Reviews

This review will be very subjective...
in short, I did not like it at all. Sure, it's realistic, but it's just not it.
I felt its useless and a waste of time. I did not like the plot, and I was anticipating much more than what I got... it definitely was not satisfying...
Could've been better... it had much more potential.. I wish the story was written differently.
now im writing more because it wont let me submit my review unless its 500 characters.
lol
I already wrote what I wanted to say...
And to the previous review that said its a waste of good actors, I 1000000000000% agree.

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The roller coaster that just goes up

Despite the plot twist, the movie felt like I didn't finish the marathon, did not jump the bunjee and I was on a roller coaster that just goes up. This film is a bitter example of how a realistic approach doesn't guarantee peak emotions. Even though the film is pretty rooted in mundane emotions people might relate to, it somehow stifles the whole point of it.

The actors have gotten the point across. But the script fails to evoke any emotion and I was waiting to feel something (anything) till the end. The characters failed to grow (even if they are supposed to fail to 'grow up'). What a waste of good actors. Most stereotypical subplots found in movies are just sewn together in a messy patch that I do not want to buy.

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Very True

I like the story and how it is presented, particularly the twist at the end. The character of Lee Kyung Young is like the personified thought that we battle with everytime we're presented with temptation. The story, plot and characters are very real, not like some dramas we watch where some scenarios are far-fetched. Since everyone can identify with the characters and the role they played, that twist in the plot made it very interesting.

I find the story very light and easy to watch. The support characters gave a bit of comedy -- the other patients in the same hospital room where Hyuk was confined and the boss in the large corporation was hilarious enough.

The lead actors were able to pull a more mature role compared to previous dramas they played. They portrayed it very natural.

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“This was the sunniest moment of our lives.”

As a high school student myself, who’s going through some rough times through adulthood, I am beyond amazed by this film. Not only does this film resembles a great friendship and solidarity, but it made you feel like you’re going through the story yourself.

It’s been a long time since I last wrote a review here, since I’ve been caught up in school assignments, and was currently in a Western-movie/series marathon, but I know this film is just perfect for a movie day with my cousins and I need to watch this movie as soon as possible. And yes, this movie is perfect to watch anytime, anywhere and with anyone! You’ll definitely laugh out loud watching this one, your eyes would definitely drop a tear or two, and you’ll smile and feel nostalgic.

The friendship portrayed in this movie may be the best I’ve ever seen, and the casts were just undescribably perfect in every scene. I’m a sucker for friendship movies, and as a fan, I think this movie deserves to be seen by everyone. Thank you to everyone that made this movie happen—all the casts, the directors, the producers and writers, the staffs. Overall, a solid 100/10! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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HAPPINESS IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT

“His” is a truly beautiful movie. It’s equal parts heart-warming and heart-wrenching. But more than anything, it is a thoroughly satisfying 2-hour journey. I encourage everyone to watch it. Be warned that it’s probably a good idea to have a box of tissues beside you as there are some moments that touch one’s soul.

Please don’t read past here if you haven’t yet seen the movie. Watch it first and then come back and read this review if you feel inspired. There are spoilers below.

====="SPOILERS AHEAD" ALERT=====

This is one of those rare gems of a movie that stayed in my mind, for all the right reasons, long after I finished watching. And the more I think about it, the more impressed I become with the script-writing and the directing.

Screenwriter Atsushi Asada and Director Imaizumi Rikiya have done an incredible job with this presentation. It’s not rushed. It’s not complicated. It’s not dramatic. But it DEFINITELY IS rewarding viewing. I can’t get it out of my mind that this story is based on someone’s real-life experience because everything about the movie shines with authenticity.

We enter the lives of two gay men who break up shortly after the audience arrives. We are then fast forwarded a number years, and the man who was responsible for the break up returns with a six-year-old daughter. He’s on the cusp of a divorce. The story that follows is how two gay men, a devastated wife and a young girl struggle with Life and, ultimately, build a bridge to Happiness.

The main characters: Igawa Shun hasn’t been able to fully accept his homosexuality; Hibino Nagisa leaves Shun and marries a few years later; Hibino Rena is Nagisa’s wife; Hibino Sora is Nagisa’s and Rena’s daughter. The actors who play these roles were completely immersed in their characters and, as a consequence, the “believability factor” of this story is enormous.

"His" about coming out and community acceptance of a gay relationship. It’s also about two men raising a young girl. The movie covers Family Law and legal prejudice, and looks at the hurdles created by emotions. The message that stayed with me the most, though, is that a person should never lose sight of what matters in Life. Moreover, when a person does the wrong thing to someone else, sincerely apologise. It is through an honest and heartfelt apology that a pathway to resolving conflict is created.

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I felt compelled to write this review after reading so many comments referring to Shu Qi merely as the Chinese actress/girl. The gorgeous, talented, and multiple award winning (12) Taiwanese actress Shu Qi played Aryoung, the gangster's daughter. Shu Qi's father was played by the award winning (7) Ti Lung, who starred or co-starred in around 100 kung fu films. Ken Lo, another hard hitting action star played the Big Bad in Hong Kong. These fine actors' part of the story was a straight Hong Kong gangster movie, that's why they played them in a stern manner.

