Reviews

Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy

I feel like I'am a queen of unpopular opinions this year, but well what can I do? I really like it and had good time.
So disclaimer: I did not read book/manhwa - probably will not, only because of huge To be read list, cause this movie totally made me curious about it. More disclaimer: I do not care if adaptation is 1:1 with original material, I really do not give a sh*t about it. Also I often watch something before I read it and that made me want to read. And even if I read something and then watch adaptation I expect it to be different, that is a whole point for me - to make it not exactly the same. For example I love Percy Jackson's movie - I loved every single book which I read because of movie - but I do not like series, which is more book accurate. Same thing with shadowhunters.
Moving on - I love this film and can not wait for more (although I prefer series) - it was so fun I totally consider watching again. love how some moments it looked like game or actors looked animated. Simply totally my vibe.
Because I do not know original material changes does not matter to me at all.
Acting - in my opinion was very good. Story went pretty fast, there was no boring moment.
Jisoo - she will be the only one I talk more about - simply because I like her acting and I know it was more than controversial :she did amazing, she really did (she need more roles like this), also her screentime was good in my opinion, we had a little of her background, she slayed her scenes, was totally badass and stood out - more screen time would make less impact, so in the end it was in her favour.
To sum up - if you like a genre, then a must have!

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Light and Sweet

Love Untangled isa sweet, funny, and little bit heartfelt movie that had me both smiling and tearing up by the end. The story balances lighthearted moments with bit of emotional aspect making it a decent watch.

If I had to nitpick, the “self-sacrifice breakup” after the hospital scene felt a little predictable, and I wasn’t a fan of how the movie leaned into the idea that straight hair is prettier. While I loved that the female lead eventually embraced her natural curls, I wish that positive representation had been there from the beginning.

That said, these are minor flaws in an otherwise good film. The friendship, humor, and emotional depth make Love Untangled one of the feel-good movies. it's perfect when you want to watch something that's light and fun 😊

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Exaggerated Movie by Many Reviewers

In general, the story are solid. But that's it. Another things about this movie are basic. For somebody who's looking for funny awkward romance by teenager, you can pick this one. But if you looking for something full of emotion, hard working protagonist, or hiding value from the movie, forget it!

The acting only rely on facial features. It's too much. They label it as romance, yet it's more like awkward romance. More to add is this movie also rely on beautiful scenery as a background. IMO Hiyori Sakurada acting are stiff and every reaction are far-fetched. She maybe thought that with pouting lips she'll be recognize as cute girl. The male actor are ironically doing same things. Doing something like 'cool guy' things is so yesterday. He looks like idiot that don't know how to express emotion well.

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Beautiful Chaos

You know what? I still can’t believe how much I like this movie.

Backstory: I had thrown this show in my “never to watch” BL list. (Yes, I have a list like that haha) Why? Well, cos I read the synopsis and thought “Infidelity? Hell no.” And on that note, let me just say, the synopsis isn’t really doing the movie justice. There’s more to this movie than you’ll read in the “about.”

Now, yeah I know it’s a manga adaptation and as someone who hasn’t read the manga and only watched the show… I love it.

Someone is probably thinking, “So, how did you end up watching this when you swore never to watch it?” Good thinking… it was on a Thursday evening when I had nothing else to watch and I was bored out of my mind , then I revisited my NTW list; this was the first show on the list.

And that was how I started it.

Let me just add that the title “The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese” is metaphorical. And this story is a metaphor that touches various sensitive themes.

Many people would interpret this story differently but what the story is to me is about a man who is inherently gay but unaware about his own orientation (hence never found satisfaction with women and always chooses infidelity) this man meets another man who is openly gay, and the openly gay man helps him figure out his romantic and sexual orientation.

And for the first time, the man who is gay and unaware found a reason to love and stay committed but he found it in another man.

TCMDOC has made it to my “Best JBL movies” list and found its place in my top 3.

If you’re like me and you’ve written this movie off, please watch it.

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Painted Skin: The Resurrection is a film steeped in longing, not just for love, but for identity, recognition, and the fragile comfort of being truly seen. Wrapped in the finery of high fantasy and visual spectacle, it tells a deeply human story about the ache of incompleteness. And while its ambition occasionally exceeds its emotional coherence, the result is still something haunting, imperfect, and unexpectedly tender.

At its core, the film is less about demons and princesses and more about the desperate negotiations we make to feel worthy, of love, of attention, of ourselves. Zhou Xun’s Xiaowei, a fox spirit yearning for a human heart, gives the film its spiritual anchor. Her longing is never played as monstrous; instead, it's heartbreakingly familiar, a desire to be accepted, to feel pain, to be loved without condition. Zhou’s performance is mesmerizing not for its theatricality, but for its restraint. Her quiet devastation lingers long after the scene has ended.

Opposite her, Zhao Wei’s Princess Jing is the emotional centerpiece. Disfigured by a bear attack and hiding behind a golden mask, Jing’s journey is one of internal collapse and fragile defiance. Her love for General Huo (Chen Kun) is complicated by pride, shame, and a growing awareness that her scars, physical and emotional — define her in the eyes of others far more than they should. Zhao Wei brings rawness to a role that could have easily slipped into melodrama. Her pain is palpable, but so is her dignity.

