Reviews

whatever you do, if you decide to watch this movie...do NOT... I repeat... do NOT read up about it before you watch it. I randomly saw this movie online the other day and loved it and was so so glad that I didn't read up about it because I woulda definitely hit a spoiler... there's a twist in the story that made me do a 180 but had I read the reviews/comments I definitely woulda been spoiled, and woulda missed out on that...
this movie is Beautifully made (its on an island most of the time and the scenery is so beautiful) and the acting/cast did so well (I didn't know either actor but now they're definitely on my radar!) and its a great story!
I highly recommend watching this film..even if you don't like Taiwanese/Chinese film/dramas, this one seemed a little different to me and I found it to be quite good (great even!)

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It's hard to not compare the movie to the manga because the manga is what made want to watch the movie. Still, I know better than to expect a movie to be exactly like the manga or anime. I'm totally fine with a different ending or different situations that don't follow the original story line. I think that makes the movie unique. With that said, I was still disappointed with this movie.

The story is good. I know the story from the manga. Even if the movie decided not to follow the manga at all, the concept is still good enough to make the movie great. It's a realistic concept. A student who hasn't developed a sense of self. Another student who helps her find her way. So how? How did this movie fail me? The execution was poor. Everything seemed like it took place in a matter of three days. There was no real transition and growth within the characters. It was just -this is the character -this is the situation -And this is the end. Where was the climax? There wasn't moment when I held my breath. Romance? Where? The romance was so sudden and poorly executed that I was confused. When did they fall in love and how? And I know this may sound crazy but the fashion was't there either. It was just enough for the viewer to understand that they liked fashion. Her hair wasn't all that and neither was her outfits. Throughout the movie I was wondering what was their budget.

The cast was okay but it could have been much better. I don't feel like the characters were defined. Where was the personality? The arrogance from George,the indecisiveness and determination from Yukari, the bubbly personality from Miwako. What I saw was actors not characters.Where was the chemistry? And once again where was the romance? I was disappointed with Yukari with the whole modeling thing. That could have been acted out much better. She didn't look like a model during the photo shoot and runway. Nothing looked natural. The characters had no growth. What was the moral of the movie?

I would watch this again, but not anytime soon. Overall the movie was okay but it's not anything I would buy. The movie left a stale aftertaste. It's not leaving any lingering thoughts or feelings like other movies do. Movies like this need eye candy at least. This concludes my long review. If you love the manga or anime then this is not for you. ^_^

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Ajumma Power!
This is a fun popcorn movie. It's a fun romp to watch when you want something not too heavy. It's kind of a buddy-flick for girls lol. The story, was fine. Notice I didn't say believable, lol they never are, but it kept moving along nicely and at a decent pace. It never takes itself to serious, even during the more "dramatic" scenes. It had a couple of little wrenches thrown in, but your not going to get to the end and be like - "Wow he WAS Keyser Söze!" Then again I don't mind a formulaic plot as long as they do it well.
Kim Sun Ah does a great job as the lead. Her comedic timing is great, and her acting was well done. The other 3 female leads did a nice job of supporting her. I think it was great that they represented every stage of a woman's life, the younger woman, the middle aged woman, and the older woman.
Do I think you should watch it? Yes. Especially if your a fan of Kim Sun Ah like I am. It might even make you ponder the question, would YOU take the gold in front of you? And if so, for what reasons?

(please note- I wanted to leave re-watch blank, as I really don't EVER re-watch, so I feel I really shouldn't answer it)

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To prevent myself on going on a nick-picking tirade, let's start with the movie's strengths. So, obviously, read the whole review.

I haven't seen the anime, so I watched this movie as new to the story as possible. Hell, I didn't even read the synopsis (well, the synopsis I read only involved robot nipples).

With the thought of robot nipples in your mind (think it, think it ... now mentally slap Dr. Evil's robot-chicks in their jealous faces), this show isn't one for those who flip nearby tables when something as suggestive as a nipple appears on screen. This movie isn't vulgar, but has a few suggestive (and might I say hilarious) scenes. I sure wish there was more crude jokes though...

