Reviews

FUN!

I'll begin by saying that I rented this on YouTube. It's no longer playing on any of the sites mentioned.

I loved the balance between comedy and thrills. That's the way life is sometimes. Basically, a terrorist attack grips the city, and this is the story of people trying to survive. Action, action, action. I think there are fingernail marks in my couch from holding onto it so tightly. I will admit to being a big ole scaredy cat, so others might not have the same response.

Jo Jung Suk - I love him. He is such a versatile actor. Here he played the unlucky, loser ML and you couldn't help but like him. Yoona - I don't love her as an actress, but she did an okay job here, mostly because she was running a lot. Her crying scenes - just no.
Since this is an older movie, I loved seeing so many familiar faces from other dramas I've seen.

If you've got a couple of hours and you want something fun and fast-paced, give this a try.

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"A friend's weapon is the most fatal"

“Killers are like meteors. They appear in brilliance and vanish in no time. And they don’t have names.” Based on Gu Long’s book “Meteor, Butterfly, Sword”, Killer Clans tells the story of love and treachery between competing clans and even friends.

Meng Sheng Wen and his blood brother, Yeh Hsiang, were cared for by the brothel owner Sister Ko. Ko receives assassination assignments after intimacy with a mysterious stranger, which she passes on to Meng as Yeh has lost his confidence and become a drunkard. Meng’s assignment is to kill Sun Yu the leader of the prosperous Longmen Clan. On one of his trips, he meets the beautiful Hsiao Tieh in the Butterfly Forest. She has a formidable father who does not tolerate swordsmen coveting his daughter. As Meng moves in closer on his target, it soon becomes apparent that he is not the only one with the wise and crafty Sun Yu in his sights, both enemies and friends alike will stop at nothing to bring the leader down and gain what is his.

Killer Clans is a Shaw Brothers classic. The sets and costumes were luxurious and there were numerous outdoor shots in picturesque scenery. The cast was stacked with SB actors, most of which did not last long as the body count was incredibly high. Double crosses, even triple crosses abounded. You know times were tough when the only man Sun Yu was able to trust was the man sent to kill him! My only quibble with the story is one that I often have with these older martial arts movies-their need to have bare breasted women and sexual assault.

Ku Feng was the highlight of this film as the Longmen Clan leader---caring, ruthless, adept, and shrewd, his backup plans had backup plans. Tsung Hua isn’t one of my favorites, but as the story often focused more on Sun Yu, not much was asked of him but to look grim. Yueh Hua played against type which was fine with me as it pushed him harder. One of my favorites, Lo Lieh, had a small role as Sun Yu’s supreme protector with a serrated round blade hiding in his hat.

The sword fights were actually choreographed well and not super slow as most were during this time, not nearly as fast as in the modern era, but still entertaining. The first time I watched this I wasn’t impressed with the swordplay but after watching, let’s just say, several martial arts movies since then, I’ve gained an appreciation for this film’s fight choreography. It also helped that I watched a restored copy this time and not a grainier version. Most of the well-known stuntmen actors from the 1970's could be seen jumping, flipping, diving, falling, and taking a beating as the story progressed.

Killer Clans was an action-packed tale of deceit, greed, and love. For anyone who enjoys old martial arts movies, it’s a must.

14 March 2024

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Sloth motion picture

There are films and dramas that are slow paced and then there is this film that is not so much a film but a slow paced piece of art, as there where moments in this where I wondered is this a photgraph oe a motion picture? as our lead the walker moves slowly in what one is supposed to believe is walking and is filmed doing just that throughout the day a combination of human and sloth or maybe a snail... which is great contrast towards the fast pace of the world there to tell you that yes this is a motion picture and yes the person really did move that slowly....

It may bore you to death but once you made yourself out of it you will feel a great feeling of acomplishment or at least I felt it... However If you are in to mindfulness this may actually give you that daylie dose of just that. ¨

Also it is really pretty!

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Slow paced, depressing and slighlty messy

If you are looking for something cheerful and happy, you may think that a tittle named city of sadness should give you a clue to look away and find something else and well you would be right. AS this movie is true to its name and will offer you a bunch of sadness and cries as well as symbolism as far as the aye can se. As I do not think it is a coincidence that the movie starts of with a boy named light making his way out from the darkness of the war/womb and in to the light as Taiwan was libirated from the Japanese.


This is a movie that shows human being living in a time where when one war ends another takes over. Day to day life meets a guy running towards you with a knife. Babies cry as they are taken out to a court yard to be shot with a bunch of other people.. The enamy changes and the wrong answer to the question are you japaneese, Mandarin or Taiwanese can get you killed by, showing an added dificulty to those who can not hear. a mob... but than again even the right answers can get one killed at this time...

