Train to Busan (Korean Film)

Hey everyone, today I went and saw Train to Busan at Hoyts, and let me tell you all that I rarely go and watch movies at the cinema because I usually wait for the DVD/ Blu-Ray release and buy it before I go and see the film. One of the reasons why I wanted to watch the movie was because I saw so many great reviews online, and also Sohee is one of my bias members of the original Wonder Girls members hehe. I've always been interested in Zombie apocalyptic sort of movies, so when I heard about this, I was really intrigued in watching it.

So like I said before this is a zombie apocalypse thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho released in 2016. For the people who don't know the story, basically there is a father who is one of those sorts of workaholics who doesn't spend much time with his daughter, and sort of neglects her because of it. The father Seok-woo (played by Gong Yoo)at the start bought his daughter Su-an (played by Kim Su-an)a Wii even though she already had one bahahaha. In the film, he reluctantly takes his young daugher on a Train to go visit her mother, in which I think they either broke up their marriage, or are just on bad terms which were unspecified. And as you can expect the film faces with some sort of zombie outbreak in which people on the train get infected with. 

For myself, I was wondering before I saw the film how they would be able to keep us as viewers interested while everyone stays on the train for the entire movie, but in actual fact, the film does break down in only parts on the train (bit of a spoiler sorry). I have watched many sorts of disaster films focused on all sorts of transportation, and usually almost the entire film sets around that one setting, but this film was able to split it up, to include other environments as well to make the film a bit more interesting I think.

What I really liked about this film was that it wasn't just all action, though a part of it was that. Usually there's a higher action to drama ratio in these sorts of zombie apocalyptic sorts of films, but this one seems to balance them out quite well. There was also something new I learned from watching this movie, zombies can't see in the dark, and can't open doors :P

The film also portrayed some really good symbolism? is that the word I should be using, or is there another word for it? But anyway I will try and explain a few without giving away too much. One example is that being selfish doesn't get you far, and being selfless does(well sort of). This is portrayed through the main character at the start of the film when he seems to be more selfish in trying to protect his daughter, but willing to harm other people in the way of doing this. But throughout the film he does change, and become more selfless which leads to better outcome(well sort of). In the case of one character, because he was too selfish, killing people in order to save himself, it sort of shows that bad guys never win doesn't it?

There's one thing which does bug me a bit though, and that is that the reason why the zombies appeared. Usually a film explains that, but this one didn't really, it seemed to just happen, though there is a prequel which I think explains what happened, though it would have been nice if they explained a bit more about it in the film.

So overall I will have to give this film at least a 9/10, because it really has that good drama to action ratio. It is more of a sad story though, compared to your usual zombie apocalyptic films, almost to the point of me not wanting to watch the film again haha. But after I watched it, even now I can't stop thinking about the film, and I think when a film does that to you, it must be a good film. I don't think I can go onto a train without thinking about this movie now, and also final destination lol. Hope you made it to the end of this blog post, bye!

Masquerade (2012 Film)

Masquerade is a South Korean historical film and I have to say, this is one of the best films I have ever seen in terms of a historical setting. I personally really like watching dramas or movies from the historical period. I watched one last week, but it doesn't match even a bit to how great this film is! Although this film has seriousness mainly, the creators of this film was able to sneak in some humorous moments in this film as well which I thought was clever, but also helps to take you away from all the drama happening in the film.

I won't explain the storyline too much as you can easily take a look online, but this film is about a King who aims to find a doppelganger in aims to be able to basically use him to find out who poisoned his food(because in those times, people tried hard to kill the king ). In a turn of events the actual king is poisoned so the doppelganger must take on the roles of king, and throughout the film we see him evolve, and learn what it takes to be king.

Of course there are people who are suspicious and find out about this doppelganger and try to find ways to sort of trick him out of revealing his identity(I thought it was brilliant actually haha). In terms of drama to action, there is definitely more drama compared to action. This was a first actually because usually for historical sorts of films or dramas, I see quite a lot of action, though the drama really makes up for it though. I personally think that the action sequences really fitted in with the film, so the writers were successful in this aspect.

