Reviews

Watch this for my MDL 2024 challenge. Quite interesting, it just has a very big but…

Story about a widow named Tampopo. Her husband died not long before, and she struggles to maintain the ramen restaurant left by her late husband. One day, a truck driver, Goro, comes to the restaurant & sees Tampopo being harassed by her customer. Can’t just stand by seeing that, Goro decided to help Tampopo, but just to be defeated. But from that accident, the friendship between Goro & Tampopo started.

Tampopo who struggles about the restaurant finally has the courage to ask Goro for help. Goro, with the help of some people, helps Tampopo gather the perfect recipe for ramen… And later even to renew the shop for Tampopo...

That's pretty much the story without giving any spoilers. Tampopo is a really clever woman, she managed to trick a few people / chefs to give her the recipe without them realizing it. It was so fun to see her gather the recipe.

This is actually really quite an interesting old movie, even though I watch it today time, I don't feel it's too old. But unfortunately, the scene in the movie mixed with the scene unrelated to the story. I don’t know it just the style at that time or what, but it really affected me who watch it today.

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Korea Ura

Harbin was an emotional and patriotic retelling of the Korean independence fighters' struggles for independence. Phenomenal cast, hooking plot, amazing soundtrack. It had lots of potential.

Honestly, you had to be patient for the action to come. They spend a lot of time focusing on characters who didn't exist historically just to beef up the plot, such as Lee Dong Wook and Jung Woo Sung. I wish they would have kept the plot truer to the original story, instead of trying to make it more "movie-style". They could've dug deeper into the annexation of Korea rather than having the many action scenes. Nevertheless, the second half was amazing. It had me on the edge of my seat with twists at every corner. The story was a rollercoaster of emotions.

The acting was superb. You can't go wrong with Hyun Bin. His performance was deep and emotional. The other actors were phenomenal too. The soundtrack was well-made for the film as well. I was immersed the entire time. Especially, when Ahn shot Hirobumi and began shouting "Korea Ura", that's when my heart broke. Long live Korea.

Most of these independence fighters dedicated their life for their country's independence, yet never lived to see it. They left their families to fight for Korea. Ahn Jung Geun's life story is way deeper than the movie shows. I would suggest researching him and the righteous army militias. It is truly heartbreaking. The last moments of Ahn's life were gutwrenchingly sad, and not portrayed in the film. I wish they would've spent more time on showing the consequences of Hirobumi's assassination. These fighters fought so hard and made Korea what it is today.

Overall, Harbin was a good look into Korean independence. It had potential to be better, but it was still sufficient as is. The movie was an emotional ride. The film honored and shed a light on the independence fighters. I hope that this history of Korea is never forgotten. Korea Ura.

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Esse filme finaliza a saga de Kyoto e seu antagonista principal Shishio. Para quem leu o mangá, talvez fique meio chateado já que a história cortou muito dos demais antagonistas e seus flashbacks, mas adaptaram bem pra um filme. Infelizmente filmes que adaptam esses tipos de história são dificeis, precisam cortar muita coisa importante da narrativa para encaixar em um filme. Talvez alguns questionem porque não fizeram 3 filmes para esse arco, eu realmente acho que 3 filmes cobriria tudo de forma mais adequada.

O filme tem as melhores cenas de luta da saga ate o momento, a batalha final durou 15 minutos, isso sem contar a batalha campal. Que vai 30 minutos brincando. Isso sem falar de combates intermediários no meio do filme.
Simplesmente, esse franquia tem só as melhores cenas de lutas do CINEMA. Pois os atores sabem lutar, e talvez só outro filme japones consiga fazer algo parecido no futuro.
Filmão ÓTIMO.

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Catch a Ride Don't Sweep By °7.6° °VG°

‘That haul is worth $500.00.’ That thar haul’s a massive load of metal ~ the size of a medium building ~ and they give him 500 bucks. Space sweepers are scrappers who sell what they find floating out in the expanse. Making a livin ain't easy. They are paid in cash, because people that aren't citizens of the UTS Corporation aren't afforded any credit. Our crew runs into trouble when they're scrapping a wreck and find a little girl in the rubble.

There's pictures of this little girl all over the news. Apparently, she's an android with a hydrogen bomb planted inside of her. By the time the crew realizes this, they already have her on the ship. They're terrified, until they realize they could probably make some money off of her. That's how it starts. They keep the action flowing. It goes by fast for the time allotment - there's no dead spots. SS is a 2021 136-minute release that is rated 70/78 on RT, 6.5 on IMDB, 86 on AWiki, and 8.3 on MDL.

