Honestly, this movie annoyed me so much it's hard to write a review. I may never get Charlene Choi's screaming out of my head.
The basic plot is that an evil queen ruled the land with an iron fist. It's fantasy kung fu land where people can shape shift and use special powers. Donnie Yen showed up in a small role to find The Chosen One and also to find Excalibur so that the rightful male king could kill the queen and rule as was proper. He didn't have much to do with the exception of one big CGI enhanced fight with Jackie Chan in an even smaller role. What was the name of the character Donnie play? Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Again with the complete lack of originality.
One of the main leads was Jackie's son, Jaycee Chan, who was as interesting to watch as a wet blanket. Wilson Chen played his buddy, Blockhead. Don't laugh, Jaycee's character's name was Charcoal Head. One of these two doofuses was future royalty, if I'd been Donnie I would have had to reevaluate how bad the queen really was. Jillian Chung played the cold Blue Bird, it would only take a man to warm her heart. The aforementioned Charlene Choi played the Dumbell/male slave seller out to make money. The women were supposed to be skilled in martial arts, but at the first sign of trouble screamed and hid behind the men. A feminist's dream this movie was not, ultimately if any good came out of a situation it was because a man handled the problem.
The four main characters simply could not carry this movie due to the actors' limited skills. It reminded me of cheaply made fantasy television show where all the actors had to do was look pretty and wait for the stuntmen/stuntwomen to jump in and do the heavy lifting for the fight scenes. The scenery and sets were beautiful and you could tell the producers had sunk some cash into them. CGI and wire work were used extensively in the fight scenes with mixed results. In 2004 the CGI should have been better.
I'm sure I wasn't in the age demographic this movie was aimed at which may explain why it was so irritating to me. Your experience may vary depending on how many Chosen One stories you've seen and whether you find the leads attractive or likeable. For me the only scene that I found remotely entertaining was the fight between Donnie and Jackie and five minutes out of 105 hardly made it worth it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Suspenseful and intense horror film
This is the most suspenseful, intense movie that I have watched. It is August 2021, and I finally got around to watching this movie, five years after the release. The K-movie production staff, crew and cast outdid themselves. All of Korea must have worked as extras. The last seven minutes had me tearing up.The acting by the main cast was very good, and the Zombie extras must have had a lot of fun playing the ghouls. Sadly, only two of the train passengers survived. The director is a visionary, bringing the screenwriter's mental thoughts on paper to virtual life.
The virus that began in a lab seems to have an eerie message of a deadly virus that is unleashed on mankind.
It is a rollercoaster train ride from the time, the first zombie appears at the train station.
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Gentle Romance
The story is the typical j-drama romance formula. From the start we know that the female lead is terminally ill, so we can figure out the ending easily. It’s a simple storyline and focuses on the innocent romance. In some parts of the movie it moves very slowly and I think they could have used that time instead to show more of the dates that Yusuke and Miyuki go on, to help establish their relationship more. It felt abrupt at how the trip to Finland for them both occurred. Given the limited script they were given Hiroomi Tosaka and Ayami Nakajo to a great job of creating chemistry. But to really create the warmth of love, I felt that was lacking, with no fault of the actor and actress. The scenery of Finland and the Northern Lights are beautiful. I liked the moments with Yusuke’s family (brother and sister), and how his glass making was tied into the whole storyline too. There was so much potential within the storyline, but it fell a little short. There could’ve been more emphasis on her illness and how she hid it from him, so that the ending had more dramatic impact. Overall, I still enjoyed it.Was this review helpful to you?
Lee Wan and his father were on their way to meet up with his perspective wife when they were waylaid by evil doers working for the local tyrant. They met up with Lee's potential father-in-law who had been badly wounded by the evil doers for he had been carrying the secret list of rebels. The tyrant would stop at nothing to get his hands on that list including poisoning Lee and leaving him for dead. He was rescued by his future bride. Sadly, his leg had to be amputated to save his life. Happily, he remembered there was a secret book and technique to make a metal leg and the manual came complete with the 18 Kicks instructions! Time for revenge! Whee!
