sophiamarinova

This movie is totally unique coming out of Asia. The concept of post truth is very relevant and interesting. Acting and atmosphere are amazing. I highly recommend it. However at times the English subtitles were moving on a speed dial trying to catch up with what was being said- I'm not sure if Mandarin is a much faster language. Also names were complex and given the fact that we did not know much about each individual character, keeping up with who's who just based on names was a challenge. We watched it in two separate viewings to try to assimilate names and characters but it was still a challenge. Having said that, although not a lazy watch, this movie out of Taiwan is artistic and cutting-edge in its unique way!

I'm not sure I knew about Kai before watching this. It's a watchable documentary but the participants in it make all sorts of irritating biased claims that suit their angle. To begin with I personally did not think of Kai's behavior as heroic even for a split second. He seemed chaotic in his speaking, was showing how he hammered the other person with way too much enthusiasm and just showed signs immediately that he's someone to beware of. The fact that so many wanted to see him as a hero (and are still speaking as though he had that great charisma factor) and how the media sensationalized him should be a deeply disturbing commentary on the state of what society values at any time and how media plays a role. Since the story is real and interviews are somewhat interesting it was watchable. But unlike many other documentaries, I don't see much of a lesson learned or any critical discussion to stimulate ideas that are useful. The underexplored murder also cast a shadow on the elderly victim, and I felt that the victim may be victimized again. I don't know what happened but we're only hearing the side of the murderer. Not the best doc. And certainly a real story that none should be proud of particularly the media. Face up to the consequences of your decisions.

Very beautifully done love story. Beautiful performances from the leads, Edward Chen is a bit more brilliant due to his a lot more openly expressive role. The story is quite engaging, the chemistry amazing, and mostly the genuine affection extremely powerful. I'd have to say that this movie is one of the best I have seen out of Taiwan. Now for me, I was really disappointed ultimately by Birdy's hot and cold behavior, totally evasive and quite cruel at times, he simply became a very frustrating character. He gave too many signs that his affection ran way deeper and different than a pure platonic friendship and then he decidedly backed out. Regardless of what others thought or said, he was dishonest till the end to his friend. Was it indecisiveness? Was it confusion? Was it fear? Was it concern for Edward Chens character? Regardless of what he said at the very end, From his performance, I truly could not tell. Then a reunion after 30 years. Really? Come on! Just absolutely unacceptable given the strong friendship as well. The ending was not simply not happy, it was irritating. I'd be ok with a less than happy ending if it made sense and was somehow satisfying.

I love Japanese cinema. I rarely can give a rating lower than 7. However I have to admit that I really did not quite like "No activity", I was disappointed. Initially I thought it was quirky and funny but overall it kept getting more bizarre than anything. I can see it in the genre of comedy noir, which I suppose is not always easy to like. The actors are pretty good. For the entirety of the movie, actors remain partnered up with the same actors, which made the drama quite repetitive to me. Everyone was really weird, which is often funny but here it was over the top weird. Depending on the taste of the viewer, they might love it but it's a toss of a coin type of situation.

Absolutely great. What's so great about it? First it's a totally relatable human story. Second it's about truth and justice. Third this is all made into a great movie through the absolutely RIVETING performances. It's not a glitzy movie, it's real and gritty but full of hope. Im Si Wan started out his career with a great role, I hope he'll get some similar ones in the future. The lawyer is outstanding. The journalist, the mom, the supporting cast. I highly recommend this as a serious piece of cinema that has deeper meaning. Apparently I need to fill in more characters- this movie reminds me about the real stories that are at the heart of great cinema.

... featuring the lovely super action hero Ji Chang Wook! He should do an action/crime movie at least every year. Absolutely top choice for this kind of movie. He's amazing in any action scene; has one of the most honest faces which totally fits a good guy, and on top of that has great drama talent too. Probably there were a couple of holes, I wonder if I missed it though because the movie was crazy busy (how was his sperm found at the crime scene?) but the script is super engaging, the motley crew of geniuses endearing, the hero-villain sequences spot on, darkness combined with light at the end of the tunnel, one of the villains was so despicable that I wanted to reach out and tape his mouth, visuals great, the story and action sequences fast and entertaining In a nutshell, a great action/thriller. Korean filmmakers should make a whole lot more of this type of action thrillers- they excel.

