Reviews

a show that is guaranteed not to stir pleasant dreams nor terrible nightmares

i am rating 5 as overall mainly for efforts, money pumped into paying all the teams involved in this film, and for lessons i observe analyzing this film.

highlights of the film, i) immortal fart; ii) the caption typo, "i sot it!"; and, iii) a few of the concepts/imaginations are creative and interesting.

this is a shallow, CGI heavy, action fantasy show. just grab a popcorn or your favorite snack, or binge watch this. don't mind me though, this films is still relatively enjoyable. i guarantee you won't have pleasant dreams or terrible nightmares after watching this show. it's good that they attempt to make this film, but unfortunately, i feel that this is an (overly) ambitious project lacking in preparation maturity and depth. it has over-the-top costumes and trinkets/wearables that are intricately designed, and often act as a distraction/annoyance. some of the makeups and costumes can at times be a distraction/annoyance, too. it has has too many characters, but lacking in character depth and development, and lacking strong story/plot.

it could have been broken up into 2 or 3 parts to enhance the quality of the show.

Read More

poor quality bad acting

●I know i have started a wrong movie which has so many parts which are unbearable to watch but still i want to know the ending.
●in last movie, ruan qing tian gets kidnapped at the last scene and movie ends
NOW Ruan qing tian has appeared after 8 months and Ren hao ming is surprised to see her but more shocked to see her as a special agent. she tells him that agent jiang chen rescued her and trained her to be a special agent. ren hao ming gets jealous as he sees jiang chen close friendship with qing tian. he gets extreamly possessive of her and tries to keep her at his house. since she doesnt want to live with him he gets the lock of her flat changed and a camera is installed. movie ends when qing tian discovers the camera and has a huge fight.

●the writer got such a strange brain he makes all the supporting male character fall in love with FL or get her kidnapped. I mean i lost count of how many times she got kidnapped.
if this would had been a drama i would have like dropped it but since its a movie, but is no less than series as its the 4th part, i am trying to finish it just to know the end.

●acting, music, production quality haven't improved. if this is called acting then plays in school is more worth watching.

●Next movie to the series is: PERFECT MATCH: TRUE LOVE

Read More

Fun

I'm not surprised by the low ratings (the topic is controversial after all), but I'm glad I watched this one. I heard there was a twist coming, but I didn't predict it. It made for an excellent reveal at the end, and I think it's the right message for this story.

The whole security guard addition was puzzling and unnecessary. Otherwise, the story was tight. I like the characterization of our two main leads. Krystal was meh as usual, and so was Lee Jang Hyeok at the beginning. But the idea of this wary couple, trying so earnestly but struggling from an endless commute and overwork? So relatable, and portrayed so well too.

I also like the parallelism at the end and the choices our protagonists made. It's not clear who drove who away, or who's more at fault. How'd we end up here? Excellent question.

Read More

A refreshingly light approach

The "FL with a terminal illness" trope is one that has been used (and sometimes, abused) over and over in Japanese cinematography, be it in movies or in dramas. It would therefore be quite understandable that viewers might feel a bit wary of the Nth tale featuring said trope. But if they were to shy away from this movie because of that, well, they'd make a terrible mistake, imho. This one is a fresh take on the old trope, graced by some nice writing, by a fantastic performance from both leads (Nagasaku Hiromi and Sasaki Kuranosuke), and last but not least, by a light approach on this tough topic which gives it a somehow original flavor.

