Reviews

A time capsule

This film was...surprisingly sophisticated and a decent female-centric melodrama for its time. It's pretty dramatic due to character decision-making and I know some things would seem like not a big deal in today's age — which is why I see this as more of a time capsule film. It was cool to see what story-writing focused on in 1960.

There are some annoyingly convenient plot developments (i.e. secrets being revealed because "she's sick and hallucinating!"), some narration that was so weirdly judgmental it took me out of it, some instances of cringy over-acting, and an ending that feels a bit superfluous, but it held up surprisingly well.

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Watched for a mind f*ck, Got a mind f*ck

I saw some edits of this drama on TikTok and saw that it was just a movie. I had been looking for a sad movie to watch so I didn't have to invest 16 hours of my life into a sad Kdrama. And when I tell you this is not the movie for ice cream and cry time, I wouldn't be lying.

The story had a few plot holes and parts where I didn't understand what was going on, but that could also be held to the fact THAT I WAS IN TEARS for a majority of this drama. I really have no room to judge whatsoever on the plot of this movie. Due to that, I gave it a 10/10. I can't rate it lower just because "he died" or "why did it have to end like that" the whole point of this movie was to get that point across. It's not like it was a cute little romance movie and I'm now gonna write a hate review because the couple I wanted to get together, in the end, didn't. This movie was about a serious subject and I shall rate it accordingly.

When going in to watch this movie I was a little worried about Park Jin-Young being cast in it. I was extremely nervous with this movie's serious subject matter, that the movie would try to "sexualize" him too much. But I was very surprised by the fact that he wasn't portrayed as a super hot brother seeking revenge on his poor twin. They didn't make him look flawlessly attractive giving him perfect skin a gorgeous makeup. He wasn't ripped in all the scenes where his shirt was off, and they surely didn't give very many of those scenes. On top of that Park Jin-Young's acting as Wol Woo was unrecognizable. Every signal scene with Wol Woo had me bawling my eyes out. Overall, the acting of both twins was splendidly done by Park Jin-Young.

I think this movie could have been completely ruined if they had added some sappy sad songs over some of the scenes. The lack of music made this movie seem all more real. There was no dramatic fight scene music as Il Woo was fighting for his life. There was no a-cappella being sung over all of the SA scenes. The only music throughout the whole movie that really made an impression on me was the Christmas Carol.

While I do think this was a movie worth my watch to see Park Jin-Young's amazing acting. If he wasn't in it I probably would have never found it or even considered watching it. The chances of me rewatching this again a slim to none but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to watch this one time.

If you do plan on watching this movie I won't stop you, but be warned this movie holds no bounds and absolutely no room for happiness. So grab your box of tissues or your roll of toilet paper as I did, and prepare to be Mind F*cked.

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The best acting from Kento Yamazaki so far

Just finished and I must say, the probability of me watching this again is pretty high.

The story follows two individuals, Nagata and Saki, from their weird first encounter to their ill-fated relationship that changes one another for the worse. Both individuals have big dreams. Nagata is a struggling theater director who's awkward and standoffish to everyone around him but dreams of making it big and coming into a lot of money through his plays. Saki is a kind and considerate girl who wants to be an actress in the great city of Tokyo, but life has other plans in store for her.

In the beginning it seems like this will be a cute little love story where the good-natured girl falls for the quiet boy but things take a quick turn as Saki comes to terms with the person Nagata really is. She did state that she knew what kind of person he was from the beginning, but a person can only put up with so much for so long. Though the movie never elaborates, I thought perhaps she stayed with Nagata so long because there was a certain comfort in being with him and it's hard to let go of the people you grow accustomed to. The highs were really high and the lows were so very low. I do however like how this movie didn't shy away from the toxicity that many people face in relationships and the strain it causes on the partners involved. This demonstrates perfectly that just because you love and deeply care about someone doesn't mean they are good for you and they should be in your life. Although it was unclear and never voiced by either of the two I personally believe that Saki and Nagata loved each other. It wasn't the bike scene that had me crying but the convo they had that turned into the play. It was so well done and the dialogue was great. The script for this movie was really good.