Initially I thought it would be an interesting drama but it really was a disappointment. First of all, it should be called drama but soap opera because most of it really worked as a soapy spineless melodrama. Second, the characters for the most part were quite unsympathetic. The rich chaebol theme is very crowded with soap like dramas and this one was not good enough to justify the topic or genre. A lot of entitled spoiled people, too many characters just blabbing all the time as in any long soap opera, fake Christianity as in I won't forgive you but I will forget you, rags to riches typical story, a nun serving as a typical secular advisor, and a murder to spice things up. There is no silver lining in this except for the mostly decent performances. And I personally feel that Netflix sometimes dominates foreign productions to come out as too close to western/American culture.

I have to admit that it's hard to describe the movie as enjoyable. It was dark and somber for 90 percent of the time. The religious aspect was also extremely heavy. Religious beliefs were all completely intermingled and impossible to determine. There were several aspects that didn't make a whole lot of sense such as the birth of a twin who eats on the flesh of her twin sister yet turns out to be a good character. Provides an interesting twist through a Very creepy plot mechanism. Also who and what exactly was the bad guy. I feel that the amalgamation of religious concepts was confusing. The final prayer was a combination of open rebellion and at the same time seeking higher (God) help. The pace was slow too.

In spite of all these potential negatives and the fact that I got a headache from the darkness of the movie, I still think it was thought provoking and solidly executed. I also felt a different type of respect to actor Lee Jung Jae because he seemed to be a person interested in justice and moral dilemmas. My sense is that many of his other roles that I've seen are either amoral or immoral. The idea of the evil of cults was pretty straightforward. However, I did walk away from this movie somewhat confused and saddened but I give it credit for what it was in spite of its weaknesses.

I started watching this movie with great hopes. I genuinely think Koreans have the potential to do great action movies. The movie is now 17 years old- so the fact that it's still watchable is definitely a pro. I watched it because Lee Byung hun seems like an Interesting person and actor. Lee Byung-hun is great with action sequences and has a surprisingly gentle presence even while killing loads of people. I found his character to be very relatable because he was not randomly violent at this stage of his life. He was pressured into violence. The love story angle is completely unbelievable- the young woman was neither particularly interesting nor convincing in her acting. Even without it, I have no problem with Byung hun finding his conscience. I agree that while the first half was building up some reasonably interesting directions, the second excelled only in the action sequence and blood baths. The introduction of the gun gangsters was interesting- they acted in a memorable way. Many other characters are completely forgettable including the powerful boss, so much so that they look like inanimate props to an action sequence. The movie is not boring though it's slow at times. At the end of the day, I think that action movies should not take themselves so seriously as in a Greek tragedy. It's pretentious and manipulative. The glaring Lack of substance was covered with impressive fighting and violence using Byung-Hun's natural charisma, fighting skills and poise as an interest point- manipulating a mediocre storyline to appear attractive. Put an average looking dude with great fighting skills in the lead role and the entire appeal will be gone.

I was very pleased I could watch this on Prime kind of early in the game. It features two of my favorite actors Lee Jung Jae and Jung Woo Sung. They're more mature actors accompanied by other mature actors, which is definitely good for the movie genre. All actors in this one were solid. Lee Jung Jae acts pretty effortlessly. I personally think Jung Woo Sung can make greater use of his emotional range and less of the melodramatic flair. With his physique, he looks like a handsome version of the terminator. The movie is well made, engaging and competent. However the story is too convoluted with too little background on the central figures. It's extremely dark partly on account of the torture as well as violence. None seems like a good guy out of the main characters although if I had to pick one that seemed to have some humanity, it would be Lee JJ character. Jung WS character was very off borderline crazy. Twists were interesting. Satisfying movie though not fulfilling. Good job to Lee JJ directorial debut. (I think it was).

I don't understand the low reviews. A classical tale of love in times of war set in the 1930-40s in the South set against a background of courageous people as well bigoted, prejudiced individuals. The lead couple features a handsome, proper and mellow Takashi Yamaguchi who represents a Japanese American flawlessly. He does come across as way more American though. Beautiful dialogues. Great chemistry, captivating romance scenes. Strong performances from the entire cast, all unique in their very own way. Now if it didn't end on a good note, I'd have been very sad. Overall a very solid beautiful classic love-war movie with a unique historical and character setting and an interracial international point of view.

