Reviews

Almost normal movie 《●_●》

A brand new horror film is coming to Shudder and boy, do I have some thoughts on this one. The Medium has already won an award at the Bucheon International Film Festival 2021 for Best Feature Film. If you are wondering whether or not to give this movie a watch, stay tuned to this review for my thoughts.

《About The Medium 》¤

The Medium made its debut in South Korea in Summer 2021. It currently stands as the sixth highest-grossing Korean film of the year. The story comes from award-winning South Korean writer and director Na Hong-Jin. This is Hong-Jin’s first film produced under his new banner, Northern Cross. The film is directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, the Thai director who gave the horror world Shutter.

《My Thoughts》¤

Before I dive in here, I want to preface my review by saying that I love watching horror movies from around the world. I love seeing different interpretations of typical horror tropes and all of the subgenres. Because of this, I was super excited to watch The Medium. Unfortunately, this movie did not meet my expectations.

My biggest issue is that The Medium is too long for the story. In my opinion, the entire first half of the film could have been reduced to approximately 10, maybe 15 minutes. There were so many scenes that I felt were unnecessary and did not serve the plot in any way. To be honest, I was so bored throughout the first half of the film. I could have fallen asleep. Don’t get me wrong, many of the scenes were shot well. I just did not see a point behind them.

Once the film got into the second half, things started to pick up a bit. More action occurred and the story finally began to develop. The more I got to see what was happening to Mink, the more I liked what I was watching. The shining star in this otherwise bland movie is Narilya Gulmongkolpech’s performance. She does a spectacular job portraying a possessed person. 

I actually enjoyed the final 30 or 45 minutes of The Medium. The kills are intense but believable and the story flows at a good pace. As for the ending, I was not disappointed by the way the story concluded. It seemed like an appropriate ending to me, although some people may disagree.

Unfortunately, The Medium‘s final moments were not enough for me to like the film as a whole. The movie is over two hours long, and I enjoyed maybe 45 minutes.

《More Thoughts》¤

If you like your horror movies to have gore, this is not the film for you. When you reach that final stretch, there are a few good scenes with a bit of blood and guts. However, you have to wait through the entire rest of the movie. Even then, if gore is your thing, it is not worth the wait. I do not watch horror movies for the gore, but if there are going to be kill scenes, I like them to at least be hard-hitting. Also, I hate having to wait so long to get to the action, the meat of the story.

I get that there has to be some story building, but there is such a thing as too much “before.” I want action in a horror movie; I want the fear to build. The Medium did not give me that. I guess you could call this movie a “slow burn,” but I feel like it goes beyond even that.

Also, I want to mention a few trigger warnings…
There is mention of suicide attempts. The scene does not show the actual attempt and it is quite short, but if that is a big trigger, be aware. Also, some people may have an issue watching scenes involving blood from menstruation. There are several in The Medium. While I feel this is no different than any other blood shown, someone may feel differently.

My final note is that the whole film is set around a documentary team filming all of the happenings, but around the middle, I feel like that detail was almost forgotten. The team seems to fade to the background and not even be present at times. Later, they appear again and are once again part of the story. For that one period, though, they just disappear.

《The Medium – Conclusion》¤

Will I watch The Medium again? No. Do I regret watching it? Also no. It was not to my taste, but that will not be the case for everyone. If you love horror movies about possession, watch it. If you enjoy a prolonged burn story, watch it. Also, if you are a horror lover and have a couple of hours to kill, watch it. My final verdict? I did not enjoy The Medium and will not be adding it to any must-watch lists. 

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A pool of emotions one can dive into

I watched this on a whim. I didn't plan on it at all and despite the 32747 other shows on my plan-to-watch list, the synopsis of this caught my eye so much that it skipped the list.

To begin with, I was shooketh just 20 minutes into the movie because I totally did not expect it to be as explicit as it turned out to be. And to make that explicitness into something so artistic and pleasing with emotions so raw is not an easy feat that this movie could accomplish. Enough that I could not bear to skip the stuff I usually do.

The movie did end up leaving me frustrated, but for me, it is worth the turmoil it put me through for two hours. One should be in the right frame of mind to watch this, and I totally was. It is filled with angst, raw passion, and fear of loss, and it was such a beautiful depiction of the above-mentioned emotions. The political intrigue was just enough to support the main plot while not being too confusing. In my opinion, this movie was a perfect balance between romance, angst, pain, politics, and betrayal.

