Velice vtipný korejský kraťas o jednom kondomu a jeho "životní" cestě. Snímek mě zaujal svým nadhledem a lehkou komičností a ve spojení s tím, že kondomy a sex.hračky dostávaly tváře a mluvily mezi sebou a s korejskými hlasy tak typicky hlubokozpěvnými, tak ty "kurvičky" na mě zapůsobily hodně roztomile včetně hudby a zpracování ...
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This review may contain spoilers
I liked it, but I'm conflicted
What I enjoyed:- cinematography
- all the actors did great, especially Baku/Shohei except Asako
- the editing, I was not sure if Baku's return at the apartment was fake or not. I finally decided it was fake but then he shows up at the restaurant which I also assumed it was fake. But then was devastated when I realized she really made that choice!!!
- about her choosing Baku at the restaurant: she did NOT handle it well, but I can not blame her for doing what she did. I am glad for the character and for the plot that she went with him. She went out with him as a young woman and his VANISHES. There was no closure there. Would you not be curious what on earth happened to your bf? Her destructiveness is very real.
What I did not enjoy:
- the actress who portrays Asako. I am sure the movie would have done better if she was a better actress. Even Jintan the cat had better shots than her.
- the ending i see as a way to be all like 'love solves everything, here is the power of love' and is a very MOVIE ending where loose ends are tied and mostly everyone is happy. But it's really not realistic. Or i wish there was more dialogue to hint what their future holds, i just cant believe they'll get married and continue on with the only difference being Shohei wont trust her as much.
The conflicting part:
To me Baku is a classic fuckboy. To me Shohei is the dream guy that girls need but dont realize it till it's too late. This is so classic and I dont want to believe thats all there is to the movie. If thats all there is to get out of it, was the cinematography and the drama the only things to reap? That's sad.
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A knife in her sole or soul?
One Foot Crane was a watchable Taiwanese martial arts movie, but didn’t have anything to make it stand out. Lily Li’s One Foot Crane started out on a revenge rampage of her own, but as often happens in female led movies, before it was over she had to share the screen with male counterparts to take down the villain.The child, Fong Lin I, was presumably the only Fong family member to survive a massacre by the Four Outlaws. Seemingly overnight she grew up and became a martial arts expert. She begins her revenge rampage with Outlaw #1 making an enemy of his son. After dispatching Outlaw #2 at an inn, she’s forced to fight the son where she barely escapes after being wounded. She’s rescued by a nice, but mostly useless woodsman. Fortunately, Capt. Chow was sent to help her and he has a magic elixir to heal her which he gives to her upon discovering her hiding place. Family secrets are revealed and ultimately Fong will have to join forces with Chow and her newly revealed brother in order to take down the baddest of the outlaws.
This was a by the book kung fu tale that has been done a dozen times. It helps to have charismatic actors and creative choreography to elevate the standard material. One Foot Crane was largely lacking in that department. Lily Li didn't have the skill and personality of actresses like Angela Mao and Cheng Pei Pei. She was undeniably beautiful but the fights slowed dramatically when she was involved or they were absurdly under cranked. Miao Tien and Lo Lieh were killed off early in the movie leaving the villains not only short-handed but also without a truly sinister leader. Barry Chan managed to insert some energy and swagger into his character. Szema Lung as the police captain was dreadfully dull. Tsai Hung as the Big Bad came across quite vague for a murderous rogue.
If the story and acting are lackluster, the fights need to be spectacular. Sadly, the movie underperformed in that department as well. Most of Lily Li’s fights were close to kung fu posing and not very fluid or graceful. Szema was slow as well. Barry Chan and Tsai Hung were the most entertaining when they were fighting each other as the moves flowed better and were quicker. Too many hits overall missed during the fights with stuntmen flying backwards on their own. There was some wire-fu, mostly in the trees. The fights would often go from being indoors to a desolate quarry or sandy plateau instantaneously. There was a lot made out of the good guys using Crane, Mantis, and Eagle styles, but they felt more like Sloth and Snail styles. At least they knew if they couldn’t be quick to hit the vulnerable parts---eyes, temple and throat. One Foot Crane also had a knife that she could release out of the middle of the sole of her shoe which was physically impossible, more so than a lot of kung fu gadgets.
