Reviews

So.

It's a pink film, so lots of sex scenes. Some of them feel rather corny. Like, I know that was just a blurred out dildo.

Overall, the story is very bad. There's a criminal who wants to make all men gay by raping them. He believes it frees men and shows them their true desire.. Weird. So Hiro as a police man, interacts with him. I can't call the story incoherent. It follows a plotline, but the actions the characters take and the outcomes don't make sense in the real world. In the fantasy world of the movie, however, I guess it's fine.

The cast is very limited. The small budget of this movie is obvious by the not so great cinematography, lack of extras, subpar effects, and subpar acting. I will admit, some of the way the acting comes off is intentional. Because by reading the synopsis, it is pretty clear this movie intends to be comedic. Therefore, some of their over-the-top reactions are on purpose.

If anyone is interested in the potential love story of Hiro + Mamoru, that's not the main focus, but it's in here. The movie is only one hour, so if you have the time, the story exists.

Rewatch Value? No. If any of the sex scenes are to your liking, rewatching those is not a bad idea. Other than that, this movie is so bad that I would not rewatch it. Maybe if really bad movies make you laugh, you can rewatch and have a laugh.

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I believe I loved each movie of this saga equally, although I had some complaints with Kyoto Inferno as I didn't feel like Aoshi's arc should've been added since it felt rushed for me and like it didn't really provide much to the story. However, watching The Legend Ends and how his character was *sort of* needed, I understand the rush in the prequel.

I'm sure the fighting scenes in this one were much better than in the others, the BGM was perfect all through the saga, the cast was *almost* perfect and I have little discomfort with these movies. Nonetheless, I still didn't exactly like Shishio's fight, but it's more of a personal villain-MC preference.

While the setting of Kyoto Inferno was amazing and how Shishio built up fear on Kyoto was terrific, especially the part where Shishio's men enter Kyoto with the drums and big fire and star setting fire everywhere on Kyoto definitely showed the type of fearless villain he was, the fight in The Legend Ends felt like Kenshin had no way to beat him at all. Like I said, it's more of a persona preference, but I like villains who are defying and the absolute strongest, which Shishio was, and in which the MC has no chance against them, BUT eventually the MC finds the strength to fight to protect the people he loves and cares about. Obviously, that was Kenshin's driving force and what led him to fight to kill Shishio, I feel like Kenshin didn't stand a chance against him.

Kenshin was portrayed as the strongest samurai throughout the other 2 movies and even though that was exactly Shishio's whole arc (the only one stronger than Kenshin), they under-powered Kenshin to an unnecessary level, imo. If Shishio's body didn't burn, Kenshin would've been dead.

I generally don't like the whole "let's fight as friends" (like with Sanosuke, Satoshi and Aoshi) since it showed that neither of them stood a chance against Shishio and I get that's the whole point of "friends fighting together", but it just bothers me a little.

I still loved the saga and think it was amazingly done, the cast was all perfect except Sanosuke (I have major complaints about the actor and the whole personality they gave him, but I would rather not get there), the production was very thoughtful and it looked like they wanted to be as loyal to the original story as possible, which I believe they achieved. So I am rather satisfied at these movies, even though I was a fan of Rurouni Kenshin only as a kid.

Big shout out to Sato Takeru for his great performance.

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A good movie that wanted to cover too many plotlines and topics.

At first it starts with an interesting topic of religious freedom and how loose laws can support the creation of various cults, which will pray on people's beliefs and convictions. Sadly, as the plot progresses and the supernatural aspects are being introduced, the initial meaning and message about the fake religious beliefs in cults makes no sense, since the investigated by the Park Woong Jae events do involve a "higher power".

Plot wise, it was just too much. Crime investigation, cults research, demonic twins, Deer Mount cult, immortality and the whole lore and background surrounding Buddhism - at least half of it should be cut out. The movie would be far better if it either was psychological thriller without supernatural elements, where Park Woong Jae works with police to uncover the truth behind the cult OR movie focused only on supernatural, without any crime connection, with Park Woong Jae,as a person with much doubt, being challenged about his beliefs as he dives into the Deer Mount cult case.

