Very good idea but unfortunately too short to fully capitalize on its potential
This very short BL movie (about 30 minutes) has a really interesting concept that would have benefited to be more developed (either as a full length movie, either even as a drama).It leans towards the horror genre but again, it could have been better if the production would have really been amplifying the horrific setting. Here, it is not really frightening despite the truly interesting fantastical elements. The idea of the curse and all its components linked is a very good one.
The relationships between the characters (the main ones but their friends as well) were full of clues about things being much more complicated than at first face value...With more time to fully fleshed all of those, it could have become a really great story. The cast did a suitable job and were pretty convincing in conveying the emotions (even the ambiguity) of some of the characters.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a different kind of BL story. It is super short so you might feel that the story is not reaching its full potential but I still think that it is worth giving it a try given the originality of the concept.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
BETTER DAYS.. THEY GOT IT
No explanation.. No wordsTHIS IS IT.. THIS IS THE MOVIE
Always had wanted to watch this movie.. always felt hesitant because i was not ready for this. Not ready in a sense that i didn't want to have nothing i wanted to watch. The leads were amazing, the reality, there was no glorification, the story. I am just elongating this review because MDL has a min 500 word review criteria. As i said, no explanation needed. What do i write now? ok the guy.. he was just wow/ ok what else because i don't have no words.. no words for real
Was this review helpful to you?
Head-scratcher as Japan is full of great writing - not this one
It's not feel-good, it's not cute, it's not sad, funny, mysterious, exciting, it doesn't even intend to anger although it ends up doing that. There is a toxic story that is clear on its intention, and then there is this that is lukewarm on every aspect. Just what is the purpose? It portrays yet another weak female who gets taken advantage of because she lacks opinions, and in the beginning she's encouraged to take a stand for herself only for that to later be used as the attractive point (no opinion, doesn't stand up for something = goes with anything = a guy's fantasy). With that you have the male who does with her whatever he wants from touching to kissing, while the female recoils, unsure, and most of all, he made her feel that his affection didn't belong to her. He made her a bigger liar than she already was. Did she enjoy? Yes, with pain and disgust. Did he enjoy? Yes, without realizing what he put her through, and without her realizing what he put her though.Liars are given an easy pass. They get an ending that I don't think we need more of in fiction.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Good Watch.
I really enjoyed this movie. I appreciate when actors can convey emotions through their eyes, and Jooyoung and Fan Bingbing did this well. Their chemistry was almost perfect. Although I watched without subtitles, I can understand Korean well enough to follow along. However, I was disappointed that there were no subtitles for the sign language parts. This made it difficult for me to understand those scenes, especially the ending. Even if you can't understand this movie due to language barriers it's a good movie. Honestly, I struggle with liking movies, because I feel they are always lacking something but I liked this movie, it didn't lack anything, I feel like I could see a natural connection forming between the two main characters, and it didn't feel forced at all, it felt very natural. I would say I think this movie was very well done and it would be worth watching at least once.Was this review helpful to you?
I was interested about finding out what ending everyone was talking about.
I was looking thru some comments on i forgot which website it was, and everyone was MOSTLY talking about the worst ending and there were spoiler comments i didnt spoil it for myselr and gave it a watch and bro. Serously. What in the world was that freaking stupidest thing ever i have watched, most stupidest ending ever and the acting was kinda cringe specially ryou's. And his character was LEGIT worst im sorry. The sound or ost whatever u call it, the instrumental was a bit good but not for a movie like THIS. never watch it if u love to spend ur time on things u love instead of wasting it in this movie. Overall it was not that bad but ryou ruins it all.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Should have gievn a better watch if a child was killed stupidly!
I should be patting my back for my patience to complete this movie. That was such a stupid way to kill the child to motion the story. This movie will make arise lots of questions in your mind while you watch it, too many scenarios, rather say ridiculous scenarios which you'll not be able to understand like how did it happen.First of all, a almost 7 years old boy can't drown in a buthtab which is less than knee height of an adult, nor he can get such degree of concussion from slipping and hitting his head (story implies that) that will make him unconscious.
Secondly, the deaf Korean ex-husband has a Korean passport as well as knows only Korean sign language, which implies he was brought up in Korea, he also knows to write Japanese which means he can read too, which means he understands Japanese language. And how did he learn that without knowing Japanese sign language!?????? Too many contradictory and far-fetched variables. Calm down writer!!
Thirdly, the ex-husband has a 20+ (exact age uncertain) years old son with his first wife who is getting married, the second wife (Japanese) didn't know about it, though she married and had a child with him (could make another movie about how they met, fell in love etc lol, it will be a age gap romance and most probably more interesting than this one).