Read More

a talent wasted on a characterless show

this is a fantasy mystery show with a bit of actions that is not of the wuxia genre. it just looks wuxia, but it's not. imagine watching a 70s-80s Chinese zombie shows but with better cameras, background sound arrangements, sets, and costumes. and in the middle of it all, throw a decently promising/talented actor. to make it worse, imagine the director and/or the screenwriter are kind of clueless on the kind of show they want to create.

the only redeemable part of this film is Zhao Yuanyuan performing the role as Ye Celeng. this is the 2nd time i've watched her acting. i find her portrayal of Ye Celeng is mesmerizing, especially with the makeup, her facial expressions, postures, non-verbal gestures, the gazes shot from her eyes, and the wuxia costumes she wore. if she was born earlier, and acted alongside the likes of Jet Li in a film similar to the Swordsman (Xiao Ao Jiang Hu / Smiling Proud Wanderer), probably it would have captivated a lot of audience's heart and imagination. i kind of feel bad she has to be involved in this film. but maybe her contract prohibits her from rejecting the offer/role.

plus, i tend to dislike films/series with zombies (jiangshi), living dead (huoshiren), puppets (kuilei), and ridiculous CGIs.

Read More

I laughed

Never thought there'd be a day when I'd welcome an insane dose of comedy in a supposed ghost 'horror' movie. But then you got this movie lol.

I'm currently on a Lee Jehoon binge where I try to watch his past works that may sound like a fun show to watch, and Jehoon as a young shaman was really an interesting concept. And his character did turn out to be an interesting one since Sukyun wasn't just any normal shaman character but one with a doctorate and using technology to fight and exorcise ghosts.

The rest of the exorcists also turned out to be an interesting bunch and you get almost every single interpretation of what an exorcist could be, to which later on it got narrowed down to a specific five-man group plus a journalist whose father turned out to also be connected to the place where the special ghost exorcism ritual was supposed to be done.

There were moments where the plot gets serious and spooky and dark... and then there were silly and hilarious parts that you can't help being tickled about, and there were parts that can be quite emotional yet cute. Like I'm aware that Jehoon had that super adorable charm about him, but this movie is too much lol. And then when you get that unexpected reveal about the relationship between Kim Sooro's character and Jehoon's, you can't help feeling even more drawn to the characters as they tried to put a stop to the big evil spirit's schemes. Kang Yewon was also charming as journalist Chanyeong and you wouldn't have guessed that she was actually several years older than Jehoon.

This movie was a lot of fun to watch and seriously it had a very good balance between the horror and comedy genre.

Read More

A Cute Snapshot of Love, As It Happens

This short film successfully showcases the abilities of relatively new actors, recruited by ABS-CBN for possible further roles. It is a sweet and very watchable snapshot of a love that is struggling to find its voice. Well worth a half-hour watch.

Plot: The plot is about exposition, not development. We learn about the characters; we don't see them change. The action takes place over a two-day period as one of the characters (Davey) is about to leave to stay with his family in another city. That forces him to confront how he feels about leaving his best friend Anton behind.

The interactions between the two are very true to life -- a mixture of playfullness, seriousness, and physicality between males that will be familiar to any guy who struggled when growing up to make sense of confused feelings of attraction for his best buddy. And also true to life is Davey's initial inability to admit, even to himself, what he's feeling. His struggle doesn't last very long though (it's only a 29 minute movie) and the resolution (apparently "chosen by the fans" in some sort of poll) produces a happy ending.

Actors/Chemistry: The two leads are quite good looking and enjoy excellent boyish chemistry. Don't expect fireworks -- there's no sex in this movie; the most intimate moment occurs when Anton gently takes Davey's hand, after Davey's admission that he's so confused...... But the actors really succeed in making viewers understand what the characters are feeling under the surface. (They are so successful that the viewers figure it out well before the script does!)

Minor Roles: There are several interesting looks at friends of the happy couple, but not enough time to develop them fully. One is out-and-proud, and the other is homophobic and negative - until he figures out that his friends' happiness matters more to him than his prejudices. Their roles broaden the movie in a very useful way, so it is not just monofocused on the leads.

Music: There is some nice background music but this is not one of the strong suits for this movie.

Production Values: Very good. ABS-CBN knows their stuff. However, one can see that production was obviously crimped by pandemic precautions. (By far the largest portion of the screen footage is of single characters, talking on a phone or interacting over the internet.) The two leads have some scenes together, fortunately. (It will be soooo nice when film production can go back to normal filming protocols.....)

