Reviews

My two favorite guys; Mark Chao and Wang Duo (not Deng Lun)

I was interested with this movie because of Mark Chao and Wang Duo..this is the two Chinese actor that surely bring out the best of characters, not that Deng Lun isn't good but he's more to romance gender kind of character. Mark has steady, quiet, sympathetic, strong personality that gives his character more weight while Wang Duo is best with his dramatic character, Deng Lun buffed up with his appearance. All actors did awesome, from the MLs to supporting actors, visual feast. Collaboration Visual/sound effect with acting skills from the actors made this movie over the top quality. The dragon thing wasn't my favorite though...but this one of two movies with the same titles and magic, action, flashy visual effect and weird creatures are part of this deal. Good and evil play the role of distinction in two character Qing Ming and Bo Ya, the two formed friendship from different side of opinions, with humor tricking/spying other opponents. Bo Ya was very fierce what he thought wrongdoings while Qing Ming was easy going on presumably black/white characters...while Wang Duo was Qing Ming's dead SiFu that loved and protected a woman to her evil doing no matter in what cost. ok I can't denied that I love Deng Lun here too...he wasn't Xu Feng anymore.

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Why I think this movie portrayed something important:

This is my first review so I really don't know how to write one but I thought this movie deserved something like it. Incredible movie and one of my favorites now.

I like how they portrayed Gi Woong's backstory and didn't just display that he was a bully. I've seen a lot of shows and read some books that are bullies/d to lovers and they can be very lacking in the department of explaining why the character was so cruel and mean to the other. But in this movie, we got to see his situation. Bullying is not ok and can never be justified, but most people have reasons and can change...His dad was a criminal and he got bullied and teased in middle school because of this and other reasons. He was angry at the world and just wanted to keep everyone at a distance because of his pride and the fact that he was hurting. I don't think he actually ever liked fighting and hurting people, it was just his nurture; he was confused and frustrated and didn't know how to function under the stress that was overwhelming him. It happens to real people and it's really a sad thing to see people that was nice and sweet turn into people that hurt others.

I ssw some comments wondering if Gi Woong was actually gay and I think he was a variant of it. It seems when he asked Yong Ju why he kept following him around he already knew the answer. The frustration from his confusion pushed Yong Ju away from him. But it seems like in the end, he had accepted it. He always showed regret after he'd hurt Ju. And Yong Ju always liked him no matter what.

It was a pretty sad movie. It made me cry more than I usually do. Like most people, I didn't know it was going to take the darker turn that it did. It was a pretty long movie but no part left me bored. And it showed more than just romance. It told of character development and self-acceptance. I showed how easy it can be to just give up. Because some people have really terrible lives but they stick through it and try to make the most out of it. It was a beautifully sad movie that is really hard to put into words.

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I've already watched the other Yin-Yang Master film on Netflix, and while this one is definitely prettier I feel like the characterizations are stronger in the Deng Lun version than in this one aside from one - Qing Ming. For me, Qing Ming is very much a "fuck around and find out" character, and Chen Kun embodies that entirely. There's something about him that feels very chaotic in the most interesting kind of way.

The visuals are definitely where this film shines, specifically in the scene and set design. The character work still has some of that plasticine feel of CG, but the worlds feel really exceptional, particularly the Demon Realm, Qing Ming's Courtyard, and the Yin Yang Bureau. Fight sequences fought in these sets feel otherworldly, displaced outside of reality in the way of good fantasy.

The story drags a bit in the later acts. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, it just feels like a much longer movie than it actually ends up being.


TL;DR: Visually, the spectacle is 100% -- and I really love the characterization of Qing Ming here.

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Godzilla is nearing death not only for himself but possibly all of humanity as his nuclear heart is about to explode. If that wasn't enough to deal with, Japan's G Force must also contend with some truly scary monsters created from the original 1954 Godzilla weapon-the oxygen destroyer-that have reached maturity and come ashore.

Though we are still in the rubber suit era, the CGI and miniatures are quite good for this time and budget. The Destoroyah describes a number of ten foot tall monsters that look like a cross between Alien and the creatures from Starship Troopers, or giant creepy scorpions that can also shoot laser breath out. Their battle with humans in a building were probably the scariest scenes I've seen in the old G movies. The danger and stakes were immediate and personal. When a reporter is trapped in a car with a Destoroyah after her it's more compelling than when unseen humans die in buildings and cars crushed by the giant monsters.

