Reviews

Enjoyable for us who know nothing about BlackPink...

This was really sweet, well made, well balanced and entertaining to watch.

I am not the type to know anything about music let alone groups and had honestly mostly heard about BlackPink on feeds and about Jisoo as the costar in snowdrop... so I am what you may call a complete unbiased nub to this, and yes I really enjoyed this documentary.

The girls are adorable, they are extremely different and as they say complement each other well, we get a very short glimpse in to the girls personal life, just enough to understand where they are coming from but not to much to feel burdened with unnecessary or uncomfortable personal stuff.., they show both the hard work behind the scenes as well as the rewards from them. The importance of personal space as well as helping each other out and it is just lovely,

I think I go a slight crush on Rosé I love her voice, her talent as well as what we got to see of her introverted personality and she is now my favorite and I want to hear more of her, has she gone solo?

Jenny had this great granny personality and Jisoo seemed cool but was the one we got to know the least and Lisa was just this cute energy pill that bursted up the screen.

All in all definitely fun to watch and a documentary I recommend to all who do not hate pop.

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Real and nostalgic

There's something so nostalgic about these Taiwanese coming-of-age films, about everyone in a class growing up together — and this movie was no different. Part of me really wanted this to have more runtime, maybe as a drama or mini series. There were just only two characters I really cared about (the two leads) and I couldn't really connect as much with the side characters and the feeling of friendship, although I knew what the movie was going for. Still, I loved the main leads a lot and they had really good chemistry.

At the same time, this had a really "movie" ending — bittersweet and not that satisfying, maybe a little more realistic than I wanted it to be. In the end, this movie just kind of left me with mixed emotions.

Great background songs also.

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The acting is great but the story... so so

I'd really wanted to watch this movie after seeing the promo Kim Go Eun and Jung Hae In did with Begin Again 3. The movie has a very nostalgic touch to it that makes you reminiscent about some time past. I loved music chosen for this movie, they were very fitting to the mood the story was trying to portray. The acting in the show is also very great. I loved seeing the different emotions Kim Go Eun and Jung Hae In portrayed in the show... The part that I'm not quite satisfied with the movie is the story (which is such a big part of a movie). The way the conflict was set up and "resolved" (can't even say it was fully resolved) was so murky. I'm left confused by what exactly caused the climax at the end of the storyline and the "logical" reasoning it came to a resolution. There also doesn't seem to be too much of character development shown in the movie, albeit there's limited time for a story to be told in a movie format, but it just wasn't very smooth in my opinion. Overall, I think it was a solid movie considering the music and acting/cast but the story just didn't do it for me.

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Fun for an evening

I liked it and probably will watch it again a few times with friends or family.

Didn't blow my mind, but I especially cherished how they used the "kids now only think of using their phones" and turned it into something positive for the film.
It's not the kind of movie that portraits extreme violent/action moments, so if that's what you're looking for, better watch another movie.

Story: Was good, can get kind of boring by half the movie, but quickly recovers.
Acting: Probably the best part, they did a good job portraiting each character and their motives to do what they do.
Music: Didn't stick out, just finished it and can barely remember anything from it.
Rewatch Value: Probably for a few more times after never watching it again.
Overall: Give it a try if you like movies that go further than a few explosions and focus more on character development/story.

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A short film that makes good use of its 16 minutes or so

The acting of the actor who plays Fan is rather good. The character's eagerness and longing as he meets his ex, Tien, for a meal is effectively conveyed. He hasn't gotten over Tien and doesn't really understand why they have broken up, but just as he broaches the question to Tien, the waiter serving their food interrupts the conversation. And it is clear that Tien is all too eager to evade the issue and the awkwardness that would ensue. The dialogue is seemingly casual, but it reveals the dynamics of the relationship between the two. Fan is the one who cares and gives: he would order the food Tien likes (even after they have broken up), and we can see that he is the one who thinks about and talks about the past whereas Tien is more concerned about getting his passport, and comments on stuff like the food. The only thing Tien really does for Fan seems to be eating the onions that Fan doesn't like, and even then, he seems to be doing so out of guilt. And eventually, almost immediately after getting his passport, Tien initiates a hug only to tell Fan to take care (which basically ends the meet-up).

It's perhaps not that Tien is meant to be the bad guy in the relationship. His actual emotions are often opaque. He does seem to realise Fan's feelings and he cares for Fan as a friend rather than as a lover. His facial expression during the embrace is not one of callousness. If nothing else, at least he doesn't give Fan false hope? Ultimately, what the film shows is that when it is time to move on from a relationship, it is time to move on. We see how Fan tries to connect his Bluetooth earphones to his phone unsuccessfully (a symbolic unsuccessful pairing). At the end of the short film, we see him deleting the device which fails to pair properly, signifying that he has finally given up on the relationship and is moving on even if it is not without sadness.

