Reviews

it's not bad.

So I watch this movie tonight it's not a bad action movie. I gave it a 7 out of 10. Interesting story keeps you engaged throughout, a good little side story about the main couple. Would I recommend watching this? I don't know I feel like this is a movie you would watch if you had nothing else on your list of shows and movies to watch. The preview I saw for it on Netflix tonight was a little misleading. I thought I was going to be better than what it was. It's only an hour and 45 minutes long. So it's not like I totally wasted my time with like a two or three hour movie. Overall a lot of action which I like the acting is decent there's some well-known actors in this movie as well. Like I said 7 out of 10 for me I can see why on MLD.com averages out to about six and a half to seven.

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Do we have to share blood to be family?

A strong performance from Kore-eda on the meaning of family. In this story of personal growth and lament we see a overly strict father find his family's worth. The idea of a child being switched at birth is fairly common in Asia drama, so I wasn't too keen on seeing it again. But thankfully this plot wasn't too hard on the emotions.

I can honestly say I didn't like father character at all. So bravo to the actor lol. Even in the end, I didn't like how it turned out for him. Ryota goes for very minuit changes so it's hard to really feel strongly in my opinion about his change of heart. The actor rightfully showed diverse ways to ignore his other actors on screen, making him to be really dislikable lol. He barely looked at people as he talked and I was livid.

But that's what so great about his portrayal. The other actors all felt more akin to "proper" parents. His wife Midori showed a very docile wife burdened by years of servitude. I appreciated that they called out traditional motherhood issues in Japanese society very subtly. She had a warmth to her child rearing but a tinge of fear because of Ryota's demands. The scene where she confronts him over his love of Keita was the best scene in the movie.


The other two parents felt more loving and caring about their children despite the way Ryota felt. Even though Yudai was seen as a money grubbing sleezebag, he felt like he cared much more about his children then Ryota ever did. The difference in interactions with both families really spoke to that. In a way I felt a little sad about Keita's upbringing because it seemed so strict and structured. But hopefully we see a glimpse of the family changing to better support allowing to live out his childhood. Yukari I thought felt very matronly and had a real repertoire with the children actors. She felt really sincere and positive.

Many of the scenes I feel drew attention to lifelines and growth. From the dad working as an architect to the artificial forest that housed many wildlife. The powerlines seen connecting area to area in one car scene I felt were like the red string of fate that connects people. All the little things in this movie were guiding principles of family.

It reminded us that things connect and grow no matter where they begin. The idea of family not connected by blood but by heart is a reoccurring theme in his movies. Not to mention also generational trauma passed down from father to son. The pushing of hobbies onto Keita at the behest of his father and the attempt to live up to Ryota's standards all felt very familiar to any child.

The traditional family structure VS the non traditional being explored in small details was great in this movie. I thought it was no better showcased then to both families reaction to Keita's injury. Or how both fathers reacted to fixing toys. Yudai allowing his children to watch and see the process of fixing rather then Ryota trying to hide his lack of skill and telling Ryuusei to buy another with his mother. There was a real subtleness in how this depicted their care style.

I think this movie will probably be more geared towards people who have children already. It will probably resonate more with them. However people who have family issues with their parents may find a little something to think about it.

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"Let others do the dirty work while you sit here and reap the rewards"

Last Hurrah for Chivalry was one of John Woo’s early directorial efforts. He used a traditional kung fu theme of revenge and turned it into a film about friendship and loyalty. The cast was strong and for a 1979 film in this genre was quite engaging.

Kao Pang’s wedding reception is interrupted by Pak Chung Tong, his father’s arch nemesis. In short order nearly everyone is killed except for Kao and his two trusted servants who all escape out the backdoor. Kao’s sifu takes care of him and gives him the name of the famous swordsman, The Divine Blade aka Chang San. Chang has given up the sword but Kao deviously manipulates him into picking it up again. Coincidentally, Tsing Yi, a great swordsman but failed assassin keeps running into Chang and develops his own grudge against Pak. The two swordsmen form a bond and attack Pak for different reasons, neither of which may be legitimate.

