Whatever you do , DO NOT WATCH THIS SERIES!

If you watch this series and are in bad health, you may have a heart attack - from laughing...

If you have a heart attack and live through it, you may try to sue me....

Since I am poor, you won't get anything from me....

That will make BOTH OF US MAD!


Both Park Kyu Tae (Choi Woo Shik) and Sung Gi Jae (Jang Ki Yong) are terrible actors with absolutely no chemistry between them here; therefore, why would you WANT to watch this series anyway?

Kim Min Ah (Jang Hee Ryung) is really, really ugly and contributes absolutely nothing to the main plot, about two guys who everyone 'thinks' are gay! Again, why would you want to watch this series anyway?

The rest of the support cast are also terrible and contribute absolutely nothing to the main story in this series... why would you want to watch this series anyway?

I hate the cinematography, music and most of all the main cast members, since everyone thinks they are gay...

The series takes so long anyway to watch, a whopping 1 hour and half, and a few minutes...which most people, such as you, would never finish anyway...

By the way, the two main male leads are also terrible lip-synchers!

If you do watch this and pee your pants for laughing too hard, don't blame me ' I tried to warn you!

Then again, I may be totally wrong on most of the above...

If I am wrong, sue me then...you still won't get any money from me!


P.S. Choi Woo Shik is also terrible in another series, called Ho-Gu's Love (2015); do not watch it, either!

RE-WATCH VALUE: If I were to re-watch it, I wouldn't tell you!

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WARNING: Do not watch this movie by yourself, unless you have one and a half boxes of tissue handy!

I did like this movie over Middle Student A, but the director, Luo Luo, left a few unanswered questions at the end of this one.

WARNING: Do not watch this movie by yourself, unless you have on and a half boxes of tissue handy!

(I just LOVE the idiots who 'edit' movies like this, trying to change the outcome or such; I originally wrote this review after seeing the 1 hr, 34 min version of this movie online; however, after finding the full movie of 1:43, a few of the dandling ends were found!)

First of all, my compliments to the director for taking a chance on so many new faces in making a movie like this; only one of the support females had any experience in movies prior.

I also want to give a compliment to Vivian Wu the veteran actress who played Yi Yao's mother, Lin Huo Feng; if i had a way of contacting her, I would like to ask her if her response after finding out how her daughter got her 'ailment' was improvised or not. Her response was something that a veteran actress would have improvised if it was not in the script!

She played a great support role in this movie; turning her daughter away when she thought the kid just wanted new things, but became a very caring mother after finding out the real need for the money! I do not blame mother one bit in telling her to wear last year's uniform to school. I also understand her asking Yi Yao not to come around at her place of work.

I don't see her mother as being ashamed of her, as much as I see the mother being ashamed of what life has given her after losing her middle-class family life when Yi Yao was younger.

My main criticism of this movie is so many unanswered questions at the end that were left dangling or not answered at all.

Young school girl Yi Yao (Ren Min) went from being part of a middle-class family (shown through a flashback) to going up with a mother struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table for the two of them. Luo Luo could have added a minute or two on the movie in explaining what befell the two females.

The next-door neighbor boy in the same grade, Qi Ming (Zhao Ying Bo) was nice to her and fed her and looked after her, even stealing for her. However, Qi Ming is also cute and also a model student at the top of his class.

Everything was on a level where most situations could be handled; but the movie needed some adversary to happen!

Two twins, [Gu} Sen Xi (Xin Yun Lai) and his twin sister [Gu] Sen Xiang (Zhang Ruo Nan,) appear at Yi Yao's school; Sen Xiang has been seen by Yi Yao before, but she denies it.

However, Sen Xiang develops a crush on Qi Ming, and follows Yi Yao to a shady part of town, and stats a vicious rumor about the young girl who is struggling inside already.

In dealing with wife and child abuse, those who have been 'abused' in the past are those who continue the cycle of abuse; while Sen Xi tries to start a relationship with Yi Yao, his movie sister reinforces her inner struggles the only way she knows how, and Yi Yao is her victim! Others join in on what they think is easy fun!

However, Sen Xi teaches Yi Yao to stand up for herself, and the students get some of their own medicine back!

Unfortunately, things get worse for Yi Yao!

I liked the topic being addressed by a mainstream movie, but I wish the characters would have been developed better; another 10-15 minutes could have meant a better movie!

The main characters I felt actually acted as if they were high school students and the chemistry, for so little time together were good!

The support cast made the main cast look good and made the movie flow well, as in real life! I already complimented the senior actress Vivian Wu for their support role!

The movie has a couple of "twists" in it that I didn't see coming; I will let you find those out yourself!

For a brief moment after the mother pays for her ailment to be healed, Yi Yao can hold her head up proudly at school, knowing her mother's true feelings about her, and she witnesses one of the students who bullied her get the same treatment; but of course, this is the calm before the storm!

Th ending really sucked! Much is basically left up in the air.

First, whether or not Yi Yao dies is a question that most people watching this movie want to know later. I even had to refer to the original manga to find out myself.

The tables are turned on one of the main female characters near the end of the movie and it does not really give any setup for what happened, and the followup that happened (if you blink, you will miss it!)

