The storyline is so good and depicted smoothly
First I had no expectations then as time passed away, the movie got better. It was emotional at some points where I cried too. The actors had done pretty well job portraying the characters especially Woo Jin. The actress is my personal favourite and I liked her here too. It wasn't confusing anytime like I'd first thought by reading the synopsis. Was just accepting a cure to this at the end of the story but the twist was good if not best. A movie we can watch with family. Will definitely re-watch it after sometime.Was this review helpful to you?
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The Lie Is That There's A Story
The challenge of creating short movies such as this is having a cohesive story and being able to tell that story in such a short period of time. This short failed in that. It has potential, but it either needs to be a few minutes longer or there needs to be more dialogue. As it is, it just feels very disjointed.If you weren't aware that the character of Benz had feelings for his roommate and friend Riw going into the movie, the automatic assumption from the beginning is that both boys like Meen and are fighting over her. However, after that initial scene, it becomes clear that Benz actually has feelings for Riw. This is where things start getting disjointed. After leaving for the day and arriving in the wee hours of the morning to find Riw drunk, Benz very nearly kisses him before stopping himself. The following scene appears to be the next day, with Riw apologizing and asking why Benz is mad at him. They have a moment with Riw calling Benz cute and then insisting on feeding him some kind of snack. Meen shows up and looks upset seeing the two of them together. This then jumps to Riw and Meen apparently having a one on one study session and Benz looking on jealously. Riw walks Meen outside and Benz takes the opportunity to hit her with his car.
Again, the potential is there, but besides the disjointed story, the characters feel shallow. I know its hard to create meaningful characters in such a short time frame, but that's part of the challenge. Riw obviously likes Meen and Meen seems to like him too, but what are his feelings towards Benz? Just a roommate? Just friends? There seems like there might be more there, but its hard to tell. And Benz's reaction feels way over the top. There's no buildup to his apparently just snapping. Again, the first scene makes it seem like both he and Riw like Meen. His jealousy needed to be built up and explored a little more to make it believable he would do something so extreme.
In terms of acting, Singto is definitely the star which isn't hard since there are only three actors, but he does stand out. Kanin is pretty bland all around, not a whole lot of expression. This is his first and only acting role though, so I'm willing to cut him some slack. Ink plays a minor role, but despite her lack of screen time, she still managed to be engaging when she was on screen. And as I said, Singto was the stand out he was the most interesting to watch. Part of that is just him, he has an uncanny ability to command the screen with very little effort, but he also seemed to be the one putting in the most work. His acting was more nuanced and while not perfect, this was his first role it seems, he still made an impression, especially that smirk at the end.
The production was obviously low budget. Honestly, the most annoying aspect of it was the camera work. The in and out of focus in the middle of a scene was very distracting. The music, what little there was, was generically boring, but also not overly distracting, so a bonus there, I suppose.
I will say that it's not a waste of time solely because the short is a mere 7 minutes long. I don't regret watching it, but its certainly not what I was expecting or hoping for. As long as you don't have high expectations, it might be moderately entertaining. If nothing else, it's fun to see a young Singto before he got big with SOTUS.
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Good movie
It is a pretty good movie, had a good story, and had great acting. I was worried I was going to get bored with it, but surprisingly I was hooked right from the start. I definitely suggest this movie, it's worth the watch. I'm happy with the story, and how it progressed. Im not super into action, but this wasn't overwhelming and or underwhelming, to me it was the perfect amount of action. So that's a relief to me, and makes me happy with how the movie was. So if youre expecting an overwhelming pack of action, this isn't it, but wanting a sense of action. This is for you.Was this review helpful to you?
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chato
comecei a assistir por causa do nam joohyuk e só terminei por causa dele mesmo. um filme super melancólico e devagar. teve muitas coisas que ficaram em aberto como a história dele com a professora, simplesmente jogaram a informação que os dois transavam e ficou por isso mesmo. outra coiaa foi o final, não gostei que eles não ficaram juntos e gostei menos ainda que não explicaram o porquê disso. odeio finais abertos, sou burra demais pra enteder as coisas sozinhas. mas enfim, se vc for mais inteligente e mais empático do que eu talvez goste desse filme.Was this review helpful to you?
