Reviews

don't get all the hype about this movie

reading some of the comments u would think it was verge-ing on porno, which it isn't - mildly erotic at best. but that is besides the point. this was beyond aggravating - to say the least. like what the hell kind of female teenager will act like an airhead tease around any man, no matter his age?!? what is her damage??? that was the main question on my mind, like appearing at his house in the middle of the night conveniently dripping wet, and asking to spend the night. what?!? why????? then going to another guy's house to get him medicine, cause he's sick - supposedly. but blindly walking in - again WTF... no one teach this stupid girl basic sh*t - a female is taught, so she wont get molested / raped?!? or the message of the day is, all teenage girl want sex cause they're bored??? the whole "Lolita" vibe was vomit inducing...

add to the annoyance is the whole dynamic between the men. like kill me if i understand why someone would write a book and gift it to someone else. you need to be a genius to know this won't be a one-off deal???? especially when the other (younger) guy has no means to support himself, but to now be a writer. or the old dude thought by gifting him one book he would magical get the ability to write?!?

until the middle it was fine, cause u go with the follow of the story and it isn't jarring. didn't think it was weird or unnatural for an old dude to fantasize about a teen, that was prancing around his house in a flirty way, and even if she wasn't being a flirt - men will be men, age doesn't matter and even if he can't get it up, his mind still works fine. u can't arrest or judge a man for fantasizing - that's idiotic. but after the confrontation with the younger dude - everything turned weird. like her showing up at his place, asking him if all writer's take each others stuff. i thought that meant she heard and got that the old dude was the one to write "Eungyo". but nope - got it wrong.
or the old dude coming to the award show for the younger dude's plagiarized work, and not saying anything - or inviting the younger one to stay for his birthday, when he appeared uninvited - why???
all this and more just pissed me off. the only bit that made me smile was him making sure the younger dude had to use his car and the younger dude almost getting into an accident and then getting into one. well deserved. but won't say this worth the hype or the time watching it. still angry about sh*t.

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Another one in my list

I am a sucker for romcom and this one surely is in my list...considering Kim Rae Won as the lead actor. He just suits the genre...he can pull it off whatever character he has to portray. He complements any leading lady and makes the viewer feel like they are the one (like in my case). His look, smile, gesture are all so natural that makes it look such a good chemistry.

Whilst the story is a real to some of the viewers, I like how the writer left some thoughts to ponder -- like, could you really fall for someone who just met, while drunk? Is it not worth going back to the same person who left you, considering you were languishing in pain and comfort of alcohol? I guess these questions makes each of our experiences unique and different from others albeit it is still 'breaking up'.

Infusing the plot with other's own share of pain and struggle with their own love story, gave a balanced idea of the theme.

Worth watching at 2am!

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THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL ROMCOM **

FIRST OF ALL. I was speechless after watching this LOL omg what in the world did I just witnessed?? I really didn't want to write a review but I think I have to , especially seeing all the negative reviews I saw here. Ok firstly, I love Soobin so I waited for this to come out and the cast is amazing, Jang Ki-yong, Krystal and Chae Soobin? WTH. Ok anyways, so it all starts off seeing a chubby guy (Lee Jang-hyuk) entering a hospital meeting a nurse called Da-eun and falls in love with her. We see them flirting and ending up together then he "LOSES weight" to become slim, and that's where the story changes. There is a plot twist but it's all revealed at the end of the movie, but I won't go much into it. I really really hated it when the male lead was getting shaken up by Bo-young and starts to cheat on Da-eun with her, like I felt so bad for Da-eun and there was PREGNANCY involved but they lost the baby (didn't say how), I think they aborted it or smth. But anyways, the twist at the end shows two perspective of both the female lead and male lead, both of them were "unloyal" to each other technically. But, I have to say that the male lead was mostly at fault here, he neglected her, cheated on her, even when he tried his best to accommodate to her, it wouldn't work out because he was tired from work. But even so he should still have taken better care and attention to her, that made the female lead change. Both of them "cheated" on each other, but I think that Da-eun "cheated" on him when their relationship was already over, like it had already fallen apart, so she took comfort in the other Jang-hyuk who she met. Even when her ex-Jang-hyuk came to his senses and tried to win her back again, it was already over, too late. And then we see him going back to Bo-young, wow what an ass actually. I couldn't give a rating for this movie because IDK HOW TO, like it actually did make me immersed the whole time I didn't even look away or check my phone, so I'll give it to them for this. The story, was unexpected like unexpected unexpected, could have ended it at the cliche reunion but it didn't, took a unique twist and that's fine. In a sense, both of them got their own happy ending. So I think it deserves a 9, not saying the story is bad, but it is unique and interesting, so it really doesn't deserve such a low rating. It is more mature in a sense, so I guess many people won't like it especially for international fans (according to MDL). Yea, but I enjoyed it. Props to the cast and their acting, story was unique and good too. Though there is also the emotional rollercoaster, like this movie is actually heartbreaking in a sense, but it depends. I felt like they covered up the heartbreaking melo part of this movie with the editing, music and romcom plot. Like I'm still heartbroken for Da-eun, even at the end, she looks confused and done. The title really portrays the movie so well, SWEET AND SOUR. Wow this was ACTUALLY SWEET AND SOUR

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A warm romance

Such a warm warm story. A friend recommended it to me and I couldnt stop myself from watching it.