Definitely worth giving a try. (Make sure you are comfortable with bloodshed and nudity before you decide to give this a shot)

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A good time killer

This movie has been on my watchlist for a few weeks and I finally has the time to watch it last night . I really love the storyline its look lame yet it warms you . Im a big fans of comedy and family theme movie . The theme of finding his dad is so cute . During the first half I was a bit confused with the plot but as they found the owner of the pager (a communication device used on 90s) things start getting interesting and I really love it . Plus this movie got a major plot twist but y'all have to watch it for yourself . It's worth it if you are a fans of a light cute family movie .

P.S is it just me or wei chen/vision wei kinda look like shinee minho 😭🖐🏻

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Somehow with Kusunagi's superb acting, the casts still florishes

Truly Kusanagi's acting is stellar in Typhoon Family/ Stormy Family. He fleshes out those moments of resentment and grudge while balancing it out with the deep-rooted care and concern his character would have as a son and a father. I would really rewatch this solely for his acting. I'd like to add Kotetsu's daughter, Yuzuki, has a brilliant casting. Both had strong striking faces, definitive of Kusanagi.

The cast really gelled well together in this tumultuous yet heart-warming movie. For a non-action/non-fantasy movie, it does a great job of keeping you interested with exposition and revelations as this dysfunctional, "disgusting" family reconcile with their father's passing. There were ample moments for you to even get to know the supporting cast and their role in this messy inheritance settling.

Like how "Kotetsu" is the main character's burdensome bohemian name, this movie is good use of your leisure time. It's certainly unique, exciting and bohemian enough to remind you that no matter how idiosyncratic family can be, all that is well will be well.

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Could be better ...

I watched this movie first for Park Hae Jin, then because the story looked nice.

Indeed, the subject is not well known, and like all subjects dealing with disease, we can only be touched.

Park Hae Jin is as I like it, just as I want.

On the other hand, I confess that I did not understand such a sad ending, and for me without reason. Of course, in life, not everything is a "happy ending". But here, why did this movie end like this?

Sincerely it was a disappointment, and tarnished the whole movie. If it was to end on a strong emotional note, why not, but personally, I found it all terribly unfair.

To be discovered in spite of everything, but without necessarily expecting much.

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Hero on the Half Shell!

Gamera was given a much needed make-over in the 1990's. This Gamera was not only deadly but also a guardian created by an ancient race. Good thing, because just as Gamera was awakened so were a flock, gaggle, murder, probably the latter, of people eating bat-birds, the Gyaos. In their original 1960's confrontation, Gyaos was referred to as a bat, here she was referred to as a bird.

When the humans decided to lure the ravenous bat-birds to the new baseball stadium so that they could trap and weaponize, I mean study them, Gamera wasn't having it and came to eradicate Tokyo of the dangerous creatures. Like the original Gyaos, this bat-bird could emit green sonic rays that could cut through almost anything.

Gamera could hold his tusked head high in comparison to 1990's Godzilla. This time around there was no annoying child which helped my viewing experience enormously. There were the requisite scientists, condemnations of pollution and nuclear waste, inept leaders and military, and the special child who communicated telepathically with Gamera. The thing Gamera gets right is that the monsters were never far from the screen. The battles were big as were the stakes. The shadow of Jurassic Park could be seen occasionally but that's a small quibble. The rubber suits and primitive CGI are not drawbacks in these Kaiju movies, but part of their charm. The miniatures were quite good as well.

This was a popcorn movie simply designed to entertain. Though darker than most previous Gamera movies, it was still a giant turtle who could fly by burning off his own methane excretions. And that's something you don't see every day. If you are a fan of Kaiju movies, this might be one to try. And if you are a Gamera fan, this one should certainly be on your list to watch. It was worth seeing Gamera given the respect and story he deserved.

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This movie! Magical realism at its best! And honestly, one of the most amazing roles I've seen Iwata Takanori in so far!

Juliette Binoche plays Jeanne who returns to Japan after some twenty odd years to look for a herb called Vision that appears only every 997 years. It's a miracle herb that should be able to erase all the pain in the world. She meets a forester and his old blind female friend who claims to be 1000 years old. The old woman recognizes Jeanne and Jeanne recognizes her. And then the woman disappears, we last see her dancing in the forest and the trees and the wind responding to her. And Jeanne returns home, promising to come back in the fall to see Vision come alive...