This movie was filmed with all the sophistication of a high school play and probably with the same budget. The fights of which there were many were not particularly inspired but thankfully, they weren't super slow. The few indoor sets were bargain basement finds or thrown together. The cinematography was primitive at best. Even though it was filmed in Korea, don't expect to see any historical Korean costumes, the costumes and wigs were standard 1970's fake Bruce Lee wigs, and bland kung fu wear. The sound effects could range from someone banging on a metal trashcan to 1970's sci-fi spaceship sounds. A twelve-year old on Tik Tok could have filmed some of the special effects better with a cell phone. The acting ranged from adequate to bad.
The outdoor scenes were filmed in Korea and showed a wide range of scenery, laughably all on what was supposed to be the same day at times, but still they were pretty. Mountain scenes with and without snow made good places to fight and ambush. The forest, or the ocean shore, or on the banks of a frozen river were all settings for flipping, kicking, and hitting. Oh, and blowing fire breath. And of course there were the four evil female attendants who could disappear and even more frighteningly----turn into clowns! The horror.
If it sounds like I'm making fun of the film...I am. Even Dragon Lee couldn't help himself from smirking and winking at the camera. Twelve Gates of Hell mercifully clocks in at under 90 minutes. If you are an old kung fu movie enthusiast who isn't afraid to laugh in all the wrong places, and you're feeling up for a challenge that might feel like traversing the 12 gates of hell, you might want to give this one a try. Otherwise best to change the channel with the speed of the changing scenery in this movie.
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We enjoyed every moment of this masterpiece
They did it...
"Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning" is the final and greatest masterpiece in the franchise. By telling the tale story of how it began, it ties the series with a perfect bow and solidifies it as one of the best cinematic sagas ever made. It feels completely different to every other entry. It thrives on the fact that, aside from the first movie, this is the only one that can be seen completely by itself, and at the same time it rewards whoever watched all the other 4 movies first. It's clear why they wanted to make this the last one; it's the complete deconstruction of Kenshin's character and reconstruction into who he is in the other movies. It's darker, more grounded, and the action is the most brutal. Otomo and Tanigaki build the action completely differently in this one, and that statement is made right in the opening sequence. It's fast and bloody, but it's also more conditional, and more in service of how it scars the protagonist emotionally. You don't get typical action cues from the score whenever those sequences play out; instead they're slower, deeper, building towards something more than the action itself. The very way it's shot is different. The cinematography sets an entirely different mood with a grainy look and less vibrant color grading. It's brilliant use of language to achieve a stark contrast with the rest of the series.
At the center of such brutality, the love story between Kenshin and Tomoe... Which proves to be the heart and soul to not only this movie, but the entire franchise. It makes a few very slight changes that improve on the source material; Tomoe's character is the film's main driving force and Kasumi Arimura steals the show with her performance. It's a heart-aching gut punch to watch it unfold even if you know how it ultimately ends. Takeru Sato also delivers his deepest performance as Kenshin, as you see the roots and foundations of his character that you'll now be able to recognize watching the previous movies. And by the end of the snowfall, there's no doubt left as to why Kenshin will never kill again.
Here it ends. Here it begins. History was made.
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added more depth
cute. their acting is so good and the movie added more depth to gav's character which is great! not to mention other characters (except that boomer oldhag) was also very likeable!cinematography is a bit unstable, i mean overall it's good, but there were a few scenes that needed a bit more work.
music... i can't rate it bc i'm not familiar with pinoy...
i don't like a bittersweet ending but i guess they're still working on a sequel so i gave this a chance :D
but the bed scene thoo omg i think they didn't have to go that far ? they rlly showed the whole process, huh. i think it's okay but unnecessary. T__T
p.s. i still hate the excessive "baby" every time they call eo
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A definite must see about relationships
I watched the movie first and then read a few reviews. Again this is not your typical bl type of movie as it has detailed sexual scenes and of course nudity. I myself loved this movie and the rollercoaster of emotions that it brought to the screen with the state of mind of the characters in kyoichi life and how they effected his and imagase well-being.Imagase was a gay man who looked straight forward into life and knew when he met Kyoichi for the 1st time he fell madly in love. I feel that when they finally meet 8 year later and the progression of there on/off type of love/hate relationship that left him in so much pain was becoming more of an obession that neither could handle.
