Reviews

It's no glory. The film contains typical features of film production in non-Islamic Asian countries - naivety, playback, the implausibility of some scenes, comedy that will make an Asian viewer laugh and a European one rather cry. But take everything I wrote with an exaggeration. Otherwise, I like Thai art, but not all of it.

And now the pros. Once the film is Thai, I feel freer because I know that where it is necessary to portray the story, there may (or may not) be intimate actors, unlike the current Chinese-censored production. Decent quality copy with easy to read English subtitles and looks good on the boys, especially Daniel.

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Eleven years after A Werewolf Boy premiered, I have finally gotten around to watching it. The story felt like a fusion of Harlequin romance and fairytale with a warning. While often predictable it was also enjoyable and addicting.

Kim Sun Yi along with her mother and sister move into a house in a remote rural area. Their landlord is the “slimeball”, Ji Tae. Not long after settling in Sun Yi discovers a feral young man hiding next to a shed. He wolfs down the food her mother gives him. Unlike so many rigid Korean mothers in dramas, open-hearted Ok Hui takes the stranger into their home. With 60,000 orphans from the war, it wasn’t a leap of imagination to think he had been abandoned and left to fend for himself. She gives him the name Cheol Su. Sun Yi takes it upon herself to train Cheol Su like a puppy with good results. “Wait” comes to mean many things as the story progresses. As Cheol becomes more civilized she begins to teach him to read and write. Ji Tae comes to resent Cheol Su’s protective nature whenever he attempts to put the moves on Sun Yi which leads to dire consequences and a bizarre wartime experimentation revelation.

I enjoyed Park Bo Young and Soon Joong Ki’s performances. It was refreshing to watch them when they acted freer and more natural than their more crystallized on brand performances in recent years. Jang Young Nam has great depth as an actress and it showed in this film, too. Yoo Yeon Seok was given the tough job of playing Ji Tae, a character with zero nuance and an animal far more dangerous than a wolf.

A Werewolf Boy was a chaste romantic coming of age tale set in a beautiful bucolic setting. Promises were kept and broken, something unavoidable on the road to adulthood. It veered in and out of fantasy, showing once again that the worst monsters are actually human beings.

10/27/23

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Maybe I was looking for even more depth in this original, almost unique Chinese short than it has. Or am i wrong?

I watched again because the music was a powerful storyteller, perhaps greater than the dancing skills of the individual protagonists. Asian concept ... if they had masks, I wouldn't recognize them as being from China. Different, different from tons of other shorts. I'm raising the rating. Damn, that music got me...

Maybe I was looking for even more depth in this original, almost unique Chinese short than it has. Or am i wrong?

I watched again because the music was a powerful storyteller, perhaps greater than the dancing skills of the individual protagonists. Asian concept ... if they had masks, I wouldn't recognize them as being from China. Different, different from tons of other shorts. I'm raising the rating. Damn, that music got me...

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A homage to all those unhappily in love! (Wherever. Whenever.)

I´d say this is a homage to all those unhappily in love! (Wherever. Whenever.)
Calm, like the water on windless days. Bare in words, instead told with images, well-placed scene settings and metaphors.
The protagonists are not so good with words, rather insecure and awkward when it comes to sharing their feelings. (But actually, nowhere in the movie is there any role model, whatsoever, from whom they could have learned better - how to deal with feelings openly, sincerely and appropriately.)

The original title was "Lost Love" or "Missed Love". But the international title “Lost in Love” is also appropriate, as the protagonists don´t seem to know how to navigate their feelings of love. This brings us back to the calm – becalm, with no wind to fill the sails. In fact, there is no tension between the protagonists - it is the drama of bad or missing timing in love. It is no coincidence that bus terminals become a structuring leitmotif.

The story of "Lost in Love" is not spectacular. On the contrary, it is the essence of a non-story. A story about a story that just doesn't want to happen. Nevertheless, it goes deep - because it relies on the effect of the blank, on the space between, on what works in the background and constantly gnaws at the heart. And this, actually, is an all too familiar, well known, painful experience for many people. It doesn’t have to be explicit. It is even more precise that way.
The KMovie has nothing to do with a typical RomCom. Nevertheless, "Lost in Love" is poetic in its own way - with an affectionate look at the unfortunate lovers on this earth: their hopes; their fear of self-confidently standing up for their feelings and thus maybe provoking the dreaded, outspoken “No!” or “Go!”; their inability to let go.

