Reviews

a great watch: rare masterpiece in the genre of true-story BLs

I feel like this movie is criminally underrated. I don't have the words to describe how much I loved this one. It gave me the feels I had with Your Name Engraved Herein, but I smiled even more. It is what you would call a bromantic tragicomedy with a cinematic touch. I would be lying if I said I fully understood what was going on in Blue Lan's head at that time, regarding his feelings for his best friend. I had believed he truly saw him as nothing more than a best friend/brother, but I don't know if I got it wrong after reaching the end of the story. I do know he loved Shiang as much as he loved that girl. That said and done, I was satisfied with that outing on the beach and at the gay bar, and that french kiss!!! I love the charismatic gay teacher too, as well as my favorite transgirl ever and Zheng's supportive love interest.

I loved the way this movie portrayed the challenges that come with being bisexual. As a gay 18yo who's swiftly conquering his biphobia/transphobia, this movie shed a deeper light on what bisexuality really is, and what being a transperson really entails, unlike how the world views both cases. So, I could go on and on about this movie, but let me spare your reading.

COMEDY - I would rate this a 10/10. They knew how to incorporate this even after sad scenes. The jokes were realistic and actually funny. Had me pausing and chuckling under bed sheets. That noodles/xxxvideo scene? Bwahahaha!
REALITY - A 9.5/10. Although I find it weird that Shiang could still remain close friends with Zheng after the confession of feelings, it actually happened in real life. I guess shit happens, but I would never do that. Lmao.
ACTING/PLOT - A combined 9.5/10. I did this because the actors were able to convey the plot in an outstanding manner.

All said and done, did Zheng get divorced? Anygays, I hope this movie has won awards! I really want to see it have a viewership revival! I feel bad for the true BL fans who don't know what they've been missing for the past few months!

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Despite its undeniable qualities, story did not grab me mainly because of pacing and editing issues

This movie is about the encounter of two gays men: Kosuke, a fashion editor quite well-off and Ryuta, a younger guy that tries to make ends meet, doing a lot of side jobs...The movie takes its time exploring their budding relationship in the context of Japanese society where gay marriage is still forbiden and overall gay relationships remains marginalised.

The premise of the film is interesting but unfortunately it did not manage to grab my attention as I would have wished to. I felt quite detached during most part of the movie and I blame foremost pacing issues about that. Indeed, the movie felt sluggish to me and I truly think it would have benefited from a sharper editing. Despite I truly found the characters and their dynamics super interesting, I also felt that the romance was a bit lacking. The scenario took its time to catch me and it mainly brought up some reflections and feelings to me in its last third.

The acting was very good, especially from Suzuki Ryohei. He was astounishing in his role: he managed to do a lot with just his eyes, making the emotions so real and raw with what his character was going through...Each one of his micro expression as he was suffering was truly gut wrenching and believable. I also felt under the charm of Miyazawa Hio, who makes his character very appealing as well as Agawa Sawako which was pretty good in her role.

There was an indie feeling to this movie with a lot of what felt as experimentative camera movements and angles, it made some shots very engaging but clearly, I wish the filmmaking would have helped the rythm of the plot. The camera work seemed sometimes to slow down a lot on details and I think it is too the detriment of the pace of the story.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for a realistic life BL. It dives into deep topics (much deeper than what the poster would have left presupposed) and it will for sure not leave the viewer indifferent. Despite its qualities, I cannot omit the fact that the watching experience for me was not the best, as I felt bored at various points and the movie catched my interest concretely almost at the end....Still, I think it is worth to give it a try.

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Dark mature BL with strong psychological elements, wish it was longer to even better explore those

This movie depicts certainly not a standard BL story. It is dark and gritty with some strong psychological elements. After watching it, I discovered that it is an adaptation of a manga of Setona Mizushiro that I loved to read. It does not fully adapt the whole story but it does a great job taking some of the most interesting elements and putting them together to form a cohesive and captivating story. I think the storytelling would have benefited of a bit more time for some of the developments but overall I was quite satisfied by what the movie achieved, especially in terms of character growth.

