Still here... short film-review-type things, and other stuff.
I haven't been on the computer in a while - I've been busy with other things.
I have a lot of things to update about - some good, some... not so good. I'll go into all of it later, when I have the time.
Me and Euan did manage to watch two films we'd been wanting to watch for a while, though - supernatural martial arts/drama flick Sky High and supernatural horror/drama Cello.
I loved Sky High, although I was expecting it to contain more fight scenes and action than it actually did. It is well-acted, with interesting characters, some great imagery, and some really gorgeous costumes - amongst other things, I lusted after Rei's (the main villainess) snakeskin coat near the end. And, well, most of her wardrobe, really. XD The dresses worn by the ghosts in the underworld were also really lovely. It was really emotional in places, too, especially near the end.
And it had lots of sexy women, kicking ass. Always a bonus. :P
I also didn't know that it is prequel to a drama series, until I checked out the above Wikipedia article on the film. I may have to check that out somewhen.
As for Cello... I liked it, but it wasn't really anything special. It wasn't as good as other South Korean horror films I've seen, and it simply wasn't that scary. The imagery wasn't particularly disturbing, and, although eerie, the film's ghost wasn't particularly disturbing, either. Creepily beautiful, yes, but not scary-as-fuck, like Sadako or Kayako. There were a few moments that made me jump a little, but nothing to keep me up at night. That, and I did see a couple of the scares coming, as I'd rather foolishly watched the trailer beforehand.
It was also the aforementioned trailer which made what could potentially be one of the film's most shocking moments rather predictable for me (the infamous "golf club" scene). Damn you, spoilering trailers!
I also didn't really get some of Mi-ju's motives. Why did she lie to her husband that their youngest daughter, Yoon-hye, had gone to camp, when, in actuality, she had fallen to her death from the balcony? Why did she feel the need to hide that by shoving her daughter's corpse into the cello case? Of course, she could have done it simply because she was reacting out of shock or something similar, but something about it didn't really sit right with me.
Then again, since, near the end of the film, the preceding events turned out to be a coma-induced dream (OR DID IT??), maybe her motives would have seemed a little off, since they (supposedly) weren't real. Of course, the film's ending implies that the supposed "dream" is simply a vision of the future to Mi-ju from the ghost of Tae-yon to punish her for her involvement in the latter's death.
One of the scariest things about the film was the bitchy student. XD Seriously. Her eyes. HER FREAKING EYES. They were soulless. SOULLESS, I tell you. Combined with her smarmy and actually-quite-creepy grin, she managed to unnerve me quite a bit. XD
The assorted plot twists, however, I did not see coming. They were executed very well, in my opinion, although twists of that nature have certainly been done before.
In short, I did enjoy the film, and I will probably watch it again. It just isn't one of the best horrors I've seen.
Time to cook tea now. Laters.
I have a lot of things to update about - some good, some... not so good. I'll go into all of it later, when I have the time.
Me and Euan did manage to watch two films we'd been wanting to watch for a while, though - supernatural martial arts/drama flick Sky High and supernatural horror/drama Cello.
I loved Sky High, although I was expecting it to contain more fight scenes and action than it actually did. It is well-acted, with interesting characters, some great imagery, and some really gorgeous costumes - amongst other things, I lusted after Rei's (the main villainess) snakeskin coat near the end. And, well, most of her wardrobe, really. XD The dresses worn by the ghosts in the underworld were also really lovely. It was really emotional in places, too, especially near the end.
And it had lots of sexy women, kicking ass. Always a bonus. :P
I also didn't know that it is prequel to a drama series, until I checked out the above Wikipedia article on the film. I may have to check that out somewhen.
As for Cello... I liked it, but it wasn't really anything special. It wasn't as good as other South Korean horror films I've seen, and it simply wasn't that scary. The imagery wasn't particularly disturbing, and, although eerie, the film's ghost wasn't particularly disturbing, either. Creepily beautiful, yes, but not scary-as-fuck, like Sadako or Kayako. There were a few moments that made me jump a little, but nothing to keep me up at night. That, and I did see a couple of the scares coming, as I'd rather foolishly watched the trailer beforehand.
It was also the aforementioned trailer which made what could potentially be one of the film's most shocking moments rather predictable for me (the infamous "golf club" scene). Damn you, spoilering trailers!
I also didn't really get some of Mi-ju's motives. Why did she lie to her husband that their youngest daughter, Yoon-hye, had gone to camp, when, in actuality, she had fallen to her death from the balcony? Why did she feel the need to hide that by shoving her daughter's corpse into the cello case? Of course, she could have done it simply because she was reacting out of shock or something similar, but something about it didn't really sit right with me.
Then again, since, near the end of the film, the preceding events turned out to be a coma-induced dream (OR DID IT??), maybe her motives would have seemed a little off, since they (supposedly) weren't real. Of course, the film's ending implies that the supposed "dream" is simply a vision of the future to Mi-ju from the ghost of Tae-yon to punish her for her involvement in the latter's death.
One of the scariest things about the film was the bitchy student. XD Seriously. Her eyes. HER FREAKING EYES. They were soulless. SOULLESS, I tell you. Combined with her smarmy and actually-quite-creepy grin, she managed to unnerve me quite a bit. XD
The assorted plot twists, however, I did not see coming. They were executed very well, in my opinion, although twists of that nature have certainly been done before.
In short, I did enjoy the film, and I will probably watch it again. It just isn't one of the best horrors I've seen.
Time to cook tea now. Laters.