I was able to hold my tears until the speech Yi Yao gives Qi Ming after the class trip to the museum (1:05:00 on), where she told him that she wanted to be one of the girls who used tampons with scent (not generic!)...i grew up as poor as Yi Yao did, and I know where she is coming from!

No reason is given for the death of one of the main female leads near the end of the movie; as I said, another 10-15 minutes could have answered this question for all!

Other unresolved plot twists with no further info:

Near the end of the movie, Sen Xi tells Yi Yao that his sister Sen Xiang is going to Australia as an exchange student for the next three months;

The parents of Qi Ming are devastated by the death of one of the female leads right after that...was Qi Ming 'connected" to her in any way, or was he the reason she was going to Australia as an exchange student?

(Actually, I was glad that Qi Ming's mother got taken down a notch or two.)

Why did anyone suspect Yi Yao as being involved with the death of the other female lead? The only clue was someone dragging a pipe on the concrete; Yi Yao didn't need a pipe to whoop another female's butt if it needed whooping!

The other person who was listed as a main female cast member Tang Xiao Mi (Zhu Dan Ni, who wasn't a main cast member, since she didn't show up until the last few scenes of the movie) received a phone call about the time of the death; only one other very brief screen mentions this as the credits are rolling!)...was she the one that killed the other female lead, and why?

It showed a news reel of " Tang, less than eighteen years old, committed the crime..." Did she kill the other female lead?

This could have easily been a '10' movie, but there were so many unanswered questions at the end before the credits rolled.

I cried again when Yi Yao was attempting to scrub the graffiti off the concrete and crying - though I don't know what the graffiti said!

Why did Yi Yaos' mother move out of the ghetto? How did Yi Yao's mother move out of the ghetto? Was it with the money she was saving for Yi Yao?

Sen Xi changed schools; did he move somewhere in China? Or did he take his sister's place as the exchange student?

Did Yi Yao die? Or did Sen Xi talk to a ghost in the end?

Did the ghost of Yi Yao smile at the sight of Qi Ming in the last scene?

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Part 1 of Director Ang Lee trilogy on "Father Knows Best"

Director Lee’s trilogy ("Father Knows Best") in bringing together family members to create tension and tender comedic moments shine in this trio of Pushing Hands (1991), The Wedding Banquet (1993). and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994).

The movie begins with senior Mr Chu (Lung Sihung, who is in all three of this trilogy) trying to pass his day without getting in the way of his daughter-in-law Martha Chu (Deb Snyder, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0811438/), who is suffering physical and psychiatric problems after her father-in-law has lived with her and her husband/his son Alex Chu (Wang Bo Zhao) for only a month.

Neither senior Mr. Chu or Mrs. Chu are really trying to do anymore than "tolerate" each other. Mrs. Chu doesn't eat right and she cannot tolerate his Chinese traditional movies, and senior Mr. Chu spends his time "Pushing Hands" Tai Chi and watching traditional Chinese movies without headphones and getting on his daughter-in-law's nerves, causing her writer's bloc on her second book.

Junior Mr. Chu is stuck in the middle, trying to see both of his loved one's viewpoint but doesn't have the time to do any more than 'referee' his Significant Others' relationship with each other; he has worked hard in college and also now in his job to provide for his family and to bring his father (senior Chu) to America after years of his father's working hard to get him, his son, through college. He believes in his filial piety of caring for his father in his father's old age.

Caught in the middle of the adults' love-hate triangle is senior Mr. Chu's grandson, Jeremy Chu (Haan Lee) who only sees glimpses of the three adults interacting in the afternoon after school and on weekends. He misunderstands his grandfather's diagnosing people with his ancient Chinese techniques, thinking he is hurting them instead.

A couple of unrelated incidents causes Mr. Chen to try to set his father up with another older Chinese lady, who escaped to Taiwan with her former husband after the Communist takeover of the mainland.

Mr. Chu, realizing his effect on his son's household, takes off for NYC and gets a job and small apt here. I will let you find out what happens next when you watch the movie.


I love this movie since Ang Lee likes to place "twists" near the end of his movies, changing everything around; you know nothing about what is going to happen until director Ang Lee pulls his switch-a-roo on you!\

The main characters are believable in their roles, especially junior Mr. Chu, who becomes more troubled as his wife and father continue to butt heads together every day.

Support characters also pass themselves off as competent, adding depth to the developing main characters as they interact with them in this movie. Special mention should be made of the main female support actress, Wang Lai, who appears as Mrs. Chen a widowed cooking instructor at the Chinese neighbor center and 'wiggles' her cooking class into sharing the gym where senior Mr. Chu's Tai Chi classes are being held!

I had already seen the last two parts of this 3-part series and both of them have plot twists near the end: Ang Lee did not fail me here,, as this movie also has a plot twist that changes everything you thought you knew about what might happen next!

The music is really good, being used as a segway in some places; also, the cinematography is great as well: you find yourself in a world by and for Chinese expats where young professional Chinese are able to live the American way but still hold on to many of the traditional Chinese values that they want their children to obtain and imparted by their older relative expats.

My only complaint is that it would had been a '10' movie had Mr. Lee had invested in more time (ie, longer movie) telling us about the main characters, letting us see why certain things happened the way they did.

All in all, I recommend all three of these movies if you ever have time, love family movies or love plot twists near the end!