When Aryoung has to lay low in Korea with a bunch of goofball gangsters, the gangster farce begins. I actually enjoyed most of the comedy, especially the translator's liberal and less than literal translations. The five disparate characters bonded quickly into their own familial gang.

Shu Qi's deadly, fearless, and taciturn character played well off the three stooges of crime. I'm always pleased when the female lead isn't a damsel in distress. In this case, she played the rescuing or avenging hero more often than not and she was glorious when she was fighting.

This is one of those strange mash-ups of straightforward crime story and ridiculous crime comedy. For the most part it worked for me. Shu Qi can conjure up chemistry with just about anyone but I never bought the romance between her and the mullet-headed and not too bright leader of the Stooges, and would have been happy if they had not introduced a romance between them. Other than the forced romance and some of the over the top slap stick comedy I enjoyed this strange amalgam of Hong Kong and Korean movie.

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It’s divisive. It’s art-housy, raw. Not your typical teenage drama.

Sadly, I never read this manga growing up. That said, I am particularly drawn to stories told like they are being plucked straight from memory. Disjointed, discombobulating, disorientating, raw, awkward, missing pieces...
It isn’t the “shoujo” trope of first-love-meets-high school girl emotions.
This piece of work ‘feels’, not tells. And that’s not for everyone. It’s not necessarily an “easy” watch. You can’t just throw it on and have the story handed to you. The pacing will mess you up, the missing information will misguide you, our preconceived/preconditioned notions on how a coming of age story is told will leave you confused. To enjoy this kind of movie, you have to enjoy engaging in your own thought process and emotions while watching, and not everyone enjoys this. However, I do. While others have commented that they felt that the plot was flat and not well executed, my personal opinion is the exact opposite. The plot is driven by the dialogue and character interaction as much as it is by the nuisances of the cinematography, which is opposite what we are used to (often the cinematography reflects what is being told to us, rarely does it become nearly a character in-and of-itself).

It is more art-house than pop-ish drama. It is more painful and tragic reminiscence than a love story, and it is more a ‘true’ love story than the candy coated romance that we see more often. It’s like reading a classic novel that on the surface is one thing, but when you begin looking at the authors use of allegory, it reveals itself to be entirely something else.

One thing I severely did not enjoy was the use of Pachelbel Cannon in D Major as a major theme. That is 100% opinion and personal bias towards it, rather than a critical look at the meaning of such a piece in this work.

This is my first review; I felt obliged to leave a review because movies like this - major backing, stand out cast, but unconventional, tend to get pushed aside for most except the most cult-y of followers or art-ish types. Some people will not enjoy this kind of movie, some will be confused and disappointed by this kind of art, and yet others will feel the exact opposite. Obviously enough people connected enough with a mode of story telling like to, well, tell the story like this. And at the end of the day, it’s all just a matter of opinion.

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Romance on the Rocks

An attempt at a natural progression in romance that didn’t work. The story didn’t make any sense and it had no depth. You do get the impression that the “Master” has feelings for his servant. He courts her by bullying and harassing her for the first 30 minutes of the show. I’m sure this will convince her of his sincerity. Finally, he drives her out of the house. You would think that would be enough for him. Not this guy, he goes out and finds her and bullies her some more. Grabbing her and taking her into her bedroom. He won't leave and ends up sleeping in her bed while she sleeps on the floor. All against her wishes. Then he insults her by saying she jumped into bed with him. We are now one hour into the show and this guy hasn’t changed. He even takes her money. Unbelievably I think she's still drawn to him.

After a little drama in the house is settled they get drunk together and fall asleep during a snowfall, all snuggled together. Where did this come from? There was no workup or prelude to the romance of any kind. They’ve never verbally expressed any feelings. He’s hasn't said a nice word to her. She wakes up back at his house and all is roses. They are now in a committed relationship. He’s talking marriage and hasn’t even said he likes her. Maybe that's how they did things back in those days, but I doubt it.

I’m not blaming the actors I thought they were decent. The story was terrible. It felt like a Covid movie. Since it was done in 2020, it probably was. Most of the scenes had very few actors. In some scenes, they were even socially distanced from each other.

The subtitles were good and the music was great.

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Unfortunately, this movie didn't work for me. I didn't hate it, but the cuteness from the first film didn't carry over. I think I just don't like the college part of the Mischievous Kiss story. Naoki's behavior is offputting at this point, just like it was in the drama series. I'm hoping that at some point Japan will move past these almost cruel tsundere types of characters. I felt like I was watching "LDK" but without the charm of Kento Yamazaki. I feel that the actors in "Campus" weren't as well connected in the sequel as they were in the "High School" movie. Oh well, you can't win them all. I'll watch "The Proposal" but I'm not expecting much.

