When perfect acting meets imperfect plot... it leaves a strong but short-lived impression

A touching story, but the script comes out lacking when put together with such superb acting.

It'll start by saying that this movie is not family-friendly. I would watch it with adult friends and siblings, but I wouldn't show it to my parents or underage kids. Too much cussing, suggestive scenes, morally questionable actions, etc.

Besides that, the trailer and the movie don't match. The trailer makes it look like it's all fun and games but that's not the case. It's heart-breaking actually, even if there are a couple funny scenes.

I did quite enjoy this movie though.
It's about reconciliation, sacrifice, closure, hope.
The actors did such an amazing job bringing out their characters and making them real. As the audience you become so attached to the main characters you can't help but feel what they feel and suffer alongside them (...I cried).

However, it's definitely not perfect. It has flawed pacing, a lacking plot and a somewhat rushed ending.
I won't go into details or give out spoilers, but I can't help thinking that with such phenomenal casting they could've polished the story itself quite some more.

To sum it up, after going up and down on an emotional rollercoaster... in the end it's a forgettable movie.
This might sound harsh but this movie doesn't bring anything new to the table. The tragic situation that gets revealed past the half-way-point was so predictable it almost became bland and, worse, it took attention away from what should be the main focus of the plot instead of adding to it. Also, the different plot pieces don't quite fit. There are a lot of typical tropes, but the main problem is really the lack of a clear objective on the scriptwriter's part.

I won't spoil it, but I'll leave you, who is going to watch or has watched this movie, with a question to wonder about: what made the older brother change?

...Will/Do you perhaps see what I mean?
I think you'll find that's the fatal flaw in this movie... What it does is make it seem that, ultimately, what caused him to change was an external factor rather than something that came out from within him after an inner struggle. External factors should remain as mere triggers, and change should come from a difficult choice. Otherwise things don't add up, it doesn't feel earned but lacklustre instead... They had the ingredients to do that in "My Annoying Brother". It's a pity.

Still, I think it's worth it to watch this movie.

Lire davantage

Utterly satisfying and yet leaves you craving for more.

Most of the time I don’t feel the need to leave a review, but this time I just have to.

The story is very complete and satisfying but this world and our main character are so engaging that it feels like I could easily watch 36 more episodes. Seriously, it’s like I could watch Shi Guang forever.

I’ve loved many other series before, but this one stands out for at least a couple of reasons.

First, there is not one dull episode. Nothing feels unnecessary. Nothing gives you the itch to skip ahead. Nothing makes you lose your interest. You just want to keep watching non-stop. Every episode is consistent like that, always captivating, with a good rhythm, for the most part all equally interesting.
This is such a major feat already. There are so many shows that I enjoyed but became bored or too frustrated with at some point. No such thing with this one.

Second, related to this of course. The world and its characters felt very real. Not a dreary realism, mind you. This has a supernatural aspect to it obviously and plenty of comedy, but beyond that the characters are very human. They are complex characters with their own thoughts and feelings. The story developments feel natural. As well as the characters’ interactions, their bonds, their growth and change. It’s very well pieced together and at the same time feels organic.

Third, it didn’t feel predictable and at the same time satisfied the underlying expectations set up from the beginning. Which is rare. Most series fail somewhat in one way or another: become predictable or betray the viewer’s expectations and rob them of a satisfying development. This series in contrast develops and wraps up everything pretty nicely without leaving loose ends or feeling rushed at the end. (Though I could definitely go on watching Shi Guang living his life with the people around him)

I must compliment the acting of pretty much every single actor in this series. The only acting that did not satisfy me was from the Korean character (that was admittedly a bit cringe) but he’s such a minor character that it weights very little on the overall performance. Of course, I specially loved our main duo, Shi Guang and Chu Ying. The child actors were also incredible.

The story is about Go, but also about so much more than Go.
I knew pretty much nothing about Go going in and yet never felt lost nor bored. On the contrary I was able to learn a few things about this game and now I want to try playing it (give it a ‘go’, yes haha).
Beyond that the plot and subplots were all incredible in some way; interesting, funny, touching, inspiring, heart-warming...

I could go on talking about this series but it’s probably best to stop here. I just hope my commentary did it some justice.

So, I won’t spoil anything but the bottom line is: it’s truly worthwhile!
I just don’t give it a 10 because there’s always a couple of things that could be a bit better but still, a solid 9 for sure!

(...I already miss it so much. It will be hard to move on!)

Lire davantage

Marketed as romcom. Directed to be thought-provoking. Tries to be both. Ends up failing to be either

Turns out, if you try to mix a simple love-conquers-all romcom message with a seasoned life-can-be-hard approach, what you get out of the blender is a we-may-do-terrible-things-but-it-works-out-fine kind of outcome.

By the way, just casually walking home in knee-deep water after a downpour... culture shock right there. But moving on.

This movie was sometimes interesting and funny with amusing directing choices, but overall I didn't like the story much, wouldn't watch it again nor recommend it to anyone.