This is the kind of story that could almost be categorized as a Slow film. Nothing much happens here if you ask me plot wise.

Plot: the plot isn't anything out of the ordinary, however what really clinches the deal and sets it apart is the fact that this is a film that is devoted and really committed in understanding its characters. it is not a film that meets your expectations from a romantic comedy. its just different in the way it approaches romance. Taking it slow, it takes that phrase literally., There are no jumping out of the bushes, Screaming characters, crazy reveals or anything of the sort here.
The storyline is simple and has often been seen so many times before but this film takes it premise and then adds warm gentle heartbeats, sounds of the river, the sea into them. It Infuses simple, ordinary moments with a kind of rare beauty.

Acting: the acting was just so realistic. One could see the growth of these characters for another 2 hours according to me. Everyone is having a kind of crisis in this film but it isn't articulated through usual cinematic aesthetics. Instead one sees pain rarely articulated but instead so many other emotions can be seen on the face of these characters. The director makes us Care for its characters. That's a talent people rarely have.

Music: THIS IS AN AURAL DELIGHT. The music you will find here, you wont find anywhere else. Why? Because its literally ASMR. The film focuses hugely on your aural sensibilities. Its gets better when you close your eyes.

Rewatch value: Could watch it a thousand more times with my friends. Perfect for DATENIGHT.

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Shanghai Fortress had pretty special effects, but they forgot to show us the most important part about an alien invasion-the aliens!

We are told somehow, somewhere, someway humans found a magical alien crystalline energy source in outer space and it transformed human society. We are told some alien Big Bads decided they wanted it and started attacking the earth. We are told about major cities being devastated world wide. We are told about loving longings between characters. We are told about friendships between characters. Another important thing this movie forgot---showing is more important than telling.

I found it utterly impossible to emotionally connect with any of the characters. Shu Qi is a beautiful and talented actress who was given the job of standing around looking at a monitor and giving orders. The four young pilots featured didn't have enough charisma or meaningful interactions with each other to have me invested in their lives or even remember who they were half the time. The rest of the cast acted in such a reserved manner as to feel almost lifeless.

Much of the CGI was good, even if the part of the alien spaceship they showed looked suspiciously like the ship from Independence Day. Too bad they forgot the part where we were shown what the actual aliens looked like from that movie, to make the battles seem even more personal and real. In Shanghai Fortress with all the amazing weaponry the humans had developed to combat the aliens, I'm at a complete loss why they still fought the alien robots on the ground using ineffective bullet shooting guns. There were several plot developments that made no sense.

Sometimes I can check my brain at the door and just enjoy the ride if the characters are compelling enough but this felt more like a hologram that was all visual with no substance.

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lots of issues

The thing I enjoyed about the film was Chae Soo-bin and Jang Ki-yong's chemistry and I think that's all I can say in terms of positivity.

The trailer for the film is completely misleading. I understand that they did this so that people wouldn't expect the "plot twist" but the problem with this is that it can leave the target audience somewhat bewildered. It advertises itself as a rom-com which is a genre that typically women enjoy to see their idealised version of romance. The film's objective of wanting to present the realism of love and life reminds me of 500 days of Summer. They're not the same but kind of have that same feeling of "things just don't work out" but the trailers of the movie are different. It doesn't target an audience group that are bound to be disappointed in the ending which is why I have such mixed feelings on the ending. While I understand the ending is realistic, I am still disappointed and unsatisfied with it especially since it is hinted that both leads are still in love with each other. But honestly I feel like it only touches on the surface level of realistic relationships. I think it may be due to the constant fluctuating between serious, realism and rom-com. Some parts of it are so comical that it wouldn't be crazy to believe that despite everything, we'd still get a happy ending. That's not to say that you can't have a realistic movie with comedic elements; the movie just doesn't balance the serious and comedy that well, leaving me with mixed emotions.

Like I've commented before, I think a lot of people will be dissatisfied with the ending in terms of the pairings. The leads are clearly still in love with each other and rebounding so if you were watching for Krystal and rooting for her (which I don't really understand why you would other than your bias towards the actress), I'm sorry but the male lead was essentially rebounding/settling for her and that relationship was all based on temptation and lust.

