Reviews

"A Cheng's Heartbreak: A Soul-Shattering Tale of Love, Sacrifice, and Redemption"

This film is a heart-wrenching masterpiece, one that will leave you emotionally wrecked yet profoundly moved. A Cheng’s character arc—shifting from a misunderstood debt collector to a man crushed under the weight of his past—hits with the kind of raw emotional depth that sticks with you long after the credits roll. His relationship with Hao Ting is a storm of passion, quirks, and unfiltered pain, pulling you in so deeply that every ounce of love, heartbreak, and sacrifice feels like your own.

This isn't just another romance. It's a story about love, yes, but also about family, the relentless pull of past mistakes, and the heavy burden of trying to change in a world that keeps reminding you of who you used to be. A Cheng's desperate attempts to escape his past while being unfairly judged feel painfully real, echoing the silent struggles so many of us face in our own lives.

What truly makes this film unforgettable is how the leads carry their roles with such raw strength. You don't just watch their journey—you live it. Every joy they feel becomes a fleeting moment you want to hold on to, and every heartbreak feels like a punch to the gut, leaving you gasping for air. The themes of sacrifice, tragedy, and the delicate balance of trying to survive through the pain are delivered with an authenticity that few films can match.

This is one of those rare stories that linger, haunting you long after you’ve finished watching. It’s not an easy watch—too heartbreaking to revisit often—but it’s one that reminds you of life’s fragile beauty and the importance of cherishing those we love before it’s too late.

Even though it's heart-wrenching, it's so beautifully crafted that I'll definitely be rewatching it in the future to experience those deep emotions all over again.

Lees verder

não entendi muito bem

diferente de algumas obras sul-coreanas que são Bl eu não vejo essa daqui sendo tão comentada o que sempre me pareceu meio estranho pois as cenas que postavam parecia ser algo bem promissor. eu entendo agora o motivo de não ser tão comentado. não é o tipo de obra que muda a sua vida mas acredito que tem muita coisa boa para se tirar dela. existe um aceleramento na história que embora seja fácil de se acompanhar deixa uma sensação estranha de não saber como as coisas evoluíram até certo ponto. acho que o ponto alto é o suspense que se cria nos minutos finais, deu outro valor ao filme.

Lees verder

A realist depiction of gay life end of the 1980ies...

While nowadays so much BL crap is produced, this is a very serious story about how life was for teens at the end of the 80ies. It's especially important because this movie begins when the martial law ended in Taiwan. They discover themselves, they discover how cruel the world is, discover that the end of martial law does not change people over night and also what role the church played against homosexuals.

It's one of the masterpieces Taiwan always produced in the BL-World where the story matters, where the characters matter, where the acting matters and where the production quality, direction and execution matters. All is done so well and all makes sense.

This movie does not have a happy end, so I advise caution before you watch it because it could make you feel terrible, sad or even depressed. Still, it's a masterpiece and leaves a strong impression.

Lees verder

Good for what it is., intense but ends happy.

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2011 South Korean action, sports, romance drama with a run time of 106 minutes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Jang Cheol-min/Jang Marcelino (So Ji-sub) was an ex boxer who had given up on happiness in life. He was working multiple low level jobs and just getting by in life. Everything changes for him when Ha Jung-hwa (Han Hyo-joo), who is a tenant in the building where he is working as a security guard, comes to the security booth to find a friend who used to work there. Jung-hwa was going to watch a movie with her friend so she starts spending time and watching shows with Jang in the security booth. A tragic accident blinded Jung-hwa so she enjoys Jang’s patience and willingness to describe what they are watching. Feelings bloom between the two and Jang now has a reason to improve his life. There is someone he wants to protect. So, he goes back to the fighting world but this time he takes on the more dangerous and intense sport of mixed martial arts. There is more money to be made in that sport and he wants to make enough money to support them both. A condition that Jung-hwa has requires expensive surgery and Jang elects to do something really dangerous to earn the money for Jung-hwa’s surgery. Will he succeed? Can the young couple have a promising future?

Review

Other reviewers indicated this was a heartwarming story with some violent and bloody parts. It has strong “Rocky” vibes with a little bit of “Fight My Way” mixed in. It is easy to understand how two people who have faced so many challenges in life would be drawn to each other.