I came for Kento Yamazaki and heard he had some good acting chops in this. I wasn't disappointed. This is hands down the best acting I've seen from him so far. He looked unkempt and messy for the part but it was the instigative attitude and seemingly nonchalant front he portrayed that kept me enthralled. I would love for him to do more projects like this. Matsuoko Mayu was just as good.

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Youthful platonic and romantic story with the sweetest male lead ever!

This is a very cute movie with the sweetest male lead that can exist. It is a very youthful and platonic romance with a slow and quiet pacing. Story-telling wise, it does not reinvent the wheel but provide a satisfying experience to its viewers. The story has a real sentimental vibe and illustrates (-sometimes quite literally) in an interesting way the time passing by and the evolution of the relationship between its main protagonists.

I was impressed by the acting of Yamazaki Kento. He can sometimes be a bit of a miss for me but here I found his emotional scenes pretty convincing. He was able to subtly demonstrate a lot of feelings in a more natural and subdue way than in some of his other works. Overall, this picture had a good cast and did not feature too much overacting (which is often a big flaw in the Japanese productions).

Production was rather standard for a high school settings but some of the visuals were rather pretty. The stationery used, the doodles and drawings showcased in the picture were also a nice addition to the plot as it become essential to the characters developments. The OST was pleasant with his classical piano touches and fitted well the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a sweet quiet romantic and non-toxic story with a male lead exhibiting all the best traits of characters and full of green flags.

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Very Loose Adaptation of the Manga.

While watching this in theaters I had two thoughts... "this is different from the manga," and "Itagaki Rhihito should have played Chigira-kun instead of Takahashi Kyohei."

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

The film plays out exactly like the synopsis describes. Maaya and Chigira play the unrequited love game. It pretty much follows most of the flow of the manga, although the film does change quite a few things. The changes are big, but doesn't change much of the story or end goal. However, if I have to nit-pit, it would be that there is nothing that makes this film stand out in any way. Yes, it's beautifully done and it's romantic, but it's really just your average Japanese shojo manga adapted into a film. No drama, no amazing acting, no thing.

There is also quite a few plot holes and cliff hangers. The film brings up Chigira's past, but really does nothing with it. We know it's traumatizing for him, but because there is no dialogue during these flashbacks we don't know what is going on aside from his parents yelling at each other. We see Tezuka (Chigura's former, now rival) have a rivalry with Chigura, but we don't see them getting on good terms with each other. We only see Maaya tell him he doesn't actually hate Chigura, but he likes him. . . then the next scene they are now buddies. No closure. Lastly, the ending. We ended on a confession and kiss. . . but what about the whole school knowing about Maaya and Chigura? The whole school was messaging her and cursing her out, but she goes to Chigura's race anyways. They cuss her out then suddenly starting cheering Chigura on with her. Is her schoolmates over her dating Chigura because she was cheering her on? What happened here? I wanna have some closure, not just end on a kiss!

Anyways, the film wasn't bad, but when you think about it from a storytelling aspect, there are a lot of loose ends.

•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Film ✦❅✧❅•

Sooooo. . . The film took their liberties and changed quite a few things. Some of them include. . .

• Yamada-kun being her classmate instead of being someone from her cram school. They also made him very very nerdy and unattractive.
• They didn't emphasis Maaya's thing for black haired guys with glasses, so Chigura randomly wears glasses at home.
• Maaya and Chigura don't ever do a "pretend dating game." Chigura just invites her on a date to the temple instead of the aquarium during their "unrequited love game."
• Tezuka is already Maaya's friend from the beginning and it's very clear he likes her.
• Maaya's friend doesn't seem to have a crush on Chigura in the film, unlike her having a crush on him in the manga.
• Maaya doesn't interrupt Chigura's fangirl's confession. She let's him go to her.
• The two keychains they have don't represent each other unlike the manga. Chigura buys it because Maaya thought it was cute.

And this list goes on.

I think it was a very loose adaptation where they changed lots of scenarios, but we still got the same end result.
I personally still like the manga better, but I enjoy how they changed Tezuka from being a random student Maaya meets to already someone who is her close friend with a crush on her from the beginning.

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

I feel bad saying this, but Takahashi Kyohei is not a great actor, not is he a great Chigura-kun. I had pictured Chigura-kun to be stoic only until Maaya says or does something that pulls on his heart-strings. However, Takahashi is stoic the whole time. He doesn't seem to be in love with Maaya. Furthermore, his acting is very stiff so his kissing, running, and lines are delivered a little to stiff to my liking.