John Woo was an assistant director to Chang Cheh in several films. Much like Chang’s films, the blood ran freely and the body count was high. Wai Pak (Snake Venom) played the congenial, if hot-tempered Chang San, who was willing to risk his life to help a new friend. Damian Lau as Tsing Yi used his sword for money and had no attachments to people even though the local courtesan was deeply in love with him. Lau Kong's duplicitous Kao Pang came across as a smooth snake in the grass before he became unhinged. Lee Hoi Sang was thoroughly believable as the fierce baddie who struck fear into men’s hearts. At 38 Lee was tight. Most of his scenes were without a shirt and his workout routine was definitely effective.

Fung Hak On’s fight choreography was quite creative with limited use of wires until the final fights. He also played the assassin Pray. “Pray and accept your fate!” His fight with Wai Pak was intense but dragged on for too long. Most of the bloody skirmishes were with swords with kung fu thrown in for good measure. While many of the fights had the traditional 1970s rhythm, they moved quicker than the Five Venoms’ kung fu posing. Chin Yuet Sang’s Sleeping Buddha style required skill to implement even if it was done for a brief moment of lethal levity. One battle to the death took place by candlelight!

I liked how John Woo began the film with the traditional revenge trope and then quickly turned it on its head. Damian Lau and Wai Pak brought their characters’ bromance to life. Woo’s writing also made me care about Chang San and Tsing Yi. The betrayals and double crosses hurt and I cared about the characters’ outcome, especially in a film where the bodies were stacking up. It was a long and bloody road to discover who was truly chivalrous and who deserved no mercy.

Though I enjoyed The Last Hurrah for Chivalry it would still only be for fans of this style of film as the acting and fights are now dated. If you do watch old kung fu flicks, this Golden Harvest film has either been restored or well cared for, unusual for a non-Shaw Brothers film.

23 March 2025
Trigger warning: Bag of snakes! And hacking of said snakes.

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not sure why other people don't like this movie?

honestly I'm not sure why a lot of people don't like this movie? yeah there's some confusing parts and twists and turns but I think it makes it more interesting at least for me it did. but overall I think it's a fairly decent movie a lot of action which I love there's great chemistry between all the actors and actresses. so I don't know I thought it was good.

I will say this though at the end it gives you a weird cliffhanger vibe even though it's basically over maybe that's why people were confused by it or they just didn't like the story overall but I thought I was a good follow-up to the first one.

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In this world full of monsters Someone will come to open the door to Rescue us...!!!

Revelations reveal that ::
"People believe only what they want to see in their mind." OR
"They create images in their mind to justify their monstrous acts "

"Revelations" is a gripping thriller that masterfully blends mystery, suspense, and thought-provoking themes. With strong performances, a compelling storyline, and stunning cinematography, it keeps viewers engaged till the very end. The film’s twists and emotional depth make it a must-watch for fans of psychological dramas. A thought-provoking experience that lingers long after the credits rol

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We are patterns seeking creatures.

And when you mix that with religious fanaticism driven by guilt and fear, you are on a highway to hell.

Revelation for sure falls stronger on psychological thriller than supernatural horror. It’s not the scares, but the mystery that is the focus point of the movie. How far will Min Chan go? What will be his next action? And who will suffer the consequences.

The movie shows how religious belief can literally alter your perception and find patterns in places they don't exist. The way Min Chan saw Jesus literally everywhere from mountains to altars, angels in the sky - all to unconsciously convince himself he is on the right path and everything that happens is the god's will. Just to take the responsibility off of his back.

While I appreciated the fact we witnessed how easy it is to slip into religious fanaticism, I wish the introduction to the main character was a bit more elaborate and detailed. Not everyone spirals so bad when faced with the situation he was facing - what made him go so far? What internal and external factors led to that outcome? It’s something this story did not explore enough.

Surprisingly, what I enjoyed a lot was the fact that Seong Min Chan was actually not the smarter guy, I would even call him dumb. I mean… googling about the potential legal consequences of the crime you just committed is literally helping the police and prosecution with the investigation. And that was just one of many idiotic decisions and actions he made.

Acting wise - great. What else to expect from this cast. Obviously the most spotlight fell on Ryu Jun Yeol and og boy he delivered. The psychological change his character went through from beginning till the end and so well portrayed I wish this was a short drama and not just a movie. On the other hand, some of the supporting actors kind of missed the mark, especially Moon Joo Yeon as Min Chan’s wife.

