A splatter slasher with a bit more cinematic substance that I expected.
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie many years ago on a dvd for another movie I owned and I always thought it was one of those straight to video nasty types. (The movie is fairly well known for one scene in the opening.) I assumed it wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to watch, but what always stayed with me was the music in the trailer and years later after being on an 80s Japanese media kick, I came back to this movie. and I'm glad I did. It is a far more polished movie than I assumed from the trailer and has some real substance in production values. All that said, it is not for the squeamish either.The premise involves the lead reporter investigating the source of a disturbing video tape in hopes of getting a good scoop for her failing TV show and she is one of the better leads in a horror movie I've seen. The lead actress was just fantastic. I loved her makeup and wardrobe and she just dominated the screen with charisma. I could watch her all day she just exudes this 80s coolness. I also liked that she was a strong lead and made very smart logical choices in the context of being in a horror story. (Rare for this era). In fairness the majority of the cast reacted with a realistic and natural responses too. I liked this sort of more grounded sensible writing,
The other real star of this movie though was production. The soundtrack was fantastic and if you like 1980s vibes this is a big one. The sense of sadness and dread in some parts and tension in others was really well captures. I don't think I've noticed or thought about a horror track this much since Halloween. The film also uses some really nice camera shots. I'm not a film student but even I was noticing "what an interesting shot this is." I particularly remember one long wide shot filmed on the rooftops, it really wasn't what I was expecting from this genre.
The movie is not perfect though and without saying too much, personally I think the story holds it back somewhat from being up there with some of the classic greats of the genre. In the end it was a bit silly and is probably better when it's not analyzed too much. It's by no means terrible though and if you can suspend your disbelief and just come along for the ride, its a very functional and satisfying horror movie. I had a good time and would watch again.
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Terrible, pointless adaptation that is painfully acted.
A movie in 3 parts. I gather this was originally 3 short episodes spliced together to make a movie and it shows. There's very little coherence or point in the 3 stories being together as they don't come together at all. Just 3 seperate incidents involving the girl called Tomie. The first story set in high school has some of the worst acting I've in a long time. I actually stopped watching the movie after this story because it was dreadful and returned to it later just to say I finished it.The actress playing Tomie gives a 2 note performance that is either high voiced cute and annoying or mocking snarly but still annoying with little variation. She reminds me of a cliche hostess faking it in some bad tv drama. I gather the actress was a gravure idol so can't really expect much given the presumed target audience of the movie. But I just didn't buy why any men would like her that much or find her appealing (other than looks?). Her dialogue was very silly and lacked any of the nuance or subtle persuasion and manipulation from the superior original movie. Essentially she is just a caricature and we watch the same premise play out three times. Tomie seduces a man very easily and bad stuff happens.
The move is hammy, camp and silly and mostly overacted. If you like that sort of thing it might appeal for a laugh, and her "seductive" dance in the 2nd story gave me some laughs, but it is very much a straight to video forgettable romp. It's not even gory enough to be entertaining in that way either. It's kinda just sterile and very very pedestrian. Do yourself a favor and watch the far better theatrical movie instead.
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Slow burning, mood horror that surprised my expectations.
Much better I was expecting. I knew the premise and that it was a manga adaptation with many many sequels (of presumably diminishing returns in quality). I already had a bias that this was going to be a very silly horror with cheap thrills but actually I thought it was rather arty and slow in pace. Perhaps that may turn of some but for me it was a real mood movie. The soundtrack was really wonderful and unnerving and eerie with a sense of foreboding and melancholy as the film became progressively darker.If you're looking for a scary or gory horror flick then you will be disappointed. I think that was where the series went in later installments. Instead this movie is a creepy, slow burning movie about manipulation, obsession, lust and control. I also think the choice to keep Tomie very downplayed and not on screen for a large part of the movie was really smart. It created alot of tension and mystery about the character and even when she is in shot she is often obscured from view. Kanno Miho is excellently cast as Tomie and after watching two other actresses play her since this movie, she has not been beaten. To be honest I'd say the movie is worth it alone for anyone who is a fan of her.
Recommend.
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"또 다시 돌아갈래!"
