Reviews

"Grant all children a place in your heart, and regard the elderly as your own"

Song of China was difficult to rate as it was a film fragment with at least one reel missing. The beginning and ending seemed to be intact, but there was a bridge of information needed to make some connections. During a time when leftist movies were being made this film called people to return to traditional values and highlighted the moral superiority of rural life. It was the first Chinese film to be shown in the USA, but it also suffered from Hollywood interference with the story editing and subtitles.

A dying father beseeches his son to “Grant all children a place in your heart, and regard the aged as your own.” The son and his young family move to the city in search of better opportunities. During the early days of the Republic, his son marries. The new couple spends most of their time partying, leaving their baby in the grandparents’ care. After a time, the father decides to move them back to a rural life. He and his wife guide their grandson, teaching him Confucian values. When the father sees poor peasants outside the window as a raucous party held by his son rages on, he determines to open an orphanage and school to comply with his father’s dying wishes.

The conflicts between the generations, traditional vs modern values, and city vs country life all played out in this story of 3 generations in a family. I’m sure there was a political motivation for the return to traditional virtues, but I’m not well versed enough in the history to make an informed discussion of it.

I did find a 1936 *NYT’s review interesting. It said "The subtitles were more Chinese in flavor than the performances." The subtitles were actually translated how Americans thought the Chinese talked in a much more flowery way. The reviewer was expecting Chinese Opera style acting and found the acting to be subdued. The acting is what I liked. In early American silent films, the acting could be hammy and overdone. I quite enjoy the often more realistic acting of Chinese and Japanese silent films.

The film I watched was the shortened 45-minute version and was badly degraded. The music was appropriate though I don’t know if it was original. There is a 65-minute version somewhere. While it could be heavy-handed with the filial piety sermonizing it still had entertaining moments and was an interesting snapshot of how some people felt during this time of transition.

16 July 2024


*https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/10/archives/song-of-china-an-allchinese-silent-picture-has-a-premiere-here-at.html

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Should focus on 1 story

The concept is interesting and the actors are all great, but this movie should have 1 story. The issue with Wonderland is trying to present too many stories instead of focusing on one.
I particularly only cared about the couple story. The idea of Tae Joo waking up and Jeongin having to deal with the not so perfect reality while not wanting to let go of Wonderland Tae Joo was the best part of the movie. Two hours developing that story would make the movie so much better. But I would understand the movie also focusing only on the mom/daughter/grandmother story. That version could also feature a bit of the Wonderland employees, maybe just not trying to pull their family into the story too.
The other small Wonderland plots only waste time and don’t give us anything special.

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Eu chorei muito

No outro dia quando estava prestes a dormir vi um vídeo sobre esta curta e decidi vê-lo. Pensei que seria aborrecido, mas depois mudei a minha maneira de pensar.
Começarei por falar sobre os meus primeiros pensamentos ao visualizá-lo. Ao início quando vi o rapaz na cama pensei, meu Deus, ele morre no início, mas depois esqueci-me ata que ficou doente. Gostei muito de como foi e no final chorei, não por causa da morte, mas por causa da miúda.
Por outro lado, o desempenho é muito bom. Se fossem piores atores, isto não chegaria tanto aos nossos corações.
Só isso, espero que gostassem tanto como do que eu gostei. beijos

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great movie about AI

I find the advancements in Artificial Intelligence both fascinating and concerning, so i enjoyed watching this film. Wonderland beautifully captures the complex interplay between AI and human emotions, basically humans’ need for genuine connection and belonging.

I found Wonderland so touching, and dramatic and times. i loved the cast and l the acting was good… BUT, I found the storytelling a bit confusing, which might be due to the poor translation (and sometimes lack of translation) of complex words. i think I would enjoy it more as a book rather than as a movie.

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One of the best Korean movie I have ever seen

"Everytime I watched Space Sweepers, I cried 😭😭 It is SO emotional and fun, This is such a worth watching Korean movie, One of my favs. Everyone played their role wonderfully. The story is gripping, the visuals are stunning, and the characters are deeply relatable. The blend of action, humor, and heartfelt moments makes it a cinematic gem. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a touching and exciting film experience! Just make sure to have tissues nearby. This is the best korean movie. Song Joong-Ki and Kim Tae-ri and the cast were extraoridinary. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Can't hold the candle in front of other Parts

The Roundup series is pretty interesting. New Story in each part with next characters and villains. But what I don't like is the decreasing reputation of villain.
Part 1 villain was tactical and adamant, Part 2 villain was the most scary psychopath, while Part 3 got the smartest villain. But in this Part, Villain lacked any presence at all. He kept the straight baby face, which is not very suitable for Antagonists. The Hero, Do Seok, is consistent but it's the villains who add value in the movie. The more cunning they are, the more fun it is to watch. Part 4 villain was just a fluke. He was neither a psycho nor intelligent. The only redeeming thing about him is fearlessness. That's his x factor, which is if you think about, is common in every villain. They don't fear hence they break laws.