Ok so it's entertaining enough to where you may be interested to see some of the stories. The young actors men and women are cute as would be expected. Based on Season 1, they have some talent so what they shot was watchable for sure. The spin off idea of romantic interests can be hurtful to all participants and making confessions without truly having quality conversations is absolutely horrific. On what basis could they be attracted to someone they know nothing about? We literally found out nothing about any of the actors. No background no real stories all conversations were extremely shallow. This is not how you fall in love in life or even in drama. There was not a single truly meaningful conversation between participants. They mostly did what they did for the camera, perhaps excepting Agata who was a pretty good and handsome guy. Ruyotoro (I probably mistyped it) seemed totally impossible to read- I couldn't tell what he thought or liked. Totally poker face yet with occasional sensitivity that I also couldn't figure out. Choi was in it to show he's a great kisser and gain some tv attention, nothing more nothing less. Hashi is at least an agreeable young man, even if not looking for a relationship, he rightly accepted the attention he received. Overall reality shows like that have some glaring issues but I do know one thing for sure- the participants are probably interesting people. The popular R. Still has my scratching my head about the kind of person he might be. Everyone left an impression and I'm wishing them well in everything! Whether it be in drama or life. The six stars in the rating are only for the participants.

Ok this show was advertised as romantic and had an unusual premise so it was interesting to see. I can't say that I did not enjoy how strange it was and its summary description kind of corresponds to the content. Junichi is indeed a random guy that we hardly learn anything about. He kind of looks like a drifter without any purpose or direction, though with very clean hair. He's attractive in a weird way because he does portray a certain lack of moral fiber and genuinely liking him comes at a high potential emotional cost. I'm not at all familiar with Shison Jun- his portrayal was uncanny and creepy as though he knows the character in and out. The stories are somewhat interesting. I found some more engaging than others. The only thing that we learn is that our mysterious Casanova fears attachment. This is as far as his character development will go. In sum, it's not what I may have liked to see in terms of character development or something that I relate to, but it was still sufficiently curious and the idea of randomness was definitely key, where I'll probably remember it's main ideas and ponder on them some.

So on the bright side we have nice Japanese actors doing a good job in exploring emotional and physical attraction. The series is shot well and could be perfectly watchable and satisfying had it not been for... a pretty ridiculous problem to begin with. And I don't mean to ridicule the fact that unusual problems may and do exist in sex. But purely looking logically at the data- first since females are biologically prepared to give birth, their anatomy is typically not so rigid. Second assuming that the rare female condition that may exhibit this way for psychological reasons exists in the female lead, then she should have the same condition with every partner and not selectively with one who also ironically happens to be the man she loves. Thirdly based on the data we're provided, there seemed to be nothing extraordinary about the husband to begin with to doubt if he will not fit. Furthermore the couple shouldn't have accepted this status quo but instead sought to educate themselves. Let's face it, most problems have solutions. They apparently also don't communicate too well either. So while the show may be well put together with good actors and an interesting idea- that of difficult sex in a marriage- the implementation is completely lacking in veracity. I have not finished the show and most likely will not because I was not persuaded that this particular specific problem could be applied to that particular couple first but second because even if that were the case, they should look for a productive solution more proactively and not hide in the sand.

I have to admit that in the initial episodes I was very troubled about the age difference. This was almost a stumbling block. However, what the young actor brings to his character is super unique- he brings just the right mixture of innocence, youthful insecurities but also a level of deeper maturity well beyond his age. Perhaps that desire to be a mature adult made him look like he was older though he clearly wasn't mature on so many levels. All performances were good but I thought that his acting and character were brilliant. I personally esteem the fact that Japanese filmmakers would often present the intimacy of a relationship honestly and in more intense albeit thankfully not obscene ways. However here the relationship was driven almost purely by passion. Yes, it was an intense passionate relationship but I frankly did not see it as lasting romance. The age difference is definitely a big red flag because our female protagonist is meeting a young boy still in high school. Although I do believe the feelings and passion was mutual, the idea that the young man is potentially a victim was there. It is true that emotions of this scope can derail a young person and make them particularly vulnerable. Keeping his student's ID to get him to come back was manipulative too. Now although there are no absolute standards for falling in love, it's understood in most societies that a young person should be protected. So while I bought into the idea of shared interests, longing for each other and loving passion, I still did not see the protagonists as a real or healthy couple. I'm not sure I fully understood the ending. In spite of several significant issues, the writing was consistently strong, story engaging and acting superb, so I still think this is a strong production. This is the reason for a strong rating.