One thing that the show did extremely well was the visual aspects and (except for one scene) special effects, make up and set design. Chun Na Han's dream sequences were truly well done and beautifully shot. Even though the scenes were quite simple, they did carry the meaning behind them well - the guilt and mental struggle of Na Han.

Overall, I wasn't bored, but I did question some choices that were made. While the plot is not that hard to understand, the message is not so clear. Would recommend it as a group watch, since the movie has a few plot twists that would be entertaining to try to predict while watching with others.

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Why can't we all have the love we think we deserve without judgement

Just freshly off watching it; I'm writing this with the feelings still in my heart. The story will break your heart to pieces, seeing Jia-han and Wang Po-te(Birdy) struggle with their feelings in a world where their love was just seen as a sin; As we see with a builled boy for liking boys and police going after a harmless man fighting for his right to just be. A great example of right person, wrong time.
The acting was amazing; They had me bawling my eyes out while feeling their pain and heart racing at their chemistry.
The music was also amazing, in fact I have 'Your Name Engraved Herein' on repeat as I write this in my feelings.
The movie was so good it had me wanting to go back and watch it all over again once it was done. One thing's for sure; Won't think of wǎn ān the same.

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If you are in the mood for a movie with--an assassin disguised as a tree and another who hides underground; cannibalism; explosive go pieces, baskets, and peacock feathers; poisoned blades, darts, food, drinks, creeks and incense; people cleaved in half and blown up; people literally disarmed; a human chess battle (long before Harry Potter); and almost non-stop sword action and kung fu this might be for you.

Lo Lieh isn't dressed in black as usual but a fashion conscious lord of some sort. Fast swordsman but not exactly the sharpest blade in the drawer. Ti Lung is fast and smart. Good thing because they have to fight for their lives against greater forces from beginning to end. Few people are who they seem to be and betrayals abound. As do plot holes. It seems like everyone is an assassin in disguise-an old woman, children, women, men, a man with a woman's voice. Hidden underneath the blood and subterfuge is a sad morality tale about power and money. The sets and costumes are top-notch for a kung fu film. It's one of those fun, forgettable kung fu flicks that makes for an entertaining 90 minutes if you don't ask too much from it.

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Predictable, but not in a bad way!

Thanks to a slight fever and laryngitis I got to watch it earlier than I thought it will happen.
Before I say anything else I will point out the acting. I loved it. Main cast, support cast, fantastic job and greatly directed. Only for that I'd give it a high mark. They got it right. The chemistry was there. Beautiful!
So, considering the time period I kinda foresaw how the story will go. At least neither of the characters ended up dead. So that already makes it a happy ending story. What makes these stories, that happened so often in those days, special is how you relate to it. I think for me, it came with a lot of mixed feelings and brought back some "regrets". I put regrets in quotation marks because they aren't really regrets. More like "I wonder how my life would have turned out if..." But yeah, too late for those kinda thoughts. :)))
I guess the younger generation should definitely take this piece of art as a lesson. Be honest with yourself cause time doesn't wait for you. There is no pause button. Avoid regrets even if later you'll use quotation marks for them. :)
Enjoy the movie either for its historical value or its lessons, which are loud and clear. Time flies, so make the best of it. :)

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An ok filler when you're between shows

At the start, it's a little strange that they find out their children were swapped and then they, somehow, easily find the mother who has their child. Some places the emotion or acting seemed a little strained, but the actors all did well. It was a sad, but interesting & frustrating movie to watch. Unfortunately, it won't be on my rewatch list

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My Favourite Film of 2020 So Far...

I've been waiting for this film ever since it was first announced to be coming to Netflix worldwide on December 24th. Being a gay Asian male, this film was one of my most anticipated of the season, alongside Wonder Woman 2 and Soul. And I was not disappointed! My heart was full by the end of this touching story of two teenagerso fall in love and then, reunite as adults several decades later. Though there were some structural issues, such as the unnecessary flashback scenes, and some head-scratching plot points, such as the random inclusion of a French Canadian priest or the way-too-convenient reunion at the end, I still LOVED this film!

