Reviews

A realistic 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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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

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Fun, witty and charming film with good performances and an interesting premise

'The Boy Foretold by the Stars' is a charming 2020 Filipino gay romantic comedy about coming of age, romance, and exploration of sexual identity.
The film explores the love story between two teenagers in a Catholic school setting who, with the help of a fortune teller, find themselves on an optional school retreat called "Journey with the Lord."
Through a series of events dictated by astrology and destiny, the protagonists discover the true meaning of love and acceptance.

The story:

Written and directed by first-time trans director Dolly Dulu, who has said in interviews that the story is based on her own personal experience, this fun, witty and charming film, with good performances and an interesting premise, begins when two best friends, students of Openly gay high school at St. Francis Catholic School, Dominic and Timmy (John Leinard Ramos, in his acting debut), go to a fortune teller, Baby R (Iyah Mina), to learn about their love life. Baby R tells Dominic, the central character of the film, that he will meet his soul mate in a week, and gives him several signs that would indicate that this child is really the one the stars have predicted.
On the contrary to Dominic, who is in love with Paul (Renshi de Guzman - 'In Between' I and II), another classmate, but does not dare to confess his love, Timmy is more open when declaring his feelings to Joseph, his platonic love.
As they prepare to participate in the school retreat they frequently organize, a student signs up at the last minute: Luke Armada, the high school basketball star. And Dominic is assigned to be Luke's godfather.
Luke has a girlfriend named Karen (Rissey Reyes – 'Pearl Next Door', 2021). But they are having problems in their relationship because Karen is very busy and finally breaks up with Luke, who believes in destiny and always resorts to flipping a coin when making important decisions.
Although Dominic and Luke are schoolmates, they have never met, as they are in different groups and their interests are not the same. In addition, he spends much of his free time co-leading the optional school retreat.
Heartbroken, Luke attends the retreat as a way to find time to reflect on his breakup and his life. As fate would have it, the two boys team up and discover that they have a strong and undeniable connection with each other.
Letting Luke know that he is gay and asking if that will be a problem, Luke says no. When Luke and Dominic begin to open up to each other and become friends, Dominic is not thinking about a romantic relationship with the young basketball player. After all, Luke is straight. Luke has a girlfriend. Luke would never notice an effeminate boy like him, ideas that run through his head.
Then Dominic begins to notice the signs that the "manghuhula" predicted in the way his relationship with Luke is blossoming. For his part, Luke eventually becomes confused about his feelings for Dominic, as he grew up knowing that he is heterosexual.
And so begins their romance, which will be put in danger with the sudden appearance of Karen to reconcile with Luke, or by Luke being ridiculed by his prejudiced and homophobic friends, fruits of a society that hates and discriminates against those who are different, such as the Filipino, for get too close to Dominic.

Of characters and actors:

Adrian Lindayag is known in the Philippines as a former fashion stylist and supporting actor in plays and television series. Before becoming known to a wider audience thanks to this film, he had already starred in the musical "Rak of Aegis" and was part of the cast of the comedy "Oh My Dad!", on TV5. Meanwhile, Keann Johnson is a model which had appeared in dramatic anthologies.
In the film they play Dominic and Luke, respectively. By then, both had already worked together on the LGBT+ film 'Click, Like & Share', from 2020, under the direction of Topel Lee and Ricky Rivero. Adrian playing one of the protagonists, Your Road Monts, and Keann playing the supporting character Your Road Derek.
In the film, Adrian is believable in the role simply because he is very comfortable being effeminate and doesn't seem to act at all. His impressive acting skills have been demonstrated in other performances, especially with his role as King in Marahuyo Proyect, a 2024 LGBT+ series directed by JP Habac. If you haven't seen it yet, you don't know what a great work you've missed. I recommend it to you.
Keann is a definite find. He is a beautiful actor, a mass idol as a model and his presence in the media and digital networks, with stage and acting mastery. He is also fluent in English and pronounces all his lines in that language, which is an advantage. He is remembered for appearing in the BL drama 'Worth the Wait' and starring in the LGBT+ film 'Run', both in 2021.

Some thoughts:

