Reviews

Exceptionally charming adventure film

Drawing heavily from kids' adventure films, ergo The Goonies just minus the gritty edge of the 80s and early Spielberg, Juvenile marks the directorial debut of one Takashi Yamazaki. He weaves together an engaging coming-of-age story primarily following the child characters and invoking a sense of imagination many kids partook in during the early years of their lives, retaining an old-school sci-fi charm along the way. It all feels genuine and is helped by the performances of its cast, although it does struggle to make many of the relationships organic. Its musical score by Yasuaki Shimizu is pleasant on the ears, with a beautiful theme to close the film the visual effects however, are more of a mixed bag. The CGI has aged horribly as was par for the course in Japan during this period but the practical effects work is fantastic, especially Tetra who is freaking adorable. Despite its faults, Juvenile is a competently made movie and an exceptionally charming one at that, capturing that feeling of childhood nostalgia with relative ease, Yamazai had a lot to offer and Juvenile was the first stepping stone to that success.

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Exceeded disappointments

I LOVE FMA. Love it. I adore the manga, which I reread about once a year, I watched the original anime, and was over the moon when they remade it into FMA Brotherhood, and I was so, so, SO excited when this was announced. I suppose I should have tempered my expectations to Bleach live action level, not Rurouni Kenshin quality levels. I'm going to place some, if not most, of the blame on Netflix because they're known for doing things quick and cheap, and this was no exception.

Now, I've watched this twice, when it first came out, and... a few months (?) ago because, surely, it couldn't be as bad as I remembered. Sadly, it remains terrible. They should've done a live action *series,* not try to squish what is a very intricate, intentional, and tight plot line into this-- mess.

I do appreciate most of the casting (Hughes is a blast, Ed is pretty funny), the costumes are pretty good, but that's about where I stop with the praise.

Now, for the rest...
- I agree with the other reviewer who said the casting for Envy isn't great, and I do love Kanata Hongo but not in this role. The personality feels prosaic, something's missing (maybe overall hating whenever he shows up? Lol), which ties into my next point...
- Characters/relationships: we're not given time to get to know characters, their relationships aren't drawn out or portrayed with any depth so we have no time to grow fond of them and thus want to root for them, which makes it hard for anything to have any emotional impact and so... why bother watching? (I'd say don't, go read the manga or watch Brotherhood instead)
* Related: Sho Tucker's portrayal, meh, I really don't get his craziness, that whole arc doesn't land (especially with the plot changes), which...
- Story/plot: why? T_T Why did you hack it into pieces and rearrange it like this? (Time constraints, blah blah, I know, but NO)
* It really doesn't explain anything to anyone unfamiliar with FMA, so again, why bother with this?
* You can't take Scar out of the Tucker/Nina plot line?? Or take Scar out at all, from this first movie??
* Using too many characters now instead of later (again, glossing over relationships), discombobulating whatever sense could be made from the story resulting in low emotional stakes
* Really?? You're using the immortal army NOW?? What the hell is gonna happen in the sequels!? (More disaster)
* Winry really was in this too much (and I like her!), and it didn't do shit for the plot, which leads me to...
- the Japanese-ification of... everything. To sum up my chat with a few Japanese friends, who don't watch Japanese productions for these and other reasons:
* the sexism is showing - female characters being mostly "useful" as long as it's being a love interest (re: Winry) but losing agency or being, frankly, out of character (see: Hawkeye), which is devastating because the characters in the manga are so much more (I hate losing that for all of them, but especially for the female characters where it's most visible)
* the acting is... Like That. I used to love Japanese productions, truly, but anything I've tried watching lately has felt obviously fake, the acting not credible because you can always predict the script and the characters reactions. Maybe it's stylistic? But I'm rarely surprised so it becomes boring and unimaginative after a while. Maybe I'm just used to Korean quality now and everything else now feels too obviously staged, I don't know
- the amount of (bad) CGI. This isn't just this movie but Netflix, and others, as a whole, but UGH, no! Al looks terrible, the automail looks meh, even the alchemy I'm underwhelmed by, and the "sets" (green screens) are also ehh (some of them are pretty, yes)

Watch it if you want to cringe, or can only watch it 15mn at a time, otherwise honestly don't bother, stick with the manga and anime and go watch the actors in something else.

