Reviews

A dive into Japan history with Oda Nobunaga

Honestly, this movie is a gem, and I understand that not many people may fully grasp historical and culture impact in this movie.
I think to fully appreciate this movie, you need a bit of context and background knowledge, and that excites my geeky side to dive into it all and let you all know.

If you've watched anime, J-drama, or movies, or read manga, you might have come across the name Oda Nobunaga. If you haven't, let me introduce you to one of the most significant figures in Japanese history.

Back in the early 1500s, Japan was fragmented into dozens of independent territories, each ruled by a daimyo (feudal lord). These families created clans and were often at war with one another, with each lord acting like an independent king. The Oda family was one of these clans, and Oda Nobunaga was the son of its daimyo. When his father passed away, Nobunaga became the new daimyo, facing considerable resistance from family members and rival clans. However, he eventually rose to power, earning the title "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven." His rule was noted for innovative military tactics, the promotion of free trade, civil government reforms, and the start of the Momoyama historical art period, but he was also known for the brutal suppression of those who resisted his demands.
Nobunaga had a dream: to unify Japan under one rule. He worked alongside two other daimyos towards this goal. His name holds great significance in Japan's history and its current state as a unified country. Culturally, he is often portrayed as an eccentric figure; in his youth, he was regarded as a delinquent, frequently wearing commoner clothes and mingling with peasants. Because of this, many manga and anime portray him as foolish or silly.

The movie follows Nobunaga’s journey from becoming a daimyo to the end of his life. Overall, it was a fascinating watch; historically, it was incredibly interesting. The film explores Nobunaga's relationship with his wife, which is not well-documented, making their portrayal in the movie even more engaging.

One aspect I appreciated was the alternative ending presented in the end. Historically, Nobunaga's fate remains uncertain as his body was never found, so the movie offers a hypothetical happy conclusion which i enjoyed.

Also, the movie features a stunning array of historically accurate costumes, with jaw dropping embroidery and decoration, especially in his palace, are breathtaking. It's a deep dive into Japanese culture, and if you enjoy that, I would certainly recommend this movie.

In terms of acting, the performances were excellent, and as a huge fan of Takuya Kimura, seeing him take on such an important role was thrilling. He remains incredibly handsome even after all these years and i am always happy to see his work and found him to potray my favorite verison of Oda Nobunag.

I highly suggest looking up more information about Oda Nobunaga. The movie does an excellent job of illustrating the different periods of Japanese history and how Western influences began to shape the country but for more lcarity you may want to dug deeper. While the movie is quite long, it's definitely worth the watch.

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My heart still cry for those kids

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a movie that has left such a lingering impact on me as this one did. Even though I watched it several years ago, the haunting images and emotions linger in my mind, and every few weeks, those children resurface in my thoughts.

I vividly recall the wave of sickness that washed over me as the credits rolled. The unsettling atmosphere lingered long after the film ended, and when I uncovered the true story that inspired the movie, it felt even more heart-wrenching than the fiction portrayed on screen. I found myself in tears, overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation, and I spent countless hours scouring the internet for articles, desperately searching for any information that might offer some reassurance about the well-being of those kids. My curiosity even led me to dig Google Japan for updates, as the story seemed to sink deeper into my soul, leaving me flat-out devastated.

This narrative is incredibly difficult to absorb, yet I firmly believe it’s one of those films that everyone needs to experience, no matter how challenging it may be, in order to bring understanding and awareness of the harsh realities it depicts. Just the thought of this film brings tears to my eyes, the entire time I was watching, I wished I could leap through the screen, wrap my arms around those children, and save them from their tragic fate.

I genuinely don’t think a simple box of tissues would be enough while watching this story; it’s the kind of experience that scars itself into your memory, casting a shadow that lingers long after the viewing. It will forever occupy a space in my mind, and I suspect it will do the same for anyone brave enough to watch it

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Love That Hits Harder Than Expected

Man in Love was honestly way better than i expected. I gave it a 10/10 bcz it was not just romance, it had pain, family emotions, regrets and those small moments that make u feel attached to the characters.
The movie starts simple but slowly gets so emotional. Hwang Jung Min was so good in his role, like u can actually feel his love, loneliness and the way he changes for the girl. His character looked rough outside but inside he was soft and caring. The chemistry felt natural and not fake at all.
There were many scenes where i felt really sad but also warm at the same time. The story shows that love is not always perfect and easy. Sometimes u love someone so much but life still does not go the way u want. That is what made this movie special for me.
The ending stayed in my mind for a long time. It was painful but beautiful too. I think this is one of those movies that makes u cry quietly and then keep thinking abt it later.
For me, this movie was full of heart and emotions. One of the best romantic korean movies i have watched. 10/10 for sure.