As I finish typing this out, I realise that there are at least 2 questions left unanswered as to what happened to these characters. They actually sort of forgot to tell us viewers what really happened to them. I'm not quite sure if it was deliberate, but it sort of annoys me actually haha. When you watch this film you'll realise what I'm talking about, and all I can say is that they are both girls(women).

Overall I thought this film was really excellent, and I recommend you watch it if you enjoy historical sorts of films, or like doppelganger sorts of films because the storyline was written very well. I really understand why this film was given such a high ranking. I myself would give it at least a 9, and would definitely watch it again!

BTW I haven't posted in ages, so sorry! So busy with Uni these days, but squeezed in a film to watch because I need a bit of down time! See you all soon!

Non-Stop (2014 Film)

Wow it's been quite some time hasn't it?? I watched an amazing movie today which stars Liam Neeson as the main protagonist, this time it's another action thriller film called Non-Stop. I actually picked this Blu-Ray up for just $6.66 at JB-HiFI so it was SSSSUUUUUUUUUPPPPPEEEEERRRR CHEAP!!!! I was a bit taken aback because of the price because usually you do wonder why it's so cheap but I quickly looked at the general rating for the film and it was at 7/10 so I thought what the heck and bought it.

So the film takes place mostly on a plane. The film is thrilling because the character Neeson plays a character (called Bill) who keeps getting suspicious texts from someone who says that they will kill one person on the plane every 20 minutes until they get 150 million dollars deposited into a specified account. This makes it thrilling as you do not know who the person(or people) are who are threatening Bill and just as you think it was someone, you realise that no it can't be that person.

I think as each 20 minutes go by in the film, things get more and more interesting as your perspective changes so much each time. My only concern is how slow the film actually goes, and how long it actually takes before the big reveal takes place, but I guess it makes it a bit different to other films in which you already know who the bad people are before the climax. The film was set out so that you keep guessing until the last minutes, which is something not done too often in thriller films I have seen before, at least ones which are very hard to guess as I guessed the wrong people multiple times in this film!

Overall I really enjoyed watching this film and I can happily give it a 8.5/10. It does omit a bit of character development though as you don't really learn much about characters, that's something which could have been explored more on, especially for the characters which were killed as it could have made things a bit more dramatic. That is all, goodnight!

Epic (2013 Movie)

Ok I am watching this Epic movie(cartoon one) and I have no idea what is going on really, it actually sort of reminds me of the Ant Bully in which a person is shrunk into a little person in which they need to sort of live the life of the creature. I won't spend too much time talking about this film because I do not have that much to say but I feel like this film isn't really suited for anyone except for kids, young teenagers and parents. For me there isn't that much story-wise which interested me, that is why I cannot say that much.

Overall the whole movie could have had better character development I think, and maybe a back story of how the protagonist became the person she was, I feel like that could have done something more to the film to help viewers understand the relationship better with the father and the daughter because you sort of have to guess as not much is actually told in the story.

Can I give the film a 3/10?? I might need to watch this film one more time in the future as I didn't really watch this film properly but I feel like the plot really made the film a bit boring to watch. That is all!

Into The Storm (2014 Film)

Ok so I had high hopes for this film, but I heard from many sources that the film was pretty bad, but I still wanted to watch it anyway to see if it's that bad. So this is a disaster film on mysterious tornados which constantly hits an American community, and there are a select cast who try to make it out of the disaster.

Almost the entire film is shot is a sort of handheld view (it is a lost footage genre I believe) which means that there are quite a few shaky camera views which can make people a bit motion sick if you are like me right now @@

Overall I think it was just an ok movie, nothing exciting. The special effects are great though, I have to say that. Overall I'd have to give it a 4/10. It doesn't have anything good in terms of the plot but if you like disaster films where things blow up, or get destroyed then this just may be the film for you!

Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (Anime Movie)

Hey everyone, I just finished watching Naruto Land of Snow. I watched the movie, but can't say much about it so I won't really review it but can I just say that I feel a few similarities with the Pokemon movie Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. Mainly because there is some sort of key in which is needed to be protected, but really there's not much of a similarity, but it just reminded me of it anyway haha. Anyway I saw a real strong message in the film which I thought I'd quickly talk about anyway. "Believe in yourself." Princess Gale doesn't believe in herself or anyone, but Naruto tries to prove her wrong, and shows her that if you work hard and keep doing it, then things can pull through at the end. That's all I wanted to say anyway. I'm just watching the funny short in the DVD extra now, it's pretty funny haha. Back to Avatar the Legend of Aang now :) Bye!

Pixels (2015 Film)

Hey everyone, I'll try and type this up as fast as I can because I really need to go to sleep soon for work tomorrow, but I would just like to quickly talk about the film I watched yesterday. Pixels is a 2015 science fiction action-comedy film. The poster suggests that the movie is based on PacMan eating up an island, but it is entirely not the case. This film is actually about the gaming world colliding with the real world. In fact the gaming world is coming down onto earth and attacking the world like a game in which there are only three lives, and once all those lives are used up, the world will be destroyed.

From what I have heard before I even saw this film, a lot of people really hated it, and didn't like it at all so I was a bit skeptical on watching this film, but in fact I quite enjoyed it. I am thinking that fans of the original video games may have went to see this film and hoping for something more spectacular from their childhood characters. I hate to disappoint but this is in fact the case, and most of the characters who may have been good in the games are actually usually the bad guy in the film. I think this could have been one factor affecting people's ratings.

Also because this is a sort of all-star live action mash-up film, you can't really expect to see all your favourite characters anyway as there needs to be some sort of storyline connecting everything together. But I guess while watching this film, I was thinking of Wreck-It Ralph, and how different that movie was rated.

I think the main reason why I liked this film so much was because it sort of brang video games to life in a cool action/ adventure way which I quite liked. Oh I just remembered, I think this movie is more targeted at kids, though I am not 100% sure on this, but I can see kids enjoying this film more than adults would.

Overall I don't see that this film is that bad, but it could have a few more better character developments as there are a few points in the film where I wondered who the characters were, and took me a while to figure this out. Overall I'll give it a 7/10, not a bad film at all. GOODNIGHT!

Fearless (2006 Film)

This film is about an arrogant martial artist called Huo Yuanjia played by Jet Li set on becoming the best fighter of Tian Jin. He fights anyone who wishes to fight. Unfortunately it later takes a toll on him as people are left dead because of his actions (Let's not say who here!) so he is later left to settle his emotions. As the film progresses we do see a development in his character, I think this is sort of why I like this film. There's quite a bit of character development, while also having some pretty interesting fight sequences. I guess I'd have to give this film a 7/10. There's not much on the film that I will comment on, but if you are interested in the Wu Xia genre, and like watching Chinese martial art films, then this film is probably for you!

Red Cliff (2008-2009 War Film)

Ok so I watched this film called Red Cliff today. For some reason I've been into the historic Chinese films lately. i bought this one some time ago, and only got around to watching it today. So I will keep this review short. That is sort of because I don't remember what happened really.

Red Cliff is a historic Chinese war film, set back many dynasties ago. Because I don't quite understand the story, I need to tell you to read the description on Wikipedia or something. But this post is just my thoughts on the film. I think the reason why I didn't really get this movie was because there are so many characters in this film, and they arn't ever really introduced properly. There's not much of a character development.

This film was actually a 2 part film, over 300 minutes long, though the DVD only released about half that time. I think the overall filming of the movie was quite good anyway. The thing that lacks is a bit of dialogue as there isn't that much character development. But I'm not quite, because I guess this film is about war, so you would expect a lot of fighting, which is what they did.

I guess overall, if you are just wanting to watch spectacular battle sequences, then this is the perfect film for you. If you are looking for more of a storyline, and want to get to know some new characters, this this isn't quite the film for you. I myself didn't enjoy it, well.... I couldn't remember half the storyline so I won't rate it. Anyway those are just some of my thoughts on the film, you'll need to decide for yourself if you enjoy this film or not :)

Butterfly Lover (2008 HK Film)

I have to say, this is the first time I have watched a film that was dubbed and subbed at the same time! I believe that the original is actually voiced in Mandarin, though for some reason they released it in Cantonese in NZ. Anyway, I was a bit surprised when they started talking. It wasn't until I searched up on Wikipedia, that I realised that it was voiced in Mandarin, that proves that the voicing was pretty good, though I did have my suspicions.