When she leaves, the forester, Satoshi, who now lives all alone just with his dog, finds a hurt young man in the forest, Iwata Takanori's Rin. He takes Rin home and Rin stays with him and he starts taking care of the forest with Satoshi. Satoshi really takes to him, treating him almost like a son. And then Jeanne returns and she immediately senses that there's something odd about Rin who almost doesn't speak, though he's very smart - odd like the fact that he can sense approaching death and things like that...

And now to the awesome twist!

It turns out that Rin is Jeanne's son, she had him with a Japanese man who got accidentally killed during a hunt. When Rin was born, Jeanne left him with the old blind woman who then took him to his grandparents who brought him up. But that's not all. Because Rin was born in the forest, it reacts to him just like to the blind woman before him and, guided by his father's spirit, he sets the forest afire with his dance to make Vision come alive again...

Wow, it was so... I mean... that was so cool! You can speculate if Rin is like the old woman, if he will also live to 1000 years till the Vision herb will need to be reborn to guide the next person who will have the power to set the forest afire and make it grow again. Or if it was all just a dream and a series of coincidences and made up stories, but that's the amazing thing about magical realism, there doesn't need to be an explanation. It can just be.

Amazing movie, honestly. The cinematography, the music, all the relationships - especially between Satoshi and Rin, it was awesome to see Satoshi laugh! Though it took me a bit to get used to them switching between French, English and Japanese constantly. That was fun!

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If you want to bore yourself to death for 2 hours.... give it a go?

I found this movie by a recommendation and decide to give it a go, after finding the page on MDL.

Truth be told I was expecting something different... despite the genre and tags presented.

It's like a poorly attempt at a dark comedy thriller, only it has a few corny jokes and some forced satire of thriller/horror with numerous sound effects to break into the serious moments. Just when you think it is getting serious or down to business there it goes once again, and the abuse of anti-climatic music is astonishing to say the very least.

It's also very slow paced for an almost 2 hour movie which may become boring at some given points. The plot itself had potential, but both the storyline and the characters aren't worth it in the end. It does not move or engage the viewer who sees it, in fact there were many times where even I felt like skipping scenes and see what was ahead or if I should drop it before falling asleep on top of the keyboard (mind it the sound effects here probably wouldn't let me anyway)

The motives for the killings and all the plot twists while trying to be creative wasn't all that engaging or dim worthy for me. It seemed mostly cliché and a total mess. And even though the detail of the victims belongings being placed like tokens into that toy that was special to the killer felt like a nice touch there, it's nothing we haven't seen before into stories like this one, right?

Also... talk about bad timings, with the phone going on at the crucial moment ever.
Anddddd... that is probably why I usually keep mine on silent mode, so I guess am safe.
Office work sure is a dangerous profession nowadays huh, not even the paper is spared in there.

The cinematography is not entirely bad, and I like the overall color scheme here. Mostly neutral colors and plenty of red or dark climatic scenes, they tried to set the mood for both genres they were trying to convey. And yet the background music annoyed me in many moments, it's overly used and settled to break into comical relief but it also creates the illusion that something big is bound to happen... and then.... it doesn't.

It's not the best and certainly not the worst movie I've seen.
But would be something I would see again? No. Definitely not.

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Bunch of average (anywhere) college kids having fun, but overshadowed with an adult crisis...

There is criticism from other reviewers about thsi film, but it does exactly what I believe the director wanted to do: combine a group of misfit college students together in a college/university setting and throw in a real-life drama as well!

A typical love story,: a non-traditional college student Jang Eun Shik (Im Chang Jung) falls for the junior hottie and athlete Lee EunHyo (Ha Ji Won), but whose awkwardness and lack of social skills makes him less that appealing, in the beginning. As in every love triangle, junior Lee EunHyo falls for the handsome and popular Ham Sangok (Jung Min)....and winds up in a one-night stand with him, drawing the ire of his jilted girlfriend , Kim Ji Won (Jin Jae Young), and a one-night stand pregnancy.

However, the rich Ham Sangok believes a credit card and a trip by her to an abortion clinic can save his reputation and future; and Lee EunHyo turns to the bumbling Jang Eun Shik to give her moral support, accompanying her to the clinic. Afterward, Eun Shik takes her back to her place, carng and entertaining her as the reality of her decision takes hold. The actress Ha Ji Won does an excellent job (along with the accompanying music) showing her slowly falling in love with him as he tried to make her laugh and forget her mistake and hurting.

Later, Eun Shik finds her bleeding to death after her competition, saves her life, then forces Ham Sangok to go face the music of a hospitalized Lee EunHyo and her mother.

