Reviews

A Feel-Good Thai Movie That’s Easy to Enjoy

Thai films are generally very well made, and this one is no exception. Not only is the cinematography outstanding, but the actors also delivered impressive performances. For me, it was a fun and light movie that’s easy to watch and makes time fly.

The movie offers several valuable lessons, conveyed through the stories of both Toy and Vee. It’s easy to understand their experiences, empathize with their emotions, and grasp the moral takeaways embedded in their respective journeys.

The only downside is the ending. While it’s positive, it felt a bit rushed (and short). I would have appreciated a bit more depth, particularly in exploring their relationship further.

Overall, it’s a great movie to relax and enjoy!

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A disaster film that focuses on SAR and nothing more.

‘Flash Over’ is a film that showcases the virtues of duty, courage, teamwork, and sacrifice of the firefighters and other emergency personnel involved in the search and rescue after the explosion of a chemical plant. In a way, it can pay tribute to the real-life heroes who put their lives on the line to save others in times of crisis. However, the spotlight is on the intense search and rescue operations, and nothing more. Even with the flashy set pieces with all the explosions, massive fires and such, it fails to ignite deeper emotion like most disaster films would.

Although this movie has an intriguing story arc, the flow begins to lose its appeal in the middle. Every single plot is driven solely by suspense and action. The minimum character development makes it difficult for the viewer to get emotionally invested. Without proper backstory, all characters are simply firefighters on a mission.

One common pitfall of disaster films is that they often rely heavily on CGI to realistically depict large-scale disasters and dramatic rescue operations, and this film unfortunately falls into that pitfall. Even with good camera work, the bad CGI really detracts from the overall viewing experience.

If you're up for the action and muscular men in uniforms, this movie will give you that. But if you look for story and emotional impact, you better not expect too much from it. Overall, this film has so much potential to be great but somehow failed to deliver well. It ended up being a mediocre rescue film.

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"A man with a heretical style can live honorably"

Destiny’s Son aka Kiru was a lovely, if nihilistic, style over substance tale of a samurai’s journey of loss. Director Misumi Kenji crafted a spare film clocking in at 70 minutes based on story by author Kyoshiro Nemuri. I suspect people who have read the book would be able to fill in the narrative gaps in the film.

Takakura Shingo was given permission to take a three-year walkabout by his low ranking samurai father. When gentle Shingo returns everyone is surprised that he has developed incredible sword skills. This sets off a chain of events that leads to murder and Shingo taking to the road, this time for good. Skilled, loyal, and good-hearted, Shingo learns more about his background and the treachery of “honorable” samurai.

Death was a main character in this drama as it lurked behind every character. Betrayal and Deception were strong supporting characters as Shingo dealt with ambushes repeatedly. The young samurai vowed to never marry as he was unable to save the three women in his life nor were his skills successful in protecting his father figures. Shingo’s theme song could have been “Alone Again, Naturally.”

Most of the sword fights were of the swipe and fall variety. There was one notable exception. During a duel an opponent made like a banana and split vertically as his corpse fell to the ground. Shingo’s innovative style was considered heretical which I found amusing as if there was a sacred way to murder people.

Misumi created a very stylish film with a variety of framing and filming techniques. He pared the story down to the bare minimum, hitting the highlights in Shingo’s sad life. Ever at the mercy of merciless people and a merciless system, Shingo’s invincible sword skills could not protect his heart.

7 December 2024

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It will make you cry if you understand the meaning

I wasn’t expecting what the drama to be like what it was I feel like I either dreamt or watched something similar to this drama it feels so familiar.I wasn’t expecting to cry thinking about it makes me cry and you would think I am crazy to be crying over an A.I. Boy but it was good. The ending made me had a lot of what if’s that made me tear up. I don’t think it needed to be altered in anyway what I would like though was thoes moments in the closet should have been shown through A.I. POV how it made him feel hearing and not being able to see what’s going on. I know he has no feelings,emotions or desires but I still would like to see that.

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O filme de fim de ano perfeito!

