Reviews

I loved it sooo much!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

OMG what's happening here?! omomo
This film really can catch everyone's attention, from the very beginning. The hungarian dubbed sounds also fit to a large extent and they are not disturbing at all. It was enjoyable in both languages, with both Korean and Hungarian dubbing. The plot threads are perfectly connected and they are also remarkable. The soundtracks are dramatized at once, but still creepily cool!
The casting of the actors was also a great success! Both the main and supporting actors too. AND THE END OF THE movie wassss touched but at the same time it was great and "artistic" as well. I loved the ending scene! I know that I would defenetely watch it again and again this movie in the future! I can recommend this movie for everyone!!

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A Rant.

It's a really enjoyable show overall, but there are some visible flaws that bothered me a lot and that's what I want to focus on in this review. I do recommend trying this movie out if you're not as picky as I am in terms of small details like natural character development and such.

THE COMEDY
The actors were amazing; they played their role flawlessly and nailed all the funny scenes. My biggest problem was the lack of support on those particular scenes with background music. So many times they lay out hilarious dialogues and facial expressions, but leave us with complete, awkward silence. Nothing to accompany the funny thing that just happened. We all know what kind of humor will ensue in this subgenre of body swap- obviously the ridiculous, unbelievable scenarios and awkward misunderstandings that can cause second-hand embarrassment to us viewers. They really missed out on amplifying the comedy by not adding ANY comedic music at all. The uncomfortable confrontations that were supposed to be funny became uncomfortable for me as well. It made me laugh but felt bad for it afterwards. It just left a lil bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I thought maybe they were trying out a different vibe with the lack of comedic musical cues, perhaps a more realistic and subtle approach to comedy like The Office. But... it's not the same. They had background music for the sad scenes, for the intense scenes, for the normal happening scenes, so why not be consistent and add it on the funny scenes too? It was subconsciously jarring and unpleasant.

THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
One of the biggest flaws I found in this show is the lack of portrayal in our main character's development. It posed an important lesson about greed and regrets, but failed to show us the reality of the people living these lives. The main character stumbled upon his first love and for some reason, he just... loves her again? At first we'd assume that they fell apart due to some unforseen circumstances in the past, perhaps some kind of star-crossed lover subgenre. But then they tell us "Nah man the guy broke up with her cuz he wanna marry a rich bich" that left us with our mouths wide open. Say what? You're telling me, the guy feels sorry for abandoning his ex girlfriend because...? Because what? He literally forgot she existed until he saw her again?? He obviously never looked for her or even cared if she was alive! How did he change into a good man??? How could he just give up everything he's ever done, all of his hard work in the company... just to live with his middle class ex girlfriend and biological daughter whom he never cared about in the first place. I'm just so confused. You can't convince me "oh he's changed cause he realizes he has a daughter" like, a GREEDY gangster like him who left his loved one and DISRESPECTED HER IN HER FACE, GETTING ENGAGED WHILE THEY WERE STILL TOGETHER, does not just change into an earnest, caring man in an instant! Stop capping! Man just thinking about it makes me mald.
Also, a lil chubby high school boy trained for like 2 weeks in the gym and all of a sudden he's a sexy, six pack black belt martial arts master who can smack two big-body bouncers and ten "skilled?" gangsters, on separate occasions. I know this is not supposed to be realistic, but that really caught me off guard and it was such a turn off, development-wise. They really do be pulling a shounen anime teenage soft boy training arc into the mix, huh.

Anyway this review became a little too aggressive and informal, sorry about that. I liked this movie, but I had to subtract some points because these factors really broke my immersion with the show, and it could've been better if only they gave it a little more thought rather than slapping a generic comedy trope that ends with a cheesy happy ending and waiting for the money to rain down. Not gonna lie I did enjoy the ending like a good spoonful of sugar, but I don't have a sweet tooth.

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The best chapter so far!