The story is pretty obvious from the title. It is roughly based on the Butterfly Lovers story but with a martial arts twist to it. The story goes that a girl needs to go and study, but she cannot because she is a girl, and only guys can study, so she must disguise herself as a male for her to be able to study. While she is there, she quickly falls in love with a guy, and the guy starts to fall in love with her. What's funny is that he thinks that he's sick because he's in love with a guy lol.

This film is more story over action, but there are a few action sequences. I guess if you want to watch a tragic love story unfold then this is quite a movie for you! I really like watching Chinese movies set in the olden times, there's something about their clothing, buildings and culture which really fascinates me.

I'd have to give this film an 8.5/10. For 50 cents at The Warehouse, I didn't really expect much, but there's quite a lot that happens in this movie which keeps me hooked. Hope you liked it just as much as I did :)

The Sixth Sense (1999 Film)

Hey everyone, I wanted to talk about this movie quickly. This won't be my usual review as I don't have that much time but would like to talk about it a bit. So the movie revolves around a doctor and a kid. The kid can see ghosts, and the doctor is some sort of psychiatrist. The movie begin with the doctor getting shot, and the film moves to the next fall where he goes and tracks down the kid.

So the kid is really scared and shuts out basically everyone except for the doctor, and it's up to him to try and figure out a problem to help the kid with his ghost problem. At the same time, he has trouble talking with his wife after the incident the year before.

Up until around past half-way of the film, I thought the film was a bit boring as not that much happened. I actually thought it was another horror film because of the way the cover presents itself, and because it is a supernatural thriller film, but I was wrong haha.

After around half way through the film there are actually a few things which are revealed, and within the ending of the film, you realise what really was going on, and we get some sort of closure to the film. I think the writer(s) of this film were very cleaver, and you can tell that they spent some time working out the plot from beginning to end. Although it's not mentioned, I would say that there are aspects of the psychological genre in this film as I starting to begin thinking of stuff within the last half of the movie, but that's just me anyway haha.

I would give this film a 7/10. It's not bad at all, but you just need to remember to watch the whole movie. Don't just assume anything without watching the full movie from start to end, that is all I am going to say. Goodnight!

I Saw the Devil (Korean Film)

Ok first off, this psychological thriller/horror film is not for the faint hearted as it deals with quite graphic violence(though most of it is actually off screen) and includes nudity too. I myself did not expect quite a film while I was starting to eat my dinner so that was a really bad idea!

Anyway, the film starts off not too bad, Joo-yun played by Oh San-ha is sitting in her car on a snowy night due to her car breaking down. While talking to her fiancé, a man appears and offers to fix her car, though she quickly shoos him away, only to have him later break into her car and knock her unconscious. He later kills her by chopping her into pieces. Oh yea did I mention her fiancé is an agent called Soo-hyun (Played by Lee Byung-hun), so basically whole film revolves around him finding the killer and tracking and stopping him once and for all to get revenge (I'm around 50% through the movie so far). I later found out that the agent lets the killer off before the killer goes and finds his next target. I find this aspect of the film a bit odd, and I don't quite understand why it is done.

All I have to say is that if you want to watch a psychopathic maniac on the killing Supre then this film is the one for you. I myself have watched countless horror films but this one really tops the gore factor. I like how the director has utilised off screen violence to make scenes so much more gruesome, it's really fascinating how the director has done this. For the storyline, I think it is very unique, something out of the ordinary. Maybe because I have not watched many Korean films before, but they seem to have a way with storytelling. There are countless fight scenes in this film which I think would entertain the people who are interested in action films as well.

Overall this film is quite something, a bit hard to understand in parts, and a bit hard to watch in others, but overall I think this film is quite something. I do not think this film is suited for everyone, but if you are into more horror films this this film is more for you. My rating would have to be a 7/10. See you next time in my next review, bye!

