Reviews

THE ACTING WAS ON THE POINT

If you havent watched other cube movies like me , trust me you are probabl gonna be satisfied with this one...

I really loved the way every single actor made exceptionally good jobs while portraying the characters.

i havent seen any cube movie before and honestly this one was intense for me. I really loved the calm thrill , i really loved how this movie showed how people react when they face situations like this. some goes mad , some tries to find quik solutions , some of them are unexpected heros and some of them sees this inescapable thing as a chance to hate this world even more and just let the craziness inside them wake...

SPOILER ALERT

MASAKI OKADA WAS INSANE FOR THAT ACTING. as I saw him as the silly loser guy a lot in a lot of works , I found him so cute at the start yet sensed something when he accidentally hurt the grumpy old man- DAMN I NEEDED TO STOP THE FILM FOR A MOMENT TO PROCESS HIS SCARED ATTITUDE TURNING INTO AN EVIL SMILE PLS. his scene with masaki suda was also intense. both actors were just doing such a great job right there. I was speechless and the movie made me lose sleep because it felt so intense.

and masaki suda's charachter had a great story , the bond between him and the little boy was so special to me , it broke my heart a lot during the whole thing and also warmed it :(

I really saw this movie as a physcilogical work on people's behaviour in such a desperate situation. it was interesting and realistic for me.

like I said before , every single person delivered their roles so well that I thought what made this movie so intense for me was the acting skills of the actors.

my only dissapointment is that , the reasoning for masaki okada's character going all crazy and evil somehow didnt feel enough even tho it made sense. but his anger , his way of killing was so intense for that little explanation giving to us.

however , i think it still made sense and I was really impressed by masaki okada one more time. he was so succesful for that evil turn , even tho him going evil wasnt suprising for me the way he delivered that role made it so intense and caused me to lose my sleep

shortly , I really loved this movie. for me its deeper than most of the comment section thought. If you havent watched the cube movies other than this , i have no doubt that you are gonna enjoy it. just give it a try

Read More

The real star of the movie is definitely Yeo Jingoo’s

, Ditto was an interesting watch. I’m not sure if I would watch it again or not but either way, it definitely held my attention until the end because I wanted to see how things would turn out. The first part of the movie is stronger, as it’s more focused on them as characters and the university atmosphere, as well as setting this friendship between Yong and Mu Nee, who are from two different times. It was fun seeing them use the radio, whining to each other, pouring their hearts out as well as following their university struggles (mostly love ones). I expected Mu Nee to be a bigger character than she actually is as she doesn’t show up nearly as much as I thought she would (we know barely anything about her lifestyle for example) but I can say that I enjoyed Cho Yihyun’s acting here so much more than in All of Us Are Dead – she was such a cutie.

The real star of the movie is definitely Yeo Jingoo’s Yong as he’s carrying the plot the entire movie. He’s chaotic, nice but crazy chaotic, and I’m not even sure if I liked his character or not. He had me torn, especially when the plot twist kicked in and he started acting like a maniac. Okay, I’m being dramatic but so was he. Some of his actions were definitely way too dramatic for the situation in question, especially regarding his relationship, because we have no clue why he even liked this girl so much in the first place to the point he was going insane thinking about not being with her. King, even in 1999 you needed some therapy. On another hand, we get Yeo Jingoo once again crying in the rain and he’s the master of that – he invented having a mental breakdown in the pouring rain.

It’s hard to talk about Ditto without spoiling the main plot twist which pretty much follows the entire second part of the movie but I will say that Ditto was more and less what I expected. More, in the sense that I enjoyed the friendship aspect of it as well as the main two characters themselves, and less in the sense that it was definitely bordering on the too-dramatic line by the end of the movie which can be a hit-or-miss. However, I think the film rounded up nicely and gave a satisfying ending to everyone, both from the past and the present. My final rating was 9/10 but if you like these actors like I do, give it a go – it’s a nice movie. A bit sad but nice. And there’s a pet turtle!

Read More

Simple and cute love story with an unexpected twist

It started off as him saying he hates her. At first i thought it was weird for him to say that without any context maybe because it was just the start.

After that, it was easy for me to understand the story. Its nit your typical cutesy fluff love story but it was angst with a hint of cuteness. I like how it can be relatable at some point. The overall message that this movie was trying to tell was clear.