The third and (at least for now) last installment of the "Detective Chinatown" franchise is, as far as I'm concerned, by far the best. The script this time is spotless: the mystery part is at the same time extremely well done and really gripping; the comedy part is funny without being too silly like in the previous chapter; last but not least, the action scenes are very entertaining (just as I expected, the Tokyo setting helped a lot there). The cast did a marvelous job and also benefited from the presence of some very good actors from Japan (whereas the American supporting cast seen in the previous movie had been mostly sub par, imho). Last but certainly not least, the production value is as high as they come. Can't wait for the next chapter (if there'll be one as the final scenes might suggest)! Oh, talking about the ending - what a beautiful message! It's not often that I feel like giving a perfect 10 to an action movie, but this one deserves it! ^___^

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An Interesting Message on Society

The story takes place in China and it's about two people on a trip to assess gems who find themselves in a very remote place of China that is very cut off from modern civilization. People there live a very agrarian and secluded life and our two protagonists find themselves entranced by the serenity and beauty of the seclusion. Rather than about gems, the story is more about this village that the two protagonists stumble into when they got lost midway during their trip.

The characters and story are very interesting: the two characters lead different lives (one's a typical white-collar and the other's a mafia member). While both of them are attached to the peacefulness of being so far away from civilization, the degree of attachment is different between them. The white-collar appreciates the peace but he finds himself missing the company and the busyness of society. On the other hand, the mafia who has faced violence and blood his entire life would rather stay here secluded forever from society than go back to the gruesome life he used to live.

The film is refreshing, aesthetic, and at times humorous; however, near the end, the brightness and hopefulness become a bit pitiful and dark because of the mafia's desperation to stay and protect the place.

The ending to me was a bit confusing. I had to actually think over it a little bit before I understood why what happened happened. But overall, it was a really stunning film, both in terms of the scenery and the story delivered.

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This sequel to the beautifully made Come Drink With Me should have been called Silver Roc instead of Golden Swallow. The amazing Cheng Pei Pei, the star of CDWM, is relegated by director Chang Cheh to a supporting role in her own movie in favor of Jimmy Wang's Silver Roc.

The story sets up an unhealthy love triangle. The Roc is a ruthless killing machine cutting and slashing his way across the country taking out anyone affiliated with a gang or evil family. The problem comes in when he frames the Golden Swallow for the killings bringing down all sorts of trouble on her head. Fortunately for her, Lo Lieh shows up as the Golden Whip saving her after she's been poisoned and protects her while she heals. The two of them fight side-by-side together and become friends though The Whip is falling in love with her. Meanwhile the Roc spends all of his non-killing time at the brothel.

Why did the Roc set her up repeatedly? He and the Swallow had known each other at their martial arts school years ago and he would occasionally speak to her even though he was a jerk to everyone else. Now he's trying to force her to come to him with the bad guys hunting her down relentlessly even though he's known where she is all along. I don't begin to know how to reconcile her having feelings for a man who kills mercilessly and puts her life repeatedly at risk out of "love". These aren't spoilers, it's literally the plot for the whole movie. It's that basic.

Wang is seen several times riding a horse and he rides like he wields a sword-sloppily and as if he'd never done it before. Normally, Lau Kar Leung is my favorite fight choreographer, but he missed severely with this movie, maybe it was Tang Chia's influence. Wang's ultimate swordsman abilities are akin to spray and pray with everyone falling down. In CDWM Pei Pei's moves were artistic, here they are rudimentary and she keeps having to throw her hands up like a cheerleader. Lo Lieh manages to look smooth and powerful which only accented Wang's frenetic movements. It didn't help that Wang's acting was stiff as a board in this movie.

What I did like were Pei Pei's and Lieh's performances. They came across more naturally bringing some depth and nuance to scenes that bordered on the ludicrous. Wu Ma played a good guy for a change and he was able to show what he can do with a few lines and scenes.

I know I'm coming across as harsh, but watching Come Drink With Me and Golden Swallow back-to-back was a mistake because the difference in quality and style was glaring. Chang Pei Pei commanded the screen in CDWM, in Golden Swallow she was stuck playing the vacillating female over someone who kills and threatens to get her attention. Wang's character took up most of the story which is a shame because he was the least interesting thing about the whole movie. I would have scored GS lower, but gave it a bonus point bump for Cheng Pei Pei's and Lo Lieh's diligent work to save this story.

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Welcome Home Rui

Story/Acting/Cast/Characters
The storyline follows 93% of "Always" (the Korean version) in the storyline, characters, and even dialogue. Yet, the subtle changes made me enjoy this version a lot more than I thought I would. It differs from the Korean version in that it has less of a romantic melodrama feel. Even some lighthearted comedic scenes didn't make it to the Japanese version. The warm lighting from the Korean version was missing, and instead, we get more cool tone coloring. Another thing was the age. I thought it was off seeing such a young-looking actor play the male lead who is supposed to be in his 30's, but instead, they changed the Japanese lead character to be 24 years old.