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An engaging but sometimes slow watch

I Don't Fire Myself presents exactly the situation the prompt describes. An abused and thoroughly discriminated worker is given an ultimatum that leads to her thrust into an unfamiliar working situation which is as unwelcoming as the first. Slowly, perhaps sometimes unbearably slow she begins to acclimatise as ironically she finds the plight of those there to be similarly downtrodden. The film rethreads the paths many now deep into their drama careers have seen as the labour issue consistently brought up in Korea but its message is far from cliche. Though not entirely free from those, such occurrences do not entirely hamper the film at all instead inspire a sign of disappointment that these things persist.

The acting performances were all fantastic Yoo Da In does a good job in the lead role as does Oh Jung Se in the supporting. Cinematography wise the film is competently shot with some particularly beautiful imagery centring on the paradoxically deadly transmission towers the characters must brave. All in all, it's good for a one time watch though it might be just as easily skipped.

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CUTE MOVIE BUT NO CLOSURE OF THE "PAST"

I actually started watching this movie before the "Love's Coming. " However, when the scene when Gump is thinking about Ball, - the friend who died according to Nai - I decided to watch the Love's Coming before I continue to watch this movie. This made me understand where Gump is coming from. The plot is really cute actually. How the first year of any relationship goes. However, I just don't like the idea that there is no real closure between Ball and Nai. The way the actors executed "their scenes together" were just too genuine. Their kissing scene, should I say, is more passionate (I felt the pain for Gump) than the one between Gump and Nai in the later part. I'm just assuming that the director, perhaps, would like to convey that Nai really "changed" since he's already with Gump (I'm just taking into consideration the lines / dialogues). That Nai loves Gump more than Ball. But my take is that Nai will still choose Ball over Gump in the future. Nai-Ball connection is just too stronger. I don't know, maybe just the manner on how the critical scenes were shot. Or Maybe the Nai-Gump scenes where just too weak. Or it's just me who's not satisfied on how the past issues where handled...

Anyway, it is a cute movie to watch. Just don't dig too deep into the emotional challenges of the story :-)

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Touching, deep, fishy.... and oddly emotional oh and funny too.

I was very skeptical about watching this,but once I started looking in to it I got more and more cureus... When you read about this movie you will probably think it is some odd quirky comedy or at least I thought it would be but besides having a man dressed as a fish (sorry who had turned in to a fish) as a lead it is actually pretty deep, not only the water (but the water is deep too). The social satire is pretty much in your face and they do not sugar coat the issues the least bit. Who owns the truth... and in the struggle between profit and life, profit, they mean ambition will win..

Park Bo Young is great as usual delivering cold an raw lines as if they where just the most natural thing to say... Yet again showing depth and versatility. I would have wanted more of her, but what I got was pretty good. So was mr fish, he managed to deliver and be oddly sweet and touching at the same time. I honestly did feel a whole range of emotions...

All in all definitely worth watching, not only for Park Bo Young

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Dark Film Noir That Breaks Your Heart

Explosively poetic! Reminds you of a Tarantino show. Love the emotions on display and the visuals are just stunning (no not talking about the looks of the main leads. Jeju is perfect for the sombre melancholic mood and very complementary to the story! On that note kudos to the cinematographer as well as the fight/shooting choreographer.

While some scenes may look like a straightforward copy of some of Hollywood's melancholic and film fest worthy shows, this show held their own, just like the leads.

Their quiet and restrained show of emotions was just perfectly nuanced that viewers became so invested and can literally feel the lead's anguish in the last scene. Brilliant job and chemistry.

A must see!

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You know, I can't even be mad at this movie. It was so cringey that it was actually cute. Lol
I'm still kinda laughing though because ... you can absolutely tell what year this movie was made but it also gave me a bit of nostalgia feelings. lol

I'm still a little confused about the back story though because we learn why he didn't like being touched (though we can get the reason why through flashbacks, we just never knew WHO) -- it happened when he was a kid but from how his mother seemed to speak, was that she hasn't even seen him since that happened... so you just dropped your kid at some school and never saw him for 10+ years? Are you serious? And we all know his brother screaming sorry in the woods before he died (yes, we know why but I'm just disgusted) -- so what? The mom drops one kid but keeps the pos? Since she was the one that found him in the woods before he died? Not to mention the other guy who kept sexually assaulting him because he "liked" him... Dude is just disgusting man. Who the hell thinks "I'ma win this person by forcing myself on them" yuck!!!!!!
I don't know... I got like a million thoughts and just want to puke. My emotions are everywhere.
I want it to go back to the cute fluff it was before. Lol

Other than that gross part(s), this movie was actually really good.

