Reviews

Started out ok-ish and gets worse the more you watch

It started out ok although from the beginning there are a couple of clichés that already made me cringe.
Main Guy character is a classic "nice guy" with stalker behaviour, very frustrating and if pushed can be quite evil even.
Girl has self-esteem issues.
Side characters are side characters, we learnt almost nothing from anyone, it's kept very superficial. I could even say the same for the main characters, the reasons for him to like her are hold by a fine thread until they have more relationship and we're still told absolutely nothing about her, I don't know anything of what she likes or doesn't, what she wants to do or doesn't, she's just pretty.
Writing is mediocre and I feel at points the movie doesn't know what it wants to be or what direction it wants to go, at points it feels like it wants to be a different version of 500 days of Summer, but then it tries to tell me the main characters are meant for each other and there is romance there, even suggested with that ending. Talking about the ending, it's unsatisfactory to the point it leaves me a very bad aftertaste as if everything Guy did was justified and June grew nothing and thought about things 0.01 seconds. There was no growth and no change.

I found some parts a bit funny, but overall not sure I could classify this as romantic comedy, Guy makes this movie go south very early on and I just felt uncomfortable he was so pushy and inactive at the same time.

Read More

Good Enough

Korean/ USA Movie " Past Lives " is a drama about what ifs, lost relationships, and identity.

The movie has impressive cinematography, with a gloomy New York as the main setting, offering the right space for the melancholic tone of the story. And true, the plot is quite blue, with the two main characters missing chance after chance to be together. At the same time, the questions of identity and home are often set out to become obstacles for them, other than bad timing and bad decisions.

Other than that, the movie seems to never reach that burst that the story needed, whether that was a happy ending or a tragic ending. Also, the time jumps were plenty and messed up the pace and the cohesiveness of the story.

Finally, the performances were smooth and enjoyable by every actor and actress in the cast.

So, overall, five out of ten. It's an interesting movie, but it turns out to be just okay.

Read More

The Ghosts Were More Likable Than the Characters

*Streamer* follows five broadcast jockeys (BJs) who enter a supposedly haunted building to investigate the disappearance of another streamer who vanished there. Each of them produces different types of content, with some focusing on ghost hunting while others are determined to debunk the supernatural.

On paper, it sounds like a promising setup, especially for fans of found-footage horror. Unfortunately, the characters quickly became the movie's biggest weakness.

Most of the group spends their time pulling pranks, shouting, and trying to outdo one another for attention. Instead of building tension or creating a sense of mystery, their behavior constantly disrupted the atmosphere. I couldn't help comparing it to *Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum*, which handled a similar premise far more effectively. In *Streamer*, the endless noise and chaos made it difficult to take the horror seriously.

In fact, there were moments when I found the characters so irritating that I started rooting for the ghosts instead.

The haunted location itself has an intriguing backstory. It was originally intended to be a place of healing, yet almost everyone associated with it either disappeared or died. The setting had potential, but the movie never fully capitalized on it because so much attention was devoted to the streamers' antics.

One scene that particularly frustrated me involved a police officer arriving at the location. Rather than immediately helping people who appeared to be in danger, he spent his time questioning their credibility and motives. The scene felt unrealistic and pulled me out of the movie. Perhaps procedures differ from place to place, but where I'm from, police officers usually patrol in pairs, which made the situation feel even stranger.

Ironically, the ghosts ended up being the least annoying part of the entire film. If I ever rewatch *Streamer*, I'll probably skip straight to the supernatural scenes. Those were the moments that actually delivered what I wanted from a horror movie.

Overall, *Streamer* had a decent premise and a creepy setting, but the constant shouting, pranks, and frustrating character behavior weakened the experience. The horror elements weren't the problem—the characters were.

Read More

Gangster flick with a bit of a heist

This movie is about a bar owner that fights with organised crime, mix of gangster flick with a bit of a heist, it does touch on some political scandals. Movies with politics in them usually bore me but this one was interesting and the main characters had a lot of chemistry.

Seo ye-ji is the reason I watched this movie after falling head over heels for her in It's okay to not be okay. Her character is so elegant but a bit suspicious at the start but I can't stay mad It's Seo Ye-ji.