Pretty Decent
Pretty decent movie to me. Had very good acting, story was weird but it fit it. There was plenty of twists and turns I wasn't quite expecting. I liked it, though the female lead absolutely annoyed the heck out of me, for how manipulative and annoying she was, but that was the point. I liked the ending, and how it left it. Not to spoil anything, but some people might not of liked it because it didn't answer a simple question, but it was good, and the realization the question didn't need to be answered.Was this review helpful to you?
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Interesting premise of the plot but underdelivered
When I saw the trailer, the plot really sounds interesting but the execution of the movie overall is kind of meh. There are lots of cringey moments specially that I understand all 3 languages used in this movie. Some of the scenes felt off because of the script. Some scenes excites me but most of them felt forced. There's not enough build up to justify the story properly. Although, I must admit it's a light-hearted movie really. Just a fun watch.I don't feel any chemistry among the casts. I don't understand the actor-manager relationship in this movie. Like are they close like friends or are they just being professional among each other. It was really vague. The connection of the female and male lead wasn't established properly as well so everything feels forced just to fit the storyline.
The OSTs used was okay, not memorable though. This movie if I may say is decent enough to be watched but if you'll really get into the tiny details, a lot of things in this movie doesn't make sense or feels off somehow. I still enjoyed watching it despite the shortcomings. Do I recommend it? Yes, I still recommend it if you just want a light-hearted watch. But if you're like a movie critique and only wants to watch high quality movie, just skip this one then.
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This movies exists - That's all
Given that the cast is great and the production isn't bad for it's time, one would expect that this would at least be half-way decent movie. But no. This movie fails in terms of story and plot. The characters exist. It's like a slice of life with no interesting plot points. The only somewhat interesting plot point isn't really finished off. It's like the movie was created to fill time so it didn't matter to it's creators whether all questions were answered. Or, whether all characters completed some sort of development arc or not. I imagine that it falls off the way-side as an ending. An event that happens. Unexpected but not enough of a big deal to leave a lasting mark.Was this review helpful to you?
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Prison buddy movie missing a coherent plot
Bolo gave star and director Bolo Yeung Sze a chance to play against type. Instead of the bruisingly brutal bad guy the good guy pummels at the end of the movie to show the hero's prowess, Bolo played the big dumb ox. After watching this not once but twice now, I think I like him better as the bad guy.Aside from the synopsis that Bolo and Jason Pai were prisoners sent to be sheriffs in a lawless town where the sheriffs kept getting murdered, I'm not entirely sure what the plot was. Bolo seemed to think he was the sheriff and stumbled into helping people though the townspeople didn't support him with the exception of Lau Hok Nin. Pai spent more time in the brothel or searching for the missing gold that had landed him in jail in the first place. Then the plot tumbled off a cliff and was swept out to sea. Whether the prison buddies were working for good or evil was debatable, although they did find the mastermind behind a sex trafficking ring and the missing gold. The film had bathroom humor and sexual jokes. Most of the jokes came at Bolo's expense.
Sadly, Bolo's fights were mostly kung fu posing, emphasizing his power and size. Pai's fights were quicker and stressed his agility. I'm all for a shirtless Bolo more on the side of good than bad, I just I wish they hadn't made him quite so slow. Jason Pai was engaging as a character and fun to watch fight. The final fight was the best one when a Japanese fighter wearing a metal pan on his head took the two buddies on. When the two combined their skills, it was cute to watch, deadly, but cute.
If you love slap stick humor and don't mind an almost incoherent plot, you could try this one. I'm a big Bolo fan and enjoyed Pai's sly character, but this movie stressed my patience.
3/28/23
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A disappointing gothic horror from the Philippines
The movie reminds me of some of the old Hammer films, cheaply produced but entertaining. This production is not as entertaining but retains that same essence of gothic horror. That said it does come with some hefty warnings: Sexual violence towards women (mostly offscreen but acknowledged in the story), era-typical blackface characters (servants), and general violence towards women (mother vampire is whipped and imprisoned). If those things bother you I would avoid this film.Story (3.5/10): The story doesn't waste time with character development and instead starts on the mystery of the woman in the basement. The use of lighting as a story device is rather clever during the mother vampire's scenes but the use of red/blue lighting can be somewhat jarring to the viewer. There is a heavy emphasis on catholic imagery throughout the story that can feel a little heavy-handed at times. The story is mostly driven by bad decisions made by various characters so I would say the story can get a bit frustrating to watch and is very easy to predict.