I think the chemistry was pretty good between the two main actors. You can feel the intense obsession of one for the other as well as the indecisiveness of the other regarding his feeling for the former. There are numerous sex scenes which all have a purpose in terms of characterization and development of the relationship. Nothing feels gratuitous but it is instead meaningful in regards to the evolution of the protagonists. The actors really went for it and worked very well together, making those scenes raw and really believable.

The production value was good with a lot of little details in the filmmaking allowing the viewer to understand the evolution and change in the relationship, not only because of the script but also even visually through the sets and accessories and how they evolved within them. There was some moments were I felt the editing a bit abrupt, especially jumping between some scenes toward the end, but nothing too distracting for the understanding of the plot. The soundtrack was fitting the dark theme of the film without really being memorable.

I would recommend this to people looking for a mature BL story. It is a dark story involving a lot of heavy topics, toxic elements and it can be triggering in the way the relationship forms itself. If you enjoyed this movie, I would strongly advise to give a chance to the manga from which this movie is an adaptation.

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I LIKED IT BETTER THAN THE OG (in my humble opinion)

I watched this before the OG "On Your Wedding Day". I was impressed by this storyline than the OG because of few reasons:
1. The athlete dream gone cause of injury sounded more lie a logical reasoning for the ML to say that he regrets it
2. The starting school portion between the two was more genuine in 'My Love' in my opinion.
3. I cried at the end for 'My Love' but didnt for the OG (maybe bcs I watched it back to back)
4.The ring portion and the last minute to wedding hall portion also felt like better written in 'My Love' than OG.
I would recommend watching this if you like watching Chinese drama more than Korean Drama as a foreigner.

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Disaster

So the couple went to a nearby island because, for some reason, the ML was suffering from erectile dysfunction, and a doctor recommended that they go to an inn, where the man gets seduced by a hooker and then feels all excited that his ED will be cured, but as usual, things go south, and now the owner of the inn turned serial killer wants to kill them. Awful low-budget American thriller story with bad acting and an awful storyline. I watched it for Dong Lee but felt disappointed. Infedility, rape, and murder—they're just happening without any reason, which is weird.
I don't recommend it to anyone because it will only leave bad after taste and nothing else.

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Well damn..

I .... crazy.
First of all. The cast did an outstanding job portraying their roles. Definitely deserved the 'Korea's record-breaking film.'
I kinda somewhat predicted who's Mr.Lee but I love the build-up of the story.
I felt the cultural shock on some parts...as I don't often see those scenes in Korean shows. Only in Hollywood shows haha.
But overall, it's nice to take a break from watching romance dramas.
It is definitely weird for me to see some actors in this drama performing different roles than what I mostly see in dramas.. but it's nice to see the other side of their acting skills. Definitely definitely amused me.
The action in this movie was amazing.
2/10/24 1:50am

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EXCUSE ME?!?!?????

What the heck?! I did not expect myself to come out at the end of this film thinking "You know what? I somehow enjoyed my time with it". I went into it like "I'm feeling mindless right now, I only have 2 brain cells working left, so I wanna consume something shitty, something that I can forget" so I opened up a fresh incognito tab and clicked a random movie that would pop up on youtube. I even watched it on 2x speed as well, but here I am making a review.

First 5 minutes of the film, I was already regretting my decision, I thought "Oh my god! Why am I here? What have I done to myself?...". The first half of the film is like a shitty comedy-horror. The horror aspect didn't even scare the living shit out of me, I'm like stone-faced during the horror moments, but the comedy parts are somehow landing though, so that's good I guess. And then around the middle, it somehow turned into a life drama with mild romance in it and like "Wait?! It's actually cooking something" because the writing became somewhat good, it was wholesome, I'm loving the character development, the dynamic, the chemistry is tickling my heart and I thought "Ah! I know where this romance is going, I've seen a lot of scumbag MLs, I can see what their tryna pull from a mile away" but then they went into a direction that I did not expect and then resumed the shitty comedy-horror from there, then turned the film to action-comedy, with life lessons at the end.

That's the whole film. It was such of a mess, but they still somehow tied everything well and it made sense, I don't know why.