For what it was, it was good.  I don’t often watch movies just because I feel movies are too short to really develop the story.  It was still true to some extent that there would have been a lot more depth to the story if it had ran over episodes rather than in movie format.  Based on other reviews, I was super concerned it would be a blood fest and was not sure if it would end happy.  There is blood, but it is about what you would expect from a boxing or mixed martial arts show.  Nothing too excessive.  Another thing I could not tell from other synopsis and reviews was whether she was actually blind. She is blind.  It seemed like she had an ability to see light and shadows but it was so limited she was fully blind. They meet and fall in love when she is blind.  The content would make you worry about the ending but it does end very happy.  I might watch it again and would recommend to others.  Just have to be aware that it is a movie that is very representative of the period in which it was produced.

 Spoilers

Because it was movie length there were so many things I wanted to know that were not covered.  What happened after he was stabbed in Thailand? After he was stabbed, next we see him he is back in a hospital in South Korea a couple of years later.  Without knowing those details, the viewer must just assume someone found him and rescued him and he spent a long time recovering before returning.  But I was curious what happened and I think it would have explained more why he was away so long and then showed up a couple of years later still recovering. 

#Always #SoJiSub #HanHyoJoo

Lees verder

Somehow predictable, but still fun

To be honest, I didn't have any expectations before watching this. As a Kamen Rider fan, I just saw Watanabe Shu as part of the main cast and said "well, let's go" without thinking too much. Now that i've finished the movie, I can say It was a fun ride.

The pace can be a little bit slow/boring at the beginning, while our three Queens are trying to figure out what to do after Nacchan dies. They give us just vague information of who they are, focusing on their relationship and how much importance had Nacchan in their lives. It has sense, given the main plot of the whole thing, but what i'm trying to say, is that they could've sorted out that stuff better, to engage the viewers in a more personal way, to make you fall for the friendship they had with the late Nacchan. That ends up happening (at least) with Virgin towards the end, but, personally, I would've liked to know more of that bond with the other two too.

Story: Isn't too deep, just three drag queens trying to keep their deceased friend's secret. It's the way they introduce you the characters and their dynamics what makes this movie a good watch.

Acting: I have to congratule whoever was in charge of the casting, since these three men were absolutely perfect portraying the specific traits and quirky personalities of each one of their characters. As I said before, I just came for Shu, but I ended up enjoying/relating with the acting of Takito Kenichi so much. To be able to portray Virgin with such grace and kindness is something that I feel no one could've done if it wasn't him. Same thing with Maeno Tomoya and Zubuko (even though I wanted to strangle him a couple of times).

Music: The music is fine, existing and vibing at the precise moment without being too much. Nothing extravagant or memorable with it, but it gives that magic touch to the story that only a good song can give.

Rewatch value: I'm not one to rewatch things, so, there you go with my 5/10. However, if you like fun and easygoing movies, this one's for you.

Ps: As a Kamen Rider OOO fan, I had so much fun with the unexpected guy appearing here. It made me laugh a lot. Hope more people can watch this movie in the future.

Lees verder

Silly DTV toku gem

A clear passion project by guitarist turned actor Masaki Kyomoto, The Skull Soldier is a relatively cheap but hugely stylised little DTV tokusatsu gem from Tsuburaya. Gritty and exploitive, the film's tone can vary wildly mixing elements of horror, comedy and rockabilly funk with graphic violence, sex & nudity. The whole thing is pretty much an unofficial live-action adaptation of Shotaro Ishinomori's The Skull Man, Kyomoto's direction is pretty great given his budgetary limitations and lack of experience. Still, I feel the film runs a bit too long for the material he's got. The comedic moments don't really endear the movie to me as they often come at the expense of an otherwise tightly plotted and well-realised story. However, the action, as brief as it is is brilliantly envisioned, the design of the titular anti-hero is exceptional, big ups Keita Amemiya, the performances are engrossing all around and the soundtrack is a superb selection of rocking synth tunes. The Skull Soldier isn't perfect by any means, but it's a special little film in its own right. Seek it out if you have the time.

