Reviews

Creative writing with a twist!

I was looking for female directors and came across this tantalizing short film. At the age of 21, Go Min Si wrote, directed, and starred in Parallel Novel.

This film reminded me of the SpongeBob episode when the pencil with magical powers came into his possession. I wish this film had been longer to develop the elements we were teased with in this fleeting story. In 3 minutes Go Min Si created two worlds, filmed beautifully. With no spoken dialogue the emotions were played out perfectly with body language and aided by the tense musical background. There was more suspense in 90 seconds than some movies accomplish in 2 hours.

What I loved the most about this concise and well paced film was that the female character stood up for herself against a terrible male writer who had subjected her to some of the worst tropes aimed at women. I only wished she had taught him a better lesson!

Go Min Si showed great promise with this short film. I'm disappointed that 8 years later she hasn't had any more screenwriting or directing credits. I'd really like to see what she could do with a bigger budget and full length format. If you have 3 minutes to spare, I could easily recommend Parallel Novel.

19 June 2024

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FLAWLESS

I recently completed Teng Cong Cong's TO THE WONDER, a six hour movie pretending to be a TV series. It has two minor story flaws but is otherwise a masterpiece.

SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS is flawless. Another masterwork. Some directors take 8 tries to achieve this fascinating yet simple take on love, life, and death. TCC nails it on her first try. WOW.

I'm not going to say much more because it will oversell it.

I will warn viewers this is Arthouse, and all that entails. Arthouse films sometimes have no budgets and so they up the shock value at certain moments to keep you awake. A classic Arthouse trick is to have one shocking 'sexy' scene, if you will, which China seems to avoid at all costs. The scene here isn't gratuitous but I do feel it was an arthose trope more than a story need.

I will say I've never seen our lead actress in anything but will now seek her out the way I did Zhou Xun. I'm also a nutjob for Yuan Hong. who looks bland in his MDL photo but was a DELIGHT in REBEL PRINCESS. He needs to be very popular yesterday.

That's it. It's only 98 minutes. Somber tones, tough subject matter, handled with genius.

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Short mini serie

Sometimes felt strange, long or short drama no matter how long there are can be disappointed.
Here not the case, it's well written despite being short, chemestry between two female lead is good, I like the plot.
Moreover it's happy endind.

The flashback when we see her taking care of her friend, then back to the present when we learned, she doing it because it was for her more than a friend. Love the message too, like there is not always a way to know if someone like men, woman.

The fact they actually like each other without both not knowing it was. mutual.
I was cute, fun, sweet story without drama.

fun fact poor macaron

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Good visuals but lame story

If acting and visuals weren't so good I would have given a lower rating. The whole story depressed and annoyed me, because there were some unanswered puzzles and the main character was meh. I know I should have pitied her, but she got good looks and brains on her side, and to allow that whole shenanigans with bosses and drunkard mother to cripple her when she should have embraced the world awaiting her, it's beyond annoying. The last scene was especially infuriating. Now when she could get something wholesome, she made such a dumb and ultimately selfish move. And don't even mention the kiss on the ledge. As if the writer was a teen girl, not a regular human who would otherwise put them both to the safety first, although they weren't supposed to be there at all, but there was no logic in the whole movie anyway.

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Bittersweet coming of age film

In Between Days was a low budget, independent film that brilliantly portrayed a teenage girl’s awkward friendship with a boy and difficulty in assimilating to her new life in Canada. Loosely based on director Kim So Young’s own experience moving from Busan, Korea to California, USA at the age of 12 and the difficulties she faced trying to fit in. The budget for the film was $60,000 so there were few sets and much of the teens’ conversations took place in the icy winter outdoors, apartments, or buses in Toronto.

Aimie and Tran are best friends, but Aimie has developed a serious crush on her buddy. Tran says he just wants to be friends, but by that he seems to mean, friends with benefits. Aimie isn’t comfortable with the sexual experimentation but is also curious about it. Unable to voice their true feelings and wants to each other, they alternately withdraw and show attention to others which only causes more problems for them.

Aimie’s mother works long hours and is emotionally remote from her. The mom has no idea what Aimie is doing or how she is feeling. Aimie’s father left them, and she misses him terribly while also being upset with him. She also misses her extended family, made worse by her mother not being available most of the time as well.

Most of the conversations between Aimie and Tran were in Korean. Whether in English or Korean, Aimie and Tran had trouble communicating with each other and often used jealousy to get the other’s attention or to hurt the other. Teenage years can be awkward and isolating for anyone, but transplanting to a new world only intensified those feelings. Both Aimie and Tran struggled with their emotions, so much was new and they were unsure of how to handle the uncomfortable spaces between them. When she and Tran spent less time together, the frozen winter felt especially cold and lonely.

Director Kim kept the camera tight on Aimie and Tran’s faces, never letting the audience escape the painful, embarrassing, and disconcerting moments. Like most teens grappling and fumbling with unfamiliar emotions and biological urges, they were afraid of being rejected. Both had a sense of needing to belong, made worse by a limited community. Aimie and Tran didn’t want to lose what they had but also maybe wanted something more. This film was the first job for both actors and their performances were natural. Jiseon Kim was able to convey complex emotions quite well. Andy Kang acted like a typical teenage boy unwilling to show his emotions for fear of giving too much away.

In Between Days was a bittersweet coming of age film with all of the euphoria, bumbling efforts, and heartache that entails. Like so many films in this genre, there was no true ending, just a step toward another chapter for a girl seeking to find her place in the world and coming to terms with her own feelings and desires.

19 June 2024

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So much fun!

Another biased review from me to you.