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Someone need to call the police

There are so many things wrong with this movie, and I don't care how much they tried to make it romantic; it was just sickening! The entire relationship and everything about it was completely off, and I don't understand the obsession with these kinds of topics.

The movie is an adaptation of a book, and the film adaptation is just straight up wrong. It is straight-up grooming her. Also the plot was messy, and all the flashbacks did not blend well. I also don’t understand this strange idea of turning it into a female fantasy when she was just a victim. I absolutely do not like this movie, the topic, or how everything is portrayed. It points to very wrong ideas, and even though I love the actors, this was a definite no for me.

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A right person at the wrong time is the wrong person.

This film was really fun to watch because it had a perfect blend of real life, romance and comedy. Oh My Girl is a Thai romantic comedy that showed the funny and sweet moments of young love and finding yourself through heartbreaks and its lessons. It is light and easy to watch aa the characters are easy to relate to. It has a good balance of funny and sad moments that kept me interested from start to finish.

Storyline:
The story is about the unexpected things that happen when the main characters meet and it is both fun and touching. The story unfolds in a way with funny moments that do not feel forced and sad moments that feel real. The screenplay does a job of mixing romance with everyday life making the characters feel real and relatable. I loved how the characters were shown in a way. The realistic approach of the character won me over. The subtle difference between like and love is very visible in FL, 2ML and ML. Love is supposed to heal, it shouldn't hurt.

Acting:
The actors did a job and the main leads had a nice chemistry on screen. They showed the innocence, awkwardness and excitement of love in a humorous way. The supporting characters added depth and humor to the story making it more interesting without taking from the main story.

Cinematography:
The director did a job with the film's colorful and fun cinematography which went well with the happy tone of the story. The pace of the film is well done, kept me on my toes to see what will happen to the characters. The use of locations and creative camera work made the film look nice making it more fun to watch.

Overall it was a fun film that let me escape into a world of young love and laughter. It is a film for people who like romantic comedies and stories, about growing up and feeling real emotions. The film is lovely because it is simple and shows emotions making it a memorable film.

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Unspoken Feelings and Hidden Connections

This movie explores themes of coming out, longing, and discovering love. It goes beyond dialogue and simple body language, capturing emotion through the way the characters move, touch, and look at each other. There is always a sense that something deeper lies beneath what is said and done.

At times, certain moments feel underexplained, as the story seems to jump ahead without fully showing why the characters behave the way they do. This can make parts of it slightly confusing. Still, the film feels grand and emotionally rich overall, making it an enjoyable watch. The dancing scenes, in particular, stand out and add a beautiful layer to the connection between the characters.

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This film was very obviously made with a shoestring budget. The most obvious is the audio quality. It seems they had issues with the original sound and had to dub most scenes later, and some of those dubs have a slight echo to them. Cuts between scenes are often hard and jarring, some supporting actors seem to have taken on the job just for the fun of it.

However, despite all of these technical issues, the film is worth a watch. Both main leads do a good job of portraying their characters -- I wish some of the newer BL productions had this high of acting quality -- and since this is a character driven story, that is the most important part for me.

Tum's story, who is the character we mostly follow in the beginning, is a classic coming-of-age story: He leaves the familiar shores of home and sets out into the wide world, where he meets people whose life is unusual for him, goes through rites of passage, falls in love, makes peace with his father, and finds what he wants in life.
Personally, I find Kim's story much more interesting -- he is a boy who is very lonely, who drifts over the island like a ghost. He is the one who embodies the feeling of "other" that makes us feel Not Seen. A supporting character puts it like this "มันคงจะดีนะ ถ้าใครสักคนเห็นเราอยู่ในสายตา" -- "It's probably good, right? When someone has us in their view." This desire to be seen, to be understood, is a very human trait, I think.

This could have been maybe made a little bit more obvious for the casual viewer; instead the writer tried to insert another metaphor into the story -- a metaphor which is related to wate: Pivotal scenes are often either in the rain or at the sea shore, and the girl who ties two storylines together is called น้ำ /náam/ "Water"), so I suppose this is intentional but I'm not sure what it means.
Together with the aspect that there were some scenes that didn't add much to the story, I think that the script could have been tightened slightly to make the theme clearer.

