Painfully Basic Detective Movie

"Detective Dee - Tongtian Hierarchy" is a 2021 Chinese historical action film that follows another adventure of Detective Dee as he and his cohort investigate the disappearance of an imprisoned cult leader and one of the rumors he’s spread regarding one of the Emperor’s wives plan to overthrow the Emperor.

The plot seemed very complicated. I’m not sure if you need prior knowledge of Detective Dee, but it felt like there was so much going on. The premise of the story had potential, but I think the pacing of the plot made everything feel rushed and unnatural. I also felt that the purpose of the film (investigating the political rumor) was lost because of how many elements were involved in the plot.

The characters were so terribly bland and one-dimensional. The genius detective main character, his loyal “bodyguard,” the headstrong female lead who joins the team. They were all so boring. I was actually surprised the detective couldn’t defend himself from anything; you would think that he would know some sort of basic self-defense moves. The acting didn’t help either, as all the actors’ performances felt wooden.

On top of all that, the script writing, especially the dialogue between characters, were plain and lacked any creativity or depth. For a detective movie, the deducing was very basic at best. The special effects were also low-budget, seen in the various slow-mo scenes.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this film at all. Not a rewatch for me.

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More Questions Than Dancing

Step Up: Year of the Dance is a 2019 Chinese dance film that follows two dance crews from different social classes, who then combine forces to defeat a prolific dance crew from the United States. The plot sounds riveting... but it was very much the opposite.

God, I wanted to like this so much because Meiqi (the lead actress) is one of my biases from WJSN, but I really couldn’t. Everything about this film was terribly bland (the only highlight was seeing Jade Chynoweth dance, and she was amazing).

Let’s start with the story. Overall, I was confused on what the film wanted to be. Was it trying to be more like a drama, or was it it going to focus more on the dance aspect? It was all over the place.

First, with the Step Up franchise, you obviously have the emotions that come with the passion for dancing... which, to be honest, I only really felt from the male lead Super Dino (who, I think I should point out, is primarily a dancer and not an actor). Even if his introduction in the film was corny as hell, you kind of feel bad for the guy for the rest of the film.

Secondly, the film tried to have some sort of romance amongst the characters, which added absolutely nothing to the story. You forget that there is an attempt of a love line until the film brings it up again. It also, annoyingly, doesn’t get resolved.

Thirdly, there wasn’t much of a clear goal achieved in the film, and the plot itself was very convoluted. It starts off vaguely with Super Dino’s character Tie Hua having to reveal something to Meiqi’s character Xiao Fei, to “DaNcE iS mY pAsSiOn,” to “We gotta beat the Black Tigers!!”, to “Oh no, we gotta avenge our brother Tie She,” to “Okay, we gotta beat Phantom now.” There were also many plotholes, from how the joined forces between Iron Crew and Sky Crew decided upon focusing on “kung-fu inspired dance,” to He Jr.’s father suddenly giving approval to his son dancing. So many questions...

To sum up this review, I absolutely hated this film. I even couldn’t enjoy the dance scenes because how angry and confused I was while watching it. I don’t recommend watching it unless you’d also like to be just as angry and confused lol.

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Surprisingly beautifully filmed!

Obsessed is a 2014 South Korean erotic romance film about an affair between two married individuals, set in a military camp in 1969.

I'd first like to say that I love the chemistry between the two leads; you can feel the intense emotions Song Seungheon has for Lim Jiyeon (and even the lack of feelings he has for his wife). Even the shy, demure looks Jiyeon gives Seungheon was beautifully incorporated in the feverish, passionate forbidden love between the two. I'm not sure if the costumes/sets in the film were historically accurate, but they added a nice touch to the mood, from the hair salon frequented by the commissioned officers' wives, to the steamy scene in the Jeep(?). I would also like to add that the music complemented the film very well, which is a first for me because I usually never pay attention to the scores used in dramas/films.

And yes, I believe that "Obsessed" has a high rewatch value, simply from how well the romance was filmed (.. and not just the sexy time scenes lol).

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