Reviews

A Lovely Experimental Cinematic Attempt

In my opinion, this movie draws heavily on Wong Kar Wai's classic film "Chungking Express," particularly the love story between the two characters played by Leung Chiu Wei and Faye Wong.
For me, this one is a kind of conceptual homage and a loose reinterpretation of what the story of Faye and Cop663 (from Chungking Express) could have been.

Zhu Yi Long's performance was interesting. It was indeed good and clearly reflected his own style, without trying to "imitate" Leung Chiu Wai.
However, I found it lacking in realism. His character was supposed to be "numb," but I found him more airhead like ... He clearly carried the movie on his shoulders, the intensity of his presence was lovely to watch.
Faye Wong's energy and her portrayal of her character were too iconic to be simply imitated.
Qiu Tian lacked originality, I felt she was simply trying to copy Faye Wong's free spirit, but in a rather superficial way. Her acting wasn't mediocre, just disappointing..

The direction was very creative, a little too far-fetched in a non-artistic sense, rather in a nerdy intellectual science fiction driven way, which means that the seriousness of the film from a purely artistic point of view dissipates very quickly, giving way to a more amateurish tone and visual...

The story was interesting, quite inspiring actually. I really liked the themes of it : alienation, mental illness, traumas, escapism, critic of ultra capitalism, connection, freedom, identity etc.

"Neither of us liked the scripts we were given.
But we just escaped them in different ways.
I chose to be numb. She chose to pretend."
Some of the dialogue was really deep, it's a shame that this depth wasn't always well executed, especially in the choice of scenes presented.

The chemistry was charming, lacking depth and intensity, but still very enjoyable.

Overall, the film's style seemed too "experimental" while tackling very serious themes, which isn't bad in itself, but not my taste. The film could have demonstrated more subtlety, nuance, authenticity, and depth in an artistic way.


I had a good time watching it, overall, for me, "Land Of Broken Lands" was more of a lovely experimental cinematic attempt (Indie vibes) with potential than a real serious film that added real impact and value.

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Be careful not to spoil yourself, just watch - lovely coming of age

Be careful about reading too much on the MDL page and go in knowing as little as you can. Do NOT look at the tags and be careful with the reviews and comments. I'll try to be vague enough here.

The story at the heart of this is worth overlooking the disjointed writing and editing around it. My ratings are all for that, it's what I'll remember. Scenery is gorgeous (Turtle Island, off the shore of Surat Thani), the leads work well together, the central story is simple but heartfelt.

And yes, a few moments are missing/need to be filled in, while other bits are out of place with the rest. But that central story of the two young ones is lovely enough I don't care. If it were possible to give pixels a hug, I'd give this novice film one.

If you can find it (try GagaOOLala), just give it a go and watch it with your heart.

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English and Portuguese Review

𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥
"Love Untangled" is a light and charming movie, great to watch. The characters are charismatic, especially the protagonist, who easily captures the audience’s attention.

The story follows the young girl as she deals with her feelings for a boy who appears very little on screen, until a new character enters her life after she saves him from drowning. From that moment on, a friendship begins to grow naturally and becomes central to the narrative.

One of the strongest points of the film is the way it portrays the protagonist’s insecurities about her curly hair. The pressure to change her appearance in an attempt to feel accepted and loved is shown in a sensitive way. As the story unfolds, she discovers that she didn’t need to change anything about herself — that her beauty was already there, and there were people who valued her exactly as she is.

What I felt was missing was a deeper exploration of the perspective of the first boy she liked. At times it seemed like he also had feelings for her, even with her curls, which could have taken the story in a different direction. Still, the relationship she builds with her friend is more solid, based on presence, support, and safety, which makes her final choice understandable and, in a way, the most ideal one.

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𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞
"Love Untangled" é um filme leve e encantador, ótimo para se assistir. Os personagens são carismáticos, em especial a protagonista, que conquista facilmente a atenção do público.

A trama acompanha a jovem enquanto lida com seus sentimentos por um garoto que aparece pouco em cena, até que um novo personagem surge em sua vida após ela salvá-lo de um afogamento. A partir daí, nasce uma amizade que cresce com naturalidade e vai se tornando central na narrativa.

Um dos pontos mais fortes do filme é a forma como ele aborda a insegurança da protagonista com seu cabelo cacheado. A pressão para mudar sua aparência, na tentativa de se sentir aceita e amada, é retratada de forma sensível. Com o desenrolar da história, ela descobre que não precisava alterar nada em si mesma, que sua beleza já estava ali, e que havia quem a valorizasse exatamente como ela é.