The story for this movie is strong when it focuses on the monsters. Godzilla's son appears and fights Destoroyah, drawing Godzilla back for a final battle. The fights are good, resisting the camp of older movies.

The weak spot in this movie is as usual, the humans. This group was a particularly bland group of actors and flat characters. The one bright spot was a call back to the original Godzilla movie when Momoko Kochi reprises her 1954 role as Emiko Yamane. Ultimately, the monsters showed more believable anger and grief than the humans.

The OST for this movie was particularly good for a Godzilla movie evoking emotions and blending appropriately with the scenes. Probably the best music from any of the Godzilla movies I've watched.

Aside from the acting, the biggest problem I had with this movie was that the narrative and pacing were not always coherent or cohesive. There were times I wasn't completely sure what was going on. At others, it felt like parts of the story had been forgotten.

The movie makes a nice circle back to the original which is fitting as this was to be the last in this series. Godzilla fights one final monster, maybe his greatest enemy yet, before his punishing finish for Tokyo.

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quite confusing... (at least for me)

i never watch the drama and read the webtoon, even read spoilers or fansites. so i judge only this movie. first of all, i'm quite confused with how the story goes.. i can feel, somehow, it's a movie of combining hundreds chapters into a 2 hrs long movie. so there are some points that, at least for me, are confusing. i know it's too much to explain each characters, but it's quite weird for me how they suddenly show some characters without giving some hints or impactful scenes, though they (might be) some important characters, or even worse they suddenly give some impactful scenes but they actually are not important character. idk how to explain it, but i feel quite confused with the characters that makes me to look for the character chart from google. and somehow i feel like watching a movie that's a continuation of the previous movie/drama. like watching the next-week episode of a drama. sometimes i feel like missing something when watching this, like maybe the movie is edited because i watch it on illegal streaming site, but i doubt that.... maybe people who have read the webtoon can understand this movie fully because they know the stories, but for me it's just some romcom movie i watch because of the actors (well i don't really know if i can called it a romcom)

i appreciate this movie only because of the actors and actresses. i know all leads are great actors, oc park hae jin is the daesang awardee. i especially like oh yeon seo too. when i read some comments about this movie (on another site) who thinks kim go eun is better choice for Hong Seol, i never take that critics.

so maybe, it's back to people's preferences. first of all, i rarely watch romcom movie so... it's 7 for me for Park Hae jin and Oh Yeon Seo great acting. and the ending is quite nice

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dark and eerie movie with serenity and optimism tone

●HOW I CAME TO IT
It came in my recommendation list, I don’t know why it came although I don’t like horror movies but I ended up watching it.

●STORY
The movie is made up of 4short stories, with three stories connected to first one, where four strangers visit four humans who have their birthdays a day before the world ends. They have come to give them most unforgettable gift of life.
••First party- a filmmaker is camping at forest trying to finish writing a script for ten years. he hears an explosion and four strangers suddenly pass by, they have a small talk and filmmaker is insisted to narrate his script.
••Second party- a school girls who has inclination to unusual art, is hated at school. She meets a middle aged man who lives next door and goes for a drive with him and discovers that they both share the same desire that is destruction of the earth.
••Third party- a university professor who is mamas boy writes poem and is searching for true love. He is visited by a young woman with incurable disease and has a few days left before she dies. She says loves his poetry and wanted to meet him before she dies. they both spent time the day together.
••Fourth party- a housewife lives with a husband and child. She is tired sick and tired of her life due to lack of appreciation. When she goes out for grocery shopping, she meets a young woman who is her fan and has read the book written by her. Housewife goes with her to the greenhouse as she promises to give her a birthday present.

●PLOT VIEW
The movie is made up of 4short stories, with three stories connected to first one. Filmmaker is visited by four strangers and they promise a present if he narrates his new script, which is concurrently is about mysterious people visiting individual on their birthday. So the other three stories are framed as filmmakers script.
The movie is about a special gift for people who are neglected or outcast. All of them wanted someone to appreciate them, school girl wanted friends or parents to talk, professor wanted someone whom he can dedicate his poems, and the housewife wanted a friend who ca appreciate her hard-work. All the three human takes a trip them as I presumed it as “I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING”
The scenarios seems light but when the movie ends it leaves chills down the spine. The film has a grim concept, which is ghastly approach telling that every human has same ending but still not same if he has found what he wanted from life.
The plot twists are breathtaking woe of artwork.