I had many other things to say about the present husband, his ex-gf who works with him (he cheated on her with his present wife). His wife also works with him in the same field, they met while working most probably, so he was two timing, perfect.
Ratings - 4/10 (watch only if you have 2 hrs to kill)
Was this review helpful to you?
Juvenile 2.0
Ghost Book feels deeply reminiscent of Yamazaki's debut film, Juvenile (hell, even the adorable little Tetra makes a cameo appearance), a lighthearted family romp often dealing with some relatively difficult themes for its target audience. There's an element of Pokémon thrown into the narrative with the film's characters tasked with "catching them all", benefiting this narrative hook is the lovely monster design, stellar voice work by legendary voice actors such as Akio Otsuka and Rie Kugimiya; and their impressive realisation capturing the essence of Etsuyoshi Miyamoto's original illustrations brilliantly. Unfortunately, the characters are all exceptionally one note, despite the cast's rather heartwarming performances they are probably the most laid-back group of ghostbusters ever, often characterised by very limited personalities (I swear Kudo is just a few steps away from being a full blow serial killer) or singular traits. There's no urgency with this film, it just kind of chugs along at its own pace, often leaving room for a nice family dinner despite the race to get home. That being said, Ghost Book operates on a level of childish fun, obvious in its sentiment and simplistic in its messages. However, it makes up for its narrative wateriness with a wholesome vibe you can't bring yourself to hate.Was this review helpful to you?
Delightful waste - objectively bad but enjoyable
This movie is about the story of cellphone novelist Yukina Himuro who decides to blackmail the most popular boy from her high school to gain romantic experience through various "love missions". It is a condensed version of old school shojo manga tropes, so despite the overall toxicity, woman manhandling and non-consensual elements, I quite enjoyed the movie because (or thanks to) the nostalgia throwback.The acting is overall okay but far from stellar. The main actor and actress are charismatic enough especially when playing the more "odd" and "dark" parts of their characters but the script does not give them a lot of room to show growth or realistic emotions. The antagonist role would have really benefited of more nuance in the acting as well but it was clearly not the vibe the director was going for. The overall production value is pretty low, you feel the low budget in the background and decor. It is suitable for the genre but also quite uninspired.
I would not recommend this because it is objectively not good. It enters the category of delightful waste, you might hate it, watch ironically (or even maybe unironically enjoy it for what it is) but there are for sure better high school romance out there.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Cheng Pei Pei played two roles in the wuxia Dragon Swamp written and directed by Lo Wei. She was once again joined by Lo Lieh and Yueh Hua in this tale of deception, disguises, death, and a cursed sword. Fan Ying was seduced and betrayed by Tang Da Chuan aka The White Faced General. Her clan confronted them after she helped to steal the Jade Dragon Sword for her husband. Tang ran off with her son when he lost the sword and Fan was sentenced to 20 years in the terrifying Dragon Swamp. Her sifu agreed to raise her baby daughter. Twenty years later we are introduced to the daughter who looks just like her mother on the night the sword is once again stolen! Along with the rest of the disciples Qing Er is sent to find the cursed sword. She will find the thief, be rescued by the Roaming Knight, and meet the fearsome Swamp Master in short order!
At the age of twenty-three, Cheng Pei Pei aptly differentiated the characters of the older Fan Ying and the adventurous Qing Er. Lo Lieh gave a solid performance as the thief and Head of Security for a powerful clan. Yueh Hua roamed in and out of the story as the nameless swordsman still searching for his true love, Fan Ying. I was happy to see Ku Feng show up as an old master, almost unrecognizable in a wild white wig. Huang Tsung Hsun played the despicable Tang Da Chuan who had a habit of abandoning and murdering his wives in his quest for ultimate power.
The sword fights were standard for the era, with one fight between Pei Pei and Lo Lieh and a host of others almost looking like a dance from a sword fighting musical. If it’s a Cheng Pei Pei film it needs a fight at an inn and this film came through. Qing Er faced off against an assortment of assassins as she ordered her dinner including ones played by Simon Yuen, Fan Mei Sheng, and Han Ying Chieh.
Where the film struggled was the execution of the story. Characters wandered in and out. The cursed sword comically changed hands numerous times. On the positive side, the sets and scenery were all eye catching, including the Dragon Swamp. The special effects were for the most part average for the time. It was fun how they made the sword glow green. The masters were able to practice some magic and Pei Pei had a nifty party trick with drinks. The only area where the special effects were truly lacking was the boat trip through the swamp where there be dragons. Gojira’s creators did a better job with those effects from the same time period.
