Reviews

Experimental cinema masterpiece and my new favourite ♡

Um-
What the actual fuck was that??
I sincerely need a moment to process this shit. I knew Takashi ito was on some high level drugs but this was genuinely on another level. Like there's no normal human who can make this. Yes ito is an alien. I just can't prove it YET!
My head fucking hearts.
Shouldn't have watched this on fucking benzos and sleep deprived cause that might have made the experience double x for me ngl. Genuinely never coming back to this. I am already insane. I don't need more of that. But I understand that guy though. I think I understood him too much. What does that say about me? Omg-


GUYS ITO MADE A FILM ABOUT ME. SHOULD I BE HAPPY OR CRY FOR HELP

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Wasn’t My Cup of Tea

This movie just didn’t work for me. The action felt too light and oddly teenage-coded, and the story was so predictable that I always knew exactly where it was going. The comedy had a few decent moments, but overall it landed as pretty mediocre.
It’s not a bad movie by any means, it’s just painfully familiar. The characters aren’t particularly complex, original, or creative, and it feels like a mash-up of things we’ve all seen many times before.
That said, it does have a couple of genuinely funny scenes. If you’re bored, want something easy, and don’t feel like committing emotionally or mentally, this could work as background entertainment.

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Child Trafficking

looks like a dark crime movie at first, but the deeper you get, the more it hits emotionally. The story is tense and gripping, yet it slowly reveals a warm side about family, empathy, and second chances. The acting feels raw and natural, making the emotions land without feeling forced. The fake-family dynamic becomes the strongest part, reminding us that family isn’t always about blood, but about who stays when things fall apart.

The movie also carries meaningful lessons. It shows that a painful past doesn’t have to define someone’s future, and that people can change when given trust and space. On top of that, it subtly criticizes how cruel systems can trap ordinary people. Overall, this isn’t just a crime film—it’s a human story about redemption, choices, and hope growing in the darkest places

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Okay but… Seo In Guk and Lee Soo Hyuk in the same movie?! That alone feels illegal. 😭🔥
I was already in heaven before the movie even started. The visuals, the charisma, the tension — everything just worked.

On top of that, the movie was actually really good, which made the experience even better. Pure fan service for my soul and eyes. 😌✨

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An Arthouse Slice Of College Life About Grief And Kokuhaku

I'm going to begin this review where I usually end a review by telling you who I think will enjoy this film and who will not. Because, more so than usual, this film is hard to rate even on the three dimensions that MDL provides (I never care about the rewatch value).

If you are a film studies major or consider yourself a cinephile, then this film is a must-watch. Similarly, if you are a fan of or are following any of the three main actors Ito Aoi, Kawai Yuumi and Hagiwara Riku, the film is also a must-watch. However, if you're not in any of those groups, it's almost certainly not worth your time.

The film tells the story of Toru (Hagiwara Riku) who has returned to college after a break for personal reasons. We never learn that much about him. He has one friend, Yamane, and works a post-closing shift at a family-run bathhouse where he has a nice convivial relationship to the owners. He has little to no interest in his classes and ignores their existence to the extent he can. (He walks into a couple of ongoing lectures and starts full-voiced conversations with his schoolmates in a way I never experienced in giving a couple hundred lectures at a Cal State University. I know Japan has a reputation for college life outside of the major research institutions being very not focused on academics, but I'm not sure how realistic those scenes are given how polite and aware of other's spaces the rest of Japanese society is.)

The two major themes of the film are grief and love confessions (kokuhaku), and that's a very odd and difficult combination to pull off, and which I presume come from the novel that the film is based on. Nevertheless, that combination is a young actor's wet dream for all three of the principals, and the writer/director, Ohku Akiko, gives the cast amazing opportunities to show what they can do with a long monologue for each of them, and each staged and shot in very interesting ways. Saki's monologue is probably the best, but while it could have been shot in a couple of one-takes of Ito, Ohku cuts in reaction shots, and so we can't be certain. Nevertheless, the film also flashes back to it a few times. Hana's monologue is given in an extreme close-up one-take, and, you know, it's Kawai: of course she nails it.

A secondary theme of the film is supposed to be serendipity which we know because The Three Princes Of Serendip is mentioned a few times. But while there are several unplanned discoveries in the course of the story, by no means are all of them fortunate in any sense. In fact, the story largely tilts its umbrella towards the rains of melodrama while maintaining some distant rays of possible romance.

