Reviews

Bodies in Landscape

A poignant play with bodies, landscape, identity. The actors are really beautiful and the music is quite hypnotizing. They are constructed with bitter irony around themes of immigration and personal alienation. By changing the location of the narrative, the “boys love” neo-noir film becomes an investigation of the current power interactions but also points to complicate the our relationship to ‘the West’. It is an arty poetic work, that reminds me of old films from the 1960s. A story about a man who is returning to his war zone home-town and it turns into a contemplative story about the queer body and what place can our identity take.

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w o w

Such a captivating film, the music, the cinematography, the acting...everything just came together so well and told a story unlike any other. The unique tone of voice Wong Kar-wai embodies never fails to surprise me. I came from watching Fallen Angels and I think that Happy Together has exceeded Fallen Angels.
We witness the relationship of the couple and we see how one of them becomes so dependent on the other, all while doing nothing in return. The relationship takes a toxic turn from the beginning and we see how the characters cope with their feelings.
The introduction of a third character into the film was such a brilliant idea and honestly such a breath of fresh air. I really saw no hope and no future for the two mc if they continued staying together, they clearly needed eachother and emotionally relied on the other, but they also clearly clashed and couldn't find happiness in the long term.
The cast was so amazing. Love love love the acting of Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung. I felt empathetic for Tony's character since he was such a great person and easy to soften inside. However, I loved Chang Chen's character the most. He was such a simple guy with a simple mind and good heart. :') the ending was bittersweet but I can't imagine a better one.

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Realistic but it hurts

Damn this one left a bitter taste in my mouth, Iwould never come back to this one but it is only because I cannot seem to forget it and how everything turned out, I just was not expecting it to be that realistic and so I didn't enjoy it as much. It transitions from their days in high school and their adulthood and the story being told from the ML's perspective. I felt the realness of the story and how everyone grew, their friendships was nice but after a while everything changed when the ML wanted something "more" when dating the FL he can't seem to find that something in her and so he goes else where to look for it, that's when the FL does something stupid to get back at the ML, but call it young love, that's the part of the story that hurt the most to me, I didn't agree with any of their decisions, and in the end it left me wanting more at the end.

I would not re-watch this but I would recommend to anyone interested in first love and how it does not always turn out the way we want.

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I really enjoyed this movie. It's pace made it feel like it was only a few minutes long and left me wanting more.

Loved the chemistry between the leads, nothing felt awkward to me. Though i wish there was a bit more storyline to the ML.

That being said, it did have It's fair share of issues, especially the ending. It left me feeling extremely confused. I really wish it had ended better or explained the reason for that. Lol. I feel like I've been mind fucked.

For a low budget film, I think it was hella good though. Just needs some kinks worked out.

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1ST HALF STELLAR ! 2ND HALF HOT MESS

Giving it a 7 because the first half of this morning was just stunning.... the minute the ages up the main character the story went downhill... the age gap between him and the girl was cringey to watch and I hated that he was reincarnated as a girl .... I think it's a bit ridiculous... I don't think the time jump was needed.. the story could have ended beautifully with his death and the reactions to it and I WOULD have easily given this show a 10.. ohm pawat is slowly becoming one of my favorite BL actors.. he adapts to his role so well in everything I'VE SEEN HIM Play.

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Giving me butterflies but it goes towards the same Kdrama plot

First, credit should be given to Jung Hae In and Kim Go Eun. They are top-tier actor/actress for a reason. Their acting in this drama I could say convincing and I ship both of them in the movie so much.

The scenes where both of them act as lover, give my butterflies and for this I give the rewatch value a 10/10. Its one of the movie that dont really has heavy storyline and you will comeback to watch it time 'santai-santai', thats how I would say it in my language.

My only complaint for is how the plot is the typical Kdrama plot. They got all sweet and giddy, just to break up near the end. Like, can they make a c onflict between them that they dont need to break up? But anyway, its a happy ending for me. so thats why the high rating.

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“Are kids born from parents who don’t love each other undeserving of love…?”

is a movie that really hits you in the feels. Prior to watching the film, I thought the movie would be a semi-thriller drama that offers some thought-provoking ideas. I mean, after all it is based on true events. Yes, the movie had these elements; but it also offered so much more.

