Change Your Image
deospam-04962
Reviews
Benedetta (2021)
If you believe that Benedeta manifests the word and action of God then the Devil has fooled you again. God is love.
This is not a film that depicts God. Benedeta is the Devil's incarnation. Given to lust, sacrilege, corruption, speaking in the voice and with the tone of the Beast, creating falsehoods, doubts and deceptive in appearances, the Devil manifests in protean forms to deceive. God is love and peace and that is never consistently displayed in Benedeta. A snarling and enraged God? Yeah right.
Unfortunately the truely religious clergy are portrayed as given to human failings and no match for the guile of the Devil. The populace in turn are fooled into turning against religious authority because of the failings of their leadership and the Devil's cunning and deceit.
This is a sad movie for the true believers in Christ because the clergy is cast in such a bad light and the Devil may succeed in making the viewer doubt their faith. If you believe that Benedeta manifests the word and action of God then the Devil has fooled you again. God is love.
Don't let Paul Verhoeven mislead you into thinking he knows how to make a religious movie. There is no true display of authenticity of Christian faith. This is a Layman's view of what a religious movie should look like. But it's pure Verhoeven camp. Showgirls in nuns habits. Gratuitous nudity and lactating women say it all.
Silent Night (2023)
FFW past the first 50 minutes to get to the action
FFW past the first 50 minutes to get to the action. The buildup is just self indulgent melancholy. Slow motion, flashbacks, weeping and regrets. I almost stopped watching. Luckily I could fast forward.
Fight scenes are where the real meat is. Knives? U got it. Handguns? Check. Automatic weapons? Sure. Hand to hand melee? Yes, that too. Oh and if you crave car vs car fights, car vs motorcycles, gang vs gang... yes, you will be happy.
There's a cop in the background who comes without backup and manages to not get shot by our hero who by then has killed a million men (I exaggerate) and has berserker eyes... but who somehow doesn't shoot.
Gory, almost within touching distance of Korean movie violence. Intellectual it is not. Nudity there is none.
Siew Lup (2016)
The Revenge of The Killer 38D Call Girl
A story reminiscent of the Hong Kong movie Human Meat Char Shao Bao (Bat Sit Fan Dim: Yan Yuk Cha Siu Bao), it could better be described as The Revenge of The Killer 38D Call Girl.
The synopsis in plain language:
A superficially plausible tale of a roast meat hawker who falls for a call girl after she expresses compassion at his impotence following a failed paid liaison. His impotence and her continued sexy dressing then forms the basis of their failed marriage. Intertwined are several threads involving her now husband's lecherous drinking buddy with designs on her and a funeral director who wins her heart with his apparently genuine concern. His concern we later discover is just another male cunning designed to bed vulnerable women. To cut things short, all the exploitative men die and the ex call girl ends up running the roast meat shop. But not after they've all had a chance at her heavily augmented body.
Meant to be the second instalment in a trilogy modelled on Park Chan Wooks revenge trilogy, this is a far cry from the lofty film making of the Koreans. Instead it is unashamedly modelled on Rebecca Chen's remodelled 38D breasts.
It fails on multiple fronts. Poor script, poor sets, poor lighting, stiff acting and underwhelming sex scenes. The only high points were guessing what Rebecca Chen's lingerie wardrobe had to offer. If the theme was revenge, it doesn't build up sufficiently. If the theme was Rebecca Chen, they could have chosen a more attractive model. But in crazy rich Singapore, getting a local to ditch her clothes for the movies is not an easy thing to do. Even an more acclaimed director like Eric Khoo had to port a Japanese ex-AV actress.
Sorry Mr Loh but this didn't make the cut. 1 gave 5 points for your boldness.
Hostiles (2017)
A movie so perfect, I could cry
Better and better. I've watched this show a few times and each time I understand something I didn't the previous times.
The pace is slow but necessarily so, reflecting the journeys made and contrasting the intense action. It allows time for slow reflection and the gradual transformation of a hardened, Indian hating soldier into a sensitive, veteran who discovers shared humanity and in doing so, pulls himself back from the abyss that only people who have been through battle will understand. Almost no shows get a 100 points from me. This one deserves it several times over.
Christian Bale you ticked off all the boxes. A stellar performance.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Mr Scorsese, I wish you a very long life
I never heard of Osage Nation before this. It was a 3 hour 26 minute education not just of the oil wealth and of American Indian culture but of sensitive filmmaking crafted so beautifully Michelangelo would have cried. Lily Gladstone has a classic, timeless, renaissance Madonna face and Robbie Robertson's tender score embellished her sensitive performance perfectly. True to Mr Scorsese's form, it ran so long and needed a deus ex machine ending that while innovative, brought (for me) the film to a premature end. Dessert was served too soon. Otherwise, I could not say a bad thing about this show. Mr Scorsese, I wish you a very long life so you can continue your master craft for mere mortals like me for a long time to come.
Susaekja (2021)
I'm sure I'll regret that wasted hour and a half on my death bed
Confusing, more disjointed than a body after post mortem, cry baby Korean soldiers, asinine acting, confusing and convoluted threads, zigzagging flash backs and forths and a multitude of actors with cloned looks just left me speechless. Is it a military movie? A whodunit? A supernatural movie? Beats me. There's isn't even any eye candy!