O que senti falta foi de uma maior exploração da perspectiva do primeiro garoto de quem ela gostava. Em alguns momentos parecia que ele também nutria sentimentos por ela, mesmo com seus cachos, o que poderia ter dado outro rumo à trama. Ainda assim, a relação construída com seu amigo é mais sólida, baseada em presença, apoio e segurança, o que torna sua escolha final compreensível e, de certa forma, a mais ideal.

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English and Portuguese Review

𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭
Before watching, it’s important to know that this film carries a touching and melancholic story.

As the title suggests, “Don’t Forget Me” follows the life of a young woman who, for reasons never explained, ends up being forgotten by everyone around her. The plot revolves around her relationship with the protagonist, who gradually gets closer to her and develops a special bond.

The performances are very good and convey the emotion the story asks for in a sincere way. Despite the delicate theme, the film isn’t heavy; on the contrary, it has a calm and engaging pace, slowly revealing the connection between the characters.

Another interesting point is that, for those studying Japanese, this film can be a great opportunity for practice, since the dialogues are simple and accessible.

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𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞
Antes de assistir, é importante saber que este filme traz uma história comovente e melancólica.

O único ponto negativo é a dificuldade de encontrá-lo, já que só consegui assistir pelo YouTube.

Como o título sugere, "Não me esqueça" acompanha a vida de uma jovem que, por razões nunca explicadas, acaba sendo esquecida por todos ao seu redor. O enredo gira em torno da relação entre ela e o protagonista, que passa a se aproximar dela e desenvolver um laço especial.

As atuações são muito boas e transmitem de forma sincera a emoção que a história pede. Apesar do tema delicado, o filme não é pesado, pelo contrário, tem um ritmo calmo e envolvente, mostrando pouco a pouco a conexão entre os personagens.

Outro ponto interessante é que, para quem estuda japonês, a obra pode ser uma ótima oportunidade de prática, já que os diálogos são simples e acessíveis.

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"I love you, but I am not yours."

"I love you, but I am not yours. I don't want to confine you or be confined."

A story about love, and trust, and honesty. With beautiful colours, urban city scapes and quiet times filled with the actors' excellent non-verbal performance, the movie shows us how we cohabit space and share experiences.

"Can love be split up?"
"It's not that one is cut in half. It doubles."

The two main characters are in their thirties, experiencing love's ups and downs, and their differences and similarities shift as they grow as characters and people.

"Why did you marry her?" "Why couldn't you break up with her?"

The red string that connects every image in this movie and its characters to the viewers is love. I love it, too.

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Para-special Relationship

If you're a fan of any male idol group, then tap into your delulu selves to get the full experience from this movie!!

First off, this was heavy on the fanservice, especially with the idealized portrayal of our beloved idol boys. The only thing lacking is giving more emphasis on each of the members's characters. In the movie, we only got to know about Kota and Kanato's personalities. If they were trying to sell this "idol all-star" boy group, then they should have given some spotlight to the other members as well. But I have to say, the You Are Special song was good. It flowed along with the movie.

About the movie itself, I thought the first half was fast-paced. Around 20min in and our main girl, who swore was never going to fall in love again, already admitted to herself that she's gone in too deep and has already drafted her 10-year roadmap to getting together with our main idol boy.

Also, it has a lot of the classic shoujo mune kyun moments, which could never be taken away given that this was made for the fangirls. This might not be for those who've grown out of their cheesy corny romance era. But if you still do enjoy these type of moments in shoujo movies, then you'll be glad.

I do like the last quarter of the movie though, especially with the mild angst that I kinda wished it didn't have a happy ending. Instead, I would've preferred it if Sahoko and Kota went on to live their separate lives while cheering for each other from a distance. Or maybe even have them reunite in the sequel series instead.

Speaking of the sequel series that is currently airing, I hope they focus more on some of the stuff lacking from the movie like: the other members, Emika & Kanato's relationship, and that thing about their rival band.

Overall a fun movie. May not the most extraordinary one out there but I would still recommend this to those who are interested in watching it. And I'm looking forward to the sequel series.

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Most Realest GL Movie I've Ever Watched.

I usually don't write reviews on movies, mainly short films.

I liked this I think its very underrated, why do I think this? Well... I feel like this is the most realistic gl movie I have watched. As a person who has gotten bullied for being a lesbian it is hard and it sucks... the feeling absolutely suck because all you're trying to do is love. I think this is as real as it could be. My heart broke at seeing Cin and May getting bullied and I would love to say I was more like May but no, I wasn't, I was more like Cin and just keeping a low profile and not saying anything does not work and it definitely gave me trauma, but yes, this short film was one of the greatest short films I have ever watched and maybe it's because I relate to it. I also loved the characters, May trying to protect Cin is literally so wholesome and sad at the same exact time. 9/10 says a lot for me, I usually don't rate stuff this high.