Kyoichi was a straight man who loved women and sex if you asked him or hinted for sex he would come running. He was married/divorced and had numerous affairs and relationships over the years that he should have ended earlier, but due to his selfishness and being greedy they always ended with the other person in pain. My feelings is that he not affraid of commitment hes afraid of being lonely and doesn't truly understand others emotions & love.
In the end they were just hurting each other by falling into bad patterns of the past, being jeousle and spiteful and again greedy and selfish and wanting more. When they agree to separate it broke my heart to see both of them in pain, but it needed to be done so that they both grow and should find themselves and find true love that needs no more😍 A beautiful story.
There story is about trust, love and jeousley and why the do and dont work.
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Surprised but in a good way ! Only 9.5 for now bc...
it needs a sequel ! (or should've been made into a drama instead)Watch if: You're a P1ece, interested in getting into P1harmony, just want to casually watch something w/o too much intentions.
Don't if: You don't enjoy intro-like movies w/o a continuation yet, dislike dystopian/sci-fi movies.
First and foremost I love the storyline, the world building in this movie is well thought out and it's a wonderful tackle on the sci-fi genre. The cgi and sfx were also amazing, I didn't expect to see such high level of quality just for a pre-debut movie. Acting was also solid for rookies, I follow many groups and most have subpar acting, even 3-4 years into their career. I was used to suffering through shows/movies, that even I will admit that some of my favs should stick to singing and dancing, but this was not painful to watch at all. Jongseob, Intak and Jiung shone the most in their respective time period, while Theo, despite short lines, made an impact as well through actions. Soul, like Theo, relied more on expressing rather than talking. He along with Keeho were probably the least impressive out of the 6 but I attribute that to the fact that they might be more comfortable in Japanese and English, respectively. If they decided on following suggestions on making a sequel, I'm sure their acting will be even better than this. Music scoring was also fitting to the mood and feel of the movie, and the ost by the members were also nice songs.
Now for the things I did not enjoy, which are very few. The one thing I didn't like the most was how they structured the story of Chaeyoon, they were so focused on the intro aspect of the boys, that her storyline seemed so cluttered, the talking bear was also kind of out of place. So while I think the idea and execution of this genre is good, I wish they fleshed out the characters a bit more, made intentions clearer and had better scene distribution and breaks. It's a standard length of a movie, and yet it felt short due to it being more of an introduction to the boys, as well as scenes that seem too long to be relevant. You can tell it's definitely a pre-debut movie, so I can see why others, especially non-fans, would not enjoy this. If they had the intention of making this longer, then it would've been fine, and non-fans could still enjoy the plot as it is and not as fans of kpop. But as of right now, I don't think they have any plans on making this into a full series despite the vague ending. I'm not asking for much, I wouldn't even mind if this was turned into a webtoon instead, like a comic inclusion to their albums (kind of like that one exo album), or short scenes incorporated into their music video trailer/teasers (like got7's flight log series), just so they wouldn't have to spend so much money on filming, while still continuing the story. It has incredible potential and it would be such a shame if they decided on dropping it like other groups.
Honestly speaking I was not expecting a lot from this movie, pre-debut and completely unknown characters (except Jongseob), FNC was ambitious to create such an extravagant debut considering the company's previous group's debut left much to desire. & I have to say they nailed it. You might be thinking that this review is coming from a fan, and you're not wrong... but, I became a fan after watching this movie. I first saw this in April and re-watched it again for the 4th time last night. It's the type of movie that I did not get tired of watching over and over again (which is extremely rare for me) which is why I gave it such a high rating and decided to finally write my first review here. Hope you guys enjoy it was well and possibly even become P1eces !
