Reviews

Chang-Dae yah—hearing Yak-Jeon say that was so enjoyable!

This movie is incredibly meaningful and filled with heartwarming moments. I loved how it began with the exchange of knowledge between the master and student. It offered many life lessons, and the black-and-white theme added a unique vibrancy. The way Chang-Dae’s “This Mountain” coloured up at the end carries its own significance.

Confucius once said, "If you learn without thinking, it is vague without order. If you think without learning, it is then dangerous." This film made me realize that the life I'm living right now may not be as bad as I often believe.

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Masterpiece, iconic classic

The story is realistic...

and we get to see character growth of the entire family.

Yang Che Ri and her honey are an amazing pair and how she kicked his as# into being confident. I remember her role!!!! Then I remember his role too, he was so charming.
The Daughter and her architect husband are most handsome pair, she has a gorgeous body and he has the face AND the body, both are athletes, but their acting wasnt so great
her dad and yelling at her "Young Che Ri!!!!" is somethng I still hear in my head LOL And her dad's clothes. He was impeccably dressed in clothes that matched his gray hair

The Oldest Son and his lady are an interesting pair. Both of them grew up majorly bc of each other.

The main Pair, the cheating YES! husband and the dictator Mother, were not interesting :) They did their growth bc they HAD TO, time was running out

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You have a choice

What I took away from this film is that how clearly relevant it is now. That in a time were you can see a world changing for the worse what can you do ?

You make a choice. strive for change or give up and live your life as best as you can.

For the young youth in this film they kind of do both. They don't want to change and give up the last year they have together. But they also don't want to live in world where their privacy is no longer theirs'. It is a question I think many people have asked themselves during a time where certain areas of the world are being changed for the worse and they say how can I do anything about this.

But in reality people can evoke change while also not having to give up.

without looking at the deeper side to this film it is just about understand the changes in life and in adulthood. It is a difficult time and there are struggles we all have to face. The idea that the people you have spent so much time with, you may not see again.

This film is beautiful in story and cinematography.

It may feel long but i really enjoyed the concept and how it reflects present day.

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HONORING CHINA AND ITS MARTYRS

The film contextualizes the specific battle and stories of Li family, with strong emotional resonance among the audience. The key is not only a symbol, but also contains family bonds and memories. This key has been cleverly inserted as a detail in the film "Volunteers" and has been extended to "Battle for Survival". It symbolizes not only the warmth and safety of home, but also the deep emotions and concerns between family members. The existence of the key reminds the characters in the film and the outside audience that no matter where they are, there is a home waiting for them to return to.
The film focuses on the Battle of the Iron Triangle, the fifth battle of the War of Resistance to US Aggression and Aid to Korea. Nont nly it clearly explains the details of the battle, but also highlights the glorious image of the heroes and their patriotism. The war scenes are intense and exciting.
The film helps the audience understand the context of the story of the "Battle for Survival". Many battle scenes are detailed and clearly defined in their priority.
A major battle in the fifth campaign of the War of Resistance to U.S. Aggression and Aid to Korea, the Battle of the Iron Triangle thwarted the U.S. Army's attempt to quickly seize the supply base, with this battle documented on the basis of fundamentally respecting historical materials. The plot is complete, and the pace of the battle is intense, full and full of tension, greatly increasing the visual value of the film.
The "Volunteer Army" trilogy develops the Volunteer Army in a way to present the magnificent epic of the three-year war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea in a multidimensional and three-dimensional way. After the stage leading up to the decision to send troops to the first and second battles of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in North Korea, it focuses on the Battle of the Iron Triangle. Then, the central government's decision to enter the Korean War and ends with the signing of the armistice agreement, presenting a panoramic and multi-layered picture of the great deeds of the heroic People's Volunteer Army.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance to U.S. Aggression and in Aid to Korea, the "Volunteer Army" trilogy will present this war that founded New China in a panoramic, multidimensional and three-dimensional way. The third part of the "Volunteer Army" trilogy focuses on the second half of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. The war reached a stalemate and the US military's dream of easily attacking the Volunteer Army was shattered, marking the beginning of simultaneous fighting and negotiations between the two sides, with the Panmunjom negotiations and the Battle of Shangganling.

