Reviews

I would have given this an 8/10. But...

I'm not one to stomp my feet when an ending doesn't go exactly the way I had hoped/expected. I actually like being surprised or shocked. However, most movies of the thriller/horror/suspense genres tend to do this absurd thing where they have an initial "false" ending. And then they have the "real" ending that suggests that everything might not ACTUALLY be resolved. Like the thing at the end of all the Jumanji movies when you hear the drums and some random new kids go "hey, do you hear that?"

I don't know. About 1 out of every 10 instances this works. This movie is not one of them. I don't want to spoil it in case you end up watching it, but putting aside any conversation about "good" endings or "bad" endings, I at least expect the ending to make sense. Or, if nothing else, not to make the rest of the movie effectively pointless.

This was one of the most impressive suspense films I've ever seen....

Until

that thing after the credits started. The movie ends, the first cast credit appears on the screen and then randomly several more minutes of film get shoehorned in. In a way, by the way, that made it seem like even the filmmakers didn't think it belonged. Basically, just watch until the first credit pops up on a black screen and then IMMEDIATELY turn the movie off. Then it will be a perfect film.

Every time I see a false ending + second ending horror or suspense film I feel like the writers didn't actually want us to take the story seriously after all. It was all just for scary funzies. And selling popcorn. Or whatever.

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Death is a part of Life

I think I liked this a little bit more than the previous one because historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and it was incorporated so well in the story.

The suspenseful vibe of this drama movie still feels very accurate and the plot twists, even if some were foreseeable, made the story so interesting that it could transport right into the fantastical universe!

I liked that we found out more about the grim reapers and that this time, the story happens on two plans. On one side, we have the typical story of guiding one's soul and on the other side, we have an adventurous action in which gods are implicated.

This movie also felt so peaceful at some points, letting you reflect on the characters' lives and also on your own. It is so emotional and yet it shows you the fragile beauty of life, the human suffering and yet it teaches you to appreciate the time you have on earth.

Both movies are masterpieces!

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Your life choices determine your future

A movie with so many things: drama, mystery, cool action, and mythological fantasy. It also has some comedy which I truly appreciate because it makes the movie easier to watch.

The philosophy behind it is so meaningful. You can learn to be a better human by watching it. The whole universe was created with good craftsmanship. The visuals are fantastic!

I loved watching the grim reapers helping the "paragon" find his way through the afterlife and also helping him evolve even after his death. The accent is put on the life of a family after one of the brothers dies and even if he has a noble soul, he still have to pass through 7 trials corresponding to human sins. He had a complicated life just like any of us, and that's why this story is also relatable.

I also loved the relationship between Won Maek and Duk Choon, cause they reminded me of a big brother-little sister relationship. Even if Duk Choon is the youngest, I find her character to be a wise one. The actors did an amazing job portraying the dark, yet guiding aura of the grim reapers.

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Gut-wrenching story

This movie is not entertainment but a depressing story about a town without hope. The title of the movie is truly fitting. There seems to be no hope for our main character and neither for other people. So this was all emotionally very hard to watch. Few scenes were hard to watch because of brutality but the entire movie is hard to watch emotionally because it is just sad to see peoples lives going downhill. In fact it is more than sad. There is sadness that purifies but when you don’t have hope it is even worse. In a sense this is what hell looks like.

Actually the real title of the movie is Hwaran – 화란. That is transliterated from the Chinese word for Netherlands. Our main character Yeon Gyu has a dream of going to the beautiful Netherlands. However, Hwaran can also be transliterated from another Chinese character with the meaning of disaster and chaos. Very interesting detail that says a lot about the story of this movie too. In short, don’t watch this movie if you want to have a good time, watch it at your own risk.

Btw. the version of the movie I saw was 1hr 58min and not 2 hr 13 min as stated on the info.

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A Good Action, Spy, Thriller

This is a movie with many familiar kdrama faces and then some. The actors, made it all seem effortless but entertaining at the same time. Hwang Jung Min doesn’t make many films or dramas, but when he does star in a show, it’s always worth a look.