🔸I instantly recognized that cold agony described incredibly well in the book "Human Acts" by Han Kang. In my opinion, you won't get nearly as much if you come watch this movie unprepared, not having learned at least what the Gwangju Uprising was and what the deepest scar it left on the Korean society. From the logline I expected a highly personal story of a man traumatized by the Uprising. (The main character is both mentally and physically traumatized here.) But, just as always in Korean cinema, I got the story deeply rooted in societal moods and national fate.🔸️You simply cannot tackle the theme of that trauma if you're afraid to descend into the blood and shit it brought to the people. Lee Chang Dong isn't. Nobody is justifying Yeong Ho here. It's a very shallow perspective to express in the comments. The director just shows that his life could be different if he wasn't caught up in that massive tornado. There are hundreds and thousands of those like Yeong Ho. The Massacre and political repression destroyed the lives of those who seemed braver and stronger than him.
This is the type of movie that gets better on the rewatch when you know the context. Sure as hell I'm gonna rewatch it, and I intend to pay more attention to all the elements of this piercing ensemble.
Fantastic score. Amazing finding with the train. The actress Kim Yeo Jin from Vincenzo is so young here. I love it for her that her career is good.
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1"Life itself has its own life"
If you watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and thought it was overly simplified and spoon-fed its audience, Leonor Will Never Die might be the reality tripping, mind bending movie you want as long as you don’t mind a bare bones budget. Director Martika Ramirez broke the fourth wall and the 5th dimension.Leonor worked in the movie industry until tragedy struck. Now ten years later, she and her son Rudy barely speak to each other and literally can’t keep the lights on in the house. She decides to dust off an old script and finish it hoping to help pay the bills. Before she can wrap the story up she’s hit in the head by a flying television and sent into a coma. She enters the world of her script and discovers the traumas she’s put her characters through.
The above paragraph sounds similar to other “entered a make-believe world” dramas and films we’ve all seen. Then Ramirez added a ghost that everyone could see, a pregnant man, and strange criss-crossings of realities. She even threw in a song and dance number. I’m not familiar with 1970’s-80’s Filipino action flicks but Leonor’s re-enacted film looked much like old Hong Kong films from the same time with the same chicka-bow-wow music.
I have no idea if Ramirez wrote this to speak about some deeper social commentary. Should we stop extolling violence to resolve problems, poor Ronwaldo was tortured by Leonora’s writing. Was the story a way for Leonor to work through her grief? I spent most of my time trying to figure out what was going on as the characters and story jumped from one reality to the next. At one point, when Leonora disappeared, the doctor told her son to not bother looking for her. She’d seen this kind of bizarre thing before when people needed to finish their stories. The doc looked at the distraught son as if to say, “Writers, am I right?” Martika Ramirez used comedy, violence, family, and supernatural occurrences to take a woman near the end of her life on a trip that could be described as a “dream within a dream*”--- especially if she’d had spicy food and cold medicine mixed with alcohol before bed.
24 August 2024
*Princess Bride quote and/or Edgar Allen Poe
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The journey
A great story with a real great message about humanity as it shows how can a normal guy who has basic needs such as money turn into a hero and how much people can do for each other even if they have never meet before as all that doesn't matter when it comes to save others people life and their freedomAnd i have to say big up to the acting cast that helped delivering the message with a great emotionally acting.
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If only every plot hole was filled and packaged interestingly enough, both from each character, and their relationships. It could have been much more interesting.
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Low budget with cheap jump scares.
Finally got to watching the much lauded Phobia for the first time, 15 years after its initial release.When I think of Thai horror classics of the 2000s, I instantly think of Shutter, which still holds up till this day. Pee Chong Air was another I recently discovered, which was worthy of being talked about in the same breath as Shutter.
Phobia, I can't say the same for. With how popular this movie was, I was not expecting it to have this low of a budget.
Released in 2008, the shift into CG in horror films has already started, and Phobia definitely did not make use of it well.
The practical effects they used also looked cheap, save for the end of the second story.
With what looked like a moving JPEG, pink blood and skeletons that were made with freeware, I cannot recommend this movie to anyone, let alone call it one of the greatest Thai horror flicks.
As someone that appreciates and prefers practical effects in horror films, and rolls his eyes at cheap jump scares, this movie is not for me.
And it made 85 million baht according to Wiki. Higher ups involved had to be laughing to the bank.
