ticalisoul Reviews

Pantheon (2022–2023)

So far so good

[10/10 · 2 September 2022]

Crisp animation. Intriguing storyline, sorta like a mix of Transcendence and a Black Mirror episode. The coder logic so far is also on point, the writers definitely did their research. Excited to see how this series takes off, from the teaser it definitely seems to go to some wild places in later episodes. The first 2 episodes are still deeply rooted in reality, and I have faith in the source material from Ken Liu and his ability to create intelligent science fiction.

The cast of voice actors are also very talented, so happy to see William Hurt attached to it as well (RIP). His role as Professor Hobby in A. I was very memorable and coincidentally was one of the first movies to ignite my love for the sci-fi genre.

So Young (2013)

Great movie...if you can relate to it

[7/10 · 7 May 2013]

Zhao Wei's directorial debut, and all I can say is, this was definitely made for a niche audience. To get the true feeling of nostalgia that this film portrays, you have to be a 70s or early 80s baby who grew up in China. That being said, a lot of IMDb-ers are not Chinese, considering this website was blocked from Chinese internet until very recently.

Personally, I thought this movie was good. I am Chinese-American and grew up in California, born in the late 80s, and with that background, I can feel empathetic towards many of the situations in this movie. However, I still feel like an outsider, and the feelings of nostalgia become lost on me, because frankly I've never been through the stuff the movie characters have. I went through the American education system. College consisted of drinking, smoking weed, frat parties, raves, and the occasional library session. Chinese universities are just so vastly different, you can probably imagine what it must be like for them, but that's it, you can only imagine.

Overall, this movie was well-made, and while some of the acting was stiff by Hollywood standards, it didn't really get in the way of the story. I was able to somewhat relate to this movie because of my culture, but for many foreign movie-goers, the (Chinese) pop-culture references will fly right over their heads. Watch at your own risk.

I Am Legend (2007)

Would have been 10/10 if not for dat ending...

[8/10 · 20 January 2012]

What can I say? This movie could have been a classic. It should have been a classic. But then Hollywood ruined it. If it had stuck with the SOURCE MATERIAL in any way, this movie would have been a masterpiece. A blockbuster that actually conveyed a message. Instead, Hollywood dumbed it down and completely destroyed the ending, which also opens up some plot-holes in the movie.

The whole point of the movie being called "I Am Legend" is because Will Smith is the bad guy, the "legends" that the vampires refer to because he keeps going into their dwellings and snatching their kind for his research. The vampires are intelligent, benevolent creatures, trying to rescue one of their kidnapped girls. But Hollywood didn't like that ending, they wanted Will Smith to be the hero. And the original ending (that also happened to be in the novel) became a deleted scene. What a crock of mudbutt mixed with swamp ass. Way to go Hollywood.

Everything else about this movie was phenomenal. I just can't give it the 10 it deserves because of dat ending.

Ghastly (2011)

Unoriginal Asian horror, but slightly better than most of the crap

[5/10 · 19 January 2012]

Asian horrors have been done to death. Whether its a little boy/girl ghost, or an adult woman, they're always the same. Long, dark hair, pale face, walking around having spasms. It might have been scary the first few times, but after about the 50th movie, shouldn't the screenwriters take a step back and say "Wow, I'm an unoriginal douche, maybe I should at least try to think of something creative?" Alas, they never do, because the same old formula makes the cash. Being experimental means taking risks, and for some reason Asian cinema rarely does so, and thus "Ghastly" was born.

"Ghastly" is about a Korean boy Bin, who witnessed the brutal homicide/suicide of his parents. His aunt's family gains custody of him, yet somehow they still decide to live in the same house where the tragedy occurred. Great idea, right? A cliché set-up, then cue the nightmares and visions.

The lack of originality is pretty blunt. Almost none of the scenes elicit any fear out of the viewer. You can see whats about to happen from a mile away. There's a lot of cliché gory scenes which end up just being a dream, and so forth. The only redeeming quality is the two sisters. Both are super hotties, so at least you get some eye candy.