I tried watching it once through to give it a fair viewing but I'm sure I'll regret that wasted hour and a half on my death bed.
Sadly no redeeming factors and my first thoroughly unenjoyable Korean movie of several hundred i have watched. And that says a LOT.
Inmersión (2021)
Masterly
Kept me riveted. Alfredo Castro 's understated and controlled acting, the perfect directorial pacing and the anguished anticipation of what looks like an inevitable ending was worth every second of this movie.
The buildup is slow and as another reviewer has remarked don't switch off after the 1st 20 minutes because you'll regret it. A father with teenage daughters can gel with Senor Castro's character. A misunderstood father trying to protect his impulsive and naive daughters while still trying to walk the thin line between authority and appeal. Its hard. Thank God I only have boys.
Parental guide. Bare breasts in a non sexual way at the beginning of the movie.
Mesuneko-tachi (2017)
Tries to be too many things at once
Is it exploitative pinku revival? Is it dark comedy? Is it tragedy? Is it a celebration of humanity? All I know is that it tries to be too many things at once. That makes it simplistic, lacking in character development and disjointed. The actors and actresses are believable and one can be sympathetic to their characters but they are reduced to one dimensional players by poor scripting and plot development. Given the number of threads that would add another 2 hours to develop. As a tribute to the 1970s Pinku, Night of The Felines, it ticks off the right boxes with S&M, ropes, strangulation and sex in public. But as a drama on social issues of female exploitation and broken relationships, it falls flat.
Watchable once but not again.
24 Exposures (2013)
S-L-O-W Exploitative Whodunit
The film starts promisingly with a protagonist with an unusual occupation - pseudo death photography. He professionally shoots models made out to have died by some violent means.
Pretty novel... OK lead on........
When one of the models turns up no-duff dead, he ends up being a suspect. The storyline then starts to fall apart in very s-l-o-w motion as the cop sent to investigate gets drawn into the subject. That he's depressive doesnt help his objectivity. The storyline is thin and doesnt need an hour plus to play out. The script is non existent and the scenes too disjointed.
Bottom line is if you want to see boobies, watch this show. But if you havent got long to live, dont waste one more hour of your already short lifespan. The girls arent blowaway eyecandy except for Helen Rogers whos big boobies while impressive, unfortunately have begun to lose their fight against gravity.
Code Name Banshee (2022)
I've never rated anything 1/10 before
I've never rated anything 1/10 before.
It's so bad I disposed of the video. 1 point awarded only out of respect
for the 2 leads. Banderas led me here. .
Banderas let me down. ... what's up Antonio? Sad to see how far you have fallen. But I do think think it's your fault. You've been let down by poor scriptwriting and direction.
No plot, no tension, no acting credibility, no believability, no sex, no nudity, no, no, no, no, no.... NO!
Don't waste precious moments trying to figure if the movie can redeem itself. It won't and you'll need those moments at some point
in your life and thank me for this review in your prayers.
Just kidding ......
009-1: The End of the Beginning (2013)
Share your body with me to become a perfect organism and an eternal life
Sexy female cyborg battles, girl-girl underwater fight scenes, chest implanted machine gun secret weapons, skimpy skirts, tittilatingly tight bustiers that never seem to come loose no matter the intensity of battle, lesbian bondage torture complete with armpit licking and a cool industrial set make up for the stiff acting, poor scripting, non existent plot and really bad special effects.
The penultimate cyborg vs zombie fight scene sends the movie into a tailspin to oblivion.
"Share your body with me to become a perfect organism and an eternal life...." was an unforgettable line.
This movie gets 10 points because of the cleavage. But that's all.
Oh and the only nipples you see are the very short sequence in the opening scene.
Bronx (2020)
The Force is the Dark Side
Watch with patience. Twists and turns need your concentration. Gritty, violent and portraying a police force with no redeeming factors. Characters are believable. Direction is taut. Sets, props and lighting is credible. The level of violence is insane. Only thing is the script gets stretched, which is where this fails for me. I needed to rewind and replay to understand the plot. But I've done that for a load of korean movies too so...
The Force is the Dark Side.
Best line... "the only difference between you and me is a badge". Ouch.
Tell your kids to study hard is the best takeaway from this movie.
Unbroken (2014)
One dimensional Japanese stereotypes in a very stiff and overly melodramatic movie
Stiff, slow and overly melodramatic. Unfortunately it reinforces the Western stereotype of the Japanese as crude, unreasonable and sadistic.
Other than the opening 10 minutes, the show fails on so many fronts. Besides several failed attempts at character development, the movie is so sadly disjointed. Its essentially a patchwork of scenes that have no glue.
(Spoiler) Beats me how the guys on the life rafts somehow keep perfect goatees after days adrift and why fellow POWs have to throw such heavy punches at their friend when ordered by the Japanese commander to do so.
Hey... but it got into the Oscars! Really? Maybe for the cinematography. But obviously not for direction or script!!
Wouldn't watch again.