What's the point of this story? A commentary on 'timing' in relationships? It tries to be somewhat realistic and thought-provoking but ultimately fails and winds up shallow and immature.
The two main characters don't really get to grow and change as people and in their relationship with each other. The story basically goes through a lot of twists and turns but doesn't ever get very far.
It borderline romanticizes some toxic choices... and in the end the conclusion seems to be something such as "I just wasn't lucky before but now that might change"... like what?


Okay, real spoilers ahead to go into specifics.


The plot itself seems to be indecisive whether to attribute Guy's and June's apparent bad timing to random bad luck or admit instead that it is, at least in part, consequence of their own making.
Of course some coincidences might be unhelpful in our protagonists' journeys, but isn't that stuff that happens to everyone?

It would make sense for the point of the story to be that they should mature and learn to take matters into their own hands in a responsible manner.
For example, June should stop staying with her boyfriend for her emotional security, get a grip and break up with him in a fair manner so she can try to become her own person first and have a healthy relationship with someone she actually likes later.
And Guy should stop moping and pining aimlessly. For years at that. Instead of drinking excessively, avoiding the matter or presenting it in such a messy way, he should learn to set things straight from the start and have clear conversations.

Guy could just go and say:
"Hey, June. I would like to be honest with you. I like you. We get along so well, and, though I might be mistaken, I thought you'd feel that way too. Now, I don't want to mess up any relationship that you currently have, but I thought I should tell you this. Even if it doesn't sound very good, I can't help but wonder if right now you are with the wrong person for you. This is probably very biased and selfish of me, but still, as you are someone I care about, I thought I'd tell you all this. Please think about it and after some time answer me however you see fit"

There. Then step away and allow June to think things through and give him a clear cut answer.

No messiness. No misunderstandings. No temptation to cheat. No betraying the other's trust for your own benefit of wanting to get together with them.
If June realized that she didn't actually like her boyfriend even if he was a good person, then she should break up with him regardless of getting someone else's confession. Then she could choose to accept Guy's feelings or address them in some other way. Personally I think she should get a life first instead of living through someone else like that.

But instead, the two of them make all the mistakes and we don't really see them evolve as people. We get a glimpse that that might happen... maybe. And that could have been it: learn from mistakes, there are consequences, be better, end. But then the movie ends making it seem the only important thing was that they should get together eventually and that the process wasn't all that important besides being painful and that they were just unlucky and such. After all, there were good things too, so it should all be alright, right?

So, pretty flat. Character growth? Practically invisible. Healthy relationship? Not so far, no. Lesson learned? Not at all, it was all on the bad timing.

Then, they can keep being self-centred, irresponsible and communicate badly. That's fine 'cause stuff works out in the end and the person who gets hurt is just a side character.

The potential was there... Pity.

Lire davantage

Excessive savagery, dull storyline, unrelatable characters and the villain one-sidedly runs the show

I'm writing this review mostly to help others manage their expectations before watching this movie.

It starts slow and confusing. You get to chuckle a couple of times before being introduced to one of the most unnecessarily inhumane scenes. The antagonist is a monster and the movie doesn't stop driving that home to the viewers. Not once, twice or even thrice seems to be enough.
With all the chaos going on all the time, this movie still manages to feel draggy. The somewhat amusing scenes start to feel flat. The finale itself seems to drag on and on. The ending is unsatisfying.

I'll mention a few positives at the end.

Before continuing, I'll just point out that I was most disappointed because I was expecting an action-comedy movie I could watch with my family. Nope. To sum it up: it's too brutal with little to no context or character development to the point it gets boring and forgetful.

Most relevant characters are barely acknowledged. The opening scene that's supposed to introduce us to team good guys is a mess. It's 99% skippable and unnecessary to the main plot. You only get a gist of who the main character is and his surroundings but get nothing substantial that makes you really root for this guy.
The antagonist is at such a crazy level of monstrosity that at some point you don't even want him on screen anymore. His scenes just show you over and over again how disgusting of a human being he is. All that screen time could have been used to flesh out other characters instead.
Somehow this movie makes you feel like a passive bystander instead of someone truly invested in the story. Even though you want justice, you don't really get attached to anything. You simply watch things unfold almost indifferently.

So, some positives before concluding.
I found the level of chaos in the conversations, confrontations and fight scenes gave it a less "staged" or "clean" feel than what we usually find in other movies. Sorta realistic in a way. But somehow still less entertaining. Ups, this is supposed to be the positives section...
If I have to say something else good about it, I guess the actors did a good job.

To boil it down to one problem: ultimately, you don't really care about the good guys, you just want the bad guy gone and feel sympathy towards the victims.

Watching the trailer, reading the synopsis and some comments, I imagined something completely different: something fun, clever, with great teamwork, sacrifice, high stakes, etc.
How could it be so lacklustre instead? The victory at the end doesn't really feel earned. Protagonist and antagonist have no chemistry. They could be facing other people and it would be the same. There are no character arcs. Every character remains the same from beginning to end. There are too many small and not-so-small details that just quickly fade away into the background. Any intended message gets buried underneath all the overbearing violence, yelling and overly fast switch between scenes.

Alright, I've ranted enough. Hope this is useful to someone.

Lire davantage