When I say this movie is slightly better, I'm mostly referring to the quality of the film itself, not the storyline. It moves along at a fair pace, considering its a little under 80 minutes. Some of the shots were done pretty well, and the acting was convincing for the most part. The main flaw is that the story is a carbon copy of countless other Asian horrors. I've seen so many movies with similar story lines that I can't even differentiate between them in my mind anymore. Thats how bad it is. Overall, I guess I'm not slamming this movie as much as I'm slamming Asian horror cinema in general. This movie is just a good example of how lacking they are in the creativity department.

See this movie if you're a dedicated Asian horror fan, and if you like ogling at Korean girls. Thats about it.

Miracle of Giving Fool (2008)

Charming Family Film

[9/10 · 9 October 2008]

This movie was great! Lots of comedy, lots of emotional scenes, and the girls were cute. The story is also unique, its about sibling love as opposed to all the other romances about relationships and sex. Ha Ji-won was hot, as always. The dude from My Sassy Girl was also great, he played an idiot pretty convincingly, haha. The stories intertwined well together, and the ending didn't really upset either. The only gripe I had in this entire movie is how they dragged on some of the scenes. I know the fool liked to repeat stuff over and over again, but when the people of normal intelligence were doing it too, it seemed fake and over-dramatic. Overall a great film though.

College (2008)

Failed attempt at college humor

[2/10 · 17 September 2008]

I'm just going to say, this movie was absolute garbage. Unrealistic, unfunny, no real purpose of existence. It stole from so many other movies without improving on the formula at all. The scenarios that the lead characters went through were all incredibly fake and unrealistic. If it was meant to be satirical, it failed too because it still wasn't funny. The fat guy was incredibly annoying, and unlike other annoying sidekicks, he doesn't even has a purpose. The nerdy kid from American Idol was the stereotypical uptight nerd, except he played it too well, so he ended up being dull and not entertaining at all. The girls were either ugly or plastic, and their nudity wasn't even tastefully done (not that it matters). Overall this movie is a piece of copycat bullshizzle, and should be avoided at all costs. The box office results should speak for themselves. 8 million dollar budget, and they grossed less than half of it back in three weeks, with many theaters already planning for its removal.

My 11th Mother (2007)

Great film about mother/son relationship

[9/10 · 3 August 2008]

The premise of this movie might seem familiar to many. A single abusive father raises his son in the poorest neighborhood of the city. One day, he brings home a new "wife" that he bought from a brothel. She becomes the boy's 11th mother, and they start off hating each other. Like any other work of cinema, you should know by now that they cannot continue hating each other, and eventually their interactions blossom into a real parent/child relationship.

The little boy was a great actor, very convincing and played his part very well. I liked the mother as well. The actress portraying her is very attractive, yet gives off a comfortable aura, kinda like a real mother. Their chemistry on screen is great. Some scenes are very emotional, and it is expected that you will cry somewhere during this film. The pace was perfect too. There are no big action or sex scenes, but it manages to keep your attention throughout the film. At the end, it is a rewarding experience.

Insanitarium (2008 Video)

A crappy zombie flick with no substance

[3/10 · 13 July 2008]

OK, I can admit that this film tried to be good, but it failed on so many levels. While watching it, I felt like it was ripping off a whole grip of other movies, including Silence of the Lambs (there's even a Hannibal Lecter wannabe!), 28 Days Later (noticeably the camera-work and soundtrack), and a little bit from Boogeyman 2 (which was also a crap fest). There are a lot of other familiar scenes too which I know were jacked, but I don't have time to recall. Throw in a generic smart and nerdy sidekick, a crazy woman who gets naked, and the mad scientist, and there you have the whole movie. The gore scenes were stupid, not even tastefully done. And as soon as the secret is out that people are eating each other, the script goes completely to poop. The actors literally go crazy and try so hard to be bloodthirsty zombies that it just adds up to a gigantic mess on the screen, border-lining on hilarious. There are also a lot of cliché one-liners, such as sticking a knife in someone's face and saying "Here's your present!" with attitude. Corny as hell, right? Overall, this movie does nothing original and is a giant yawn-fest with gore and boobs. Rent at your own risk.