Filmed before the Covid-19 pandemic, when the BL (Boys' Love) genre was not yet popular in the Philippines, "The Boy Foretold by the Stars" shows this conventional vibe that works in its favor and achieves audience applause. In fact, it is a very accessible film as it plays with love in various ways and gives up its most intimate aspects.
In this sense, love is approached more as a means of friendship, companionship, and complicity as Luke and Dominic's bond grows. This approach is very laudable, because although love needs affection and intimacy, there is this feeling of a purer love by eliminating its more sexual aspects.
The most fascinating thing about the film is not the romance, but its depiction of that love story within an endemic Philippine landscape: that of an all-boys Catholic high school, with teachers, student leaders and students in constant struggle to unite the dogmatic religious doctrine that marks homosexuals as sinners who will not be able to enter Heaven, and the diversity of sexual identities. Without being didactic, the film bravely refuses to bank on the safety and convenience of secularism and instead places romance right in the middle of expressions of religiosity.
In this sense, it is impressive how Dulu was able to avoid turning the film into an argument against Catholic conservatism. Well, although the film has scenes where characters are judged for being openly homosexual, for being effeminate, or discussing homosexuality as a sin, this only happens to confront the confusion and not to judge. It is magnificent how the director never loses sight of the objective of the film, which is none other than to celebrate the purity of love, regardless of gender.
There are some tender and touching scenes between Dominic and Luke. The film also has enough emotional highs and lows to satisfy any romance lover.
The development of the relationship between the two boys is gradual but never stagnates, and the acting between the leads is surprisingly great. However, I was always attentive to what for me was the main problem in a film that depends heavily on the idea of ​​destiny and having a soul mate, because does destiny really have anything to do with love?
Although Timmy is the person who pushes Dominic to consult the fortune teller and get a reading, his story is left aside and forgotten, so the film focuses on the story of his friend and his romance with the boy the fortune teller predicted he would meet soon. I would have liked to see more of what happens to him.
In 'The Boy Foretold by the Stars', Dominic plays a gay man who comes out as gay to his close friends at school, but claims that he has not come out to his own parents. This makes one wonder, since his actions are so effeminate, that it is impossible for his parents not to quickly deduce what his sexual preference is.
The director is right by not populating her film with big names. Instead, he entrusted the roles of two high school seniors who find love with the slight help of fate and amid the prejudices of their all-boys Catholic school to two new young actors who, although they have previous experience in theater and television, they don't have the manufactured chemistry that might have fueled their pairing. And this makes the result much more natural and realistic.
Another of the film's achievements is that the director manages to conjure an impeccable passion in a school where religion, homophobia and machismo are pillars, and creates a homosexual romance to support. Even if all the twists and beats of the film are familiar and predictable, it still convinces and succeeds, as it thrives on its simplicity and direct approach.
The film has good production and technical values. The narrative flow is smooth and the setting of the Catholic boys' school is used to great advantage to establish the setting of the story.
Its narrative, based on a well-written script, has a great pace in general.

In summary:

'The Boy Foretold by the Stars' is a fun, witty and charming gay film that follows the blossoming love relationship between two students at a strict all-boys Catholic school, in which one of them is openly gay and doesn't believe in destiny. , while the other is heterosexual and decides everything by flipping a coin.
Produced by Jodi Sta. María under Clever Minds Inc., The Dolly Collection and Brainstormers Lab., the film seeks to unravel themes such as growing up queer in a Catholic school, facing homophobia and sticking to your faith, whether queer or not.
One of its most interesting aspects is that it is not afraid to portray the effeminate gay, a trope that is often used in secondary characters and other times as a stereotype to denigrate the homosexual. In this film, destiny is as real as the people who experience it.
Without being apparently subversive and through a formula that favors tradition, 'The Boy Foretold by the Stars', considered the "first Filipino BL film", finalist in the feature film section at the 2020 CineFilipino Film Festival, opens a path for making homosexuality visible in a strongly patriarchal and heteronormative society, while encouraging escapist cinema to go through the realities of coming of age.
Despite its imperfections and lack of coherence when it comes to its visuals, especially as its few visually pleasing scenes are interspersed between prolonged and unspectacular passages, the film is visually pleasing, and brings a much-needed dose of positivity into a world in which hatred and discrimination against homosexuals prevails.
While it will make you reflect, the story, which has its conclusive closure in the series 'Love Beneath the Stars' (2021), will captivate you and leave you smiling.

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Strange finger

The movie is almost 20 minutes long but it was over in an instant. The background for the story is the loud TV program with commercials and news about current issues in the Korean society. And then there is this chopped finger found at the parking place.

I have seen people cutting and chopping and losing fingers in many Korean movies. Most recently in the movie "Hopeless". I even remember the news about some Koreans chopping off their own finger in protest against Japan. But the main question here is: what can you do with a finger? Apparently, a lot but nothing worthy. Maybe this is an allegory on how we are interested in the lives of other people but at the end we can only live our own life.

So this short movie is very strange. I didn't understand it but i liked it.

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Just have a box of tissues.

The only reason I'm taking points of the rewatch value is because you'll want to cry all over again. A particular kind of cry. One I'd have to be ready for again. Seriously, have tissues handy.

This was a beautiful movie. I loved the characters and their stories, some where straight up injustices, and some that you realized that probably did deserve what they got. It was still hard to see anything happen to these women though. More so it's about connections and choices. It always makes me sad seeing how South Korea portrays orphans and prisoners. Prejudices against people for things they can't control. I hope this isn't really how it is . . . . but I've been told it is.

The actors were amazing. Whether they were top cast or just little side rolls. Which is impressive. The characters grew and the actors did such a wonderful job that you could see that growth. Be totally affected with it right along these amazing women.

The music was great. Which is important here! It was used in so many ways. To make us laugh. Empower the women. Convey hope, longing, and eventually heart break.

Overall I probably can't add to the praise everyone else has already sung (hahaha! couldn't resist), but I definitely will say this is good enough that I would suggest it to none K-drama fans. It holds up well enough. I was so happy with the acting and story. It was such a moving movie and I loved that all of the characters grew. No one was unaffected by the plot!

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