Reviews

A lot of emotions.

Oh boy, where do I start with this? This movie was amazing. Throughout this movie it consisted of teamwork, body swapping, unexpected ending but tears of emotion definitely.

The storyline was beautiful. This movie consisted of Rin ending up and swapping into Taketo’s body after a tragedy happens and him trying to reach his girlfriend by a song. (Will not go into full detail to not spoil!)

I mainly watched this for Dori, as he is one of my favourite actors. I was tearful when he was singing and the memories of Rin and his girlfriend made me emotional as each appeared. This story may be common among body swapping or typical stories, but this one never fails to impress me. In the end, I actually loved every character that was in the story.

The actors, casting and everything was picked out carefully and I praise each actor that played their role according to their character. Rin’s girlfriends actor acted accordingly with emotion and made me relieved as in many Jdramas, with their FLs, many do not show much emotion when in a relationship. The actors impressed me with the teamwork on making songs, emotions, different ways to work together and more.

The end had also made me emotional as it was highly unexpected indeed. I just wished there was an alternative ending where it wasn’t unexpected. Overall, I have no issue with this movie and I really love this.

As for rewatching this, I think that I will only ever watch this if I want to go into an emotional ride again. This definitely made me cry like a baby when Dori was singing. His singing is so beautiful, he is an angel indeed.

If you are looking for something to watch with body swapping and band related songs, then this one is for you.

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When heaven and Earth are opposed, the result is destruction

Gamera: The Revenge of Iris is a good old fashioned monster mash with real stakes and believable monsters. I realize the ridiculousness of that statement when talking about a giant tusked turtle. This film is easily the best of the Gamera films I've watched. No annoying 8-year-old, just amazing Kaiju and realistic fights and consequences.

The story was complex and at times convoluted. G3 brought back a few characters from the first two of this trilogy, added some teens, a scientist, a priestess, a nihilistic dude, and the requisite small minded bureaucrats and military. Because of the collateral damage caused by Gamera in the beginning of this film and the two previous films, the government has determined he's simply too destructive to let live. Bad timing as the Gyaoses have started popping up all over the world. Even worse a nemesis in a cave is about to hatch and feed on a teenage girl's hatred of Gamera and need for revenge. She names the nemesis Iris after her dearly departed cat. Gamera save us from a vengeful teenage girl!

There is a lot of mumbo-jumbo about Gamera being created to hold Mana, the life energy of the earth and his nemesis being the opposite, a real destroyer. I appreciate the writer's desire to give us some meaning behind the monsters, but honestly, I never did quite grasp all of the talk about their version of The Force. Philosophically, the movie touched on things like is the enemy of my enemy really my friend or a necessary evil? Is Gamera a good guy if his protection costs tens of thousands to lose their lives? And does the cost seem acceptable as long as it's not your loved ones and home destroyed?

More than almost any Kaiju movie since Godzilla 1954 the humans were truly important and integral to the story, in fact the nemesis Iris, would not have been as threatening without Ayana the teenage girl's hatred to feed upon. The acting while not award worthy was enough to draw you into the story and give emotional heft to the actions being played across the screen.

Iris was a lovely, menacing terror to behold, it would make almost any Kaiju envious at the care taken in creating it. Gamera, well, Gamera will always be a giant turtle with tusks that can shoot flames. The fights were immediate, brutal, and up close. The scenes of the humans trapped in a giant building as the two went mano y tentacles was spectacular. The perspective and size of the monsters with the tiny humans below gave real suspense to the scenes. No cardboard buildings destroyed in this film, there was a lot of detail in the buildings crushed during the giants' fights. There were problems with a few scenes during the fights but overall the CGI and miniature work were excellent especially for a pre-2000 movie.

Gamera 3 gave us more compelling humans and stories while not sacrificing what people came to see: visually stunning monster spectacles across the cities and skies. Unlike earlier Gamera movies this one was dark and aimed more at adults. Even with the darker mood, G3 was a fun fast paced ride




7/21/22

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Hell has no fury like a monkey scorned!