Que filme lindo! É aquele filme ideal se você está querendo algo tranquilo e calmo para assistir, sabendo que tudo dará certo no final!
O elenco é de se admirar, Lee dong Wook com Won Jin-Ah? Meus parabéns a quem pensou neles juntos! Confesso que queria algo mais deles viu?!
Ademais, gostei que foi intercalando entre histórias diferentes, gostei em partes, na verdade, mas porque eu fiquei com gostinho de quero mais em alguns hahahaha.
Pode assistir tranquilo, não tem plot twist enorme nem nada, é realmente um filme para assistir em uma noite tranquila no sofá com uns cookies e leite quente! :)
Aliás, eu como católica, amei a personagem da Won Jin-Ah indo na igreja na véspera de Natal! Foram poucas as produções que já vi abordarem o catolicismo :) fico feliz toda vez que mostram um pouquinho sobre!

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Not for everyone- read the synopsis, reviews and decide

(It seems that the stuff I am loving recently is not apparently liked by many, and vice versa. Still, I give my experience as a review)
For beginners, I had not read the synopsis before watching the movie, and I still understood the story, so maybe it was not as vague for me.
The story is about a girl forced to act as her brother and sent to royal court as trainee painter. This is her story from discovery of the aspects of her talent- painting; to her discovery of the unseen parts of the world, to discovery of herself, her love and sacrifice.
Considering the year in which the movie came, this movie is bold in aspects of intimacy and act of love-making (or easy word nudity😒). I have not seen the drama, so I can't really comment on the deeper shades of characters portrayed, but I would like to justify one point:
A book is often great than a movie adaptation, and a drama adaption will often be greater than movie adaptation (obviously time constraints we will forget😤to consider while judging).
Just as the main character tries to make a point- whatever she painted was normal humans, something she doesn't find disgusting or obscene, and I guess it applies to the movie as well. It may have many explicit scenes, but the ones shared by the main couple really read different vibes (if you really have to compare it to obscenity found on dark web)
Also, many events and maybe even the story is something that has already been better presented in other fine projects, but that doesn't make this movie a complete failure.
I watched it purely for KNG, and once again, I am amazed by his choice of work. Really bold of him to take up such projects in span of mere 3 years (I will never forget "no regret")
This is what I thought of about the movie. As for rewatch, I may just run through it. I admire it, but I agree it doesn't have that impact on me.

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As fast and lethal as the banker robbers it depicts

One of Kinji Fukasaku's lighter and more comedic works, Violent Panic: The Big Crash is an unrelenting and fast-paced slice of vehicular mayhem, one that feels right at home in his crime-ridden filmography. It's classic Fukasaku from start to finish, just dropping the Yakuza subgenre that often defined his works. Despite the departure from the said genre and the film being a bit of a mess tonally in the first half, Fukasaku still creates a gripping world of slick, charismatic characters. It's a film filled with brutal, quick-to-the-trigger, cigarette-breathing bank robbers, and Tsunehiko Watase is a star among them. He walks the line between enthralling and too ruthless well as he robs his way through Japan. The characters in the second act are often one-note or clash with the gritty crime world Fukasaku paints, but few diminish from the atmosphere of danger throughout the narrative thanks to Fukasaku's trademark urgent and frantic camerawork being out in full force, from its thrilling bank robberies to its outstanding car chases, he puts the audience square within the chaos. From the mix of funky grooves to slow spaghetti western ballads on the soundtrack, Violent Panic: The Big Crash furthers Fukasau's stylish legacy with one hell of an entertaining ride, as fast and lethal as the banker robbers it depicts.

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A tale of acceptance and finding joy in life

Such a great film, it's such a simple concept but contains so many emotions which is executed in a amazing way by the actors. A lighthearted film which showcases one of the most crucial uprising issues in the corpoative world, feeling unsatisfied with your job.

In just my experience, i never find satisfaction or pleasure in my work and i always find myself thinking of just quitting everything for an slow pace life, but i can never leave the hamster wheel and continue running in circles.