Song Joong-ki (Arthdal Chronicles, Descendants of the Sun-8.3, Reborn Rich) is ML, Tae-ho. Kim Tae-ri (Mr. Sunshine, Revenant) plays Captain Jang. Yoo Hai-jin (A Taxi Driver, Exhuma) gives voice to Bubs. Kim Hyang-gi (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds-7.2, Salon De Nabi) is Bubs' New Body. Jin Sun-kyu (Uprising, Through the Darkness, Revenant) portrays Tiger Park. Richard Armitage (The Hobbit (liked it), North and South(loved it), & Castlevania-8.4) portrays James Sullivan / The CEO of UTS. Kim Moo-yul (Forgotten, Juvenile Justice) plays Kang Hyun-woo, and Oh Ji-yul (The Glory) is Su-ni. The screenwriter/director is Jo Sung Hee of A Werewolf Boy and additional screenwriters are Yoon Seung Min & Yoo Kang Seo Ae. The film is based on original creator/webtoonist Hongjacga's work.

SS is a classic style Sci-fi film. The primary criticism would be that it's formulaic. It follows some familiar flows and patterns, as well as recycled plot devices typical of action films. At this point in entertainment, we can't expect new things all the time, because most human stories actually do follow similar patterns. Human behavior is such. What's good about SS is the acting, the artistry and the sets, which are excellent with their well used, dirty, not pristine state. The plot may feel familiar, but there are a couple departures. There's a little twist at the end which is rather nice, and everybody does not get what they want.

SS doesn't deserve the 6.5 rating that it currently has on IMDB. I arrived at a 7.6 which means it doesn't quite reach an 8, but it is very good. This is for people who enjoy space films. Everything in SS is solidly competent. One has to wonder if people turned away when they realized it wasn't an entirely English-speaking film? It's primarily Korean, but several different nationalities and languages are featured before things settle down with the one K-crew. It has an international feel which is rather nice.

I've been hooked on foreign features for a while, as Hollywood has been so dumbed down it's insulting. With their overabundance of outstanding actors, Asian features are my current favorites - The thespians are definitely there for their merit. I'm a big fan of Korean shows, and the confidence & range of their child actors is always astounding. What's been missing is the high quality special-effects, but SS represents a change. Kdrama and Chinese features are getting more popular and their budgets are booming. So, hop on SS and other foreign features for a great ride.


〰🖍 IMHO

🎬8 🖊️〰7 🎭8.5 🌞8 🎨7.5 ⚡8 😅6 🤔6 🔚9


👁📺again? Not opposed


Recommendations:

⚡/🚀 -
K2 8,
Flex X Cop-8.5,
Private Lives 8.1,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Glitch-8,
Vagabond-8,
Uncanny counter season-1 only-S1-8.4 S2-4,
Inspector Koo-8.4,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Revenge of Others-8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
Moving-8.3,,
D.P.-8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
The Wailing-8.8,
Parasite-9,
Mother-8.8,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4

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Full on Ninja Mania

Pitting the lethal arts of Chinese Kung Fu and Japanese ninjitsu against each other in a battle for supremacy, Ninja in the Dragon's Den seemingly has everything you'd ever want out of a martial arts film and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure, be it ridiculous stilt fighting, ninjas galore, demonic possession, the hero fighting the latter half of the movie in a pink outfit and female anatomy saving the day, this is undoubtedly a classic; a mixture of typical Jackie Chan-style comedy and hard-hitting ninja action, but unusually the two styles mix very well and the film, as a result, is great fun. This Hong Kong / Japanese co-production came about due to the explosion of ninja-mania in the early 80s, one that showcases the contrasting styles of its two cultures in plenty of no-holds-barred and hilarious action. For being Corey Yuen's directorial debut, he pretty much knocked it out of the park on his first go, despite the conventional storyline he manages to give the material a slightly unusual twist, a credit to his years as an action choreographer, offering up highly entertaining set pieces with an endearing vein of slapstick humour. Young Conan Lee and Hiroyuki Sanada are particularly well-rounded here, although Sanada eclipses Lee for most of the runtime, the film does a great job of exhibiting their respective skills. Playing as an offbeat tribute and parody of its own Ninjaspolitation sub-genre, it's hard not to love Ninja in the Dragon’s Den, an exhilarating action film that fully delivers for every second of its running time, the amazingly repetitive theme song certainly reinforces that.

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freenbecky

here’s what i personally think. i think the story to this movie was actually amazing. the movie was good getting the main point across. freenbecky were great as always. the storyline jumped all over the place but that is the plot line with parallel universes. the english spoke didn’t flow very well and was still hard to understand from non-english speaking persons. i think the overall plot was good but the storyline could have been more set in stone with how the story was laid out, it made the movie feel sorta rushed. i think the ending also could have been better with a happier ending

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I'm not even mad at the ending

The premises to this movie sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a watch. And I must say that I was not disappointed. Sati got into an accident, and now he's got amnesia. The only way for him to remember anything is to take a picture the exact way the previous one was, and he would get a flash of memory from that said picture. It is through this that we see the relationship between Sati and his wife, Meta. It can be seen through these memories that it is not at all perfect. Trapped between them is their daughter, Namo, who despises her dad so much.

