Reviews

The duelist is a period movie, set during the late Chosun dynasty era. I watched this movie solely because of the lead actors. Although the actors delivered, but the movie didn't. The plot is quite difficult and intricate; its easy to get lost. It took me a while to grasp just what was going on! It starts off slow, but picks up towards the middle, when we finally get a hint of romance(The lead actor is totally gorgeous by the way ^_^). The movie features quite a bit of sword fighting, but not the martial-arts-movie kind; its more of an artistic fight. Freeze frames have been used quite a lot.



To sum it up, the movie was average for me, it got my hopes up in the middle; but it just didn't follow through. The story was not straightforward and it had me confused a lot of times. You should watch it for beautifully choreographed fight sequences; they were definitely the highlight.

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I was working when I watched this movie which may explain my lower ratings for this movie. The storyline was unique and very interesting. The only problem was that at some points in the movie I was scratching my head and wondering why the character did what they did, but my guess is that i must've missed something. The Cast was terrific and the characters were believable. The music was okay. It didn't really stand out much. I'm not much of a rewatcher, but this movie would be a decent rewatch simply because it has no real surprises. You know what's going to end up happening from the very beginning. Overall, it's an okay movie, but one you'll watch and end up forgetting for the most part.

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Punch! This movie is like a punch. Weird description, I know.

There were a lot of clever, artsy, indy details built into this movie that I got a real kick out of:

1) They played up the fact that this is a movie with a movie in a very obvious and clever way.

2) So Ji Sub's name is Kang Pae (gangster) and Kang Ji Hwan's name is Su Ta (star).

3) The scripts for the "movie" in the shooting scenes were the actual script for the movie.

4) And the ending...

I loved the intensity of both Ji Sub and Ji Hwan, their acting and characters. I loved that Ji Sub always wore black and Ji Hwan wore white. I loved the spoiled angry child in Su Ta and the way he got in over his head so deeply. Kang Ji Hwan always impresses me..Always.

I loved So Ji Sub's anger...his pure rage. His character's desperation and desperate grab for something more in his life, something he wanted, to make a change. The frustration of his inability to understand what to do with it once he'd grabbed on. And how his past, his personality and his lot in life were like a greased palm that made it impossible for him to keep hold. And then the terrible acceptance...He doesn't have to say much. That is the beauty of his acting. (sorry fangirl)

Watch it for the punch...beginning, middle and end.

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Lovely Complex was an extraordinary drama, and I have fallen in love with it. At first, I was skeptical because I thought the story-line seemed ridiculous, and that the movie would wind up being boring, but it was the exact opposite; I've fallen in love with the "ridiculous" story-line. You really got to feel the characters in this movie, and there were times where I felt like crying and laughing alongside the characters. Whenever it would begin to get depressing, they would add a spark of comical relief, though, they were careful enough as to not spoil the mood.

The only thing I have a problem with is the actress that plays as Risa. I think she's a beautiful actress, but throughout the entire movie, she had annoying body movements. I think it may be because she's trying to actually imitate the anime character (though it's being done poorly, because even anime characters don't shake around like she is) and at times it would really begin to tick me off. It was like she had a twitch or she was just a total spazz. Her acting was great, it's just I think she tried a little too hard. The actor that plays as Otani was WAY cute. He fit the role perfectly, and despite Risa's actress being *kind of* annoying, they still looked adorable together.

Overall, I loved this film and I definitely would re-watch it again, in fact, I have... 3 times already!

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I tend to most enjoy movies or shows that have food as some aspect in them, so I expected a great deal from this movie right off the bat. I wasn't sure how I would enjoy seeing Joo Ji Hoon in something other than Goong, since that was the first and only thing I'd seen him in until watching Antique Bakery. However, upon watching this movie I found that I enjoy his character in this more than in Goong.



Overall, the movie was spectacular. From the music to the pretty faces, right down to the acting and mouthwatering desserts. The interactions between the four men were adorable at times, and I laughed myself out of my seat at others. I've always been a fan of Kim Jae Wook, so to see him here was a real treat.