This film portrayed the challenges in life in a simplistic way with light hearted humor in times. I just loved the score and all actors in this film, highly recommend to anybody who feels their life is too complicated

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A watch for absolute free time

I watched this movie with 2 aspects: For KNG and without reading the synopsis.
The movie starts and after half hour, I am still confused as to what exactly is the plot-"Ah, 1/3rd of the movie is done and I still dunno what is going on."
Then, as the movie moves ahead, I realized, "So, this is it, I guess. Maybe what I guess is the whole point, there's nothing much".
The movie is good, with good action scenes, good star cast. The plot was too simple for me to understand that yes, this was the whole point. Maybe, I was expecting something more to happen. Suggestion: the story is as in synopsis, no suspense involved and this is no spoiler.
It has similar vibes as "time to hunt" starring Lee Je Hoon (except that one is still better now that I watched this one).
I guess such movies are not my taste.
Since I watched it for KNG, I enjoyed his character which though didn't seem a deadly killer, it still gave craziness which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I guess my ratings are mostly for him. I am pretty sure I am not watching it again.

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"Life is long and the revolution is short"

The Old Garden was an ill fated tale of love set right after the Gwangju Massacre and 17 years afterwards. A dedicated revolutionary and a teacher seeking a quiet life meet and fall in love during the tumultuous time.

Oh Hyun Woo has to go into hiding when he and his group are being hunted by the government for their activities in defying the current regime. Somehow art teacher Han Yoo Hee recognizes him and takes him to her rural home. Before you can say Bob’s your uncle the two have fallen in love. And just as quickly, Yoo Hee discovers that love can’t stop Hyun Woo from his sense of guilt and returning to Seoul where he is immediately arrested, tortured, and sent to jail indefinitely.

The Old Garden bounced back and forth in time which made it hard for me to connect with the characters, especially when they were given precious little backstory and time together. Even as the story progressed, big gaps were left out of the narrative. Yoo Hee’s father was brought up several times without explaining why Hyun Woo reminded her of him. While Hyun Woo was in jail, her activities were never explained fully nor his life in jail. We’re introduced to older Hyun Woo as he reminisces about their short time together while alternating between his life and hers.

Hyun Woo’s reason for returning to Seoul in order to be jailed was rather thin, even for someone dedicated to the cause. Not all of his compatriots were jailed and in their older age (mid-thirties?) they argued over who had stayed true to socialism and who had sold out. In flashbacks, one of the groups callously decided who would be sacrificed. But the overarching shadow fell from the government and their blatant crimes against humanity. Other films and dramas have done a better job of demonstrating the cruelty inflicted upon dissidents so this film needed to sell the romance. With much of the time dedicated to when the lovers were apart, that was a tall task and only partially accomplished. Both characters suffered off screen when they were separated by eschewing the rule of show don’t tell. The characters were never fleshed out completely, coming across rather flat. Not to nitpick, but of course I'm going to, where was the titular garden?

The Old Garden was beautifully shot and had a nice OST. The actors both did their best with the material given. Somewhere in all the hopping through time and skipping over plot elements, I became emotionally detached from Hyun Woo and Yoo Hee, through no fault of the actors. If you go into the film with low expectations there were meaningful moments to be had but they were few and far between.

6 December 2024
Trigger warning: A rather graphic self immolation scene

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Overacting made it cringe, besides being boring

This is one of the few japanese productions I could not enjoy at the least.

Takahashi constant overacting ruined this movie for me completely. I bet it was not his fault and they director wanted it this way, but it resulted in a cringe fest for me. The story is boring as fuck as well. There is no real progress and there is no real story told. They should have confessed to each other in the beginning because they should already knew from the first movie how they feel. And then maybe we would have a chance to see them grow together and overcome all the obstacles life throws at them. And after they confessed near the end, they do not change, they do not kiss, it's just the same.

So all in all the skip button was my biggest support for this movie. I could not stand to watch some scenes several times. That's the disappointent from Japan in 2024. Why some people like a non-story movie I have no clue, because while the actors look pleasing, the acting was only cringe and there are only about 10minutes of cute in this movie. I guess female viewers will like it more but for me it was just crap and the pretty cinematography can't save it.

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Thrilling story with great acting

The storyline and execution was really interesting and unique and the synergy between the actors was amazing, they all bounced off each other extremely well. Best part was the cinematography, loved all the shots and the colouring.

I do wish we got to know a little bit more about the motivations of the Han character, without that, it was hard to understand his motives as a 'villain' or deeply care about the second half of the plot. Additionally, I would have also liked a bit more backstory about all the other main characters. I think this would've worked better as a 4 part series. The ending was also a bit weak, didn't leave me yearning for more, just unsatisfied.

Overall though it was a good watch and I enjoyed watching the movie. Props to all the actors!

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