And yet, for all this emotional potential, the film doesn't always trust itself to stay grounded in it. There is a tendency to lean on spectacle, ornate battle sequences, CGI-enhanced landscapes, and secondary plotlines that dilute rather than deepen the central conflict. The love triangle, while thematically rich, sometimes feels structurally uneven. Chen Kun’s portrayal of General Huo, though sincere, never quite reaches the emotional clarity of the women around him. His character is asked to carry too much symbolic weight and too little personal nuance.

The film also falters in its tonal shifts, particularly in the inclusion of comedic side characters and mythic subplots that feel imported from a different kind of story. These moments break the spell, drawing attention to the artifice in a film that otherwise strives for emotional authenticity.

Still, when Painted Skin: The Resurrection slows down, when it lets two women sit in silence, measuring their worth against the love of the same man, or when it allows a demon to quietly yearn for the impossible, it becomes something more than a fantasy. It becomes a mirror for how we see ourselves, and how cruelly we can love one another when we’re afraid we are unlovable.

It is not flawless, structurally uneven and occasionally overreaching but its heart beats loudly through the gold and ice. For those drawn to stories where love is as much about pain as passion, Painted Skin: The Resurrection offers a beautifully rendered, emotionally resonant experience. One that lingers not because it is perfect, but because it dares to be vulnerable.

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They waste so much water in this movie, it was actually painful to watch

I had desperately wanted to watch this movie for ages. I just couldn't get my hands on it. Finally, it turned out the VERY legal website I literally watch all the other East Asian shows on actually had it this whole time and I just never thought to search for it...go figure!
Anyways, when you wait to watch a movie for so long, the danger of being disappointed goes up exponentially. Thankfully, this was not the case with this movie. I have to say though, I did not expect it to turn out the way it did. Somehow, I had missed the fact that this is a queer story. I thought it was about two friends who fall for the same girl and then they go on a road trip?! It actually reminded me a lot of "Your Name Engraved Herein". Almost like that was made in response to this.
I don't know. I just enjoy moody movies with ambiguous secrets lingering unspoken in the air. This is the exact type of love triangle I love: All points connect, everyone is sabotaging each other, and they're all miserable by the end! That is that good sh*t!!!! Yes!
Nobody should be happy when they are actively working to make each other miserable like that! I still felt so sorry for our main character, Jonathan. It has been a minute since I watched a lead character who bore mistreatment so quietly. I know the other two were miserable, a great deal too but maybe when you're that cruel, you deserve to be miserable. Just a thought! Not Jonathan, though...he was there only for the abuse victim vibes.
The aesthetics of this movie are very nice, and overall, it looks amazing. The dubbing took out a little bit of its raw and unpolished indie aesthetic away but it wasn't a severe issue.
I saw a review of this that criticised the female actress' acting, and I am going to have to agree a little bit. I think she could have given us more emotional depth. But Ray Chang was amazing, and Joseph Chang (wait, they have the same last name...?!um...) was good. Still, the film has that indie style of movies where everything seems a little unnatural in the extreme attempt to be natural. Like, people hold silences for too long, and the gazes are too naked for how little they communicate.
I enjoyed it. In fact, I feel like going on an analysis tangent about it because I saw the comment section for the film, and it feels like most viewers are missing multiple key elements of the narrative. So I guess there is a lot that can be discussed.
I enjoyed it. It's not a romance or a comedy, so there is no satisfying payoff by the end. You won't get a happy ending wrapped in a bow. There are no concrete solutions at all. The characters don't reach catharsis or free themselves from their burdens. It's a slice of a messed-up life. You watch along, helpless as they swim through misery and then you stop getting a glimpse at them.
I think it's good but it's not for everyone.

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All the Long Nights: The Anti-Romance We Need

“Doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, or even if you don’t get along—people can still help each other out, right?”

“Well, yeah! I mean, doctors and patients aren’t always the same gender either.”

I rewatched All the Long Nights over the long weekend, and honestly, it hit differently the second time. The film follows Misa Fujisawa and Takatoshi Yamazoe, two coworkers struggling with mental health issues—her with severe PMS, him with panic attacks. They start off annoying the hell out of each other at work, but slowly learn to understand and support one another.

Here’s the thing: most mainstream movies would’ve turned this into a rom-com with manufactured drama and a love story. But this film? It goes nowhere near that territory. Misa and Yamazoe barely even qualify as friends—they’re more like two people dealing with similar pain who help each other when they can. And there’s definitely no miraculous recovery or overly positive ending where everything’s suddenly fine.

So I wouldn’t call this a tearjerker, but it made me feel something deeper. It’s all those tiny, wordless moments of kindness between people—the small gestures that warm you up inside. And here’s what’s beautiful: that warmth doesn’t come from one special person or fit neatly into some relationship box like “romance” or “friendship.”

It’s not about anyone saving anyone. It’s about how a compassionate, accepting environment can heal you. How even in endless darkness, you can hold onto hope and believe a new dawn will eventually come.

