The Sorcerer and the White Snake - China

          Director:  Siu-Tung Ching

          Year:  2011

          Plot:  "Action director Ching Siu-Tung helms this fantasy film based on an old Chinese legend about an herbalist who falls in love with a thousand-year-old White Snake disguised as a woman. Jet Li stars as a sorcerer who discovers her true identity and battles to save the man's soul."

          I actually watching this movie about a week or so ago, but homework has gotten in the way of writing a review.  As such, this review might not be as specific as those that I write right after viewing the movie.  I bought this from a little stand in the Mall of America, because my store was closed down (F.Y.E).  Because of the place I got it, the subtitles were a little interesting.  They weren't hard to understand, but they were so light sometimes, the white would disappear into scenery and clothes.

          Anyway, that has nothing to do with the movie itself.  n.n  Though I have seen quite a bit of complaints about this movie, I really enjoyed it.  It wasn't the best because I do admit some of the flaws it faces.  This movie has a lot of CGI, and it wasn't exactly on par with some of the movies that come out in the US.  This fact really doesn't bother me though as Asian movies don't usually us CGI as much, so it makes sense that they haven't exactly perfected everything.  Many parts of the movie were still very well done despite the usual CGI problems.  The only reason I had even a little problem with it is that it did take away from some of the fight scenes.

          I really like the story of the movie though.  It does come from a legend so it really has a fairytale feel to it, just with more fighting than most of us are used to.  n.n  I found that some people also had a problem with Jet Li's character in the movie because he is kind of mean towards the demons.  I actually enjoyed his character.  Sure, he is kind of mean to the snake lady, but he is a monk who fights demons.  In general cases, it is usually not a good thing to trust any demon, even if they play nice.  I also have to say that the end really made the movie and especially Jet Li's character.

          I would definitely suggest this movie to those who enjoy a variety of Asian movies.  I do not think this is one for those knew to Asian movies or culture.  I had to explain a few things to my mother, but she did understand the basic story because it falls pretty inline with some of our own tales.  Also, I really only wanted to see this movie because I love Jet Li.  I think Neng Ren is my favorite character though.  n.n

War of the Arrows - Korea

          Director:  Han-min Kim
          Year:  2011
          Plot:  "During Second Manchu invasion of Korea, one village is attacked by Manchurian soldiers.  The soldiers kidnap Ja-in on her wedding day with her childhood sweetheart Seo-Goon.  Her brother Nam-Yi takes on the enemy to free the victims with only one bow."

          I am very glad I decided to watch this movie, despite much of it being very pixelated (watched it on some site).  Even with that, I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie.  I really loved seeing Kim Mu-Yeol in this as well.  I loved him in Iljimae and was happy to see him playing a completely different character.  In Iljimae, he played a rather big idiot for the most part, but in this movie he was quite brave and useful.
          I really loved just before our hero showed up to help the captives the first time, that had to be my favorite part with Kim Mu-Yeol.  I hadn't expected much from his character because of Iljimae, but what he did was really cool in my mind.  And after that my next favorite part had to be with Ja-in.  She was really strong and her scenes with the Prince were definitely notable.
          This movie was of course about a man with nothing but a bow taking on Manchurian soldiers.  The movie did splendid with the entire story and I have to say that the chase through the forest was more entertaining for me then many car chase scenes.  I was definitely invested in the character of Nam-Yi and was practically biting my nails near the end of the movie (I don't bite my nails anymore though).  I have to say Ja-in  did amazing with her choice of shot.
           I could go on forever with this movie I think, but I will stop here.  I just have to say that even with the pixelation, I thought this movie looked great.  The tiger seemed to look rather fake from what I could tell through the blocks, but other than that, everything looked great.

          If you couldn't tell I would definitely suggest this movie.  I also bought this movie for my collection and I do not regret it in anyway.  I even bought it from Walmart rather than trying to look for a better price online.  This is surely one to watch and not easily to disappoint.  n.n

Arahan - Korea

          Director:  Seung-wan Ryoo
          Year:  2004
          Plot:  "When Sang-hwan, the naive and honest police man, is injured chasing a theif driving a motorcycle, the skilled martial artist Eu-jin brings him to her home.  There the six Masters of Tao heal him and believe that he has a powerful chi, the spiritual energy of the universe, and could be a powerful warrior. Sang-hwan begins his training, while the evil and ambitious Heuk-woon is accidentally released from his imprisonment and begins searching for a key that would permit him to become an Arahan and dominate the world."