The acting in this film was good as well. In the beginning, since this was a throwaway film, I was expecting the actors/actresses would just deliver a bog standard job and call it a day, but no, it wasn't the case, or maybe some of the side characters. The main actor did a great job, he's funny, even though his character was such a scumbag, I liked the development, but how it ended was dumb fun. The main female though, did a great job acting as a blind poor person, she didn't stand out in the beginning that much, but when the romance part came in, it gave her character the time to shine. Side characters, they're all good, but there's that one side character that really stood out to me. And it's that old lady who's overseeing this ghost marriage during the ghost wedding part, I don't know. It's just the way her voice acting really caught my attention and I was like "Woah! I like her. she's doing a great job for a minor character."

I don't know if is this my true opinion or if it's the coffee because I'm making this review with 2 coffee bullets of americano in. So yeah... again I can't believe I somehow enjoyed that film, but I wouldn't rewatch it again though, that's for sure.

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Embrace the beauty of now

The movie Perfect Days explores the value of being in the moment. Even Hirayama himself never wavers from being fully present at all times. A potent metaphor for the central idea of Perfect Days, the concept of Komorebi allows us to acknowledge and surrender to the imperceptible, transcendent beauty of the present that is unique to this moment. Filmmaker Wim Wenders chooses to deliberately show us every aspect of his workday. The film's overall structure is derived from Hirayama's everyday routine. The song "Feeling Good" served as the film's sort of theme. A perfect summary of Hirayama's way of living. Every day is novel. The now is all that exists. Accept the beauty.

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Feelings for the deceased brother's partner or between stepsiblings: a challenge to the norm