Lily Li and Barry Chan were attractive and likeable enough making One Foot Crane watchable if not memorable. As usual, I grade these old niche films on a curve.
5 Dec 2023
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We Are Eternally Grateful For This Movie Continuation
I had zero clue where this film fell into the timeline of the series. I knew it was after season 1, but had zero clue it was after season 2 as well! Which I love, because seasons 1 and 2 were both great. This was even better, because of the added budget for the film. Some of the shots in this were incredible, super gorgeous seriously. The series has always had an aesthetic that I drooled over as a filmmaker, but this took the cake. That last shot of Hira and Kiyoi under the transparent sheet was literally like something out of BTS's "Blood, Sweat & Tears" which is one of my favorite music videos of all time. The film shows their relationship very well, how they've grown and how they will continue to grow now that they've confirmed their forever. The stuff intertwined within the story was good too, but lets all be honest. Were here for the coupleness that is Hira and Kiyoi! I know there's not really a "need" for another film/season in this series...but I want one. I really enjoy these two and want more artistic BL filmmaking like this, I Told Sunset About You, Colour Rush, Until We Meet Again, etc. Its just so much more meaningful than any cash grab could ever dream of being.Was this review helpful to you?
Fantastic Watch Highly Recommend
I want to start this review by saying I went into this blind. Never saw the trailer, and only heard of Godzilla 🐲 but I have never seen a film.Really enjoyed the following...
◇How it was set in Japan where the story was originally from.
◇All in Japanese with subs How international films should be consumed in my personal opinion.
◇The special effects
◇The acting of the leads and extras.
◇The writing from the smallest details to the big moments.
◇Wardrobe department I see you and I appreciate you!
◇The struggles of war and what Godzilla represents. (If you want to go that direction which I 100% did)
◇The character growth of the leads but also side charcters like his neighbor.
◇Times of war and hardship can tear people apart or bring them together.
◇The ending 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
There is so much more I know I can find when I rewatch it.
My only con...
◇That one main character luck moment. You know what I'm taking about if you seen it.
I have struggled for YEARS with Japanese live action media. (Shows, movies, shorts) At last I have come across one I enjoyed. Looking forward to finding more.
In cnclusion this was a fantastic film and I'm glad I watched it in theaters.
Now 🏃♀️ to the internet to learn more about Godzilla the tale.
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Questionable stance but oh so beautiful
For all of Hero's striking use of colour and landscapes, the drama, characters and ideas are not sufficiently compelling enough to sustain the martial arts. It's easy on the eyes, but too segmented to gather much momentum and too art-directed to convey much urgency. However, I can't deny the result. Both thrilling and thoughtful, offering imaginative and meticulous set pieces as it considers questions of loyalty and the individual's role in history. It is not so much a historical epic as a kind of highly determined ballet: dreamy with bloodless violence, relying less on shades of character than on magnificence of gesture. For all my grievances, the performances of its leads are captivating, Dun Tan's score mesmerising, while Christopher Doyle's photography is overwhelmingly stimulating. Hero is a dazzlingly lensed, highly stylized meditation on heroism even if its ideology is confused.Was this review helpful to you?
An Outstanding Must See Action Movie with a Story
I have to confess I saw the 1954 Godzilla movie with Raymond Burr when I was a little girl and I fell in love with the whole idea of Godzilla, Mothra, and other monsters over time but as time went on the series faded into cliques and boring plots with this mechanical looking monster that did do roaring and fire breathing. So the interest faded. However, heard this movie had gotten the highest Rotten Tomatoes ratings and highest customer reviews ever, so I had to go see it. Was not disappointed - from beginning to end. There was everything you wanted in a drama, action movie. Great graphics, good character development, impeccable editing, and a screenwriter who did not compromise telling a story that was believable and so good that you even forget that 2 hours have passed because you are so engrossed in the story and its outcome. It is worth every dime of movie dollars to go see and it is beyond a masterpiece and brings the Godzilla franchise a new life if not exploited with cheap plots like the past 60-plus years.Was this review helpful to you?
She shoots, but does she score?
