A predictable, but surprisingly entertaining hell of a ride
As a person who doesn’t really care for movies full of action and cars, I was a bit hesitant to watch this. What eventually persuaded me? The beautiful cast and the 80’s nostalgic feels it has.I was pleasantly surprised. It’s fast paced and kept me engaged from the beginning. Don’t expect a very in-depth story with surprising plot twists; it’s all quite predictable and like the average action movie story. However, in an entertaining kind of way.
You’ll get to see a fine looking cast that does a good job and clearly had fun making this. The only character that was a bit too much for my liking was Song Min-Ho as Galchi.
The music felt somewhat out of place sometimes, but in a way that complemented the vibes of the movie.
Was i a bit bored with the ‘feet on the pedals’ closeups? Yes.
Was the same camera trick used every time a car was spinning on the road? Yes.
Was I surprised by the ending? Not at all.
But it kept me captivated until the end and had me entertained. And sometimes that’s enough.
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The story behind the Sewol is extremely complex. It’s not just a case of one person negligence - it’s a story that involves individual workers, coastal guards, press, police, politicians - you name it, more or less everyone was involved.
So does this documentary tell us how it happened? Why it happened? Does it provide any concrete explanations? No. But it paints a horrifying picture - when people on the site were too scared to even talk about what was going on. It focused on just a small portion of the events - the use of a diving bell, and how the government was doing its best to not make it successful. Exposing that lie in such detail, with interviews and video/recordings proof is how you break the well crafted picture the government and press created.
The movie shows how much effort was put into creating and upholding a lie and shifting the blame on others, when half of that effort would probably be enough to save the people trapped in the sunken ship.
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Get your tissues ready!!
A great movie for a rainy night snuggled under your blanket!! Haha… yes.. good one to binge watch (well it’s only two hours)Loved the main two leads- the attraction was real and both had good visuals together. The storyline is simple enough- best friend asks to find out stuff about Guy A, so girl starts “stalking” him, unknowingly Guy A’s best friend Guy B starts liking her. But he thinks she likes Guy A so gets jealous. Then FL starts falling for Guy B but her best friend who thought liked Guy A , actually turns out likes Guy B!! Ok- it may sound confusing, but when you watch it it’s not :)
There is one very light kiss scene. Other than that it was pure face to face attraction/ standing close to each other, giving each other glances etc ;) Very sweet and tear jerking- cos it’s not a happy ending. It’s a teen movie but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it! Definitely recommended :)
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"It all comes down to chance"
“The river flows on, it always has, it always will.” Director Mizoguchi sent his lovers down the river to the waiting waterfall at the end in this tragic tale. He comes across as an early feminist showing his independent heroine go through many trials all at the hands of men, her every compassionate deed coming back to haunt her. Yet she never gave up or gave in even when there was little left to lose. He seemed to want to shine a light on the fact that women had little say in their lives, they could be abused, sold, and even betrayed by the male judicial system as well.Mizushima Tomo aka Taki No Shiraito performed a mesmerizing water show with a band of traveling entertainers. Known for her beauty she was also twenty-four-years old, an old maid at this time. Fate sent a carriage driver into her path. When a rickshaw passed the horse drawn carriage he drove on the road, the passengers in the carriage demanded he pass the rickshaw. In the process an axle was broken so he carried Tomo on his horse to the next town. She was instantly smitten but feared she’d never see him again. Once more fate intervened, and she found him sleeping on a bridge in the moonlight where she was walking one night. She learned his name was Murakoshi Kinaya. He’d been fired for driving the horses recklessly. His parents had died causing him to leave school in order to earn a living and now he was unemployed. Tomo told him she would help pay for him to finish law school so that he could become a great man. “As long as I breathe, I’ll remember my debt to you,” Kinaya promised.
Going into a Mizoguchi film I know better than to expect a happy ending and he did not fail that expectation. Tomo writes Kinaya letters inclosing cash for his tuition. Kinaya uses her dedication to spur on his studies and desire to succeed. During the winter, the show would have to close down and money became tight. Tomo always found a way to send Kinaya some money. Along the way, she helped two couples suffering at the hands of Minami the knife thrower and Iwabuchi the loan shark. Her generosity emptied her pockets and she had only one other means of earning the money for Kinaya to finish school and it led to the awaited tragedy. Let’s just say there is no leniency for a woman defending herself.