The dialogue is sparse, the pacing is slow, but the cinematography is gorgeous—all that light and shadow work is chef’s kiss. For me, this is the perfect film to watch when you need to quiet your mind and just… breathe.

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I watched this movie because my friend talked me into it. I expected it to be cheesy and cringey. I could have predicted the main character's naivety. Even though the actors did a good job, I think it was just a bad movie.

Teacher-student relationship? It's not wrong; it's cruel and predatory behaviour. I can't get over the fact that no one around the student thought this relationship was a problem. Her friend was obsessed with another teacher. Let's not glorify the relationship between teacher and student. A big age gap in a "relationship" at that age is really wrong.

Even after watching this film four months ago, I'm still disgusted by the plot. Maybe this type of movie isn't for me, but I don't think anyone should think of it as a romantic story.

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Epic Setup & VFX, but Soulless Adaptation

➥ TL;DR Review:
Best Bits: Stunning visual effects, solid performances from the cast.
Worst Bits: Everything else. Story, pacing, character depth—meh.
Watch It? Only if you’re killing time or have a soft spot for the actors. Otherwise, skip.

➥ Detailed Review:

I haven’t read the original web novel, so this review is purely based on the movie. My rating is honestly generous - entirely for the visual effects and the sheer effort the cast and crew poured into this otherwise clunky adaptation.

When the movie was first announced, I was hyped. I’m a sucker for stories where characters slip into fictional worlds—think W or Extraordinary You. Plus, it starred my OG K-drama crush, Lee Min Ho. His recent projects haven’t wowed me, but nostalgia’s a powerful thing. Then came Ahn Hyo Seop, one of my absolute faves. I’ve watched him grow from Splash Splash Love to 30 but 17 and of course, the delightful Business Proposal. With a cast like that, how could I not be curious?

I didn’t catch the movie right away, but I kept tabs on the reviews—and they weren’t kind. So by the time I watched it (Oct 2, 2025), my expectations were comfortably low. I was ready for a time-pass flick, nothing more.

And that’s exactly what I got.

The story had potential but felt rushed and undercooked. Honestly, it might’ve worked better as a mini-series. Some character arcs—Dok-ja, Hyeon Seong, Hui Won, Ji Hye—were surprisingly well done given the runtime. Others? Just filler. The emotional beats around teamwork and unity were nice, even heartwarming at times. I mean, who doesn’t want to believe that humanity can come together in a crisis?

But the pacing was all over the place. Exposition was thin, and the ending? It felt like someone hit pause mid-scene and forgot to come back. I kept waiting for a final twist or explanation… and then the credits rolled. The core message—if there was one—was murky at best. I think it was about unity, but that’s me guessing.

Some characters hogged screen time without adding much. The script was weak, and the storytelling didn’t do justice to the world it was trying to build. Someday, I’ll read the original work to cleanse my palate. Because this movie? Left a bitter aftertaste - sadly!

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A well-made live-action adaptation

The Korean film «Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy» («전지적 독자 시점») is an adaptation based on the still-ongoing Korean webtoon «Omniscient Reader» which itself is based on a Korean novel of the same name. (That was a long sentence!)

While many gave it a low rating and were not satisfied, I was very satisfied and gave it a perfect 10 ⭐. Here's why:

1. It's an adaptation of a very long and still on-going serial novel and webtoon.
2. Adaptation writers have literary freedom on how to adapt a work of art in a differeet medium and target audience.
3. Like it or not: budget constraints.

Most, if not all, who gave it a low score expected it will cover beyond the plot in the movie. It just is not possible. And if they dod that, they will have to skip a lot of critical moments of the story which will also earn far more negative reviews than what it received for this release.

The acting were good. The choice of actors were generally who one would have imagined while reading the novel or the webtoon. I'm not saying I agreed with all the casting but they did well for their respective roles.

The special effects and CG passed. It wasn't perfect, there were fight scenes were the different layers (real layer, green/digital layer) were not smooth nor clean, and were obvious. They need to improve their technique and technology if they plan on making a sequel.

The chosen parts of the story, I approve of it as well.

Last but one of the most complained about, I also approve of the obvious changes. It fits the film format, and the essence of this "chapter" of the story were maintained as it was in the original source material. That is the most important on adaptations. It is not about incorporating every scene, or having the exact likeness for the characters, or making sure the sequence of events remain exactly the same. No, that is just wrong in adaptations. What matters is keeping the essence of it. The feels. The aura. The message. What made the original material popular. That's what a real adaptation is.

A perfect 10 ⭐. Now, where's the sequel? The next "chapter" is one of my favourites.

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Officer Black Belt begins as a light, fast-paced action comedy but quickly shifts into a dark crime thriller. Directed by Jason Kim (Midnight Runners, Bloodhounds), it delivers a fresh premise with a charismatic lead and brutal fight choreography.
The story follows Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-bin), a young martial arts expert who ends up working with a probation officer (Kim Sung-kyun). What starts as playful adventures takes a sinister turn when they must monitor a repeat child sex offender, pushing the film into darker territory.
The fight scenes are visceral and impressive, though the abrupt tonal shift from comedy to tragedy may feel jarring. Still, it’s a gripping Korean thriller with emotional weight.

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