          I do have to say that this movie is an action comedy.  Not everything is to be taken seriously, and it is in fact funny.  I am one that usually dislikes comedies, that is those made in the United States.  In other countries, I find that much comedy can be thrown in with a real story line and work quite well.  This movie did in fact do that for me.  The main character Sang-hwan is dumb and goofy which leads to many awkward moments or accidents for him.
          In the beginning, I did find Sang-hwan to be a little too dorky to believe that he could ever amount to the cool hero he needed to become.  I am glad that I was wrong.  The movie did well in changing Sang-hwan into the hero, while still leaving some of his personality behind to show that he didn't just suddenly become something he wasn't.  He only grew, not changed.
          I enjoyed the fight scenes in this movie.  There were points that were ridiculous and fantastical, but that was the point.  This was a comedy and those small points within the fights, especially at the end, kept it from being a completely brutal action movie.  I think the best fight scene had to be when Sang-hwan finally confronts the thugs.  It was very interesting to see him finally notice what he could do.  I also enjoyed how the scene ended because it had to be done, as he was in a mind set he shouldn't have been in.
          The best part of this movie for me had to be the swords.  I have a major love for swords and katanas.  The thing that I have an issue with in most movies is all the blade on blade strikes they do without the blades ever getting damaged.  This movie did amazing with that.  They showed the nicks in the blade where other swords struck.  I haven't seen any other movie do this.  Most of them play off the idea that the swords can strike against one another without anything happening but a clash of maybe a spark.

          I definitely suggest watching this movie.  I wouldn't say it is the best movie I have ever seen, but it is still very good.  The story line of this movie is quite good and the actors did well at playing the varying genres that were throughout this movie.  The characters held up well even as the movie flipped between comedy, drama and action.  I wouldn't mind watching this movie again soon.  n.n

The Samurai of Ayothaya - Thailand

          Director:  Nopporn Watin
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Based on a true historic figure during Ayothaya Era, the film depicts the life of Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Thailand and became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand."

          I know many people don't agree with my rating, by this I mean many of the people who voted on IMDb as it only got a 5.9 out of 10 rating.  Now though I agree that this movie wasn't a 10 out of 10, I loved this movie.  Oh and one person brought up that for a based on a true story it didn't seem very realistic.  My response is that it is 'based on' and not a documentary.  It was made to be entertaining and not exactly completely historically true.
          I really loved the way that they portrayed the story.  I really love the idea that these people would take in an injured enemy rather than leave him to die.  This fact just really spurs on the events of the rest of the movie.  It is kindness and acceptance that leads the main character to want to be apart of the life rather than seeing them as enemies.
          Someone brought up that the samurai and ninjas aren't as weak as you see in the film.  I have to agree that they were impressive figures in history, but I can accept there lacking in this movie for one reason.  In this movie, it seems that the Japanese characters (samurai and ninja) haven't encounter these warriors before.  I find it hard to believe that a ninja or samurai could be prepared for their sort of fighting style.  It would probably be very intimidating to face someone with such a drastically different style for the first time.  I also have to point out that the samurai beat many ninjas drunk, so they already didn't seem very tough.
          There wasn't really too much I disliked.  I didn't like that they sometimes speed up the fighters and it almost looked like they were teleporting.  I mean if you are going for real fighting styles for most of the movie, the teleporting looks wrong.  I mean these are real people.  Sure the fighting is about speed and power, but real peoples speed and power.

          I do suggest you watch this movie.  Despite the vote on IMDb, this movie is very good.  The story line is just great.  I of course have to bring up the quality of the warriors fighting.  It is really quite great to watch.

Waiting in the Dark - Japan

          Director:  Daisuke Tengan
          Year:  2006
          Plot:  "Michiru has recently lost her eyesight.  To make matters worse, her father dies shortly afterwards.  She is now all alone and spends most of her day isolated in her home.  Akihiro is a Chinese-Japanese immigrant, that has had to deal with racism all throughout his life.  He is now tormented at work by one of his older co-workers named Toshio.  One day at a train station in front of Michiru's house, Toshio is thrown into the path of an oncoming train.  The only person seen at the train stop was Akihiro.  Akihiro frantically flees from the scene and manages to enter Michiru's house without her knowledge.  After a few days, Michiru starts to sense the presence of another person in her home."