She shoots, but does she score? Well, between the copious amounts of histrionic, clichéd melodrama with scenes that go on for way too long, She Shoots Straight provides some genuinely uproarious and well-done action that wouldn't be out of place this side of Michelle Yeoh. Corey Yuen certainly brings variety to the film's kinetic style, particular standouts being a shootout shot in infrared and the storming of a ship with every manner of melee weapon imaginable, Yuen understands when to add a dramatic weight to make a true impact. Complimented by a decent if cheesy score by Lowell Lo, while the performances of Joyce Godenzi and Carina Lau balance out the deranged villainous antics of Yuen Wah. She Shoots Straight isn't bad by any means but the story doesn't make me really care about any of its sapy soap opera characters beyond a surface level while the action is too few and far between but finally delivers that explosive Hong Kong finale that you wait the whole film for, it just really needed some spicing up during the sluggish first half.Also, Joyce Godenzi should have totally lost that final fight against Agnes Aurelio.
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Asinine, yet heartbreaking. Garish, yet beautiful.
Story: "Killing Romance" is mainly a story about abuse, and quite a poignant one at that. Although the plot is extremely simplistic, at times utterly silly, at times borderline obnoxious, it never fails to deliver its message perfectly and without cheapening it. That being said, there are many times when the things happening on screen feel disconnected, almost arbitrary. I get that this is done in the name of comedy, but still, I don't think it landed.Acting/Cast: I love, love, LOVE Lee Ha Nee! She has this amazing combination of gorgeousness and hilarity that I find extremely charming. And she did not disappoint! She was stunningly beautiful, appropriately nutty, but she also exuded a certain vulnerability in the more sentimental parts of the movie that really resonated with me.
Lee Seon Kyun was perfect for the role of Jonathan, I can't think of anyone else who could play him better. He was the embodiment of kitsch. Unrelenting, over-the-top each and every moment he was on screen, ostentatious, ridiculous but also very believably threatening and cruel.
Gong Myeong was.... fine. I don't feel like he contributed anything more than an inoffensive performance and a cute face.
The rest of the cast (apart from Oh Jeong Se, who I found hilarious in his tiny bit) was perfectly average.
Music: Not my cup of tea, but I appreciated the performances. I especially liked Johnathan's last performance and how gradually more and more unhinged it got.
Rewatch value: None really... Maybe once again with friends to share the novelty of its style.
Overall: I feel like the weakest point of the movie is the comedy. I am one to admire absurd humor (huge fan of The Mighty Boosh), but I found most of the bits too silly for my liking. The ones that landed though, were very good. (The planning montage was a highlight in my opinion.) I also found myself quite bored at times, and I think it was mainly due to the disconnectedness I mentioned above. It was very disappointing because I could tell that the writers and the director KNEW how to make things work, but the whole thing was rushed and thus failed.
Apart from the performances of the two main leads, the other very strong asset of this movie is how aesthetically pleasing it is. This movie is f***ing STUNNING! The colors, the shots, the costumes, the makeup, the mustaches.... Everything is polished and very well thought out.
Ultimately, the absolute saving grace of "Killing Romance" is how deliciously camp it is. It never takes itself too seriously, but at the same time respects the seriousness of what it's trying to say. It's extra, loud, flamboyant, and, despite its many failings, FUN!
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Seriously underrated madness
One part ET, another part Indiana Jones but a Wong Jing movie in every other sense, Magic Crystal has everything and the kitchen sink cheesed up to the max, but dosed on adrenalin too. Wong Jing's signature chaotic direction, balls-to-the-wall pace, brutal stunt work, cheesy yet ridiculously charming effects and humour that ranges from childish to outright offensive but it's presented in such a way that it remains hilarious. Topped off by an incredible cast that includes the likes of Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock and an awesomely villainous Richard Norton all of whom commit 100% to the film's stupidity. It's over the top and knows it, delivering endless, ferocious and well-choreographed action all set to a rocking synth score that has become a staple of most 80s Hong Kong movies. Daft, dumb and oh-so-fun, Magic Crystal is one you owe yourself to watch if you are in any way a fan of shlocky excellence. Then again I also gave 5 stars to Future Cops... so you decide.Was this review helpful to you?