One last thing: The film is tagged with "BL", "gay", "young love" and "sexual awakening" on GagaOOLala, but it isn't, not really. In my view, it's less queer than "Confetti", and that one went over the head of many viewers, according to reactions on letterboxd. It's perfectly possible to view "Summer to Winter" as a film about a strong friendship between two young people.

As it is, it's a fine low-budget film, with some beautiful shots of Koh Tao, decent acting by the main leads, and a good, though not great, screenplay.


Was it good?
Overall, I think this was actually quite nice for an indie low-budget film.

Did I like it?
I would have liked it sightly better if the editing had been a bit gentler, but yes, I did.

Who would I recommend it to?
Not to people who only want to watch BLs. To those who love coming-of-age stories, and who like metaphors.

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THAT PERSON YOU'LL DIE FOR...

I have a very hard time reviewing movies because I'm a "series " girlie.
I like to explore a story, see characters development over time, so movies are a bit ostic to judge.

plot:
a boy and a girl , who met as kid, see each other again once adult. they fall in love but destiny is not always in our hands..or is it?

the plot is very simple and not that deep which means there isn't that much to talk about.

why do these candles work they they do? I don't know.
does it have something to do with his mother? we don't know.

that's what is good and bad about movies... you have to take everything at face value because there is no time to explore anything.

we speed run through their love story which is basically done in 2 minutes. I didn't feel a particular connection to them but overall we can still feel the love they have for each other.

there is no time to get attached to them as people so I just focused on something universal: the pain of losing your loved one.

you enjoy the movie not because of what is happening TO THEM but because of WHAT is happening to them.

you still feel the fear, the urgency , the worry and the pain even though, unlike other reviewers , I didn't end up crying.

I didn't quite like that the FL tried to contact the ml after her wish because that would basically break the pact you made with destiny.

I think it would have added more pathos If she just stopped looking for him.

the ending is happy because it seems that fate is letting them finally rekindle.

the acting was good overall, the tone of the movie felt right.

definitely an easy watch but don't expect nothing devastating.

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heartwarming slice of life with a Zombie twist

I read this as a Webtoon as it originally was being published, so imagine my surprise when they announced it as a film. The film stays true to the source material and keeps the humour. I had initially thought that they wouldn't be able to keep some of the funny moments but surprisingly they gave the same energy and vibe. The show is a softer Zombie slice of life so the only hard things to get through was the end, luckily i was prepared. Its heartwarming but at the same time sad. Get ready for a stellar cast that makes the whole film be cute heartwarming and an overall enjoyable watch.

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Perfect high School Gl

I love this short film sm. It's fairly realistic portrayal of highschool couples. The ending got me ugly sobbing. I really loved them sm😭😭😭 the only complaint I have is that it's short. But even so I feel like it was perfect for this show. Short and sweet while it lasted just like the couples, with a bitter aftertaste.

This show portrays how mistreatment of queer couples/ppl and could be also trying to portray
misogyny in society which also interlinks w the mistreatment of queer individuals (this is just my thoughts on it, I tend to overthink stuff often maybe this was not even a point in the show but I feel like there are hints to it in the show)

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Stop comparing and judging before it's completed!

I have watched 13 espisodes and find them to be entertaining and fast paced. I find the actors all did a good job. I find that the story lines can definitely stand alone and you really don't have to watch Princess Agent to understand this series. I disagree with people knocking the FL because she is young. I think she did a great job so far and it isn't fair to compare her to others. I think, so far, this series is just as good as PA. I watched PA just before the release of Rebirth so it is very fresh in my mind and I honestly don't think Rebirth as a production and it's actors are not lacking anything if people insist on comparing. I also think there's a lot more eye candy in Rebirth, (both male n female)and my only complaint so far is not seeing more /enough of
Yan Xun! 😂🤩 Sorry, but he's my fave of the 2 ML in the story and though he's obsessed and possessed here, I still root for him 😂 Yan Xun's character was also my fave in PA (and I think ZKL makes a cuter Yan Xun).

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I really loved their pairing, their chemistry is just amazing ❤️

This movie truly touched my heart ❤️ The story was beautiful, emotional, and engaging from start to finish. The acting was absolutely amazing, especially the main leads—they brought their characters to life so perfectly.
Every scene felt meaningful, and the chemistry between the leads was just magical ✨ The music and visuals made the experience even more special. I didn’t feel bored for a single moment.
This is definitely one of my favorite movies, and I would love to watch it again. Highly recommended to everyone who loves emotional and meaningful stories 💖

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