I have already watched other films by Ang Lee, including the last two of this trilogy an others; I just wasn't aware of his being their director or how talented his directing was!

This movie may be watched as a separate movie or as a part of Ang Lee's trilogy; either way, it is a great movie that should make Ang Lee proud for decades to come!

It is available for free online.

Re-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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The Ending Is So Sad!

I thought this was going to be a movie about a train accident!

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got to watch the movie....

It is not so much as a SCARY movie, but a psychological movie.

However, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and as I have said before, the difference between a good movie and a GREAT movie is keeping you on the edge of your seat and you forgetting that you are actually watching a movie!

Imagine being on your way to your ex-wife's place with your child, and everyone is being turned into zombies?

That is exactly what happens in this movie to Seo Suk Woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter, Seo Soo Ahn (Kim Soo An) as they travel on a high-speed train toward Busan, which turns out to be the only safe place for all the few people left on their train who have not been infected yet; the director has your attention from the moment the first 'infected' climb on board the ill-fated train and he keeps your attention until the survivors reach the safety of the Busan outskirts.

The movement of the film from one couple to the other is expertly done, with your attention never

Suk Woo is a self-centered man whose relationship with his daughter is more than "strained"; he believes that his work is more important than his daughter, who herself sees him (rightly) as self-centered and egotistical.

What is so ironic about Suk Woo is that he learns to be selfless toward his daughter and others, way too late!

What I like about this film is 1) that it doesn't give the 'infected' or the survivors super-human strength or powers; the survivors take the kind of precautions that a normal person would if they were in the same situation. Also, the 'infected' also do not have any super-human powers, but lack the ability to be able to do may things that a normal person would be able to do (which makes the survivors' job that much easier!

2) characters that developed over the course of the movie (imagine what a series about this could do!); all except one character grew due to the disaster, although a series would have allowed for more development of the characters and a look at the backgrounds of the different main cast members (I personally would like to have seen the background story of Yong Suk (played by Kim Eui Sung) in this setting.

3) the fast pace of the events taking place; no one has time to do much except react to each individual situation that presents itself.

4) we see all three main couples, the high school couple, the couple expecting a baby, and the father /daughter duo, willing to sacrifice for the women in the film ...in different ways.

5) To a lesser extent, toe story of the two elderly sisters (Ye Soo Jung and Park Myung Shin), being a minor story, but as you will see, an important one for the final outcome of the survivors, is itself worth waiting for.

6) The music (which i am learning to pay more attention to as I watch more movies) is minimal; in my opinion, the ringing phones replace much of the music as being most important in this movie.

7) the survivors are almost eliminated at the end; only a grieving song saves their lives as they emerge to safety at the end of the movie.

What I dislikes was 1) the fear and apprehension of some of the survivors as a small group emerges from another car inhabited by the 'infected'; what is ironic, the small group are the only ones to come close to surviving: had they all co-operated, more would have lived to make it to safety. They acted as the villagers in the movie SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), helpless to do anything except the wrong thing!
2) the anti-hero Yong Suk (Kim Eui Sung) who is a well-known actor but I have never seen in any movie before...his greedy obsession with reaching Busan led to the deaths of many of the support and main cast members. I will be watching for him in other movies from now on!
3) some of the other survivors acted selfishly, causing the 'infection' of other survivors. All could have made it had they cooperated along the way!

By the way, I have never seen Gonge Yoo act before, but his best scene in this movie is his last one, without a doubt!

A "SPECIAL MENTION" should go to the captain of the bullet train (Jung Suk Yong), who made it possible for the last survivors to get a chance to escape to Busan, and the director for allowing him that privilege; he remained col and collected while others lost their ability to think clearly!

All in all, passing up this movie would be a grave mistake!

The cinematography was excellent, from the zombies (the mass support cast most of which are not listed individually) to the main cast members appear to portray their characters well; and work together toward making the movie seem realistic and such a blockbuster!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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KBS should be proud to have their name connected to this Drama special!

KBS should be proud to have their name connected to this Drama special!

First of all, every teenage boy and girl, and FORMER teenage boy and girl, can relate to the characters, as hormones start making both male and females start their personal quests to find sex and love during their teenage years.

This movie was so funny throughout; the young boy Joon Ho (Lee Joo Seung), is frustrated at his girlfriend Seo-Young (Kang Min Ah) who seems not to be interested in sex as much as he is...leading him to 'day dream' (you guys know what I mean!) about 'doing it' with her all the time!

Kang Min Ah does an especially good job of playing the girl, who underneath probably is as curious as her character boyfriend is about 'doing it' but asks the tough questions that every young couple should ask each other before giving up their virginity.

Anyway. he misinterprets what she says to him about after the national college entrance essay exam both of them are scheduled to take soon, which leads to more embarrassing and funny scenes!

I like the acting of both main cast members; they portray young high school kids convincingly, and in particularly, a couple.. The support cast, from his uncle, mother, pharmacist and even his best buddies all play their parts well; his uncle , Myung Ho ( Min Sung Wook) gives him excellent advice as to his relationship with Seo-Young, his girlfriend; advice he finds out to be more relevant than he realizes.

All in all, the support cast also excellently support the main cast members and the overall movie; the scenery and cinematography make you feel that you are in a high school environment, and the other locations all make you feel as if you are following high school kids around in their everyday life.