Weaved around this love triangle story is the antics of a typical mischievous college students; this makes the movie seem more live-like, in my opnion. As a former college student myself, even a conservative college in America's Midwest can admit that such antics take place, and it made the whole movie seem real.

Sex in college is where the average students, separated from family and (church) friends, find out about sex and how "far" an individual can go without gettting hurt, as this movie points out.

Even though it is rated my many as a terrible movie, I have had older friend who went to college, and they said that the antics protrayed reminded them of their college years as well, albeit the movie antics are a bit "exaggerated"...

Minimal nudity (mainly breasts), although many references to sex acts and eroticism throughout the movie; which I say again actually happens with many college students leaving home for the first time. I actually thought it was better than the movie, American Pie (1999).

I thought that the cinematography of this semi fast-paced movie was good; as most guys would be more interested in the boobs scenes anyway.

RE-WATCH: definitely, especially if you went to college and want to reminisce their forgotten days of college.

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A portrait of Joseon scholar Jeong Yak Jeon that is both affecting and thought-provoking

This may be my favorite of the films I’ve seen from director Lee Joon Ik. It is based on the writings of Jeong Yak Jeon, a scholar who was exiled to Heuksando during the Sinyu Persecution in 1801, where he wrote the Jasaneobo (The Book of Fish). His story is told alongside that of Chang Dae, a fisherman whose knowledge of fish and marine life helped Jeong Yak Jeon to write his book. Most of Chang Dae’s story as presented in the film is fictional, but Jeong Yak Jeon did make multiple mentions of him in his work. The juxtaposition of the two characters and the growth of their relationship over many years is the core of the story told here.

At first this seemed to be a serene, serious, and slow-paced introspective film. Then as it went on it became more light-hearted. I found that the characters were surprisingly charming and it actually felt rather wholesome. At least until it shifted to a darker tone, before finally ending on an emotional note. The journey through the different phases of the story didn’t feel jarring as the transition was gradual and natural. Towards the end, I did come to feel nostalgic for the earlier parts of the film, which I think was the response it intended to evoke.

The film offers in intriguing peek into the intellectual atmosphere of late Joseon: Catholics persecuted, in part because the religion threatens fundamental Confucian practices, ideological conflict between Eastern learning (donghak) and Western learning (seohak). This story is really built on contrasts. An erudite scholar of high-birth, who had once occupied lofty government post, must find a place for himself in a rural peasant village, and he comes to find inspiration in the mundane knowledge of a common fisherman. Chang Dae struggles to find the same value that Jeong Yak Jeon does in practical learning and the marine knowledge that he has always taken for granted, aspiring instead to attain the philosophical truths gleaned from a traditional education in the Classics. He’s idealistic and perhaps does not have the sophistication to understand the nuances and wisdom of Jeong Yak Jeon’s more complex, even seemingly-contradictory, beliefs. The film both portrays the ideal of the Neo-Confucian scholar, their beliefs, their art, etc. as well as the reality of Neo-Confucian Joseon, while also touching on broader themes, like the value of different kinds of learning and how learning can shape one’s beliefs over time. I think Kim Se Gyum deserves praise for composing a screenplay that coveys so many ideas without feeling overly-didactic.

One other little touch I appreciated was the use of poetry to communicate the emotional states of both Jeong Yak Jeon and his brother, Jeong Yak Yong. Not only is the accurate to how Confucian elites expressed themselves, but I felt it also added to the atmosphere and beauty of the film.

Sul Kyung Gu and Byun Yo Han both gave excellent performances. They fully embodied the personalities and complexities of the characters, and really made me feel for them at times.

This film was shot in black and white, which perhaps was intended to create an ink-on-paper aesthetic to match the themes of scholarship and writing. Although I don’t know that there was any reason it absolutely needed to be in black and white, I really appreciate that they made that choice. The majority of the story takes place on an island, but ocean scenery isn’t the point, and removing the color lent a simplicity to the visuals that allowed the cinematography (Lee Eui Tae) to find a perfect balance. There were many beautiful shots, but it avoids the overstimulation of colorful landscapes. I found it relaxing to watch and visuals never distracted from the true focus of the film, the intellectual portrait of Jeong Yak Jeon. The music (Bang Jun Suk) wasn’t memorable. I hardly noticed it to be honest.

