It's quite a good movie to watch
The story was quite good, I was about to give it 10 stars in the beginning... But, when the ending came, it doesn't make sense, and it wasn't a good way to end the movie at all. Overall, the acting and cast was very good, I gave it a 10/10 for that part. The music wasn't the best, but it was quite okay. While, the story was okay, everything was good except for the ending. The ending could've been better in my opinion.Feel free to give it a try! It's a little different compared to other BL movies, but it's worth a try!
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A whole historical in 7 minutes with a cat!
This is actually pretty impressive how they managed to squeeze in a whole historical C-drama and even added, Meow the secret girl to it... Swardfight, blood cough (though they were stingy with the cranberry juice), poisoning, intrigues, flashbacks, slomo, romance, lust, and all in under 7 minutes!I honestly felt that I got all the information I needed on this short emotional cute journey... It may also be a commercial for some kind of pancakes, I am not 100% sure.... And I did feel like eating one...
I am not going to say that this was great, but cute, fluffy and took less time to watch than to write this review... So just go for it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Bound to be a masterpiece as time passes...
This movie started out as a great comedy, and I enjoyed it immensely; the comedic parts are so good; you shouldn't watch this after quiet hours in your house, dorm, or apt; you will probbaly be laughing out loud some of the time!However, a "shift' came about as Gu Xiao Jiao (Tong Li Ya) finally meets the man she initially met in her "shared" apartment twenty years later (though, just 'days' away in her timeline), and found that the path he had taken did not make him the "man" she enjoyed being with in her apartment shared in teh time distortion.
We also find that futures are "changed" with the actions brought about by Lu Zhi Yi (Lei Jia Yin) in the 1999 timeline; actions that affect both Lu Ming (again, Lei Jia Yin) and Gu Xiao Jiao's father as well.
The cinematogrphy was great: I loved the way both timelines weres shown together and seemed to be sewn together perfectly! The earlier timelines from 1999 involved many icons that also appeared in 1999 America, and they must have spent much time on details since the street scenes seemd so perfect.
I see that both main cast members worked together in past movies, which their chemistry together shows briliiantly as their onscreen chemistry is unmistakenly and almost flawless - like two people who have actually lived together for years...I also enjoyed the unexpected short dialogues intertwined within the credits at the end!
The support cast gave their talent and years of expereince in making the two main characters seem so much more alive and genuine, giving more personality to the main cast members throughout the movie.
This should become a masterpiece or have a cult following in the future!
RE-WATCH: A big Yes!
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I do not know what to think about this
So I watched this because it looked interesting, but I'm a bit sad. It didn't end as I was expecting, but it was a bit worth it. A bit of romance, a bit of drama; a bit of thrilling, funny or confusing scenes...The movie is mostly a memory of the grandmother, a story about how she and her family found a boy who -turned out to- was a werewolf. (I still saw him as a puppy tho, he looked so cute) It's about the way she taught him as he was her own son, the way she cared for him and the way he cared for her :)
She was living somewhere else with someone else, she maybe didn't even think of him that much as he thought about her. Even when she was an old lady, she still remembered the happy moments they shared together tho.
Now to the things I did not like: the fighting scenes were too long for me, not that I was scared tho; also there were lots of scenes in the night, and I was watching in at day time so it was sometimes hard to see what is even happening; I expected bigger plot twist, I expected something more romantic and thrilling, not a small mix of every genre... and to the ending - I do not wanna spoil you, but I think you will see why I was disappointed.
I think the idea was good, but they should focus more on one genre, not adding more and more so I can't even tell what I watched.
Anyway, that's it and sorry if I made any mistakes in grammar.
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Could not connect with it
There were some good parts that I (objectively) could tell were good moments of build-up or touching moments, but for some reason I was never able to fully connect with (and distinguish between, tbh) all of the characters.For that reason it also just felt like the movie was a little longer than it had to be — a lot of it was about people I didn't really care much for.
I think perhaps I've just seen too many war movies and this one didn't do anything different, so nothing about it stood out to me (other than the fact that there was no plot armor for the main characters, one thing I appreciated).
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Just Turn On The Evening News for the same CRAP!
I cannot justify giving this film any higher of a rating...Sure, the main actresses, both sisters, played theIr parts well, the support cast did an excellent job playing the vilians, and the other bit parts all added to the overall "feeL" of this film...both supporting the main actresses and making the plot believable.
The colors were vivid, especially the over-use of the color 'red', not just the blood, either.