I only know Park Hae-Soo as that fella from squid game so I'm so used to him being the bad guy, his character in the movie was surprisingly likeable quite mad at times almost like the joker, it was really cute when his character gets nervous around Seo character.

Read More

Cars that drift

This movie is so exciting and full of action which I love
The movie is set in the lead-up to the historic 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the film centres around five friends who collectively call themselves the Sanggye-dong Supreme Team.

I love the classic 80s retro vibes and soundtrack
Fast and Furious in the 80s (I don't know if fast and furious have political chats never watched it)

I was a little confused with the friendship dynamic this is my understanding of them
The main lead Park Dong Wook and Park Yoon Hee are siblings, Woo Sam (John) and Joon Ki are brothers, in the middle of the movie Joon told Dong while giving the ignition "this is dad's, so I don't know

I hate politics side in these types of movies but it went straight to the point, I liked the discovery uncovering a slush fund scam during the Olympics that was really good and refreshing.
I really shipped John and the Secretary they deserved better
I gasp so loud when prosecutor died he just came out of nowhere unexpected jumpscare

Read More

Great Follow up to the Original Series

The original TV series had some pacing issues, but the characters and story set up were excellent. This follow on movie has thrilling action with a fast pace, and appears to be the first of a series of self contained movie long episodes with the main characters from the original series. Baek So Jin, the main character and 'hero', doesn't appear until late but she is clearly the center and is defined by her actions as a new super hero. Reminds me of the Dexter character from the book series - not the TV series - who was literally possessed by a demon/evil spirit that resulted in a tense balance between good and evil. Dexter would offer up serial killers for torture and death to this demon to keep it and its influence on him in check. I look forward to seeing what they do with this demon possessed So Jin character.

The first time I watched this from an online source the subtitles were horrible. However, I just rewatched a Blu-Ray version and they are much improved.

Read More

"Who doesn't treasure life?"

Street Angel followed a group of low-income workers who forged bonds of love and friendship as they dealt with the hardships thrust upon them in an uncaring city of have and have-nots. Music, magic tricks, humor, and true love lightened the mood of a melodramatic story.

Xiao Hong and her sister Xiao Yun fled the Japanese and ended up in Shanghai working in a tea house. Xiao Hong sings for the customers while the owner put her older sister to work as a prostitute. Hong flirts with the trumpet player, Xiao Chen, who lives across the street with his friends. Their flirtation turns to love and all seems well until Hong discovers her new guardians intend to sell her to a wealthy street gangster. Chen and his friend Wang, visit a lawyer with an office high in a skyscraper only to discover that justice is out reach for the poor. C buddies The buddies spirit Hong away and the two lovers marry. Yun finds her sister and for a time it looks like the sisters may have a happy life. Sadly, the melodramatic aspect of this film could not be outrun as the economy worsens and rent prices increase, even worse, the tea house owner and the gangster are hot on their trail.

Music dominated much of the film. Zhou Xuan sang several lovely songs and enthusiastic trumpet music also livened the story's setting. Chen entertained Hong and his friends with numerous magic tricks to keep everyone's spirits up when money was tight. Zhou Xuan and Zhao Dan played their roles exuberantly and earnestly as the lovers went from frolicking to despair.

The quality of the filming was difficult to tell as the film I watched in the public domain had not been restored and could be quite blurry at times. Even at that, I could tell it was well framed and shot. This was one of the earliest Chinese films to use sound and they made the most of it with the background music and musical numbers.

Street Angel worked in humor that bordered on slapstick without going overboard. The love story felt authentic, even the second love story felt earned. The bright loving, parade-like atmosphere crashed into reality by the end of the film when the characters faced the harsh truth of their lives and limits of their power. Those who lived high above them had access to justice and medical care while they struggled to keep a roof over their heads and a smile on their faces. "Who doesn't treasure life?" Treasure life they might, but the poor toiled in a system that would swallow them whole if they weren't lucky. This plucky group of friends were a delight to watch as they held each other up and held on tight, even when it seemed their luck had ran out.