Acting/Cast (4.5/10): There is an actor who plays a servant (during the scene where the father reveals the mother) that looks to have blackened his face for some reason. He sounds like an "Igor" character but I'm confused as to why the film found that necessary (budget constraints/cultural/era-typical racism?). It was repeated with several female servants as well. I'm new to Filipino-produced films and so I can't make any solid judgments or conclusions as to why they used blackface. So warning for potential racist blackface/racist undertones?
Many of the character's actions make them hard to like or emphasize with their struggle. In fact, the whole family dynamic is unhealthy and problematic. It made it hard to stay engaged with the movie. Their actions are sometimes for a lack of a better word, really dumb and it makes the fine irritating to watch at times.
Amalia Fuentes (Leonore) is perhaps the most interesting character to watch. I think this is mostly due to the actress being a decent acting talent. She has an emotional quality to her that makes her performances more intriguing to watch compared to several of the other main actors.
Romeo Vasquez (Daniel) is rather wooden for an actor trying to play a naive young hero type. I found his performance rather flat especially when paired with Amalia Fuentes. Eddie Garcia (Eduardo) did a decent job as a villain and his acting was more nuanced than Romeo Vasquez's but he isn't in any way likable and due to one of my prior warnings (sexual violence towards women) in the scenes with Rosario del Pilar (Christina) I was hoping he would be killed sooner than later.
Music (4/10): The music isn't awful but it is a rather large step down from the gothic horror soundtracks used by the popular horror film companies in the US during this era. This isn't surprising but I had hoped the music would help the film's pacing and tension. The dubbing is not great either. It was not synced very well to the film and some of the character's lines were hard to understand.
Rewatch Value (1/10): I had a hard enough time watching the entire film and found myself having to avoid hitting the fast-forward button several times. I doubt I will ever give this a second watch.
Overall (3.5/10): The only real part of the film that I found interesting was how the genre of gothic horror was treated in the Philippines during the 60s/70s horror movie era. It was not a very entertaining watch but it's definitely not unwatchable either. If you are determined to watch it I suggest having a remote handy or doing an additional activity like ironing or laundry.
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If you want it, come and get it!
The title 10 Magnificent Killers pretty much sums up the story for this Hong Kong kung fu flick. Two young fighters are trained by two different masters, one a constable and one a criminal with a dark secret. The movie features numerous B level kung fu actors and stuntmen. With four different martial arts directors the numerous fights all looked a little different. Fong Yau who normally plays the bad guy, wrote, directed, produced, and did work as a martial arts director which might explain why he actually played a good guy in this movie!Hsia Chuan (Nick Cheung Lik) was raised by Tu Shu (San Kuai), a cagey master who cons Hsia into signing a contract giving him 50% of his earnings for life. The resident Big Bad, Leng Chieh (Bolo!), begins sending his top ten killers against Tu Shu. Hsia is not afraid of using poison against his enemies, including Hsiao Li's master Lee Yu Wei (Fong Yau). Lee survives and continues training the young Hsiao (Chu Chi Ming) to become a constable. Tu Shu and Hsia are more concerned with collecting the bounty on the killers' heads and how they are going to split it. A beggar uses his stick of doom, a coffin maker shows up literally in a coffin before beginning to fight, and Addy Sung appears as a kung fu fortune teller among the other assortment of killers doomed to die. Tu Shu and Hsia find out where the killers are and begin taking them out one by one until only Bolo is left. Somewhere else in the wooded area, Lee continues to train the marshmallow looking Hsiao. Eventually, all the secrets are revealed and the story comes to a head with the two young fighters meeting and then a rushed ending given the revelations at stake.
Because there were four martial arts directors-Bolo, Cheung, Fong, and San, there wasn't a cohesive fight experience but that might have been a good thing for some fights were better than others. A variety of styles were used such as Snake, Bolo's "I'm not looking at you" style, and a kick-fest for the finale. Nick Cheung Lik and San Kuai were featured in nearly all the fights, some serious, others comedic, and held their own. Chu Chi Ming was a lackluster hero who had little screen time which was no loss.