Despite some of the story and effects shortcomings Cheng Pei Pei lit up the screen as she always did. Her turns at both the mother and daughter were well done. Though flawed, the movie was entertaining. If you enjoy old martial arts films, this is one worth trying.
14 Dec 2023
Was this review helpful to you?
Truth is in the eye of the beholder
It could be compared a bit to Better Call Saul, as both of these shows portray struggling lawyers, sometimes bending the law, and being morally gray. The main character is an attorney at law portrayed by Huang Xiaoming. He’s freaking cool, cunning, a bit noir. I’d love to see him more on screen. Unlike (or like) Jimmy from BCS he definitely has the heart on the right side, but he’s just too hasty, negligent and blinded by his desire for success. He regrets playing a hero, as in the past he exposed the law firm he worked at, which kinda gets him blacklisted from the lawyers’ world. But then he gets a second chance at life as an attorney, and he wants to succeed this time.The movie only focuses on one murder case, which is a shame, because I’d love to see this guy in action more. During the course of the trial we are confronted with different facts regarding the case and every piece of evidence sheds further light on the whole thing. We can see the battle of minds between the prosecutor and the attorney. It’s the classic trope of “an easy case” at first glance, but then as we dig deeper it becomes more and more complicated. As a viewer I must say it was a very intriguing course of action and I watched it all in one sitting. Our main character finds himself in the middle of all this drama trying to glue all the pieces of the puzzle together. I think his motivations are two-fold: he genuinely wants to save his defendant from death penalty, but it’s his first case after a long break as an attorney and he’s greedy, wanting to win this case at all cost, even by twisting the truth itself, which becomes his undoing. The first trial and then the second trial kinda show that the truth and the public perception can be malleable, because they both ended with different conclusions. If it weren’t for the main character’s change of heart the ending would be different.
I think the movie doesn’t do a good job criticizing the prosecutor enough. It’s a cliche at this point in so many Asian and non-Asian legal dramas, where the prosecution just goes for an easy win, without even a perfunctory look into the case, which leaves room for the attorney to step in and destroy their arguments easily. Like… imagine if the prosecutor actually checked the facts before going to the trial? Then the movie would end in 10 minutes without any unnecessary drama. Okay, so the person in question confessed, and you didn’t even check their background and stuff to see if what they say is true? I get that prosecutors want to win, but how about prosecute someone, when you’re sure their guilty. Even if their guilty, you should know the facts, so that the attorney doesn’t point out flaws in your logic and manipulate the court to their advantage. Or maybe it’s the system that’s wrong, I don’t know. You tell me that one broke attorney can do a whole investigation by himself and you with your team can’t? (ok it was quite a coincidence that he met the defendant’s son, who’s a key part of the puzzle, when the son saw the lawyers face in a magazine, but such information could be also accessed through the defendant’s other connections I think, right?). And then she (the prosecutor) even lectures the attorney, that he should follow his heart or something?
Technologically I’d say it’s a very good movie. I’m not an expert on cameras and stuff, but the use of lighting was superb. Every scene had a fitting light environment, it was shot very professionally. Audio was also good, the dialogues were crisp and audible (which doesn’t happen in every movie or TV series nowadays, so I need to applaud that) , there was one original song, very nice.
The characters were alright, but maybe too stiff and with no chemistry between them. The main character and his sidekick intern looked like they could develop some nice comedic chemistry, but none of the relationships between characters were developed fully. Some of the acting in the scenes between them was not that great, as if they only said the memorized lines of dialogue, but in the large scheme of things it didn’t hinder the viewing experience, so I don’t complain. The only relationship that had some progress was that between the main character and his mother, but it also wasn’t fully explored, with the subplot about them being cut short. The defendant and the victim’s relation is interesting and the viewer’s perspective on them changes as the plot progresses. I really liked these two.
Also one character has a burned face, and when we expect the plot to be subversive and be like “he’s actually nice, but wronged by life”, then it turns out he’s an a**hole. Ugly = bad, amirite?
It feels like an episode from a longer series, even though it’s a standalone movie. Maybe they planned to shoot more and only managed to shoot the middle part, because some plot threads are still unresolved in the end, and many others still could be expanded. But seeing how the movie was released a whole two years after shooting, maybe there were some problems along the way. A sequel or a prequel would be nice.