On a side note, as a Canadian, it was weird seeing Ji-an visit Niagara Falls as if it was located in Montreal lol.

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Lacked all the elements that make a good thriller and horror

I was able to watch this film on a channel called Thrill. Sadly, I am not thrilled with this film. It lacked all the elements that make a good thriller and horror. It is worth to mention that the light, music and surprises you often see in such genre to make viewers scream are all present in the film. However, it was not as effective as they did not use it wisely. In fact, they bombarded the film with such gimmicks.

Besides this, the story itself and the acting were also a problem here. It was quite bland. As part of the audience, I was not motivated to find out who the antagonist is. I just wanted the film to end so I can watch the next one.

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A movie that doesn’t have a happy ending nor sad ending.

It hurts so bad that both of them suffers and they didn’t become what they wanted to be but at the same time I am happy that both of them are still in a good place at the ending. I really wish that it has a sequel but I know that the flow of the story wasn’t really destined for another part. I really recommend this movie if you are a film enthusiast, it is really fun how the cinematography was constructed. The score of the film was too quite, but it’s a compliment. The scoring of the film had help to execute the scene; It is quite so it hurts so bad. The soundtracks are too nostalgic for me, it brings back the poignant scenes. The production is really great and it is really executed well. I also want to commend the artist who portrayed the roles for their professionalism and skills that they showed us within this film. (I would love to see the actors to play another BL film or in a BL Series.) The Director really shows us what is in his shoe looks like and thank you for that. Anyways, excuse my grammar, I hope you have time to watch this movie.

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Oh Snap!

Well if you're looking for a reason to never answer the phone again look no further lmao I actually enjoyed this movie more than I thought...definitely not something to watch right before Christmas but YOLO. You can never go wrong with a good creepy/psycho theme. The female lead(s) were incredible in providing all the feels! I've noticed quite a few people compared this movie to some others and since I haven't seen those movies mentioned I can't give my input. Either way it's definitely worth the watch! The ending isn't at all what I was expecting hence why my re-watch is average and my score isn't higher.
Watch alone at night and enjoy...

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One of the deepest BL's I have ever seen

Just finished watching the movie and altough I haven't had any expectation, I was deeply satisfied by the story.
ACTORS: Edward Chen rock it! Literally the best representation of feelings. Trought all of the movie, 120 minutes, his acting was perfect. I believed every single word that came out from his mouth and every scene without having to say a word. Will surely watch every movie he will be in. Tseng was very good too, but I kinda dislike his role.
STORY: Don't wanna give spoilers, but I was hoping for a happy ending and a smooth delivery of it. Always will be a good guy a bad guy, altough here none of them was bad. One is a dreamer in an unperfect world, the other one is a realist guy. Everything fit perfectly in the story: the music, the places, the actors, everything.
REWATCH VALUE: For me is a 11, not a 10. I will rewatch it for sure for a couple of times.
I would recommend it for BL/LGBTQ+ fans. This has to be in their portofoliu of watched films.
Maybe to realistic? That is the single point I hated it. I stand freedom of choice in sexual preference and hate it when there is discrimination. But in this movie it suppose to be this way. I understand the point of Birdy and why he made that choises, but I loved Chang determination and desire to step on everything for his love. A forever love I would say.
I don't have gay friends, but I would love to, for me to understand the depth of relationships between them.

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A story about two real humans!

Watch this film was a mix of feelings. This movie is about - without spoiler of course - two teenagers who are discovering themselves as homosexuals.

In my opinion‚ this film is a masterpiece. It is well-written‚ well-directed‚ everything was perfect.

As I said: This is a story about two real humans and‚ as humans‚ there are pain‚ suffering‚ tears. However‚ there are happiness, desire - in a sexual meaning - and a happy ending after all the pain and suffering.

It was an awesome, amazing and great experience watch this masterpiece.


* This is my first review in English (I'm brazilian)

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