Water is the leitmotif in several ways. There is the rowing school and the fish farm representing dynamism and movement. And then there is the rain and the tears, shed or non-shed. But “Lost in Love” is also expressly colorful. With an eye for the banal details in everyday life. Authentic. Without makeup. The smell and the humid air of the monsoon summer are almost penetrating through to the audience. The landscape was handpicked, the radiant nature representing the beauty of life - even despite being unhappily in love.

The KMovie has its own idea of pacing. It develops its idiosyncratic charisma. It is the story about the non-love story, quietly told in a meandering way, as feelings are nothing one can be persuaded of... they can only be experienced... and, at best, shared... Or maybe empathized/sympathized with.

Immersive in its own way. Not for every mood. But if the timing (yes, again…) is right - for me it was a rainy autumn day - then (in my opinion) it's definitely worth seeing.
Others might say its dull and boring. Being from 2006, it is rather ´old´, too.
Well, check it out for yourself.





P.S.:
For the private lives of the ML and FL, though, it obviously worked out quite well.
They are married since 2009...

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Fake it till you make it

Only copying the review I had that summed up my thoughts on both seasons cause I'm lazy

It was cute but that's it, there was not much of the story and I thought it'll be easy for the director since it's a 2D story about fake dating turning into real dating between two highschoolers but there was still a lot of holes in the story and so many things left unanswered!! I guess it can be called a journey to sexuality but I think they didn't even have any problems with genders when it comes to dating, it even seems to me that both of them who is popular and dated a bunch of girls are not treating it as if it's new and different-kind of dating when it comes to them dating which are two guys, it leaves me guessing that they might be bi.

I can see why they went with slow-paced story to make it somehow realistic and seem not forced which ended up with them looking like they are forcing to make it realistic which kinda ruins it for me and made me fast forward a lot. The casts were great but the only one that did well without looking awkward or forced with some of their actions is the person who played shino. Individually criticizing, seiryo's actor did not do well on portraying his character, he was shy and introverted but sometimes he went too quiet and the timing he goes back to talking is sometimes not right and in an awkward timing. The way he acted anxious/scared on the kissing scene on shino's room felt exaggerated.. shino's actor did really well, I have no complains. He was not awkward and it really looks normal and easy to understand his character from the way he portrayed and acted.

The story holes is that even though the two dated a bunch of girls, they don't know how to date.. and had to figure it out for themselves along the way. I guess that's being a man who's popular in japan for you, cause I saw a lot of those in jp movies/series. Another one is seiryo's and the girl who has the same name as shino's relationship, it was vaguely shown but it was pretty obvious that seiryo cherishes and likes the girl but how their relationship bloomed was not entirely explained, they both cling onto one another for comfort which was really weird when you think that the girl obviously was still into his brother which made me think why they were in a relationship, the girl sexually harassed seiryo which he didn't liked at first but went a long with it after(?) cause they even dated (showed scenes of them being in restaurants in a couple manner in season 1) so even if seiryo knew about her relationship with his brother, he still went with it so I was like huh.. that's problematic, might make me hate seiryo cause that's being an accomplice to cheating.

Anyways, enough about that it's actually quite enjoyable. Once they finished a day it makes you curious on the day next cause what happens then is always different and while getting closer to a week, you can see them trying to get even more closer and not wanting it to end :') made me feel lots of butterflies and I liked them together a lot IT WAS SO CUTE AND IT COULDVE BEEN MORE if things were explained and if it were a little bit more harder for them to get together in the end cause it went too easily.