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Sweet

I like a good falling in love story with my Bl dramas but I really love a making the realstionship work slice of life better. Oh that's what this one was a slice of life of two young men in love facing some ups and downs of their own making. It wasn't a complicated story but it was sweet and I really like the couple and their friend was cool. This movie was very refreshing after so many I like him but I'm not gay we can't be together but we get together dramas as of late. Nothing wrong with them just sometimes watching this or the vietnamese web drama Roommates is a nice palet cleanser lol. Great movie very rewatchable very fun.

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Fans of the anime will enjoy this

This is based off the popular Boys Love manga and the anime. Love Stage is about two guys who reunite after starring in a wedding themed commercial (CM) 10 years ago. Ryoma falls for his co-star on set whom he thought was a girl when he was a child. Ryoma is now a popular actor. Izumi comes from a line of entertainers: his mom is an hallyu actress, his dad an entertainer, and his older brother the lead singer of a band. 10 years later, Ryoma requests the exact cast to be apart of the new CM. The only change I wish they didn't make was Izumi didn't wear a wedding dress. That was the best part of the anime/manga because that's the whole point. Ryoma thinks that Izumi was a girl this whole time, even when they act together in their Happy Wedding CM.

Other than that, I am thankful they kept it very PG. They removed the rapey scenes. I have seen the anime and the OVA and I am glad they removed them and kept the best parts of the plot, which is where Ryoma comes to terms that his childhood crush who encouraged him in his acting career is actually a guy. The love story is really sweet, albeit weak facial expressions from Izumi's actor. He reunites with Izumi and after making a mistake, tries to become his friend and helps him in his manga. He wants to help him like Izumi did when they were starring in that CM 10 years ago. He encourages Izumi with his manga and I found that really sweet. They turned a source material that is considered yaoi due to suggestive scenes and made it more accessible for a wider audience. I only wished it was longer and we got to see Izumi pursue acting. Believe me, it starts off really cringey but it gets much better as it goes on.

In Japan, or in Asian countries, for a popular actor to come out as gay is essentially career suicide. So for the ending to nonchalantly be accepting of that is actually revolutionary. I wished the ending went on for longer than it did. Boys Love usually caters to Fujoshis, or women, but what sets Love Stage apart is how well written its narrative is. The mangaka did write the screenplay for the movie.

I only wished that the on set architecture was better. I wished that Izumi's house looked more glamorous. I wasn't convinced that his well established family would be living in what looks like an average suburban house. It should have been tacky and adorned with tacky expensive furniture. Even Ryoma's apartment should have looked fancier if he's considered a popular actor. I don't remember the anime much, but even the settings in the anime looked more glamorous than the shoddy housing in this movie.

I enjoyed it more than the anime. The anime's art style I wasn't a fan of and I prefer that they toned down the scenes and made it more consentual. This is coming from someone who hates Jdramas. I typically gravitate more to American TV and Kdramas. Better than any of Hirokazu Kore-eda's movies. Look I'm familiar with Japanese cinema and this was a solid good movie.

The acting is Jdrama quality and the production level was slightly higher than your typical Jdrama. These guys both acted better than what you see in a Jdrama. Izumi's actor looked the part but wasn't as good as Ryoma's actor. He was hilarious.

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waste of time

I am on the verge of finishing the series of movies of this actor so here is another review, as there is no review to this movie till now. So let me express my feelings after watching this…
Story
the first scene is ML named MARK is reminiscing his first love Shanguanxue er whom he had lost few years ago. The next scene he crashes to her and to his surprise, she doesnt remember him at all. He is introduced to shanguan xue er by shanguan Bing Er, who is the younger sister. Mark thinks thats xue er is pretending that she doesnt know him. He takes up the contract of bing er to exhibit his paintings, only if xue er will be solely handling the contract. He then goes around following xue er and coming in between her current boyfriend yuan hao. Bing er comes to know that Mark is Wu tian xiang, her sisters lover and she tries to come closer to mark without hurting her sister. Later xue er has an accident and her memory recovers. She sees bing er feelings towards Mark and tries to go away but Bing er tells the truth of being manipulated by yuan hao. Xue er still leaves only to have a reunion at the exhibition of Mark.

Plot view
Storyline seems promising but it had a very bad script and screenplay. I got confused as what is present and what is past because, the clothers are same in both the times. Only if they had separated it of maybe did a black and white frame for past, it would be convincing. Mark was seriously self conceited he is meeting a girl suffering from amnesia and starts kissing her because she doesnt remember. WTF, he is self absorbent the whole time, not understanding neither investigating the situation. At least he should have a decent talk instead of forcefully kissing her. The reunion kiss was a Fake kiss, disappointing WHY? Are the director, actor only comfortable with forceful kiss?

Acting
Acting is bad by everyone. Though I liked bing er character as sister, who tries to help her sister. She doesnt seem like snatching her sisters BF.
ML is bad, it sucks to see his forceful kissing. I could only think of the actress situation. His body is so stiff and he doesnt look like a painter.
FL is beautiful but lacks expression. She need to learn acting.

Music is repetitive from the previous movies of the series.
I wont rewatch it or would recommend anyone to watch. Its only for people who like slap/kiss.

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