Kinaya and Tomo meet once again, both prepared to die. Tomo finds genuine joy in Kinaya’s success and is complete. Kinaya acknowledges he would still be a laborer if not for her sacrifices. And the water flows on, along with their short and ill-fated love.
The copy I watched of this film was very badly damaged. This was a silent film per se, but also had music and a benshi narration. I found the voiceover to be distracting and ended up muting it to focus on the performances. Even with the fading and scratches, Tomo’s water show was magnificent and a bit of a mystery as well. Irie Takako was beautiful and gave a moving performance as the compassionate woman who just wanted to be loved. Whether showing Tomo performing her water tricks, falling in love, helping those who needed it, or fighting for her life, Irie made Tomo believable and a worthy, if flawed, heroine.
Mizoguchi wasted no chance to show that it was the men in the story who created the problems for Tomo from the knife thrower to the judges. There’s an old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished,” and for Tomo this was true. Despite all she suffered for the ones she loved, she remained resolute to the end, cleansed as if from flowing water, until all that was left was joy and satisfaction.
11/21/22
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I found something therapeutic here!
I never expected the film to be therapeutic! I was quietly watching this film not until the car chase scene shook my soul.Watching the car chase scene during the start of Olympics is the main highlight of this film! Everything is perfectly executed! It gave me some kind of adrenaline rush that urges me to do something productive!
In addition, I was able to love the film because of the familiar faces who are doing a great job plus the story is easy to follow (main reason why I struggle to love action movies).
I also liked the songs featured in this film and even the OST. It serves as my mood booster from time to time.
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Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: The Movie
3 people found this review helpful
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I didn't like the show, but the movie...
The drama didn't feel more special than other dramas to me, personally. It didn't feel complete, I found Kurosawa to be plain, I liked the side couple a lot more, etcetera etcetera... but I liked the movie. Others seem to be saying it doesn't have the magic that the show had, and that this movie wasn't necessary. I feel the opposite.Instead of Adachi being all, "whoops, I lost my magic. Well, that's fine, I guess. There's nothing else I can do besides accept that..." I was relieved that they both learned the consequences of not trusting each other and failing to communicate before the magic was gone. It finally felt like they were standing on the same step.
I actually appreciated the arc with Adachi transferring and getting injured on the job more than anything else in the movie, because they were able to show the viewers a real issue that gay people have to face: not being able to be each other's emergency contact without marriage. I can understand why some viewers dislike that Adachi and Kurosawa got married in the end. Japan doesn't have gay marriage, so it could seem like they were just trying to pander to the fans... but I personally chose to see this as them showing why marriage is important to gay couples, without all the angst and heaviness that I know I'm tired of seeing in LGBTQ+ media - because why can't they just be happy? There are tens of hundreds of movies and shows that address homophobia and the hardships of being queer. While that media has helped spread awareness, gay people themselves already understand all of that. They live it everyday. Can't they just see themselves being happy now, or having more nuanced plots?
And while Cherry Magic the Movie still acknowledged that those hardships exist, they took a more uplifting approach. It might have been more simple than what fans wished for, but it felt warm to see how determined Kurosawa and Adachi were to include their family and friends in their love. They could have been content with just having each other, but they allowed themselves more than that. They refused to be alone, so from there they carved out their way to happiness. Good for them.
I do wish we got to see more of their coworkers. I was glad to see that Rokkaku has a new resolve and he values himself more now, but I wish we could have seen him learning about Kurosawa and Adachi's relationship as well. I think he would be happier for them than anyone. And Fujisaki was able to express her feelings in her own vague and private way, but as someone who's also aroace, I wished to see her confidently say out loud that she has no intentions of getting married and that her happiness lies within herself. I'm happy with what we saw of Tsuge and Minato though, since I felt that their spin-off was already a good conclusion, and now they're marginally more happy than before.
It was a good watch. It's not something extraordinary that has never been done before, but I'm glad that this movie exists as the ending of Cherry Magic.