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Two Friends Moaning On Every Bite Of Food.

If you like watching other people eat while exclaiming their exaggerated pleasure loudly then I would recommend this, otherwise there's not much there. It's kind of cute but I mainly found it annoying. 50% of it is over-the-top "OMG" noises when eating and 40% is yelling/screeching so the 10% when anybody talks normally I had to briefly turn the volume up for before turning it back down again.

EVERY bite of food (or drink) is the SAME level of moaning/squealing inducing "orgasmic", lol! Rice with mayo is just as amazing as a gyoza with kimchi and cheese, or a sip of beer, or a sundae, or ramen with vegetables, or a plain baked sweet potato, etc. It's ridiculous and boringly repetative. The only thing that got a normalized "yum" was the corn soup (likely because it had an emotional tie-in with the characters' joint history).

General Spoiler below.

The movie also felt like only part of a story. It's a slow burn bromance that barely grows before the movie is done. The characters individually come to some conclusions about how important the other is to them in a way that is alluded to vs spelled out. With each other, they confirm they will continue on together as they have been without really saying why. And that's it. The movie does stop at a good pausing point, but that's not very satisfying as an ending.

The acting is decent except Aki is vocally childish. There's not much plot or script that isn't noise for the actors to work with so it's a bit difficult to ascertain their talent.

Cinematography was good and soft.

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Cute & Fluffy With Manga-style Acting & Humor.

An easy 84 min watch; low plot and low angst fun with a happy ending. As it's based on a manga, it's not surprising that they employ a purposeful silliness in telling the story. The exaggerated situations and acting are not everyone's cup of tea, but it's done fairly well here even though it's a low budget production. It succeeded in making me smile and quietly chuckle multiple times. (The slippery sock chase around the sofa was my favorite bit.)

Mahiro (as Izumi) is the strongest actor. Even within the acting style chosen he shows range and some nuance. The others are flatter in their abilities but no one really drags the story down.

The camerawork needed work. Everything seemed hand-held (even still shots) and any panning movements were slightly jerky/stuttering. I was able to ignore it most of the time but I would not have wanted to watch a full series of this as too much of it would give me a headache (but my eyes are sensitive to this kind of thing).

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Good Enough

Japanese Movie '' Tokyo Revengers 2 : Bloody Halloween : Decisive Battle '' is the second part of the second movie of the Tokyo Revengers series, which is based on a manga series with the same title and has been also made into an anime.

The movie showcases the decisive battle, as its name suggests, that will alter the future depending on its outcome, a battle that was built up in the first part of the Bloody Halloween arc. And it does not disappoint. It is indeed bloody, and emotional, and full of action. The fight scenes were well executed, the characters showed character development, and the twists were enjoyable.

In addition, the all star cast did a great job with their performances and enhanced the entertainment of the viewer.

So, overall, eight and a half out of ten.

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Good Enough

Japanese Movie '' Tokyo Revengers 2 : Bloody Halloween : Destiny '' is the first part of the second movie of the Tokyo Revengers series, which is based on a manga series with the same title and has been also made into an anime.

The movie is an improvement compared to the first movie when it comes to progress, as the story is more smooth and has time to breathe and properly develop. And, as the characters are now well known, the plot focuses more on the events and on their background, as well as the character development of the main lead. The action scenes were enjoyable as well.

Finally, the performances were great by every actor and actress in the cast, especially since it consisted of the biggest stars right now in the Japanese showbiz.

So, overall, eight and a half out of ten.

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Good Enough

Japanese Movie '' Kingdom 2 : To The Far Land '' is the second movie of the Kingdom series and it takes place after the events of the first movie.

The pros of the movie were its characters and that great battle. The characters, especially the one that was introduced for the first time in this movie, had strong background stories and strong personalities to boot. They were those who supported the story, which wasn't much in the end. The great battle was, also, well handled and had enough action and nicely choreographed scenes.