Overall, it was a decent spy/action/thriller that starts to hit its straps around the 45 minute mark. Up until then, it was a bit ho hum for me and not all that interesting except, however, I knew at some point, the leads would start to deliver - and they do.

This movie had a decent budget and the action scenes bear this out. The movie sets were utilised well - not too many, so the budget was used effectively.

Yum Jung Ah as the jaded detective captain who relies on her house husband turned in a very relatable performance. Jeon Hye Jin turned in another good performance and I would like to see her in more roles like this one.

At the end of the day, it was a movie well worth an afternoon watch on the weekend. Grab some lunch or popcorn and a drink, settle in and enjoy the ride ?

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Actress Jiang Wen Li wrote and directed the film Lan. This was a slow, slice of life and coming of age film set during the Cultural Revolution. Grandfather Tang and Jiang Xiao Lan had only each other after her parents were sent to the countryside for re-education. Xiao Lan not only had to bear the shame of her parents' situation but politically it was a trying to time to have the same surname of a loathed political figure.

During the 1960’s at the age of three, Jiang Xiao Lan’s parents were sent to the “countryside”. Her 89-year-old grandfather was left in charge of her. Initially enforcing his authority with a ruler style whacking stick, the neighbors convinced him to use his words instead. At school Xiao Lan was ridiculed and taunted mercilessly as a “bastard of counter revolutionaries.” Grandpa wanted Xiao Lan to have a skill so that when she grew up she would not be sent to “the countryside.” She joined gymnastics but was never accepted and always considered an amateur. Lan missed the parents she scarcely knew. The only connection she had to them were their letters that Grandpa read to her. After a time jump, not much changed for Xiao Lan as she entered adolescence.

Lan was beautifully shot as if each scene was a painting, featuring both photogenic actresses who played Lan. Most of the scenes contained either rain or snow with Lan carrying her ubiquitous umbrella. Lovely music accompanied Xiao Lan’s growth from small child to teenager. Zhu Xu as Grandpa Tang gave a tender performance as the man who cared for and tried to shield Xiao Lan from the harsh realities of her life. Yao Jun and Zhu Yinuo seamlessly portrayed the melancholy Xiao Lan who desperately wanted to fit in somewhere and longed for her missing parents. Director Jiang created several whimsical scenes such as Xiao Lan flying across the Huai River with her umbrella to the north to find her parents. There were also several references to missing teeth, the meaning of which eluded me.

Jiang Wen Li composed a touching film showing the consequences of the cultural revolution on families. The relationship between Grandpa Tang and Xiao Lan came across as loving and realistic. While it was beautiful to look at it, I kept waiting for some sort of emotional climax which never came. I enjoyed Lan and maybe on a different day would have rated this graceful film higher.

9 August 2024
(7.75)

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worth watching

didn't even noticed it came out today ahah saw the date here, random watch on Netflix tonight

I wasn't expecting much, but I enjoyed this movie. I read the synopsis and I thought it could be interesting
- I think the idea of the plot in general is interesting.
- the acting was good
- had some funny moments
- For me a bit slow at first and I was waiting for her to find out
- I enjoyed the action and fighting scenes
- I like the part when they rescued the guy. I was like how the hell will they out, but the plan was pretty perfect after all. I'm still sad he died. When he said his wife disappeared after ML stopped working... I was like well damn! but later on it all made sense why it seemed to easy to get him out
- I was truly shocked with the plot twist for the villain, didn't saw it coming
- the ending was okay

It's a good watch to pass time in my opinion, I would recommand

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Amazing movie

This movie shows what humans will act like if a disaster appears but then again we, the humanity cause and destroy the world, are selfish and don’t let others in when they need somewhere to stay, music is good too and the whole movie is interesting, if only the world was peaceful then we won’t have anything bad like a war but we destroy this world and are selfish, humanity is what destroys the world and harm the climate.

Definitely recommend this film to everyone as it’s an amazing film to watch and shows the truth of us humanity, shame on our humanity, we need more of the video’s I’ve seen online where people are friendly and willing to help and not these people in this movie who let everyone die in the cold.