For some time now, Korean cinema and television have been committed to showing characters from the LGBTIQ+ community. The works of the filmmakers demonstrate the evolution of an audiovisual panorama interested in expanding its sense of inclusive diversity.
This is the reason why among the films of this Asian nation that reflect the various aspects of seduction and attraction, couples and commitment between characters of this human group, that is, lesbians, gays, transgenders, bisexual, intersex, queer and more, titles such as 'Yeoldaeya' ('열대야'), also known in English as 'Tropical Story' or 'Tropical Night', appear.
Mixing drama and gay romance, this 2017 Korean-Thai collaboration from director, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor Kim Hun revolves around Kim Min-ki (Khan), a young Korean man who travels to the city Pattaya, Thailand, to find Park Jae-Hee (Park Hyun Soo), the lover of Kim Min-hoon (Choi Hong Joon), his older brother. Interested in finding out why Min-hoon committed suicide after escaping military service, he will try to contact his boyfriend. Min-ki suspects that his death is due to Jae-Hee's indifference. Therefore, look for him to express his regret.
Will Jae-hee be indirectly to blame for the tragedy? Did Min-hoon think about how much damage he would cause to those who love him? Is his death related to the harassment to which homosexuals are subjected within the Korean army by their superiors? Doesn't Article 92 of the South Korean Military Penal Code consider sexual relations between members of the same sex to be "sexual harassment", punishable by a maximum of one year in prison? Isn't the illegality of homosexuality and discrimination towards LGBTIQ+ people in Korea due, among other factors, to the fact that the country's army maintains a conscription system? Doesn't the military have a strong influence on the way Korean men's gender identity is configured?
Isn't it true that conservative South Korean society encourages homosexuals to feel ashamed of themselves? Don't you want homosexuals to blame themselves for not being able to satisfy society's criteria of heteronormality? Is it the purpose of the film to accuse South Korean society as a whole for the suicide that Min-hoon is forced to commit? So is it a suicide or a crime? Wouldn't society itself be to blame for the tragedy? Although this would be a good song, 'Tropical Night' opts for romance, perhaps to avoid finding other reasons for censorship and rejection in that homophobic society.
However, the film does not hide in presenting social themes that are extremely strong, such as homosexuality, the possible romantic relationship between step-siblings or between the ex-boyfriend of a deceased person and his brother, suicide, guilt, how taking steps forward in the face of problems and limits, and the fragile thread that sometimes exists between friendship and love. Generating controversy and having the ability to educate and offer a different point of view is an essential objective of 'Tropic Night'. Could Kim Hun have set out to prove that life is not simply black and white, and sometimes addition and subtraction can yield different results than expected?
The fundamental message it transmits is love, despite the situations of each character. The film teaches us how the transformative force of love can overcome and overcome every obstacle that comes our way.
Without being guilty, Jae-hee reflects the complexity of human emotions, especially the weight of guilt and the internal struggle that it generates in those who carry it. Meanwhile, Min-ki carries the pain of not having understood his brother in time and not having been by his side in his most bitter moments. Then it will hurt him to have recriminated someone who was always faithful and loving to Min-hoon.
Initially, Jae-hee appears uncomfortable with Min-Gi's presence in her house. He does not agree to give him an apology for his insistent demand to express "I'm sorry", because he does not consider himself the cause of Min-hoon's suicide, in addition to accusing him of being selfish for not valuing his life and not taking into account the suffering that the decision committing suicide would cause the people who love him.
However, Lee Tae Kyung (Lee Geun Joo), Jae-hee's stepbrother and who suffers from a fatal illness, with his jokes and laughter, will be the catalyst for the rapprochement of both boys. What first emerges as a rivalry will soon give way to friendship and from this to love. The meeting of Jae-hee and Min-ki will cause strange feelings to arise for each other. As Min-ki slowly stops blaming Jae-hee, a strong connection begins to develop between the two. Will it be morally correct to establish a loving bond between the ex-boyfriend of a person who committed suicide and his brother?
For his part, Tae Kyung struggles with the duality between the bonds of brotherhood that bind him to Jae-hee and the romantic feelings he also has for his stepbrother. If, on the one hand, the relationship between Jae-hee and Min-ki can generate a lot of controversy, especially when we base ourselves on patterns that consider a brother's partner untouchable, and especially when he has died, the fact that A young man is secretly in love with the son of his mother's husband, even if they are not related by blood.
Facing the possibility of developing feelings for a brother's partner or between step-siblings, as occurs between the three protagonists, challenges the norm, and can make the viewer who is not used to consuming strong and delicate themes in television productions feel uncomfortable. cinematographic. However, this is a challenge that can be real.
The plot seeks to explore how to deal with complex emotions and the difficult decision between preserving the friendship that could unite Jae-hee and her late boyfriend's brother, or following the path of love. Although some may consider this situation embarrassing, I believe that addressing these taboo topics is essential to enrich the narrative and provoke reflection in the audience.
Tae Kyung, knowing that he has little time left to live, prefers to hide from Jae-hee the feelings that he has kept silent for years. “I want you to remember me as a brother,” he will confess to Min-gi, who did understand the secret early on, and will encourage him to follow the dictates of his heart. “You two make a great couple,” he admits. "Do not go. “Stay a few more days,” he will instruct him, so that he can comfort Jae-hee when he is gone, in addition to giving them time for both of them to open up to love. Dying, he will seek the same fate as Kim-hoon.
The viewer must be alert to how the situation develops to understand the characters' decisions and attitudes. Only in this way will you come to recognize that despite circumstances and limits, friendship and love sometimes intertwine, generating dilemmas that are difficult to resolve.
With this film, Kim Hun challenges taboos and breaks norms to successfully guide how the characters face these complex situations. The three protagonists do not stagnate, they evolve and face twists, generating emotions and interest, giving rise to discussions among the audience.
Winner of the 'Pink Money Award' (Audience Award) at the 2017 Seoul Pride Film Festival (SPFF), 'Tropical Night' features Jeon Il-hwan as music director and Lee Sang-woo as executive producer, producer and costume designer.

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Regret Is Always At The End

I have put off writing a review for this movie because, aside from that my account is still new, it is such a terrifying task to do. And a hard one because I don’t know if it’s possible to compile all of my thoughts on this movie into one review without making it too long for possible watchers to read.