As much as I liked the production, somehow I wished the “holy images” he saw in random things were just slightly more vague. At the same time, I feel like they kept being more clear the more obsessed and delusional he became. Maybe it was just a visual way to present how much his perception is being affected by his mental state.

Overall, it was a weirdly light watch? Taking into consideration how serious the crimes of the criminal were, how far into delulu Min Chan went, I did not really feel that tense - more on the side of curious and entertained.

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Film sinting, oon banget ni 3 bocah buset dah, sok-sokan mau ngerampok modal nekat doang, ga tau siapa yang dirampok. Nonton awal karna Lee Jaehoon doang, eh ternyata ada Choi Woosik TERUS ADA Park Haesoo orgil aktor top smwaa.

Ngos ngosan enggap banget gila, apa lagi liat efeknya latarnya kaya ah gila ditambah mereka kejar kejarannya. Genre heist tapi pahit, gelap, gak ada harapan. Never-ending hunting ini thriller tapi challenging, shoot scene-nya looks juga. Action nya kurang si menurutku, endingnya juga, but so far so good.

Tapi seru, ngakak liat Jehoon kocar kacir ketakutan. Haesoo gila takut banget lihat dia disini buset dah padahal diem doang jarang ngomong. Endingnya bingung si, temennya kaya Sangsoo, Kihoon tuh mati apa engga, terus pas keluarganya Kihoon juga ga dijelasin kenapa, jadi terkesan buru buru banget.

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Watch this out of nowhere just as the break between my dramas... In the end quite happy to watch this...

Story about Bao Zheng (BZ) before he become the famous Judge Bao. BZ comes to Yong Tian academy to investigate the mysterious death of some students. People said it's the king of hell that killed them. So far, there are 5 students who died, and each of their death represent 5 levels of hell, that's why people keep saying that it's king of hell doing.

BZ who's not believe with the nonsense about king of hell started to investigate it, at the same time he also investigate his missing teacher.

When he started investigating, he experience a lot of weird stuff going on. But not because of king of hell, more like people doing magic or drugs to do evil stuff. So together with Zhan Zhao & Ouyang Qing, BZ continue his investigation about the students & also his missing teacher.

That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoilers. Overall for underrated movies, this is one good production.

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A masterpiece from Bong Joon Ho

Mickey 17 is a great sci-fi movie, packed with good humor, action, romance and touching moments. It’s a nice picture of humanity and modern society. It’s a good blend of entertainment and politics elements.

I had fun watching it, with only me in the cinema. It seems that no one in my town watches this movie. It’s been released in our local cinemas for a week and today is the last day. Anyway, I had the best experience ever!

I love Robert Pattinson’s performance of Mickey. His romance is beautiful as well. Nasha is literally the best female character I’ve seen recently.

It’s also nice to see Mark Ruffalo as a villain. :)

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Brilliant Acting

I began watching this movie expecting to see the warm smile good natured Kim Hyun Joong that we are used to seeing. What I saw was a shocking, brilliant performance last was ongoing for 80 minutes.
As the story evolves, you are taken inside the mind of a tortured man. Hyun Joong literally grabs you by the hand and takes you into the hell his mind is experiencing.
As he roams room by room throughout the night, his powerful performance darkens and his body begins to break down. By the end, you are literally exhausted from watching this transformation.
I found it to be one of the finest performances by any actor. I look forward to Hyun Joong’s future roles. He has proven his true talent.

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A wish is all you need

Kore-eda has this magical sense of life's inertia. This movie really isn't about anything and yet it's message is beautiful.

A story about life as a young children who carry small burdens. The movie touches on family dynamics and its effects on children. We have the brothers with differing views on how they saw their parents relationship. We have a young Megumi who is trying to pursue a dream in which her mother doesn't approve. We have gambling problems, body problems and companionship. In a way the story was about the affect parental negligence has on children. Though nothing is explicitly expressed, Kore-eda's films usually deal with family structure and nuiance. Each child represented very real problems children can face and their resilience against adversity.