One especially funny scene happens after they all go to the seashore to watch the sunrise - be watching for it when you watch the movie!

I also liked the way Joon Ho's mother (Yoon Yoo Sun) accepted his being unsure of his future; I just wish all mothers were like her! The mother and uncle show how a real family operates!

As 'communication' is key to any relationship, i loved the way that Seo-Young kept communication open with Joon Ho, again with his period with his struggle with his future..

I especially like how they COMMUNICATED near the end; and especially how Seo-Young showed him that she 'liked' him more than he thought and was supporting him!

I give it a rating as high as Jeni & Juno (2005), another movie about adolescents growing up and the consequences of choices.

RE-WATCH-VALUE: Definitely, especially teens and pre-teens!

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The support cast (gangs) made this movie!

This is an over-the-hill, feel good movie that everyone should enjoy...as long as you are not looking for nudity or gore!

For romancers, there is not only a three-way love story, but a four-way love story.

But instead of talking about the love story, the two gangs and their slap-stick, over-the-hill escapades during most of the movie: both gangs exhibit the old-fashioned Marx Brothers "get blown up but not really hurt" scenarios that some of you may be old enough to remember. If not, search for the The Three Stooges and watch some of their clips to see what I mean.

One of the other reviewers stats that this was from a manga (didn't know that) but I might find it and read it sometime if my schedule permits.

Two of the Beehives' gang, bodyguards [for Kirisaki Chitoge (Nakajo Ayami), mafia girl from NYC], Claude (played by single-named Daigo) and Tsugumi Seishiro (played by Aono Kaede). provided the impetus most of the tongue-in-cheek slap-stick violence of the film, producing laughs and loud explosions throughout the movie!

Most of the tongue-in-cheek violence was directed toward Ichijo Raku (Nakajima Kento), but don't worry, only thing hurt was his pride!

P.S. If you don't want to laugh, don't watch it!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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I could watch this every day if I had the time!

The difference between a good and a great movie is being its ability to make the viewer FORGET that he/she is watching a movie! The first time that this happened to me was watching SEVEN SAMURAI in high school!

SEVEN SAMURAI is one of those movies; I probably will never see another movie that meets its standard of excellence (I will keep searching, though)!

Every and every scene seems to be in concert with each other scene; I have watched it several times and the only mistake I have ever seen is the rapid fire of the old matchlock in rapid succession (the samurai had already stolen the first two matchlocks from the bandits, leaving only one in possession of them!). But I still give it a perfect 10 anyway...

He uses the elements, music and other segways to change scenes and to enhance your understanding of his masterpiece;
if you get a copy of the DVD and listen to the commentary provided, many unknown facts about the director, cast and the set itself is revealed; this runs the entire length of the full movie if you wish to see the commentary in its entirety; you can turn the commentary on/off if you want the movie only with the DVD as well.

Although there is violence and death in this movie, there is no gore, another reason that it has survived the test of time in cinematic history.

For the romantic, there is a 'love story' segment running concurrently with the major theme, but no nudity to satisfy the romantics in the audiences around the world.

An arts instructor in high school played this movie to our class, which extended past the normal hours of school in order to see the whole thing uncut. The only thing wrong with that showing was it being in the original language and I was so delighted when an English subtitle version came to my knowledge online.

The first time I saw this, an arts teacher told the class what was being said and the second time a Japanese student I was tutoring in English as Second Language told me what was being discussed in the dialogue; having an English version of this made me so much more respect the director's genius in making this film, as I was able to follow the dialogue directly.

Being a history buff, I love the scenery and history conveyed by this movie; as well as the traditions portrayed. Also, as the main samurai Kambei Shimada (actor Shimura Takashi) said near the end, only the farmers won after the third day of the fighting between the samurai and bandits.

Farmers have always been the mainstay of every culture and society throughout history; however, those who mooch off of society always consider them the lowest form of human beings in order to justify their theft of a farmer's livelihood at no or little cost.

Every time I watch this movie, i see something else that I missed in the last and previous viewings; it is like a jewel chest that, when opened, shows some other facet of itself each time you open it...only a movie like THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW comes close to this genius part of the movie!

I also like how each samurai, besides being a master of the sword, lent their individual skills training the farmers in fighting techniques or contributed their organizational skills in setting up the defenses of the village or their leadership in the battle itself (as samurai Katayama Gorobei [Inaba Yoshio] did).

Lastly, there is a story of class division which I was not so much aware of until an English version came out; sadly, no progress came from this in our world but as always, the elite of every society wish to keep the military of a culture and its citizenry at odds with each other for a reason.

The entire cast worked well together in making this a masterpiece of Japanese cinema; however, I know from other readings that they also were allowed to improvise somewhat in their individual scenes, which Kurosawa Akira allowed. Only a great director can blend a script and an individual's improv in making of a movie.

This great movie has been translated into over 275 languages! If you know of any other movie that beats this record, please let me know!

I now posses a DVD of this great movie and play it 2-3 times a year.

The only other director who brilliance could come close to making a movie as great as SEVEN SAMURAI would be the director of ROSHOMON...in my opinion.

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An under-rated movie for all lovers to watch together!

I agree with Cambear about this being a great movie!

