Reviews

Slowest Burn BL ever!

Gist, I am not a fan of slow burn BL, but I ended up enjoying this one somehow. lol. I don't really enjoy the 2nd part as much though, but I like this first part

Initially, I find it really slow and a bit boring. But once I'm used to the pacing, especially the silence,, it actually feels soothing

It's a nice change of pace for someone like me, who constantly are catching up having to read lines after lines of subtitle in order to not miss a moment, and even having to rewatch to ensure i read it correctly sometimes

Somehow the slowness is nice. I get to read the subtitle, observe their experience, and take a moment to actually let the moment sink in, digest the experience, and actually feel it together with the couple

I feel almost like I am inside the drama. It is really good at taking you in a journey in that way

For this reason, I really enjoy this one and the ending is good too, but it keeps you hanging too much, that you'll wanna watch the 2nd part, which burns even more. LOL

Overall, I won't rewatch this again, my heart can only take that much slowburn, but I don't regret watching either

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Watch this if you like to torture yourself, lol

I usually don't like slowburn BL, but surprisingly end up watching this one. Well, primarily because I enjoyed the 1st part of Monday-Thursday, and can't wait to see the ending.

But, this one....Friday-Sunday, I think my heart stopped for a few times. At some point, I even felt my heat ached.

Because, its such a slowburn, that I died.

Oh gist, if it hasn't been a happy ending, I'd totally go crazy!

At least, I'm happy with the ending in the end. Otherwise, its pretty cute, how Seiryo waited for Yuzuru in station everyday. You know..little thing that matters and make a simple love, beautiful

Overall, its a beautiful romance, but the process can be overbearing.

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“ Youth starts with ─ a taxi, telescope, and supermoon.

I wasn't familiar with any of the actors, so watching this movie was a fresh experience for me as a viewer. I haven't even seen the trailer of it before and only got curious after watching a beautiful edit on YouTube.

I must say, there is this calm and almost nostalgic vibe in this movie that made it somehow peaceful. The genre or the story is not something unique or not seen before, but delivery of the cast was beautiful. The characters were genuine with their perfections and flaws, nothing so complicated ─ it was as if someone was mentioning their youth memories, and you just listened and noticed how every generation could find something relatable in it.

The ending, especially, was quite adorable. Throughout the whole movie, you think he fell first, and he fell harder as it took her some time to notice her feelings. Then, they show a unique twist and summarise the scenes that have been forgotten in shadows from her point of view.

I also liked how it took one invitation from her for them to see each other again ─ as if they haven't been away for a while. This, I guess, shows they are each others' best friends [and sometimes rivals] first before lovers.

Overall, I enjoyed watching this movie and am planning to check other works of the cast as soon as there is an opportunity.

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Ballerina (2023): A Flawed Execution

"Ballerina" makes the unfortunate decision to forgo its roots in Korea’s unique and captivating culture, opting instead for a Westernized presentation that permeates not only its soundtrack but also its overall ambiance. From the outset, the film presents itself as nothing more than a rehash of the worn-out, classic revenge tale we've all seen too many times to count, offering a viewing experience that's at best, one-time watchable.

The narrative unfolds with laughably poor acting coupled with a nonsensical revenge plan, culminating in a ridiculous "girls triumph" trope that falls flat on its face. Our protagonist, Ok-ju, initially appears as a passive character who miraculously transforms into a one-woman army capable of taking down a room filled with armed men - men who decided, quite arbitrarily, to turn their weapons against her despite their initial inaction. This far-fetched scenario screams of forced feminism and ends up feeling like a mockery rather than an empowering narrative.

The over-the-top ending does nothing to endear Ok-ju to the audience, leaving viewers with a bitter aftertaste and no connection whatsoever to the supposed hero of the story. It begs the question, why didn’t she use her firepower from the beginning? The decision to withhold until later scenes feels like a poorly conceived attempt to inject suspense, ultimately coming off as needless and contrived.