☆The Good☆
Right off the bat, the acting by the two child actors was amazing. It was almost unbelievable how great they were. Their ability to emotional connect with the audience, making the viewers laugh and cry, was skilled not only for child actors, but was on the level of some elite actors. Also, Lee Dong-Hwi was amazing as always. The potential he has as an actor is truly incredible, with his own, original style that I don’t think anyone else can copy. The type of humor that he emanates is something only he possesses with his expressions and mannerism. I loved him in the the 2016 K-drama , loved him in this, and appreciate all of this other works as well.

Furthermore, another great aspect of the film was its ability to ride the fine line between drama, thriller, and comedy. The occasional humor scattered throughout the duration kept it from being too dark, and the balance it had between the different elements gave it a great mood and good shifts in tone when it transitioned from one to another. It had a similar vibe to that of ; it was less gruesome in its depictions, but the messages it conveyed were very significant. It definitely had more humor than , which I believe is what kept it from being an extremely dark film..

As briefly mentioned above, the movie conveys some crucial messages, more specifically societal messages on child abuse and the broken law system that’s currently implemented. It showed what the law can’t protect, how it needs to improve, and how easily it can be manipulated. One of the key messages I took away from the movie was the significance of adults and the role that adults need to play in children’s lives.

And the last piece of comment I would like to make in this portion of the review is that the cinematography was extraordinary. The movie was beautifully shot.

☆The Bad☆

The biggest negative of was its slow progression. It took an hour for the real plot to begin. I’m not necessarily saying that the story wasn’t good, but it did take a little too long in its early development. In addition to its slow progression, the film’s progression was also rather predictable. If you’ve seen the trailer, you basically know the overall story, and it doesn’t really move out of your thought bubble.

As I said in my review of  and , these types of movies aren’t for everyone. The film goes over some serious issues and pressing matters, which inevitably leads the movie to be relatively dark. I understand and acknowledge that this won’t suit everyone’s preferences, and so if you are not interested in/prefer darker movies, I wouldn’t recommend this film.

☆Verdict☆

It’s very heartbreaking to think that the story of was based on a true story, and that this is the reality we live in. The movie does a great time showing how really messed up the system is.. It truly shows the dark side of humans and how ugly we can be.

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Exciting finale to the trilogy, Still the best fight scenes

So this series has the best fight scenes I'd ever seen and this is no different; the choreography, sound effects, cinematography for them are all just amazing and it is definitely something I'd rewatch over and over again. It gets me hyped every time.

In terms of plot, this one had the most solid one in my opinion — it had established characters and there was a nice balance between personal growth and battle scenes. I loved seeing more of our main character's past and how he was with his mentor, leading to how he applied lessons to fighting with antagonists. Amazing development there.

The side characters were still consistent and fun, and I do think everyone got some scenes, but part of me did miss having the gang travel, work, live, and just chill together. I loved the scenes they did interact with each other and craved more of them.

All in all, I haven't read the manga so I don't know how great this series is as an adaptation (it sounds good from what I've heard) but as a movie and movie series, it's great and I'd consider it a classic.

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A film that will forever have an effect on me

I didn't really pay much attention to the plot summary which is a blessing in disguise because I think it increased the quality of my watch, hence why I won't reveal any spoiler in this review. My advice is, if the trailer captured your interest, then it is most probably worth the try.

I think it would be useful for some if I state some trigger warnings if you're planning to watch this movie. It has bullying, violence, and blood. This film is very emotionally charging so I hope you are prepared for that.

Bullying is a theme that is nothing new when it comes to all sorts of media, but I think what makes this shine above the others is the writing, the cinematography, and specially the acting.

First of all, I'm not really a film person, it is rare for me to be really affected on a movie I watched, because I feel like I need more time to care about the characters enough that I feel involved and engaged to whatever is happening in the story... but I must say, that this is one of the rare ones. It's been 9 months since I watched this movie and I still cannot get over how incredible it is. I admit, I initially wanted to watch this because I have a knack for emotionally damaged/troubled people leaning on each other for support and this one satisfed that, though the hint of romance made me want for more.

Here we have two leads who are both strong in their own ways. I appreciate the way the writing did not shy away to depict the harsh reality of Chen Nian (FL) and Bei Shan (ML). It is amazing truly, how the actors, Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yi portrayed their characters so well that I feel tremendous hurt as I watch them go through those tough things, and my heart weeps in joy when they get their rare moment of peace, comfort, and happiness. I really thought I was prepared for the heaviness but halfway through the film of me sobbing, I realized just how emotionally charging this is.
I personally don't like rewatching stuff but I would really love to watch this again, sometime, when I have seem to forgot how moved I was when I first watched this. So I could see the little things I didn't notice before, and still appreciate what makes this movie great.