I saw this online several years ago but couldn't remember its name when I joined MDL; a movie recap by an Asian girl helped me find the movie's name again. Thank you, miss!

I do love movies like Wedding Dress (2010), More Than Blue ( 2009), Bw With Me (2010), The Gangster's Daughter (2017), or the worst of all, Come To Me Like A Star (2013)...but they tell the story of what usually happens in situation between lovers...especially if selfishness is present on one or both of them.

Occasionally, we want a happy endiing, such as Timeless Romance (2019), Jenny & Juno (2005) or Marbling (2004)! Now we can add Fall In Love Like A Star (2015) to the list of times when romance works out the way it should!

Su Xing Yu (Li Yi Feng) and Tian Xin (Yang Mi) are both working for the same band and one loses their job defending the other against a chauvinist band member, messing with the girl..

They split and end up in a long-distance relationship over the phone. The KEY to this movie, and to most good relationships, is S-A-C-R-I-F-I-C-E of one part of a couple to help the other out.

This sets off the love/hate/love hate see-saw that this movie projects; the key is that BOTH sacrifice to make the other look good or to protect the other one somehow throughout the movie.

In " A lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn (2003)" the eldlerly farmer, jolted out of his dementia by his returning daughter, sells his farm so that his daughter-in-law will seek out another man with which to be the rest of her life. Before the return of his daughter and sanity, the elderly man and his dead son's wife comfort each other daily trying to survive the rural Chinese farm on which they both reside.

In "Sex is Zero (2002) the male lead sacrifices his time helping the woman he loves, who started out loving someone else, go through the pain of an abortion and saves her life later as she starts bleeding profusely from overexerting herself after that abortion. She realizes that he was the better choice for a mate.

In Timeless Romance (2019), a girl realizes the different needs of her personas and makes a choice between different boyfriends to suit her different personas; and many loved her choice in that movie!

I mighit add that Mei Jie (played by veteran actress Chen Shu) was the perfect jilted former agent of Su Xing Yu, and did a superb job of being the villianess in this movie; the other support cast members worked very well together helping make the main couple look good and supporting the storyline - kudos to them all!

I love that fact that this movie portrayed how 'sacrifice' in a relationship sometimes is necessary and how the 'self' must die in order for most relationships to survive and work. Tian Xin's 'sacrifice' or what is known by good parents as "tough love" sometimes is needed for the other partner to survive, thrive and obtain their dreams in life...a lesson many parents know how to use and many selfish partners today should learn...

Quit trying over-analyze this movie and just enjoy a good movie with a happy ending...for BOTH main stars!

The cinematography was excellent and the music (which I paid more attention this time) was superb. I didn't get the joke about the cosplay costunes at the end until i found out that they both starred in a costumed historical series together; it made the ending scenes much funnier this time around!

My main criticism is that I would have shot some scenes from the balloon and pacaed them strategically within the movie.

I also loved the fast-paced action in the movie, which was necessary to tell the story of the movie that happened over several years apart for the couple.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes, when couples want to see how sacrifice saves marriages and relationships!

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Good Movie, But Lacked Substance...

This was, I believe, supposed to be a biographical piece but fails in many instances.

I saw this a long time ago without English subtitles, and it seemed a typical 'R'-rated movie: lots of topless women, especially in the interview scenes and some simulated sex along the way.

The cinematography is good and music keep the moments light and humorous...

After finally finding a English-subbed version, it is very hilarious and guys will get a kick out of the sexual humor it entails.

But it still misses the man point of why women become prostitutes, massage girls, etc.

It starts out with two guys fired from another magazine and decide to make a Hong Kong porno magazine, with run-ins with the Hong Kong police, Hong Kong mafia, and all the hurdles of starting a new magazine...but the two guys start 'partaking' of their advertising clients while ignoring their girlfriends, girlfriends that sacrificed in order for them to get the magazine up and running in the first place.

Andy (Louis Koo) and John (Eason Chan) also start fighting over content and the magazine's direction. Andy loses his girlfriend and decides to replace her with someone that "needs him" rather than the other way around and John gets tired of Andy always having the final say with his technical work being what 'made' the magazine in the first place and goes here his abilities are better appreciated.

Don't get me wrong; as a guy, I enjoyed the topless women running around and if that is all you want to watch it for, be my guest!

The guys seemed to forget all the women they had or met in their magazine buildup. Another sad fact is with the comedy background, they could have made a social statement as to WHY women in this world have to turn to massages and prostitution in the first place in society in general, and Hong Kong in particular.

I also didn't like the ending, which seemed 'forced' by the director and writer; that is why i umped it down to a '7' overall as a movie.

RE-WATCH: only occasionally; there are other movies that show a little skin that do a better job at making a social statement...
since there is no age restrictions on the internet-posted movies online, young guys should enjoy it a lot!

It is not what it did that I gave it a lower rating; it is what it DIDN'T DO that killed a better rating from me.

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Every Couple Wanting to Marry Should Watch This!

This was a fantastic movie, in my opinion...

I saw this years ago, but didn't know that you could rate movies on sites like MDL...

The cinematograhy was very good for this time period; music and shot angles greatly supported the scenes in which they were played (I am getting to where I notice the music more in films now!) and the support characters greatly enhanced the main cast's roles and made the film more believable.