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Good Enough
Japanese Movie " Sakura " is a family drama.The one thing it has it going for it is the performances. All the actors and actresses of the cast did a great job, but the performances especially by main leads were exeptional.
The mood of the drama was spot on as well, with clean shots and nude light.
The pace, however, was a bit off and the progress of the events was clumsy. Thus, the story tended to focus more on some characters, especially the sister, and left out other, like the narrator.
So, overall, five out of ten.
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Good Enough
Japanese Movie " Not Quite Daed Yet " is a comedy- action drama with fantasy element and a father- daughter relationship at its core.The movie has a messy pace, with things happening out of nowhere and their progress being all over the place. The twists and the main idea behind the story weren't explained either.
On the other hand, the film is entertaining and the story original, thought predictable. The relationship between the father and the daughter could have been handled in a better way.
The performances, finally, were all great by all the actors and the actresses of the cast.
So, overall, six out of ten.
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Not Good Enough
Japanese Drama " Love Me, Love Me Not " is a film based on the popular manga series.The story starts out quite smoothly, but soon it is evident that the creators were trying to squize into a two hour film a whole manga series. And that was the film's crucial fault. The pace, due to that, got messy, and the relationships were progressing in an unconvincing rate.
On the other hand, the performances were all great by all the actors and the actresses of the cast. The couples had chemistry as well, which aided a the movie a bit.
So, overall, two out of ten.
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Frankly, a mess
All I can say is yikes. This movie was really all over the place. I get the feeling there were a lot of different ideas going into it that just didn't end up fitting in the end. I'm certain a lot of the things I'm about to critique are things done for artistic distinction or some other reasonable sounding excuse, but I'm here to tell you whether I liked the movie, so that's what I'm going to do.I didn't. I didn't like the movie. I was very excited for the movie; I thought the premise was great! (The premise was adapted from a manga, so we can't even give them credit for that, though.) What I got was some of the worst of Jdrama and some extra bonus garbage just for fun.
Firstly, a lot of the usual: egregious overacting, intentionally shoddy effects, awkward layout and timing, and lackluster comedy. It feels like they're trying to make an anime, everything cartoony and exaggerated. The problem is, that style just doesn't translate into the live action.
But, okay. That's Jdrama. We're used to that. Why the low score? Well, dear reader, let me impart some wisdom. In order to distinguish themselves as a creative talent, artists will take risks in their work in the hopes of producing something new and exciting. In many cases, this is the birth of something amazing, a new genre or an acclaimed masterpiece. In other cases, you're left with something that makes you wince a little bit, something you're sure probably shouldn't exist. Here we are.
Violent Action made a couple of baffling directorial and editorial choices which are immediately noticeable and immediately off-putting. They won't. Stop. Cutting. It feels like there's ten new shots every second. Not only are the cuts fast, they're disorienting. They camera bounces around room, cutting rapidly between closeup and wide shots, moving so quick I felt out of breath just watching it. It was the worst during action scenes. I'm certain I didn't comprehend a majority of what was probably (maybe) a decently choreographed fight sequence because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. And this isn't even a Liam-Neeson-shaky-cam-ten-shots-to-get-over-a-fence situation. It's just crazy fast, which as I've just learned is way worse.
There is a tonal dissonance with the pacing of the editing, the intense action scenes, and the general silliness the movie is shooting for (heh, shooting). We go from nauseatingly quick "assassinations" to jokes about bulletproof wigs and bad cooking. It feels out of place. Pick a side: cool or funny. You can't have both.
You may have noticed I put quotations around "assassinations." How observant of you. Allow me to explain. None of the supposed hits felt like assassinations at all. Perhaps they technically are (the definition is just surprise murder, basically), but it doesn't fit the connotation ascribed to that word. We don't get any poisoning, sniping from the next building over, sneaking around in the dead of night. Instead it's more like premeditated murder. Frankly, I think assassinations are less violent than murder, which ironically would have helped them hit the silly vibe they were going for, instead of the weird hybrid they ended up with.