But rest assure!

"I want to assure those who love peace that this decree is for your protection,, take no notice of roumers about spies. because suspicuion leads to fear, I assure all citizens that obay the law that nothing will happen to them. Meanwhile I announce the reintroduction of martial law Our objective is merely to punish rebels and traitors, for each day they are at large peace loving people will have to put up with another day of disorder" -

This movie is highly acclaimed so while I did not really find it entertaining I am sure it has a lot of qualities for those who are more well educated than I am as I found it kind of boring and hard to follow

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Hwang Jang “I don’t need no stinking wires” Lee directed, wrote, and starred in Hitman in the Hand of Buddha. Like Lo Lieh, he was often relegated to villain roles. Because this was his baby, he was able to shave off his iconic mustache and be the one to pummel the bad guy and not be the one pummeled.

Wong Chin comes to the town where his sister and brother-in-law live looking for work. Chasing a pickpocket leads him to their boss, Beggar Fan. After the two fight, Beggar Fan takes a liking to the brash young man. Not long after Wong ends up in a fight with the annoying Shan Hao. Shan Hao’s boss Tiger/Uncle 33 takes unction at the upstart’s disrespectful action and visits Wong’s family with deadly consequences. Ignorant of what has happened Wong fights with Tiger when the villain comes calling and is losing badly. Beggar Fan steps in and negotiates to save Wong’s life by having the young man leave town. Beggar Fan sends Wong to the shaolin temple for him to learn new techniques that might save his life in the future.

I love watching “Thunderleg” Lee fight, especially when he’s kicking. A 9th dan Grandmaster in Tang Soo Do and Taekwondo he’s the real deal and his high-flying acrobatic kicking needed no wires or CGI. The early fights and the end of the last fight were the best when Hwang Jang Lee was using his Thunderleg. The hand to hand and pole fighting were overly choreographed although they did display Hwang’s athletic ability and agility. A chopstick scene was quite creative in a fight against Tino. I was happy to see him able to play the good guy, a very rare event. Eddy Ko lacked in speed but made up in menace as Tiger/Uncle 33. Whenever there was a need for a smarmy or rapist character producers must have had Tino Wong on speed dial.

The story is one done a hundred times and I wished that Hwang had avoided the rape in his story. The rest was typical. Good guy comes to town, stands up for the little guy and is beaten by the bad guy. He studies a new form with training montages and then returns for the rampage and pay back. This movie was filmed in Korea so at least there was a new shaolin temple for a backdrop. There was a Hong Kong cut of the film and a Korean cut. I saw a version with English dubbing, sometimes a necessary evil with these older kung fu films, but it was also interspersed with German!

Hwang Jang Lee is one of my favorite fighters to watch and being able to enjoy his turn as a hero was a bonus. The kicking fights were fluid and exhilarating. I only wish the rest of the slower fights, while complex, had been as thrilling. As always, I grade these old niche films on a curve.

13 March 2024

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2 hours and 20 minutes of suspense

I had this movie on my "to watch" list for quite some time, but I finally got around to watching it, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Initially, I hesitated because I thought it might be too long for a plane hijacking movie, but I was pleasantly surprised by its depth and complexity.
The cast, as expected in Korean cinema, delivered stellar performances (Veterans never miss).
The first half of the movie hooks you with its mystery and detective work, while the second half delves into deeper emotional territory, prompting contemplation about how you would handle similar situations.
In summary, I highly recommend it; it's truly worth every minute.

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A movie that falls into place once you're done watching

This movie was somewhat hard to place in terms of rating, but overall I think it did good.

The story revolves around comedians and their attempts at becoming successful. It feels more like a slice of life peek into their lives rather than the movie having a singular narrative during its course as it spans over many years.

Masaki Suda has really shown proclivity for roles that portray characters which struggle to do what they love and find their place in this world. There are moments where it feels like he's speaking from his own personal experience and those emotions are really well conveyed.

I would've loved to see more on some other characters and where they ended up and how their life turned out. I feel like the movie is lacking closure, but I also feel that it's designed to be that way - as long as you're alive, you can try time and time again.

If I had to explain it in a more direct way, I'd say that this movie makes you expect an apple - and when you bite into it, it turns out to be sweeter than anticipated and you think to yourself "Aaah, this is a nice apple." It's not the best meal of your life - but how many of your meals are? The movie accepts itself. And you should too.

