Reviews

Skip the Last Minute or so and It's a Great Short Film

Short, but captivating!


STORY:

Kit is a tea leaf fortune teller who is waiting at a cafe for his friend August. When August arrives, he asks for his romantic fortune to be read. This sparks a heart-to-heart conversation between the two.

The story isn't too complex. It's just two friends sitting in a cafe talking about one friend's love life. We're not given any back story on the character, but it's through their dialogue that we learn their relationship with each other. Even then, the dialogue doesn't give us the full story. We can only make assumptions based on what they say. It's as if we, the audience, is sitting down at the same cafe listening in on their conversation. It's through their conversation that we learn they are friends. That August has a lot of admirers. And that Kit and August have shared a drunken kiss and it's eating Kit up inside. We learn all of this as they literally sit at a table and talk.

Trying not to spoil the film, I will say that the film is amazing for being able to pack as much drama as they did without getting preachy in their dialogue. Most films will have monologues that explain everything, but here, all the audience can do is guess about everything. The film does great in bringing out the personalities of each character as they sit and chat. August, being more expressive, moves around a lot in his seat as he cracks jokes. Kit, on the other hand, doesn't move much, preferring to just stare and react to August. We get to see the dynamic of the two through all of this subtle movements.

With only 30 minutes, there is a lot that we learn about Kit and August, but it's the last few minutes of the film that throws the audience for a ride. I would have given this film a 10 out of 10, if it wasn't for the ending. While the ending isn't terrible, it is a cliff hanger. Until the film makers give us a sequel the lower rating still stands.


PRODUCTION/ACTING:
(Since I went to film school, I might talk about some things that you might not have noticed, but I definitely did!)

The actors give amazing performances, but it is stunted by the highly stylized cinematography. I've read more than a few reviews saying the cinematography was amazing, but I beg to differ. The cinematography is highly stylized and beautiful, but it took away from the acting. The background lighting was a little over-exposed creating a beautiful effect, but we couldn't see half of the actor's face. In this type of film where there are no big movements or action, the audience can only rely on the dialogue and the actor's gestures and facial expressions. With the lighting they had, while beautiful to look at, we couldn't see half of the actor's face therefore it was difficult to pick up on some of the actor's expressions. I personally had a hard time seeing most of Kit's expressions since his character is more stoic than August.

Also, the mostly static, single camera was horrific. Again, the audience needs to see the actor's expressions. We also need to be visually stimulated in order to not get bored of the one setting story. The film makers tried to make the film visually stimulating with the lighting and the camera occasionally zooming into the actors. The result was the audience not being able to see more than half of the actor's facial expressions. Most of the film was a medium shot of both actors. We could occasionally see a slightly closer shot of the two, but it's clear that the camera was static and just zoomed in on the two. Towards the climax of the film, the camera starts doing this "V" like style of zooming where the single camera zooms into one actor's face, pans out to a medium shot of the two actors, then zooms into the second actor. It was difficult to watch. We barely got to see any actor's face in full. It was always cut off by the lighting and the camera angle made it difficult to see the actor's full face.

Lastly, the jump cuts! There were so many jump cuts! With the static, single camera style of cinematography the film makers were doing, the best would have been the entire film being shot in one take. However, 30 minute long one takes are very difficult to do. The film makers were able to hide the jump cuts by showing us the "close ups" of the actors, but occasionally there would be a jump cut with the same shot. It's only a split second, so many people may not have noticed, but it was very obvious if you paid attention. Also the random jump cuts into the tea pot was annoying and unnecessary.


OVERALL:

Love Advisor is a beautiful short film if you're okay with a single setting and lots of dialogue. The story was beautiful and the cinematography is highly stylized and beautiful (if you didn't go to film school.)

I hope the film makers will give us a sequel, or I will forever skip the last minute of the film.

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Simple love story

I like it. Its soft, without complicated plot and just funny. Some crazy moments, some flashbacks that compose the love of the couple.

PLOT - simple but not brilliant. I like the story of the two and the way that a cop can choose, wisely in my point of view, love over work...

ACTING - wonderful performance by the cast, specially the ML and FL.

SOUNDTRACK - it was ok but not memorable

REWATCH - it is nice but to rewatch it... I prefer a thousand times seeing MY P.S. PARTNER!!!!!

Overall I like it. The ending could be better but it end as I wanted, with happiness and laughter. It's light and a good way of spending almost 2 hours.

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Hilarious Action Movie

I really had fun watching this movie from start till the very end. Plot is not unique nor it has any unexpected twists but is actually delivers what should comedy action movie deliver. From one side ridiculous situations that main leads find themselves in, from other, quality fight scenes. (and they were actually reloading guns and not passing through 100 gangsters with 6 bullets as we see in most of the movies)
The most hilarious are the ways male lead finds solutions for the situations that this spy game got him into. And, generally, I really enjoyed the acting of Kim Young Kwang.
Overall I would really recommend watching this movies if you feel bored and want to laugh out loud.

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IT'S A MOVIE DUH??

