Reviews

Interesting premise and heart-wrenching ending

I really loved the whole setting of futuristic scenes, AI war and brain copy, it's just that it wasn't utilized that much. The story focused too much on the emotional aspect of a mother who has unconditional love for her daughter and a daughter who feels guilty for her mother's demise.

As usual the action scenes and the CG is top notch. I really like how Hollywood like are the CGs of Korean movies recently. The action scenes are also great. Kim Hyun Joo did a great job portraying a strong female mercenary.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie and got a bit teary eyed towards the end. It might disappoint those people though who wants a 'Sci-Fi' plot because it's not really about that. It's more of like just the settings. Still I consider this worth the watch. You should try it too.

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The synopsis of this movie seemed interesting so I decided to add it to my watch list. It took me a while to finally sit down and watch it, but during a Park Seo-joon binge, I decided it was time. The concept of this movie is truly unique and not the same plot that's been done over and over again. Both Park Seo-joon and Lee Dong-wook make appearances so you can already appreciate the beauty and talent of the cast. I understand why the writers left the ending the way they did, however, as a viewer I was hoping for something a bit different (such as a solution to the problem). That's not to say that the ending takes away from the movie, it's just a personal preference. I didn't really laugh too much, but I did she a few tears. Overall it's a decent film and worth a watch.

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This is one of those movies that I have very mixed feelings about. This movie has such a melancholic vibe. The shots showing the surroundings were really pretty.

The plot is good. On the one hand, it is a story strongly related to a motorcycle gang, and on the other, this movie tells the story of a teenager who tries to define her feelings towards her mother. The main characters learn new things about themselves that they were unable to see before.

This movie did not bore me, I watched it with interest, but for some reason it was difficult for me to get emotionally involved in it. Maybe it's an acting issue. I'm not sure. [slight spoiler] The only time I felt emotionally involved in the story was when FL begged her mother for help. I shed a few tears at that moment.

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Expected a goofy horror, got a tragic tale.

I did not expect a semi-solid plot when I started this movie. The last 30 minutes makes the film worth the watch. Don’t get me wrong though, there is not much depth. It’s tragic, sad, and at times infuriating, but there is no social commentary about what happened, and the ending might seem a bit disappointing.

Still, there was a lot of potential. Especially surprised by well constructed plot twists that added layers to the story. It was also visually great - none of the special effects seemed cheap, no typical ghost with long dark hair creeping around. There was a clear vision on how the movie was supposed to look like and what story it was supposed to tell.

It’s worth knowing there are some triggering scenes in the movie - a few more clearly shown than others, but they might be too much for some viewers.

The acting was decent. Honestly speaking, except for Cheryl Yang, none of the other cast members had the opportunity to even start flexing their potential skills.

Overall, surprisingly nice, way better than I expected just based on the synopsis and my previous experience with randomly picked Chinese horror movies.

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okay I watch this mainly for yeo jin goo and I know some actors are really good, and I have time so yeah...

The idea was fantastic, the characters seemed genuine. Up until a specific scene inside a warehouse pulls the rug out from under everything that has been built up and spills this into the realm of disposable Korean thrillers, well the ride is entertaining.

The majority of it was tied together with knots, which was fine for the most part but seemed overly complicated toward the end, as if an additional knot had been tied on top of an already perfect knot to create a tangled mess.

Also, I thought that toward the end, the monster aspect wasn't really addressed. They did a nice job of constructing it, but then they just threw it away. What was the purpose then? Additionally, the movie does that thing at the conclusion where people suddenly stop feeling pain. How is he still standing, Idk? I don't care.

Anyways, this time around, the crime family feels much more vulnerable and in danger. I also appreciate the film's really enjoyable action scenes and the fact that Yeo Jin goo's motivation for retaliation feels so deeply personal.

Yes, the acting really caried this movie. and still recommendable to watch.

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was it good or was it not?