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It fulfills its objective of serving as a link to the long-awaited sequel

The group of friends from Golf High School ("Fluke" Teerapat Lohanan) and Bank ("Fluke" Sripinta Pongsatorn) have gathered (hence the title) in a house to spend a day of vacation dissipating the summer heat in a pool. They have left high school behind and are now pursuing university studies. Despite having each embarked on their own path, they maintain friendship and contact with each other.
While they are having fun between games and jokes, Golf appears, who acts as host and has invited his friends, as on other occasions, to share time like this with him. The attentive public expects that at any moment Bank will join the group and resume the love relationship he had with Golf. But this does not happen.
This is how the viewer understands that contrary to what was narrated in the film 'My Bromance', Golf did not die of a brain disease as Bank was led to believe. Golf, along with his friends and parents, have lied to him about him being dead. While Golf tells Tar (Worakamon Nokkaew) that he still misses Bank, Tar and Parn (Varatchaya Comemamoon) respond that they also feel bad for cooperating in the lie.
'My Bromance: Reunion' (Thai: พี่ชาย, RTGS: Phi Chai), also called 'My Bromance Special Episode: Reunion', the Thai BL and LGBT-themed short film directed by Nitchapoom Chaianun, is not intended to follow the romance between these two boys.
A question that the public asks: why the short film? The story of Golf and Bank had its end with the death of the former while the latter would remember him not only for having been his youthful love, but also for saving his life by donating his kidney. But the impact of the film, both inside and outside Thai borders, led the filmmakers to take up the story in a later sequel, but to do so they needed to explain that Golf had not died.
Regardless of whether or not you like what is shown on the screen or how unethical you can see behind a lie for whatever reasons, the truth is that the short, released on May 18, 2015, fully fulfills its function of continuing the events narrated in the film 'My Bromance', by the same director and released a year earlier, as well as serving as a link to its long-awaited sequel 'My Bromance 2: 5 years later', from 2020.
In this way, the creators could resume the story interrupted with the "death" of Golf, to introduce the viewer to the subsequent continuation of the romance: after the traffic accident they suffered, Golf has not died, as they made Bank believe. . Golf continues with his studies, although he still suffers from the aftermath of the tragedy.
Instead of confronting his parents, his immaturity led him to lie to the person he loves, because he considered that the farce is a good idea to make Bank forget him and thus be able to turn the page on that romantic relationship so frowned upon by his parents. both boys.
However, Golf has not been able to forget Bank, and he will ask his friends to continue giving him a gift from them every year, on Bank's birthday.
The sad, distressed looks of everyone show that, deep down, they do not agree with the situation and they hope to be able to reveal the truth to Bank at some point and that the two boys, if they wish, can continue with their romance. .
And so it will happen, but it will be reviewed at another time.

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A very easy movie to watch

I don't really understand the fuss about the ending of the movie. So lets go back to the movie itself :

Yanase Maki is gay, he has a sick and blind grandmother Midori who wish for him to travel to America. To make his mother happy, he makes ASMR audios for her to relax and make her "see" his various journeys. During his struggles, he meets Ari Naomi. His father Tamotsu is a selfish man who gamble money and ask his own son for money. He will be the reason of his son's unhappiness. Naomi has a girl who is in love with him. But he struggle to have any relationship with her due to his father's dangerous behavior. While Naomi gets closer to Maki while doing ASMR together, he slowly open his heart to him. Maki fall in love with him, but Naomi is still not really completely open to him, for the same reason he can't be with the girl. But Noami decide to leave his father as he has some money on the side to be independent and be with Maki.
Maki, wanting to make his grandmother happy, pretend to have left to America, and with the help of Naomi, give her ASMR to make her believe the story. She died happy, yet Maki think he let her down.

One day, people beat them up because of his father's gambling. Then, when he tried to get his money at the bank, he realised his own father stole everything from him. After facing his father, he has Makino options or he may get killed because of his father, and need money quickly. He decide to steal for a rich woman he knows. But he get caught and go to prison.
Maki came to visit, but Naomi break up with him as he see himself as a failure and want Maki to be happy with someone who can give him the love he deserve.
The conversation is not obvious, but the intension while knowing the story behind his words can't be missed to those who can see more than just the lines said by the actor.

When Naomi left prison, he got closer to the girl he know and they get together as a couple. From my point of view, he just want a quiet, trouble free, life. He already has a record, so working can be a problem, and being with a man (in japan) can be even more difficult. So he has chosen his head instead of his hart (like many people do).
The final scene is the same as the opening, when they see each other in opposite cars. Maki seems relax, yet Naomi will always linger for the one he can never have.