But WHY would anyone in the their right mind would want to sit through a movie that 'insinuates' a 'special needs' teenage girl being raped several times, even though it was most suggestive rather than blatantly excessive; no nudity, thank God! Also, why would anyone want to see a lovely lady, dressed in red (probably to hide her bleeding if she got hurt; I am joking here), but the color 'red' is a major symbol in this movie, but I am not going to go there in this review).
You can watch Clint Eastwood in his DIRTY HARRY series, you can watch Bruce Willis in his John McClan character in the DIE HARD franchise, or a dozen other similar films. Does the 'hero' being a 'heroine' beating everyone up make this film any more worth watching?
The older sister Park In Ae (Lee Si Young) was justified trying to rescue her younger sister (Park Eun Hye, played by Park Se Wan) but other avenue could have been taken: get the media involved and the girl would become so hot that they would gladly give up gettng their money back and protecting their 'business' overall.
I agree with a lot of what was said by other reviewers before me, but my main reason for writing this review is
1) When was the line between justice and overstepping boundaries crossed in this movie?
2) The worst part of this movie is that it shows how GREED and LUST drives the sexual slave market; everyone, including an old man, who wanted to get a piece of the teenage girl and even try to make a buck off of further sexual 'use' of her; it's all I could do to fast forward through the blood and guts and the passing on of the girl to someone else!
I guess my work in emergency services: ambulance attendant, Emergency Room technician, Warm and Hot lines, and Rape Advocacy over the years, took control of me in the opening sequences; I enjoy a good shoot-em-up and 'Dirty Harry'-type movie occasionally, but not involving teenage (especially) special-needs girls being molested time and time again.
I feel that the director 'sold' out to make this movie more appealing to an American audience, my main problem with the way a lot of newer Asian movies are slanted!
RE-WATCH: Never again!
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Watch this movie and change the way you are living your life
I hesitated a lot before watching this movie. I am going through tough times currently and I didn't want anything to put me down further. But...I am so glad I watched it. Hours later, I am still crying, but I am so glad. The atmosphere was phenomenal, the story was really moving, my heart has been beating from beginning to end. To think about all those men and women who died all other the world while sacrificing for their countries, and to think about how we live our lives now, egoistically. And the acting...perfect. They were so right in all of their emotions. Kudos to Minho, I hope he gets more and more deep movie roles. If I survive the next few months, I will change my life thanks to this movie.Was this review helpful to you?
Donnie Yen's character, Henry Chen, returned to teach at his old school after serving in the United States military. He was assigned to the worst class in the school. What he found were standard movie fare students---poor students, students with parental problems, misunderstood kids, racism, kids running errands for gangsters, stressed kids, kids with unfulfilled dreams. Chen studied their histories and then stepped in to make things right by unconventional means.
In addition to the teenagers' problems, the school was in danger of being shut down because of underachieving students. Throw in gangsters who intended to develop the area where the school sat, and you've got all you need for conflict. Add in a couple of awesome fights when the plot slowed down or became too serious to keep the audience invested and you've got a winner-it's Donnie Yen, we don't expect him to solve all of his problems in a peaceful way, do we?
Donnie elevated a familiar and at times clichéd story with his star power. He transitioned over to less action and more acting smoothly in this film. The kids were likeable even when doing unlikeable things. One problem with such a large cast, the villains were underdeveloped even though one had a key connection to Chen.
This movie was a combination of social concerns and martial arts displayed in a fairly balanced manner. Some problems may have been solved too easily, but sometimes we need to believe that children can be saved from others and themselves and that someone cares enough to risk stepping in to help them. Big Brother had moments of inspiration and enough action and character development to keep it entertaining. Donnie Yen as Henry Chen didn't just save the children in this story, he saved this movie as well.
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A short & sweet slice of life story
Overall: this is a 28 minute slice of life/coming out story with an established m/m couple. Watched on Gagaoolala.Content Warnings: none
What I Liked
- a sweet established couple
- the mom was observant
- the sibling communication
- the (short) m/m couple communication
Room For Improvement
- the dodge at the end/not very clear, but I think this is also realistic in some instances
- they could have cut the scene/other character with the writing and spent that time somewhere else
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I've re-watched this 3 times already, what more is there to say?
What a beautiful movie. Even though I found the beginning quite slow, in general, it's a pretty chill movie. The OST is exquisite, and I'm not even a BTS fan. It tied in very well with the overall drama and was used in the right places as well. The movie gets better and better towards the end as more emotions are shown. The overall storyline was great, but not spectacular or new imo. But in this movie I really just loved how you can see how both characters loved each other and it really warmed my heart(literally melted it into a goopy puddle). I don't want to give spoilers but I really recommend you watch this movie, 100% not a waste of time!Was this review helpful to you?