First of all let me start with the part where I have read the manga and watched the movie

the story is good and the acting cast was actually close to look like the characters from the manga, by saying that I mean it was a fantastic casting crew they had since I got the same feeling from reading the manga and watching the movie

by saying that I would refere to the scene where "Shima" looks at the pack at his table and instant begins to cry since his minds actually was filled with chaos and that's what I call great casting/acting

I would totally recommend this movie since I have deep feelings connected to this movie 😁👍

AND YES I recommend the manga too

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An under-rat-ed making of a failed Kaiju mockumentary

(Warning! Rat puns ahead!)
Director Yokokawa returned to the mockumentary by giving Kaiju fans an imagined look into the making and scrapping of the 1964 film Giant Horde Beast Nezura. Yokokawa displayed his devotion for the genre and once again made sure that a bit of Tokusatsu history was not forgotten. Before there was Gamera, Daiei began production on their vision of a giant monster to compete with Toho-a horde of rats! This short film showed an enor-mouse amount of love on a tiny budget for the forgotten terrors.

The movie was largely in black and white as if the filming was done in 1963. The film starts with the executives brainstorming ideas for their next big hit. Feeling that their competitor (ahem, Toho’s Godzilla) had grown stale they sought out a new monster to fill the void. After watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds and being inspired to use a more common animal, the vile enemy was agreed upon…rats. They also decided to use real rats for filming with their miniature sets. The “documentary” takes us through the miniature set making, the model creator, and the crew trying to make the rats more menacing. Ultimately, they took a truck up and down the streets offering to pay 50 yen for every rat given to them. The street rats were much more active. Unfortunately, they were also carrying fleas and disease. The powers rat be at the Bureau of Public Health upon hearing complaints from nearby residents shut them down. In real life and alluded to in the film, the rats were doused in oil and set on fire to dispose of them more humanely. I doubt the rats thought it was that painless.

I’m not sure who thought rats were a great idea for a film, they are notoriously difficult to work with. Everyone has heard the horror stories of how demanding Jerry was while Tom was a real pussycat to get along with (ancient Tom and Jerry cartoon reference). Jokes aside, because of the difficulties the movie was abandoned after only 3000 ft were shot. This mockumentary did not use any of it, if any footage is still in existence, nor any photo stills. The model for the super giant rat was tusked and frightening. It’s no sec-rat that if they’d stuck with just a guy in a rubber suit and not used disease carrying rodents, the film would have been completed.

Yokokawa gave Nezura the star treatment with a mice little theme song, a jaunty number, sung by Gamera Super Monster’s lead female alien (Fumiake Mach)! Once again Yokokawa preserved a Kaiju from complete obscurity and did so with much respect. The Great Buddha Arrival was more ambitious than this project but his passion for his subjects comes through on the screen, even when using people with little or no acting skill and a miniscule budget. I found the behind the scenes making of the miniatures worthwhile and the filming of rampaging rats interesting even when they were hilariously just sitting around licking themselves.

Though Nezura was canceled before he came to movie life, in his wake, a guardian awoke-Gamera the Invincible in 1965. Gamera would go on to become the guardian of little children. Hindsight says a turtle ended up being a safer choice than a horrifying rat. Gamera squeaked away with the win!

For Kaiju enthusiasts this is an entertaining short film to check out, to see what might have been. There’s nothing earth shattering or rat-ical about it, simply an hour to support one man’s passion for our beloved Kaiju. Sorry for the puns, I was just trying to a-mouse myself.

1/27/23

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The wall may be great but this movie isn't

The Great Wall made for an average popcorn movie with lush visuals and a completely forgettable script and characters. With only a hint of Zhang Yi Mou’s usual movie magic I found it mildly entertaining. It’s like the damning compliment laced with criticism, “It’s fine I just I expected more from you because you are better than this.”

William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal), two mercenaries seeking the fabled black powder, end up captured by The Nameless Order that guards the Great Wall. Very quickly this prickly western bandits wandering into the wrong place in China drama turns itself on its head when the reason for the Great Wall is discovered. Like a gruesome batch of cicadas, deadly green monsters appear every 60 years to remind the emperor and his people to not be greedy. The Nameless Order’s job is to drive them back. And yes, the plot is just that weird and weirdly simple.