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Fake it till you make it

It was cute but that's it, there was not much of the story and I thought it'll be easy for the director since it's a 2D story about fake dating turning into real dating between two highschoolers but there was still a lot of holes in the story and so many things left unanswered!! I guess it can be called a journey to sexuality but I think they didn't even have any problems with genders when it comes to dating, it even seems to me that both of them who is popular and dated a bunch of girls are not treating it as if it's new and different-kind of dating when it comes to them dating which are two guys, it leaves me guessing that they might be bi.

I can see why they went with slow-paced story to make it somehow realistic and seem not forced which ended up with them looking like they are forcing to make it realistic which kinda ruins it for me and made me fast forward a lot. The casts were great but the only one that did well without looking awkward or forced with some of their actions is the person who played shino. Individually criticizing, seiryo's actor did not do well on portraying his character, he was shy and introverted but sometimes he went too quiet and the timing he goes back to talking is sometimes not right and in an awkward timing. The way he acted anxious/scared on the kissing scene on shino's room felt exaggerated.. shino's actor did really well, I have no complains. He was not awkward and it really looks normal and easy to understand his character from the way he portrayed and acted.

The story holes is that even though the two dated a bunch of girls, they don't know how to date.. and had to figure it out for themselves along the way. I guess that's being a man who's popular in japan for you, cause I saw a lot of those in jp movies/series. Another one is seiryo's and the girl who has the same name as shino's relationship, it was vaguely shown but it was pretty obvious that seiryo cherishes and likes the girl but how their relationship bloomed was not entirely explained, they both cling onto one another for comfort which was really weird when you think that the girl obviously was still into his brother which made me think why they were in a relationship, the girl sexually harassed seiryo which he didn't liked at first but went a long with it after(?) cause they even dated (showed scenes of them being in restaurants in a couple manner in season 1) so even if seiryo knew about her relationship with his brother, he still went with it so I was like huh.. that's problematic, might make me hate seiryo cause that's being an accomplice to cheating.

Anyways, enough about that it's actually quite enjoyable. Once they finished a day it makes you curious on the day next cause what happens then is always different and while getting closer to a week, you can see them trying to get even more closer and not wanting it to end :') made me feel lots of butterflies and I liked them together a lot IT WAS SO CUTE AND IT COULDVE BEEN MORE if things were explained and if it were a little bit more harder for them to get together in the end cause it went too easily.

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This film is different in that the story itself deals with the "production" of erotic gay films, auditions, and has more of a narrative value than being a drama. There is only a glimmer of what could be called a plot, or a romance, the young men will do anything to stay afloat and not have to return to their province. In the theme of the film about the production of a gay erotic film, I see the only major positive of this piece.

Apart from the fact that a bunch of censors end up rejecting this film within a film, we can as always squirm with half-naked and naked men on stage, who look more like caterpillars in a death throes. I rate from the point of view of older pinoy movies.

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According to reality, the film probably has the greatest "value" in the story itself and what, in this case, a young person is capable of. After the actors, I was impressed by his visage, the symposer David (Sandino Martin) and the other two items - the sound was only yes - no, that means average and the weakest link in this movie was the processing, which often happens with older pinoy movies ...
I evaluated by looking at the overall condition of older Filipino films.
According to reality, the film probably has the greatest "value" in the story itself and what, in this case, a young person is capable of. After the actors, I was impressed by his visage, the symposer David (Sandino Martin) and the other two items - the sound was only yes - no, that means average and the weakest link in this movie was the processing, which often happens with older pinoy movies ...
I evaluated by looking at the overall condition of older Filipino films

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Mega Crocodile’s producers must have crunched the numbers on their calcugators and decided to utilize the most over-used stereotypes in monster movie history for this story about a rescue attempt on an island covered in enormous crocodiles. When the fearsome crocs weren’t terrifying the search party, the creepy crawly inhabitants scurrying about dug in to make for gruesome sightseeing experiences.

After young biologist Zi Hao and his boat used for scientific research go missing near Hell Island, his sister Ming Zhu asked Luo Han for help rescuing him. Luo, an alcoholic with a painful past was the only person to have ever escaped the island alive. A noxious place with 3000 crocodiles and plagued with poisonous gas, the drunk basically responded that one does not simply walk into Hell Island. As all heroes do, he refused her then immediately sobered up and agreed to the perilous mission. Luo, headstrong Ming, money guy/comic relief Pan, and three aggressive foreign bodyguards jumped out of an airplane sans parachutes and began their deadly island adventure. They encountered body parts, deadly insects and plants. Oh, and the mother of all crocs, a ginormous creature with infrared vision.

