Reviews

I see.

This was ok?
The Shang dynasty setting is cool to see - human sacrifice, lots of bronze armor and swords.
It's surprisingly horny for a big mainland Chinese movie, though the lusty sex-coded characters are all bad guys, obviously.
There's literally a scene of a dance number that's a metaphor for people fucking, with a woman shown "climaxing" with her dress and long hair.
That said, for such a big production it's surprisingly ugly at times - both the CGI and the colour grade.
I also wished all the hostages, princes and other young male characters were better visually distinguished.
I had trouble telling them apart at times, because they are all fit young men and wear the same hair and uniform all the time.

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Orange Juice Meet Cute

This has to be one of the sweetest fucking things I've ever seen.

This showed from start to finish the embarassing and exciting experience of finally talking to that person you're interested in and actually having them reciprocate. And all the missteps and moments of barely-mustered courage in between. From initiating a conversation and agonizing over what to say so much that you say very little, exchanging numbers, typing, deleting, and retyping the first text, to going on a date for the first time and making things official.

What a treasure these shy and real moments in a developing romance are.

Bless these two sweet, terribly awkward men.

That's it. That's all I had to say. NOW GO WATCH THIS MOVIE BECAUSE IT'S GOOD, I PROMISE!

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"There's a man who keeps his duty separate from his love at least once a day"

Lo Lieh directed and starred as an agent in Deadly Roulette, a movie about two Interpol agents who sought to bring down a Triad leader who had been killing people using the lethal Finger Bullets style of kung fu. Bobby Kim brought the kicks and lovin’ as the agent whose ex-girlfriend lived in Hong Kong, complicating his actions on the case.

Interpol agent Bobby is brought onto a weapons smuggling case in Hong Kong when officers are found dead with finger holes in them. He asks to work with Darion who obligingly signs on. While in Hong Kong he meets up with his ex-flame Kyeong Hee who is still angry about being used in his last investigation and then abandoned. That anger does not stop her from hooking up with him again. As Bobby digs further into the case, he discovers how dangerous the gang is as they supply grenade launchers, missiles, and rifles to terrorists. It doesn’t take long before the agents and officers working on the case ascertain they have a mole in their unit as their every move is preemptively countered.

If you’ve ever wondered what 1970’s Hong Kong looked like, there were many scenes of characters driving around. This was a fairly common practice in movies 50 years ago. The shots established the setting and showed characters’ movement from scene to scene, but it feels dated now days. The music was also classically 1970’s bow chicka bow bow. The Beatles’ song “I'm Happy Just to Dance with You” (1964) was used but I’m betting no royalties were paid. Dog fights were shown in two different scenes early in the film, which was quite disconcerting for me. I’d rather see the men pummel each other instead of innocent animals being abused.

The movie made use of the Interpol trope in order to justify a foreign actor starring in a film set in Hong Kong. I would have preferred Hwang Jang Lee as the Korean agent. Lo Lieh is one of my favorite old kung fu stars and the only reason I watched Deadly Roulette. The film was badly faded and the story had numerous plot holes and inconsistencies. Usually, plot holes weren’t a big issue in these types of films because there were enough fights to distract the viewer. Unfortunately, there weren’t many quality fights and the big finale was a big letdown. South Korean actor Bobby Kim was proficient in taekwondo and it showed with his excellent kicks, even though many of them obviously never landed.

Deadly Roulette had a semblance of a story and was watchable…barely. And watchable only if you enjoy old kung fu films, especially one with a largely Korean cast. As always, I grade these cheap, niche movies before 1990 on a curve.

1 June 2024

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A bond is a bond, whether forged in the innocence of youth or the wisdom of age.

I can't believe there aren't any reviews for this awesome movie! Even though I'm not the best at putting my thoughts into words, I'll give it a shot and try to convince you why this was such a fun watch.

Imagine a gangster asking a 9th grader for singing lessons because his boss has this weird birthday tradition of hosting a singing competition, and coming last is a big no-no. Sounds crazy, right? But these two actors made it look like the most normal thing ever. You'd almost believe it could happen at your school!

This drama is about a sugary-sweet yakuza and a cold-hearted teenager who's the poster child for teenage angst and icy glares.
It's a quirky reminder that friendship can blossom in the most unexpected and peculiar ways possible. The story takes time to warm up, but as you notice changes in their expressions, you realise that, oh, they are totally into the BFF game now.

What's fascinating is that our teenage protagonist isn't your typical rebel; he's surprisingly cool-headed. On the flip side, there's another teen in full tantrum mode, plus a mature girl their age always trying to cool things down, showcasing the many shades of adolescence.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. There are so many fun moments, some literal god-level smart writing, and, of course, a totally heartwarming climax. I know my review is kind of wrapping up now when I hardly wrote anything but anything more than this can be a spoiler, and I don't want to steal your joy away.

Just to make this review a worthy read, I am going to tell you the most important thing about this movie, which is the post-credit scene. Please don't miss it, and look closely at the tatto on our sweetheart yakuza and smile like I did.
Now go and watch this gem right now, and please return and write a better review than me to attract more viewers, I believe in you hahaha.
 

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Not really bad but not really good

First of all, I really love watching horror movies despite being a scardy cat but this, it makes me laugh for a few times and was getting frustrated because of some illogical behaviors from the characters...

Ok, I admit, I appreciate the siblings dynamic, some interesting and dark elements however I'm skeptical for the writing of the characters, especially Yak the big brother (although I'm glad to see the actor Nadech in a horror movie because he's one of the first Thai actors that I have watched in romantic comedy drama, so it's a bit of fresh air lol).
The acting is also good but as I have mentioned, the writing of the characters were not that convincing.

It lacks something that could make it better. Maybe because an introduction since I just happen to see there's a second part lol
I'll see then!