The Crucible (2011 South Korean Film)

Hey everyone, new movie I'm watching today thanks to Yesasia for the free DVD's :)

The DVD I have calls this movie Silenced though I searched it up online and got the Name The Crucible. Anyway, this movie is a 2011 South Korean movie which is based on a true story (I can't believe it!). The story revolves around Gwangju Inhwa School which is a hearing impaired school for which students are victims to all sorts of horrible things by teachers at the school. The film starts off quiet enough, you don't suspect anything strange, but after hearing screams from the girl's bathroom Kang In-ho (Played by Gong Yoo) seems to get a bit suspicious, and throughout the film things unravel, as secrets are revealed about the school.

I think overall the film is very touching and emotional. I've never watched a movie that felt so real to me. There's bits where I really wanted to punch the actors in the face! I think the director, writers, actors and whoever else were involved in this film did a really really great job to make the film as believable as it is. I am not quite sure how much the film is based on real events,  but I can say that I really believed every single moment of it.

I think this film is a very mind changing for me anyway, I would give this film an easy 9.5/10 and would really urge people to watch this film. 

Hero (2002 Film Review)

Hello Everybody, so today I finally had a chance to watch Hero which is a 2002 Chinese Wu Xia film directed by Zhang Yimou and stars the main protagonist Jet Li who plays a nameless character. Set around 200's BC, this film is basically a storytelling film on how the protagonist was able to kill three assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. 

Although this film received very positive reviews, for me I am not totally convinced on the plot as it does get a bit confusing at times as the film moves from present to the past and back and forth, with lies being told, it is uncertain if what we see from the past is actually part of the actual story or not. After about half way through the film I was completely lost(part of the reason why this review is so short).

On another note praise must be given to the artistic side of the film as almost all of the fighting scenes are shot beautifully and it's rare for costumes to always match the set(does that make sense)?? The director was able to film many scenes of fighting sequences interacting with water(just when is that ever really done in other films??). Sounds a bit random but if you take a look at the film for yourself you'll understand what I mean. An example such as two people hitting water droplets against each other. Did I mention that there's some really beautiful scenes of China too(at least you think it's in China).

As for the action, there is a fair bit of it in this film, and like I said before, the director(or choreographer??) took an artistic approach to all the fighting scenes as they are not like your usual fight scenes(Props for the use of wire-work). 

Hm... can't say much else unfortunately. I'd have to give this film a 6.5/10. I mean it's not too bad but I find it really confusing because one moment you think someone is dead, and the next minute they are fine. Anyway until next time, bye!

Enter the Dragon (Movie Review)

Coming Soon

Total Recall (Movie Review)

Coming Soon

The King of Fighters (Movie Review)

Coming Soon

Back to the Future Part 1&2 (Movie Review)

Hey everyone, so I watched Back to the Future 2 days ago for some mini holiday time before my next exam on Tuesday, so I won't say too much about the story-line because if you know me by now, I don't like revealing too much like some people do on their blogs. But if you haven't watched the series yet then I'm wondering why you haven't??!!! It's like a classic film most people should have watched at least once in their life-time.

Although the film is titled "Back to the Future", there's not much of a future in the film, actually most of the film looks at the past. Anyway, Michael J. Fox who plays Marty McFly is a teenager who is sent back to 1955, after narrowly escaping some terrorists by jumping into a time machine which is a car. And basically he messes up past events, which prevents his mum and dad from falling in love, basically preventing . In part 2, we follow on from the first movie, and this time it's Marty's future family that's at risk(not just him)

Yea anyway, well for part 1, I really like how they managed to go back "in time", I don't know why, but the actor choices were well picked. It's not my usual film I watch as you may or may not know. As a more Sci-Fi film, most of the gadgets arn't seen until we jump to 2015, where there's flying cars etc, although I wish this was true, it's not T.T but for some reason, the film still has a 80's feel to it even if they tried to make it look like 2015, which seems strange, but when you watch it, you'll realise it.

So, is there a reason why I like this series so much? Not really, quite possibly I grew up watching this film on TV, I know I've seen it many times prior to buying it on Blu-Ray. My mind's really blank here sorry! The film is more story-lime/ comedy than anything I think, but more story-line than anything, though we see some pretty futuristic stuff, in terms of action, there isn't a huge chunk.