The wife for many years had given her all to her marriage, but Sati did not appreciate it. So, I'm glad for the realistic ending where Sati wants them to be together as he says that he's not that old Sati, and he would not make those mistakes again. But for Meta, she does not want to go back to that. She has lived it—she remembers it. So, it's good that she is thinking about herself, and also she's putting herself first before her husband and family, as she previously did. While it may not have worked out for Sati and Meta, the relationship between father and daughter has, and at least Sati can be proud of this.

If I had seen this movie a few years ago, I would have actually thrown a tantrum as it was not the HEA ending. Now, I agree with this ending as it is the most suitable ending between the couple. I must say, what did annoy me a little was the amount of pictures being taken out throughout the movie. It got annoying after a while for me. I do understand the point of it, though, as it was a mechanism for the storyline to move forward.

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"Morals or money?"

If you ever wondered what would happen if you combined a yakuza film, a noir, and a spaghetti western, here’s the answer---A Colt Is My Passport. Murder, betrayal, and of course there was a dame involved. Pop the popcorn and kick up your feet for Nomura Takashi’s black and white crime flick.

Kamimura and his driver, Shun, have been hired to take out the head of a yakuza family. After successfully completing his mission, the families decide it would be more financially beneficial to work together which means Kamimura and Shun have to be eliminated. The two fugitives hole up in a rundown hotel for truckers and make the acquaintance of Mina, an ex-yakuza moll. The port is crawling with gangsters searching for the partners which makes staying alive, much less escaping nearly impossible.

This was my first Shishido Jo film and I actually paused the film to see if he had been recovering from the mumps while filming this movie as his cheeks looked unnaturally swollen. Turns out he wanted to look different and had the work done. So, if he was happy with them, it wasn’t my business, though they could be distracting to look at initially.

Acts 1 and 3 were gripping. At the beginning Kamimura methodically worked his murderous magic, even taking time to listen to a bird sing. At the slam bang finish he once again contemplated perhaps the last moments of his life by watching a fly crawl around. The slow middle act lacked the intensity and compelling moments the other two contained.

“All that’s left for me is dust and the smell of men and gasoline.” Mina seemed to be there to witness Kamimura and Shun’s loyalty to each other, as well as to fall in love with Kamimura. Sadly, she jealously wished women could have the kind of friendships men had, giving false credence to the old myth that women’s friendships are shallow. Be that as it may, Kamimura and Shun were devoted to each other with the hitman working overtime to protect his friend, even tucking him at night.

With music reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s, a dusty landfill standing in for the dust blown desert towns, and a man in black staring down a killer with guns blazing, the spaghetti western influence was obvious. Being obvious didn’t mean that it didn’t work, there were many powerful and captivating images. If you enjoy old Japanese crime films, this is one to try.

4 January 2025

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Life is worth living

Sweet Bean broke me a little bit but I understand it needed to do so in order to build me up again. This was yet another solid slice of life story from japanese cinema (they are experts on the genre) on how the we take for granted life.

The film doesn't go anywhere the viewer isn't expecting. It’s a long process that, like Sweet Bean, requires more patience than most would be willing to give. Kawase takes her time crafting scenes, which she sets in the darkness just before dawn. By itself, it would make an excellent stand-alone short film. The arduous process of cooking an pays off when Sentaro’s new, improved dorayaki quickly become a lines-around-the-block success due to word of mouth. Which is also the catalyst for the film’s dramatic conflict.

Kawase depicts the passage of time with beautifully shot changes of season, bookending the film with the vivid cherry blossoms of Spring. When Sweet Bean is leisurely coasting along like this, one can easily get lost in its meditative pull.

I admit this film might not be for everybody, even I had a hard time with it but I am glad I stayed for the entirety of it.

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Harbin is the historical fictional retelling of the assassination of Japanese Resident-General Itō Hirobumi and the events that led to it. Told from the perspective of An Jung Geun, one of the activists in Korean Independence army, the movie depicts a chain of events that led to the planning of the assassination. The film features themes of war, espionage, and political plotting. That being said, the first half was boring. It struggles with pacing issues, bogged down by way too many characters who fail to leave a lasting impression despite the star-studded cast. It's filled with boring scenes of men discussing, planning, and excessively smoking in a dark room. This slow buildup feels tedious, making it difficult to invest in the story or its players.

The second half becomes more thrilling as the plan to assassinate General Ito comes into fruition. It is packed with more action and suspense. There's a race against time to reach the general, while Japanese soldiers are riding on their coattails. One thing I loved is how they depicted the inner conflict of one of the characters. The film takes a nuanced approach to representing certain historical figures. General Itō Hirobumi is depicted as a complex individual rather than a one-dimensional villain. The movie even managed to mention some of his accomplishments. In contrast, the Japanese Army is depicted as cruel, inhumane, and barbaric.

The climax was intense. There was great use of sound editing and mixing to capture the thrill and suspense of the moment. Overall, this patriotic film is a great one time watch. I don't think I'll be watching again unless I'm a huge fan of war or historical films.

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