I had the same experience with Rewind that I had with Just a Stranger which involved its trailer. I must really commend them since the trailer achieved what it set out to do! With news that Marian Rivera was set to star in the film with Dingdong Dantes, I was already tipping over since excuse me? Miss Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes? Hell yeah! What seriously convinced me was the trailer where Marian says the line “Minahal mo ba talaga ako?” (“Did you really love me?”) before the sound of a car crashing takes you by surprise. There were also the arguments and the amazing acting I immediately gleaned from the trailer alone. I knew then that I had to watch this movie.

Due to circumstances, I couldn’t watch the movie when it came out in cinemas for MMFF but I managed to watch it after a party right after I found out one of my best friends watched it. Boy, I just signed myself up for a rollercoaster of emotions with comical reactions.

I have nothing but praise for this film.

While others might say that this film has a familiar plot or that it concentrates on death and tragedy at the core, I say that all of it worked perfectly. Familiar plot? Maybe, but in my case, I don’t remember many films with a focus on trying to change the past. Like, it sounds familiar and I’d probably seen a myriad of films with that as their central theme but why can’t I remember any? We have that one movie, Click, sure, but it’s also comedy-heavy. The reason I love Rewind is the concentration on emotion. Focusing on emotions is the right decision for a film whose themes involve regret, cherishing what you have, and making it up to the people you love.

I saw that one of the comments says that the film focuses on death and tragedy. Yes, it does because it’s necessary to get their message across. It’s a heavy theme. This isn’t some badly written fantasy story that involves killing off characters for the shock factor. What happens in the film serves a purpose.

I have to stop myself from gushing about this film in all caps. I love everything in this film! From the lighting, the clothes, the camera angles, the acting, the characters, the plot, the arcs, the dialogue—absolutely everything!

Let me get this out of the way: Dingdong and Marian played these roles perfectly. Dingdong plays John Nuñez, the hotheaded, workaholic man whose priorities have shifted from his family to aspiring for a promotion. Marian plays Mary Nuñez, the housewife who was once a promising culinary student. Some part of me had small doubts about whether Marian could portray the housewife whose identity is marred by her role in the household. And while I like Dingdong, I am guilty of typecasting him since I assumed that all he was good at was action. I was proven wrong. Dingdong Dantes showed range and his breakdowns in the film broke my heart to the point that I wept with him. Marian Rivera, of course, made me feel pangs of sympathy with how she played Mary’s internal struggles. Their performances broke my heart and brought me to tears—no. Sobs. Full-on weeping.

Another thing I love about this film: its themes. The main theme of regrets and cherishing what you have before it’s too late resonates with me. It begs the age-old question, “What would you do if you could go back in time?” which I have nothing but love for because it’s a question you already know the answer to. To do right by those you love before it’s too late—isn’t that just painful?

Other themes include the plight of the housewives. I mentioned this before in my review of “The Love Affair” starring Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta, and Bea Alonzo. Let me reiterate: these wives are left behind while supporting their husbands, left behind to take care of the house, left behind to raise the children. Their identities are reduced to their role but what if they want more? What if they want to be known as more than ‘the wife’?

There’s this detail that I noticed throughout the film. Some might say that I’m looking too much into this but I’m going in this with the logic that everything in film serves a purpose and means something. The clothes that the characters wear. For example, Mary constantly wears white clothes which is a nod to funeral dress codes. You know, mourning. At one point, John wears black clothes during a dark time in his character’s arc and as the story progresses and so does his character arc, his clothes change from black to white.

With every watch, I just notice more and more minor details and look into what they represent like the lighting. I remember some shots having John’s face clouded by darkness before his character arc starts progressing. I remember Mary being constantly illuminated in every scene. I remember John being bathed in a blinding light towards the end of the film. I love that they used the lighting to show the character’s state of mind, in a way.

I also love the camera angles. Most of the time, it’s fixed. But, subtly—so subtle that I end up gaping like a fool when I realise—you notice that the camera tilts to show the character’s state of mind again. This is mostly used to show the character’s state of mind, again. When something within them shifts.

Another complaint people might have is that it’s preachy because it involves God. I would say that’s not really the case. Aside from God being a part of the film, it’s not really trying to convince you that their religion is good or anything, only that God is trying to help John right his wrongs. This is coming from someone who doesn’t practise the religion, by the way. I would say that putting God in the film is more of a medium for John to go back in time.