I especially want to mention the performance of Yoon Joo Sang, who played Kim Soon Goo, the father of Kim Ji Won (Park Hee Bon, main female lead). He put 'emotion' into his lecture to his future [character] son-in-law, Han Seung Wook ( Song Jong Ho).

The father could have given him a long list of do's and don't's to his future son-in-law but his advice was so touching that I felt as if he was giving his advice from his heart, rather than a script (you know an actor/actress is GREAT is he/she can make you forget that you are watching a scripted movie!)...

Smoking has been big in SE Asia ever since American tobacco companies started targeting the people in the developing SE Asian countires (Thailand, S Korea, Hong Kong/China, Vietnams, et al) in the mid-1970s. her father is about the age of a man who could have been initially hooked in Big Tobaccos' push in the region using bikini-clad models, free give-aways, glitzy advertisement, etc., to hook the unsuspecting Asians into what started in this time period as an epic anti-smoking movement in America.

Seung Wook knew that his future father-in-law would not make it out of the hospital, so he to the initiative to go see him while he was still alive. Father Soon Goo told his future son-in-law to feed her, live at least one day longer than his daughter, and to quit smoking so that he could keep the other two promises to her.

Also, since her father died earlier in the film, the mother Yoon Hye Ja (Sung Byung Sook) expressed to her daughter that if she had know he would die in such a short time, she would have loved him more...this and other memories have an effect on Ji Won; but the most important info about her late dad was flashbacks, all thanks to a winter snow scene crystal ball, presented by her fiance Seung Wook to her dad while visiting her father on his death bed. The magic crystal ball starts working its magic on Ji Won as she is looking through her late father's stuff saved by his wife/her mother.

Most couples marry for the wrong reasons today, and it is sad that we have left behind people dating long enough to really get to know each other. However, divorces are so cheap and lawyers so over-abundant today that many ignore getting to know each other the way they used to.

Seung Wook is a BORING man, in many ways, but his love for Ji Won cannot be disputed if you watch the film closely. Ji Won realizes this at the end and makes the right decision.

Every couple thinking about getting marreid should watch this film; I beleive this would be seconded by the KBS Drama Special team!

I would rate this "a half of a box of Kleenex" movie.

RE-WATCH: yes!

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As good of a A Masterpiece from Japan as Azumi (2003)!

This movie is available in several languages, including English...

Another Masterpiece from Japan, actually better than Azumi (2003)!

This movie is available in several languages, including English...

The cinematography is as GREAT in this film as the original! You feel that you are back in the days when the movie took place ...
kudos to the wardrobe people again!

In the first movie, Azumi (Japanese actress Ueto Aya) is an orphan who is found by the master training assassins, who goal is to kill the main warlords who continue killing, raping and plundering the innocent people of the time period. Nagara (Ishigaki Yuma) is the only other survivor from the first movie, and he joins her in attempting to complete their mission: assassinating three powerful warlords in order to bring peace to the poor, suffering masses who bear the brunt of the warlords' pillaging.

This one was slightly better than the first, with the remaining team members beginning to show empathy and emotion aorund the ceaseless killing they are involved in.

However, a "thorn" appears in the guise of a friend and hurts the team's ability to complete their mission. You will see what happens when you watch the movie!

It is pure action from end to end, with tidbits of emotional moments in between.

Again, the sword fight scenes are well-choreographed and dd to the overall effect of the movie!

Likewise all of the support staff , new and old, effectively played their parts and backed Ueto Aya's performance, giving this second edition a "thumbs up"from me.

RE-WATCH - you bet!

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Slightly better than Sexi Is Zero 1...!

Same group of misfit college students but love wins out on its own this time...

This film continues combine a group of misfit college students together in a college/university setting and show a good entertaining movie as well!

Using the first movie's typical love story format, a non-traditional college student Jang Eun Shik (Im Chang Jung) hits on the swim team athlete Lee Kyung Ah (Song Ji Hyo) but his awkwardness still makes it harder for him to seal the deal, as in Sex Is Zero 1.

junior swim star Kyung Ah meets and is then wooed by Eun Shik (after Eun Shik's first girlfriend from the first movie, Lee Eun Hyo [Ha Ji Won], leaves college) . Kyung Ah finally accepts Eun Shik, due to his being nice to her when others were not.

The couple's main problem is the lack of "bed time' between the two of them, a fact that both couple's friends tease them about!

In this movie, the handsome prosecutor Gi Joo (Lee Sang Yoon), becomes the third element of this movie's love triangle. Gi Joo. a student in Sex Is Zero 1, has now graduated college and became a assistant prosecutor in the city. Kyung Ah and Gi Joo attended high school together earlier and a chance meeting makes Gi Joo start thinking about her again .

Enter Lee Kyung Ah's mother, played by actress Kim Chung; she turns nasty after her daughter Kyung Ah hurts her leg and is told she probably would never swim again. She pressures Eun Shik to drop her daughter as his girlfreind and let Gi Joo give her a more stable future. Gi Joo, wanting Kyung Ah again after their chance reunion, tells Mommy that Kyung Ah can accompany him to the United States as he goes there for further education, where athletic medicine is more advanced than in Korea. Mommy goes all-out in a meeting with Eun Shik to remind him that her daugher would be better off with a man with a degree such as Gi Joo, not a deadbeat like him.