Ape Girl must have been a fever dream of writer Hou Cheng because it was several bananas short of a bunch. A combination slapstick, beauty makeover, cross-species (?) kung fu flick with little coherent writing made almost bearable by a simian performance from little known actress Chin Feng Ling. It was burdened by an abundance of over the top cringey humor and in the version I watched almost unintelligible dubbing for some of the characters.


Some spoilers follow---
A kung fu master finds a girl in the jungle who had been raised by apes or is an ape, the story changes back and forth from scene to scene on what she actually is. Ape Girl is hairy and has a tail but otherwise looks like a human, a human trying out for the Broadway show "Cats". The apes in the first scene looked like Teletubbies on crack. The master takes her back home, teaches her to speak and write and refines her natural monkey kung fu. Like a curious kung fu monkey she gets into trouble wherever she goes and in one scene is helped out by the 4th Prince played by kung fu legend Chen Sing. She falls in love with him, follows him, and is brought on as his bodyguard. The Prince is charming and attentive, but it's Chen Sing so we know he will have a nefarious plan waiting to hatch. The Prince is attacked by an assassin, Lo Lieh, another kung fu legend, and the two fight it out. Chen Sing never met a shirt he didn't want to take off, but unlike the striking Bruce Lee, no one was every hoping he'd rip his shirt off in a fight. His nefarious plan is revealed when he tricks Ape Girl into retrieving the emperor's will so that he can change it so that he will inherit the crown.

When our little Ape Girl discovers the Prince thinks she's ugly in two shakes of a monkey's tail she rushes to the Master's friend to have the ultimate depilation treatment. The treatment takes place over three days which is interrupted by the Master, leaving her smooth and beautiful but with a tail still attached. The Master hadn't wanted her to transform because then like all other girls she would fall in love and have her heart broken. The Master trains her how to use her tail in kung fu, I kid you not, and confines her to his property.

Ultimately, she finds out about the Prince's betrayal. For some reason Lo Lieh has changed teams and is a bad guy now and the 8 Heroes show up out of nowhere and it's on like Monkey Kong with Chen taking his shirt off---again!

The fight choreography by Wang Tai Lang was engaging for the most part. Chin Feng Ling was quite athletic and nimble. She seemed to take delight in her monkeyisms and playful fighting. And when it was time to strangle people with her tail she was up for that, too. Lo Lieh and Chen Sing are two of my favorite old school stars and I was delighted to watch them fight each other. Ape Girl swung about with occasional wire-fu but most of the other fighters kept their feet on the ground.

The quality of this old Taiwanese movie has degraded. It didn't look like a big budget film to begin with. For the most part it was on par with a lot of these old martial arts movies made there. The soundtrack was funky 1970's music that could have come straight out of a US cop show.

I wish I could say this was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but there was just too much monkeying around with the script leaving all logic scattered about like a three day bad banana binge. If the cringey humor hadn't gone on fur so long, I might have enjoyed it more. The fight scenes were fun and Chin was interesting to watch in them, the rest of the movie was painfully bad. If you run across this movie, before it makes a monkey out of you, find the nearest vine and swing far, far away.






7/21/22

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“Soft” psychological thriller/university melodrama

A brilliant, arrogant student with crazy-low empathy skills manipulates things around him to suit his whims. He has zero patience for suffering fools and never directly goes after anyone, but…he’s always the one pulling strings, and it usually ends badly for whoever crosses him. Like, sometimes “badly” on a scary level.

A fellow student who notices his manipulations jumps to conclusions about him and calls him out on something, making her the next target of his machinations. Although after he observes her a while (while tormenting her), he realizes she’s actually a fun and fascinating person, he decides he likes her (instead of viewing her as human trash or disposable pawns like he seems to see everyone else), and he starts to pursue her…which then follows that he starts manipulating things in and around her life, as well. Always for her own good, of course. Always to help or support her. Regardless of who else it might hurt.