No matter how hard it is, you have a decision over your own life. It was really cute how she changed his world and he changed hers. I really enjoyed it and thats why i gave it a high rating. Maybe to some, this is too much or a slow burn or not your kind of movie to enjoy but this is an excellent movie.

Read More

A most enjoyable spoof of the genre

The previous review is so negative that I almost didn't watch it, but Deetsy must have still taken it far too seriously, despite cautioning you to take it "very, very unseriously". So bad, it's very very good!

I think the movie was intended as a spoof (the vampire and the mummy? Dead giveaways!). Obviously low budget, but bad CGI doesn't do any harm when the intention is to point out the ridiculousness inherent in the wuxia genre (which I love, but the way, but it can become very stick-in-the-mud at times).

Once you see it that way - it is hilarious, the slapstick hiding subtle humour and double entendres delivered in such a deadpan way that you have to be on your toes to catch everything. I think the actors must have struggled to avoid corpsing in every scene.

Prince Seahorse pokes fun at the magic and martial arts of far more serious movies and subtly undermines gender stereotypes. The interaction between the ML and Mo Ya is full of innuendo and the ML having instant sex changes inverts the romance theme completely. The movie also riffs on modern tropes such as the television game show presenter giving the hyped-up run-down of the masters at the academy (the three male masters are all deliberately ridiculous) and old-fashioned electronic music when the master "heals" Mo Ya . Powers and spells are instantly transferred at the wave of a hand - hello?

I might watch it again just to check what I missed in the first round.

Read More

Fluff and Cute with an Unexpected Twist

Okay first of all, i enjoyed watching this. It was, to me refreshing to watch. I haven’t been watching JDrama/Movie so it was really something for me.

Putting the manga aside, i will only comment based on the movie itself. It was with a good start, the movie really shows what happened and how the ml and fl get to know each other. To me, the flow of this movie was just right. It was not bad but not so good i would say.

It was not bad, in a sense i am able to understand the whole story and able to enjoy it. For the people who have not read the manga or have no idea about it, i believe you will still be able to enjoy this movie. Overall, i enjoyed it and it was a good watch.

Read More

Love is love ?

South Korea began transitioning to a democratic regime only in the 1980s, and my hypothesis is that the process itself took many years and likely still continues. In the 2000s, they really started to flourish and seemingly express a kind of Western defiance, which, in my opinion, infiltrated at least the film industry in a recognizable way. This movie, in my view, displays those markers, as if you're traveling back in time to the Hollywood of the 1980s in the United States.

The desire to convey a defiant idea that "love is love," unrelated to age or sexual identity, was successfully emotional and managed to deliver the message in its unsophisticated way. It was also very direct, typical of those years when there was a certain innocence and naivety, and everything was spoon-fed.
That is, the character whose soul was transmigrated spoke the same sentences and heard the same music at a level of 100 percent, not just hints here and there. Moreover, there was a lot of caution not to show any intimacy between the two characters(Second round), due to the period it was filmed.

In my opinion, it still holds up even though 23 years have passed, but on the other hand, it's very easy to judge this movie now because we are in a different era where things could have been a bit more blunt.
That is, if they had shown us a romantic scene between the two characters in the second reincarnation, it could have been bold for an even earlier time while still maintaining the same flame to this day.

Many of the things said by the male protagonist's classmates could not pass today's censorship filter, what is known as political correctness. After all, it's permissible to say these things only in class, but heaven forbid depicting them in a fantasy movie scene. Blunt remarks that men would make about women, which are still made today albeit censored, manage to induce a sort of internal cringe because this censorship has become part of our consciousness.
The same goes for other aspects in the movie, such as age differences. In the 2000s, this wasn't relevant and wasn't censored in South Korea. From the modern viewer's perspective, people who watch this and criticize the movie may not be aware that the era was different, and such things were accepted as part of the culture.

Read More

"When you have it you don't want it, when you don't have it you want it"

Hello Ghost is a remake of the 2010 Korean movie by the same name. It is a comedic movie with the dark thread of gut-wrenching loneliness running through it for one man.

Ah Wei has been alone his whole life. On his 21st attempted suicide he briefly stops breathing. His life is saved by a pretty EMT on the way to the hospital. When he awakens, he can see four ghosts who refuse to leave him alone. A shaman tells him he must grant their wishes before they will leave, not an easy task for these ghosts. There’s the older woman, crying woman, smoking man, and mischievous little boy. The four lead him on a merry chase getting him into all sorts of trouble. He also keeps running into Yu Xiao Yin, the EMT.