There is a few flashback of Lee Kyung Ah being bullied by the other university students; she was raped in high school by her high school swim coach,; wanting to kill herself, due ot the bullying she is consoled by Eun Shik shortly after she thinks of suicide. He who did the same for his former dance team girlfriend, Lee Eun Hyo (Ha Ji Won) in movie 1.

After being humiliated by Lee Kyung Ah's mother, Eun Shik decides to kill the relationship with Kyung Ah, though his superb acting showed that he was doing it for true liove, opening up Lee Kyung Ah to be able to choose Gi Joo and possibly saving her swimming career...

However, Lee Kyung Ah still doesn't believe in letting go that easy; she does not know that Eun Shik dropped off a birthday present for her after she passes out from too much liquor, but even without knowing this, Kyung Ah invites him to bed with her one final time, after a chance meeting with Eun Shik when he had passed his civil examinations. The night before she is scheduled to leave for America comes the most most depressing scene - Kyung Ah, now drunk keeps asking Kyung Ah to stay and sleep with her; both are crying: Eun Shik cries since he is trying to let her go for when her mother believes to be a better future for her, and Kyung Ah cries for what she believes is Eun Shik's final rejection of her...so sad!

Only at the airport does her female 'friend' remember the birthday gift he left, and she decides that Eun Shik is the better choice for her future! She assed out, saying that Eun Shik didn't even call her on her birthday, but her friend takes his call after she is passed out; he also had bought her the very expensive pair of shoes she had seen in a department store's window, when he was carrying her home from another night of too much drinking!

Weaved around this love triangle story is the antics of a typical mischievous college students; again this makes the two movies seem more live-like, in my opnion. As a former college student myself, even a conservative college in America's Midwest can admit that such antics take place, and it made the whole movie seem real.

I loved the specal guest appearance of Ha Ji Won, as Eun Shik's Sex Is Zero 1 girlfriend leaving college at the beginning of the second movie, and I also LOVE the fact that the director/staff placed bits of the hilarious "behind-the-scenes" shots of how much fun it was to make this movie ; many people forget that this movie was planned and written and shot for entertainment and not real life. By including the takes where the cast was (mainly) laughing too hard to do a scene right makes for good publicity, in my book (See the endings of the American series of "CANNONBALL RUN" movies for a similar use of funny takes by the director and staff.).

Even though this and Sex Is Zero 1 are rated by many as terrible movies, others say that the antics portrayed in these two movies remind them of their college years, although the movie antics are a bit "exaggerated"...

Minimal nudity (mainly breasts) exist in this movie as well, along with references to sex acts and eroticism throughout number 2 as well; NOTHING THAT WOULD OFFEND A 15-YEAR-OLD OR OLDER.

I thought that the cinematography of this AND THE FIRST semi fast-paced movie was good; and both the main and support cast worked well together, especially since most appeared in the first movie as well!

All in all, a very enjoyable movie, as the first one was. The only problems I saw were a) some of the movie seemed to be taken verbatim from the first movie, and b) some believe it was slow at points...I say, WHO CARES!

It was still anther good movie from the director and cast!

RE-WATCH VALUE: definitely!

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A hilarious 'sleeper' comedy!

A 33-year old "spinster' and statistics professor Kwon Mal Hee (Hwang Woo Seul Hye) has a very conservative father (Gong Ho Seok) and she has ever been ALONE with a man; she suddenly loses her father, who unknown to her, was quite a "ladies' man". It seems "Daddy" says one thing to 33-year-old daughter over the years, while not following his own advice to her!

Father lets a strange woman ,Hong Se Yeong (Sa Hee), the university art instructor who possesses her own 'little black book' of male conquests (and her won 'scoring system' ), to move into his house with his spinster daughter; and her deed to what should have beem his daughter's house appears to be legit!

However, After some roommate problems, Mal Hee decides that she wants to know about how to catch a man; most of the movie is the art treacher talking to her about catching a man; in particular the ballet instructor Sang-Woo (Kim Jin-Woo) whom she has known since she was young. Sang-Woo is younger than her.

While Mal Hee is suffering from knowing sex only as a "statistical problem" the art instructor, Se Yeong, haas her own problems with a hidden 'secret admirer" who ultimately kidnaps her; her only salvation is her new friend, Mal Hee, and a few of the support cast.

The movie has a couple of twists at the end, which you will see when you watch it!

i like the overall 'feel' of the movie and the cast HAD to have had fun making it!

The atmosphere, cinematogrephy are great; and the main and support cast all do excellent jobs on this mvoie, and I would definitely recommentd a re-watch occasionally...

It deserves a place alongside the 'Sex Is Zero' movies as beng fun to watch and re-watch!

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The movie's anti-hero is his own worst enemy!

A corrupt government official blackmails the anti-hero Atsushi Wakizaka (Katsuo Nakamura) into watching over his suitcase full of embezzled cash while the official serves a mandatory 5-year jail sentence.

Atsushi had fallen in love with Shoko (Mariko Kaga) his student, and murders the man who raped her, after the rapist returns to blackmail the parents to protect Shoko's "honor/marriage-ability"...with Shoko's parents' permission, he follows the rapist on a train and kills him there.