There are difficult family relationships, societal expectations’ commentary, etc., and not many super-healthy relationships, but the show always keeps you wanting to watch more. Psychological suspense, but I liked that it wasn’t a VERY tense psych thriller, just mildly tense. The happy ending is there, but only just barely—you have to watch carefully in the last few seconds to catch it.

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I wanna eat that emperor chicken

I am one of those who watched the Chinese remake Lobster Cop, first and overall kind of liked it, but when I watched the Original Korean Movie “Extreme Jobs” I was stunned. I felt like what crap did the Chinese do to such a good movie. The original movie is 1000 times better.

Story: “Extreme job” which is running the restaurant is their undercover but it also shows how they are trapped in the crime while trying to entrap a criminal gang.

Acting: the actors seem to be made for the characters. They not just acted but they lived the characters. Their dialogues and expressions were spot on. Actors looked unattractive with rugged and rough language, but that was the beauty. They are not on some fashion show, but cops who catch criminals so their personalities and looks suited them.

Humor: is extremely good. It is situational-based and not forced. Every act feels like my jaw would drop laughing.

Action: it is awesome. I just love it. They fight like humans, not superheroes. They get hurt and bruised but they continue with all their might

Music: in action movies what counts as music, gunshots or the fight squeaks, or walking with shoe sounds. Otherwise, BGM is done finely.

Rewatch: this movie is worth rewatching. It can make one laugh and happy.

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I *clap* LOVE *clap* THIS *clap* FREAKIN *clap* MOVIE!

I will mention a few spoilers but I really loved this movie so much and I can't tell you how much the book impacted me. What I loved about that movie is our main protagonist. She's definitely not a good person and she is more of an anti-hero. She lacks the capability of caring for other people that aren't her family and she doesn't have a moral compass that prevents her from taking her revenge. It's kinda like fighting poison with another poison. The kids ended up having their lives destroyed, or murdered, LOL. The child murdered didn't live a happy life either which made me really happy. It also shows how important child neglect is and the loopholes in the law that people take advantage of, moreover that it became a leeway for child murders "BecaUSe tHe laW pRotecTs THem". What you must love about this movie is the atmosphere. It's so poetic and gloomy that it sends a shiver down your spine! I recommended rewatching it because this is good shit!

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Just as it is.

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Like others, I am a fan of Part 1 and with that, I had high hopes for this Part 2. Much more when I saw the casts for it ㅡ LJS, PEB, JG, etc. I really expected so much to the point that I couldn't wait for it to be released in different websites with eng subs on it, and as soon as it happened, I immediately went for it and here we are.

For the first hour of the movie, I have to be completely honest, I got bored as if it wasn't an action, thriller, or a suspense. Likewise with the plot, I also got confused cause all the while, I thought it had huge connection with Part 1. Well, besides for a fact that the girl is you know. But no, the story is just as it is. Similar with the first one but worse. No build-ups, no bigger or in-depth intentions especially for the characters.

For the language, really. I don't even wanna start with this. It was bad but i guess, not the worst? or maybe it is. The part where JH and the other guy were speaking in English, it felt unnatural or forced. I also can't understand why the Chinese group suddenly can speak fluent Korean. They're even more articulate with it (Well because the actors and actresses themselves are Korean but if that was the case, the producers could've stayed it as who they are or if not, someone who's fluent with Chinese or an actual Chinese)

For the fighting scenes, uhmm, quite cool. It was the reason why i still decided to finish it. But I also have to pinpoint how it had less details especially for the scenes of the girl who had too much power. All she had to do was to look and boom. In short, overpowered. Perhaps, I might be over critical with this because in the description, that's what it says.

The only thing that worked for me was the ending. KDM's cameo or appearance was sensational.

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Treat it as something else (musical) for better viewing.

The whole thing is just awkward, if you compare it to the story on the anime/manga. It is very disappointing to see that the live action is just a musical movie rather than an adaption of the manga/anime. There is so little resemblance to the Anime/manga. The live action is more suitable to be adapted as some kind of drama instead of this musical movie.