8/29/23

Read More

The ending was confusing

HOLY SHIT THIS MOVIE THO
The ending I was speechless because I was so confused I was like what?
I'm literally so scared to use my phone right now

Our phone might be this small device that we use in our day to day life but It holds everything our bank details, our information, interests etc but once it goes to the wrong hands you are in so much trouble. All the female lead did was forget her phone on the bus and some creep took it and ruined her life.

I was so anxious all through the movie I kept pausing it, it felt too close to home.
I can literally watch a crime documentary and not feel anything other than saddest for the victims but this movie shit I'm terrified of device repair shops and losing my phone now.
I know people will blame the girl and be like who would forget your phone? Have you ever misplaced your phone? The panic you feel is undescribable.

Read More

The Curious Case of Fukuju Emi

It is better to have love and lost, than never to have loved at all. In theory I agree. But I want my romcoms to have a happy ending and here.....

I am still trying to figure out what happened here. It is basically a japanese version of Benjamin Button: two people meet at different moments in their lives but they are on opposite time trajectories and can be happy and in love only once in the lifetime and only for 30 days.

I love time travel, parallel universe stories but this one is not a fun or uplifting one. In spite of all the cuteness (and the actors are both really cute!) this was a terrible movie to watch. When I realized sometimes halfway through, where this movie was going, I wanted to drop it. I did not because I hoped, against hope, that they would manage to find a way to sort it out. Spoiler alert: they did not.

I wish somebody had told me it was Benjamin Button. As much as I liked Brad Pitt, the movie was horrible. Just like this one: it is depressing and hopeless!

I had seen the chinese version, but it has nothing to do with the plot of this film so I am a bit confused as to why they put that version's link on this film's page.

Another thing I do not understand is the ending. It is the beginning. Are they stuck in a time loop?

Read More

Big Win For The Country Gays

This is an understated, exceedingly tender slice-of-life story about finding where you belong and figuring out what brings you the most joy in life. So naturally I came running at top speed as soon as I heard about it and I was not disappointed.
The movie is visually stunning, which makes sense given the gorgeous scenery it has as a backdrop.
The writing and acting are both very solid, but what really surprised me was the quiet charm this movie brings to the table. This could easily have been nothing more than Japan's answer to God's Own Country (don't get me wrong, I love that movie but it does strike a very somber tone) but what we got instead is an absolutely heartwarming story with a very down-to-earth yet uplifting feel to it.

If you like looking at beautiful rural landscapes and/or watching sweet and sincere romances grounded in solid friendship, then this one is for you!

Read More

This was HILARIOUS!

From the thriller category this movie stepped into hilarious trash under the heavy steps of the Alpha boy :'D

And if you support the calim of "never seen anything like this before" then you better watch and read more. The storyline is generic human experiment project (oh puhlease as if we've never seen those) that goes out of hand onboard of a ship and starts a melee.

I've been watching Doom at your service and the feeling of - I know this guy from somewhere - hasn't left me, before it downed on me where I might have seen him and I was right, just with more tattoos and golden teeth. And then realized that I haven't left a review under this movie yet, so I rushed like a bird to share why I was basically rolling laughing while watching.
But funnily, initially I watched this movie thanks to someone's edit on YT short, which had him and Jung So Min, very misleading edit I must say, because if you've seen the movie you know there's nothing between the two.

First part of the movie I'd say I spent in disgust thanks to the idea of creators to make it look disgusting. One is the nightmare of all clean freaks, transporting some knocked out monster in the deepest parts of the ship where everything leaks, seeps and looks yuck including the dude in question. The second one is brutality and the amount of spilled fake blood after the prisoners escape.

But. To me everything started to turn hilarious and I couldn't care less about the idea to make it sappy, include some heartfelt stories etc. The reason for it is:
1) Special effect make-up. The Alpha boy aka walking killing machine looked hilarious to me. To make him look buff the team just crossed the boundry and overplayed themselves. I don't find it looking terrifying, at best it looks comical;
2) Sound effects. The most hilarious moment for me was one - when the door falls on top of a person and the Alpha boy walks on top of the door, his steps were heavy, but they added the sound as if he's wearing iron boots, it was hysterical! :'D Just imagine that boom-boom-boom;
3) Some fight scenes, you'll have to see for yourself.