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Nothing to the plot, but cool FL.

There's nothing to the plot; it's very shallow and one-dimensional. The movie focuses on showcasing action scenes with a cool FL. However, all actors and actresses are very capable; everyone fits their role and has done a good job in acting. I had watched a rom-com series featuring the same FL (Wedding Impossible) just before watching this movie. She did a terrible job in the romance/rom-com genre. Her deadpan expression is more suitable for solemn characters like her role in this movie. With only one facial expression, she can't convey complicated emotions, which doesn't suit a romantic series/movie at all.

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Uhmmmm..... what?

Basically, if you have never watched the series Eternal Love, you might enjoy this movie abit more. As for me, I watched the Eternal Love series first, then read the book and few years later only hunted down this movie. I would say that this movie is not good at all. It is like they are trying to put bits and bits of puzzles of the series together to make a movie starting from after the death of the mortal Su Su. The puzzles they are piecing together are quite choppy and, in certain areas, nonsensical.

I was actually quite amazed with the cuteness of the movie at the beginning, especially with all the woodland creatures etc in Qing Qiu. That was indeed a nice way of portraying it. However, as the movie continues on, I literally skipped on many scenes to fast forward the movie. The ending is also........MEH...

All in all, I would recommend a first watch of this movie if you have not read the book or even watched the series Eternal Love. At least the disappointment ain't that great and your opinion of it would probably differ from me or anyone else that has watched the others first.

Did not really hear all the music for this movie. I only have one song that was a duet by Yang Yang and a lady (sorry, forgotten her name) which I like.

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Enjoyable, but I would have been frozen.

Watched on opening night.

The only things I can fault in this film are some dodgy special fx choices, the largely irrelevant detail of the outdoors on the mountain being quite clearly fake (which, yes, it needed to be for safety reasons). And, wildly inappropriate layers for that kind of climb (a very small part of the film). If you can get past that, you’re good to go.

However overall this is a decent film. I’d say it feels more like horror/thriller instead of just thriller. The story unfolded in a way that made it overall more intriguing as you learn more and more about the characters. I enjoyed the direction it went in.

If you like the premise, go for it?

Notes: The ending is not the same as in the manga. The film is also bilingual (70% Japanese, 30% Korean).

Warnings: Gore.

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An easy 10/10 for me

I can't express the emotions through words that this movie made me feel. A perfect movie after a nearly perfect drama. The awkwardness, the fear, the hesitation they went through while meeting each other's family is something you can feel in your soul. Adachi's family's reaction was too wholesome and priceless. I love how the whole family cheered and accepted their relationship, and I'm really glad Kurosawa's family also accepted this. It made me believe in humanity again. Lol.The scene where Kurosawa said that he would go alone to meet his parents shows how Kurosawa wanted to endure his parents' decision alone, but Adachi telling him they'll go together shows that they are still changing and improving with each other. Definitely one of my favorite scenes.Overall, the movie was too good. It shows that no matter how different you are or how many flaws you have, you always find a way to change with the one you love.

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A good laugh through and through

Don't get me wrong, the second movie in this cancelled duology was a lot more intriguing and had better more fleshed out drama. However, that helicopter plane crash ending took me out. I watched these movies just because I heard they were toxic and for ten wonderfully horrid minutes, it was and I couldn't have asked for more. That being said I can't in good faith recommend this over any other series or even films that have well more thought out characters and story. As besides the R18 scenes, which aren't even all that crazy when taken out of context, the second movie still doesn't really do anything too unique for me.

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Lazy Hazy Crazy, ennui that pretty much sums up Alice Chloe Tracy.

Lazy Hazy Crazy was a movie with a lot of missed potential that derailed in the second half. However, it wasn't bad as overall, I enjoyed the film, and I think it's worth a watch. I especially loved the main actresses, how it was shot, and some of the lines were iconic.

For starters, I can't help but notice how it's tagged as a "female-centered plot." Sure, the main characters are all girls and navigate through sexuality, virginity, and life together, but can you truly call it a female-centered plot when the major conflict between the three girls centers around one boy who is honestly irrelevant in the first half of the film? Okay, maybe it is at its core, a female-centered plot, but one can only handle so many all-three-girls-like-one-boy-who-rarely-shows-up-and-they-almost-lose-their-friendship-because-of-him before one sighs in a "not this again" manner.

As for the film's potential, it had a great setup to explore the relationship of three best friends as well as discovering a blooming sexuality through the relationship between Alice and Chloe. Instead, it fell flat on properly doing both of these things. I wish the movie had fleshed out the three girls as characters more and explored their struggles in depth with their family, school, and personal lives. I also needed to see more of Alice and Chloe's feelings for one another. There were moments of emotion where their friendships shattered and where they reconciled, but it felt rushed. Honestly, if the film left the Andrew plot and solely focused on the girls navigating through each of their tough situations thoroughly, it would have told a much more compelling and cohesive story that I would have probably bawled my eyes out for.

What struck me about the film was how casually vulgar these girls were (especially since I wasn't sure of their ages until the end which left me uncomfortable for much of the movie). For example, when Alice told the other two about how she lost her virginity to her friend's dad when she was 14 and wasn't met with horror and shock like I was feeling, I truly grasped how much ennui they were feeling. No, the film itself is filled with ennui. It doesn't bat an eye at what the girls are doing or what they have been through. Barely anyone in the film is worried for them, not even they are. Each of them is met with indifference, malice, or lust, and the film doesn't give us the answer to what to feel. The girls' ennui seeps into the seams of the film, and it's up to us to feel for them-It's up to us to decide what's right and what's wrong.

*Please note I watched this with subtitles, so I may not have grasped some aspects of the film fully.

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