●ACTING/CAST
Just stupendous by each and every actor.
The first mention is Kim So-hee’s precocious high school student and Kim Sung-kyun’s erratic uncle, they pulled the movie to another level.
Lee Joo-Young is free spirit and Jang Young-Nam is as melancholy housewife having a party is yet another powerful performance.

●MUSIC
It was amazing and ensembled in each scene beautifully.

●REWATCH
Well TBH am a little afraid and scared. I appreciate the film but for a rewatch I would wait for my mind to fade it. You can have a rewatch if you like apocalyptic setting, with sci-fi, horror and fantasy mixed movie.

●APPRECIATION
The aesthetic in each frame is like an art. The rural and urban setting, forests and mountains, empty streets, silent library and many more has exquisite serenity Thanks to the cinematographer for this.

●FAV SCENE
When the schoolgirl and the uncle lie on the ground covered with fallen maple leaf.
The marijuana party at the green-house and the video-game framework.

●QUOTES
The world is doomed anyway, so let’s all go nicely. And if possible, let’s go beautifully

●AFTERTHOUGHT
Inspite of having a strange, death, violence setting, the movie has a playful and dramatic feel. i feel immense respect an gratitude to the writers /directors Seung-Bin Baek who have the courage to make such dark and eerie movie coating it into a dramatic concept with an optimistic tone.

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The movie is about flawed characters and their tangeled life.

The movie is about flawed characters and their tangeled life. Which I do not mind, its just that I do not have to like them and/or sympathise with them. The character Imagase is obsessed, a stakler and kajoled his "Love" into having sex. He pushed him to a point where the other guy "Falls" in love with him and longs for him. Appeared to me as some form of Stockholm syndrome. Otomo repeatedly and continually cheats. He has no respect for anyone else's feelings. I think he is a sociopath. Extremely self-obsessed and emotionally immature. Yes people like these are all around us and in a movie we would like to see the redemption part of such characters. Here I felt that was missing. There was no redemption for Imagase. He is still as obsessed with Otomo as he was before to a point tha he cannot even enjoy sex with someone else, even though he chose to leave Otomo. Otomo appears to have redemption by falling in love with Imagase, which is really unrealistic, cause this is a realistic movie and sociopaths need serious rehabilitation. By loving someone you cannot redeem yourself. There was no serious consequnces for the two lead characters, they have treated other people with such disrespect that the movie should have shown some consequences for them. Yes, one can argue that they did not end up together and there was no happy ending. To be honest these two characters cannot be happy together unless they work on their issues. May be at the end the makers wanted to show some glimpse of road to redemption by Otomo, but Imagase was left hanging. All in all it was not a satisfying expereince for me to watch this. I am all for movies portraying complex characters who are ruthless and self absorved. But I am against glorifying them and I think in this movie both these characters were glorified and the director wanted us to sympathise with them. Sorry I could not.

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I don't know why, but no one can do these types of stories like the Japanese. And Shakespeare, apparently. Even knowing part of what was coming, I still got so invested in the main couple. It was just really beautiful and so hard. And very unfair, but that's life, you know, and that's the sense I got from this drama, the push to still move forward even when everything in you wants to just give up because the pain seems so bad.

I want to say that I don't really care about the other 2 sets of characters, but that's not entirely true. Their storylines intersect with the main couple in interesting ways so they're sort of necessary. But I really couldn't stand Kyapiko. I get why she is the way she is, but that doesn't make me like her any better. She and her bff Jimiko were the only ones I didn't care for. Everyone else was amazing, and I have to give extreme kudos to Shotaro Mamiya and Hinako Sakurai for their performances. Outstanding, by far, and the main reason why this movie lingers in my memory and emotions.

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Thriller, suspenseful with good plot twist

•HOW I CAME TO IT
This movie was in my PTW for a long time because I didn’t find the source to watch it. I discovered it on Netflix yesterday so here am writing my review.