Second was the choreography. The fight part was lackluster. Even the last fight looks pale in comparison to what Jang Chen did at the airport. So that was another let down. It was an okayish movie with not much of chase. There was chase but very mediocre compared to Part-1 & 2.

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Realistic and heartbreaking plot but production was rushed

I’ve saw reviews on this film and many had said it was really sad and would make me cry. I anticipated shedding some tears, and though I didn’t, I felt the pain and sorrow of this whole storyline. It’s raw and gives a perspective on how bullying can take such impacts on a person/who they love as well. I just felt that the production and the way it was executed went by very quickly. I think if we took a moment to really understand the situation, it would’ve made me cry for sure. We went from one clip to another without truly appreciating the music, feelings or visuals. I wish that the producers would’ve made the film more slow-paced, so we can learn more about what the film is telling us and the lessons we should grasp.

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"Don't come back!"

If you are curious about those insanely expensive grapes sold in Japan, The Grapes of Joy gives a tiny insight into how they are grown. I’ll admit the heartwarming part of the story was something that attracted me, but the hyperventilating, inept, female lead hired for her smile dragged it down for at least the first half of the movie. This type of overly-enthusiastic character is hugely popular so this is just my curmudgeonly response to her.

Soma Haruna shows up late to her interview at Minamoto Kitchoan but the president of the company has mercy on her and lets her interview. Her sob story gets to him and she is hired despite everyone else’s reservations. Haruna is shuttled from department to department after making hilarious and kindhearted mistakes until the only place left for her is working in the vineyards where the grapes are grown for the company’s signature treat. There she meets the owner of the vineyard, Akiyoshi Shinsuke, who has no desire for her to work for him. Haruna doesn’t know the meaning of the word “no” and continues to show up every day.

Within the first 30 minutes, Haruna---fell dramatically twice, was late for her interview, lost her wallet, lost her phone, presented an error riddled resume, ruined two batches of candy, left the candy store and register unattended, got lost, ran a customer off with her pushy, unrestrained enthusiasm, nearly ruined expensive grapes, demonstrated no self-awareness or ability to follow simple instructions, and was unable to comprehend when people were making fun of her. I know I was supposed to be charmed by her, but I sympathized with her supervisors. I wouldn’t have hired her to water my houseplants while on vacation. At one point when she was relegated to making copies I wondered if she’d accidentally and hilariously burn the building down. Of course, Haruna discovered Akiyoshi’s secret pain and worked to save not only the grapes for the company but also heal the older man’s heartache.

I found the grape growing aspects of the film interesting though there wasn’t much to be learned. Haruna calmed down the longer she worked at the vineyard and began to think beyond her own desires around Akiyoshi, which helped my viewing experience. The Grapes of Joy worked hard to be heartwarming, maybe a little too hard and obviously.

15 July 2024

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Good but not great

Beware => spoilers

The plot and storyline of this movie are pretty simple, basic but efficient : an older sister looking for her little sister after she disappeared. And she decides to take revenge.

Lee Si Young well portrays a badass FL (similar character one as in Sweet Home). Her acting skills in movies of this genre (action/fighting) are very good.
The other characters are not really important. Not that I want to minimize the job done by the other actors but I think support roles could be portrayed by any other actors, I doesn’t matter. This movie was only done for Lee Si Young.

I give this movie a good rate because of badass FL, because of the revenge taking story and also because of action scenes. But not high rate because I admit I’ve felt pretty uncomfortable about everything the young sister went through… I’m sure storyline could have been the same even if the bully/abuse level had been lower.

Good movie but no rewatch value for me.
(Didn’t pay attention to OST)

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"A tiger's daughter is no kitten indeed"

Lady Detective Shadow was a low budget Dragon Gate Inn adjacent movie. The fights, story, and sets were the equivalent of a mediocre Cdrama. What it did have going for it was a competent female lead, a former royal constable, ousted by an evil, powerful eunuch during the chaotic times of the Ming Dynasty.

Sima Fei Yan and her sidekick Yezi head to Shacheng in search of the bandit Lu Jiang. Lu Jiang and numerous sects and bandits are headed there in search of the mysterious treasure that reveals itself every 49 years in the desert. Everyone converges on a rundown inn where death is a familiar guest. Official Song and his servants wind up in pieces out in the woods giving Fei Yan another case to solve. Helping her is the local official, Wu Ping, a friend of her late father.

This film had an adequate story and acting though the logic during the final quarter of the film fell apart. The fights were shot for people with no kung fu skills with lots of obvious cuts, sped up and slowed down action, and wire work. The bare minimum was put into the sets and CGI. Shang Rong did her best with the Sherlockian, unemotional role of the brilliant detective.

If you have nothing else to watch except for this film, it’s not an awful way to spend 90 minutes if you keep your expectations as low as a buried city in the desert.

15 July 2024

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