This movie is really great. the plot is written very well. For those who said that this movie is unrealistic, how do you know it's not real? maybe some people has been through this situation where people don't hear what they say and make an assumption that the killer is somewhat your brother or father. and for the police who need to make decision whether his sister or that lady, if in real life the police also probably be scared and want to save both but who didn't want to save their own siblings. some even said that this movie is non-sense. OMG this is a freaking movie and even it's not happening to you, maybe it's already happened to everyone else. you don't know their stories. there's this one person said that the leading lady wasted so much time sign in front of people that can't understand signing and she could've just type in the phone. um excuse me, maybe she's VERYY scared.. do you think she's calm enough to take out her phone and type everything. and even said hopeless movie, hopeless cop, hopeless citizen !? YES THAT'S RIGHT BECAUSE THIS MOVIE WANT TO TEACH US IF YOU EVER SEE THIS SITUATION HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE, you should help that person. YOU GUYS THAT GIVE 1 STAR, IS TRULY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THIS MOVIE. EVEN IF SOME SAID THERE'S NO MEANING, YOU NEED TO SEARCH BY YOURSELF THE MEANING !! try understand more. the frustration of the lady because she can't speak. the author shown a mean world so that we can take a lesson and don't be like them .. overall both chemistry is great and I hope they have romance drama together 🤞🏻😀

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High-quality but not something I would watch again

Mother’s story and theme is not something I normally would watch. But I recently saw Kim Hye Ja in “Radiant” and wanted to see more of Won Bin on screen so I checked it.

If you are a fan of either of them, their acting does not disappoint. In Won Bin’s case, it’s such an interesting role to take side by side the gritty hard-action “Man from Nowhere” which was released in the same year. His limited portfolio is fascinatingly diverse in range.

Story-wise, there were plot developments that surprised me and though I’m not an expert, some shots were quite beautiful (more than your average cinema-pretty quality).

It’s just that the story and theme is so… morose? Which brings me back to my point that despite the film’s quality, the story and theme is really not for me and I definitely won’t be rewatching this nor actively recommending it to others.

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Feels unfinished

I liked this short film, it has an interesting story line. A group of gay friends and one of them is very popular which all the other guys flock too while another is extremely jealous of his popularity that he curses him with a ghost. Only this backfires and the two (ghost and human) fall in love which only makes the jealous friend more determined. There's a pretty raunchy sex scene and some worthy acting. But it almost feels like a teaser to more in depth story. I think that's where the story falls flat because we don't know why this guy is so jealous in the first place, his motivation feels weak, although he comes off as unstable and manic so maybe he doesn't need a deeper motive. But why is this ghost beholden to him. How he came to have this knowledge of summoning ghosts/devils etc. Just little unanswered questions that would have strengthened the story. Others have commented about the story being scary, I don't know what most peoples tolerance for horror is but this felt fairly tame to me. I enjoyed it and it has much promise, I just wish there was more. Congrats cast and crew, well done all round.

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Uh, mildly disappointing?

First of all:
- This is not a professional review. I'm just speaking from my heart and of what little I know about films and filmmaking.
- This isn't a warning that says you'll be wasting your time to watch this film. Feel free to go ahead and watch. We can all find value in anything in our own way. I'm merely sharing how it went for me and what can be expected.

Basically my reaction throughout while watching this film was "LOL, wtf?!"

I honestly expected to see some hot romance between the two male characters mixed with drama, a bit of angst, action and thriller against a backdrop of crime and social issues after reading the plot on Wikipedia. I was curious how this mix turned out (with a bit more emphasis on the hot romance, LOL).

I'm not easy to disappoint. My standards and expectations are flexible, I try to adjust it from film to film. I try not to judge films too easily as I usually try to explain what I'm seeing as it unfolds.

Turns out, the hot romance was hot but not as hot as I expected. But I thought, "That's fine. I see it's not the focus of the film. Fair enough." And as I kept watching, it became apparent that the film's focus is on the dramatic side of the mix.

BUT I'm gonna have to agree with one of the other two reviewers at the time of writing this review: "overkill". Too much of something can ruin everything.

About half if not most of the drama just didn't feel necessary. This happened, and then another one happens, and so on. I see no point in the excessive drama. Were they trying to display how complicated, cruel and unfortunate life can be? Probably, sure, why not. Did it make the film enjoyable or satisfying to watch? Definitely not. It ruined the rest of the story that you could've otherwise appreciated.

Another word I can throw in here is: "predictable". At a certain point you can say, "Ah, anything can happen by now."

Also, it seems to me the screenplay of some scenes could've conveyed better the emotions alongside the subtleties of the dramatic turn of events throughout the film. Their impact wasn't as effective as they could've been.

Although if you ignore the storyline and screenplay, you can appreciate the artistic value of individual scenes especially with all that dramatic background music. And you gotta appreciate all the talent and hardwork the actors and actresses gave for their characters.

Summary:
Romance wasn't so hot (if this is what you're looking for). There wasn't much romance anyway and you can barely feel the romantic and sexual tension between the main characters (it's the storyline and screenplay, not the actors' fault). Main focus was drama, but the excessive drama was annoying and even quite funny (especially when you can predict what might happen next), it screwed things up.