This movie is a visual spectacular. Like I said earlier, I haven't seen the anime, but the movie was colorful, detailed, and full of neat little quirks and jokes. The robots were awesome, the fight scenes were a cartoony whirlwind of awesome, and the props made me feel like an anime superhero would pop up at any moment and proudly brandish his tights-covered genitals at my face. Bravo Mr. Miike (as well as the special effects team, they were the stars of the movie). Give these guys medals and all the hookers they will ever want!

And, to keep it brief, the music had a macho "FIGHT!" feel without attracting the men of wrestlemania to grace the screen.

Now, my beef with this movie is that it's "Johnny's-ized." Okay, that's a weird way of putting it. I can forgive the somewhat 2D characters (because kid show characters don't have life-changing epiphanies every week), but the plot was lacking. I'm not asking for Inception, but it wasn't as interesting, or funny, as I thought it would be. And for an idea on what childish things I love to watch for hours on end, I can watch the first three seasons of Spongebob like Lindsey Lohan can snort through crack and the remnants of her career.

The plot was more like "shit's happening at place X -> Goes to place X -> Fight scene -> ?????? -> PROFIT!" This kind of simplicity, even for a kid's movie with the aforementioned robot nipples, leaves some to be desired. The reason I mentioned "Johnny's-ized" earlier was because of the main lead, the always-adorable Sakurai Sho. While the others in the cast did a great job (Katsuhisa Namase did an AMAZING job; he's the best one on the screen)

In short, while this movie's plot isn't the most interesting thing since Sho-kun's Anan spread with numerous butt-pictures (Why would I know this!?!), it's is definitely a fun movie to watch as delicious, sensory junk food for the brain. If it is movie night and your two choices are "legendary movie that many people adore for its mind-blowing awesomeness" and "Yatterman," go with the former. However, if you just have ~2 hours to kill and you want to see some cartoon-like splendor, then give Yatterman a shot.

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This a very well done film. The acting was great, especially Yoon Kye Sang. This was the first time I saw him in this type of role and he was simply brilliant since he beautifully conveys all his emotions without uttering a word. Still, I felt something was lacking.

I didn't like the main actress, at all. When her character appeared was when the movie started to drag on and on for me and I practically lost all interest in it.

It did start to pick up a little in the last 20-30 minutes of it, where we are shown a very thrilling scene.

I won't be watching it again since I find the film is forgettable and I didn't enjoy it.

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Watching this movie was a quite good surprise. Pretty well played, pretty well filmed (knowing that we talk about a Japanese movie about 20 years old rock band members with some Idol actor, this has to be mentioned). I like this "no cute" side, as if BANDAGE is the dark version of BECK.

The characters are well done and played, except for Yukari, the manager, i think this one doesn't match so well with a manager function and with the aura in the movie.

About music, there are some good things, both about music and lyrics. Special mention to Yukiya's music.

I just don't get the end...

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I've seen a lot of young love films but this particular film, has to be the purest young love film that I have ever seen. This film also transports the viewer back in time, when values were different and love was approached differently.

Great acting from the cast, in particular, from the leads, in which this film was their acting debut. Shawn Dou was great as the hunky lead male (great smile!) and Zhou Dongyu was lovely as the naive lead female. My only gripe: the male lead character seemed to be a bit too perfect and angelic and it would have been nice to have some more dimension to his character.

Even though the film is set during the end of the Cultural Revolution, there isn't too much emphasis on politics. This is a pure love story at its best with the interactions between the main characters at the forefront.

The film also has amazing cinematography. The color palette isn't striking but there is a nice contrast between the village and the city landscapes.

Recommended for those who enjoy those simple and pure love stories.

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I wasn't sure what was going on to be honest. i think this horror could have incorporated more thrill and trauma.
It leaves you with a cliff hanger at the end and if your someone that doesn't enjoy being left hanging like my self you wouldn't find this very enjoyable. However it was a pretty decent movie and i would watch it again to get a better understanding of the story.
It is not just a scary movie... i guess people who like horror movies would want something scarier and a little less thrill.
It's a good movie...the plot really stars to develop somewhere is the middle and though it maybe not the best i definitely don't regret watching this one ^^

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I just finished watching the movie...I'm a bit grossed out by the end. If you don't like gory horror movies, please skip the last five minutes of the movie. It's so real looking and disgusting. I almost thought that the actor acting as the actor in the movie was doing this in real life in the movie while no one was looking. Anyway...

