Some people think they can review a film without ever visiting the country, not speaking the language, and especially not knowing the CULTURE. The previous reviewer falls into this category. It took me ten yeras living in Ningbo to perceive the culture...and that is the base of all the humor, drama, etc!
At least it is far above the Hollywood staple diet of these 8 year old comic book movies. "Super-Hero"? The only thing that's super is the green screen. Has Hollywood become so dumb-downed that cant find an intelligent screenplay? Look to the South Koreans for that. The best films EVER made, bar NONE.
Reviews
10 Reviews
It
(I) (2017)
So much hype for such a piece of trash!
27 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
We have a group of kids; one tells lame jokes beyond his maturity, one is the hero that has at least five spotlight scenes of "come on guys, we can do it" and the rest are just kids who tag along. A budding romance is thrown in also. This isn't scary at all, neither on a psychological basis or blood basis. Every scene you see coming, the clowns super powers are never explained...AT ALL. It has to be one of the worse waste of time films I've seen in many years. All around a piece of trash.
Check out Korean or Japanese films if you want REAL horror.
Check out Korean or Japanese films if you want REAL horror.
Thor: Ragnarok
(2017)
Same old stuff ruined by Led Zepplin
5 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I was hoping for something more than a recycled story of revenge with better blue- screen. If you were to change characters around it would be, "Oh, I've seen this before". That said the absolute horrific thing was the inclusion of Led Zeppelin's two most widely beloved songs used in the movie. Robert Plant is just so iconic and to infer that his music and this 12 year old "superhero" movie are on the same par was atrocious! At the second inclusion of Zeppelin I walked out of the theater. I know these actors make millions but don't they ever tire of doing the exact same plot over and over and over? How about a film without guns, magic, and mutants? I don't think Hollywood can make that anymore.
The Midnight After
(2014)
Not great but not bad, patience and a mature thought process needed.
18 October 2017
Certainly not a film for an average American used to seeing the marvel "super-hero" movies that proliferate Hollywood. If you need action, guns, and 5th grade plot structures then you won't be able to follow a film that has atmosphere, characters and the need for Intellect. A good film is one that needs many viewings and asks questions that can't be answered. Also, there is such a culture divide for china it takes many years living their to even begin to understand (been there, done that). With this all said i would still give this film a try, it's much better than most others.
A closing comment, another reviewer of this film degraded himself by actually ridiculing the director's name! Exactly like a fifth grader would do, which is probably the limit of his intelligence.
A closing comment, another reviewer of this film degraded himself by actually ridiculing the director's name! Exactly like a fifth grader would do, which is probably the limit of his intelligence.
Self/less
(2015)
A movie must be more than just "entertaining".
15 July 2017
A reviewer said he liked this because it was "entertaining". Well, that's his right to say, but for others it's a much more complex issue. I believe a film has a responsibility to be something more than mere entertainment. A porn film is mere entertainment.
First off , a film needs some originality of which this film had none. When a film just regurgitates older films it must have something unique. Again, this film had none.
The story it self could have been so much more! I want to have to THINK. I want to have to see it 2 or 3 times because it's so intricate I need to. Why cant Hollywood write a screenplay anymore? Look at South Korea for example. Every year 4 or 5 amazing films come out of that country made on a tenth of this budget. Has America become so entitled that they just have forgotten what true pain, misery, and drama are?
First off , a film needs some originality of which this film had none. When a film just regurgitates older films it must have something unique. Again, this film had none.
The story it self could have been so much more! I want to have to THINK. I want to have to see it 2 or 3 times because it's so intricate I need to. Why cant Hollywood write a screenplay anymore? Look at South Korea for example. Every year 4 or 5 amazing films come out of that country made on a tenth of this budget. Has America become so entitled that they just have forgotten what true pain, misery, and drama are?
House of the Disappeared
(2017)
A well done film about the outcome of our decisions years away.
14 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A house built by a Japanese general during Korea's colonial era ends up having the psychic power to trap those who have died within it's walls. This occurs every 25 years and for one day the spirits of the dead are free to alter their past to see if the outcome would have made for a better life for the loved ones who lost them. For one day they can skip through as many years as wanted.
A family of four are the third family to live in the cursed house. The husband and two sons die with the mother unjustly serving 25 years in prison. As an elderly woman dying of cancer she revisits the home and with help from others is able to alter events from the past which in turn alter the present.