While the fights came fast and often, the flimsy story doomed the movie to forgettable. Bolo and his terrible mustache couldn't even save this movie. For a short kung fu film it was below average but watchable with nothing terribly offensive. No spurting blood, no nudity (although there was a lead up to an intimate scene), but also no memorable fights. The story could be confusing diluting the big reveal at the end. The main focus of the film was the two guys who poisoned and killed their way through a vicious gang, who weren't much better themselves. I was happy to see Fong Yau play a good guy and I'm a Bolo fan, but I'm not sure that's a recommendation for watching.
3/28/23
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Great Underrated Independent Movie
Were it not for Han Hyo Joo I would have never discovered this movie. Thankfully I did! This is a great independent movie with a very unique plot, realistic characters, and superb acting. Most everything about it is understated leading to a subtle sense of curiosity and eventually a subtle yet deep sense of compassion. This movie is far from being a mystery yet there is a constant mysterious aura about the main character that culminates in a heart wrenching reveal at the end..less of a surprise or shock because of how heart wrenchingly realistic it could be…Was this review helpful to you?
story
I think KS will have a great idea for android and new features that will make it worth the effort for a new user and to download the untold and the untold of your site is not hghhhs and you can use it for any other reason you want to be a part of the team and the untold is a good idea for the future of the year and the untold of the year and the untold of the year is a great time to get back into a routine routine and then take the untold of your home and get it done by then you will need a little help to download the untold for your computer or computer software that can helpWas this review helpful to you?
A VERY BEAUTIFUL STORY OF LOVE!
I love this so much! The storyline is amazing. I've seen and felt different kinds of love in this BL, romantic, family, friendship, unrequited love and others, and it was showed amazingly. I deeply felt the feelings the two male leads had for each other and... aahh, I really want to say more but I don't want to mention spoilers. I actually watched both the movie and series version because I don't want to miss anything and I plan to rewatch them again. Oh, and by the way, the two male leads are very good-looking, just perfect for each other. I love the effects, the music... everything! I already added this to my favorite list. Love this so much!Was this review helpful to you?
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The futility of rebellion ...
WOW ... this 1992 movie was very thought provoking and really really well done and is as relevant today in 2023 as it was in 1992 ... 31 years later.The OS, a simple low repeating tune, and the amazing cinematography created a palpable sense of heaviness and dankness of a decaying world. Everywhere, inside and outside, was so confining ... so chock a block full of stuff but so 'dead' and 'empty'. The built environment, always in a state of decay and repair (which never seemed to make any overall difference), was mirrored in the trapped lives of the characters inhabiting it. Decay and alienation ebbed and flowed in their lives like the drain in Ah-Tse's apartment, like the low repeating tune that played in the background ... ever present ... ebbing and flowing ... every step forward they made, they were pushed back three ... never getting ahead ... always wallowing in decay. The alienated and dead pan looks on everyone's faces ... I wondered how they kept on going on when nothing seemed to make any difference .. not even rebellion made a difference.
The 360 degree "cause and effect" and the interconnectedness of all the events that played out in everyone's lives was very well scripted and very thought provoking ... from that fateful meeting where the taxi mirror was smashed to the same taxi bringing the 'smashed' perpetrators back home ... the Father leaving the door to their apartment ajar after having slammed it in his son's face telling him he was not allowed in ... the hug between Ah-Tze and his girlfriend Ah-Kwei while standing in the overflowing drain water, both wanting to escape but having no idea where to escape to or even how to escape ... it really hit hard ... it felt so desperate and hopeless ... like a terrible oppressive black hole that mercilessly swallows up any joy and pulls you back in every time you try to escape ... the futility of it all.
At the end of the movie, feeling really emotionally depleted, I wondered ... how would things have turned out if Ah-Tze hadn't smashed the taxi mirror and Hsiao-Kang and his Father ended up going to the movies ... hmmm ... sadly, I think it would have only delayed the inevitable ... one way or another their souls will be consumed by the decay.
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