And so we reach the best and worst thing about the film: Ohku's craft. The blocking, the framing, the camera placement, and the camera movements are frequently amazing throughout the film. But she pushes the techniques to the point that it's sometime hard (at least for me) to understand what she is trying to say by using them. She changes the aspect ratio at one point for a bit, and I have no idea why. She does a sudden zoom in to an extreme close up on Kawai's face in her monologue, but the zoom is done a bit into the monologue for reasons? I have seen other pieces of Okhu's work (please, please seek out her series for NHK, Kazoku Dakara Aishitan Janakute, Aishita no ga Kazoku Datta also starring Kawai- any good drama otaku will know where to find it with English subtitles), and so I know that she's a master of the art of film and that these choices are intentional, but this particular work is hard to follow in some moments. And sometimes the techniques can call attention to themselves in ways that pull you out of the film.

As a writer, Ohku also chooses to leave some story points ambiguous in ways that will almost certainly be unsatisfying for some viewers. Was that time lapse of Toru sitting on a pole for a day, his being stood up? I'm not certain. Are the cuts to things Hana is saying to her co-workers about Toru reality or his fantasy? I don't really know for sure. And how does Hana react at the end of the film? It's left to our imagination.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the craft and performances in this film. It's a relatively small story with some very moving moments carried by some fantastic young actors.

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Not a comfort watch, and that’s the point

This is a psychological thriller that a lot of people clearly misunderstood.

Deep Trap starts as a slow burn, but that pacing is deliberate. The film is about vulnerability and manipulation, not jump scares or spectacle. Once the situation turns, it becomes increasingly claustrophobic and cruel, and the tension comes from how believable the escalation feels.

The couple doesn’t go to the island “for some reason,” despite how some reviews describe it. They’re there because of unresolved trauma after a miscarriage. The husband is psychologically unable to perform with his wife anymore, even though he can still sleep with other women, which only deepens the damage. The retreat is a misguided attempt to fix something already broken. The wife has no real understanding of what she’s walking into, emotionally or otherwise, and that lack of agency is intentional. It’s the foundation the entire horror is built on.

And no, the escalation isn’t “random.” The film is inspired by real crime cases involving manipulation and entrapment, which is why the psychological progression matters more than flashy set pieces. The discomfort comes from how plausible the situation is, not from shock-for-shock’s-sake.

Reducing this setup to “ED problems and a hooker” isn’t critique, it’s what happens when someone misses the premise entirely and then blames the movie for not explaining itself in kindergarten-level dialogue.

One thing is absolutely clear to me after watching this: Ma Dong Seok is scary no matter what role he’s playing.

He plays a psychological killer way too well here, and honestly, I really enjoy him in that role. He’s just as effective as a “good bad guy” or a cop, and most of what he does feels like magic. The only time I didn’t care for him was his professor role in Ashfall, but everything else pulls you in without him even trying.

In Deep Trap, the moment the couple arrives and he first appears on screen, you already know they’re not going to have a good time. He doesn’t need to do anything obvious. His presence alone tells you something is very wrong.

The sexual assault scene is unsettling, not because it’s graphic, but because of how calmly he carries on afterward, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. The expectation that she’ll simply fall in line and become another Minhee is what makes the character terrifying. His performance isn’t loud or theatrical. It’s invasive, controlled, and quietly predatory.

Yes, there are predictable moments. Of course the car won’t start. Of course they try to steal the truck. Of course someone has to go back into the serial killer’s den to get the key. That’s genre mechanics, not bad writing. Complaining about those moments while missing the psychological setup is like criticizing a true-crime story because events don’t unfold conveniently.

What actually works is that you genuinely don’t know how it’s going to end. Is the husband going to die? Is the wife going to survive but become another Minhee? Are they both going to die? The film never settles into anything comfortable.

A lot of negative reactions seem to come from viewers expecting either a conventional horror movie or something morally reassuring. This film offers neither. The violence and sexual tension aren’t random. They’re tools used to strip the characters of control, which is the entire point. If that feels like “things just happening without reason,” the issue isn’t the film.

And somehow, by the end, the couple’s marriage is stronger than ever, which honestly made me laugh. Trauma-bonded, sure, but it fits the bleak logic of the story.