The CGI alternated between good and poor, much as the acting did. Li Guang Bin managed to pull off the world-weary hero with a crossbow look, although I never understood why he used it when machine guns had no effect on the great toothy beast. I admit to being grossed out about the two different kinds of burrowing bugs the team came into contact with. The other squeamish moments were the finding of dismembered body parts lying about on a regular basis

The story itself was obvious from the opening shot, not that these kinds of movies innovate much. It’s all in the execution and this one just felt like a low-grade B movie which wasn’t very fun or terrifying. I wrestled with how to rate a movie about a bus-sized crocodile. Overall Mega Crocodile wasn’t jawsome, but it didn’t completely bite either.

10/26/23

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best closure (?)

They're perfect for each other, yet their imminance love ending hurt each other so bad.

they are so good together, idk why things turned out the way they were. i feel sorry for meta and glad that she's so brave to face reality and make peace for herself.

is it just me or i don't feel a single sympathy for suti like (?) maybe in the end he's redeeming himself but what he done to his family is can't be undo so idk its just not enough

i hope through this movie women out there whose life in shamble bcs their significant other, Will take a look at their self and prioritize their happiness more because before they were wives, mothers, they are themselves

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A movie containing a "what if this happens in real life" story

This is an interesting movie revolving around a world where humanity is on the brink of extinction. All I can say is "Reality sucks." The movie tells us how we'll act accordingly if we are on the same page as those in that movie. The one who is strong gets chosen to be a leader without doubt. When there's a leader, social classes exist. People whose up will be safe, while others whose down below get thrown and neglected. Even though it's unjust, when life is the only thing left for us, we have to make a choice. Those choices that we made might bless or hurt others. Interestingly enough, this kind of societal behavior does not only exist in the specific situations of the movie. In reality, there is something like this.

I really love the acting here, especially by Lee Byunghun, Park Seojoon, and Park Boyoung. I didn't really pay attention to the music, but some parts were louder and some parts were just right. Overall, great movie. I might not rewatch this, but this was an eye-opener.

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I was awake all the time watching this spectacular film!

OK- we, Chinese kids, know how Gods were created from our mom or grandparents in our childhood in the absence of the internet.

Watching several C-dramas on the Creation of Gods recently made me slightly interested in this mythology. Fei Xiang's recent interview in a S'pore tv channel actually sparked my curiosity when he said he had to train his body to look like a soldier warror instead of looking like an accountant in the scenes where he was required to show his topless chest!

Yes, I was curious to see his 'six-pack' body so I decided to watch this film.

The production is awesome although I am not a CGI fan.

Acting wise: Naran as Dai Ji was well chosen by the casting director. Da Ji in this film is dark and frightening in every scene. I just didn't know what she was going to do next ie. killing someone for fun or roasting her victim to stimulate her sexual desires.

Fei Xiang as a tyrant King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty is quite good. I remembered him as a pop star in the 80s but I was never a fan because I was too little at the time. I was outraged to see King Zhou being blinded by Da Ji and his willingness to kill his only heir. And, when he asked the four sons of the lords of the Shang Dynasties to kill their own fathers, the tyrant was doomed to hell.

Yes, he does have a six-pack! For a 62-year old man, his enthusiasm to aim for that shape is very impressive. Hats off to you, Fei Xiang.

Ji Fa and his father. I love this father-son relationship. Ji Fa was very intelligent for saving his father's life by proposing that the father should repent his treacherous intent. His father lived for another day unlike the other three lords who died by either being killed by his own son or committed suicide.

The immortal, Jiang Zi Ya and the two gods. I love these characters especially Jiang Zi Ya and his decisive actions. Na Za and the other God are excellent fighters who constantly save JZY because the latter had lost his immortal power once he returned to the mortal land.