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Untouchable movie

"Confessions".
The title speaks for itself in this movie. The movie starts with a teacher whose daughter is dead and later found to be killed by her own class kids who shamelessly confess their sins without remorse and grief.
For a movie with such a basic plot line, we already know that this movie centres around revenge but this movie isn't a thriller or even a mindf*ck movie rather, an indepth use of emotional torture to plan out a revenge. As a viewer we are already aware of all of the circumstances of each and every character but what we don't see is how we can potentially use it as a weakness.
This entire movie shows us how a homeroom teacher uses the vulnerability of the students, even the students that stood by the atrocities, that caused her unbearable pain to make sure that they feel what she felt when she lost her child. She uses all of her students and every resource that she can to make sure that they taste the tears that she shed on her daughters funeral.
All of this hate that she carries, she doesn't show but narrates in this monotonous dialogue. This same dialogue is carried to show everyone's circumstances and vulnerability. Their inner monologue that they use to defend themselves and their actions. The complete opposite of "show, don't tell"
This movie, maybe not for everyone, is one of the best movies written about revenge. "Making sure you feel the same way that I felt in that moment". I think the fact that this movie is a great accomplishment is the fact that it talks about juvenile law protection and how the kids acted. With excellent portrayal by the child actors, we can see the innocence and at the same time, cruelty of such age. Talking about juvenile protection, I feel that even the youngest of children can understand what death and killing means. To commit such acts of murder need to be treated just without leniency of age. Because of these two factors, the movie makes sure that the kids understood their mistake in a way it was engraved with pain.
Once again, this movie isn't for everyone but you have to watch it at least.

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Super sweet film

Although I prefer episodic dramas, this movie looked cute so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did, because it was super sweet; a 'love transcends time and space' type of story. It was almost juvenile in it's pureness, but not in a bad way. Several times throughout the film I was surprised to find silent tears running down my face as I smiled through the sweetness. I didn't find it a syrupy, saccharine type of sweet, but more like innocence embodied in a couple of teenagers. (However, the movie kept reminding me that both characters were in their early 20's.)

This movie does contain a time travel trope. While time travel is my least favorite genre, I did appreciate that the movie included a quick peek at an alternate timeline in a few places. I would absolutely recommend this movie. It was -kind of- everything I don't like all meshed together into a pleasant experience.

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[as always, ratings in these categories make no sense for documentaries, so please ignore them.]

I really liked this documentary. The narrative gently leads the audience from the process they use on the peninsula to the history of why almost every family made salt there to why they stopped doing it -- and how it came to be preserved nevertheless. And then it looks into the present of 2011 and into the future of how this traditional method might be preserved and maybe even help the economic situation of this rural part of Japan.

I admit it, I had an elevated level of interest already because in my home town there also is a history of salt making (from briney springs rather than sea water), and in the very early days, before the invention of Gradierwerke, they also boiled the brine to produce salt crystals.

So, I had a connection already, but the documentary wouldn't have held my interest if not for these points:
* They built the narrative so that someone who has no prior knowledge can follow along. It takes time to explain and show the process, and also gives room for the beauty of salt and the landscape. Its slow pace also underlines how slow and back-breaking the labour was and is.
* They were probably lucky that there are not only photos but also film footage of the family who were the only ones to make salt for dacades. I'm glad we got to see this.
* There's a good balance between the facts of salt making and the people with their emotions and passion. Neither could exist without the other.
* Regarding people, after the revival of salt making (mostly for tourism), there are several endeavors to do so -- and I liked how the documentary doesn't try to push a "We're in this together, ganbarimasu!" type of narrative, because it clearly is not the case. The original family's father is very salty about how things went in recent years, and they don't try to hide that.
* I also liked how they found a random granny on the street, decided to interview her, and kept that footage in the documentary.
* The documentary also doesn't gloss over the fact that industrialization changed Noto, that salt making is not a craft with a bright future -- but that is more tourist-oriented now, trying to bring in money for the people who are left while preserving salt making as a historical artifact, and that this has changed salt making itself.


Was it good? -- Yes. It was informative, and engaging. It was also a bit slow, but I think that's perfect for the subject.

Did I like it? -- Very much so. I do have questions after watching it, but they are follow-up questions that would deepen my understanding, not questions because there was something missing or unclear.

Would I recommend it? -- Absolutely.