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The best Japanese movie I have ever watched

This movie far exceeded my expectations. Usually Japanese dramas and movies have the crappiest acting and romance ones have unrealistic direction, but this was quite different which seperated it from the rest.
Story : You have to close your sense of detective thinking while watching this movie. The story lacked logic in many scenes, but logic isn't the goal of this movie. It is basically story of a shut in man who falls in love with a woman through a peep hole.but one day he witnesses a horrifying incident through the peephole, and what happens after that forms the rest of the story. Don't go in and watch it for a thriller movie. This movie is a pure romance movie, and you might find a few jump scares here and there. There isn't comedy here, but the sweet romance calms up the movie. So , this movie is not a thriller movie, but a romantic one. The story is one of its strongest points and I have watched several thousand movies in fifteen languages, and never have I come across a movie with this kind of story.
Acting: this is another strong point to the movie. All actors in this movie showed flawless acting skills, and this is the first japanese film I enjoyed after watching many crapy ones. None of the actors felt cartoonish, and though I never felt sad feelings, it is not required in this movie as it is a weird movie. The slashing and fighting seemed bad, but since I am not a fan action scenes and skip them usually, I was able to overlook it. The romantic feelings were really good, and the actors didn't speak mind voices which were irritating in other japanese dramas.
Music: I never usually listen to songs in movies, but the sound effects in this movie were good. I didn't notice any faults, but neither was it memorable.
Re-watch value: I never re-watch movies and shows, but this movie is definitely a one time watch for everyone. Because once you know the twists in the story, you would be bored to watch it.
Overall: for viewers like me who hate tragedies, this would be a very good movie. And compared to other japanese content, I liked this very much. Hope japan makes many shows and movies with realistic acting. A spectacular night watch👍👍👍

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A complete waste of time.

Totally no essence in the story. It's like the production team had a big chunk of money but no story to convey, so they decided the filming location to be abroad as the solution to spend at least 80% of the budget, which would show the result of efficiency in budget management. But by utterly having no idea about what story they should weave, they just threw a very unlikely scene of a catastrophic incident into one point in time during the 90-minute timespan WITHOUT. A. CAUSE. It's like they also knew how their story had nothing at all, so that 'one point in time' they put the incident into was the opening scene to arouse people's curiosity. Though with this trick, the circumstances during the 90 minutes that followed were still very boring and not interesting at all cost. From beginning to end, there's absolutely no meaning in any moment - nothing in or behind the catastrophic incident - so as the whole story.

Therefore, let me be rude here -- to hell with the movie title! How is this "A Passage Of My Youth" (--I watched this movie with this as the official movie's title on IQIYI website)?? They didn't have any message to tell the viewers, and they knew it, the hecking incident being used as the bait is the evidence of how obvious this fact also bore in their mind.

Just let me rant a bit more about the acting here -- the acting is so bad. Song Wei Long is so amateur in this film. He looks super young in here, though, so maybe they filmed this when he had less experience before his popularity exploded after all his series that broadcasted in 2020. Jiang Chao's acting is as unimpressive as Song Wei Long's. I don't feel anything along with him. Zhang Zi Feng's is so-so. Her role is super boring and uninteresting. It's a role that has nothing to show, naturally the actor who plays it wouldn't have anything to deliver to the audience.

The cinematography is also very amateur.

I totally don't understand how the producer was willing to invest his money in this self-destroying project.

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P.S.1 Just noticed that this film is adapted from a novel. I don't know if the novel is any good, but this film already destroyed the reputation of the novel.

P.S.2 Just saw the information that this film was shot in 2016 on Baidu. So my speculation about the acting experience of Song Wei Long is right - so is my speculation about the fact that it bears in the producer/production team's minds how bad this film is. It's the fact that made them put this film on the shelf for a total of 5 years. I think this film would be on the shelf forever if not for Song Wei Long's popularity to skyrocket in 2020. Right after that year, they just grasped this last opportunity to make this film any use by finally releasing it.

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Disappointing

I really had hight hopes when I saw the trailer to this movie, and was expecting something really good, but sadly this was such a major disappointment, that I am literally mad about this movie.

Firstly, and the one thing that got me, was how on earth you have a vampire with out FANGS?
Secondly, a vampire without special powers, I mean have you all seen Vampire Diaries? that is what you call a Vampire (Damon)
Thirdly, if this was meant to be a supernatual or a thriller they definately need to go do more research and find out how a vampire supernatural is meant to be!!

The acting was really bad and there was no flow whatsoever to this, for me it did not make any sense, and the movie name is really good, and gives you this major impression of an excellent movie, but sadly for me this was just terrible.

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