Unlike so many ghost stories, there was no threatening entity, no mystery to resolve. The ghosts appeared to want to have a good time. The only external threat was to Xiao Yin’s brother who was deeply in debt to loan sharks which also made her life miserable.

The comedic moments often bordered on cringe-worthiness although there were some genuinely funny scenes. The slapstick didn’t feel as over the top with this version. Aside from trying to make you laugh Hello Ghost also tried to touch your heart, deeply enough to hear it beat. This story would have benefited from more backstory for Ah Wei, and why he never created a family or friends for himself. Why would a hospital kick a suicidal patient out without any mental health counseling, especially after he admitted to hearing voices? Why was Xiao Yin so attracted to Ah Wei who had attempted suicide multiple times and talked to people who weren’t there? As with the Korean version, the ending saves this movie and gives it meaning. Even knowing how it ended, I still teared up.

As good as parts of this movie were, like with the original, it left me disappointed that the rest of the film wasn’t as moving as the final ten minutes. Hello Ghost is a movie that with more character development and either less or better slapstick might have been as deep as it wanted to be. Overcoming hopelessness is not an easy fix. Despite its shortcomings, if you’re prepared to be patient, Hello Ghost is a movie worth trying.

2 February 2024

Read More

Beautiful gowns

While maintaining its beauty and poignancy throughout its 150-minute run, I'd be a liar if I said that the lengthiness of this coming-of-age film wasn't felt after the 2nd hour. There's also an issue with the movie biting off more than it can chew. There are a few storylines with no storyline feeling like it takes precedence over the other.

The romance between the two male leads feels like it should be the main focus of the plot but for me, it felt like a subplot to the storyline with Tong's family. And without spoiling much, I'll just say that that entire storyline felt implausible and out of place in this move.

And then there's the ending... and don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about the ending because it wasn't the ideal happy ending. I'm complaining because it ended on a bittersweet note just for the sake of doing so. It set itself up perfectly for the happy, ideal ending and then, for no reason, it took a left turn. It was a transparent attempt at being "realistic" but failed due to its very own plot and character development.

Read More

Weak Movie, Too Much Action

Hmm, how can I say this? It was decent at most.

Yet another film with a post-apocalyptic premise, where the main threat is human instead of a natural disaster or wild animals. Wow, I did not expect that. Can we get something unique?

The introduction of the film is too fast; they might as well not show the earthquake scene. It was too brief, and the introduction of the seductive character isn't good enough. Secondly, how? How did the organization find those teens? How did the female sergeant find Nam San? Why did she need him? She specifically asked him and emphasized his name like she knew him but didn't bother to explain.

The plot is weak, with nothing interesting. The female sargeant (Ahn Ji Hye) and Suna (Roh Jeong Eui) acting is soooo bad. Especially Ahn Ji Hye, her acting is soulless. The action is brutal but at the second half of the movie, it became dragging, with to much action.

As much as I love Ma Dong Suk, I did not enjoy this movie. Not recommended at all.

Read More

From the photo cover alone, it's clear that this film is promoted as an exploration of polyamory between two guys and a girl. And while that dynamic does eventually come to fruition, I feel like the plot is simultaneously more and less than that.

There's not much dialogue here. This film does most of its storytelling with showing, and not telling, which sounds better in theory than execution. Especially in the third act, where nothing that any of the characters do seems to make much sense.

At a few minutes short of being a respectable hour and a half long, this movie doesn't overstay its welcome. But it spends just about the entire first hour establishing the unconventional lives and relationship of two free-spirited roommates and occasional lovers residing in beachside China. So, by the time the girl enters the picture, we're already well into 2/3 of the movie.

That's where this otherwise slowly paced spectacle starts to engage itself a little more. Most of the film's dialogue takes place here but by that time, it's too little, too late. Just about all three character's actions and motivations feel shockingly sudden, given that the earlier portion of the film didn't explore them much outside of lingering and pensive vanity shots. The last 10 to 15 minutes were especially jarring with an ending that feels thrown together for shock value.

In closing, I feel it's necessary to mention that if you were watching in hopes of balanced bisexual representation, you won't get that here. Although the movie, to a detriment, introduces the female lead much later than it should have, the film aesthetically (and arguably, narratively) leans towards the hetero intimacy of it all. However, it's made in China so the queer destitution tracks. I'm sure that fault had more to do with censoring itself for cultural sensibilities and less to do with careless writing.

