Reviews

Gosh the chemistryyy

I really do not expect that much from this movie but dang! What did they two do to my weak heart? Watching them play all along, walking, talking, laughing together so intimately make me feel SSSSOOOOO SINGLE. The last time I felt like this was with When I Fly Towards You. But nah this couple fr have their chemistry even just by their eye contact.

Don't watch this when you're single. Just kidding. There's not a lot of angst. The angst is kinda cute tho, cause Akane is actually just an innocent girl who wants to be free lol.

It's kinda slowburn in the first half but ended up sooo good, I'm so satisfied. The pretty colors made the cinematography so lovely. Will probs rewatch it when I need to color my life lol.

Definitely recommended esp for everyone who likes arts and paintings. Don't forget about the cute plot-twist cause it's kinda shocked me a lil bit tho. Just watch this masterpiece asap.

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A simple story that moves nicely through its leads’ interactions.

Was not expecting much (apart from the Ruki-biased lens I was wearing for the trailers) but this turned out to be one of the best coming of age romances I’ve seen in a while.

The film is pretty dialogue-heavy. Though majority of Akane-Seiji’s relationship happened through conversations, it still felt like it grew naturally and they “showed more than they told”. The film’s cinematography and scoring lent a lot to that achievement.

I loved the subtle changes made to the source material. The additional subtexts allowed them to weave certain elements more seamlessly.
(E.g., color grading and key scenes mirroring Seiji’s art preferences; “Plot-twist” ties closely to Akane’s arc.)

Overall, it’s the type of film that will probably make you feel differently every time, as you discover something new each watch.

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They don't call me kamikaze for nothing!

With Star Wars marking a turning point in cinematic blockbusters, it's only natural it would spawn countless imitators and knock-offs. I've taken a look at Toho's answer with The War in Space before and I thought it high time to take a look at Toei's attempt. Often unfairly slagged as a cheap rip-off of the previous year's Star Wars, Message from Space actually has way more going for it than what initially meets the eye.

The peaceful planet of Jillucia has been nearly wiped out by the Gavanas, whose leader takes orders from his mother rather than the Emperor. King Kaiba sends out eight Liabe holy seeds, each to be received by a chosen one to defend the Gavanas. Each recipient, ranging from hardened General Garuda to Gavana Prince Hans to young Terrans Meia, Kido, and Aaron all have different reactions to being chosen.

Considering how much George Lucas lifted from Japanese culture and cinema for Star Wars, consider Message from Space a case of, ahem, striking back. In a narrative sense, the story is completely baffling and at times indecipherable, taking the core elements that makeup Star Wars' story but delivering it in a way that a viewer is left in a state of confusion. A white-clad princess on the run, an evil empire, armoured bad guy troopers, an obnoxious beeping droid, a trench run, a cantina, and spaceships flying in formation. There’s even a long shot of an enemy starship cruising into the frame. And while Darth Vader may have drawn visual inspiration from samurai, Message from Space has full-on space samurai as the villains.

Where this film shines, and boy it does shine, is in its incredible visual and production design. Given this was the most expensive Japanese film at the time, and yet was made for half the budget of Star Wars, it looks mighty impressive. Be it the gorgeous, elaborate sets and costumes or the highly detailed and genuinely incredible and increasingly complex miniature special effects work by Nobuo Yajima, the ethereal and dreamlike fantasy nature of the film is present from the encapsulating opening titles. The very literal "spaceships" are a real work of art and wouldn't be out of place from a Gerry Anderson production.

Given my love for Kinji Fukasaku's final film, Battle Royale, it's no wonder that I would love this as well. With the sweeping and evocative landscape shots, the gritty and intense yet easy-to-follow fight sequences, the expert choice of shots and thanks to regular collaborator Tôru Nakajima the film isn't without a bold use of colour from brilliant orange to deep blues, its most certainly a visual treat for the eyes.