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“Throw kindness around like confetti” is the most meaningful point from the movie. That said, I was drawn to the quirky and intriguing story, but with better development, it could’ve had so much more potential. The plot is pretty much non-existent, and the characters are introduced without any real depth or backstory. The romance feels dull and pointless, yet somehow the characters fall in love anyway. That said, surprisingly, the intimate scene is full of passion and sensuality. As for a horror movie, it’s shockingly boring. Using dim lighting to create a creepy atmosphere totally backfired, it just made the movie even more tedious. The performances are hard to judge, since the script was so weak. Honestly, the actors did the best they could with what they had.

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Eh

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this movie. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this movie should get a better score and why it is better than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

From this movie, I kind of get that they were trying to go with aspects that were done in horror comedies in the early 2000s (or just adult comedies like American Pie) – with one of them being boob shots. But it is a different era, and these guys just don't have the finesse that those movies did.

As mentioned by the previous viewer, the one and only good aspect of this series was the relationship between the brothers. It was nice seeing the interaction between them. Another aspect for me (as I did not read the tags) was to find out that the island was forbidden due to the zombies there. However, I just felt that this movie did not develop that aspect well enough.

The end result has left me a bit disappointed, and I guess for that reason, I really do not see myself recommending this movie to anyone. Even if you have time to kill, go and watch another meaningful or funny movie because this is not it. I basically watched this movie to get the letter I in my A to Z Watch Challenge (movie aspect) 2025.

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Families please don't withdraw donations! Know the suffering!

I am med student, constantly knowing about the suffering and sometimes in doubt of my profession, but this gave me hope, this gives the patients a hope, but families of great donors won't allow it, when would they know that their kin has done the best that could ever be done after he is no more!!! Let's all live after we die!!! not as one but as many as possible lives!!!

Peng yucheng has done a great job from accepting the role to making me cry for him and laugh out loud!! he is more courageous than those handsome guys out there who can't even act out a smile properly! yeah, he is not embarrassed about his appearance when the wig fell out during hello saturday variety show that has made me watch this beautiful two hour short movie

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Game turns deadly!

Wow, I didn’t expect the plot to actually get better, but it did—and I’m loving this movie so much. Huge props to the writer and director. Yumeko is really getting under the student council’s skin, beating them one by one in their own games. So they bring in this next-level psycho, Shikigami Makuro, who's even worse than the student council. He’s not just playing for money—this guy is willing to kill just to win.

For the first time, we see Yumeko kind of lose—not because she was outplayed, but because Makuro threatened to kill Mary if she won. That moment was wild. It wasn’t really a loss, though. She had no choice. Still, it was probably the most intense moment in the whole movie.

And the student council totally had it coming. They really thought Makuro would just ask to come back to school if he beat Yumeko? Nope. He flipped the whole thing on them, made Kirari step down, and even turned her into a housepet. You could kinda see it coming, but they were too focused on Yumeko to realize what was happening.

The final game though—ultimate Russian roulette—was insane. It was Yumeko & Suzui, Kirari & her secretary, and Makuro & Midari. It was less about strategy and more about luck. Like, deciding how many bullets to load, who to aim at, and who pulls the trigger. The tension was real, especially when Suzui had to aim the gun at Yumeko with three bullets in the chamber. Heart. Stopping.

Kirari was so cool as always. Seeing her and Yumeko kinda team up to break Makuro’s mind was awesome. I also love the friendships forming—Yumeko, Suzui, Mary, and even Kirari. It’s so good.

Honestly, I just hope they don’t stop here. I’d love to see more seasons or movies—not just remakes. This series just keeps getting better.

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Não é tudo isso

Gostei de Go, mas não tanto quanto gostaria.

É um filme com potencial imenso, que aborda temas como discriminação, identidade e pertencimento, tudo pela perspectiva de um adolescente nascido no Japão, mas filho de norte-coreanos, que vive à margem de uma sociedade que nunca o acolheu de verdade. A base é poderosa, mas a execução me deixou um pouco frustrada.

A problemática central — o sentimento de não pertencimento, o racismo velado (e escancarado), a perseguição, o bullying — está lá presente o tempo todo, mas de forma tão sutil e diluída em cenas absurdas e quase aleatórias que a narrativa frequentemente parece perder o foco.

Em vez de aprofundar os conflitos internos e externos do protagonista, o roteiro parece mais preocupado em criar momentos excêntricos, como se quisesse deixar uma assinatura cult. E embora a estética seja realmente cheia de personalidade, isso acaba ofuscando a força emocional do tema.