Other supporting casts are doing a great job too.

Overall, it's entertaining especially for those who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings, not GoT though.

Watch it as the entertainment value is good value for money.

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It is the third film presented here by director Auraeus Solito and is completely different from his previous films. It starts with a long "chatty" scene, as if it were supposed to be a theater performance, the individual scenes are quite long, and I must admit that the booing, humiliation, machismo and sexism from the military environment never smelled good to me, because I hate it when "someone" has it in their hands too much, or if I should be commanded (not only in the army, but also in my job) by an even bigger idiot than I am.

Of course, the film raises questions and we have to answer them ourselves. The actors are "effortless" and I evaluate overall from the perspective of an East Asian viewer, because of course this movie has its own Pinoy perspective and dimension. Of the director's three films, I rate this one in third place.

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An absolutely exceptional film by Philippine standards (highly rated on ČSFD, MDL and IMDb) collected so many awards, victories for the creator and actors at film festivals and nominations (56 in total) that it is perhaps impossible to count in America (Santa Monica, Montreal, Park City and Toronto), Asia (Tokyo, Singapore, the awards of the Philippine Film Academy and three other Philippine organizations) and Europe (Turin, Berlin, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Tallinn and Amsterdam) and is atypical worldwide mainly because of the main story of a young man, indeed almost still a childhood gay. Reality shines through, from the beginning of the film in a documentary style (how the poorest sections of the population live by necessity in the suburbs of Manila), later added the component of a young policeman, with whom he and Maximo fall in love, and criminal plots and, above all, excellent acting performances by almost all of them, led by a not even fourteen-year-old ( at the time of filming) by Nathan Lopez.
This reality was evident in Maxim's family, where the brothers and father were played by typically well-chosen actors and the Manila policeman Victor followed closely behind them. The fact that gays sometimes twist more and put flowers in their hair is typical for East and South Asia and the whole of Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), in some countries gays unfortunately have no other option but to play "at woman" (as a tolerated third gender) rather than being despised.
So if I take away the Pinoy mannerisms, the technical shortcomings (sometimes the camera and the tinny, rather strong music component - for that I deducted two points for the music and processing), then for me satisfaction and I agree with the absolute superiority of all reviewers on all world servers, who rate the film very positively. Actually, if the processing was perfect in the "American" way, it wouldn't be the right Pinoy movie for me. Here on GT, in my opinion, the director's best film, closely followed by Boy (I) and then Esprit De Corps.

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"At the Louvre I saw the Black"

Kishibe Rohan takes his supernatural ability to read people like a book on the road to Paris. At the Louvre he will confront a relentless evil residing in a hidden painting. The story jumps back and forth in time with much of the story told in the past. Fair warning: If you have arachnophobia you will want to avoid this film at all costs.

Rohan is working on a new manga and after remembering a story about the blackest of blacks, so black it doesn’t reflect light and is in essence invisible, decides to hunt a painting down that uses the rare pigment. Death and spiders follow the path that takes him to an auction for a painting and then to the Louvre in search of the original.

The cinematography ranged from gauzy and ethereal, to elegant, to dark and foreboding. Discordant notes and chords accompanied the creepier facets of the film. The supernatural elements of Rohan’s gift and the cursed painting were well done, especially for someone who has neither read the manga nor watched the drama.

Takahashi Issei can always be counted on to give a layered performance even when wearing a headband designed for a manga character. He actually played two characters, giving them both separate personalities ranging from light to absolute darkness. Marie Iitoyo as Rohan’s editor seemed out of place with her childlike acting. Kimura Fumino matched the mood of the film as the haunted Nanase. The Louvre could almost be counted as a cast member with its lovely exhibits, own complex history, and gloomy, forgotten vaults.

The film felt like it might have been better served as a two-episode drama due to all of the backstories which took up a substantial amount of time. Both of the trips to the past felt overly long. Not having the compelling Issei on the screen also took away from the forward momentum of the story. Overall, it was a strange, creepy (crawly!) movie that did manage to integrate the past and the present connections to the sinister painting lurking in the shadowy corners of the Louvre.

10/25/23

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