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Reminded me when I still believe in dreams

Once you are #Forever28 everything changes. You learn contentment. You discover that happiness lies with simply being alive. You stop believing in dreams. You just live and enjoy whatever comes to you.

But when you're a teenager, the world is a mystery. You have very colourful and grand dreams. You have the drive to achieve those dreams. To fight for it no matter what.

That was what IRe's character represented. A teenager whose dreams were almost destroyed after the universe threw forced her to become an adult early. She learned to be happy with what life throws at her. She learned that being alive is itself more than enough.

But her close encounter with her mentor put a stop to it. She encouraged her to fulfill her dreams. To fight for it. And her mentor was right. Once you embrace adulthood, things will change. Dreams will no longer matter.

If it doesn't work, the important thing is you tried instead of giving up because life wants you to become an adult already. No regrets.

IRe's character is that person. No regrets. She almost embraced adulthood but she was protected by an adult who cares.

I hope, like me, you saw these things as well, dear reader. If you're #Forever28 too, it also reminds us that we should help protect teenagers from facing adulthood earlier than they should.

We all know how once we're adults, we will no longer be able to come back to the days when we were teenagers filled with dreams.

Dreams. They are precious. It defines the rest of our mortal life. Protect it.

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"We're all alone in life"

Plan 75 took a calculated approach to culling the herd so to speak. As Japan faced a shrinking younger population and growing older population, Plan 75 was implemented. Anyone 75 or older could chose to be euthanized and receive $1000 and funeral expenses. But is it really voluntary if the poor elderly are financially ostracized leaving them with few choices?

Michi is 78-years-old and working as a cleaning maid with other elderly women. She has no family and her apartment is scheduled to be demolished. When she loses her job, she is left with few options. No one will hire her, no one will rent an apartment to her without a substantial deposit, and the welfare office is “closed.” Michi meets with Plan 75 agent Hiromu and signs up. Hiromu’s estranged uncle also signs up causing him to look into the program more closely.

My first thought was that this felt like a re-working of Kinoshita’s The Ballad of Narayama (1958). In TBoN when a person reached 70 in an impoverished village a family member carried them up the mountain where they were left to die of starvation and exposure. The opening sequence of Plan 75 featured a mass killing of people in an assisted living facility reminiscent of a real-life mass murder in Japan in 2016. The film killing and other hate crimes against older folks spurred the creation of Plan 75.

The first thing that hits you is that all of these people were near the poverty line if not below it. They either had no family or their families had largely abandoned them. None of the people who agreed to be euthanized as good citizens were wealthy. Shocking, I know. It’s briefly implied that businesses were profiting off the human loss of life driving the application age downward. However, there was no real discussion of the glaring pitfalls of such a program and the de-humanization of the elderly. Who has the right to decide if a life is of value and when that life should end? Were the wealthy and powerful held to such a standard? Who will be called on next to make sacrifices? Homeless people or the poor? The handicapped, the sick, the infertile? The LGBTQ+ community? People who aren’t living up to society’s expectations? And when does it stop being encouraged and start being enforced? The lack of a deep dive into the potential for corruption was disappointing.

Plan 75 showed the sad truth that many elderly live alone and on limited funds. When they die, they often die alone. In this film, Hiromu discovered that his uncle had helped build Japan’s transportation infrastructure. Michi had worked her whole life---Basho Chieko gave a quietly inspired performance in this role. Now they were considered a drain on society. Instead of cherishing them, providing for them, and recognizing the value of their lives and contributions they had become disposable. When one group of people is dehumanized, it’s not long before another one will be. Only the poor and powerless were called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. Characters came to realize that life is precious and death should be handled with dignity. Not everyone is ready to leave this mortal coil at 75, there might be one more glorious sunset to bathe in.

“In the shade of the old apple tree,
Tomorrow let’s meet once again
When the red setting sun sinks in the west.”