On the other hand, the plot was stretched out too thinly. There wasn't much going on for most of its length, and things only picked up towards the ending, giving us hope for the third movie. So, as a whole, this movie serves more as a bridge between the two movies, with only a battle to show for it.

Finally, the performances were pretty great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Good Enough

Japanese Movie '' In Love and Deep Water '' is a romantic comedy/ cozy mystery. It takes place on a cruise ship where two people who had been cheated by their partners witness a murder the victim of which goes missing.

The movie tries to blend in two things, the mystery-crime case and the love story. However, as it is a movie, it doesn't have enough time to have them both developed nicely. Thus, both of them end up half-baked.

However, the story isn't that bad. The mystery is indeed intriguing and, in the end, I do wish that it was better presented, as it had lots of potential.

The love story was cute as well. From the prompt that brought the two of them together, to the progress of their relationship, it was enjoyable to watch, and it would have been great if they had more time. The couple had chemistry as well, which helped with the enjoyment of the romance.

Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast and, especially, the kids!

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Not Good Enough

Japanese Movie '' Black Night Parade '' is a fantasy Christmas comedy. It is light, crazy at times, and has a killer cast to boot.

First of all, the movie is indeed Christmassy, even though the story is about the black Santa, the enemy of the red Santa Claus. And even though there was potential when it came to the story, in the end, it was just an okay story with some action scenes, some heartwarming moments, but not enough time for the plotlines to properly progress and develop.

The humor was, on the other hand, decent enough. Not laugh out loud, but not cringe either, though some scenes were over the top.

The performances were enjoyable as well, with every actor and actress in the cast doing a great job with their characters.

So, overall, four out of ten

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Three parallel stories are intertwined with the whole film, and at first it looks as if they were not related, to eventually completely combine completely. You have to see this brilliant piece several times to understand all the contexts and perceive each scene, because one next to the other is unique. The gay line is mixed mainly with Transgender and Travesti line. Those who have an understanding of the different differences of sexuality and the identity of human beings will certainly be absorbed by the film, because this problem has its excellent quality, story and acting quality in the project. And from my point of view, the viewer also spiced up with extremely loose actors in the roles of Tonmai-E, Fai-E and young monk Haiz, who receives newcomer Din-A and Suprov played their female roles and Saitarn, Tonlew, Docmai ...
When I made a correction of translation into Czech and everything again after less than a year, when I saw the film for the first time, it fallen (the viewer must be very careful to understand everything at the end) and even though I do not normally look for every film on the theme of Trans, so I cried like a turtle at the end, realized how it was all well and originally thought out ... I can only interpret in the waves only in two ways: either DIN or HAIZ just imagined in dreams or it is at a time, When DIN was no longer in the monastery and HAIZ neither ...
In the end, it is a piece of the director of the current series The Eclipse - Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, which for this film at two world film festivals for directing and the screenplay collected most of the awards (7 victories and 5 nominations). One victory belongs to the best side role actors - Prama Imanothai (FAI -E), this actor also plays in the next movie I saw - Driver


Tři paralelní příběhy se prolínají celým filmem a zezačátku to vypadá, jakoby spolu nesouvisely, aby se nakonec překvapivě zcela spojily. Toto geniální dílko musíte vidět vícekrát, abyste pochopili všechny souvislosti a vnímali každou scénu, protože jedna vedle druhé je jedinečná. Gay linka se mísí především s transgender a travesti linkou. Ten, kdo má pochopení pro různé odlišnosti sexuality a identity lidských bytostí, tak jistě bude snímkem pohlcen, neboť tento problém má v projektu své výborné kvality filmové, příběhové i herecké. A z mého pohledu diváka navíc okořeněno nesmírně sypmatickými herci v rolích Tonmai-e, Fai-e a mladého mnicha Haize, který přijímá nováčka Din-a a suprově zahrály své ženské role i Saitarn, Tonlew, Dokmai ...
Když jsem dělal korekci překladu do češtiny a vše mě do sebe znovu po necelém roce, když jsem film viděl poprvé, zapadlo (divák musí dávat velký pozor, aby na konci všemu porozuměl) a i když ani já běžně nevyhledávám každý film s tématikou trans, tak jsem na konci plakal jako želva , uvědomil si, jak je celkově vše suprově a originálně promyšleno ... Dováděni ve vlnách si mohu vykládat pouze dvěma způsoby: buď si to Din a nebo i Haiz jen představovali ve snech a nebo je to v době, kdy už Din v klášteře nebyl a Haiz taky ne ...
Nakonec je to dílko režisérky současného seriálu The Eclipse - Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, která za tento film na dvou světových filmových festivalech za režii a scénář posbírala většinu z cen (7 vítězství a 5 nominací). Jedno vítězství patří i nejlepšímu herci ve vedlejší roli - Prama Imanothai (postava Fai-e), tento herec hraje i v dalším filmu, který jsem viděl - Driver