Takahashi's performance wasn't terrible, but it was stiff to the point where half-way through the film I started thinking "why doesn't Maaya get together with Tezuka? Tezuka is so much better!" Itagaki Rhihito's performance was so natural and good, that I was looking forward to him appearing on screen more than Takahashi. I also started to think that with Itagaki's acting talents, he might make a better Chigura than Takahashi. Everything that Tezuka thinks is etched onto his face, so if Itagaki had portrayed Chigura maybe we would get the Chigura that is stoic until Maaya pulls on his heart-strings just like the manga. In the manga it's implied that maybe Chigura likes Maaya from the start since he blushes and gets upset based on her actions. Because of Takahashi's constantly stoic version of Chigura we can't really tell of Chigura likes Maaya until he takes her on a date and confesses to her.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

This film wasn't terrible as a Japanese shojo movie, but it didn't really live up the the manga. There were a lot of plot holes and questions that weren't answered, as well as a stiff male lead. I just felt the magic that was in the manga was missing in the film simply because of his stiffness. Maybe if it were there I would like the film just as much as I do the film.

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How much is a life worth?

How much is a life worth? Not much, I'm afraid. This film is about a streetwise, headstrong high schooler who gets her passions and aspirations beaten out of her by the cruel machinations of this capitalist society. Everyone in this film is graded by how much they are "worth" - from the call centre staff being measured by their commissions/sales amounts, to the schools being graded on how many students have successfully found employment. There is no leeway for error; falling down the ranks means being fired or having a school shut down. Every worker - be it an intern, police officer or teacher is essentially reduced to a number on an excel sheet, dispensable and replaceable. "If you can't take it, just quit! No one is forcing you to stay" is a phrase thrown flippantly around by the management of the company that had the greatest hand in causing So Hee's demise. If only life were that simple, to be able to escape this rat race at any point you desire. Does anybody actually desire to be a cog in a machine, slaving away for profits that you would never even receive? Alas, when quitting means disappointing a "respected" teacher, being threatened with expulsion and worsening an already bad family financial situation, it seems that death is the only answer.

Personal opinions of our current society aside, this film has done a great job in highlighting the injustices of a capitalistic society that reduces the worth of a human being down to a single number. The acting is amazing, though the cinematography is straight to the point, in an almost documentary like style which is quite befitting to the theme of this film. It is a bleak slow burn with no resolution, and Bae Donna's character's mission to find the truth is akin to the fight between David and Goliath. But in the end, that's what life is right? When the rich get richer and the poor continue to suffer and have their voices silenced, injustices are covered up and victims have nowhere to go. Since this film is based on a real life incident, I can only hope the "real" So Hee has found peace at last.

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I hope we all can be brave and accept ourselves :)

This movie was very well-produced! The pace fits how the story unravels itself. Starting with the main problem, as a watcher, this movie would hook you up from the very first sight. Wu Lei and Zhang Zifeng deserve a standing ovation for their excellent acting bringing out the characters alive. I really love the raw emotion and interaction of our main characters when they were trying to get to know each other. The chemistry of these two is what I love the most about this movie besides its meaning. I agree if anyone says this deserves a drama instead of just a movie, but I also think this short limit of time is already perfect for wrapping the entire story.

Personally, (spoiler) I don't like Zhang Yuxing's love story mainly because I don't think it's appropriate for an adult to date a high schooler. On the other hand, I feel really close to Chen Chen's curiosity about love, even like how she kept encouraging Zhang Yuxing to finish his unrequited love. The movie was ending with a bittersweet resolution for both characters, but that was exactly what makes this movie meaningful. There are some parts that owe us, watchers, some explanation before the movie ended obviously, but it doesn't lessen the quality of this movie. If you need a coming-of-age movie that actually has meaning, you should try this one!

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A beautiful story about love and friendship

I want to start off by saying I havent watched the original yet but I may update this review after I do.
Update: ive now watched the original and to me i do think this remake did it justice. Tbh I enjoyed this more than the original because I think the writing and pacing was better. They added more elements that fleshed out the characters where i could understand their decisions more.