At first, I worried that this would be a white savior story. Instead, the white guy was saved from his avarice by learning from the Nameless Order and their strong belief in “trust” and their belief and loyalty to each other. The script was so diluted of any real meaning, perhaps in the desire to not offend or confuse either Western or Eastern audiences, that it lacked spark and anything deeply intriguing. Though several well-known faces appeared on screen, most of the characters would barely qualify as cardboard cutouts.

Jing Tian as General Lin Mei along with Andy Lau as her wise advisor gave the most competent performances. Pedro Pascal as the ethically challenged Tovar did what he could with the rascal role. Matt Damon as the biggest western star in the movie playing William looked completely confused, maybe he was looking for his agent. His “Irish” accent was all over the place and came and went from sentence to sentence. His wig looked like the food truck had run over it a few times and then the hairstylist closed her eyes and pasted it onto his head. He also lacked any chemistry with Pascal and Jing, leaving the bromance and inferred romance without any heat.

The tei tao, which resembled four-legged monsters from numerous film and television productions only green and with their eyes on their shoulders, were suitably scary if overly familiar looking. Editing for the escalation of the monsters’ attacks could be quite awkward as they appeared and disappeared without much reason. The primary weakness of the monsters resulted in a strangely anti-climactic ending.

Now, for some of the things that worked. It was a Zhang Yi Mou film so it did have his signature color saturation, richly emotional OST, gorgeous battle armor, beautiful scenery and sets, and fascinating coordinated battles. The idea that the wall was built to keep out ravenous alien creatures was a fun concept, if not well implemented. I’m a fan of Zhang’s work which means I was more forgiving of this film’s flaws than I might have been otherwise.

If you are in the mood for an aesthetically shot film with colorful costumes and good battle action against green alien critters and can check your brain at the door, this might be a movie to try. Pop some popcorn, even better if you can watch with a friend, and see what you think of this ludicrous movie.

1/27/23

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A D(isappointing) A(bsurd) R(idiculous) K(lutzy) film

I was planning to watch this movie for a while, mostly because I heard many people saying that it is very dark and twisted - and I like my movies as dark as my soul-, but besides being dark and twisted it was also a disappointment.

In terms of directing and cinematography, the movie has nothing to offer, besides some nice shots (that were no more than four). The lighting is very bad and the general atmosphere of the movie is pretty bland, not managing to achieve the dark atmosphere that it should have.

The production quality seems to be relatively low. Even though it does have some scenes that could look better, it generally didn't bother me.

Acting is good enough, but there is also your typical -bad- overacting here and there, mostly by Matsuzaka Tori.

And now, the plot...
It is so badly written, I wanted to cry at some point. Even though it did have a decent beginning, everything went downhill after that. There are way too many stuff that are making no sense and are over the top for the sake of being over the top. Even the disturbing scenes were not that disturbing, mainly because the characters were so bland that you would feel nothing about them, even if they died. Lastly, the movie had some tropes that reminded me more of a korean makjang than a mystery/psychological film.

All in all, the movie has a good concept that no one really cared to develop in a logical way -I am calling that lazy writing- and as a result it ends up being nonsensical with some badly written characters and some scenes that are there just for the shake of shock.

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Not Great ?

This movie was such a let down 😔

love this genre and I really thought this movie was going to be good.

For a film by the same creators of Train to Busan I was expecting heart. Sadly this movie did not deliver in any way 🙈

I don't understand how it sets at #1 best movie on Netflix right now. America Netflix

One star for the main actress she did a fantastic job acting as a robot 🤖

PROS:
◇Robot fighting was good
◇The main actress acting 🙌🏽
◇The CGI was watchable

CONS:
◇The writing
◇Pacing was off
◇Didn't have the heart they were aiming for.

optional it had but sadly didn't work for me.

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The suspense keeps you hooked till the end

As soon as I completed Sherlock: The Untold Stories I added this movie to my watchlist and have been waiting patiently to watch Dean Fujioka and Iwata Takanori to reprise their role as Shishio and Wakamiya.