If you need everything explained out loud, or you’re uncomfortable with films that leave a bad taste on purpose, this probably won’t work for you. But if you actually engage with psychological thrillers instead of flattening them into lazy summaries, this is far better than its rating suggests.

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Wang YiBo, The Greatest Street Dancers In All The World, He Is: THE ONE AND ONLY!! The Best To Me!!!

WANG YIBO 王一博 From No Name/Hidden Blade Being The 1st Movie Being Released In The USA That I Saw Two Times... To Born To Fly Being The 2nd Movie Released In The USA That I Saw 3 Times... To One And Only Being The 3rd Movie Released In The USA, That I Watched 4 Times!!! ALL 3 MOVIES RELEASED ALL IN THE SAME YEAR IN 2023... ALL UNIQUE, CREATIVE, AND MADE TO PERFECTION ALL IN THERE OWN RESPECTIVE WAYS.
I Truly Have To Say I Felt So Honored, And So Lucky That I Was Able To See All 3 Of YiBo's Movie Out In The USA... There Was Only About 3 Movie Theaters That Showed It, But Still I Feel So Lucky To Have Watched All 3 On The Big Screen!!! P.S. One Theater Was In City Of Industry, California Which Is Where We Watched All The Showings Except For 1 One And Only Showing. The Other 2 Were In Alhambra, California. 😁😝

ONE AND ONLY: YiBo's Character Chen Shuo Wants To Become A Professional Street Dancer... He Loves It, And Is Amazed, And Wowed By It. But It Does Not Come Easy And With A Lot Of Struggles, Pains, And Comes At A Very Hard Price. Luckily Chen Shuo Has The Patience, And The Will To Forgive... He Does Verious Things Like Takes Care Of His Sick Uncle, Helps Run His Mom Restaurant, Goes To Buy Food, And Vegetables For His Mom's Restaurant, And Kind Of Works As A Circus Act Or As He Called It Cos Play On The Side Going Around In Circles.

Chen Shuo Is A Crazy Daring Young Man That Seems To Practice Dance Anywhere Even On An Empty Train, Where... Let Me Just Say This, While Being In A Train Traveling At Such High Speed, And Spinning Around Doing Certain Kind Of Spinning Trick IS VERY DANGEROUS!!! 🤦‍♀️ (Sometimes I Wonder If It's YiBo Coming Up With The Crazy Stuff He Does Or Is It The Producers. ***FEBRUARY 7TH, 2026 AT 4:20 P.M. GOING TO FINNISH THIS REVIEW FOR ONE, AND ONLY!!!*** Knowing YiBo, If The Producer Said Do This Or Do That He Would... YiBo Let's Have You In A Empty Moving Train, And Have You Spin Around On You Head Really Fast With A Dance Helmet. Wang YiBo's Answer, O.K. 👌The Tricks, And Stunts That Were Done Were Amazing. Especially By YiBo. The Dance Ruties Are So Awesome, And So Great. Everyone, And Every Stunt, Tricks They Do Is Beyond Grand, And So Amazing.

If You Ever Seen The Reality T.V. Show Street Dance Of China Seasons 3-6 In Which Wang YiBo Is Always Captain Of Team Boom, There Is A Hand Full Of The Dancer From The T.V. Show That Are In This Movie, Which Is Really Good, And Nice Seeing Them In It. It Shocked Me At 1st, Because I Had Just Started Watching Street Dance Of China, And Watch This Movie I Recognized Gorge, And Was Going Crazy, Because I Could Not Figure Out Where I Knew Him From, Then I Started Recognizing More, And More Dancers. It Made Me Really Happy Knowing That Some Of The Street Dance Of China Dancers Are In This Movie, And They Had Something Else To Do.

Threw Chen Shuo's Tough Times, And Hard Times, He Is Sought After By An Old Dance Coach Of His, And Tries Everything To Convince The Coach To Take Him As A Street Dancer. At 1st The Coach Would Not Accept Him. The Coach Wouldn't Even Train Him At 1st, Until One Day, The Coach See Chen Shuo Practicing, And Training Hard Everyday, He Then Gives In, And Teaches Him Some Street Dance Moves. The Coach Even Decides To Give Chen Shuo A Chance, Because His Main Street Dancer, Aragance, Bad Attitude, And Little Determination To Get Better To Win.