Lees verder

sometimes one needs a total easygoing brainless watch

the “gender role switch” was really funny, he was a househusband, she was a total kickass cop boss
Then it got funny with the misunderstanding , and the jokes were cheesy but fun

It could’ve been better, like the fighting and choreography were too good it felt obv staged
The bad guy stuff, I mean yeah sure no one really pays attention to what the big bad is doing, lol it’s either always weapons or money laundering
it's also nice to see a normally happily married couple, she wasn't hurt and wanted revenge, she was jealous and wanted to make sure it's not true cuz she genuinely loved him and he loved her


It lacked in the overall scheme, the characters were just the needed ones, and two against a hundred is a bit overboard , but as a fast easy watch, it was refreshing to atleast have cool characters

Lees verder

Very Disturbing

See, I found this extremely disturbing to say the least. Especially when I have a teeth phobia.
The story itself isn’t bad, as Ting has a new boyfriend where our ML (main lead) comes in, Mark. And so, he has a hard time trying to tell Mark that he has a teeth fetish. A very strong one. Although it may sound a little bad, it’s not completely bad, from just reading it I didn’t think to much thought into it as I should’ve, since I didn’t really expect all of the disturbing parts such as: close up shots of mouths. And they brings us to our next topic; Disturbing parts!
So, off the bat it starts us off with a close up shot of Mark eating.. and this isn’t the only part where it’s disturbing, no no no… it has multiple of multiple close up shots of teeth, and eating, and just in general gross things. For a film that is 15 minutes long and is named “Floss”, I should’ve expected this. But, it was just.. gross. I hate seeing people eat, hate seeing people Floss, even hate hearing people chew. It’s disgusting (to me).
I have zero hate for people with fetishes such as teeth fetishes, this is just my opinion and my side of this film and how I’m viewing it.
I feel like there’s just so many explicit scenes, though it did show that ‘18+’ viewer age on the page. It was just so many, more than half of it was just that, and if it wasn’t it was just weird and disturbing clips. The entire film felt wrong watching, and I felt grossed out by it.
This is just my opinion and my viewing of this film!

Lees verder

It's sort of a Lost Tomb Story. Sort of.

Another completely biased review from me to you.
I highly recommend watching this movie. It's in the vague vicinity of the Lost Tomb series. I mean, they have Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie and the 9 families and they go around robbing tombs, so yeah, it's loosely based I would say!
What is this demented magic? An origin story for Zhang Qiling?? Wait, what? Jing Bo Ran plays him? ?And seriously, WTAH, Lu Han is Wu Xie?? And an origin story for Wu Xie too? ?And their first meet?? ?
Words can't describe how wonderfully awful this movie is! It is beautiful though, the look and feel is just amazing. The sets and props are really excellent!?
Here's just some thoughts I jotted down while watching. I hope you watch and enjoy too.???️
Vampire moths! ?
Wu Xie before he learned he shouldn't go around touching stuff!?
Totally love all the cogs and gears and steampunkish look⚙️
Zhang Qiling sitting on top of a skyscraper drinking beer? ok....?
This gives us a very talky and angsty Zhang Quling ?
The bromance is strong with this one.?
Wu Xie needs to learn how to turn off the camera's flash if he wants to sneak around dark tombs?
Why do the bad guys always have the coolest toys??
Now that's a safety lock!??
Balls of flame, pretty damn cool?
Yeah, these guys are tomb robbers, they don't care about preserving the history⚒️
Creepy wooden puppets!?
LOL Wu Xie dancing through the sword statues and then teaching everyone else. One-two-three-one-two-three?
So, zombie tree/human hybrid monsters. ok. And Poison Ivy wanna be who just makes ugly faces and screams and dances like a Bollywood lady? ?
Why was one of them a blue smurf version of a monster??
Wu Xie as pied piper?
Wait, Wu Xie convinces the bad guy to turn into a good guy by telling him to be good? omg this part??
And the laugh the boys were doing at the end when Wu Xie rescued Zhang Quling ?
WTAF was that ending? I don't get it. You mean I sat here for over 2 hours and that's how you decided to end this??
Still, it was worth it. A fun easy watch. Not too scary or gross and the effects weren't THAT bad

Lees verder