Reviews

Taking punk to a whole new level and meticulously tailored to weigh on its audience, 964 Pinocchio is an exhausting watch; the constant presence of screaming, yelling, grunting and whining bears its own unique sense of torture. A raw, hand-tooled vision that unfolds with visceral and stomach-churning intensity, Shozin Fukui throws shades of disturbing, comedic, messed-up, revolting, and mesmerising at you all at once in a breakneck charge through a brutal and uncaring post-industrial netherworld. The filthy, grimy aesthetic and relentless wallowing won't appeal to everyone, as it screams in your face and refuses to apologise for any of its repulsive imagery. However, the film presents a compelling concept to you, delving into it wildly once you're settled in, bearing all the hallmarks of an endurance test, complete with frenetic editing and off-the-wall acting choices, with mental anguish far exceeding physical tolerance. What 964 Pinocchio lacks in polish or budget, it makes up for with a visual intensity matched only by the sheer, uncompromising determination, hysterical pacing and the utterly demented insanity of its soundscape. It has an undeniable charm, but what exactly that is, is for you to decide.

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Boasting a title only 90s Hong Kong cinema could conjure up, The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead is both enticing and misleading, yet tenuously sums up the basic premise of what could be thinly labelled as a plot. Everything comes thick and fast. Opening with a Bond-esque title sequence, we are under little illusion of what to expect. A gratuitous mix of sex, violence and martial arts, the film is dumb, messy and loaded with excessive nudity, but if you can get past the cack-handed execution, you'll find yourself in for a wild ride. Director Lu Chun-Ku delivers plenty of bright colours and hyperactive camerawork with a vigorous exuberance to the proceedings that ensures the film never sits still long enough to be boring, no matter how confusing the story gets. The film just careens through a half-dozen genres, like a priest with a short attention span, delivering a delirious mess of supernatural sleaze, wire flying action and sexploitation horror; the balance is very askew. I don't think the filmmakers were inept, just horrifically misguided to the point of hilarity. The cast ultimately end up losing out to all the boobs and gore, so I don't really blame some of them for phoning it in. Donnie Yen, Ben Lam and Ken Lo do get the opportunity to show off, however fleeting it might be, while Sibille Hu is around for about ten minutes, mostly to complain and swear a lot. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what I say about The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead, even if it doesn't contain any of the latter part of its title; it's worth the price of admission for said title alone. It's stupid enough fun to forgive its glaring shortcomings with enough stylistic flourishes here and there, plus copious amounts of boobage, to keep an otherwise low-budget production from falling apart at the seams.

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Kung Fu Cannibalism

Forgoing the psychedelic arthouse ambitions of his feature debut for down and dirty exploitation, Tsui Hark's We’re Going to Eat You is an unlikely and unsettling combination of a cannibal film fused with the slapstick of The Three Stooges. Although essentially humorous, the film can suddenly shift and present some genuinely unsettling scenes. The bloodlust and an appetite for human flesh being played for laughs is disturbing, but the sheer irreverence makes the overly sardonic tone so effective. The frenetic direction, editing and camerawork mix splatter, slapstick and mad martial arts choreographed by Corey Yuen to often impressive effect. However, the non-stop barrage of chases, hair-raising close calls and near-death escapes, a structure obviously indebted to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, grows tiresome and repetitive. Typically for a Hark film, characters frequently espouse personal philosophies, trying to make sense of an often chaotic universe. However, amidst the lunacy, the various plot threads never go anywhere. While We're Going To Eat You probably isn't the martial arts answer to Cannibal Holocaust; instead, it sets up a black comedy and then indulges in some morbid fun with a bit of kung fu thrown in for good measure, compensating for its lack of polish and coherence with Hark's boundless energy and everything-and-the-kitchen-sink attitude.

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Ein Film ohne Logik

Dieser Film ist pure Zeitverschwendung. Es gibt einfach zu viele unlogische Handlungen. Das Setting ist teilweise extrem billig. Die Schnitte sind unpassend, oftmals verläuft die Story holprig. Es passt einfach nichts richtig zusammen. Und wenn ihr euch das ganze auf Prime mit DE Untertiteln anschauen wollt, lasst es! Die Untertitel scheinen KI generiert zu sein. Ständig fehlen die Kernaussagen im Satz. Die Anrede springt von "Du" auf "Sie" und mal ehrlich...wer siezt seine Mutter?! Die strunz dumme KI... oder statt zur Bestätigung "richtig" oder" ist Recht" zu sagen...meint die KI, man bestätigt mit dem Wort "Rechts"
Der ganze Film ist durchweg ein Ärgernis ohne Sinn und Verstand. Die Story ist recht plump. Erklärt wird eigentlich gar nichts, also lassen sich viele Dinge auch nicht nachvollziehen.

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Although a lot happened, there is little meaning to be found.

This film being advertised as romance with darker elements feels rather misleading. It attempts to be a romance, but the developing connection between the leads did not lead to me investing in their relationship. It attempts to have mystery elements, but failed to make things less than obvious. The strongest point of the film feels like a cop-out, in the sense that it brings about room for debate on the effects and ethics therein of manipulation? But saying that still feels like a stretch.