However, where "Ballerina" should shine - its action scenes - it instead fumbles terribly. The film's fight sequences are a chaotic mess, with the director opting for rapid, disorienting changes in camera angles that leave viewers struggling to follow. Far from being engaging or impressive, these scenes are a visual cacophony with no real impact. To add insult to injury, the soundtrack does little to complement these sequences, failing to enhance the viewing experience and leaving much to be desired.

In conclusion, "Ballerina" is a film you might watch once out of sheer curiosity but it is certainly not one that will leave a lasting impression or beckon for a rewatch. With its clichéd storyline, weak acting, and poorly executed action scenes, it’s a disappointing addition to the Korean film landscape. One can only hope future productions learn from these mistakes and deliver content that truly reflects and celebrates the rich tapestry of Korean culture and storytelling prowess.

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if you already watched the anime version first, then lower your expectations a bit.

as always whenever there's a anime adaptation to LA, the ending always changed. tbh i prefer the anime ver for the ending. at least hase didn't suffer from the pain that happened to him haha. but overall it's still worth to watch if you didn't watch the anime version first.
oke, let's talk about the good part. -

(this is completely spoiler, please do not read that if you don't want to get spoiled!!)

so, sorry for the bad impression first. acctualy i still prefer the anime version. but, this adaptation still good though. the story begin with hase find kaori's student identity and sniffing her id but kaori find it out when hase sniffing her id. then after that hase started to get more closer with her. time to time they begin doing the same thing as the anime and suddenly her ex classmates and also her "crush" meet at the "hanabi' festival. the next day her past started to join the same class as kaori after moving from hokkaido to her city. after that he begin to get closer to her to "revenge" but after knowing she's have short memory, he started to get closer with her again. kaori begins to remember her past after her ex best friend apologizing about what happened with her memory, she's started to remember the rest of her past but her memory still forgetting about what happened recently and of course, her memories with hase. hase started to give up and burn that note book. after the graduation ceremonial, kaori get announcement from the library council and ask the book that hase borrow from the library. after that she's finds out that there is hase's drawing in that book and suddenly she's remembered what happened with hase and her. then kaori stated to looking for hase and they met for the last time at that school and kaori ask hase to be her friend.

in conclusion.
the story still in the same direction as the adaptation source. it's still nice to know the other "alternative" endings. i would say the one is a sad ending but they pretty much nailed it! for some people, this story way way related (the same as me) and it's a good film too. I'm glad that they still use "kanade" as the ending song, and it's way way more fit to the story! good job overall.

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simple revenge story , cool action with badass female lead

action scenes were pretty cool , the movie overall looked stylish but raw , crazy camera work in some scenes , great cinematography , lighting and colors
but shaky cam and fast cuts could be reduced . some slow motion shots or fast shots without shaky cam could be included here and there in jjs and kjh first fight scene . i don't completely dislike it though .
the action sequence at the end was great coz they included some slow mo shots along with the fast , long takes with cuts which i personally liked more + the choreography was amazing
story was simple , predictable
not as emotionally impactful or satisfying as i thought it would be
really liked the music
acting was good
good one time watch but i expected more action and gore even if the story was simple
7.5/10

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A MUST WATCH FILM, especially for those that enjoy comedy, action, and crime genres!

Overall - 10/10

I absolutely loved this film. There were many elements that captivated me. The story suited the cast exceptionally well, while the cast played out the story exceptionally well. The chemistry between the main characters was top notch. The depth of the plot and the nonchalance of the delivery was a refreshingly brilliant combination. This film is known to have done amazing in Korean box office but I still feel that it is very underrated. The film deserves way more recognition, especially on a global scale.

Story - 10/10

From the first scene on, I was already laughing. It truly stayed true to its comedy tag. It was absolutely hilarious. I would catch myself unable to stop myself from laughing many times throughout the film. Personally I'm not a fan of comedies, I often see that most times the plot and direction is sacrificed for the laughs. But not this, it had a clear plot, that was easy to understand. The writers didn't compromise the story for the laughs but rather used comedy to further emphasise the plot. Comedic elements came at exactly the right times, not allowing the film to lose its lightheartedness at any moment. It was easy to identify the reason as to why those characters were chose as a team and why they had great teamwork. There was no need for an elaborate back story to showcase the closeness of the main characters. There was never too much depth and never too little, there was just enough to get you hooked. The action was seamless. At no point did the action and the dark undertone of the film compromise its carefree ambience. The characters were all unique and dynamic.