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Creepy cautionary tale about smartphone power, quite thrilling despite some scenario flaws
I liked a lot this thriller about a woman stalked through her smartphone. It is clearly a creepy cautionary tale about the power that have smartphone upon the life of most people and how dangerous it is when somebody get a hold on your personal data and what you do on internet.The premise is really interesting and I wish they would have taken the societal criticism even deeper. It remains pretty on surface of what it is trying to say about society as the scenario put the focus much more on the villain than on the social dynamics. I loved the pacing of the story in its first half, you can feel the anxiety crippling as the heroine gets deeper into the trap set for her. However, I think the second half of the story could have benefited from a better rhythm. It was thrilling but some actions taken by the characters lacked logic.
I found the acting solid: especially Yim Si Wan who does a really commendable job carrying the plot. I'm pretty sure that with a less gifted actor, the scenario would have felt much flatter. He brought a huge range of emotions to his part, making the character he played complex and multi-layered despite the scenario being quite open and vague regarding his motivations. It is my first time watching him in a main role and I will be for sure digging into his filmography for more. Similarly, I'm quite impressed by Chun Woo Hee acting. I thought she acted beyond what the scenario was offering her.
The production was good. I particularly enjoyed the opening sequence with the phone being the window into the life of the heroine. It was super efficient into conveying the point of the movie. The music did not left a lasting impression on me but was appropriate for the angsty thematic.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thriller supported by good acting. It is pretty horrific in some way as it is centered around a very prominent feature in most humans modern life: the smartphones. It is a quite violent movie, so be mindful if you have any trigger.
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1Must watch film!
"The Paradise of Thorns" is a powerful depiction of Thai society's deep-seated issues, with a particular focus on marriage inequality. The film excels in its storytelling, blending intense drama with cultural commentary. The acting is superb, bringing the characters' struggles and emotions to life in a way that feels both genuine and compelling. Coupled with some of the best cinematography in recent Thai cinema, the film creates a visually stunning yet thought-provoking experience. The film's original soundtrack beautifully complements the emotional depth of the story, enhancing the overall impact of the narrative. It's an exceptional piece of filmmaking that resonates on multiple levels, making it the best Thai film for me.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Maybe it's for the best that this is hard to find.
I've been looking for a way to watch this movie for months, being a fan of Xu Ruohan. I finally found it on YouTube, albeit with no English subtitles. That said, I have 90% comprehension of spoken Mandarin and have watched raws before so I was excited to finally find a way to watch this movie.Well. I am no longer excited.
The scant handful of positives:
- Xu Ruohan. I still love her. She's still cute and talented and I'm still looking forward to seeing much more from her.
- The music was decent.
- The cinematography was adequate, no complaints.
Now for the trash fire that's everything else, starting with a plot summary because who the hell thought this plot was a good idea:
The overarching moral of this story is missing your chance and not taking what you have for granted. This is fine, but we start with our FL, Xia Mo literally explaining how she tossed the ML, Chu Qiu, into the friend zone and left him there. I think we're supposed to take away that she's fatherless and fears losing her best friend, but mostly she just acts bossy in the high school arc at the beginning and has a lot of words about "people say men and women can't be best friends but we prove them wrong." Bold words from a romance that is telegraphed immediately, plot. Way to show that men and women really can't be just friends.
They add a friend, their buddy Zhang Tian Hao, who then proceeds to spend the rest of his screentime doing nothing but living for his two friends and eventually using his own wedding to set them up (????). I mean, what a friend, but also he literally does nothing but advanced plot points which is some intensely shallow characterization.
As the three of them look towards college, Xia Mo literally takes the other twos college goals and writes in the college she's going to. She then declares, "Chu Qiu is sticking with my forever. Which means Hao is too." Yup, that's the set up.
Off they go to college and the main plot point here is that, on a dare from Hao, Xia Mo and Chu Qiu try to sleep with their boyfriend and girlfriend respectively, winner gets to decide their upcoming trip. And the resolution of that was.... They both decided not to go through with it and she runs over to his room at the hotel where he's almost naked and blurts out that she's pregnant. His girlfriend immediately dumps him and slaps him. Her boyfriend, who she has tied up and left, finds them in the hall and assumes she's been cheating on him so he breaks up with her and slaps Chu Qiu. Then the two "best friends" look at each other and laugh. I'm not sure if this was a great way to show that they're "best friends through thick and thin" and I really feel for their partners who were lied to and tossed away for this joke of a dare.
At the camping trip they end up going on (Hao wins since they both lost and choose camping), Xia Mo gets really drunk and tells Chu Qiu her four big wishes in life.