In this film, a lot happens. The first quarter of the film sets off at a good pace, where it feels like it will comment on humanity or school life in some way, but it goes on not to do this. So it isn’t really a human drama. Neither Miyamine nor Kei gives viewers enough to make this a psychological drama. Crime and thriller are also not appropriate genres for the events or atmosphere. I already mentioned that the romance here is not given enough development, and I am capable of enjoying a subtle romance, but I didn’t really feel the leads connect here.

So, I come back to this. In this film, there are a lot of things that happen, and everything is somewhat intertwined, but if this were a book, it feels more like a history textbook. I have been shown the events that took place and who did what and why, but not in a way that evokes any more emotion in me than reading a list of things I need to memorise for a test.

Looking past the story, the acting was….fine? I don’t know if it was a casting issue or a directing issue, but the character meant to be the most psychologically fascinating showed no signs of depth below the surface. The leads were outshone by the supporting cast.

I am not a reader of the original material so I cannot speak for whether or not this is a good adaptation of a pre-existing work. I suspect the original would have had far more psychological aspects.

This review may make it sound like I disliked or hated the film, which I didn’t. However, it felt meaningless to me somehow. I was interested enough to watch it but it failed to stand out to me in any positive ways, in spite of a strong opening quarter.

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A strong premise that forgets what made it interesting.

I went into The Ugly (dir. Yeon Sangho) genuinely curious the premise sounded simple, sharp, and full of potential. And to be fair, the cast holds it down. Park Jeongmin and Kwon Haehyo are reliably solid, Han Jihyun fits perfectly as the TV PD, but the real MVP here is Shin Hyunbeen. Most of her performance lives in her body and voice, and somehow you feel everything Jang Younghee feels without even seeing her face. That’s skill.

But somewhere along the way, Yeon Sangho seems to have misplaced the “why.” Why is Younghee hated so much? What’s actually fueling the disgust toward her? Without that context, the whole thing starts to wobble. I kept wondering, were Korea’s beauty standards back then really that brutal? Because honestly, Younghee isn’t ugly give her some powder and she could headline a weekend drama.

If Yeon wanted this film to resonate internationally, he probably should’ve fleshed out that emotional backbone. The movie starts like it has something bold to say, but by the end it just… forgets to say it. Great performances, great setup — but the follow-through? Kinda vanishes into thin air.

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Truly a masterpiece

I don't ever do written reviews nor do I give a ten unleas I absolutely mean it. I'm a very harsh critic but I have to give this movie the honor it's due. Without further ado my critique below.

I don't understand why this movie is rated so low. It'd truly a masterpiece. I love how the director decided to portay this movie/story. It's both a beautiful painting and poetry in motion. The screen shots are amazing as well as the atmosphere. It feels so realistic. This is not your average cliche movie/tv drama series at all. The fight scenes are very realistic and I love that there's not any background music. It adds to the ambiance and realism of the movie making it feels more real and alive. Almost as if you're in the rooms of the movie itself.

The story basically centers around the female main character and slowly depicts her character. Both a lethal sharp blade and also a deeply hurt individual. Her acting is very deep and profound portrayed in both her expressions and movements.

Out of all the historical Chinese films I've ever watched this movie has to be the most accurate of them all. Not that the story itself was based on historical facts but the atmosphere, costumes, actors mannerisms, and sets all portray how ancient China really was back then. Absolutely fantastic.

Overall, this movie is telling a story that dosen't need to be covered over with background music or a lot of dialog to be able to coney it meaning, giving the story more depth. Beautifully portrayed.

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The gang was back together again with Honda Ishiro at the helm, Ifukube Akira providing the music, and Tsuburaya Eiji creating the world of miniatures and special effects in Battle in Outer Space. Not as socially relevant as Godzilla (1954) but an alien invasion did manage to bring the warring nations of the world together to form a united front against the extraterrestrial interlopers.

Alien spaceships destroy a space station orbiting the Earth and then move on to creating havoc on terrestrial targets. RIP Venice. A covert alien base is discovered on the moon. Fortunately, the clever Earthlings have created a heat ray that can combat the invading force. Katsumiya, his girl Etsuko, and Professor Adachi lead one SPIP spaceship headed to stop the invaders. An international force commanded by Dr. Richardson mans the second spaceship. Unbeknownst to either crew, navigator Iwomura’s brain has been commandeered by the Natals. With their mind control, lasers, and anti-gravity machines, is there any way the people of Earth will survive?

The first hump in watching this movie is the “science”. The Natals froze objects in order to release them from gravity. Mmm…kay. The astronauts were constantly checking the barometric pressure in their moon vehicles. Uh, what? Three different times, a crew member was warned about there being no gravity on the ship and little on the moon when they floated about while everyone else’s feet were on the ground. Were they able to will themselves to not float?