The film's cast is populated by many faces you may recognise, be it the always reliable Vic Morrow or Sonny Chiba to a baby-faced Hiroyuki Sanada. There are hardly any complaints to be had on the talent front and they all perform the film well even if what is being delivered is a bit too much at times. The music by Ken-Ichiro Morioka is pretty good, there's plenty to love in its more fantastical elements and less synth-laden than you'd expect but it matches the visuals well and does a good job, lends itself to easy listening so maybe I'll give it another listen one day.

Overall, Message from Space is a very bold attempt at the Star Wars formula and makes up for its shortcomings with devil-may-care energy reminiscent of '40s-era serials. The Blu-ray set I bought comes with both the English version of the film, the spin-off show Galatic Wars and the compilation movie of that show, so I'm hardly done with Message from Space for a while yet.

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The title says it all

Even at the height of his popularity, Kinji Fukasaku never forgot what put him there in the first place, he can populate a frame like no one else and tackle an unflinching view of society with lines unclear and blurry. Cops vs. Thugs doesn't need a summary, its summary is its title. In Fukasaku's world, there's no honour among thieves or lawmen alike and the only thing that matters is personal honour and duty between friends. It plays like some of the great crime films of Sidney Lumet and Jean-Pierre Melville but with the fabulous additions of Kazuo Kasahara's shattering screenplay and Fukasaku's dynamic dedication to supporting an all-star ensemble cast of likeable undesirables with Bunta Sugawara once again leading from the front.

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A forumla perfected

Even with its sombre and bleak tone that puts many of his other works to shame, once the smoke clears, there are more than enough corpses to fill this graveyard. Yakuza Graveyard is one of Kinji Fukasaku's more psychological approaches to his Yakuza films, dripping with nihilism and crammed full of energy, the film has all the hallmarks of Fukasaku's other movies. Here, he chooses to focus on the complicated and damaged psyche of Tetsuya Watari's investigator Kuroiwa with the chemistry he shares with Meiko Kaji's Keiko adding some beautiful tenderness to this gripping tale of violence and interpersonal deception. The camera tilts, dives and chases after the exceptional action, at no point becoming lost in the haze of bloody knuckles and muzzle flashes; combining this with Toshiaki Tsushima's prog rock style score and Yakuza Graveyard remains just as emotional, hard-hitting and badass as Fukasaku's other works, maintaining a standard of quality few could rival.

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Watch this years ago in the school as part of class if I'm not mistaken. But this movie imprint in my mind so strong, that's why I still remember until now.

The natural disaster is really scary for who experienced it first hand. And this movie can quite capture it. There're 2-3 things that really imprint in my mind about this movie.

1. How in chinese culture, son, always be priorities. Like in the summary already stated, the mother prefer to save her son over her daughter. But even before that, we can see in the movie how their mother prefer son over daughter.
2. The word comes from the son, Fang Da, years later when there's another earthquake. More and less... You can't outrun disaster (earthquake), the small one not gonna effect you & the big one even you want to ovoid sometimes it's nust avoidable.
3. The meeting between Fang Deng and her mom & how the forgiveness work is just imprint deep into the heart....

Overall this is a really good movies. Just prepare ur heart to watch this...

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Parasitic Society Metaphor

Ominois and claustrophobic movie telling the story of a poor, low class family using their wits to con their way into getting what they want such as employment, their employers' house and wealth, the way upper class people lives, etc.

It depicts the judgmental gullibilty of this rich family made them an easy target for the cons. Oddly, none of the characters in this film will make you feel love or sympathy for them.

This film was done in a way that deserved an 8 minutes standing ovation in Cannes Film festival. Although it is not my kind of film to watch, due to the hype, it got me interested enough to devote my undivided attention and it didn't fail me.

Whatever genre of films you enjoy, I suggest giving this film a chance and see for yourself the reason why it garnered so much award and attention internationally.

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The first melodrama movie that I love

I like the idea of watching a melodrama movie, but it often bores me over time, and I end up not watching it. However, this one is different. From the scenery to the acting skills of the actors, it's so well executed.

The plot is somewhat cliché but becomes unique because of the personalities of each character. What keeps me engaged is the curiosity about how it will end. It's strange how I both love and dislike the ending. Despite not liking how it concludes, the storyline portrays the ending so well that I end up loving it.