Ok, so I'd have rated this movie lower but it really picked up after the mid part. It's intriguing, well-acted and simply engaging. My biggest complaint is the fate and substance of the CCTV footage- we saw a bit and it figures why they're hiding it, but overall I didn't understand if it did capture the killer or not. Why couldn't the defense demand it? It was not listed as evidence but there were witnesses who informally testified detective Lee demanded it. He was not going to be allowed as a witness but there were others who could testify and cast doubt on the prosecution. I still can't say I know exactly what was on the footage except for the little we were shown where we find out why it was hidden. It was made confusing and should have been clarified better. Moreover the entire timeline of the murder was confusing too. I couldn't say how things unfolded with any precision. I have to rewatch to see if I missed something. Jang Hyuk hairstyle is way too hip for someone in prison. Other than that, enjoyed both the acting and the intrigue. Solid movie out of south Korea!

I love Japanese dramas. They are among my favorite because of a number of reasons such as the typing camaraderie, humaneness and sweetness. I started out this drama with huge enthusiasm- beautiful leads with strong acting skills and an interesting romantic premise. As I kept watching however I felt let down. The key couple instead of having meaningful heart to heart conversations to bond happily have a very unnatural and totally unbelievable happy ending. Since this is not fantasy, greater realism was to be expected. Satoh is a very charismatic actor but his character here was weak, player type with mostly occasional carnal desires but not an awful lot of romantic substance who was like a candle in the wind. He's living with a woman for a number of years without love and he's also entirely indecisive about reveals his inner feelings to his first love, double cheating. His reason for separating from both women weak and unconvincing and not really showing genuine concern for either of them. So while I'm a big fan of the actor, I found his character here unsympathetic, selfish and unrelatable. Why is our female heroine so low on confidence? She's just so pessimistic that she's definitely not taking advantage of her potential. Overall I'm still pleased to see more Japanese dramas on Netflix with actors that I like but sure hope that we'll see a lot more and with more consistent writing.

What can I say? I'm often blown away by Jang Hyuk and this was no exception. I'm not sure how he does it- he looks like an average human being with the ability to command attention even with one intent look. The plot is straightforward for which I have no complaints. The heroic actions probably defy any human logic but they're beautifully crafted and perfectly acted in every detail. The villain is pretty irredeemable and cruel, which works for a good contrast effect and to justify the bloodbath. He's also very emphatic in his cruelty shared though not quite on the same level by his subordinates. I liked the inclusion of a different race- in this case a white woman, though she was certainly not a positive character in this, makes you wonder if the negative stereotype was intentional but my feeling is that it was not. She added to the surreal feeling. The feeling is a bit surreal probably intentionally. I'm not sure if the swordsman was a humane person but he surely elicited a whole lot of sympathy for his readiness to go all the way against an injustice. Overall very pleased with this one.

So I have the privilege of seeing this series on Amazon prime in the western hemisphere. I generally enjoy it this far, some good visuals, sense of magic common to kdramas more so than any other industry in my view, and good acting. Sweet moments which is generally appreciated. I have a few complaints. There are some cliche ideas to begin with. For example I find that some characters were befallen my major misfortunes that are incredibly unlikely in real life, so while the case led to very entertaining couple of episodes, I couldn't help but wonder why kdramas feature unnecessary cruel and unlikely occurrences. Second, the piggy back ride- it can be very endearing but I feel like men shouldn't have to piggyback women as an expectation. Women need to show a whole lot of appreciation and frankly avoid getting so drunk. It's a vehicle that makes female audiences swoon over handsome Korean stars but it's somewhat misleading and not fair. Third, why not give someone a hug more freely when they're feeling down? For sure there may be cultural differences but if you're hugging this same person for piggy backs, you should be able to offer some emotional support even simply as a friend. Finally the mechanism of scoffing is overused. Still entertaining and well put together. I'll probably see it to the end.