I have previously seen the English Movie The Hound of the Baskervilles along with the 2010 English series with Benedict Cumberbatch where one of the episodes deals with this mystery. So, I already had an inkling of what the storyline is and how the mystery will unfold. But when I started watching this is when I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it contains a different plotline and this piqued my interest. The story was fresh and the mystery kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time and what more can I ask for?

The story is about Shishio and Wakamiya going to a remote island to unravel the mystery of the death of a rich client and the curse of a black dog that haunts his family.

Dean Fujioka does a splendid job playing the eccentric Shishio (Sherlock) with the penchant for solving mysteries all the while having a cold exterior and a flair for showmanship when revealing the truth. Iwata Takanori was exceptional as Wakamiya (Watson), a doctor and friend of Shishio always available to help him try to solve the puzzles albeit being ridiculed by Shishio at every opportunity that he gets.

This 2-hour movie is well-paced and the story handled so well that it keeps you guessing until the very end. Don't give this one a miss if you enjoy mystery and suspense.

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Goodbye Cruel World with homage to Macbeth :-)

Saito Takumi gone all psycho ... but so smoking hot. Ok, so aside from how hot he is, "Goodbye Cruel World" is an apt name for this movie. Basically it revolves around money ... the loosing of it, the getting of it, the not having it and the wanting of it. Blood and death reign everywhere and it is all heavily laced with tragedy and futility, but also with a kind of tragic sense of humour. The OST was awesome ... I thought it matched well with the themes. The actors did an awesome job too.

Who was left standing with that last shot fired ... 🤔 no idea ...and in a way, for me it didn't really matter because they all had a gut full ... no wonder they laughed at the end of it all. I laughed too because, despite what they wanted, despite what they said and did, life was just so f'n futile and death came for them anyway. It was rather Shakespearian ... Macbeth said before he shuffled off his mortal coil ...

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing."

I also had a chuckle at the irony of the movie title "Goodbye Cruel World" and that it was produced in "Happinet Phantom Studios" 🤣🤣 🤣

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Hidden gem

This movie is surprising good..Everything is great!! The plot, the cast, the acting and the music.. It was simple, human, realistically story that happen to people nowadays. You can feel the atmosphere, the relatable of situation and that makes you drawn to movie.

I felt angry, frustrated, emotional, sad and laugh when watch this movie.. What a roller coaster journey. Despite with unfamiliar casts, except the main lead but the acting from all casts brings the colour to story. Great quality production.

This movie is entertaining and I really enjoyed watch it from the beginning until the end!! More people should watch it.. Highly recommended ^_^

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Thrilling butterfly effect

I had problem following it in first 10 minutes, but I blame myself because I had lack of focus. But once I got on this ride it was really hard to get off. This movie is dynamic, very energetic and interesting. It is not the most unique and innovative plot but it has some unique elements.

I think I need to rate things following the way I was invested and how much I enjoyed the experience while watching it. I was there, very present and I was having fun. So it did so well for me!

I LOVED the music. This movie made me remember how much I missed watching Korean horror movies lol

I was honestly scared just watching Jeon Jong Seo, she did magnificent job! Cannot wait to see more of her!

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Bringing You What You Longed For in Season 1

Everything that made the first season unique and great to watch was the fact that the pandemic kept them apart. Half of most romance stories (sometimes more than half) is about being in close proximity, lingering touches, wandering eyes. But that was impossible to do safely in a romance during the height of the pandemic.

Here we are with easing restrictions and the build up of them being apart is completely satisfied by getting to see them together. It's the next chapter we all needed to see. The movie felt like the perfect length. Hearing that season 2 is just the same with added scenes, I don't think there's anything that needs to be added. It felt just right.

This movie delivers the full fledged relationship of Cai and Gav. They don't just have good bantering chemistry. They have good physical chemistry as well. The love scene might be the best one I've seen to date in BL, the acting, the cinematography, the music. It was *chef's kiss*.

The side couple was cute though a little awkward. I appreciated them.

I hope we get a sequel because they certainly ended this in a way that would allow them to make one.
But I'm not unsatisfied with the ending either. It was realistic and hit good emotional beats.

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