The good thing about the movie is the selection of actors (in fact, some of the leading actors) and the musical arrangements. Still, it is just very weird especially if you have read/watch the manga or anime.

Well, you won't be that disappointed on this if you treat it as a musical movie based on the manga characters instead rather than a live action adaption.

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If you don't toe the line, they will crush you

The Serpent aka Orochi is a morality tale that follows a samurai whose sense of honor and lack of forethought land him in deeper and deeper quagmires. A silent movie with Kabuki style makeup and a benshi performance, a narrator who describes the action throughout, The Serpent is a very early silent movie with excellent fight choreography and cinematography. The moviegoer is reminded repeatedly that "not all who are respected are worthy of the name" and "not all who wear the name villain are evil men".

Kuritomi Heizaburo was a samurai from a poor background. At a birthday party for his master an aristocrat's son taunts him and throws sake in Kuritomi's face which causes a fight to erupt. Everyone takes the wealthy samurai's side and Kuritomi is suspended for a month. When he stands up for the honor of the master's daughter against three gossiping traveling samurai he is kicked out of not only his master's house but also the town and labeled a bully. A masterless Ronin, in threadbare clothes, Kuritomi rails inside at the injustices visited upon him. The master's daughter he loved, Namie, easily believed evil of him as well as the rest of the samurai and townspeople. After more injustices caused by his place in society and his hot headedness Kuritomi spends time in jail and runs afoul of the law. He falls for another woman, Ochio, who will have nothing to with him because of his bad reputation as an outlaw. All l he wants is for someone to see into his heart and know that he is a good man. Finally, thinking he has found a noble and wise master he learns that the nobility is all a façade and the man is vile to his core.

Time after time in the movie, those who are revered for their place in society turn out to be filled with filth. Kuritomi who starts out with a pure heart is never seen for who he really is and suffers mightily for it, slowly circling down a lawless path. The Serpent is critical of societal structure with wealthy people and those of a higher social stature being able to bend justice to meet their needs while people like Kuritomi cannot find justice for justice has deaf ears where he is concerned. It is also a critique on judging a book by its cover, never looking to see what is behind the mask people wear. Kuritomi was called a blood thirsty devil though he had never killed anyone. He was a desolate, desperate man who only wanted justice and for someone to see that he was a good man.

For a 1925 film, the cinematography was exceptional, with wide pan shots and close-ups as were needed. The filming of the fight sequences were quite creative. If I have one qualm it's that the fight scenes and running scenes were sped up ala Keystone Cops. The fight choreography was so unprecedented for an early film that I wish they had run it at normal speed so that I could have fully enjoyed the intricate moves and falls.

The version I watched had music in the background. I had to mute it for most of the movie because the narration took place in Japanese and Russian overlapping, very distracting. The acting was primitive and not as natural as in some other later silent films.

Kuritomi, as honorable as he saw himself, was flawed. He did not think situations through or weigh consequences. Even though the world showed him over and over it was not a fair place he refused to believe it and ran head long into situations without thinking them through. Where Namie and Ochio were concerned, Kuritomi could be obsessive and overly aggressive, there was a reason they feared him. Yet for all his flaws he was a pitiful character, only wanting to do the honorable thing and always punished for it, no one to trust, no one to care for him. Serpent can be a challenging movie to watch at times when the lead behaves unsympathetically and as unhappiness upon unhappiness is dumped upon him.

If you are open to exploring old movies, and as an example of an early samurai film where the samurai are not shown in a favorable light and a tale of a man, despite being labeled an outlaw, only wanting to be seen and understood, Serpent is worth trying out.






7/20/22

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Boy Crush with slow pacing

Review based on Movie alone, didn’t even know there was a manga.