Chen Shuo Then Starts Training Harder, And Harder To Become A Better Street Dancer Everyday, Also Doing Stuff On The Side To Promote The Street Dance Group. Even Getting Picked, And A Little Beat Up On By One Of His Group Members Which Was Gorge From Street Dance Of China. ALL A Misunderstanding, That's All I Gotta Say... Over Reacting When Coach Asked Chen Shuo To Do The Promoting.
When Things Were Looking Good For Chen Shuo, And Chen Shuo Starts Settling In With His New Street Dance Group, Even Taking Pictures For A Banner, Then Coach Drops Him, Because Of His Original Street Dancer.
Chen Shuo Was So Devastated, And So Heart Broken.
In The End Coach Still Need Chen Shuo, Because His Main Street Dancer Went With Another Coach, But He Had Already Broke Chen Shuo's Heart, And He Didn't Trust The Coach. The Coach Asked Him To Believe In Him One More Time... (At This Point I Remember Thinking To Myself This Coach Better Not Drop Him Again, Because If He Does, It Will Destroy Chen Shuo.)

The Best Part Was The Ending... YiBo As Chen Shuo Did The Most Impossible Trick Ever, And It Was ! An Exclamation Mark, With Him Spinning Up Side Down In The Air. He Was The Only Street Dance To Ever Perform That Trick Or Stunt In The Movie. Even The Coaches Old Main Street Dancer Challenges Chen Shuo To Come Out. Chen Shuo Did, And He Wasn't Scared, And He Faught Back Very Well.

Anyways No Matter If YiBo Is In Street Dance Of China Or Acting As The Character In This Movie One And Only, Or Dance As Himself He Is, And Truly Is One Of The Greatest Dancers In The World Ever. If You Don't Believe Me Look Up Wang YiBo's Fast Dance On YouTube, This Dance Is The Craziest, And Fastest Dance I Have Ever Seen Anyone Has Danced, And YiBo Never Misses A Beat, Even Catching His Microphone, And Throwing It In The Air, And Still Catching It Without Mssing Up, Or Skipping A Beat. (February 25th, 2026 At 3:14 A.M. I Just Thought I'd Add This... I Can't Remember If It's Xiao Bao Or AC They Both Look Almost Alike Student, And Teacher In This Dance With YiBo, But There Style Of Dancing Is Called "Wacking" And It's Really Hard, And So Fast, Cause It Mostly Moving Your Arms. Zhou Shen Sings The Song Slowly At 1st, And Then The Song Get Really Crazy Fast!!! How Ever Long They Have 15, 20 Minutes YiBo To Learn The Moves From Xiao Bao Or AC So Easily, Because He Nailed It. Xiao Bao Or AC Is Not A Bad Dancer Themselves. 😝🤫🤪 I Mean He Kept Up With YiBo!!! J/K Xiao Bao Or AC Was Good Themselves Too... But YiBo Was The Best, And Greatest!!! 3:28 A.M.)
***WANG YIBO IS TRUELY THE "ONE AND ONLY"!!!***
Wang YiBo Is, And Always Will Be The Best Dancer Ever.

Wrote Half Of This Review On September 24th, 2024 From 3:58 A.M. To 4:48 A.M.
This Was The Last Sentence I Wrote: (Sometimes I Wonder If It's YiBo Coming Up With The Crazy Stuff He Does Or Is It The Producers.
Finnished Writing The Next Half Of This Review On February 7th, 2026 From 4:20 P.M. To 8:38 P.M.

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this one also made me cry

* this is my review copied from letterboxd!!

truthfully, I liked the original a bit better but what I liked about this movie was the small little extra scenes that they added! I think it gave a little extra depth to their friendship that I think the original was missing!

ALSOO the addition of mi so finishing ha eun's photo was such a beautiful scene and the little postcards T_T I think it really added another layer to this movie that i really enjoyed!

originally rated this 3½ but I had to bump it up to 4 i think the ending was done so much better and did it justice to mi so and ha eun's friendship that i think the original lacked a bit ♡

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a very apt depiction of female relationships

* this is literally js my letterboxd review ☆

"i discovered that i'm a boring person. it's a little depressing."