La comtesse perverse (1975)
What's worse than terrible? I'm sure I'll regret those wasted minutes on my deathbed
What's worse than terrible? This movie has no redeeming factors other than being a historical artifact of the sexploitation era. Its a cheap excuse for the director to use other people's money to get girls naked and doing his deviant bidding including one unsimulated fellatio by Sylvia (Lina Romay). Sorry....even the word "director" is too laudatory and honorific.
So why would I watch this movie you ask? I asked myself the same question after I'd finished. Maybe for kicks to see what the fuss over Jesus Franco was all about. I'm sure I'll regret those wasted minutes on my deathbed
I gave a token1 point for the late Ms Romay's token effort. Sorry, Jesus Franco fans but even by 1974 when this movie was made, his star had already fallen. How he managed to get funding for the number of movies he made is unfathomable.
What's worse than terrible? Only the next Jesus Franco movie.
Thirteen Lives (2022)
A celebration of love, selfless sacrifice and heroism
Exceptional. Even though we know how it ends, the script, character development, twists and turns kept my heart racing for most of the movie. A great set and attention to detail made it completely believable. A celebration of love, selfless sacrifice and heroism.
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
It works if you can see it for what it is
This plays more like a romantic teenage novel than a wartime military intelligence movie. Full of romantic nuances, soft lighting and intimate camera angles. One would not think there was a war going on. Character development is shallow and not all loose ends are tied up. Yet it works if you can see it for what it is - a romance centred around people inventing a character for a dead hero.
Onoda (2021)
Draggy but fulfils completist's needs
Achingly slow in parts perhaps to illustrate the slowness of life of these anachronisms of WW2. Bouts of tension are few and far in-between. Anyone who has endured a couple of weeks of quarantine during COVID will empathise with the feelings of isolation, cabin fever and absence of purpose. An incredible story of loyalty to country, human resilience and tenacity.
Above average but you need to be prepared to spend time to watch this movie.
Gwoemul (2006)
Kooky K-Entertainment with a capital K
Entertaining movie with no high brow pretensions. CGI is laughable, the white guys are over the top and the characters are one dimensional but overall I liked the show. No overt gore or nudity.
Heojil kyolshim (2022)
2 breaths in time; 2 jellyfish flowing
Pay attention to details. If Oldboy was the orgy, this is a lovers' first kiss. 2 breaths in time; 2 jellyfish flowing in the Adagietto of Mahler's 5th.
This is a sensitively filmed movie of simmering, smouldering, restrained passion always threatening to boil over. Masterly acting by the 2 leads. And always the constant struggle between wants and needs. Lovely.
'Z' fung bou (2014)
Untouchables It Is Not....but good enough for me
Simplistic but enthusiastic rendering of HK anti-corruption police work. Nothing too deep, violent or graphic. The Untouchables it is not. But credible acting from an experienced set of actors make the movie easy to watch.
Michael Wong's Cantonese with a Western accent had me in stitches.
Injil (2021)
Action all the way
What's not to love? Insane levels of violence and Lee Ho-Jung's C cup! Gripping non stop momentum that shifts from tension to action to tension over and over again. No nude scenes but oodles of over the top Korean violence.
Yangjamoolrihak (2019)
Quantum Entanglement
Totally confused. This is deep Quantum Physics. Everyone is related in some way but not in a constant manner and one cannot predict the action of any character at any one time. Makes any sense? Not at all? That's because this show is actually about Quantum Entanglement.
Quantum Entanglement is the physical phenomenon which occurs when a group of particles are generated, interact or share spatial proximity in such a way that the quantum state of each particle of the group cannot be described independently of the state of the others. If you watch this show to the end you will understand what I mean.
Unfortunately confusion is a device to mask deficiencies in a very thin plot. I was not impressed. No gore, no nudity. Just confusion.
Xuan ya zhi shang (2021)
In war who can you trust?
The plot twists and turns in this movie of the Communists vs the puppet regime in Manchukuo. Set in December 1934, the story revolves around a true event.
The sets are lovingly and authentically created to reproduce the romance of the period. Attention to detail is evident even to ensuring the cinema calendar is correct. I had to watch and rewatch the movie so many times to link the clues and details.
Zhang's masterly cinematography would have certainly won him the Best Director Oscar had Jane Campion's Power of the Dog not been just as lush and powerful.
Excellent, really Excellent movie. This will be a hard act to follow.
CODA (2021)
A coming of age movie that puts a capital F back into Family and Feeling.
It's less the plot than the acting and direction that did it for me. If it doesn't make you cry, you're the Tin Man.
Taught me a few things: That people with disabilities are human too. That Emilia Jones is the next Jennifer Lawrence. No wait. Emilia can sing.
Jeontoo (2019)
One dimensional and tedious
Tedious. Another big budget movie overflowing with nationalist, anti-Japanese pride. Japanese are portrayed as one dimensional, evil caricatures.
Lovely cinematography, sets and costumes but I think it could have been a little shorter than 2hours 15 minutes. Lots of testosterone fuelled violence and tension. Nothing graphic except for a couple of fake heads rolling on the ground. No nudity.