Sammo does John Woo
If you only know Sammo Hung for his more happy-go-lucky roles, then Eastern Condors will be a massive shock to the system, going as far as to tread into John Woo's territory of heroic bloodshed. Taking the idea of The Dirty Dozen but setting it in Vietnam, Sammo got serious with this one, even cutting his trademark hair and slimming right down. There are no mincing words about how brutally violent Eastern Condors gets... Hands get chopped off, Vietcong kids play Russian Roulette and people are shot point blank with no hesitation, in the wrong hands it's distasteful stuff, but Sammo treats it all with sincerity, marking this film out as one of his finest accomplishments as an actor, martial artist and director.Although the majority of the action is hyper-intense gun fights occasionally punctuated by a familiar moment seen in Western war films like The Deer Hunter or the Rambo franchise, there is a spectacular final bout of full-contact fisticuffs for the patient ones among you. The cast is populated by plenty of familiar names and faces, although I do wish they got a bit more characterisation outside of their nicknames and who plays them, they all commit often coming away bloody and bruised from the hyper-dangerous stunt work. For better or worse, Eastern Condors has a gritty edge that makes it truly stand out amongst Sammo's filmography often feeling like what Heroes Shed No Tears had originally wanted to be, it's an absolute must-see!
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Exhausting
Exceptionally convoluted and deliriously nihilistic, Genocide is appropriately harrowing and periodically bonkers if a little middling around the second act. The second of only two movies from director Kazui Nihonmatsu, having previously helmed The X from Outer Space, Genocide is all over the place with enough hair-brained ideas to fill two movies let alone a single 84-minute one, primarily the hallucinogenic bees being bred by an insane holocaust survivor. Nihonmatsu handles the film with considerably more skill than his prior effort, there's a wider variety of shots and a better building of suspense thanks in part to the photography of Shizuo Hirase and the passable score from Shunsuke Kikuchi. It's very much an accident of a film, suitably ambitious and apocalyptic in its finality, ultimately hinging on the potential detonation of a hydrogen bomb and the single mother who may have to single-handedly repopulate a country. Genocide is an exhausting yet very rewarding experience, showcasing so pretty damn good filmmaking for its small budget but, as noted before, has too much plot for its own good.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch the HK Cut
The answer is Jackie Chan. Who Am I? sees Jackie tackle the amnesiac spy thriller years before the Matt Damon shaky cam series and although a lot of the acting from its supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired (almost to the point of brain dead), the action more than makes up for it. The story feels unnecessarily complex and often messy but makes for an otherwise very compelling mystery (provided you watch the right version) in one of Jackie's more serious turns ala Crime Story. Benny Chan's direction is all pretty solid and Nathan Wang's score is decent if very dated, but seeing it paired with Jackie running around causing mass destruction in the Netherlands all while clad in a pair of clogs was truly a sight to behold. Despite a tepid first half, the film picks up steam with some great action, a fantastic car chase and the usual death-defying stunts in the second, with the rooftop fight easily ranking as one of his best, it's all just as imaginative and energetic as his early works even with Chan's advancing age.Was this review helpful to you?
Overly sexed cheese
Even with its mean-spirited streak, Body Weapon is a rather daring psychological thriller that combines the twisted sexuality and flamboyant savagery of Naked Killer with the physical masterstrokes of Jackie Chan in high gear. It's a relatively infamous Category III movie, but despite its status as one, it rarely goes above what one would expect from a sleazy exploitation film based solely on its gimmicky title. Between the tonally confused yet hilariously cheesy jokes, plodding sentimentality and overly sexed-up gimp-suited villain, Body Weapon offers up a tantalising amphetamine rush of brutal martial arts and steamy eroticism that impacts the senses with delirious intensity.Was this review helpful to you?
Lavishly heartwarming
Takashi Yamazaki's lavish screen adaptation of Ryōhei Saigan's immensely popular manga, Always Sunset on Third Street is unashamedly sentimental, a glossy, big-budgeted soap opera remaining captivating in its swoon of admiration for the period it is portraying. It's not intended as a serious examination of the tribulations faced by post-war Japan, though hints are thrown in now and again, instead, it focuses on the daily lives of its larger-than-life characters. Although it sometimes feels episodic, the cornerstone of this movie's success lies in its charming essence, lovable performances and overall warmth, sweeping the viewer along with its energy, tugging at the heartstrings every step of the way.Was this review helpful to you?