LIKES:
Yuki great in every role he acts
Sensible girl, even if she’s clumsy. Very mature compared to everyone else in this movie.
Handsome lead but not overly hyped up by the writers for once.
Cinematography and colour pallet was good too.
Loved the fireworks.
Music choice was okay and fit the scenes.
Acting was good overall.
End was satisfactory.

DISLIKES:
WRITING
A few hugs and hand holding, but disappointed there was no kisses made by the ML, by high school couples do that.
Ren & Ninako didn’t have any noticeable growth, the characters that had growth were Takumi and Mao.
Ren came across as a bit boring and stiff. Also when the change came for his love interest, it wasn’t very impactful, because he had little time to notice the girl or had limited “special” moments that came across as romantic. Those moments shown in the flashbacks were more ‘let’s be friends’ than ‘I love you’.
MUSIC lyrics were appropriate, but sometimes it was too loud, so the actor/actress voices were over powered
PRODUCTION
Back lighting (the sun/bright day) made seeing their faces sometimes hard because it was too bright
too many flash backs, so it felt like time filler.
Pacing was a little slow in areas. Too much time spent on running around and multiple flashbacks, when only two each would have been enough.
ACTING
No chemistry between Sota and Arisa.

OVERALL: Fast, easy watch, hardly any drama. Watch it if you are a fan of Yuki (Yamada).

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Watched only for Kim Hye Yoon

With the title “The Girl On The Bulldoze” the curiosity is high as what does a petite girl doing on the bulldozer.
FL life turns upside down in a day she get a clue of whats happening when her father has an accident. She runs her brain and finds clues which suggest murder or suicide.She is tries to be tough and protect her only brother, because the world is full of greedy people who try to snatch a hard earned chump from the poor.

This is another movie showing how the rich people keep oppressing the poor. They show off their richness and don’t feel an ounce of guilt to frame them into crimes and destroy families.

With the truth unfolding I actually guessed in midway of movie, that why she is on the bulldozer. She has high rage and wouldn’t tolerate a single misbehavior from adult, which I liked personally. Why does every adult think its OK to smack and spit nonsense and they should every younger person should respectfully listen to them. I felt satisfied when she doesn’t take the shit and slap back the others the same way.

While many audience think that FL should think rationally, I was actually convinced that whatever she did was best to survive. She was not a nerd brainy teenage but a tough and violent one. And when the adults overpower and try to kick her down she does what she is best at. Because we all know the wealthy would twist laws to their own favour and being a minor she wouldn’t get justice

I am highly impressed by Kim Hye Yoon acting, her expression was on spot rude and violent. Only thing I missed was some physical fight/action but considering it portrays the teen girl who is unable to fight she uses the bulldozer as her weapon.

The story is a bit lacking but overall is a good watch if you connect with the emotions of Kim Hye Yoon.

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It's not bad "genious", just bad movie...

As other reviews already mentioned, there's not much romantic tension here, most of the "thrill" here consists of watching details of ugly sweating foreheads of various students trying to cheat in tests, which is dramatized by use of slow motion or sharp music. Gee. The characters interactions was what made - at least at first - the movie interesting, certainly not the ways they were cheating, that was not actually very clever, certainly pretty far from "genious". But what to do, when the test itself is kinda stupid. I mean, to tick one of 4 possible answers for written questions? They would have to answer open questions, not be given 4 options (then even the random luck then can give you some points: points you don't deserve). Also we all know it's not sufficient to pass WRITTEN tests. Therefore all this movie's drama about checking A, B, C, D is kinda to be obsolete. And all the creative planning this movie's characters did to cheat test? If they put the exact time and effort into actually learning the studied subject, then - besides actually having something useful in their heads - it couldn't possibly be harder, right? I mean, the stuff they did LOL I had to laugh when they tried to make an "action movie" out of this (the whole Sydney part) including hot pursuit to the bathroom or subway station:-p I wasn't thrilled, I just laughed. Just as nonsensical were this movie's scriptwriters, so were the characters. Apart from (needlessly) becoming frauds, they all could get money/good grades easier.

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