Yea, I'm just dragging this on, but the films are really great! I'd give them a 8.5/10! Actually part 3 is the one I never remember, so that one's probably a 7?? But I'll need to watch it again to finalise everything. But yea anyway, if you like time travelling, Sci-Fi stuff, romance(in Part 1), and what people thought of 2015 in the 80's, then go check this film out! Time for me to go, sorry for the really bad review, I am blank for this film, but it's really great!!

The Prodigal Son (Movie Review)

Hey everyone! I watched this movie yesterday, and first off, I want to say that I got it at a bargain! $1.50!!! Amazing!!! So anyway, this is a 1981 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Sammo Hung starring Yuen Biao as Leung Chang, the main protagonist who has a wealthy family. He was taught martial arts, and fought against numerous guys and won each time, until he faces a girl (later revealed to be a guy) who is in a opera troupe. Leung later finds out that he wasn't taught real martial arts due to the fact that his father didn't want him to be hurt, that's why he won all those previous fights until now.

Overall the film has a different feel to your usual Hong Kong martial arts film, obviously film techniques was limited during that time, but the overall plot is quite different to your usual films these days. It wasn't until maybe half way through the film did I figure out what the plot was actually supposed to be about, though I like how we see Leung learn martial arts, and we as viewers learn some moves at the same time too. Though the film got good reviews and won awards in the past, compared to films now, I fill a bit so-so about this film, it's not good or bad, I feel like it's just a film that passes, though most Hong Kong films during this time were sort of similar so I'm not complaining.

Of course martial arts films have lots of action in it, and this film sure has action. The type of fighting is bloody action, so you see lots of blood. What was new to me was fighting with Chinese Opera characters, they used make-up in one scene which was funny, and also there was a scene in which they fight in a burning building so these are two pretty new types of fighting scenes I have never seen before which is cool.

Yea anyway, overall I'd rate this film a 7/10. I bought a few other martial arts films at a bargain too, so can't wait to watch them! The cheapest was 50 cents!!

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon (Movie Review)

Hey everyone, so the title says movie review, but you should all know by now that reviews at the moment will be kept to the minimum as I'm focusing most of  my time studying these days, but let's get onto a quick review on another Scooby-Doo movie.

Unlike the previous film I watched, I actually watched this one from start to end, and even still at this moment there are some blanks which I cannot fill in, and I don't know if my brain is exhausted after a long day, or that I'm just not cut out to watch children targeted movies anymore. But anyway, this film features Blue Falcon and Dynomutt who are characters created by Hanna-Barbera Productions from a 70's show I believe, though I was born in the late 90's so until today I had no idea about these characters (sorry about that folks!) . So anyway, I guess this marks a sort of guest appearance/ collab with the Scooby-Doo franchise.

The film revolves around a comic-book convention in which as you guessed it, there's a monster wrecking havoc, and the Mayor is only interested in investment from the convention, so the event continues. The original  Blue Falcon actor was replaced by a younger actor and stars in a new film about the Blue Falcon, with everyone oblivious to the original Blue Falcon. This actually reminds me of one of the Ben 10 episodes, but I won't talk about that here. So anyway, the Mystery Inc gang investigates the mystery, and really... that's sort of what I remember, until ending anyway.

This film really just follows your usual Scooby-Doo film format, so much that I cannot really say much, other than I wish they could introduce something in which they have not yet. Though I know it's hard to get that new idea. In actual fact these new films seem to sort of follow a similar route. I don't know why, but the first few films up to the mid 00's seemed really good compared to these newer ones, I don't know what happened! Though when it came to unmasking the guy in the mask, you sort of don't have a clue on who it actually was. Every time I see a new Scooby-Doo episode or movie, I try to figure out who the culprit was, though most of the time, the evidence that they "collect" is a bit lacking.

Overall there's not much to talk about, it just follows your usual film routine. I'm not saying it's a bad film, but when you've seen most of the collection, the films can get a bit repetitive. My raiting would have to be a 6.5/10. Not bad at all. Well until my next investigation, bye!