I enjoyed it despite the heartbreak
"There's a billion things in life more important than suffering for love" and I couldn't have agreed more with Otomo .It seems masochism is a recurring theme throughout many Japanese BL's and this film is no exception. It's time for the gays to break free from the shackles of pain and embrace love in the right places lol. Overall the acting was great and the story was solid. The only small issue I had was with the length. There are portions of this that seemed to drag and could've been condensed, despite that and all the pain and heartbreak I still really enjoyed this film.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A masterpiece for the Ages
This is really a masterpiece for the Ages. It's not my first japanese movie, far from it. But it's one that strongly reignited my interest in Japanese entertainment and it brought me to Minami Hamabe, one of my favourite actress.It's hard to imagine how such young main leads, Minami Hamabe and Takumi Kitamura are able to carry a movie on such a tough subject to perfection, but they did and boy did they do it with aplomb.. Yes, terminal illness movies are plentiful. However this is so very different from the typical run in a mill terminal illness shows.
There's no heart-wrenching sorrowful sad tale, at least not until the very end. It's actually a pretty cheerful movie up until the major twist at the very end.
My favourite quote in the movie was that every meeting between people is not due to fate or coincidence, but is solely due to the choices we make. This is so very true in our everyday life. Your own choices determine the outcome of your life.
I have watched the film, the anime and read the book. All the adaptations are so well-done. However I do advice that you watch the anime after you watch this film, because it will perhaps make you feel abit better, like it did to me.
As I said, a masterpiece for the Ages.
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A short worth watching...
I watched this on a whim. Not knowing the subject and diving head first is alas a first for me. Sometimes we encounter breathtaking gems when we least expect to and this short Japanese film is a shining example.Summary:
A story of a trans woman gently but firmly taking the first step towards her past. The movie is based on a poem from Fujiki Yumi and stars a trans actress in the lead role for the first time. I think it is somewhat of a rarity to have a movie based on this subject matter and having transgender people voice their side in their own stories must surely be a rarity, in not only Japan but throughout Asia.
Story:
I appreciated the paucity of dialogue here. While its a common attribute for most Japanese films, this form of filmmaking really lends to the sensitive subject matter.
Acting:
Identifying with a particular gender, there are so many things that we take for granted and at times I had to pause and think, to realize her pain and discomfort. I can understand her struggle when the client asks ‘are you a man cause your hands are big?’ There's a pause as the camera pans to her and she replies. Good acting!
Overall:
In real life, one doesn’t really stare that hard at people. At the same time, there can be curiosity among a lot of people from the older generations. While some times it’s really just harmless curiosity, specially if it’s not common in your country, the cluelessness of people can be hurtful as well. And I think that is what this short tries to tell us.
Good for watching once but you need to concentrate to appreciate the nuances in the filmmaking. 7.5/10 for me.
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A tribute to film-making in this time period and Japan in the 70s
It was my turn to furnish a movie for a group's Saturday night showing; and it went really well with the group!BACKGROUND: Japan is on a destructive plate boundary, where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts the Eurasian Plate. It is a triple junction and three subduction zones are involved. The movie has historical significance both in the far past and more recent; in 2011, in 2011, the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, towns like Ishinomaki subsided. 'Subsidence' is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves very little horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope (horizontal) movement.
For its time period, the cinematography is very good, plus what I like is the Japanese use of "model' terrain and cities, which were prevalent in the 1960s/70s as a standard way of showing mass destruction of cities, towns, countryside fires and tsunami damage (as most films of this era did). It brings back memories of my childhood seeing these models being used in era pictures going back as far as the 50s. If you want a look at movie-making in this time period, try this movie!
What I also liked about this film is that I knew absolutely no one starring in it, which made it seen so much more real; this makes the movie more believable on one level. While some would criticize this, it makes the movie more believable to e and other who were watching.
Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats, anticipating what would happen next, and surprised when things happened "earlier" than they would anticipate them.
I also read about it before I showed the movie, and it is a good representation of Japanese culture at the time.
Other pluses: the few women in the movie kept their clothes on, and no one was cheating on their Significant Others as well!
Take a chance and see a great film about Japan and see what movies looked like in the late 50s to mmid-70s....
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely, especially for a group of different aged people who want to watch the same movie!
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