•STORY
Movie open up with the scene where a med student finds a dead body. He takes it up home to learn about human body more efficiently as earlier he only got dead animals for learning. He later discover that dead body was an elite official’s son and he was murdered. The police was trying to trackdown the murderer. To avoid being the suspect he hires a low rent detective, who is working to hunt for women cheating on their husbands. There is interesting plot twist which leaves the mind blowing.

•PLOT VIEW
The movie gives a feel of sherlock and watson duo, but am not going to compare the movie with them. Just because sherlock holmes is famous, its still a fictional character and there are lots of detectives who are there out in real life. So let Hong Jin Ho be it. He takes up the job seeing the money but he does his job seriously. He uses pre-electronic gadgets hand-made by an elite lady, who is like a modern day forensic expert. While tracking the murderer he discovers a horrendous bitter truth. With the med student and forensic expert woman, hong jin ho gets to make a trap and very interesting action scene takes place.
The Plot is solid and captivating since the start, and suspenseful with a good plot twist. I think it would have been more better with split personality thing rather than twin.
Near the end, one can see an opening for a sequel which, I wished if it had

•ACTING/CAST
Hwang Jung Min as Hong Jin Ho is not famous but a detective for family spats. He grows up in the character and becomes a hero at the end. He is kind of a hustler, not particularly sharp nor heroic, yet clever than he appears.

Ryu Deok Hwan as Jang Kwang Su was marvelous. His face had the innocence of youth who is worried to become a murder suspect and also he had the passion of medical student to become a good doctor. I had seen him before and he is surely has one of the finest actors whichever character he plays.

Uhm Ji Won as Soon Deok is an elite forensic expert, her role is small but still she stands out in her character. It seems as she has some kind of equation with the detective.

Yoon Je Moon as Eok Kwan  gives the standout performance as a villainous circus performer .I had seen him in some villain role before too and he surely keeps the level of villain above par.

•MUSIC
I didn’t really get engaged with the song, I was so much into the movie. But BGM were mostly natural sound effects with a minimal music, which was fine IMO.

•REWATCH
I am not into so much of spy or detective movies. But this movie can be rewatched .

•APPRECIATION
The film sets a thriller plot reflect the times of that period when Korea was occupied by the Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century. It has a completely different vibe. There are mixes of Western, Japanese, and Korean influences in the clothes, as well as language and sets. undertones of political tensions were done brilliantly which gives chills.

•CRITICISM
The main fault for this lies with the editing which deprives the action scenes from some real dynamic, the action scenes at the last were also very confusing. A chasing scene through the streets was unbalanced, as villain is running in roof top and detective is behind .

•AFTERTHOUGHT
The movie also has its comedic moments which worked naturally into the plot. even with its flaws. it's a story we have all seen before told in an unique manner.

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A Movie Full of Jokes that needed a Filipino Context

I can't believe that the humor is still there even though it was released a long time ago. From start to end, it doesn't distant to comedy. When there is a scene that you thought will be a tearjerker, in the middle, the mother will start to say or do something funny so the tears from the eyes will stop.

My favorites are when they re-enact a scene from past movies that are heavy drama in the genre like Anak, Tanging Yaman, and Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa?. What funny is that the original actors who say the famous line is also in this movie so it added to the humor. I like that each of her children is very unique. A responsible son, artistic daughter, a smart son, a girlish daughter, a smart daughter, a gay son, a religious son, a boyish daughter, a son with a disability, etc.

The main song used in this movie is also funny. I definitely rewatch it. Since most jokes in this movie needed context, it isn't recommended for people who are starting only to watch Filipino movies.

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Beautiful Story

It is an incredible and powerful story. It is not an adaption of a manga, but a very unique story. In this world, we have all chaotic issues that never surface and reveals itself. This story lure your attention to the women abuse, people dying without any reason etc. It is amazing and shocking that Asian is slowly accepting same-sex marriage. We should value life and not behave differently toward people with colour nor because they are slightly different from us.

In the story, "her abusive husband is dead, killed by her lesbian friend who would do anything for her. Now they're running for their lives".