I believe this is an independent film, so it's different. There are multiple people, multiple stories.
If you like film or are interested in making films, you may like this movie.

Overall the movie is okay, but personally, I would skip the last part.
Very melancholic.

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Drop was hilarious. Lots of blood and fighting, like Majisuka Gakuen but with ikemen and without that whole pretentious story line of why they fight. Chuck full of shonen comic references, if this was not a shonen comic, it really felt like the target audience is young boys. This movie is literally bare bones boys fighting and protecting their pride.
What I liked was the honesty in the characters. As a true dramanista, I am always looking for the scheming friend, the evil mother, the rat in the group but there was none of that. The characters literally said out loud exactly what they felt, and it was refreshing. Narimiya Hiroki is an awesome actor! This type of character for him is not new (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) but he is so believable even if you do see his wrinkles. He really brought the main character to life. Although the other supporting characters were to be stereotypical, they played their parts very well and I forgot i was watching actors at times. I must admit that started this because I love Mizushima Hiro. As much as I loved to watch him in this movie, his character fell flat. It could be the fault of the writers, but his character seemed under developed or maybe the character was supposed to be vicious/crazy but Hiro couldn’t commit to it. IDK. I may blame the writers because they introduced a lot of characters that have no development, no story line and then randomly appeared/ disappeared.
The main question on my mind while watching, “Why are they using fully grown men to play middle schoolers?” I know some of those dudes are in their 30’s! I mean these dudes had full facial hair but playing 15-17 year olds??!! I also couldn’t understand how some characters were not getting physically stronger with all the fights, like how are you remaining so weak but you can still run your mouth? Not to mention how cool the parents were with all of this, your son wants to become a delinquent and you say “ok!”?. To top it all off, there is a sudden sorrowful scene out of nowhere that causes major changes. (I had the stupid face on because I didn’t really see it coming).
There were certainly loose ends, unraveled strings, and frayed stitches, but it wasn’t boring. For a story that seems meant to tell young boys “life is short don’t waste it” I think it does a pretty decent job. However it gets a fat F for encouraging ruthless violence for younger ages. I, however am not in that demographic and anything that gives me a little eye candy while entertaining me, I say “bring it on!”. I do recommend the movie for a break from the complex story lines, the plotting and the scheming found in many of the dramas we see. Overall: Lots of cool real fights, loads of excitement.

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this is a great movie!
I'm not a great fan of this type of movie, but I enjoyed the battles and the comic side of the story.
i really liked the cast,cuz,of course i'm a fan of Shun. I have to say, in this movie he displayed fantastic acting skills.One of his best movie in my opinion. I really loved Yamada Takayuki's acting in this one too. made me wanna see other movies whit him. The music was a plus of adrenalin and I think that there is no one that can complain about this. yes there war some slow dialogues but after all the "movement" I think they ware necessary to digest and even to understand the story.
A great movie, definitely rewatch this.

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The common mistake with fans and adaptations are the comparisons made between the original and the versions. People tend to have high expectations and end up disappointed. I love the novel and so I will try my best not to compare as people should see the movie as it is.

Unless if the story is completely changed. In this case, it wasn't. Fortunately, they kept the story and retained its value.

As for the the actual filmography, it is good. They picked the perfect settings and style. The music is great, as it is in the book, but obviously appreciated better in the film. Really good music. Bit iffy on the scene changes but that's barely anything.

No complaints with the cast either. Their acting is well-done and gave justice to the characters, especially the main ones. The 1960's setting did not get in their way at all. I did kind of imagined Reiko differently though, and Storm Trooper was not given much attention. But that's okay. I was also a bit uncomfortable with Watanabe in the film at first. I felt that he was different but now I don't think so. Kenichi Matsuyama's neutral expressions were perfectly splendid. Rinko's acting also made me realize how much more heavy Naoko's life was.

There are scenes that I thought should've been done differently but that does not make this film a failure at any cost. This is how the director imagined the novel and I am happily content with it. I'd recommend the novel not because I think it's better but because it shows much more than 2 hours can give.

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