Até metade do filme, era difícil até mesmo definir do que ele realmente tratava. A impressão era de estar assistindo a um filme dirigido por alguém com um déficit de atenção muito forte, pulando de cena em cena, de tom em tom, sem se fixar em nada por muito tempo. Apesar disso, algo nele me manteve presa, talvez o elenco cativante, os personagens excêntricos, ou a promessa de que eventualmente faria sentido.

E realmente faz mais sentido na reta final, onde os melhores diálogos e os momentos mais impactantes finalmente acontecem. Quando o roteiro enfim encara de frente o dilema identitário do protagonista em voz alta, a história encontra sua força (pena que só nos últimos trinta minutos).

No fim das contas, Go é um filme com mensagem, mas que a entrega de forma errática. Não é ruim, mas também não é memorável da forma como poderia ser. É interessante, tem alma, mas não consegue focar. Recomendo com ressalvas, principalmente para quem curte cinema japonês com uma pegada mais alternativa e está disposto a encarar uma narrativa caótica em troca de momentos de brilho.

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Creepy exorcisms among South Korean graves.

Exhuma recklessly throws a bunch of disjointed horror genres into one pot and somehow manages to cook up a deliciously creepy thriller with a lot to say.

Choi Min Sik (Oldboy) leads us down a dark and macabre path through South Korea’s complicated history. A team of paranormal experts accidentally unleash terrifying forces after excavating a sinister grave of a wealthy family. Whoops! What follows is a strange and unpredictable journey about all the ghosts left behind by Korea’s traumatic relationship with Japan.

Director Jang Jae Hyun packs Exhuma with every kind of horror imaginable. It shouldn’t hold together as well as it does, but somehow the film is fresher and more powerful than expected. All the worldbuilding, all the rituals, and all the supernatural mysteries are held together by the cultural and historical context. Trauma is certainly nothing new to horror films, but Exhuma cuts deeper than most.

Choi Min Sik as the leader of the group is, of course, gripping and really sells the suspense when it becomes clear that they have taken on darker and more powerful forces than they thought. But it is still Kim Go Eun who steals the film thanks to a startling sequence early on that loudly proclaims the film’s formal intentions. The rest of the film doesn’t quite manage to reach that level, but comes close several times.

The opening is strong and loaded with eerie atmosphere and mystery, all the conventional genre tropes are in top form. But with a running time of 134 minutes, the film is a bit too long and would have benefited from a stronger middle point. A few more scissors in the editing room would have helped, because once the tension escalates we get a sensational finale where Jae Hyun has once again saved a surprise for the audience. Nothing can prepare you for where Exhuma goes, but no spoilers here!

Exhuma is an ambitious and exciting excavation of Korea’s past. The cinematography is as impressive as it is terrifying, the entire ensemble cast gives it their all, and the script never stops expanding the scope. At the same time, there is a fascinating thematic thread that lifts the film a step above its competitors.

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Siwon não deixou a mãe assistir... agora entendi por quê

Surpreendentemente divertido e com uma química MARAVILHOSA entre os protagonistas!
Sinceramente? Esperava ver essa dupla em um drama sério e intenso, mas fui presenteada com algo muito melhor: uma história leve, engraçada e cheia de personalidade.

Apesar de girar em torno de uma escritora de romances eróticos, o foco aqui não é só o lado sensual — é sobre libertação, autoconhecimento e coragem para viver como se quer, não como os outros esperam. A protagonista é carismática e determinada, e Park Ji Hyun fez um trabalho incrível! 👏

O protagonista masculino também foi muito bom — charmoso, engraçado e com um timing perfeito. A química dos dois é o ponto alto do filme!

Adorei o grupo de amigas da protagonista (destaque para a cena do elevador — hilária!). O elenco todo pareceu encaixado em seus papéis, e Hwang Seon definitivamente chamou minha atenção 👀.

O filme é sugestivo, mas não explícito — o tipo de coisa que faz rir e suspirar ao mesmo tempo. Siwon até comentou que não deixaria a mãe assistir, e isso por si só já entrega o tom! 😄

Se você gosta de histórias coreanas que tratam sexualidade com leveza, humor e sem tabus, recomendo fortemente. Foi uma surpresa boa e uma experiência divertida!

Nota: 8.5/10 – Assistiria de novo só pra ver mais uma vez aquela química!

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