I hadn't heard of this movie before, but when I saw an article about a possible sequel I thought it looked interesting and I decided to check it out and damn, I am so glad I did! This movie has a bit of everything: sweet family dynamics, action, comedy, and super badass FL, a dorky yet badass ML, an adorable feisty daughter (sumo wrestler, lol), and a whole bunch of other characters that are just hysterical! I loved every character and didn't think there was a single misstep in the actors chosen. If they do a sequel I hope they find a way of bringing everyone back. Would it be their trip to Disneyland? 😉 Anyhow, if you want some laughs, some action, some sweet moments, watch this. I think you'll like it.

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Very good fighting scenes!

The action was easily the best part and it was so good, some of the fighting scenes were so creative and there weren't too many cuts and they felt mostly grounded to reality.
The cinematography felt really cheap to me, lot's of drone and handheld gimbal shots so they looked a bit janky to me whenever the camera was following something. Scene change continuity broke a few times but it wasn't that jarring and some of the scene locations looked like they were chosen for ease.

I think the acting was very generic japanese acting so nothing really amazing but the flashback scenes in comparison were really well done. Also the CGI and VFX were really good and the animals were convincing even though they would have to have been CGI.

Some of the costumes weren't the best quality, especially a certain wig that you can see a close up of a few times, but the clothing looked fine to me and the injuries and stuff looked really convincing as well.

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there are flaws but this movie brought out a lot of emotions in me

the first half felt kinda slow to me. the cast really made me feel frustrated, downhearted, and angry. i was so mad with shinji's boss (?) because he's clearly manipulating shinji and ruining his career. it also made me feel sad thinking about how many mangakas out there had to go through this kind of horrible situation in real life. shinji's assistant had me going on a roller coaster of emotions because i felt like she's gonna betray shinji or that she likes him so she might hurt hibiki but then at some point it felt like she was harmless, she's a very confusing character. the second male lead was very very VERY annoying. im the kind of person who is not good with sympathizing to people who are in a situation that i havent experienced but araki yuko and yamashita tomohisa's acting really made me feel like i was there and i was being subjected to the struggles that they are going through. tho i must say i was kind of weirded out with the way hibiki found shinji's address. you know, it felt like stalking and i didnt really understand why would she track him down when they dont really know each other but in the end im still happy that she did because in that way she found shinji and saved him and even if things are still hard at least they have each other to hold onto now. im a sucker for love stories where they save each other and find their purpose or reason for living because of that special someone. in my opinion, this movie would have been perfect with a sad ending. the way they presented shinji's disease, when he went away from hibiki, and the way hibiki found him in that park felt final so i didnt really like the way they ended this movie but still, worth the watch.

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"Life is so hard"

The Old Town Girls was a film that wasn’t sure what it wanted to be or maybe it wasn’t what I wanted it to be. The film was inspired by a true story, though I don’t know which of the unsavory real events made it to the screen. Three girls with absentee parents, living in a dying town, had their lives turned upside-down when Shui Qing’s mother came back into her life after seventeen years. Darkness lurked beneath the shining yellow façade Qu Ting hid behind which would affect everyone adversely.

Shu Qing’s dad spends much of his time working at the local factory. Her stepmom resents her presence which leaves Shu Qing alone much of the time. One day Qu Ting returns to Shu Qing’s life in a flash, driving a yellow car, wearing yellow clothes, and bright red lipstick in contrast to the drab world her daughter inhabits. Shu Qing is so desperate for a parent’s love and attention that she quickly forges a bond between them, willing to do anything her mother asks. Shu Qing’s friend Jin Xi is well to do, but lives alone most of the time while her parents travel for work. The third friend, Ma YueYue, has lived with a wealthy couple for years while her father worked elsewhere. When he returns, he dominates her life and physically abuses her. Qu Ting brings a great deal of energy and controversy to the friends as well as death when her past catches up with her.

Director Shen Wu started the film at the end and then went back a few days to show the actions leading up to the tragic consequences. I wish she hadn’t as it took much of the suspense out of the ripped from the headlines events. The criminal part of the story felt heavy-handed and clumsy. The strength of the story centered around the three girls desperate for attention and love. I would like to have seen their backgrounds more fully developed, including the mother’s. The economy had a direct effect on the parental absences which created insecurities in the teenagers. All three girls felt trapped in their unhappy homes. The flamboyant mother’s arrival shook them up and took a toll on the friendships. This could have been an engaging coming of age and friendship film, but it disintegrated into a tragic crime committed by a desperate daughter compelled to save her mother and keep her in her life. The mother’s life was the sum total of her repeated mistakes and bad decisions which came to define her daughter’s life as well. The Girls of Old Town was an entertaining watch although the ending felt out of touch with the rest of the film. If you are in the mood for a dark, melancholy film designed to make you feel uneasy, this might be the ticket.

18 June 2024

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SO GOOD! But there were some parts that were a bit ....eh

Its story was confusing at the beginning but soon after I slowly started to get the story and it's pretty good and more understanding throughout watching. The acting was really good and to be honest I got so scared a bunch of times haha. I screamed a few times but not a lot, it was more about romance than horror, to be honest. If they added more scary parts it would've been better to be honest. The music is so beautiful and calming haha but it made me wanna cry because it sounds sad. Speaking of crying I almost cried twice while watching it. Rewatch is definitely. I would definitely watch it again but not everyday but like on Halloween or something lol. Really good though I recommend watching it it's so entertaining but of course not everyone has the same opinion about it but, you know what I mean.

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I just dunno am a horny bitch and I thought it's a crime thriller...but dude? whatthe hell with the story?
Just enjoyed watching his chewing gum...and liked the mask...also those tattoo werent that goood so eeee
and man idk what to say about thiss..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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