          First off, I have to say that this movie is going in my "Want" list as I will be planning on getting it when I have the money to.  At first, this movie may have seemed a little slow as it goes through the life of Michiru before her visitor comes.  The thing is though it is still kind of interesting to see how she lives.  I really thought what her father did with the card was sweet, working on it at night and all.  The movie gets to the point when Michiru hears her doorbell and no one answers her, yet the person sneaks in.
          The story then switches to that of Akihiro.  I was quite upset with seeing the way he was treated.  It definitely wouldn't be hard to understand why he might have pushed Toshio.  It just isn't right to make the guy go through all of that.  
          His time though with Michiru is rather touching.  No words are said and she doesn't even know he is there.  Little things though clue her in.  When she almost hurts her self trying to reach something, Akihiro mistakenly announces himself without saying a word.  After this, there relationship is quite nice.  Michiru easily accepts his presence, much to the bewilderment of many reviewers.  I though could understand the reasoning.  He had been in her house for quite awhile and never did anything to her.
          I have to say that the outcome of the little mystery was something I hadn't really expected.  I loved how they kept it quite shrouded and alluded to a different outcome.  I usually love hints to the ending, but I was quite happy with the opposite in this one.  Yes, when you think back there are a few things that explain what was really going on, but with other information you really couldn't have guessed it.


          I am not sure why I decided to give this only 4 stars.  The main reason I guess would be that parts were kind of slow.  This doesn't mean I didn't love this movie.  I highly suggest this, but I probably wouldn't watch it when you want something fast paced and exciting.  n.n

Midnight FM - Korea

          Director:  Sang-Man Kim
          Year:  2010
          Plot:  "Popular TV anchorwoman & late night radio host Sun-Young prepares to work her final radio program. After this program she will prepare to take her ill daughter to America the following morning. During the radio show Ko Sun-Young receives a startling text message."

          Yes, I found this movie to be quite entertaining.  The best point and rightfully so was the ending.  This definitely wasn't one of those movies that build up to a climax just to come up short and leave a bad taste in the mouths of the audience.  This movie came to a very well done and great ending.  It is definitely one that I was completely happy with.
          I don't really understand the one bad review that I found for this movie.  The person said that this movie was predictable and annoying as well as not having one thrilling scene in the movie.  I serious have a problem with that.  There was many scenes that had my heart going and me very worried.  It was the little kids mainly.  I just can't help but worry for cute little kids, especially with the movie being well done.
          There isn't really all that much that I can see as being wrong with this movie.  About all I can see is that the movie starts off a bit slow, but that seems to be purposeful.  The movie starts off will rather boring coworker chatter and all, but that is just a set up.  Once the movie starts its buildup, the pace starts increasing quite nicely.

          I definitely suggest this movie.  It is a great thriller.  I really did enjoy watching this movie and I believe many others will as well.  The only reviews up on IMDb for this movie at the moment highly praise this movie, and as I have said, it is for good reason.

I Give my First Love to You - Japan

          Director:  Takehiko Shinjo
          Year:  2009
          Plot:  "As a child Takuma is diagnosed with a heart condition that requires care from a cardiologist.  He soon becomes friends with his doctors young daughter Mayu while being treated at the hospital.  One day Mayu overhears her father saying that Takumas condition is serious enough that he most likely wont live beyond the age of 20.  Takuma at 8-years-old he makes a promise to marry Mayu when grow up.  Later in life, Takuma becomes aware that he wont be able to keep this promise and he begins distancing himself from Mayu in hopes of protecting her."


          I first have to say that I can't believe I put this movie off since I came across it in May.  After seeing it, it just seems so wrong that I waited so long to watch this.  So this movie is based off a manga of the same name by Kotomi Aoki which I have not read.  I have to say this so those who have read it know that I am simply talking about this movie and not how it stuck to the manga.
          I really enjoyed this one, though I am sure that is evident based on the rating I gave it.  n.n  But really, this is a very sweet touching story, not to mention quite sad in parts.  I just loved the fact that the main characters have been together since they were kids.  You can't beat a first love like these two had.  Usually a first love is just a simple crush, but this is so much more than that, it is a rather amazing little love story.
          I didn't really see anything in this movie that I could say was bad or disappointing.  Of the reviews from others I have seen, it seems all they think was wrong was that it was 'cliche' or boring.  The main point they said was 'cliche' was the fact that two guys fall for the same girl.  I don't feel this is very cliche because for one it is only a small part of the movie, and for another, it is resolved on a rather quiet note.
          As for the point of being boring, I didn't get this at all.  I was really into the characters and the story, so it seemed like the time was used very well.  Time doesn't seem like a big deal when you can feel for the characters.


          I really can't say anything more about this movie, or I might give away everything.  All I can say is that I highly recommend this movie.  It is a really great story and very touching.  I am sure there will be some like the few that I found that didn't like this movie, but you cannot know unless you give it a try.  You might just be surprised and fall completely in love with this movie.