I thought the way the movie ended with Koichi not wanting to make a wish spoke volumes about him understanding the feelings of everyone around him. I felt for the most part of the movie he was a little selfish. But I think through all the help he received, he realized that everyone deserves their wishes to come true. His wish would of interfered with that. The montage of everything they went through to get to this point was beautifully done.

The kurukan cake I felt was also a metaphor for adulthood. Something so plain and unassuming like life but having a slight sweetness, spoke about life's little wins. A life that goes by day to day but there's hints of good. During the course of the movie we experienced these little wins and courage thriving on in your young protagonists.

As usual many of the shots in the movie linger on the inate beauty of the everyday. We have all these micro interactions such as; a hand being placed on a shoulder, the mixing of ingredients, the dusting of a table. Each one is nothing in the grand scheme of things but the focus on them is what makes his movies special. It's the little things that matter to Kore-eda. These small gestures all make up our daily lives, subconsciously affecting how we see the world.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite of his works, but it was an enjoyable 2 hours and a nice way to turn off your mind for a while.

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BIASA AJA. TIDAK ADA YANG BERKESAN

yang carry cuma male leadnya aja weh. animasi atau visual efeknya biasa aja, alur juga biasa aja. dari storytellingnya juga ndak engaging gitu weh intinya 1 setengah jam dispeed 2x tetep agak bosen, dan ndak perlu bicara soal make sense ndak ada unsur pembuatan suatu bahan atau apa gitu, kostum juga biasa aja, paling yang proper dan agak stunning ya male leadnya itu udahan. yang lain kek udah minimalis aja gitu, nonton karena penasaran, tapi awal2 aja udah bikin pengen skip2 gitu weh, mana kalau ada yang lebih dari 2x speed bakal dicepetin lagi weh.

intinya kalau penasaran silakan nonton, tapi menurutku ndak ada yang bagus sampai bikin terkesan banget gitu weh.

ini aja review setelah nonton yang kedua kalinya, itupun ndak sadar, baru pas sampai tengah, baru ngeh kalau pernah nonton, saking ndak meninggalkan kesan apa-apa.

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Just keeping riding, not worth a stop over

I started 18 Swirling Riders aka 18 Shaolin Riders because Lo Lieh was in it and I am on a mission to watch all of his films that are available. Otherwise, I would have dropped this film somewhere between the 20-40 minute mark.

There were numerous characters and no coherent story. A great deal of the fights took place in the dark meaning there was no way to tell who was doing what to whom. Because of the large cast and terrible storytelling, it was next to impossible to care about any of the characters or the characters never introduced who died off screen. Or the characters who died on screen of which there were many.

Chia Ling was criminally underused as was Lo Lieh. Wen Chiang Long dominated the screen as the stiff upper lip hero who had a habit of laughing maniacally at inappropriate moments. He was also a master of disguise and used old school Mission Impossible face masks and wigs to fool people. Don Wong Tao played “Paper Knife”, a mysterious fighter who always wore a black weimao to conceal his superhero identity. Chen Sing finally showed up an hour into the movie as the Big Bad or one of the Big Bads, Lo Lieh’s character just seemed to be in a bad mood that was only alleviated by robbing and killing people.

As near as I can tell, the Riders stole from the corrupt rich and gave to the poor. Chen Sing was mad at the Riders for stealing a knife he cared about years ago and vowed to kill all of them, including 1000 children in their care. Lo Lieh, yeah, I don’t know, he seemed to be upset that the riders foiled his robbery. But even then, it wasn’t them and the contraband wasn’t gold, it was a woman. I could see why everyone might have been confused as there were no air holes punched in the small chest she was transported in. She wanted the Riders to help her avenge her master because a knife or “the” knife or a paper knife had been used to kill him. The synopsis says that there was a mole in the riders, but I never did see one. Oh, and there was a carp painting that people were dying for because it revealed secret kung fu weapons shaped like fish.

The fights that I could see involved wire-fu, trampolines, and reverse filming. The sword fights were okay. Because it was filmed in Taiwan, they had to fight in the woods, at least they avoided the quarry. In this instance with less than spectacular flying through the trees scenes.

To sum up, unless you are in a ride or die contract like I am with Lo Lieh, I highly advise skipping this mess. I gave it a generous 5 because it was dubbed and maybe some of the story was lost in translation.

22 March 2025

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