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Unique premise but predictable story

Bastards are more despicable than dogs

Look, this was really fast-paced, 20 minutes in, there's so many things going on, from the main characters and side characters, action scenes are GREAT, cgi is average, but the characters didn't have that depth that i was looking for, like, the connection wasn't there, i guess they could've used more gore on this but it's still a good watch for a political, action , sci-fi, and drama kmovie

The last scene's parallelism between jung won's paternal love to kyung min and e9's maternal love towards her children :( a really sad reality..

RIP Lee Sun Kyun, I'll miss you and your works, such a great actor, and the child and the granny from train to busan is here too!such an interesting crossover

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A masterpiece

I usually don’t like overly stylish movies that look like a perfume commercial or music video, but when it’s so incredibly well done like this one, I make an exception. Everything was top-notch: the directing, photography, editing, music, writing, and acting. I was especially impressed that the actors playing the students were actual teens, and they did an amazing job. And I need to give a shout out to Masaki for totally nailing his role as the inspiring young teacher from the typical J drama or movie, but this time subverted as a clueless laughing stock. He was absolutely perfect for the part.

Out of all the Japanese movies I’ve seen from this millennium, Confessions, along with Love Exposure and A Bride for Rip Van Winkle, were the greatest.

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Could have used more rom and more Tang Wei

Despite starring Tang Wei and Jacky Cheung, this ended up being Jacky and Pau Hei Ching’s movie. Tang Wei was criminally underused. Crossing Hennessy was a scrambled ensemble that too often pulled focus from the main couple.

Loy is a 41-year-old man who sleeps until noon and has difficulty with responsibility. His mom owns an appliance store where he fixes equipment and does installs near as I could tell. His aunt dotes on him while his mom berates everyone around her. Queenie, the mom, sets him up for a matchmaking dinner with the woman whose uncle owns a shop across the street. Oi Lin, much like Loy, has no intention of following through with the match. She has a jailbird boyfriend and Loy is seeing his ex-girlfriend. Later, after meeting coincidentally the two find they share an interest in mystery novels. Kismet! Queenie, family friend Uncle Ching, and Loy’s aunt end up in a love triangle of their own.

I watched this film mainly because Tang Wei was starring in it. Before the hour mark she all but disappeared from the screen until the end of the film which was quite disappointing. Her character was given little to do overall. I also struggled to understand what thirty-year-old Oi Lin would see in a forty-year-old man (49-years-old in real life) who had no direction and nothing to offer her but the ability to make her laugh. Jacky Cheung’s acting style is not my cup of tea. I find his mugging for the camera and eyerolling more annoying than cute. It was difficult to understand what lit the attraction between Oi Lin and Loy. Pau Hei Ching as Loy’s mother was continually loud and overbearing with no nuance. I kept waiting for her older sister to finally snap after being continually rundown by the family diva. I only know Danny Lee from old kung fu movies so it was interesting seeing him as the henpecked, dog carrying Uncle Ching. The veterans’ love triangle dominated the second half of the film along with Loy’s challenges while Oi Lin sold toilets offscreen in her uncle’s shop.

Crossing Hennessy had some cute moments but then the film would go in another direction leaving the burgeoning romance on the backburner. Tang Wei’s return to film after being blacklisted (apparently, she did those spicy Lust, Caution scenes all by herself? None of the men suffered any consequences) should have highlighted her acting abilities instead of sidelining her in her own romance. Jacky Cheung’s hangdog, lazy character and verbally abusive mother weren’t interesting enough to carry the film for me.

8 August 2024

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The Fine Line Between Laughter and Tears

In this movie, two aspects stood out as less appealing. Firstly, the transitions between flashbacks and the present storyline were challenging to follow. It felt as though the editing or execution wasn't as seamless as it could have been, making it difficult to fully grasp the timeline at first. Secondly, a key character who tampered with evidence or ignored a critical situation was not held accountable. This lack of justice left a loose end that was hard to overlook.

Despite these issues, the film was a blend of humor and deep emotion, successfully tugging at the heartstrings. It made you laugh, cry, and genuinely connect with the characters' journeys. The movie's ability to evoke such a wide range of emotions is a testament to its overall impact, even if certain elements fell short.

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