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Andy Lau played the deadly and thoroughly unlikeable warlord, Hou Jie. Because he was the star I knew he wasn't going to get killed in all of the dirty double-crosses early in the movie, but I have to say I was rooting for him to get his. Fortunately for me, I didn't receive that early catharsis, instead after a vicious confrontation with forces ordered to assassinate him, he managed to crawl away to the Shaolin temple.
This movie leaned heavily into Buddhist beliefs or at least movie Buddhist beliefs. Jackie Chan showed up as a cook working at the temple conflicted as to whether he should stay or go. He's there primarily for some light comic relief as you can imagine. Yu Hai played the Abbott, he was also in Jet Li's Martial Arts of Shaolin, playing a Shaolin master. He showed the most beautiful Mantis fighting in MAOS, I was desperately hoping to see him show the style again. Alas, he did fight a little (he was much older in 2011) but no Mantis.
The cinematography and sets were beautiful. Certainly no complaints for me on these aspects of the movie. I'm not one to notice music in movies very often, but the OST was quite pleasing.
Shaolin's story used a common kung fu movie pattern only amping up the destruction, body count, and explosions. Long time kung fu movie enthusiasts will be able to call what's coming next without much trouble.. The story was told well and ultimately, it was a story of redemption. That's usually all I need to be hooked. I'm not sure Hou Jie earned his redemption in such a short time, but movie magic makes everything move more quickly.
This is my favorite Andy Lau performance yet. He had to dig down deep to convey the myriad of emotions for this complicated character. Nicholas Tse as his younger brother did a good job, too.
The fights were where they began to lose me. I have no problem with wire-fu when used well. In a movie that is otherwise more realistic, the over-the-top use of wire work seemed badly out of place. The super human abilities of only a few characters weren't consistent either. Taking the martial arts and wire-fu out of the equation in the action scenes, some of the scenes were on a grand scale and spectacular.
I found Shaolin to be well made and entertaining. There were moments when it felt like it could have been better though.
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This review may contain spoilers
Amnesiac looking for a lost love
STORY: An accident caused Mu Ran to forget Su Chen, so he goes on a journey of self-discovery and to search for Su Chen, piecing together fragments of memories from old photos on his phone, meeting people who knew Su Chen, and each stop along the way, learning more about who he was and is, as well as about Su Chen.The story is quite uneven. Much of it is told in random flashbacks through the fog of Mu Ran's memory. Through some acts of sheer and unbelievable luck, he meets these random people who just happened to know Su Chen. While the Country says China, bet it was actually Taiwanese as it was filmed in Taiwan, along with the many Pride references in the movie props, and gay and lesbian couples shown along the way.
ACTING/CAST: Well, they did a fine job though nothing really stood out.
MUSIC: Untranslated but seemed OK.
REWATCH VALUE: There's not enough here to want me to see it again. They showed the relationship, by bits and pieces along the way, but the presentation was just lacking. And once you know the ending, there is nothing left of the mystery.
OVERALL: An uneven story where the writer/director was not afraid to show many other happy gay and lesbian people and couples as side characters, but when it came to the main couple, it could have been so much more. The views of Taiwan were very nice. IF you want to know if it had a happy or sad ending, read my spoiler in the comments section.
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Would work as a drama but skip the movie
Not sure how a movie felt longer than most dramas.There was no character development scratch that...no real characters.
Its nothing at all is the trailer the FL is barely on screen and has very few lines.
And things just happen for no reason.
There’s also a lot of telling but not showing...or frankly not even telling.
Spoiler...
the main couple go on one date (have met maybe 3-4 times) and the FL doesn’t even realize it’s a date...and he’s gonna profess his undying long in song at a press conference as a duet with his rival?
I think this scenario would work as a drama but as a movie it doesn’t work at all.