The two problems that develop are that Atsushi was seen by a corrupt, embezzling government official throwing the rapist's body off the train where he was killed and the government official forces Atsushi to keep a suitcase-full of money that he took from Japan's Agricultural dept, knowing he will only get 5 years in prison when he is caught, and also Shoko is betrothed by her parents and marries another man.

Atsushi goes into daydreaming of Shoko running away with him, seeing her come to his house or apartment, which he shares with his 'bought" women; the time he dreams of her showing up at his house and her declaring that she would rather be dead than return to her rich husband drives Atsushi to throw all caution to the wind, and he decides to spend the millions in cash and let the imprisoned government official kill him once he is released after serving time.

What follows is a descent into debauchery by Atsushi , picking up woman after woman who reminds him of his lost student Shoko, and paying them millions to them allowing him to do whatever he wants with them. The problem is that they are giving their money to others: the Japanese Yakusu, to a husband who allows his wife to be used by Atsushi, or the last one who seeks out other "johns" during the day when Atsushi is not using her...

You had to think about what the director, famed Nagisa Ōshima (the reason I watched this movie in the first place), in a movie he made before IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES.

I have decided that he was trying to convey that:

"Love cannot be bought" and (as others have said), greed was prevalent in post-WW II Japan, and (unfortunately), today as well.

The money and his wild spending of it leads to more and more trouble for Atsushi; and perhaps what is sadder still, is that everyone is willing to sell their souls or body to him...for the money; even Shoko, his true love and who actually does come to him when he is out of money, is willing to give her body to him in order to save her husband's cash-starved cosmetics company.

Without planning or any foresight, Atsushi wanders from one woman to the next, not finding what he really wants. He is after all, his own worst enemy: thinking that money can buy happiness, and he also always opens his mouth at the wrong times, not knowing when to shut up!

He cannot keep his mouth shut about how he came about his money, making everyone a possible snitch to turn him in, and he also tries to offer more and more money to get what he wants from the women he chooses. His mouth also got him into trouble with Mari's pimp. played by the late Akiji Kobayashi, who found out about the money from being in prison with the corrupt government official, not knowing that Atsushi is the man he is looking for!

Atsushi runs his mouth to Maris' pimp about the missing money; had he been able to keep quiet, he would have been safe and free of the worry of the corrupt official's return. He even tells Shoko his secret (during the one time that she actually returned to him), which ultimately gets him arrested for the murder of Shoko's rapist.. She, his long lost crush, is the cause of his arrest at the end.

I found the movie to be quite convincing about the immoral situation in Japan, or any other place in today's society, and am saddened by Atsushi's lack of morality, common sense and naivete!

The cinematography of Pleasures of the Flesh is good, in my opinion; but I had to watch the movie twice to realize the Japanese music, which I was unfamiliar with, was actually used as a segue between scenes. I especially loved the use of black and white and gray to impart the mood of the different parts in this movie!

I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially fans of the late director Nagisa Ōshima, as this movie also questions the social constraints of his native Japan during his life.

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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Bunch of average (anywhere) college kids having fun, but overshadowed with an adult crisis...

There is criticism from other reviewers about thsi film, but it does exactly what I believe the director wanted to do: combine a group of misfit college students together in a college/university setting and throw in a real-life drama as well!

A typical love story,: a non-traditional college student Jang Eun Shik (Im Chang Jung) falls for the junior hottie and athlete Lee EunHyo (Ha Ji Won), but whose awkwardness and lack of social skills makes him less that appealing, in the beginning. As in every love triangle, junior Lee EunHyo falls for the handsome and popular Ham Sangok (Jung Min)....and winds up in a one-night stand with him, drawing the ire of his jilted girlfriend , Kim Ji Won (Jin Jae Young), and a one-night stand pregnancy.

However, the rich Ham Sangok believes a credit card and a trip by her to an abortion clinic can save his reputation and future; and Lee EunHyo turns to the bumbling Jang Eun Shik to give her moral support, accompanying her to the clinic. Afterward, Eun Shik takes her back to her place, carng and entertaining her as the reality of her decision takes hold. The actress Ha Ji Won does an excellent job (along with the accompanying music) showing her slowly falling in love with him as he tried to make her laugh and forget her mistake and hurting.

Later, Eun Shik finds her bleeding to death after her competition, saves her life, then forces Ham Sangok to go face the music of a hospitalized Lee EunHyo and her mother.

Weaved around this love triangle story is the antics of a typical mischievous college students; this makes the movie seem more live-like, in my opnion. As a former college student myself, even a conservative college in America's Midwest can admit that such antics take place, and it made the whole movie seem real.

Sex in college is where the average students, separated from family and (church) friends, find out about sex and how "far" an individual can go without gettting hurt, as this movie points out.

Even though it is rated my many as a terrible movie, I have had older friend who went to college, and they said that the antics protrayed reminded them of their college years as well, albeit the movie antics are a bit "exaggerated"...

Minimal nudity (mainly breasts), although many references to sex acts and eroticism throughout the movie; which I say again actually happens with many college students leaving home for the first time. I actually thought it was better than the movie, American Pie (1999).

I thought that the cinematography of this semi fast-paced movie was good; as most guys would be more interested in the boobs scenes anyway.

RE-WATCH: definitely, especially if you went to college and want to reminisce their forgotten days of college.

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