Reviews

Elegance Wrapped in Darkness: A Disturbing Descent into the Mind

This Review May Contain Spoilers

A hauntingly poetic dive into grief and obsession.
Park Chan-wook’s Stoker is not your typical psychological thriller—it’s a slow-burning, atmospheric tale that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. With its eerie cinematography and chilling sound design, it delivers a stylized exploration of familial trauma and the darkness we inherit.

What drew me in the most was Mia Wasikowska’s performance as India—quiet, intense, and unnervingly composed. Her transformation throughout the film is unsettling yet captivating. Matthew Goode’s portrayal of the mysterious Uncle Charlie is equally magnetic, delivering charm wrapped in menace.

However, the film isn’t without its flaws. At times, the pacing can feel deliberately slow to the point of testing your patience, and while the visual metaphors are beautiful, they border on pretentious. Some subplots—like the brief romantic entanglement—felt unnecessary and disrupted the eerie rhythm the film had so carefully constructed.

I rated Stoker a 8/10. It’s not for everyone, but for those who appreciate slow, character-driven narratives drenched in symbolism and suspense, it’s a rewarding experience. Not perfect, but definitely memorable.

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Masterpiece But Not For Everyone

To be honest, this movie had me floored. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it perfect, but it's dangerously close. A solid 9/10 for me. It’s the kind of film that demands your patience — the first act is a slow burn, and you might find yourself wondering where it’s all headed. But once it kicks into gear, it really kicks. The story unfolds into something dark, twisted, and absolutely unforgettable. It's a masterclass in storytelling and tension, with a unique take on revenge that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

What struck me most was how original and gripping the execution was. It’s not often that I watch a film and find myself literally yelling by the end, “Everyone needs to see this!” That’s how good it was. But — and there’s always a but — the ending felt like it overstayed its welcome. I don’t know what it is with Park Chan-wook, but he always seems to add that one extra scene that takes away a bit of the emotional punch. It's like he doesn’t trust the audience to sit with the impact.

Still, Choi Min-sik was phenomenal. His performance had this raw, almost feral energy that made his character both pitiful and terrifying. The premise itself is simple: a man mysteriously imprisoned for fifteen years, then suddenly released. Why? That single question carries the entire film and hooks you like a fish on a line. You need to know the answer. And when it comes — wow. Just… wow.

I went in skeptical, especially since this movie has been praised to the heavens, and usually that sets off alarm bells for me. But this time, the hype was real. It’s one of those rare movies that sticks in your brain long after the credits roll.

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Excellent adaptation!!

The original "Hear me" is one of my all time faves, is one of those movies that instantly brings a smile to my face so when I saw news of it being remade I was equal parts scared and excited.

I am pleasantly surprised with this adaptation, they nade very few changes to the story and they were very well done.

The scene with the parents is pretty much the same as the original and I'm so glad it was left untouched because it's so funny!

Even though I am biased, I can admit that the Korean version of Hear me is almost just as good as the original Chinese version.

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"Just as he wishes, I'll return as ashes"

Morning for the Osone Family was director Kinoshita Keisuke’s first film after the end of WWII. He had a lot to say about the disastrous and destructive Japanese war machine and the people crushed under its weight. The film rarely left the Osone’s home as the war played out in the household of the Osone family.

The Osone deceased patriarch had been a professor and pacifist. The mother raised her three sons and daughter to be educated as the father had wished. Eldest son, Ichiro, writes articles for the paper, one of which lands him in jail. Taiji, an artist, is drafted. He would rather die for his art than the ambitions of the military. Daughter Yuko’s engagement to Minari Akira is called off by her military uncle who comes to live with them. The gung ho and corrupt colonel turns the household upside down forcing everyone to accept his patriotic criticisms as the war rages around them.

Sugimura Haruko gave a phenomenal performance as a mother powerless to stop the war and stop her sons from dying. I’d seen her in numerous Ozo films, but here she really shone as a loving mother who cared for her children and mourned them as the war machine took its toll on her little family. Director Kinoshita held nothing back in his criticisms of the war and most of his vile spewed forth via Sugimura. Ozawa Eitaro played the militant uncle who represented the worst abuses of the military. His plate was never empty, always enjoying the best of everything while the enlisted soldiers went hungry. He bragged how Taiji would be beaten into submission in order to become a soldier. He felt no remorse and no responsibility for the atrocities committed abroad and at home. If there is a rule to war it’s that young men die. It makes it more bearable when they know that they are dying for a greater cause and not for the unbridled ambitions of the elite. Fury over the unimaginable loss of life and the needless suffering so many endured erupted often quietly onto the screen.

Clocking in at under 90 minutes with nearly all of the scenes set in the Osone house, the atmosphere became claustrophobic with air raid sirens blaring and the colonel filling the rooms with his hot air. Mother and daughter contributed to the war effort and to keeping the family going even as the war took so much from them. From Christmas 1943 until Christmas 1945, it was a long dark night before morning would break on the Osone family returning their hope for a better day.

14 April 2025

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I loved this movie SO much. It was so suspenseful and I was genuinely frightened while watching this movie because as a woman, there is times while walking that I have thought, is this man following me or are we just going to the same place? Do I have to run and cause a scene or should I post up and protect myself. Adding this fear on top of the FL lead being deaf just adds more terror to the experience that most woman have had and Wi Ha-Joon running SO fast in this added to it also. The only reason I gave it 8 stars was due to the fact that I felt like this movie could've been like 15-20 more minutes longer to wrap up the ending more cleanly seeing as it felt slightly rushed to me. This was a great movie overall and I have recommended it a bunch of my friends.