I think there's a lot more interest to be wrung out of all these characters, and I hope ABS-CBN takes this as a pilot for a continuing production of some sort.

Read More

Godzilla (1954) is the original and definitive Godzilla movie. Made less than 10 years after the end of WWII, it carries a heavier emotional weight than the Godzilla movies that would follow. Before the high-fiving, boxing anti-hero and sometimes protector of Japan came this vengeful terror. This Godzilla was a fearsome indictment of man’s lack of humanity.

The miniatures were more intricate and had more detail than other Godzilla movies. This movie did a good job of interspersing people with the miniatures to give us a vested interest in their lives and sorrow when an unforgiving monster sent them to their doom. When Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath, the results were tragic and all too real whether it be on humans or property. As the citizens and military waited for Godzilla’s arrival, the tension was palpable. The carnage was unflinchingly shown as Godzilla cut through the city with his slow, unmerciful gait.

Dr. Serizawa, played by Hirata Akihiko, had developed his own terrifying weapon and refused to use it for fear it would fall into the wrong hands. Ultimately, he had to decide whether to deploy his weapon to stop the immediate destruction being rained down on his country or to withhold it for fear of unimaginable destruction that could take place if people were to use it as a weapon against other people.

The movie is not perfect, there is a love triangle even in Godzilla. The story can bounce around. The acting style is dated, but didn’t distract from the actors expressing the emotions the characters were feeling. The special effects were exemplary for 1954, viewers expecting spectacular CGI will be disappointed.

Whether conveying the urgency of people fleeing or ominously announcing the arrival of Godzilla, Ifukube Akira’s score was spot on.

My rating reflects how I rate movies and dramas. Only my first love in a particular genre receives a 10, the one that all other movies in that genre will be judged against. Godzilla who meshes the prehistoric with the modern and forces us to look back on the consequences of society’s actions is far deeper than a giant lizard destroying a city. Thus far, no other Kaiju has measured up to the original Godzilla’s standard.

Read More

wow, wow, wow.

honestly, i dont really write reviews for dramas/movies but this needed one.

i originally only watched it because fluke was in it and i found this movie a while ago, didnt know what it was, and found out fluke was in it last night while i was watching a UWMA crack video on youtube.

this movie was great, ill break it down.

cast/acting: the cast choice was amazing. they all played their part very well. nights acting was great, pin-pointing the facial expressions, bed scenes, etc. i loved flukes acting the most because in this movie hes like a... slutty serial killer and MAN did i enjoy that! the whole time i was like " YEAHH!! GET EM!! "

story: the over all plot was amazing as well. the fact that night couldnt consume any human food or any type of blood except for human. of course every show has their own take on vampires but you guys do you, im not here to judge but only to watch. :)
also with how wine found night was a good touch. at the beginning of the movie ( spoilers for the beginning lmao ) it starts off with wine sleeping with a man named tee which he has known for a long time and loves him very much. tee, according to himself, is not gay and just wanted intercourse with wine o just anyone but since wine is always around, tee chose him. tee's friends then decided to mess with wine and tell him that tee told them that he was gay and wanted to meet him at an abandoned building, where he meets night... so that was kinda coolio, yah know?

script: honestly, the scrip was pretty well written. could have changed a few words here and there but i liked it.

music: the song choices were picked well based on what was happening in the film. it was pretty quiet but dont wanna block the beautiful voices now do we? 555 ( ㅋㅋㅋ )

rewatch value: 8/10 [might rewatch but not sure]

overall: overall, good film... for real. if you like a mildly-intense, steamy, murderous film * holds out hands * here yah go.

Read More

It was Amazing! That's it!