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Deglamorizing criminal life

Plot
We follow the life of Yamamoto Kenji – young rebel whose life changes drastically when he meets the boss of Shibazaki-gumi and becomes a part of the yakuza family.
While the movie ticks off the fundamental elements and themes of yakuza movies, such as honour, family, crime, revenge, it doesn't shy away from showing the ugly truth about the often glamorized yakuza's life. We get to see the struggles that gang members have to face when trying to adapt to the changing times and the consequences of being a questionable part of the society. The passing years bring an inevitable reality check and the movie rises the question of what is a true family and if it's possible to escape from your past.

Acting
Ayano Go gives a solid performance and so does every actor who comes on screen. We get to observe raw emotion, people engulfed in rage or torn by remorse and despair, but also silent gestures, reactions that seem so real and so human.

Cinematography
The camera work grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The movements in chase and more violent scenes are more dynamic, the camera does not just simply follow, there are pans and tilts, it slows down or speeds up when needed. There are many really beautiful shots in this movie and the good use of lighting and colours creates certain moods and adds to the atmosphere.

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Wow, what a waste of cast

It's my first time writing a review that I did not rate high. I tried to watch this film as the kdrama is now airing, 12 minutes in the movie and i found myself pausing and skipping a lot of scenes. I find the FL to be a lot annoying both her character and the actress , well her acting isn't that bad, it's awful. The plot is good but the pacing and execution is poor, i bet the writers isn't that good at writing anyway. It had a lot of plotholes and unnecessary scenes or fillers, if I had watched this on theaters I would definitely leave at the middle. Chanyeol's acting isn't that special prolly because he is a rookie in the industry but also because his character is not different with his real life. Atleast the ost is good, i heard chanyeol has an ost in here so good. All in all, it wasn't that great as the hype says, I would not definitely rewatch this

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Totally Worth Your Time

I had to watch this movie for one of my classes at university - Chinese Culture - and I'm supposed to write a report on it. So yeah, me watching this movie was originally due to a school assignment but I immediately got excited once I saw the cast - I LOVE Bai Yu and when I saw him along with Deng Chao and our resident cutie Sun Xilun I knew I was in for a ride.
And what a ride!
If you're wondering whether you should watch this movie or not then the answer's YES - it's definitely worth watching.


STORY
While the story isn't the best built or the most complex out there it will make your insides churn with all the twists and turns it takes. You will laugh, you will cry, you will clap and you will trash certain characters. But most of all, you will end up feeling connected to them, something not all movies are able to do. The movie is focused on two specific timelines - past and present - mostly focusing on the past to build the narrative. Due to the past being a junction of flashbacks to justify the present, there are some unresolved issues that we end up forgetting about so there's some random information that is given to you and isn't properly clarified. That is the only reason why I won't rate the story an 8 although I have to admit that's probably the fairest rating.

ACTING
WOW. That's my exact thought when I think about the acting. I often see people bashing Chinese movies for this and for that and honestly these people are missing out on a bunch of great acting. Deng Chao is a well known name in China, being super popular due to his acting - and that's deserved. I haven't seen his other works and knew him mostly from variety shows but this movie made me want to watch his other works. His acting just left me mesmerized. I believed wholeheartedly in the character he built and he made the movie a hundred times better. We don't get as much Bai Yu as I initially expected but that's completely fine because the amount we have of him is enough for him to steal the show. He's an amazing actor (have y'all seen Guardian???? such a great actor) and he does a great job portraying the given character. I could make a whole essay about his acting and how overwhelmed it made me feel but I won't ahaha. I just have to add that the Deng Chao x Bai Yu combination of father and son made me cry rivers and I'm still not recovered. Now, our cutie Sun Xilun. Xilun was only 14 when this aired so he was probably 13 when they recorded it and he still managed to be one of the greatest actors in this movie. He plays the younger version of Ma Fei (while Bai Yu plays the older version) and he did a wonderful job! When I saw him on screen I legit yelled "CHENG LING" due to his role in Word Of Honor (probably my current favorite Chinese drama) because I was super excited to see him and he did not disappoint. The support characters also had great actors behind them and overall I think this was a wonderfully acted movie.
Just want to add that Deng Chao did an amazing job directing the movie!! The directing is fantastic!

MUSIC
The music is a great part on why this movie made me super emotional. The music just helps emphasize certain emotions and feelings and it is used to the best of it's ability in Looking Up.

Would definitely re-watch whenever I wanna go on an emotional journey or just want to review this masterpiece.

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