There is no CGI, no bumps in the night, nothing outwardly scary yet there is an underlying vibe, very atmospheric, that kept me glued to witness the outcome. Top notch acting by the children and by Yun-Jin Kim. This film will stay with me for a long time to come, in a thoughtful, realistic way.
A family of four are the third family to live in the cursed house. The husband and two sons die with the mother unjustly serving 25 years in prison. As an elderly woman dying of cancer she revisits the home and with help from others is able to alter events from the past which in turn alter the present.
There is no CGI, no bumps in the night, nothing outwardly scary yet there is an underlying vibe, very atmospheric, that kept me glued to witness the outcome. Top notch acting by the children and by Yun-Jin Kim. This film will stay with me for a long time to come, in a thoughtful, realistic way.
Fighter in the Wind
(2004)
It NEVER stated to be based on fact!
14 March 2017
To all you haters,
It's real simple....the film never said "based on a true story" AND lets think for a moment, (sarcasm here), what would Koreans have to hate Japan for anyway? Only 40 years of martial law, dictatorship, kidnapping and jailing the royal family, forced participation in Japanese army during WW2......could fill a novel. Then lets look at Nanking!
It's real simple....the film never said "based on a true story" AND lets think for a moment, (sarcasm here), what would Koreans have to hate Japan for anyway? Only 40 years of martial law, dictatorship, kidnapping and jailing the royal family, forced participation in Japanese army during WW2......could fill a novel. Then lets look at Nanking!
Black Mirror
(2011– )
A great show that will fly over many heads!
13 March 2017
Hello,
To those of you with an IQ over 120 and with an education, imagination and not enslaved in a unhealthy religion that warps your mind....you will love it. Episodes that force the viewer to think and accept what the future might bring (and its not very nice)!
But to those of you giving this one star and wasting time with negativity and words pulled from your thesaurus, just give up and go away. Its obvious you don't have the imagination to follow this. Just a guess...how many novels (Sci_Fi, Speculative or classic) do you read a year? If the number is under 25 I weep for you. So much to learn before we die yet some waist time on sofa sports, drinking, and never traveling OUT of the US to see the world. Its sad that you praise a country that rates a movie "X" for kissing a breast and "R" for cutting it off with a chainsaw.
So check this series, its a breath of fresh air.
To those of you with an IQ over 120 and with an education, imagination and not enslaved in a unhealthy religion that warps your mind....you will love it. Episodes that force the viewer to think and accept what the future might bring (and its not very nice)!
But to those of you giving this one star and wasting time with negativity and words pulled from your thesaurus, just give up and go away. Its obvious you don't have the imagination to follow this. Just a guess...how many novels (Sci_Fi, Speculative or classic) do you read a year? If the number is under 25 I weep for you. So much to learn before we die yet some waist time on sofa sports, drinking, and never traveling OUT of the US to see the world. Its sad that you praise a country that rates a movie "X" for kissing a breast and "R" for cutting it off with a chainsaw.
So check this series, its a breath of fresh air.
Dukot
(2016)
Bland kidnapping saga you have seen before
13 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Spoiler alert. I wanted to like this film. Technically it was OK. Acting was sub-par save for one character, "Shotgun Joe", who filled the screen with his presence. All the others were either lazy or inept. What angered me about this film was that it had many scenes foreshadowing an inside job between the kidnapped son and his kidnappers. I was waiting for the twist to unravel....but it never did! There was no inside job. Only a "ive seen this before a hundred times" payout. And the typical "Hollywood type happy ending" was even more frustrating. It even had the cops hitting bad guys with every shot but when the bad guy is point blank range he misses! AGHHHHHHH!
The Second Woman
(2012)
An enjoyable outing !
1 October 2016
I personally had no difficulty following this film. The theme of sibling rivalry is always of interest. Qi Shu did a great job playing both sisters. When murder enters the scene and we are forced to guess which sister is which things get exciting. Personally I love films that allow me to choose how things ended. I can go for days trying to remember clues and re-watch the film. I think its an insult that Hollywood films have to spell everything out for you as if you're a child....and of course give a happy ending. Well not many things in life end happily and its great to watch a film that is real.I think you just need to check it out as some either like or hate this.
Oh, and by the way, to the man who commented that he watched this to follow Hong Kong films. Well, its in Mandarin and everyone in Hong Kong speaks Cantonese. It certainly has investments from HK but it was released as a mainland film.
Oh, and by the way, to the man who commented that he watched this to follow Hong Kong films. Well, its in Mandarin and everyone in Hong Kong speaks Cantonese. It certainly has investments from HK but it was released as a mainland film.
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