I didn't like that they glossed over what the female lead was going through on an emotional level. But I guess that could be excused as the film being mostly from the male's perspective. Despite the lack of perspective from the female lead, I really sympathised with her. Honestly the plot twist is basically just a superficial shocker; my feelings and opinions for the leads didn't change. I still sympathised with her despite everything because she was being emotionally neglected by the male lead. so you can understand why she was essentially "unfaithful". I don't condone it but I understand where she's coming from. For god's sake, she was pregnant and then got an abortion. Him complaining about how he was still making an effort to see her despite it being an inconvenience was not it for me. He basically led her to believe and have expectations that he was committed to her emotionally and everything when that was not the case as he was wavering in the workplace.

Even though I'm complaining a lot about the male lead, I still don't hate his character lol which is ironic. I think Jang Ki-yong is so charismatic that it's difficult to hate his character which I guess is a good aspect of the film. The characters aren't categorised as bad or good because that's simply not how life works. Yes, the characters made mistakes and had their wrongdoings but those are seen as flaws, something very much of human nature.

Overall, the only reason I would watch this film again would be to see the chemistry between Chae Soo-bin and Jang Ki-yong. Hopefully they get to work together again in the future.

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For me this movie was just okay. The biggest problem is that 'Luke' is not a very good actor. I don't think he delivered a single line of dialog convincingly. ('Dominic' is fantastic, though, and he has a beautiful singing voice.)

The second biggest problem is that the ending feels very forced. The movie's third act sets up a bunch of problems that it does nothing to resolve. Nothing! (Like, what about that date for prom? And Luke's homophobic friends?)

By the time we get to the final scene of the film we know that Luke is unreliable. He runs hot and cold and has no idea what he really wants. Maybe he loves Dominic, but on the other hand maybe he's just driven by guilt. So, the sentimental ending is unconvincing. It needed something that would assure us (and Dominic) that Luke really, truly knows what he wants now. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised if the next day he's back with the girlfriend. (Something tells me that will be the premise of the sequel. *Yawn* )

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Would you kill him for me then?

Damn, the trailer got me so excited for this movie. First, japanese LGBTQ+ themed movies are still kinda rare. Secondly, it was looking like the story is gonna touch upon some sensitive topics. Lastly, CHE.R.RY by YUI used in that trailer. What can I say, I love that song.

N O T  S P O I L E R  F R E E / N O  M A J O R  S P O I L E R S

Shinoda Nanae is barely surviving. With her husband beating her up, she calls her old friend Nagisawa Rei to share her pain. Old love dies hard, so others can die easily. Rei takes it upon herself to get rid of Nanae's bastard husband. Both girls being the "damaged goods" decide to run away together. But they were damaged since the beginning of knowingeach other...

There are things I really liked about this movie.

Abuse. Different forms of it. Physical or psychological. The movie was not afraid to show that any relationship can be pretty toxic. Gay, straight, doesn't matter.

Depression and suicide. Nanae is depressed, talking about suicide a lot. The reason why in the story it's Rei killing her husband, instead of Nanae going to the police, is the way abuse and depression is treated in Japan. Killing is sadly way more effective in her case...

Manipulation and obsession. Nanae uses Rei, because she knows she was always obsessed with her. But Nanae herself wasn't able to accept the fact Rei wasn't the only one obsessed for 10 years.

How LGBTQ+ is perceived, in this case lesbian relationships. Rei was told by young age that she should "forget the straight girl", being exposed to toxic masculinity and prejudice all the time, tired of having to hide her orientation.

There were also things I didn't like...

So, who's responsible for this bull... Loosing virginity after years of lesbian sex, just because she did it with a guy once? That's not how this works. Same with Rei thinking she wouldn't be able to satisfy her, because she doesn't have the D. Sigh... Really.

I haven't read Gunjo, but what the hell is the director's obsession with Rei getting nailed by guys? Why? Is this in the original story? Or is it in this movie just to makw it more sex centered? Don't understand it.

Well, some scenes were pretty long. Silent. It got boring really fast, especially towards the end.

Not deep enough. Sometimes it felt as if the creators got too scared to go deeper with feelings, explaining, everything. The informations and problems of the characters kept piling up and that was it.

Also I think the trailer got lot of people confused, including me. The vibe was similar to Handmaiden, just modern, so we expected a thriller. We got none of it and it dissapointed some of us.

Overall, I was happy with first half of the movie story wise, with the other half only acting wise. Was it worth my time? I think it was, but probably won't watch it again.

