really do a good job with emptying trash linings.

To end on a positive note, the OST is great. The songs are appropriate and complement the events on screen. The songs all have a very melancholy sound to it but beautiful.

If it’s not for the excellent acting and the interesting suspense and cat-and-mouse chase (and when I didn’t use my brain much at the theater), I would have rated this movie a little lower. But I was entertained throughout and did find the movie “fun” when I came out of the theater. Therefore, I am giving this an 7.75, rounding up to 8.0. I just wish the script was better and the plot holes are smaller.



Completed: 3/5/2026 Review #672

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It’s not meant to make you feel good. It’s meant to make you feel everything.

All About Lily Chou-Chou is the kind of movie that was often made in the early 2000s;the type that completely messes with your brain and leaves you thinking, *“That was crazy… but also genius.”*
It’s not an easy watch. The film dives into different layers of human nature in very raw and unfiltered ways. At times it’s shocking, uncomfortable, and even difficult to sit through. But that intensity is exactly what makes it powerful.

Trying to explain the plot is actually pretty complicated. There are many characters, many events, and a lot of “why” behind what happens. The story moves through different perspectives and moments, but somehow everything connects through Lily Chou-Chou and the music that surrounds her.

Honestly, it’s the kind of film you just have to experience for yourself. Watching it felt like going on a strange and emotional journey. It’s not a happy story at all in fact, it can feel quite heavy and overwhelming. But at the same time, it’s brilliant.
It’s one of those movies that you admire for its creativity and boldness, even though it leaves you feeling a little horrible afterward. And maybe that’s exactly the point.

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Poetic Justice, No Tears for the Cruel

A heavy and honest film that exposes bullies as capable of real cruelty, showing how they feel no remorse even after their first victim dies.

It raises a brutal question: why is a bully’s death treated as more tragic than the life they already destroyed?

The system excuses bullying but punishes retaliation, overlooking the original violence while condemning the response, as if justice only matters when victims take it into their own hands.

A bully dying through the same violence she once inflicted is disturbingly poetic, a pure case of you get what you give, and I have zero sympathy for anyone who intentionally harms others in any form.

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