The ending reminded me of More Than Words (2022), when parents have their hands on their children's happiness. Even if japan is not a dangerous country for gays, they are not yet fully accepted. Especially for parents with gay children. But here it's not homophobia, it's the dominion of parenthood over their children's life. It's all about pretending :
Maki fakes his own life to his blind grandmother for her to be happy, hiding behind a picture perfect he made up for her.
Naomi fakes his own love to become normal and escape his father. He also escape his own "prison" made by his dad by listening and playing with Maki.

I get that many people would have loved a love story with happy ending. However, many Japanese BL are close to the French dark movies. Very close to real life, were people are facing the society and the culture of their country while struggling with their own love life. The movie is good. No violent ending and no real homophobia. So it's easier to watch than some other movies. It's a movie to watch at least once.

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Kind of complication to be in another country

It is not bad overall the story and they are like illegal immigrants to another country. Many complications no doubt and many of the parts are like shortcuts thus make it confusing. If you watch this movie it is like today's immigrants whp do not have a citizenship have to stay put and make sure there is no problem. In all countries there are many illegal immigrants where these people have nowhere to run to due to many things, they have to run all their lives. This is what this story is about . I am surprised Song Joong Ki was picked to this movie but anyway it is emotional too. Thanks for the movie and the excellent casts chosen

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Swamp Thing Meets Species w/Some Jurassic Park

Another prime video laughingstock about a lake monster or two in Thailand that kills people on land in a very disbelieving fashion while those trying to get away and screaming isn't at all believable. Cars supposedly driving fast are obviously going no faster than 10 mph. One dude becomes like of one mind with the smaller monster and sacrifices himself to get rid of both. No one is panicked ever. Just walk quickly, chant, and pretend the thing is horrifying which is the only thing CGI got right. Thailand definitely needs more money in their entertainment industry because this was sad. Not a recommendation.

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If you can't understand the synopsis, this will help.

First of all, if you are not into old movies, don't waste your time on this.
This is not my generation. I only decided to watch it since the title suggested the legend of foxes. Also, HongKong movies are very popular before.
Story: As a whole, it is good. I did not expect the ending. I thought I would see more of the "legend" part but that's me, I expected a lot. If you have HK film exposure, you will expect some action scenes. Again, of course, it's unlike the modern action scene performances. The story showed how foxes (or wolves as per the subtitle) were portrayed in ancient times, the females are seductive, alluring, and has to possess beauty. "The more beautiful, the more dangerous." This is the mentality- humans are dangerous and wolves are dangerous. And that's how the story started. There is a skillful hunter hunting a powerful prey, the only one who can dispell her spells. The romance here does not include intimate kissing scenes, actually, there's none of that, it did not show it like that. Even so, the love story is not as boring as you can imagine.
Cast: However, the ones listed here did not include Brother Ten's name (this is according to the sub of the link shared in the comment section), the female lead's love interest and the FL's mother's name.
FL: The only daughter of what I would refer to as the wolf queen/fox queen (the sub used "wolf" throughout). She fell in love with a human, the apprentice of her mother's enemy.
ML: The 10th son of the Wei family who guards the only object that can make the wolves perish forever. He freed the FL who was caged when he was young.
Hunter King: Appeared to be like an hermit, the only skillful hunter who can defeat the mother of the FL, the 'wolf queen', he knows spells, has fighting skills, and can use magic. He became the master of the ML after the guardian of the ML died.
Wolf Queen: She lives to seek revenge for the hunter who hurt her. She left her daughter to escape but used her once she was freed to get the object and the human heart she needed to revive their master or the wolf king (?) to kill his enemy- the hunter.
ML's guardian: Skillful, handicapped, but always protected the ML and the Wei family's treasure.
Music: Well, the 90s sound effect 😁 okay but not really my cup of tea.
The acting is overall good, I think I would have enjoyed it better with better sub😁. Each did their role justice. The love story is not bad. I would love if there were more fight scenes. I thought I'd see more of the ML and FL in action, but yeah. The costume is okay, the effects are of the old film setting. I would watch it again if I find a better sub.
Watch this at your own risk.

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Scud is a concept for me, originality, and we have several of his creations here, of which I was most interested in Permanent Residence and partially Amphetamine. But this was seriously a ride ... and as usual pre-selected nice actors, nudity, erotica. Crazy story. The spirit of the "curious person in the shower" gradually visits three other Asian countries, even Spain, and one of the characters is his trans sister. Pleasantly chaotic, light, and the only unpleasant point for me was the bodyshop, I would completely throw it out of the story, that's why I put three minus points for the story and the film in second place behind Permanent Residence in Scuda. Viewers with an open mind will appreciate the film rather with insight and light comedy...

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