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An unforgettable Masterpiece
I sincerely believe that this is one of the most beautiful and interesting costume films in the world cinema. Beautiful cinematography and costumes will take the viewer into the world of the end of the Han dynasty and the period of the formation of the Three Kingdoms, but the political theme, although intriguing, stands in the background here. I personally fall in love with the heroic adventures of the epoch's legendary heroes, and especially the interactions that took place between the two MLs (no romance, no bromance)Aesthetically - beautiful, plot - intriguing. The music falls into the heart and perfectly captures the spirit of the era and action. Absolutely beautiful ending song. For me, this is an absolutely brilliant production that has exactly all the elements to make it a masterpiece with Kaneshiro Takeshi's unforgettable performance as Zhuge Liang.
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Red string or red herring?
You make me dance is a story that is as unlikely as its pair- a debt collector and the debitor. It offers nothing new either in its plot or in its characterisation. But it makes us sit through till completion because of how honestly it portrays that unlikely story. Jin Hong Seok is a machine living his monotonous life and Song Shi On is at the prime of his youth full of hopes, dreams and wishes. One seems about done with his life while the other actively wants to begin his. In another world where chance encounters with supposed couples do not happen, these two might have as well lived their lives blissfully unaware of the other's existence. But here they form a strange bond that develops with the help of some even stranger rationale. It's also strangely engaging despite the lack of a strong plot and any actual conflict.In many ways, the movie is simple minded and that can be refreshing to those who do not want to spend their time dissecting all the layers underneath a character. There are themes of abandonment and midlife crisis but they are not addressed, just mentioned. I wouldn't say any character is well rounded but that is on the story- the characters are molded to fit in. It's an easy watch if we just accept the things the way they roll out and here's the catch- in spite of all its misgivings, the movie is surprisingly acceptable. Not in a "this is ridiculous but it's funny and emotional" kind of way but more along the lines of "yes, it's far from perfect but it's not impossible". That definitely goes in favour of the movie.
Another impressive aspect in this clichéd story is that it doesn't depend on fate, much in contrast to its opening scenes. The leads try and make things happen instead of leaving them up for Fate to chance upon and throw in their way. Whether this was intended or it just unknowingly came to be, it feels good.
The figurative red thread keeps making metaphorical appearances throughout and is well used. I didn't understand what purpose the CEO of Chachacha was supposed to serve, but thankfully her scenes are limited and she is present more to pull the story towards the required ending than to be an actual obstacle. Same goes for Shi On's senior. The final twenty minutes could have been written, edited and presented much better. Everything was building up to that point and it felt as if the balloon just popped all of a sudden without any reason. It was an unsolvable mess of poor writing and poor execution and that was actually the bigger disappointment compared to the wafer thin story line. Music is good even though it doesn't stand out. Cinematography is okay and the performances are convincing. This isn't something I'd fawn over now or later but it's not bad as a one time watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Beautiful Transition To The Second Season
When I heard that there was a movie coming out for Gameboys before the second season, I was shocked! It seems like this content is just flying out so fast, season 1 seems like it came out just yesterday! Regardless, I was very excited. I loved Gameboys the first season, it was a breath of fresh air and I fell in love with Gav and Cai's love story. I had no clue what this movie was going to even cover because it was so up in the air...and then the clip was released. Bruh XD the creators of this know their audience!Let's move onto the plot. It wasn't what I expected. I did expect an exploration of physical intimacy (we'll get into that more later lol) but that was about it. Then we throw in our side characters becoming a couple (Terrence and Wesley), Achilles dealing with the fact that he gave up on Terrence and now he's found someone else. Pearl being a queen as usual and a homophobic aunt that made me want to punch a hole in my computer screen. There was both a lot going on and also not a lot going on. It was done very well! Part of me wishes though that we had explored more outside of the house and the beach, but I get it was still quarantine and there's only so much they could do.
On to the acting. The actor who plays Gav (Kokoy), phenomenal in this. Literally heartbreaking. He's such a happy, borderline carefree and comedic presence in Gameboys season 1 that this switch up hurt even more because of that! Like dang his acting chops came out in this and I was so impressed. He portrayed grieving and panic attacks so well, where in the series we got bits of it but not nearly as clearly as in this. We also really got his love for Cai in this too. Dude's been acting since 2013 I guess and it shows!