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What Real Life Relationships are “Sweet and Sour”

First and foremost I feel a lot of k-drama viewers want that ROM-COM happy feeling, happy ending for it to be considered a great K-drama. So if that’s how you feel a k-drama should be in your book than that’s completely understandable and you will probably miss out on a great “real life” everyday sort of vibe from this movie.
All the actors brought each of their characters personalities and feelings out great.
If you’ve ever been in a relationship where it’s on the outs and meet someone unexpectedly that sort of “fills in or starts to replace” what you’ve been missing or need in life . Than you will completely understand Chae Soo-bin’s character Da-eun, she’s the one most audiences will side with first. She portrayed a girl who just wants to be loved and can easily be loved.
Than theirs Krystal she really made it hard to dislike her, she was funny with out really trying to be funny if that makes sense. It’s not like she was trying to steal someone else’s boyfriend either because she really didn’t know.
Finally that brings us too Jang-Hyuk who I thought was the same person the whole time until the last 5 mins than I was like “ooooooooooo that’s why” 😂 any film that can “mind F@#$” you until the end is always going to be a 10 in my book. It’s like a great magic trick ..even though most won’t admit they think magic is cool 😎 but you will still be amazed if the trick is good.
My final thoughts are I honestly see “Sweet and Sour” being “real life problems and relationships” to everyday people who are to busy for each other or have that temptation from other suitors. Even though none actually cheated in the film it’s the whole trust and temptation that really can ruin a relationship and how easy someone else can step in if your not careful and cherish the one you truly love.

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Special

A movie starting as a comedy with many sweet points (e.g. nurse kissing the bag of saline fluid and telling the patient that it is a special treatment for his faster recovery), with the right cast (don't only look at the leads, the mom and dad and the hospital room mates, and the head nurse, ... just great), turns into a tragedy as everything is collapsing.
Or so it seems.
The movie maker had fooled us all along!
You have to watch it again to look at the details: when the ring went missing, when this and that.
A masterpiece, including the very matching musing to the moment when the mask fell and the truth became revealed.
One question, which I don't see people asking, and my answer is a nay: did she get the abortion? I think she got to keep the child, and the folks who give poor ratings to this movie completely missed the personality of the nurse.

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Not a romantic comedy at all!

I did not like this show. No where was it a romantic comedy or even close to what they showed in the trailer.

The guy was a total creep for what he did to her. Looks like she never changed because she is taking another guy to the same places she went with the ex. Also buying the same shoes as she did for the jerk! Also, she is dating someone with almost the same name! Sad that the cycle started all over for her. I feel bad for the new guy because he seemed sweet and does not realize he is a stand in for the last guy. The ex could not decide who he wanted in the end and was a shallow jerk. But on the other hand she was no better.

Acting was good! I have seen the two mains in other shows and liked them both. That was one of the only thing I liked about this movie.

If this is what modern relationships are like... PASS! I feel sorry for people. No loyalty at all! I guess I am just a bit old fashioned.

Rewatch? Nope and if I do it will be a VERY VERY long time.

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A masterpiece that needs more recognition!!!!!!!

Omygod. This movie has been on my list for so long but I've been putting it down for no reason and it's a huge mistake for this movie is indeed a masterpiece that needs more recognition and attention!!

STORY: This has to be the most unique and amazing storyline I've ever seen! It doesn't revolve around the sexuality or any queer related stuff but rather talks about the societal norms and struggles people experiences and are being put on because of the society and religious doctrines. I love the story so much for you've never seen any movie in this type of context and they executed it well.


ACTING/CAST: Amazing amazing cast tbh! What I also love about this film is that we literally watch 3 main characters and a bit of side characters but the exposure is all on those 3 main characters that made it more impactful as we go through their emotions and such. The actors were truly phenomenon, we'll feel their emotions and the build up of everything.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: This film is literally a moving painting. Every scenes and shots are wonderfully selected and the editing choice ?? so gooodd!!!!!

OVERALL: you should now watch it, not later not never, this has so much to give and I hate the fact that it doesn't get the attention it needs and deserves! This film will enable to make you feel human again with its emotions. A total worth of time.

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Sweet & Sour is your typical rom-com, but that does not mean it's bad.

The problem that many couples face today is how they can survive in a highly industrialized and work focused society. It is no wonder that couple success rates are lower and lower each year, since so many struggle to balance their life in terms of work and love. So, are you willing to sacrifice your job for your relationship? That is the not so simple question this film poses.

This film simply shows you how easily a huge workload can tear your relationship, especially a long-distance one. This isn't done in a revolutionary way, but it is interesting enough that it'll want you to keep watching. It might even make viewers rethink their values and life choices. And it has a nice little twist at the end that I'm sure many will enjoy.

The overall atmosphere of this movie is cosy and the cinematography and music are good but, again, nothing revolutionary.

I would recommend you to watch this during a rainy afternoon when you don't have much to do, and when you might be feeling a bit down. That's exactly what I did, and it even made me shed a few tears.

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