Cast - 10/10

I watched this movie for Lee Ha Nee. You just know that she's going to go home with her characters. Lee Ha-Nee and a comedy tag? Speak no more, I'm in. As expected Ha-Nee will never not do amazing! I can't imagine any others playing these characters. The cast did a spectacular job in bringing their characters to life. The film was saturated with A-Listers and veterans. Every single role was played to perfection. The film was packed with some of my favourite actors: Lee Ha-Nee, Ryu Seung-Ryong, Gong Myung, Shin Ha-Kyun, and Oh Jung-Se.

Music - 9/10

I was simply too focused on the actions and lines of the characters that I didn't pay attention to the music and sound effects. Nothing stood out for me to remember or recall a memorable OST or instrumental element. However, there was also nothing that the film lacked either. The sound effects and music did its 's job emphasising action and shied away from stealing the limelight.

Rewatch Value - 9/10

The only reason the rewatch value was not a 10/10, was because I felt that the film was extremely memorable. The film made a long-lasting place for itself in my mind. I, personally, am not the type to rewatch content in general, even more so if the content is memorable and good. Although, I'd love to rewatch the film with friends so, that I can enjoy all the inevitable laughter with the company of others.

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Jeong Seo is the main highlight of this movie.

The action was damn good and Jong seo nailed it. It isn't some extraordinary storyline just a raw revenge story with gore and satisfying ending to all the assholes. The story was fast paced without much drag and after every few minutes someone was dying . I liked it how they just killed off the drug lord in an instant even if he was the main boss of the syndicate without dragging it (he was right in front of her , she shot him........BOOM!! he is dead).

Kim Ji hoon as a BDSM addict psychopath did a good job too, you do end up hating him as much as you liked him in MHK.

The only problem I have was the camera cuts in some fights were too shaky and fast. Rest its a good one time watch action movie.

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She conveyed her feeling into my soul.

With all the sadnesses, with all the unhappinesses, we shall also find our healing also. We couldn't blame to anyone, we shouldn't blame our life. Life goes in. Life may hurt but never give up our hopes. I cried with myeong -ji, I healed with myeong-ji, I thought together with myeong-ji, I behold the beautiful night of Poland with myeong-ji, feel like Europe, oh it's Europe indeed. I empathized myeong -ji. I love both sunrise or sunset, because it's our nature. Death is a beautiful secret. I sometimes thought how to console myself if my loving ones also leave me one day. Well, it's life, we can't predict or choose. Be sad or do cry for a while but dear, you should also give a relax of those sadness. Get a healing., a traveling for example. I love nature the most because whenever I feel so lonely or sad I rise my head and see the sun, the sky, feel like they tell me it's going be alright and console me, hug me from far. I also console her in her Instagram and her kindness reply me like this "your words always make me happy".

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More Yokai Sharehouse

If you've seen the previous two series, then you know the drill. Mio struggles with self esteem while saving the world with her loyalty and steadfastness and, of course, the support of the monsters in her sharehouse. I strongly disliked S2 because it immediately undid all her character growth from S1, and never even brought her back to the same level of maturity she reached at the end of S1. However, the movie here is somewhere in between the two seasons for me in terms of how much I enjoyed it. It's framed around a topical albeit tepid plot about how AI might reshape our world, and kudos for getting this movie out maybe 9 months after the news about chatGPT and AI art generators were breaking news.

All the usual suspects are here in addition to the five principal characters. Many of the major secondary youkai from the series show up for at least a cameo. The acting remains broad and OTT like the prior series, but Koshiba as Mio anchors the chaos as always and has some moments to shine. The new ML for the movie, Mochizuki Ayumu as Aito, does as well as one could expect in the tropey AI learns what it means to be human role.

If you liked either of the previous series, it is worth checking out, IMO. And if you just want to sample the world, it is comparatively standalone, though personally I would recommend the first season over it.