The bits of comedy that we do get provides us with some levity. A reprieve after all of the heavy things we have to watch. Some breathing room. And let me tell you, the comedy actually made me laugh.

I’ve never loved a director’s work more than I did Mae Cruz-Alviar’s. There’s a reason that, after three watches in a short amount of time, I still cried. The first time I watched this, I was an absolute, ugly, sobbing mess even while eating dinner. The second time I watched this, I wanted to drag my older sibling into this pool of pain so I subjected them to it. The third time I watched this, I joined my older sibling and their online friend in watching this. I was a mess both times. All of this happened in a week, I think, which is evidence of the film’s brilliance.

Oh, right, thanks, I guess, for making Sa Susunod Na Habang Buhay (In Our Next Lifetime) impossible to listen to without sobbing and remembering the film’s events.

Massive kudos to Mae Cruz-Alviar, Dingdong Dantes, and Marian Rivera for their phenomenal work and performances.

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That town should just be named Hopeless.

This was great movie that everyone did live up to the title, each and every single person in that town was hopeless...even the guys in power.I fell in love again with Song Joong Ki, despite him being a leader in the gang,he had a soft spot for the young kid and really wanted to help him.I liked his character.The young actor indeed deserved the award for Best New actor he portrayed his character very well, strong yet fragile.He was not a bad kid but the circumstances around him were just not letting him win even an inch.Also why wasn't him mum ever on his side? That was just sad.The chain of events that led him in killing the one adult who had his back was indeed sad.The one who was suspected of tampering with his bike was not culprit yet got punished...the one who did tamper with the bike was in his own hell. Despite their bickering the step-sister cared for him deeply glad they left that town together.I would definitely rewatch it.

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Physically wanted to end myself after watching

Though I don't find myself to be sensitive to any topic no matter how gory or disturbing it is, i still found myself traumatized after watching, even though I have seen worse things.

I have never wanted to end myself more from any other series, even big dragon. This has scarred me for life and I will never ever want to see it again ( rewatching this would be pure self-harm.)

Though I like to admit that the story was good it just felt off especially the last scene, like Miss Girl was there really a point to pan at the dead guys face, while they were making out. Another point is what even are their names? All this and I don't even know their names!

This will be permanently stuck with me, every time I see anyone remotely close looking to the Policeman my eyes tear up and I am ready to run and lock myself in my room, go through the pain of remembering the movie and questioning why I am even alive.

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Before a reWatch

Writing this here because it's still fresh in my mind and it's worth a try.

There are movies with plots that don't require real attention, you're able to forsee the expected actions and development. Then, there are the award winning movies, they have something more to tell to the audience, even their silence is speaking.

To have a smooth watch, some knowledge about '20s in Eastern Asia is required, I'd say comprehension of politics and international situation plus cultural traits specific to the timeframe. I can't say I know nothing but also not much, so the session definitely made me more analytical (might not be the case for everyone, it's subjective here!). Though at the end the dots do connect, I still have at least one scene "the ribs order scene "that I cannot connect to anything and I feel I am missing a cultural background, because you don't add a scene for the sake of it in this type of movies.

I liked the cinematography a lot! It's enjoyable. You get glimpses of scenes that only get explained towards the end. I can't recall something similar elsewhere, only an anime series comes to mind. And then these complete 2-3 seconds of black screen!

About the silence, there are a handful of scenes- I find this trick wholesome, you don't just fill in the audience with content, you also let them wonder (here comes the knowledge in hand!), question, maybe digest even? You might face some gaps with no vivid coherency, but it's there if both details and bigger picture are understood.

I didn't pay much attention to the music tbh but one scene I remember well because music was too loud, unnecessarily so.

I am not familiar with this genre, especially in the asian cinematography so it's hard for me to compare it to anything. Acting is solid, solider than I expected. I watched it because of Wang Yibo and the fact that both him and the movie are nominated for AFA.

I do plan to rewatch it for a better comprehension, if I do I will come back to update.

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