Read More

Disappointing but the music is nice and the actors are beautiful

The good.

Loved the lyrics and the singing. The actors are a pleasure to look at, especially Byun Sung Tae. I could gaze at that dreamy face all day long!

The confusing.

There are at least three characters introduced with some depth and we (the audience) start caring about them. But then there isn't any more. The viewer is just left wondering. As an example, Lim Ho Yeon (surfing instructor) cares about the main character (Lee Seung Jun). He appears in quite a few scenes, and we see what he is feeling. He seems like more than a side character, yet we never get anything satisfying. Same goes for certain behaviors we see. As a viewer I want to know the "why" behind these behaviors. But we never get the why. So it ends with the audience unsatisfied.

The bad.

There are portions in the last half that are just meandering.

Read More

Cute and rather credible (for a BL!)

I generally prefer movies over series, and as usual I liked this movie better than the series. The breaks in series feel too contrived.

BLs usually have misunderstandings that are often the source of dramatic tension, and humor. But frequently the misunderstandings are beyond unrealistic. While there is some of that in "Our Dating Sim", there is also credible dialog between the characters as they rediscover each other. The viewer can feel the characters struggling to try to communicate., to overcome the distance between them. That feels somehow more realistic and I found it easy to relate to the situations. Some of the playful physicality between the characters felt just like what my partner and I experience. It was nice to see ourselves in the story. I usually don't re-watch anything, preferring to find new movies, but since I had seen the series, this was sort of re-watch and I did pick up some nuance I missed on the first viewing, and I'm considering a third watch.

Flash backs are used as part of the story telling, but the transitions are rocky and sometimes unclear. Same can be said for the scene breaks. Just a little too choppy. I'd say this is an 8, but I loved the story enough and it was so relatable, I had to give it a 9.

Read More

"People like us don't have tomorrows"

Wong Kar Wai had written numerous scripts before his directorial debut in 1988 with As Tears Go By. While I would enjoy many of his later works, this earliest endeavor was not one of my favorites. Andy Lau’s gangster boss Wah was torn between his “little brother” Fly and the gorgeous Maggie Cheung’s Ngor. Would not have been a difficult choice for me but gangster brotherhood was a powerful force even when one of the gangsters was inept and a trouble magnet.

Wah’s Auntie sends his cousin Ngor to stay with him while she is seeing doctors in town. After a late night incident where the two seem to be attracted to each other, Ngor goes back home with a clean bill of health. Later, Wah visits Ngor but is pulled back when Fly lands in trouble-again. This is the second time he’s had to face death for the completely inept gangster whose mouth is bigger than his brain or brawn. Even though rival gangster Tony has a proper gang, Wah's gang appears to consist of him and Fly after another member leaves to get married. After handling Fly’s problems he goes back to Maggie but is once again called back to deal with Fly’s issues.

While there is a brotherhood among gangsters, when one guy’s reckless actions repeatedly put your life at danger, it’s time to jettison him one way or another. I’m guilty of becoming sympathetic with characters in gangster movies, but not this one. The sheer stupidity of Wah’s and Fly’s actions drained me of any sympathy for them. Maggie’s character Ngor was thinly drawn and also didn’t evoke any sympathy. Wah could be aggressive and worked in a field with a short life expectancy and he didn’t have any money to show for it. Why would a nice girl want to get involved with him?

WKW had some interesting shots throughout the film, especially Maggie in a moment of indecision when she slowly walks up the stairs to join Wah. The fights were brutal but not choreographed very well with many scenes rather rudimentary. The use of Top Gun’s “Take My Breath Away” took me right out of the moment and to another film from the 1980’s with a romance and a band of brothers. Andy Lau’s character seemed to fit into the underworld. Maggie did the best she could with Ngor. My biggest problem was with Jacky Cheung’s Fly and his manic performance. I cannot remember the last time I wanted a character to die a painful death who was not a “villain” this much. But in the end, his actions would have classified him as a villain regardless of how the underworld would have viewed them.

There were elements of this film that I found engaging, but Fly’s ridiculous behavior and Wah’s ride or die commitment to him were beyond my understanding. I may have struggled with much of this film but at least I found the ending satisfying.

2 February 2024

Read More