I’m a Godzilla and Mothra girl so I just roll with the miniatures. Tsuburaya did an excellent job with the Earth cities, alien ships (the smaller ones looked like Manta Rays), and especially the moon’s surface. I did giggle at the moon vehicles because they strongly resembled the Oscar Mayer Weinermobiles from my country. In all, the special effects and miniatures and sets were better than average for the time. The acting was pretty good though Etsuko was not the brightest bulb.

This was supposed to be a follow-up to The Mysterians (1957). Apparently, the only thing from the original script that survived were the characters having some of the same names as the predecessor. Mount Fuji survived this flick, but other cities were not so lucky. An alien kaiju or giant robot would have been nice to have, but that’s nitpicking. Overall, the film was quite watchable largely due to Tsuburaya’s efforts. If you like Honda’s early films in this genre, Battle from Outer Space is one to try.

27 October 2025

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Bee Minus movie

Killer Bee Invasion was a low budget creature feature lacking any creativity and weighed down by dreadful dialogue. It’s only redeeming quality was the near constant action mostly dominated by Dobermans on steroids.

A “rescue” squad is dispatched to the Island of Death after a distress call from the scientists working there. The mercenaries are heavily armed with automatic weapons and grenades. One woman wields a bow. Aside from the snarling creatures lurking in the jungle, swarms of killer bees with deadly poison threaten the squad. The rescuers find four scientists alive but are far more concerned with laying their hands on a chunk of amber with an ancient bee inside called N17. The bee’s DNA holds the possibility for extending life expectancy. The island is not keen on them taking the treasure, and sends its security team of hellhounds and bees after them.

The characters were poorly and thinly drawn. Their motivations were even sketchier. The voiceover work just muddled up the story. The dialogue was painfully bad as were the stock character reactions. Bad editing created more confusion by bouncing back and forth. I’ve watched my share of cheap creature films, but this one really began to annoy me. Last but not least, whenever a character died, overly dramatic music cued up like we were supposed to care they died. I didn’t even know most of the names until people started screaming their names repeatedly as they died. “Jaaaaaaaaason!” Jason was a self-serving jerk, let him go.

I don’t usually write such negative reviews because I know everyone has different tastes and this movie might be bee-utiful for someone else. This film just aggravated me with its cardboard characters saying cardboard words with cardboard acting with overly dramatic music wailing with each death. The bad CGI bees also played second fiddle to the CGI enhanced hellhounds. I will say something positive, the action was prolific and the running time was thankfully short.

26 October 2025

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My October 2025 recommendation

Watch this because of the Recommendation Challenge. 1 thing I can say about this is unfortunately not my cup of tea.

What is the perfect day for you? This is the story of Hirayama & his daily life.

Hirayama works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. He seems content with his simple life. He follows a structured everyday life and dedicates his free time to his passion for music and books. Hirayama also has a fondness for trees and photographs them. More of his past is gradually revealed through a series of unexpected encounters.

That's pretty much the story. I quite understand what drew people to watch or even like this movie. Like many people who wrote the review, yeah the simplicity in this drama indeed brings peace & appreciation of life.

But unfortunately for me that's also scream boring. I'm sorry I didn't mean to insult this movie whatsoever. But this movie indeed gives us nothing more than that.

So, if that's your cup of tea, you'll find yourself enjoying this movie. But if you're like me, then you’ll find this boring.

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Fantastic super power movie - horror edition

This was such a fantastic movie all around .. woahhh now that i don't have time for dramas and am catching up on some movies .. what a gem tbh .. i highly recommend ... it has a boss fight too .. lol .
the scenery is good , the acting is lovely . i loved the older priest ( such a sweetie ) and lol park seo jun was good and pretty funny with his " almost no reactions " i liked his character a lot , i loved their relationship tbh , i wanted more too , i wouldn't have mind if it were to be made into a drama but i'd like to see the same cast .....

i can't tell you how scary i consider it because it didn't scare me but it does have some stuff but then again it's the kind i'm really used to ... the only horror i can't watch is the really really bloody gorey savage ones where intense disfiguration and killings happen directly on the screen or where there's a really creepy thing that happens that haunts me and this didn't have that , at least not to the level that scares me but the movie is gripping from start to finish .. and you do find yourself rooting for the characters and it even has some scenes that try to haunt you . which is why it succeeds in selling itself as a horror more than other kmovies who say are horror but are genuinely just thrillers with a monster or a silly looking ghost ..

it has a villain whose well written and hero whose journey and story was very interesting and intriguing to follow , it just like all kdramas and movies didn't shy from having meaning and emotions which something i really like .. i like how the priest explains to our hero how his " disbelief" was rather faith and is actually what fuelled the super power ( how i interpreted it ) sounds vague but when you watch this movie you will understand what i mean

for me felt almost like a hero story but powered by jesus. idk i have mixed thought about the concept but it was used in a good way , that glorifies god so maybe that's my thoughts on it for now

final verdict ... good for movie night , i watched it alone but would be nice to watch with friends or fam . ( would imagine this is not too suitable for people who are easily disturbed or kids or for those who haven't watched enough horror .. sometimes the idea of something can disturb more the scenes too so yeah )

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