I really think this would work better as a series instead of a movie. The main character is charismatic enough to carry a whole series, so having him confined to such a short screen time is a shame. He had worked for 8 years as a debt collector often using legally dubious tactics. That would be a nice material for a badass prequel. Generally it’s not that deep, even though it touches upon moral questions, and has a morally gray main character. But it’s a fun watch with some battle-of-wits style court trials, so I’d say I recommend it. Would be nice to see more of this character on the screen.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
SIMPLE REVIEW
The movie makes you uncomfortable, but that just means that the acting is that good, didn’t expect this much s*x scenes but love the representation, they lowkey sexualized it tho, i love the plot twist it was amazing. Everything made sense at the end, the ending was satisfying and i love the music, and the way of filming the lighting everything. It was a whole new fascinating experience watching this movie. I'd definitely recommend it to people i know, and would love to rewatch it with my friends to see their reactions lol. Overall 8.5/10.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Simple review
The whole thing is amazing, acting skills, cinematic views, colors, filming, story, music everything is on point, needed a bit of details about the bad man and what he does, but i think not knowing everything adds to the experience, i love it. I love the deep story behind the character, and the whole action thing was amazing, she didn't spare anyone and got her revenge at the end we love that. I loved the whole cast and their unique characters that add up to the amazing story. I had fun watching it and i would love to rewatch it again either alone or with my friends. overall 10/10.Was this review helpful to you?
Sometimes Hell is better than Heaven
Are you in Hell? Do you feel like you are in Hell?Well, this is the story of two girls who decide to kill themselves cause they are already in Hell but are they? On the brink of death, they decide to meet the person who put them in Hell only to find themselves in a cult of ppl trying to find a way to Heaven or Paradise. The only way to go to Paradise is to repent which their preparator is doing diligently.
But what of them? How can they forgive when they have suffered so much?
Slowly (not much of a surprise for us) they understand the place is fucked and they much rather return to their Hell than stay there. As for the bully, well let's say she has her own Hell, not bound by her.
I liked the story and the acting was amazing. I loved how both of the girls had flaws and balanced their shit together. Instead of getting angry at each other, they decided to see from each other's POVs before losing their shit.
One another thing I liked was how the cult was. It was a normal cult with the usual bs and symptoms but there was no eerie crap and dark lurky ppl. It was nonsensical ppl convinced of some crap like it was normal. They didn't force or do any crap until the end when they were threatened.
And as for the bully, ppl don't change easily. The Devil was always evil even before he fell from Heaven. I knew she was a bitch from the get-up itself but I was surprised in the end. She lost her mind too.
I loved the ending tho i wish they would show more of their relationship and their parents too but honestly leaving it as a blank stays true to the title Hail to Hell which makes sense to say. They are still in Hell and nothing changed but man, its better than wherever they went.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It is amazing.
I love her acting and whole story,definitely worth of watching!
It has a great storyline and definitely everyone should watch it because like it was so fun to me because it was not something usual to watch so yeah definitely, and if just like romance, than you should not watch this.
Little spoiler:
Only thing I didn't liked is that her friend committed suicide because of him,she should've told her, and then they would get their revenge together, but whatever...
Question for people that watched this already:
what would you do differently from her?
Was this review helpful to you?
a master film on city loneliness
Watched the movie Supposed (Thai name Sommuth. Maybe the film has Thai movie viewer as main target so not yet listed on IMDb (mainly for western audience) but my heart deeply touched by this beautiful movie and resonate with it.The director is known for filming people feeling lonely in city setting. He surely a master on this theme. A simple love seeking story from social media beautifully depicted in the movie showing
both actor and actress exploring, pursuing and testing one to one relationship with each other, after some one night stand affairs and other flirting or temptation. The main actor Ananda (Non, in the movie) looks handsome and main actress Pat Chayanit (Dear, name in the movie) very pretty, especially when she was acting wild, yelling, raising her voice, joking, setting up a serious face, smiling, laughing loud, unrestrained,flirting, teasing, moving body and feet on the bed and when she was playing with water and turning her head and hair to look back with a happy pretty charming smile at the end of movie, while merrily jumping and skipping on the hiking trail.
The movie ending is interesting. It seems Dear leaves Non again! or is their reunion just before movie ends just a dream of Non? Afterall Dear has flippant character which Pat acted or played out well in the movie.
The cinematography and music score
(background music) added magic to the film and made it more enjoyable
Too bad the director has passed away
and this is his last film. Did he get inspiration of the screenplay from his own romance and affair with a former lover? He is also the producer and writer of this memorable movie
Was this review helpful to you?