So now we're on to adulthood and the bulk of the movie.
On Xia Mo's way to her big important (first?) interview, she bumps older hot CEO type Wei Sidong's Bentley with her scooter because she was distracted. This is our 2ML who then creepily chases Xia Mo with such promises as, "if you become my girlfriend you won't owe me this huge debt for the car repair." Classy. She repeatedly turns him down but ends up mightily entangled because he has her working for him (selling wine) to pay her debt.
Meanwhile our ML, who has absolutely no personality at this point other than being FL's ride or die bestie, watches sadly from the sidelines as the creep seems to be wearing Xia Mo down and it seems inevitable that she'll give in (though the audience sees that she keeps saying no). His response to this is to start fulfilling her Four Big Wishes she told him while drunk in college.
He feeds her steak at the beach (it was a homemade dinner, near a pool and their long suffering plot advancing buddy Hao was the server). Then he confesses to her with a heart made of candles. She turns him down, saying it's impossible. I think because they're friends was the excuse but I wasn't trying too hard to understand this part because I was annoyed.
To deal with his heartbreak, he goes to a club with plot device Hao and then drinks alcohol.... Which he's allergic to and can give him anaphylactic shock. A cute girl (new plot device) kisses him/hits on him and he collapses on the floor due to his allergic reaction.
Xia Mo meets him at the hospital and calls him an idiot (true) but then get awkward with new plot device girl shows up. Xia Mo vehemently denies that she's Chu Qiu's girlfriend so new plot device girl starts taking video of her taking responsibility/dibs for the ML. Good job plot, totally not contrived.
Chu Qiu goes to new plot device girl's performance. Then, callback to a really forced plot point early on where Xia Mo's mom has been day trading stocks and hmmm wonder why that was a plot point, oh because now she and her mom are in a lot of debt and Chu Qiu comes running with flowers. Oh but creepy CEO foil shows up first (who could have called this) and he's already paid off all her debts, no problem (yeah I don't know how he found out either). She sobs in relief and he hugs her. Oh and guess who sees it from the other side of the alley. Our ML, duh.
CEO Wei gifts Xia Mo a big surprise: her own fashion studio! Free of charge! All yours, girl! Knock yourself out! Oh but how did he know exactly what her dream was and designed it exactly the way she loves? He's cagey but no sh** Sherlock, Chu Qiu told him all of it and made the designs. Chu Qiu apparently has gone off the grid to find himself or something and no one can get in touch with him. But before he does, he tells his love rival (who he has already decided he lost to) about Xia Mo's third wish: her dream of having her own fashion studio. Everyone clap.
Xia Mo's response is to.... Tell the plot device girl who has had all of five minutes of screen time everything she knows about Chu Qiu's likes and dislikes and tells her to take good care of him (???).
Fast forward 3 years and the movie is almost over (okay now actually clap). Buddy Hao is getting married but why is Xia Mo also suspiciously dressed up in a dress that looks like bridal wear? The voiceover talks about how she's doing well and has a successful career as a fashion designer now and "even Hao is getting married." She walks into the reception/wedding hall and suddenly she is being attacked by slow falling feathers. Oh it turns out that's her fourth wish, to walk down the aisle to her husband getting married while being rained on by white feathers. So of course waiting at the end for her is Chu Qiu. Who has been MIA for 3 years until he could come crash his friend's wedding and make it about him and his "bestie." They look at each other misty eyed and the guests clap (while the background has the names of the actual bride and groom but we know how much they matter here). The end.
I don't have a whole lot to add. Because that was the plot. I'm sorry Xu Ruohan, I hope you get better projects.
One star for XRH, one star for being watchable enough that I didn't just drop it, one star for the music and cinematography, and half a star for the rest of the cast for trying.
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Condensed Version of TLTWTMOPB
The one thing I found jarring about this film version of TLTWTMOPB, or Eternal Love, is that the story begins sort of in the middle, much like the novel, and fills in the blanks in flashbacks. It wasn't too bad in the sense that there was less characters and subplots to worry about, but it remains a little on the superficial side because it doesn't delve too deeply into that sweeping love story and exemplary acting in the drama version.If you want a short version of this story then this is the one to watch. Gone are the extra storylines and secondary love characters that made the drama version so long, but with it the sweeping romance that kept us glued to our seats and the spark that made us root for them as well.