The main difference that I see from the drama would be with the male lead Antonio/Rui/Ojisan. In the Japanese version, he becomes more stoic. He doesn't talk much, expresses himself less, and comes off a bit more aloof. In my opinion, this adds to the change in Antonio's past that I found lacking in "Always." With the slight change, I feel like the story shifts, and the screentime focuses more on Antonio and less on Kashiwagi Akari.

Yoshitaka Yuriko did great at expressing a bright Kashiwagi Akari, but I had trouble feeling her conviction when it came to the emotional scenes. I'm not too familiar with her, nor do I watch many Japanese movies/dramas, so I'm not sure if this is a difference in how culture's express emotions that I'm not used to.

Music
It's interesting to see the use of music and how it gets incorporated into dramas/movies. In the case of this movie, music wasn't present here. There were two distinct moments where I remember the music was when "Your Eyes Tell" made a presence in the movie. There were many silent moments where it's just dialogue and the natural crickets and street sounds. Instead, the silence made the focus of the dialogue a lot more important and matched the feel of the show a lot more. Unlike most dramas/movies, the lack of music made it so that the movie didn't try to extract emotions from us at dramatic moments in the storyline. Yet, we still got those same emotions due to the acting and directing, which was worth noting.

Overall Comparison Likes and Dislikes (spoilers included.)
Positives:
1. The theme of "おかえり" and "ただいま" was truly heartfelt in this movie. It tied into Antonio/Rui's backstory of being an orphan who never felt a sense of belonging in the world and, along the way, makes decisions that aren't the best.

2. Antonio's character setup leads to the writers wanting to create some character development for Antionio, and we see that and done quite well for a movie like this. Antonio wants redemption for himself, and even though he got his sentence and left the group, he felt like it was not enough. Especially with the reveal of his connection with Akari. His internal struggle was always there, being his weakness and now his strength to move on.

3. While I don't find the story of Romeo and Juliet beautiful, I do find that Shakespear writes beautifully. The line used in both movies, "Her eye discourses; I will answer it." I love how there was just a little bit more focus on in the Japanese version (literally one extra scene of Antonio staring at the braille words of it). So, in case you don't know, this was when Romeo was comparing Juliet's eyes to stars and how they shine ever so brightly. I found this line kind of ironic in this movie but so fitting. Akari's lack of sight is what brought them together, but at the same time, her eyes were the barrier to their relationship. And when I say "barrier," I mean in terms of how she lost her sight.

4. Some dialogue that was altered for the movie added more emotional depth to their relationship. I can think of three main dialogue scenes: the trip, the talking about the future, and the ending scene.

5. An extra positive point, I enjoyed the kickboxing scenes here, probably due to the angles and cuts. Yokohama Ryusei doesn't wear a tank top like how So Ji Sub did in the Korean version, so you'll definitely see his abs.

Negatives (specific scene spoilers. For this part, I suggest watching it first and then coming to read this to see if you have similar or different opinions):
In my opinion, there were three scenes in the Japanese version that were lacking for me and were pivotal to the movie.
1. Face tracing scene by the window. This scene should have emphasized her tracing his face and less of Akari holding Antonio's face. I thought this scene was so beautifully done in the Korean version from both So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Joo. The way she slowly traced his face with her fingers and tried to envision how he would look like. On the other end, he was shy and felt so much emotion for the woman in front of him. I didn't feel those same emotions in the Japanese version and was disappointed with the lack of emphasis. The reason why is that later on, when the female lead goes and tries to sculpt his face, she closes her eyes and tries to remember his features that she felt through her hands. We know that she was trying to remember this exact scene to recreate his face. In the Korean version, how she traced the sculpted clay was similar to how she traced his face in that scene.

2. Back Massage. While it was short, the back massage scene had a bit more emphasis in the Korean version and made sense later. Jung Hwa sat on his back longer to massage him while they talked, with cuts of her fingers massaging his back. Later on at the hospital, it wasn't until she flipped him onto his stomach and massaged him the same way that she felt the familiarity of the man she was massaging. The Japanese version had less focus on her massaging him on the bed, and she didn't even turn him on his back in the hospital later on but still felt the familiarity of him.