18 September 2025

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The Sweetest High School Romance I Didn’t Know I Needed

Love Untangled Had Me Crying, Smiling, and Falling in Love Too. Like this movie is the best, I just love it. Recently, I watched 20th Century Girl and the ending had me crying, but then this movie showed up. I hesitated a bit but later when I cheked the reviews I decided to try. And when I watched it I was litrelly shedding tears of happiness. It's such a sweet romance, not much drama, just high school love, just what I needed.
And don't get me started about the cast, the female lead is super cute and gullible, I like how she confessed everything infront of Hyun(the second lead and the popular guy of the school) and chose Yoon-seok over him. Now about the male lead, he is soo cute and shyy!! Like they both have very different personalities, but they still end up together (Though I really loved when he got jealous of Hyun). Last but not the least, Se-ri's friends, like they are so supportive for her, not like those jealous bishes, it's actual friendship. I mean they helped Se-ri so much with both the ML and 2nd ML. And when those proposals didn't work, they even comforted her. I just love'em all!
The story is top-notch, like it's such a sweet story about two youngsters who fell in love, it is a little similar to 20th Century Girl (not the storyline but the vibe), but a sweeter version of it. Not to forget, THE MUSIC, wahhhhhh!! It was so good like they were so indie and so me, whoever the singer and songwriters were, I Respect You!

I must recommend this movie to all those who want a sweet high school romance and not much drama. I mean we've seriously got everything in here! we've got good music, excellent acting, perfect storyline and a happy ending in just a 2-hour movie! If I were to describe this whole movie in one word then it would be - SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!!

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Direct storyline, easy to follow.

As an enjoyable movie to relax with, this is spot on. The story is straight forward and familiar. The pace kept me fully engaged. I also found the heroes' development seamless. I had vested interest in the heroes and the support cast. A complex cast of heroes out to fight the ultimate evil. But, contrary to many such movies, no one theme dominates how the movie presents. Drama is developed, applied when it is value added; not a distraction. Humor is smart and perfectly placed to keep your spirits up. Martial arts is a very important aspect for the development of the heroes. It gives the origin and cause of the journey of our heroes. The fight scenes sell the importance of success and perils of failure. Chorography throughout the movie, fights and other stunts (part of the humor), is masterful. This is a friendly movie. No gore. Innocuous fight scenes with an occasional blood sighting from the corner of the mouth. (And the typical spit blood after getting creamed in the stomach with a kick or unseen forces.) A few cut scenes are all value added, giving balance to the heroes' main story line. I think the cast is marvelous. The writing, directing, and production all come together to hit a home run. I recommend this movie for that heartfelt storyline, yet auspicious settings. I would also add, the soundtrack is perfectly married to motivation of the scene. (Humor, drama, fights, and calm nurturing scenes).

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It was fun , emotional and I enjoyed it

OH MY SHAYLA !!! MOON YANG 🥀 ( movie leans more towards friendship than romance.)

Pretty Crazy is fun, lighthearted

-The focus wasn’t heavy on romance; it was more about the fun moments and the unique emotional connection with the demon side of Seon Ji.
-I felt he has a crush on seon ji but I don't think they really had many conversation that would lead to deep feelings,, It was more of an admiration towards each other
-If you’re expecting a deep romance, you won’t really find it here .. the story leans more on chaos and comedy.( emotional depth is also there )
- I did feel bad for the demon inside her,, she was so innocent ..
-Nevertheless That said, it isn’t flawless... Also, while I really enjoyed the first watch, I don’t think the rewatch value is very high once you know the secret and the ending, the charm doesn’t hit as hard ( but ofc people can have diff likings )

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A clear message?

I am struggling to see the point of this extremely short film. It portrays the struggle with reconciling your sexuality with your religion. While we are not unfamiliar with this topic, we rarely see this is an islamic context. Not that there's any difference, intolerance looks the same in any religion. The ML is apparently the son of the imam and needs but one sentence from his father to break things off with the boy he likes. They have just started to be more than just friends and are both really sad about this. There's no real struggle, no arguments, no discussion. Just compliance, I am left wondering what exactly is the message here? Be compliant to your God/religion? It's hard being a gay muslim? Listen to your parents? I have no idea what the point is. Acting is ok, especially since these are very young actors. Music is just muslim chants. Story is hardly there.

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This was WILD

I got a rec from Gaga to watch this and I had no ideas what I was walking into. The date says 2008 but I’m unsure and it could actually be more late 90s pushing 2000. The cinematography reminds me of an old VHS recording of home movies or even of safety videos from work back in the 90s.
Overall this is essentially porn with a story. it’s blurred (very Japan) but you’re getting dick, balls, and ass. There are several sex scenes that the “plot” revolves around, but it kinda just starts like cheesy porn would.
Really enjoyed seeing a flashback of a 40-50 year old man playing himself as 15.
Also they kissed like porn, the tongues were OUT.
Have a go yall. it’s wild but I mean hey it’s art.

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