So, what about the story? Uh... right, the story. What about the story? Um... I sure it had one. Well, it's all a bit hazy but... I guess there was a villain, some henchman, yadda yadda, so on and so forth. It was forgettable, okay. Point made.
So, to wrap things up. Acting: bad. Directing: bad. Sound track: meh. Action: I literally couldn't tell. Overall: yikes. I don't recommend this movie.
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I enjoyed this slice of life story. Hye Won was going through a quarterlife crisis. She's struggling to know what she really wants to do with her life after failing her teacher's exam. She's also still feeling abandoned by her mother. She heads back to her home town and through some memories of her mother and time with her friends she finds the answers she needs. What I loved the most about the film is the storytelling through food. So many interesting dishes. Things I would definitely try and some I wouldn't. The cabbage pancake with egg looked strange but somehow delicious. I am always envious of people who can cook and especially cook from scratch. I loved those scenes the most.
The cast is really good to. I particularly loved the performance of Moon So Ri, the actress playing the mother of Hye Won.
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This is a hidden gem, and I would label this series as a diamond in the rough.
Although this wasn't a high budgeted film the acting and the story line kept me happily entertained and I enjoyed it. I know the technology wasn't as current as it could be, but those minor things did not bother me, and I was still entertained and enjoyed the story and the characters acting skills. I felt completely satisfied and happy and that is why I rated it a 10. I liked how it kept me interested and kept me unable to predict how the story would end. The pace of the movie always kept me engaged and delightfully entertained. This is a hidden gem, and I would label this series as a diamond in the rough.Was this review helpful to you?
'wait for me'
intense, dark, with a lot of upsetting themes but i found this movie beautiful.before you read this review or watch keep in mind the trigger warning for rape, violence, murder and multiple types of assualt (including that of which includes children) as i know there are some scenes that would be very triggering to some.
i don't want to write much as im not one who writes reviews but i waited for this movie for a long time and was not disappointed (though it was not what i expected it to be).
the story follows a elementary school teacher who goes through a traumatic event which leads him to being entangled with a rogue youth who goes by kai just as the synopysis states. both of these characters are very complex and their actions make the audience wonder about their backstories and intent. the story itself has a lot of plot twists and scenes that seem almost impulsive that take the viewer by surprise. there was a large amount of plot points that i did not anticipate at all. the way it is written and plays out is so interesting and very easy to get invested in, the viewer is able to immerse themselves in this world and the fucked up beauty of it. it did get quite confusing at times and im definitely didn't 100% understand everything that happened but that will come with more rewatching and being able to rewatch it with the full context of their backstories etc, plus the subs were quite rough. even if you don't understand everything you always get the gist of what's happening.
the casting was PERFECT. inuba yu did an incredible job as usual and the actor of kai (kenshin endo) completely embodied the role, i found his performance completely mesmerizing and couldn't tear my eyes away from him when he was on screen, both his voice and mannerisms when in character were hypnotic. i hope to see him in more roles asap his acting was phenomenal. i cannot praise it enough.
the relationship between the characters is so so complicated but there was something incredibly alluring about it too. they saved eachother in more ways than one. they were clearly soulmates, half of the same soul. two fragile people finding the one person who they would live and die for over and over again. i could talk about their relationship for hours. the chemistry was INCREDIBLE, the want, need and pure love was clear even if a lot of the time it was never verbalized. watching them made me feel a bit insane. i would give my kidney to see the actors play love interests again.
i could talk about the cinematography, set design, direction, and sound/music for hours. this movie is easily one of my favourites i've seen this year in all those factors. the cinematography is SO visually pleasing, all the colours come together so well and the way it is filmed really makes the viewer feel as if they are IN the scene along with the characters. the set design was beautiful, especially the set of the place where they rapped/seemed to live. the colours, the lighting, all the additions of graffiti and junk came together so well i adored it and couldn't help but appreciate it everytime it was on screen. the sound GOD, i have such a deep appreciation for this movie's use of the affect of music and noise. all the music that was used fit perfectly and always stood out to me, the rapping included. something that reallyy stood out though was the use of background noise, there was always chatter or some type of noise happening in the background in most scenes and it added so much to the realisticness of the movie.
as a whole it was messy and this is definitely not for everyone. you have to go into it with the knowledge that it is supposed to be as messed up as it is, one of the main genres of this movie is pyschological. you aren't supposed to like it you're supposed to understand it, supposed to come away with complex emotions and your head spinning. to me, it had so much meaning (and probably more than im aware of which i will figure out when i watch it again to consolidate my feelings) , and it was just simply beautiful. watch it.