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Thrilling dark BL with master - servant relationship: captivating, wish it was longer!

This BL movie is centered around the master-servant relationship of two guys, as they are intertwingled with each other while facing a dire criminal situation. I really enjoyed the story and I honestly wish the film would have been longer, especially to have more time in the last act of the script and with the conclusion.

The chemistry between the two main leads was very strong and captivating. One of the character has a clear chokehold on the other one, the introduction and the set up allows the viewer to immediately grasp the toxicity of the link between the protagonists. I truly enjoyed the performance of the two main actors but I found the antagonists a bit too caricatural. I think the scenario is really carrying the performances of the cast, it really provided great acting opportunities for the two main males leads but was maybe not developed enough regarding the antagonists and the crime aspect of the film.

The filmmaking was good with an indie feel that I appreciated. I loved the reference to Plato’s "Other Half" speech, it was so adequate with the feelings of the main characters and truly added an additional layer of deepness to their relationship. The soundtrack was pretty gloomy and angsty, very fitting with the dark atmosphere of the movie.

I would recommend this to people looking for a captivating BL relationship with subservient/dominant tones. Given the context in which the characters are evolving, be aware that it is a pretty toxic, violent and triggering story. It is very thrilling and chocking at the same time, I wish it would have been more developed on some aspects (especially regarding the past of the two main characters) but it might be me being greedy.

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Not really a BL but rather a strong, raw and brutal psychological story with a lot of trauma

This movie is very difficult to describe: it is about a very traumatic event happening to a school teacher as his life falls literally into pieces. It is raw, brutal and violent in addition of featuring a community of outcasts and a darker side of the Japanese society. It confronts the viewer to the ugliness of the reality of dealing with abusers and how it is difficult to receive proper help to heal as well as to find justice and peace. In term of story, I was pretty impressed by the choices made by the screenwriter. Pacing could have been a bit better, especially toward the ending.

The acting was good overall: especially regarding the two main characters. I would have expected maybe a bit more from the secondary casting who did ok but where in some case it could have been stronger (especially when comparing with what the main leads were providing). Even at the level of the two main male leads, it could have been even stronger but they did a very good job given the raw scenes in which they were acting.

The music is pretty central in a way to the film. It is super interesting to see how poetry, language and then rap and music are used to deal with trauma and as part of the healing process. The filmmaking was great: it had an indie vibe totally fitting the scenario, with some camera movements giving an angsty vibe which brought me shivers.

I would recommend this to people looking for a strong psychological story with a thriller / dark side and involving very traumatic events happening to the characters. It is completely gripping and gut-wrenching. This film is full of triggers, shocking scenes and very graphic: be mindful and check the tags (or even maybe the spoils if you want to make sure this is a movie you will be able to digest).

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The past and present connection is everything to me.

I like this movie because it had that aspect of connecting the past and present as well as the fact that they actually made contact with it.
The story is interesting. I love the back story and how they're thrown into that story themselves.
Personally, I watched this during midnight so it hits different than usual (I had someone with me though. for assurance ). I re-watched it during the day and thought that it wasn't that scary.
For those who are first time watchers and want to feel scared, watch this alone during late night. Having someone with you decreases the thrill and fear meter. LOL.

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