I didn't watch the series version since I saw this on Netflix, but I'm so glad I finally watch it! The story wasn't clear for me at first but then I realized where it was going and I have to say this was so heartwarming of a movie. The development of their relationship was so cute and I liked how they never really mention that either one of the characters was gay or not. The only point deduction on this was the story behind InSoo's dad like that man was never shown but still meddle into stuff and we never had a conclusion on how they ACTUALLY will deal with it (signing in a rooftop doesn't help). Also, the music!!!!! It was SO GOOD iI have the OST on repeat on my playlist, I really liked how the actors were actually trainees and knew how to sing it made it so much better! Really recommend!

Read More

Creative production & A “Realistic” Story

Watching the trailer, I knew I was getting into the themes of cheating though what I didn’t expect was how it would be played out in the movie. It was the storytelling that actually made me rate this a relatively high score. At first, you would think you would already know the flow of the story and towards the end, you would realize you didn’t all along. Based on the other reviews, yes, it may seem confusing but personally, I do actually think it was an artistic move. It made the movie much more interesting and creative in a sense however, I personally wanted a closure to Da Eun and Jang Hyuk’s relationship.

Story wise , I think it takes on a very realistic approach to relationships that not every relationship works. As the title connotes, every relationship has its sweet and sour moments. In the end, It all depends on the two people in the relationship whether they choose to be together and love each other or not.

The actors all did a great job on portraying their roles and well contributed to the story. All in all, I think it was still a good watch even if I spoiled myself by reading reactions on twitter (lol).

Read More

"Why didn't I know, how great it was?"

This wrecks me so much. Angst, pain, beautiful, dark, everything, it's crazy. All 3 characters really are equally evil and pitiful it's soo heartbreaking. With a beautifulll cinematography and 1990s setting that's always extra magnificent, makes it evenmoreee breathtaking.
Started hopeful, a story of love, friendship, dreams and then brutally turned out to be a story of lies, jealousy, wicked betrayal. Can't help but both sympathizing & morally questioning every single of their decisions. Well. Even tragic is an understatement. But Han Hyojoo's character is the most pitiful, that she wasted her life for something that's not hers, losing herself and at the end, identity too.
Can't justify enough how great this movie is with words. Such a shame that this is underrated, more people need to watch this masterpiece.

Read More

Worst BL I have ever seen. Do Not Watch.

I'm going to keep this short because it doesn't even deserve a long review.

The story in itself, despite being unrealistic, could've been made good. However, they tried to fit way too much story into just two hours and most of it never got explained.

It had a lot of problematic elements that promotes toxic behaviour and relationships.

The leads had absolutely no chemistry and their kiss wasn't even a kiss, they barely touched each other's lips and you could see the fear in their eyes from leaning in to each other oml.

The acting was acceptable from the Mono guy, but the Probe guy was pretty bad at acting not gonna lie. Must be the reason they hid his face for half the series lol.

The only good thing in the whole series was the ost which I actually really liked. What a waste.

Please don't watch this drama if you don't want to waste your time on bull.

Read More

Stephen Chow's style of exaggerated satiric comedy of the common people

found this films by Stephen Chow by accident, and i was pleasantly surprised to see Wang Baoqiang in the film.
this film is a relatively enjoyable film, but can at times be a bit too plain, and predictable.

this film has a satire comedic style infused with Chow's trademark comic style. A mix of over-dramatic/exaggerated bullshits, dialogues and non-verbals that are often filled with ticklishly funny dumbness. audience who gets it, gets it.

Stephen Chow has a knack of telling a story that has exaggerated/amplified ordeals of the common folk in a seemingly ordinary setting and turn it into something extraordinary that engages the audience's sympathy for the character, the story and the plot. often, the main protagonist is characterized as this innocent/naive and ordinary character who faces various kinds of crunching ordeals. at its core, it is saying that ordinary people can become extraordinary, and achieve extraordinary feats.

i think there are four main supporting characters in this film,
a father whose action sometimes contradicts his words in the way he expresses his love for his daughter
a deceitful man who preys on the innocent and gullible (and probably prey on the desperate)
a has-been actor who earns his second shot on fame/popularity by chance
a colleague who is too shy to profess his feelings until a turn of event in his life forces him to

Read More