3. Reveal of Ajusshi/Ojisan. The way that the Korean version had it set up so that Jingga was the one who hinted that it was his dad came in sets: when Jingga ran to Ajusshi and knocked him over, Jingga and Jung Hwa staring at Ajusshi's back, and Jingga kept barking while they were inside. How they got the dog who plays Jingga to cooperate and made its body language seem like it recognized Ajusshi, along with the focus of Jingga was seamless. Suku is still a cute dog, but how the director included everything but the part where the female lead and dog stared at the male lead's lonely backside limping off. That part was replaced with the focus on Akari, saying, "What's wrong?" and then back to Ojisan with Akari and Suku blurred out. Then inside the store, instead of facing the door and barking, Suku was just barking. I don't know, this seems silly, but I feel like it added a lot to the reveal of our Ajusshi/Ojisan.

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Great mystery part, a bit lacking action-wise and in the comedy

A bit weaker than the first movie, this "Detective Chinatown 2" is imho extremely good in the mystery part, where it manages to be interesting and quite gripping, while it lacks a little action-wise, particularly if compared to the previous movie (I suppose that setting it in New York City didn't help with that - I hope the Tokyo setting will provide better action opportunities in the third chapter!). The comedy is also definitely not as effective as it was in the original movie: Tang Ren's character is often way over the top and sometimes even borderline annoying; also the supporting characters left me with mixed feelings, a few of them are a nice touch (like the cute hacker), but most of the others are little more than extras and don't add much at all.

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Best acting in Japanese media but that's the only good thing about this movie

As I said, the acting is masterful. Easly the best of all Japanese dramas and movies I've seen. Maybe even one of top 10 of all media I've ever seen. The cast did amazing job, I didn't feel like they acted at all. It also wasn't anime-like or cartoonish at all which is unusal for Japanese media (that I've seen at least).

The soundtrack was also nice, though there weren't a lot of music. Most of the time the background sound was silence. However, these are the only good things I can say about this movie. There will be spoilers.

The first thing I hated was Rei's "lesbianism". Sorry but no. I am a lesbian and it was very hard to watch. She was supposed to be out of closet but she had a voluntary sex with men. What lesbian does that? Was it suppoed to show her awful mental state? Was she trying to punish herself? It's just a very weird decision for me. Moreover, I feel like it only invalidated her sexual orientation. I can't believe she's lesbian because her actions towards men don't make sense to me. Also, it made me feel sick and disgusted. I wish they discarded all the sex scenes but especially those with Rei and men. Or at least didn't claim she's a lesbian.

The relationship between Rei and Nanae is toxic af. They are toxic people and they get worse when they're together. It made impossible for me to root for them. They were portrayed as bad people, not just lost or misunderstood, but I guess it's understandable as the movie starts with a murder. (Also I love how Rei made a disclaimer she's not a simp: "I did not murder a man to have sex with the woman I love". Beautiful.) Another point is I don't believe the love Rei had for Nanae. I don't believe it held for more than 10 years and was strong enough to make her kill for Nanae. I see it as just a cheap way to move plot forward. The actresses did what they could but it's just a big plothole for me.

As for the technical side of the movie. What the hell if wrong with the camera work? It was shaking so much, is the cameraman alright? It did get better further in the movie but it never really went away. It made me quesy watching it as if I had a motion sickness. The shots were also weird, sometimes too close, sometimes too far to the side so half of the screen if filled with irrevelant stuff and you can't see the important stuff happening.

I could write more points but I don't want to spoil it too much. Also, this is long enough. I wouldn't recommend this movie but if you want to risk it then expect a lot of nudity and sex scenes, crying and not much of logic.

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Beauty and the beast

Alone and helpless, Ali spends her days by the sea accompanied by Hai Daiyu (Han Dong), a fish that can transform into a man. As time passes, the two fall in love. However, Ali imprisons Yan after she becomes pregnant while Hai Daiyu's whereabouts remain unknown. Soon enough, Ali discovers that the conspiracy behind the marriage to the sea god.

I found this movie to be very similar to beauty and the beast the English version, although enjoyable and funny with the whole plot of deceiving and falling in love to protective and fighting your way through the mess.

It was a good watch when you in that switch off kinda mood.