I want to end this review with a quote written by the female lead, Chen Nian in the movie, because I think it is a good presentation of the premise and the message resembles that of what I think the movie is trying to convey:
"We are in the gutter
but some of us are looking at the sears."

(If you want to see more of what I have to say about this film, most of which includes spoilers, here is a thread I made on twitter: https://twitter.com/aeipathyforher/status/1357701103903592451?t=Q8obK7rddaA5hfUzTfoDgg&s=19)

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The best werewolf game installment

The werewolf game is a series of survival movies involving highschool students tasked to kill it each other. It's like battle royale but remade seven more times which is a lot, I know, but The Beast Side is a good start, sometimes the only part worthy of watching.

Tsuchiya Tao is, as expected, excellent in dark roles. She was cunning and manipulative, a character that everyone would truly hate. I would love to see her in more similar roles like this.

Other than the main character, the rest of the cast performed well too, showing the carelessness of teens, the desperation of those who wants to live, the pain of betrayal.

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a story about a son and a father who make a promise to each other.

my heart felt very happy watching this i must say.

firstly, this was wonderfully directed. the cinematography was just amazing. all the shots were so pretty. a visual masterpiece imo.

so then what about the story itself? well, in a way it wasn't anything but in a way it was everything. it shows the relationship between a divorced father and his teenage son. it captures the flaws of both of them and the simple life they live. in a way it gave us nothing and everything. there is nothing out of the ordinary, no massive fights, no major drama. it is simply a story about daily bentos made by a father for his son. nothing more, nothing less. and with that, it gave me everything. i loved how simple it was. normally i would find something like this boring but it wasn't. i don't know what about this was so enchanting. it put a spell on me i swear.

acting wise, i must say inohara yoshihiko's performance was perfection. it was delightful. i loved watching him as kazuki. michieda shunsuke...he was the reason i watched this honestly lol. i want to say he was stiff but i think that was just the character. kouki seemed like a very aloof character but when kouki was a bit more expressive micchi did really well. im use to seeing him loud and expressive from kieta hatsukoi so it was a bit of an adjustment lol. everyone played their parts well. i enjoyed the emotions micchi conveyed. i understood him very well.

music. god where do i start? at first, i was like oh, not really my taste but then i really got into it. i want to add every song onto my playlist lmao. the rapper dude? hello? who is he? he was so good? oh in the end when micchi and inohara sang together my heart melted. their voices went really well together. i liked all the songs.

i mean i would rewatch it when it's rainy and i miss my dad (hes not dead hes just a very distant person not like physically we live together lmao but like emotionally yk?)

anyways 9/10. i enjoyed it and i would recommend. it felt like a happy, relaxing buzz.

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This movie really embodies the saying "Divided we fall." If they had only listened to Cobra from the beginning, when he tried to tell them that they needed to work together against an outside threat. But no, they knew better. Well, all of them but Murayama, of course, who is so smitten with Cobra that he would agree to anything he said, so.

What really hurt was when a part of the Hoodlum Squad - his own people for whom he fought and bled in the past! - turned against Cobra, too. Not that I didn't get Tetsu's desire to help his father but he, his father, the others they were making a deal with the devil and after everything they'd been through in the past, I didn't understand how and why they even trusted Kuryu. Kuryu's henchmen literally murdered people to get what they wanted, how could've Tetsu believed that his dad would win anything in this equation?

(And considering what happens to Cobra in the next movie, it hurt even more because if only his people trusted him...)

But really, Cobra has guts! Like, holy smokes! But he's also wise and not easily provoked. I loved how he kept coming to Rocky, again and again, to change his mind. And when Rocky insisted on this doomed exercise of his, Cobra still told him that, alright, but if Rocky needed help to just let him know. And then he came to Rocky's help, after all, even unasked. I love that Cobra doesn't let his ego get in the way, that's a really fantastic thing in today's entertainment industry's obsession with overblown macho-ism.

Also, Murayama! He is really head over heels for Cobra, isn't he? Like, he doesn't even try to hide it. When he went to Hyuga and fought him to make him join Cobra's plan! Cobra didn't even ask him to do it, he did it on his own initiative, for Cobra. If there's any romance at all in this franchise, it's definitely Murayama's one-sided smittenness with Cobra.

Another thing I loved? That more Exile members - and 3JSB members in particular! - joined the cast! It's so much fun watching them all punch each other's daylights out! Ha!

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