Yang Yang is very easy on the eyes and captures the magnetism of Ye Hua, but he is not directed in such a way as to bring out those inner emotions that drove Ye Hua to the great lengths he went for Bai Qian. He is almost, but not quite.
Chrystal Liu is beautiful, but again, I don' think the stakes are high enough in the performances to really make us care for this couple as we should. I feel that Li Chun's part as the evil Su Jin, is depthless and lacks the layers you see in the drama version, which was spectacularly played by Maggie Huang.
The CGI is great and the battle scenes are epic. The costumes were ugly as sin, particularly the wedding dress.
It's difficult to review this film without comparing it to the TV version, which is outstanding, Although you get the gist of the story, it suffers greatly in lack of detail. The ending felt rushed, but I did like the melding of both Ye Hua and Mo Yuan as one character rather than two. After all, the whole plot is about living more than one life to love your soulmate, so it makes sense that the two are one. This is the only thing I didn't feel was handled properly in the drama version.
This movie version was alright, but will only make sense to those that have already seen the drama to fill in the blanks.
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A powerful film of moral complexity
I was fortunate enough to be able to see this film the day it came out in the US. I was drawn to it because it was the last film of the late Lee Sun Kyun, but I found the film fascinating overall. Lee Sun Kyun’s performance as a man involved in the Presidential assassination of 1979 is understated, even stoic, as befits his character. Jo Jung Suk Is fantastic as the cynical attorney trying to save his client. The film uses light and darkness effectively to underscore its messages. I highly recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
"It takes time to learn to like yourself"
Director Kim Bo Ra explored the joy and pain of adolescence in The House of Hummingbird. Life for an adult can be chaotic and overwhelming, at fourteen, Eun Hee was neither a child nor an adult. Her world was confined to the two places she didn’t fit in---school and her family.“How many do you understand?”
Eun Hee’s family stresses education to the point that her brother easily flies into rages and beats her, her older sister has begun skipping school, and Eun Hee has a tendency to fall asleep in class. At home her parents come across as disinterested in her or verbally abusive. Dinners are eaten in silence or with the father berating them. When she has a health concern that worsens, Eun Hee has to deal with it all by herself. Anything resembling emotional support is in short supply. She has an on-again, off-again boyfriend and a best friend she attends Chinese tutoring school with. It is her new tutor who actually sees her and lets her know she’s valuable just as she is that touches Eun Hee and frees something within her.
“We should all live separately.”
There were times watching this I was waiting for someone in Eun Hee's family to snap and commit a mass murder. Her parents would go from a no holds barred screaming match and using a lamp as a shiv to acting like nothing happened the next morning. Vicious words were thrown around at the children and physical blows. Then everyone would shove all the frustrations, anger, and fear somewhere deep inside and live in silence with each other. The two sisters’ needs were especially invisible with a brother in the house. Their mother was in a vicious cycle as she’d had to drop out of school in order for her brother to finish high school, a man who never amounted to anything. As Eun Hee learned from her tutor, even a quality university education did not guarantee happiness.
“Will my life start to shine someday?”
Dealing with physical abuse, insecurities, and fickle friends, Eun Hee learned from her tutor that as long as she had her two hands and could move them, she still had the ability to change things. Eun Hee found that friendships and connections made life more bearable or even simply jumping on a trampoline on a sunny day. Despite the chaos around her, Eun Hee’s resilient spirit began to soar. Bad things happen but so do good.
“What’s the right way to live?
Somedays I feel like I know but I don’t really know for sure.
I just know that when bad things happen, good things happen, too.
And that we always meet someone and share something with them.
The world is fascinating and beautiful.”
23 August 2024
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The sceneries looked quite fake here and there and the lighting felt wrong. CGI was well done sometimes, and bad other times.
For a postapocalyptic environment they displayed not enough desperation of the people.
Without getting into too much detail, the backstory was too short (there was just too less explanation of everything), the introduction of the characters was almost nonexistent, which made it quite hard to get their motivations - just a bunch of stereotypes colliding - and the action scenes were all over the place. There were too many action scenes and even though the fighting itself looked good, the shaky cameras and blood/body parts flying everywhere turned it into a bad rollercoaster. A lot of "deaths" were totally exaggerated.
If they made the movie a bit longer, put more effort into the backstory and its characters and created a more logical rescue mission, this could have been an enjoyable movie.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't waste your time on this, guys.
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