Oh yeah, I don't mention that all die and some die in a very forced way, as if the screenwriters didn't know what to do and lowered IQ of people to achieve the result.

In general it was nothing more, but an action movie with a lot of fight scenes and blood. The monster is nothing more, but an experimental project to enhance human body to, of course, prolong life and make it stronger, which can also be used as a killing machine. But to make it even more thrilling we have a whole bunch of criminals added to the ship, so you can guess that it's a simple guise for transporting the Alpha boy in the depths of this ship. Criminals find their way out and break out, taking the hold of the ship, the big noise and a bit of blood wake up our bloodthirsty monster, who starts to hunt, kill left and right. I don't think both sides had too much time to think before a bunch of people were simply wiped out, so Seo In Guk's role wasn't that long tbh. The one who surprised me the most was Jung So Min, they managed to let her survive the entire movie, but then she rushes out with a single gun, in the narrow corridor against armed crowd and of course she got shot. I think this surprised me the most. But I must say.. I haven't seen her in a main role, almost always used for something episodic, so I can't say anything about her acting in general, but here she felt bland. I also asked myself why they let her character survive for so long, but tbh her character did little to the story. But in action/thriller movies like this with fights and blood there is no need for some profound acting, you need to be just a little engaging, that's all.
And because I didn't expect much I had my fun, after all I can laugh at trashiness instead of being frustrated or disappointed. And I respect Korean film industry, the growth through years is obvious, there are many remarkable works, if not story-wise, but cinematography-wise. There is still room to grow and I wish them all the best.

Read More

"If this is already a past life, who do you think we are to each other in the next?"

"Past Live" gave us one of the best films cinematography, powerful dialogue, and grounded acting, capturing a familiar and authentic essence of life. Set against a backdrop of wistful nostalgia, the movie delves into the intricate interplay of "what if" and "unfinished past love," weaving a tale of heartfelt emotions and missed opportunities. Amid the captivating "what if" scenarios, the central theme of unfinished past love remains a poignant undercurrent, underscoring the ache of unresolved feelings and unspoken words.

The chemistry between the characters is palpable, lending authenticity to their emotions and dilemmas as they grapple with the temptation to alter their shared history. Throughout the movie, the audience is invited to contemplate the delicate balance between fate and free will, as the characters navigate the blurred boundaries of the past, present, and potential futures. While the exploration of the "what if" scenarios offers a sense of catharsis, the film ultimately embraces the bittersweet beauty of embracing one's past and moving forward, even if some chapters remain unfinished. Through its evocative storytelling, the movie resonates as a heartfelt ode to the complexities of love, regrets, and the profound impact of the choices we make.

The pain of watching Nora and Hae-sung repeatedly part ways resonates deeply, showing that certain connections are irreplaceable. Ultimately, "Past Lives" managed to depict real-life scenarios without always needing a happy ending.

Read More

Wizard Husbands - The Movie

This was another one of those rare cases where I liked the sequel better than the original. Cherry Magic! The Movie is still lighthearted and fun, just like its predecessor, but it is much more grounded in reality and has an important core message.
Rather than focusing on the conflicts and misunderstandings that arise from long distance relationships, as the summary made me believe, this movie instead showcases the struggles a queer couple face in everyday life and in their relationship and, what's more, does it with such heartfelt and tender care that I genuinely teared up a few times.

What I loved the most was Kurosawa and Adachi coming out to their parents and deliberately choosing not to keep their relationship separate from the rest of their lives. I found both scenes very deftly handled and quite touching, and their inclusion was incredibly meaningful, both for the characters and for queer viewers such as myself.
And last but not least: the marriage. In the immortal words of The Impressive Clergyman: "Mawwiage is what bwings us togetha" and bring them together it does. Rarely have I seen a more perfect happy ending for a perfect happy story.

If you liked the show or are looking for an easy-to-watch queer romance with a lot of depth and love, I highly recommend you this movie.

Read More