Cai's actor (Elijah) was really good too! He continued with his characters hesitation in this, but opened up soooo much throughout the film and especially at the end. It was really beautiful to watch! Him standing up for not only Gav, but himself and his friends for being lgbtq had me shouting with him! So solid and the line "please don't use god's name to perpetuate your hate" was perfection.
Sooooo...the moment we've all been waiting for. Gav and Cai's chemistry is through the roof. It really felt like I was just watching lovers in action throughout the entire film who have been separated for so long and are making up for lost time! I'm not sure how close Kokoy and Elijah are IRL but I could at least feel love through the screen so job well done. The kissing was no hold back, and okay realism when it comes to a love scene! What in the hell, I thought I was hallucinating. VERSE KINGS lmao, never something I've seen in really any queer content, let alone a BL! So beautiful, to the point where I teared up over a love scene because it was so intimate and sensual. Just the looks on their faces will get you I swear, let alone the body language and pacing of the scene. Raised the bar for sure!
Pay the $8 internationally if you can! It was definitely worth it and let's look forward to season 2! Keep up the stellar work everyone whose working on this.
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if you have a heart, you will be left in tears and rage
FIRST IMPRESSIONAm SILENCED after watching this movie. I ain’t unable to explain the pain I feel which is making me think of this diseased society where no one is safe. WHY? Because the justice sides with the money and victims are SILENCED to let them live in the society.
PLOT VIEW
The first half of the movie is showing us the crime being taken place and the second half is a courtroom drama. Every moment, every scene, every dialogue, breaks the soul into a thousand pieces, mere thinking this isn't just a movie but is a real case, some disabled children actually had to go through this. The movie makes one uncomfortable with explicit scenes and its supposed to make you feel that way to get in the shoes of a spectator where you did nothing.
the movie shows also show vast discrimination happening in society poorly people are brought with money, where rich people take bribes. No interpreter for the disabled people which like humiliating them for being that way.
What makes this adult do such felony because they know the society is of respectable people who will remain silent for their reputation. The prosecutors, judges, teachers, schools, and parents will remain silent if they are bought with money. How do such people live by selling their professional integrity for few bucks? But as human beings where does our soul die and we fail to protect such kids. Not just kids but teens, grown-ups too and not just girls but boys too. If the crime is committed the perpetrator's good reputation and deeds are taken into account on the other side victims dressing, behavior is described, why such discrimination, just because they are underprivileged? There should be no less than execution as the punishment for such crimes.
ACTING/CAST
Gong Yoo never disappoints with his acting chops. He is remarkable with an average art teacher reputation, we can see how he represents all of us who wants to but fight. All the kids were no less, each expression without saying anything they just said their story to the world.
Yun Doo, Yoo Ri, and Min Soo have shown a wonderful performance. Min Soo specially sweeps you off the feet with his intense character portrayal and storyline. These child actors actually felt like a living demonstration of the horrible incident that had happened.
MUSIC
The music actually isn't there but it still has a main part in the movie. The whole movie will feel like a raw conversation.
REWATCH
This movie can be rewatched if you are good at taking disturbing issues. I will rewatch this but not now, after when I have overcome its trauma.
APPRECIATION
This movie is based on the book The Crucible by Gong Ji Young who knows if she had faced a rebound for writing this book. But glad that this novel was made into a movie that had such a huge impact to make the S.Korean government amend the laws.
With the first scene car and the child in a tunnel, the movie sets its bar high that it is not going to be an easy watch. You might have to pause at some point to take a breath and calm yourself down or maybe take time to cry out loud because tears just don’t seem to stop. And I always say take some popcorn and tissue to watch a movie, but for this movie only tissue is needed.
RECOMMENDATION
This movie is for people who can process child molesting, abuse. It also good for some law inspiration as this movie was able to shook the society. if anyone has an interest in human rights then have a watch.
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