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A live action that missed the mark on so many points, not true to the original source material

This movie was such a disappointment as I love the manga. It is certainly not an easy story to adapt as it was foremost published as comedic vignettes / Otaku slice-of-life format rather than full chapters (at first at least, as the story progressed, the storyline became more full fledged in the manga but the short comedic pages kept being what make the salt and fun of the manga).

Still, despite the fact that it is not so easy to adapt "as such" that kind of work, I feel the adaptation choice were done without understanding what was the main point of the source material. It was about friends-to-lovers but also learning to accept yourself through the eyes of characters sharing the same passion, even if it is deemed as strange / out-of-touch with real serious adult life. It was not just about romance, it was much more than that : fun and heartfelt at the same time.

I have 3 main criticisms:
1)I don't understand the choice of making it a musical. The main actress sing pretty well but it was not the point of the story. The various songs made little sense in the context of the manga. It feels like a cope out to make characters sing their feelings rather than having dialog and directing driving the point.
2) I also felt that the directing point of view lacked of love for the Otaku culture. The humor which worked so well in the manga, did not work here. It felt almost critical of the quirks of the characters, showing them as flaws for the relationship rather than taking a more tender approach, underlining how well they fit together which is too bad.
3) In the source material, the main couple interact with another couple also deep into Otaku culture (even if it is quite different for each of the 4 main characters) and here the second couple was totally set aside, while their dynamics was so good in the source material.

I would not recommend this to people as it was such a disappointment for me given the fact that I love the source material. Even my huge appreciation for Yamazaki Kento cannot redeem the movie to my eyes.

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Unlikeable characters made it impossible for me to really care about their destiny

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this movie. Don't get me wrong, there were some pretty cinematographic moments but overall, I never managed to get invested in the journey of the main character. At not point did I find him sympathetic, despite how bad his family background was. This was a big deterrent because the movie takes the viewer on the journey of the (anti-)hero as he elevates himself out of poverty and became a big shot on the black market of Bogotá. If you don't like or don't care about the character, there is not real angst regarding his fate and no interest in following his uprising.

There were some striking scenes but most of the action sequences felt a bit lacking : it was too clean, not gritty enough given the context of the story. Pacing of the story could definitely have been improved as well. The cast and the acting was a strong point of the film, even the acting of the foreigners in the support cast was alright, which is often a rarity when Western actors act in Asian movies and series. It was not great but suitable.

I would not necessarily recommend this action movie as I did find it lacking in the characterization of the main character and his relationships with others. Despite its relatively short length, it felt quite long to get to the point.

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Not worth the time, pretty bland and forgettable

This movie is about as forgettable as it could be. It features very classic shojo manga tropes. Sometimes a well made classic can be of course highly satisfying, especially if it showcases some interesting twists. Here, it was unfortunately not the case.

I did not feel the chemistry between the main actor and the main actress...And the romance felt unfortunately very lacking. I found that the female lead was overacting, which was part of the point as her character lives fantasies in her head...But I found that pretty poor. The male led should also have been more swoony, instead he felt too bland.

I would not recommend this movie to people as I feel there are better high school romance out there. I have not read the original material and honestly, this live adaptation did not convince me to give it a try.

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17 MINUTES OF CUTIES

Well, honestly I don't have many words to say. This was a cutie little watch, and I would watch again if I just needed something to do for 17 minutes.

The story is that Riku and Keita are in a romantic relationship, but they’ve chosen to keep it hidden from the people around them. While they care deeply for each other, the secrecy sometimes weighs heavily on Keita. He occasionally finds himself questioning his place in Riku’s life, wondering if the need to stay hidden means their relationship isn't as important to Riku as it is to him. The lack of openness can leave him feeling isolated, especially since neither his parents or friends know.

Riku and Keita are both cuties, and I enjoyed the scenes that we got. Although it was so short, if there was ever a possibility, I'd want to see an actual drama with these two and similar storylines, just more into depth. Keita resembled Kiyoi from My Beautiful Man, but both leads were definitely beautiful men. ALSO the girl😭 she lowkey represented us with her always being like "😳🫣" y'know? Overall, it was a cute little watch and I enjoyed it :-)

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Aesthetic, intriguing, needs a trigger warning

Editing was not friendly to someone like me, with minor sensory issues, so I wanted to post this review to share that the flashing white cuts between conversation in the chat rooms were distracting and made my eyes ache. It was better to not pay attention to the chats and transitions between scenes, but I found that I could not follow the story well because of this. If you're prone to seizures, or migraines, I would skip it.

Still, I enjoyed the film's theme that associates the love that one has for a musician/music as some kind of escape from reality, leading to disassociation from real world actions and consequences. Not sure what the exact name for this aesthetic is, but the mixing of technology and nature in the editing made for a unique and intriguing experience especially with the reveal as to who the protagonist was talking to in the chat rooms.

Note, I ended up watching this over two days, and it was hard to follow. I found that reading other reviews afterwards jogged my memory of key plot points, so despite a pretty film with a touch of romanticism, it was a very complex film with some arguably unnecessary plot points. Sometimes, we don't need to see all that in one film.

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Biased manga reader reviews:

The film version effectively succeeds at building the melodrama of an awkward and stilted family relationship between a niece and estranged aunt after her parents' death. I found many parts charming, making the messy parts of becoming familiar and closer to one another when your worlds are very far apart an enjoyable experience. I do feel the manga did this better, nonetheless, I loved seeing the same characters come to life on the screen.

Note, not all parts from the original series were adapted to screen, but understandable considering the run time, and the original story being very character focused, introspective and full of internal conflicts. Watch this film without expecting that you'll be watching what's in the manga come to life exactly as you would like, but do so for the sweet moments of trying to understanding worlds that are much different from your own, the focus here being disassembling the child's view of what being a grown-up means.

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