All the actors deliver their characters well, making you think it's actually them, but it's not.

The cinematography is great, they really make it look melodrama but manage to keep it from being boring in the end.

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I never thought I'd like this movie

The story is really interesting. Even though some parts are a bit clichéd, there are still things that make it different. What I really like is how each character in the movie has a unique attitude, and all the actors do a great job bringing them to life. This makes the movie more fun to watch.

Honestly, I didn't expect to like this movie at first, but the way it starts and develops kept me interested. The mix of familiar and surprising things in the story adds to the excitement. The actors did a good job, and even though there are some typical parts, they didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

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Why, google?

I google searched "best queer romance movies to watch". This is one that google suggested. I've used this website for reading reviews of queer dramas and movies in the past to get a picture of the drama and they were usually negative about the drama but I watched the drama and wound up really liking the drama! But the reviews here in my opinion poorly reflect how the movie actually was. Start the movie out by showing the 3 leads in what comes to be what they would have looked like after the final scene. Also the monologue which Jonathan is saying at the beginning makes no sense imo. The actors did a really great job. But the random jumps between scenes (especially the jump between high school and university) make no sense. I thought Jonathan had to retake the exams but he's in university? When did Shane and Carrie decide to hook up? And hello the book at the beginning about the theory of transgenderism? That makes no sense and isn't relevant what-so-ever as being transgender has nothing to do with the story nor plot. And then Jonathan is always mad at Shane but Shane still considers him a best friend? Why did Jonathan hook up with that one man? It made no sense. Why did Shane and Jonathan have sex then explain nothing? Why did Shane take the 3 of them to the beach? Jonathan says he really loves Shane but Shane says Jonathan has always been his best friend? Is Jonathan rejected? Does Shane break up with Carrie? I'm sorry but wtf. The soundtrack was beautiful and I guess it's supposed to make you emotional, and the cinematography is wonderful. Honestly, I never have high expectations for a movie and my standards are really low. But as a queer individual, I genuinely do not think any of the screenwriters were queer, seeing how the one queer character doesn't even do anything to indicate being queer aside from stopping having sex with Carrie, indicating he likes Shane, and sleeping with a man--how does it make sense? The soundtrack was beautiful but just because the soundtrack was beautiful and cinematography was nice doesn't mean it's a good movie that makes any sense.

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A story of Exquisite Agony !

I watched 'From Me to You' days ago, and instantly fell in love with the acting (and smile) of the guy who played Kazahaya San. It broke my heart, finding the sad truth about demise of Miura Haruma, and worst of all, the feeling that i can not anticipate upcoming works of this brilliant artist.

I watched sky of love only for Haruma. I didn't even bother reading the synopsis which became one of the reasons , why my soul was pierced by this beautifully painful story.
I've been feeling sad since past one day, hence writing this review as a therapeutic outlet.

It's a beautiful tale of first love. Hiro and Mika, two highschoolers fall in love. Mika is a cheerful young girl,while hiro is a rough tough blondie. Their joyful beginnings are overshadowed by the harsh realities of life. The heartbreak of losing a child early in their relationship sets the stage for an emotionally charged journey. But the story takes a turn with Hiro's sudden indifferent attitude. At this point, I couldn't stop myself from fast forwarding near the end, only to find a bedridden Hiro. Even such a crucial spoiler couldn't save me from shedding tears when the moment of revelation came.

All I can say about the acting is , they made me cry.

I am a sentimental person. I get teary eyed every single time I'm watching an emotional story/scene, but tears rolling down my cheek is something on another level. The river side talks between Hiro and Mika (after their reunion) , Hiro crying, pleading he didn't want to die. It was so damn emotional. And the last 15 -20 minutes were just ....🤌🏻

If you have a liking for impactful stories,
and don't mind bawling your eyes out,
If your heart can take the load, then go ahead,
Watch this beautiful story.
You Will Not Regret.

(PS: Please keep a box of tissues)

Miss you Miura !!

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