Overall, I think this film was successful in portraying the characters in a way that made me care for them, while also exploring thematic ideas related to the intellectual atmosphere of the time. Well worth the watch, especially if you have an interest in history, scholarship, or have enjoyed previous Lee Joon Ik films, like The King and the Clown or The Throne.

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Just don't bother! Waste of time! Didn't live up to the cast value!

Sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes in advance.

Okayyyy, so last night I watched the Cmovie 'Once upon a time', which is an adaptation of the veryyyy popular Cdrama 'ten miles of peach blossoms/eternal love'. Ngl I did have high hopes for the cmovie as the main m/f lead was one of the best 'yang yang' and liu yifie', also it's basically an adaptation so what can go wrong? Well, so many things in this movie were so bad. Also, I already knew that it's gonna be bad or not as good as the drama cause words were around.

Anyways the production quality was so bad! About 95% or maybe the whole movie was just CGI (computer-generated images) apart from the actors themselves. And the CGI wasn't even good, like the quality was so bad and it was very very obvious what was CGI! But of course given the storyline, the acting and direction of the movie wouldn't be bad. right? or was it?

Yes, it so bad like the leads were yang yang and liu yifie so of course, i was gonna expect good acting. but yang yangs acting was so awkward and it just looks the same as anything else I have seen him acting in (love 020, king? etc). Liu yifie was okay, if the production, CGI, her opposite lead was maybe somewhat better then this movie wouldn't have been all that bad.

And let me just get into the storyline cause OMG they left out so much of the actual story and I know its a movie so it can't be too long otherwise obviously the original drama is there if u want everything. but come on how can they miss out so much. the movie was i think around 1hour 45minutes where as the drama is 58 eps so they can really be blamed to fit everything in otherwise it would just look like they rushing the movie. But honestly, I wished they could have made the movie longer. like I wouldn't mind if it was as long as 3 hours. I would watch the whole thing cause we all know from the drama that it's good so missing it would just be that u aren't bothered or u already seen the drama so why the movie. but come on they still could have done so much better if they made a bit longer. I think the only good scene was, spoiler, when she realized she's susu and how her eyes were stolen. so for that, I do give yifie a round of applause but everything else from the so obviously bad CGI to yang yangs bad acting to missing out on important parts of the storyline was so bad.

I gave it a 6.5/10 only cause liu yifies acting considering how everything else was bad. honestly, id say don't bother watching if u already saw the drama or just watch the drama if u haven't seen either. but if u still wanna watch the movie like I did despite all the negative reviews I've seen before even watching the movie then go on. Although I would recommend to just go on youtube and watch a FMV of the movie trust everything looks so heartbreakingly promising in them but it really wasn't. Anyways ill add a link to a good FMV of the movie, that is actually better than how the movie is.

2 different FMV of 'Once upon a time' Cmovie (recc to watch both):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCanjgz2XWA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEmZa12zpVE

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emotionally annoying {satire

●FIRST IMPRESSION
The movie lives up to its title from start to finish. MY ANNOYING BROTHER, annoying until the end. Making a space into one's life forcefully in the beginning only to leave that space empty later is really annoying. I laughed, cried, and connected with the story emotionally.

●PLOT VIEW
It had a great story that kept me intrigued until the end like simmering into an emotional sweet and sour dish. Bromance was excellent as the brothers bond they clear up the past misunderstanding. Also, I think Do Yeong actually longed for his brother so he forgave him early rather than sulking over it for long. his emotional journey to the Paralympics is inspirational.

●ACTING/CAST
-Jo Jung Suk is excellent as ever. He melts into his witty and gritty character quickly.
-D.O. as a physically challenged sports person nailed it. His insecurities and fear were heartbreaking.
-Park Shin Hye's character didn’t create an impact. She felt like a mediator between the brother.

●MUSIC is minimal, the natural sounds keep the audience engaged with the story rather than the BGM or OST.

●REWATCH is YES because I liked the brothers bonding emotionally which gives me the strength to watch it again.

●FAV SCENE
Brother bonding in the hospital infront of the police.

●RECOMMENDATION
If you want a good dose of humor and an emotional roller coaster ride with lots of bromances, you must watch this movie.

●AFTERTHOUGHT
-It dwells in the life of a sportsman and shows that physical disability cant keep you from dreaming, you need to just take a step and start walking towards it.
-people give up their dreams thinking what others will say, society will say, etc etc but in the end one the person who lost their dream is hurt. nobody else cares. fight your dream emotionally for one day the world will give you a gold medal.

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