Wonderful movie, and one I will definitely be watching again when I have the time.

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Ok, so I watched this and thought it was like a drama cut up and pasted to make a movie. Which was disappointing to me. But, having said that I really loved the story and the acting was great. I wish the movie flowed a little better or that is was just made into a drama. I will watch it again b/c I loved the actors and the music was amazing. The guilt trip that is placed on the lead actress is hard for me to deal w/ b/c I am not the type of person that puts up w/ crap like that. I understand staying w/ some1 b/c u love them not b/c u feel guilty. I also understand depression and how it affects others so this story has an interesting twist for me in that area. I sometimes wounder about the differences in culture when I watch these movies or dramas. This one shows a huge difference in how we think. I love to see the view point of others. It opens up a whole new world for me. I hope others enjoy this movie as much as I did.

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Rita's view hits the nail on the head but I wanted to add some thougts.

The lighting, the constant rain and even the angles of the house all lent themselves to the mood of the film. Which I thought was a clever technique. The acting in the film was very good. Hyun Bin may be gorgeous but time and time again he has proven he's got serious skills. I don't watch him because he's cute anymore. I watch him because I know I am going to be watching a really great actor.

Having said that: This film is shot in a really quiet way. In one shot in particular you just see the woman sitting on a chair, smoking a cig for a good minute or so. There were times when I thought the director was building upon the silence. Using the rain and the dark and the two character's obvious silences toward an end of some kind.

With the woman I felt frustration and guilt. From him I could feel sadness and quiet hopeless acceptance. Sometimes it felt that they were using their silence to punish eachother. I was waiting for some kind of breakthrough. For some of this emotion to surface. This was not to be... I felt like this movie ended in the middle of a sentance and now we don't know what anyone involved was even trying to say.

It's like going to an abstact art exhibit at looking at a painting of a single huge black dot on a white canvas and thinking..."Why?" and "I hope the artist didn't get paid for this" and "Yeah, I did one just like that in kindergarten." Sometimes when you try to be to artsy, clever and minimalist...you fail big time.

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I give this movie an overall 4, but not because it I thought it was generally really bad - I thought some aspects were excellent, while others were pretty much terrible, which is why I figured a more detailed explanation was in order. Other people will opine on the actual plot, so I'll mention some things that were more important to my experience of the movie:





The visuals are great, both in terms of a pretty cast and gorgeous cinematography. This is probably my favorite part of the whole movie - visually, I absolutely adored the feel of it. Also, I don't know how qualified I am to say this, seeing as I generally won't call acting bad unless the actors look like grade school students putting on their first play, but I thought the acting was pretty good. The fellow students in the rural school were rather endearing, as was Lee Yeon Hee. However-



The movie does not flow at all. The editing is frequently jarring - especially when poignant scenes are cut before their full emotional impact could be felt. Character development - in fact, development of any sort - is really jumpy. I still have no idea when the main guy suddenly fell in love with the girl, or when there were any developments in their relationship, because all the viewer sees is that in one scene they feel one way about each other and in the next they feel completely differently. Major aspects of the story, like the lost mother storyline or the boy's grandfather's story, are left awkwardly underdeveloped. I also feel that the supporting cast and their stories are severely underutilized/developed.





The result of all this is that it frequently feels like the actual movie is happening between the scenes we get to see. The sense of "Wait, when did that happen?" or just "Wait, what?" steals some of the poignancy from the scenes that individually are really well done. What we do see could have been part of a really great movie, but that movie was never made. Perhaps if it had been a drama instead and had more time to develop things - or if everything had just been better developed in this shorter time frame - it could have been much better. As it is, though, it's pretty disappointing.





That being said, I do have a soft spot in my heart for this movie, mostly thanks to its vibe and its potential [and those endearing characters], which is why I couldn't rate it poorly without an explanation. Also, while I totally wouldn't mind rewatching certain scenes, I would never watch that whole movie again.

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