Now if youre worried about a love triangle, dont be. The male lead is just a secondary character with a secondary storyline. The main event is the friendship between mi so and ha eun. You see their journey as friends from childhood to adulthood. Its by no means an easy journey as they drift apart often but in the end they always find their way back to each other. This isnt exactly a sapphic movie either but its a beautiful love story about a female friendship.

I really wanted to watch this movie cause of kim dami and jeon so nee and they did not disappoint. They portrayed their roles perfectly and they had great chemistry. I also liked the directing as it felt really raw and brought out the actresses strengths. It had an independent film feel to it.

I will also say to bring tissues as this film may make you cry.

I really enjoyed this movie as a coming of age story about a female friendship and would recommend for the story and acting.

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A new perspective to look at small details of life we fail to notice!

I would say "my annoying brother" is a really simple yet heart touching movie. Coming to the present when relationships between family members are
mostly quite strained. It just opens up and shows us the beauty of love. True love. Not between two different individuals but of two individuals who share the same blood.

The cinematography is not the best but this is a really old movie so quite acceptable I'd say. More than the plot , what brings a lot of attention to the movie is the realistic acting. The effort and emotion put into it makes the movie worth watching and moreover incredibly enjoyable

A great movie for all ages. Something you can always watch with your family and little kids. A mix of fun and sadness. The perfect balance I'd say.
I did shed a few tears watching the movie but this movie would always remain in my heart. It just stole a special place. I hope ya ll enjoy watching!!

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The perfect rom-com / please make a template and copy guidelines

Amazon Prime has the worst choices of movies and dramas in the USA.
And Asian choices - forget it.
The collection looks like the Asian film market threw them leftover bones to chew on.

So I clicked on this movie hopelessly, holding the remote with the anticipation of skimming through in 15 minutes.

But - hush my heart be quiet - this movie turned out to be a cult classic!!!
Funny as hell, every situation is classically timed.
The scenes are very detailed, well thought of with an eye on minutiae.

The story - aaaaahhh - please use this as a reference for all future romcoms!
Just perfect!!

And the actors - the SML is so funny, he deserves an award.
The FL - she's just perfect. Nothing more, nothing less.
And the ML - aah - fell in love with him.
He carries the movie nimbly, no over the top emotions,
Romantic, swoon worthy, funny, raucous.........💖💖

I dug up every other drama he was in to watch and wasn't disappointed.

Good work, the full team of this movie!
Classic romcom!

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A pretty good watch, I'll surely recommend it to crime-thrill lovers.

This is an absolute watch for crime-thrill lovers. Yim se wan was exceptional and I really loved how every actor was to the point with their acting, nothing was too much or too less...it is un-doubtly an upgrade of the Japanese version.
The part with everybody being alive might seem a bit unrealistic but factually if you see it takes around 1/2 hour or more to die if someone has drowned in water, the brain stops working in the initial 3-5 minutes, but other organs and metabolic reactions take quite some time to stop...and gun shot in the abdominal area is not something that can instantly kill anyone. So, it's actually totally plausible that they survived.

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A decent alternative to typical western disaster movie.

A nice prequel with a rather slow act on the drama side but it definitely works after the universe build up. Not your typical western disaster movie where the heroes usually focused on a white group with one or two expendable minorities here and there, rather you get a grand set but you are most looking at the iminent disaster from the chinese point of view.
Effects is on marvel's level but i pretty much think marvel already stuck on first avenger movie level for how many years now?
Music (not song) is grand and I don't know chinese movie actually spend that much time on music.

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Cute musical bits and cheesy fun

This was nowhere near as bad as the reviews said this was gonna be. I thought the musical parts were enchanting and super cute. The CGI bits were ehh but nothing too crusty. Mitsuki's voice is quite beautiful. I'm impressed at her contributing so much vocals to the film. Her acting was ok. The critics were right about Kento Yamazaki. He is just eye candy here. Acting is non-existent but he looks so good in a suit so I'm ok with it. Came for him but I might look into the FL's music and other works as her voice impressed me a lot. I knew exactly the kind of movie I was signing up for and wasn't disappointed. It's good for a film to know what it wants to be. The only thing I didn't like was Narumi's boss. His voice was really annoying.

Watch if you want 2 hours of fluffy musical escapism :)

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