[edit: the more i thought about it and rewatched scenes the more obsessed i became it went from 8.5 > 9. i completely agree with a comment describing it as artistic brillance rather than something that caters to 'usual' audiences. i still levae out that one star just because i wish it were longer. 2 hours is long for a movie but i still wish this much much longer, i could watch kenshin/inaba act together forever, their chemistry is just so incredible]
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On the third year of this movie, yet again being recommended to me, I finally gave in.
Thank you to all those who keep pushing this movie, and the AIs that serve it up lol. I honestly would have missed out on a gem. It definitely deserved all the awards it got.
I was totally hooked on the FL within the very first few minutes, and then the ML when he was introduced. How they’re both basically just kids, who are forced to grow up way too soon, with no adults or safety nets to help them. But luckily, they find each other and do their best to one day reach “Better Days”.
The emotional rollercoaster I went through watching this. The slow and steady rise in the first half, and then the twist and reveal in the second half of the film that broke my heart for both them, and had me dreading over what would happen next.
The ending is a marvelous work of art in storytelling. It’s after the credits. Don’t miss it, because I almost did.
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This is what they sent to international film festivals?
I think I can say with total conviction that this was probably the worst 80s revival splatter movie I have seen, well since the 80s.What was that? And even more important, why did several really fine Korean actors take part in this? And most important: there is tons of really fantastic Korean movies that could represent the unique quality of storytelling and actors abilities to the world to be send to international film festival and of all the great stuff that is there coming from Korea they chose this movie? Why?
But let me sum up why I am saying this:
Storyline:
well, there is none really, and I mean none. A short glimpse back to 2017 where some severe criminals should have been transported back from the Philipines to Korea. And there it starts to get funny. So they plan to transport the most severe criminals fom one country to another and do what? They showcase them like on a red carpet in front of non-checked audience and one of the audience members has a bomb? Ok, totally unrealistic.
Cut, it's 2019, they make another try to transport the criminals back to Korea. And what would you do if you would plan this? I tell you what you would not do. You would not just put some little handcuffs around their wrists, leave them all together on that ship with no restrictions? If you would plan to move so many of the most dangerous cirminals you would, in the year 2019, not 1959, of course have them heavily restricted, not only with handcuffs. You would have single closed cells on that ship where every single one of them is confined for the whole trip, just a small box opening to get them food. But no, here we see how they are just let them onto the ship, they can all sit together on the ground just their hands cuffed, and waiting to get loose. How ridiculous is that?
The police staff, I really had to laugh at some point. Most of them don't have guns to start with (very unlikely again on such trip) and those who have them, esepcially Jung So min, an actress I normally adore, is probably doing the most senseless and unable things imaginable. She is a times standing around like a deer in the spotlight, awkwardly holing a gun and - not shooting it when all hell breaks loose =D
The movie has no real dialogue except for foul mouthed slang and cursing and hissing all the time, very chliche, and the movie very soon turns into the most ridiculous splatter festival. And not even that is good! They totally overdid it for the sake of being supercrass which I found totally annoying. So there is like single blows to body parts and the next moments around 200 liters of blood spread like heavy rain through the whole room=D And very soon there is nothing else anymore in that movie, just lots of unrealistic 'i want to be so crass' splatter nonsense.
I started fast forwarding at some point and all of a sudden some super human blood covered 'thing' shows up and simply kills everyone in the most gory way, I didn't even get why but I really started laughing.
conclusion:
there is at least four actors and actresses in this movie I normally really like a lot and all of them are excellent actors in other productions. What made them think to say yes to such a trashy scipts is beyond me, I really can't understand it.
I seriously hope I can see all of them in better productions in the future, where they can show the quality acting they are all able to deliver easily under other circumstances.
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