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My first thought when watching The Great Yokai War was that it was a Miyazaki Hayao animated film come to life. The film was filled with strange spirits call yokai who were being turned into steam punk monsters to aid the demon lord Kato in covering the world in darkness. When the fate of humanity is at stake, who can you rely on? Only a grade school boy with a fancy sword and a handful of colorful characters.

Tadashi’s parents have divorced and he is living with his mother and grandfather in a rural area while his sister lives with the father in Tokyo. The other boys pick on Tadashi even after he is chosen as the Kirin Rider, the boy who will preserve world peace. What Tadashi doesn’t know is that the demon Kato and his dominatrix henchwoman Agi are rounding up yokai and turning them into destructive metallic monsters. Tadashi rescues a furry yokai and carries him everywhere as no one else can see it. The Goblin Mountain calls to him and he is tested by the yokai living there and deemed worthy. The Goblin gives him the sword of destiny before Agi and her metal minions carry the giant goblin way. Kato has created a giant frog airship to take to Tokyo. Some bystanders think Gamera has returned. Gamera was a turtle people, come on! Tadashi meets with other yokai and upon discovering Kato’s nefarious plan they travel to Tokyo to try and stop the handsome demon. A bean washing yokai joins them and is heavily foreshadowed as being key to thwarting Kato’s evil goal.

The film was extraordinarily creative. There were not just a dozen different yokai, but around 100 had some form of screen time. Tadashi’s team had a red spirit whose hair warned of danger, a turtle, and a water princess. They met a walking talking umbrella, a walking talking wall, a long-necked woman, and strange animal yokai to name a few. The Transformer elements were inventive if not unique, sadly the CGI was lacking.

The acting was about what you’d expect from this kind of movie. Some of it was quite over the top. Toyokawa Etshushi as Kato grounded the film and avoided chewing the scenery. A good thing as the yokai actors and the human artist didn’t leave much after they were done with it. The child actor did the best he could but his performance wasn’t compelling, one of the problems with putting the weight of the world on a pre-pubescent boy. Kamiki Ryunosuke has gone on to do numerous dramas and films. The music wasn’t memorable for the most part. The only funny element to me was the azuki bean song at a key moment. It was hilarious.

Kato’s revenge was based on humans ridding themselves of things that no longer serve them. Maybe it was a translation problem, but I found it confusing. “He is the resentment humanity has earned from those things you use no more and throw away.” With the example Tadashi was given about throwing away worn out shoes being bad, I wasn’t sure if Kato wanted people to be hoarders or run around naked. The yokai had good advice, especially from a country that has experienced many wars. “Those who discard their past have no future.” “Wars must not happen, they only make you hungry.”

If you want to show this film to younger children, it might be good to know that Agi and the Water Princess were sexualized. There were also dismemberments, blood, and what could be seen as scary monsters for young ones.

Director Miike went overboard to make an artistic fantasy world awaken. The biggest drawback for me was that the film took a long time to set up the story, too long. Forty-minutes passed by before the adventure began. Despite his innovate spirits, the theme was a familiar one. For once again, the only force in the universe that could protect humankind was a small boy. This time aided by a sword and a little red bean.

10/5/23

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Rich and fun to watch!

Watched this at about 2AM whilst waiting around in A&E (that's the ER at a hospital, if that helps), so memories are a little fuzzy, but honestly it was a blast and made the wait so much easier.

Chen Kun is having fun with the role and is a joy to watch, and Qu Chu Xiao does so well balancing the comedic and serious aspects of his character. Shen Yue, as well, brings her character to life without being a caricature and functions well within the film. Zhou Xun's Bai Ni is sincere and powerful, phsyically and emotionally.

Visually, the film is absolutely beautiful. Just a joy to watch. Didn't know the film was based on a game but, in hindsight, I can see the bones of it within the film. The overall style is so well done and fully realised, and I found it so easy to watch.

Definitely worth a watch, and would recommend as a rewatch. Though there is a twist at the end, the foreshadowing is there for you and makes watching again a good experience.

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