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WHAT A THRILLING ROLLER COASTER RIDE.

It's so intense from beginning to end. I was riveted all throughout and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The amount of jump scare almost gave me a heart attack. How I wish I watched this in the cinema.

Nothing new or special in this movie, but this is just my cup of tea! I love every bit of it. Korean movies never fail to impress me! Keep it coming!

The star-studded cast really delivers an incredible performance, especially Jin Ki-Joo and Wi Ha-Jun! I loved Wi Ha-Jun in 18 Again and I'm so happy to see him in a villainous role! He's so good. I hope he will have more projects in the future. He deserves more recognition. On the other hand, this is the first time I encounter Jin Ki-Joo and all I cay say is that she's an amazing actress. I believe that she will be a successful actress in the future.

The filming location and score added great tension which made me enjoy this movie more. Kudos to the director and the whole team!

This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Watch this with your family or friends!

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Everything is chaotic in this film. First, the political aspect: is the film condoning the police brutality that comes with the war on drugs or condemning the abuse and corruption of police authority? Perhaps, both can co-exist, but the execution was rather clumsy. Second, the editing and even the direction. This is certainly an action film, but even the action sequences cannot save this film for me as it was almost badly directed. Some scenes even seemed like the characters were fake fighting as it didn't seem genuine at all. Lastly, the sound and music; they just seemed awkward and out of place sometimes. Though, for some consideration, the acting was good, especially Anne Curtis' performance.

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Spring

"Close your eyes and forget your senses. Let spring soar into your heart again."
Its a very simple visualistic story. For all the suckers for beautiful scenery, this is a wondeful 7 minutes story that can be seen.
This is just like any calming, stress reliving short video. Dont see if u want to write a 100 page essay about it or dont see it if u want something to criticize cause this is not made for that. See this before you are stressed, a long day, a tough fight or even a happy mood. See cause u wanna smile, breathe or even cry. It only 7 minutes and i bet you have nothing more important to do.

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Cute

I enjoyed this. I think it had a lot of potential and could have been better, but if you're in the mood to watch something sweet without thinking too much about it, then it's worth a watch.

It was a bit difficult to buy into some of the situations. I think that's because the movie plays on its predecessors for eccentric storylines, but didn't really know how to lay the foundation for them. Like in the beginning when the two debtors were there watching the boy dancing, I think it would have been stronger if both debtors watched him dance, but the secondary debtor (Mr. Kim) left early because he didn't get it. And yet, the first debtor (Jin Hong Seok) couldn't leave because he was so drawn into the dancing. Mr. Kim kind of helps ground us in reality, and emphasizes how Hong Seok is different from most people. That kind of emphasis on the dynamic helps support the eccentric nature of the storyline.

There were some scenes where I was like, ehhh this could be done a bit better. Sometimes the positioning of a character between cuts would be inconsistent, which was a bit distracting. Probably not for most people, but I tend to get distracted by minor details unfortunately haha.

Their first kiss scene was another point I was a bit disappointed by. The dialogue suggests impulsivity, passion, and then suddenly stopping. But the emotions weren't brought out strongly enough, and the transitions between these stages felt smooth. Here, the emotions in the scene could have come out stronger by occurring suddenly instead of smoothly. It's a very emotion driven plot, but I don't think the emotions came out as well on screen.

So basically what I'm saying is, the movie felt a bit like it was under its potential. It could have been polished just a bit more. However, it was still entertaining and I did enjoy myself! Its quirky storyline reminded me of the kind of shows that drew me to kdramas in the first place.

I did like the way they used slowmo, which is rare for me as slowmo is a pet peeve of mine. But the slow motion wasn't too slow, and it continued the scene. And I liked when the sounds of the scene played over the slowmo. It felt.... almost dreamlike? That was a really nice touch.

It's a cute movie.

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Worth watching

Watched this with zero expectations, just intrigued by the title. Everything about this is great, the subject, story, and the storytelling. The final scene is especially satisfying.

The story revolves around the relationship between a coach and an athlete. it asks whether you should do something just for your own enjoyment regardless of the results. On should you do everything you can to be the best regardless of the price? Here the main character isn't given a choice, as the decision is made by those around him. But in the end he does manage to force his own will on the situation.

It's not lighthearted.i saw only one funny moment. Still if you want to watch something that will stir your emotions, give this a try. In it's own way, it is as inspirational as any other sports movie.

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Wasting a Sunday afternoon...

I was trying to find light, fluffy movies to pass some time over the weekend and stumbled upon this (on YouTube).

Someone "please enlighten me" as to why this movie made it out of production.

Oh my ... my, my, my, my, my ... what a mess this was.

Not even a hot mess either; more like a hairball left neglected in the corner.

Damp and gross (slightly unhygienic).

The main leads were sawdust and cobwebs.

I didn't get their connection; the story was rushed and they had no real time to develop feelings.

There was no character growth, no one to cheer for, no chemistry, and no real story.

Watch if you need background noise for a nap.

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