The movie was for sure slow, dimly lit too. Acting is as usual good though nothing to talk home about. Had some pretty significant and at times interesting twists. Although slow, it was somewhat engaging throughout. For me, I have a strong dislike of messages that it's ok to bring justice by heavy handed deceit, unethical and inhumane behavior. A young woman sleeping her way to encourage murder is worse than an accident in my view because it's fully intentional. Walking on a dark road at night can lead to an accident for any driver God forbid! What mother would do that with her young daughter? The policeman had his fault for allowing this situation for his family. The only sympathetic character out of the four main ones here is professor Park who had retained human emotions. The wife was beyond terrible and overall he was badly used by two women neither of which had real love for him. Overall in spite of its engagement value, this is a morally corrupt twisted story.

It seems like this movie attracted some negative reviews but I have to say that it has several major positives. The dynamic with the deaf women was unique and a well positioned angle. We got to experience the stamina and courage of someone who is often marginalized by society. The women here were strong positive role models- our main female lead risked her life for others. The two female leads are very cute in a down to earth right kind of way. Suspense and action were good. Serial killer was mostly annoying and crazy which would be consistent with the profile. Now some cons or simply other sides. The police are behaving in really unusual ways, from the very first scene. I don't know enough about Korean police but it seemed unlikely. The security guard took a very unusual decision at one point. And among all the action, no one seemed to engage in any analytical thought process. Lastly I wonder if the crowd's inadequate reactions were a form of social commentary. The movie may not be the best of a kind but is still solid with very good performances.

The positives of this series include a strong cast, engaging writing and appropriate though over the top dark atmosphere. The execution is good and I like the psychology/crime genre. The poor lead male actor is given the role of a massive creep though with some human emotions, which makes him slightly less one dimensional. The female lead is morally void but may have a bit of a highly twisted moral compass. I'm not too familiar with Asperger's but here moral ambiguity is highlighted. The police are painted as completely incompetent, which may be true but so disappointing to watch time and again in kdramas. The female police officer is not even recruiting back up when fully aware she's going into a risky situation. Irresponsible and incompetent for a police officer. The motivation of the male lead serial killer remains very obscure because in his first encounter with murder on Somebody he did not initially act with bad intent. For this to transform into a serial killer motivator, something was missing. Last but not least, k entertainment is really good at morally ambiguous characters but at what point do they become morally void? All characters were somewhat watchable and engaging but none was completely appealing or even interesting on their own.

I was excited about this show. The title suggested some deeper concepts about good and evil. However, the show was quite simply empty and meaningless. The plot, which is nonexistent is quickly forgotten. I don't remember a single character/actor except Yoo Ah In whom I had liked in other movies. There was nothing new, exciting or meaningful. Everything seemed random and disjointed. It's a wasted opportunity to showcase Korean cinema to a global audience. I can only hope that Netflix will encourage creative and deserving writers in the future. There was violence but that too seemed so random, that it made no impression besides to be irritating. And who was good and evil here? Many seemed brain dead and lacking in logical human thinking not even asking the question why? I mean why? I gained few insights if any at all in spite of the hype.

Very strong start. Solid team of actors, good production. There were glimpses of deeper meaning throughout, which was satisfying. The male lead and FL are both quite skilled but the support actors are also adding a strong dimension here. They were a pretty good bunch to watch.

Where I felt the show was lacking is in the overwhelming sense of guilt attributed to the lead ML played by Go Jun. It was as though his condition was his fault. At important junctures, he was not offered much empathy. The FL played by Jang Na Ra was so focused on having a baby that she viewed male partners as sperm donors, which was at times cute but disturbing too considering that they were all men close to her in many other respects. Her display of affection was a bit unconvincing whereas Go Jun did a great job. He also elicited a lot of sympathy with his portrayal of torment. He is a good actor.

Ultimately a few episodes after 10 were not particularly interesting but we got a satisfying ending.

Ok so I have to give respect to the South Korean movie industry. They manage to create stories that are so unusual and interesting that there's definitely some measure of creative genius in this industry. Please keep making this quality movies. The story is more on the negative side but not in a stifling way which I appreciated. I think that adding some comedy elements to similar stories would be refreshing though of course some aspects of the story need to change to be a little less fatalistic. I don't enjoy overly fatalistic stories that are somewhat a specialty of KDrama. No excessive make up, no perfectly made up princes and princesses, refreshing for a change since the industry focuses at least 90% on out of this world looks and appeal. I wish that they'd reserve at least 30-40 for more down to earth stories. Engaging writing, masterful acting and execution. I do think one key element was not quite realistic- the weight of the stone in view of its destructive potential considering the young woman's strength. I'd recommend this one, it's a classic.