——

i really don't have the words to describe how this movie made me feel and honestly i am struggling to articulate how i feel.

both of them were friends with a love for each other that couldn't be described and seeing their relationship change through the years and the tumultuous times through their friend ship really hit me.

i think the scene of qiyue having that talk with her mom, about how no matter path a girl takes, she will always suffer, really struck a chord with me for some reason because i felt like both of these girls have struggled so much and even through all that, loved and cared for each other the most and i found that so beautiful about this movie.

i cried a lot during the end and the callbacks and parallels to each other killed me, SHOULD'VE BEEN SAPPHIC!!!!!

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"I could stop playing a horse and become one"

Travelling Actors was a comedy by Naruse Mikio centered on a troupe of travelling actors (duh), primarily the two men who portrayed the horse. Hyoroku takes his job very seriously as the head of the horse and when the costume is desecrated, things go awry.

Hyoroku and his protégé Senpai work very hard to bring the horse costume they inhabit to life. Hyoroku studies how horses look and move, even absent-mindedly stomping or walking like a horse off stage. He’s not always an easy man to get along with as his pride can get the better of him, especially when their new patron accidentally destroys part of their costume. His boss decides to use a real horse to replace Hyoroku and Senpai which leads to problems.

I had no issue with the premise of this simple film about stubborn men with too much pride. Where my attention wandered were all the drunken ramblings by different characters. It took a long time to get to the point and even then, I didn’t find the resolution very humorous. Humor is such a subjective thing, so I know others will find the actors’ antics hilarious. If you are a fan of Naruse Mikio, and would like to see one of his efforts at comedy, this shorter film (70 min) would be one to try.

7 February 2026

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Yeah ur done ur done

I came here to watch this movie to feel good just how love untangled made me feel only to be met with a DEATH TROPE…………

yeah you’re done…the death felt so sudden and out of place and maybe i’m just a death trope hater but was the death really necessary?

i’m just bothered by it because i enjoyed the first half of the movie so much, i was convinced it was gonna be a 10/10 for me but yeah sorry that second half had me sobbing and believing they faked the death or something… jesus christ dude…

the movie itself isn’t bad but i just do not like the turn it took…this is 20th century girl all over again…🫩 and to think i was choosing a movie on a whim just to feel something…and the cover and description looked cute like slice of life….death trope i will never like you. 😭 worst experience ever would not recommend

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expect us to believe the unbelievable

*Black House* (2007) may be an old film, but its story still holds a gripping power that’s hard to ignore. From the moment it starts, you’re pulled into a dark investigation led by an insurance agent uncovering a disturbing fraud scheme tied to a series of murders. The narrative is twisted, bold, and unapologetically cruel, constantly asking viewers to accept the unbelievable—and somehow making it work.

Visually, the cinematography clearly shows its age. Compared to today’s slick, polished thrillers, the lighting feels flatter, camera movements are more restrained, and visual effects are minimal. But that’s less a flaw and more a reflection of the technology and filmmaking style of its time. Modern movies rely heavily on refined color grading and dynamic shots, while *Black House* leans on atmosphere and raw imagery.

Some scenes are genuinely hard to watch, with gore pushed to uncomfortable levels. Still, it adds to the shock value and reinforces the film’s grim tone. Overall, it’s a chilling, twisted thriller that lingers long after it ends.

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Jo Jung-suk’s stunning transformation shines before his hiatus to care for his daughter.

Watching *Pilot* feels like rediscovering Jo Jung-suk all over again. He’s long been familiar as a charming protagonist, and even intriguing when he once stepped into an antagonist role—but here, transforming into a female identity, he’s genuinely astonishing. The makeup work is flawless, yet it’s his performance that truly sells it: the gestures, expressions, and emotional shifts never feel like parody. Instead, he brings a completely different vibe—confident, vulnerable, and oddly magnetic at the same time.

Every scene is crafted with care. The comedic timing lands perfectly, delivering humor that’s light, smart, and consistently watchable without feeling forced. Visual compositions are clean and lively, allowing both physical comedy and subtle facial expressions to shine. There are moments where the laughter flows naturally, followed by scenes that quietly impress through nuance and control.

Overall, everything works in harmony—acting, direction, pacing, and humor. It’s a fun, polished film that proves Jo Jung-suk’s range is far deeper than expected, and absolutely delightful to watch from start to finish.

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