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Just... WTF people??? [SPOILER]

This movie is sooooooo messed up!
First of all, what's the point of becoming "beautiful" on the outside if you become so ugly on the inside and treat your best and only friend and your father in an old age like that!??
Not even talking abt decieving everyone including the guy she loves and then acting like she is the victim...
And let's be honest. The only reason why she admited everything is bc she was losing everything:friends,family,love,career+scandal. If everything was going well, this probably would have went on for years...

Second, just WTF! Nice message for all the people who are overweight.👏🏼👏🏼Society already make them believe that they're ugly and this movie just had to add another *thick* layer.

The only things I liked were that it's from 2006 and about the music industry so you could actually see the influence of Black music. And that the actors are good.

I seriously wasn't expecting smth like that. And it's a real disappointment. Especially bc a lot of my friend told me abt it saying it's a famous movie that had adaptations in many countries and that they highly recommend it.....

Basically the message of this movie is: "If you're fat and ugly, go do surgery. Your life will become beautiful."
No wonder the plastic surgery industry is doing so well in Korea with people who grow up with this movie...

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Excellent Movie with unexpected ending

Second life a terrifying movie with a psychological element.

Story
Sun hee has parents who doesn’t give her attention, she crave for it. At school she doesn’t have friends but she creates and opportunity to make friends by buying them concert tickets. Later she buys them snacks and to gain more attention she ends up telling lies that she got a boyfriend. Her friends immediately figure out and that she might be telling lie which she overhears. She then frames her friend as Jung Mi as a ring thief to get revenge. The teacher search everyone and as for Jung Mi she has a secret which gets reveled. Jung Mi takes her life infront of Sun Hee. Sun hee runs away to country side and starts a new life in an orphanage as Kim Seul Ki. But her past secret is short lived as the saying goes “there no secret hidden forever”

Plot View
The story is solid and brutal not say as its based on a teenager. Its not their fault for being shy, its that they didn’t get parental education and lack confidence. People would say that many are born orphans but they are not like Sun Hee, yes not everyone is like her but some can be its like a psychological disease.
The ending is shocking and inconclusive. But TBH its beyond my expectations, I kept on doing my probability that this could happen or that could happen but what happens is shocking.
No matter how many new life Sun Hee begins and how many names she purloin, she will always be Su Hee and its futile. The first step would be to accept yourself for who you are but it's something a very few people achieve.

Acting
The acting was superb by all the teenage girls. It was like am seeing juniors from my own school. I loved the portrayal of character and the expressions of every actor was beautiful.

music
I was so invested in the story that I actually didnt get it. BGM were good.

Rewatch
Its a heavy movie for me. I love light hearted ones as rewatch.

Appreciation
The scenes were cinematic and beautiful.
As its short with just 1hour time its a great watch.
There no extra scenes or chitter chatter every scene makes the story moving forward.

Fav line
I can see myself even if I take another person with the camera - Lee Bang Wul

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Too short but it’s okay

I don't know what to say but The story was too short there was hardly any music it looks like it was made for teenagers because it was kind of senseless at times.
Acting was good but there could be more romance and more fantasy elements.
Graphics were great for a 2009 movie
I wouldn't really rewatch it because it doesn't make sense.
Basically you can understand the movie and relate things if you have seen the first part and it is more like a prequel than a sequel.
It's a good one time watch tho
I loved kuniichi. He could have more scenes.
The main couple too could've had more moments together.
All that build up from the start didn't lead to anything.

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Bland, but would recommend anyways

While I'm sure there are many good ones that exist, when I think of Wild Wild West, Cowboys fighting Indian movies I often think of flashy but nondescript storylines. A fun watch while you're watching it, but then when you reflect you realize nothing has really happened. Maybe a tumbleweed, maybe a saloon scene...but that's about as memorable as it is. If that stereotype had an Eastern counterpart, I'd relate it to watching this. Costumes and production was well, and the acting roster is commendable as well. But the storyline was definitely a B or C tier choice. I watched it particularly to experience Sato and Aoki's acting, but was overall not particularly drawn to any character. Nor did I feel like I watched any emotional tugging character development. Immemorable (if that were a word). But with all that negativity in mind, I wouldn't not recommend this. In fact, I'd say that given how bland it is -- if you want to have a fair enjoyable experience, but no major heartfeels (or just want something easy but still fairly exciting to watch), then you should watch it. It's still shot well. If we're not doing comparisons to other movies out there, this is a box standard--no major bad qualms movie.

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