Day 224 - The Proving Grounds (American)

"“The Proving Grounds” goes in-depth at Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico to provide a look at the gym. Jones, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez and others are featured."

Not that bad of a documentary, if you are a fan of MMA like me then this is a must watch film. It gives us an inside look into one of the best MMA gyms in the entire world. We should be thankful that we are able to see inside the gym that trained George Saint Pierre, Diego Sanchez, Jon "Bones" Jones, and many other big names in the MMA world. This is an in depth look and you really feel excited to see how these guys train in order to do what they chose as careers. it's not boring at all but you have to have to enjoy MMA to really understand the film unless you are super open-minded. I suggest this film to everyone that likes MMA.


2.9/5

Day 223 - Road to Ninja (Japanese)

"Naruto Uzumaki and his Hidden Leaf peers track and drive off members of the Akatsuki who should no longer be alive. While his friends are praised by their families, Naruto wallows in loneliness before he is taken by his teammate Sakura Haruno to the park to hear her complain about her parents. However, Naruto revealed to have been tagged by the Akatsuki, the two are ambushed by Tobi as he uses the Limited Tsukuyomi (限定月読, Gentei Tsukuyomi^?) to transport them into an alternate reality based on their inner thoughts. Being called Menma (メンマ^?), Naruto and Sakura are surprised to find their friends acting the exact opposite of their usual selves along with a flirty Sasuke who never left the village. While Sakura learns that her parents are dead with her father as the reality's Fourth Hokage, Naruto sees his parents, Minato and Kushina, alive and well. Shortly after, Naruto and Sakura participate in a mission to retrieve the Red Moon scroll which details on how to defeat a mysterious masked ninja. During the mission, Kushina is injured when she protects Naruto and dissuades the youth's refusal to bond with his parents.
"-wiki

Not bad but I wish the storyline was different and Naruto was just sent back into time instead of going to an alternative world under the influence of tobi. I hate the fact that Sakura is with Naruto when he goes to the other world as I dislike her. It was hard to imagine that I would actually feel something from this movie but I did. An overwhelming amount of sadness as we see how Naruto's life would have been if his parents were still alive. That element is the best part of the movie and really the only part of the movie I like.
I suggest this to Naruto fans
2/5

Day 222- You're My Pet (Korean)

"
The film centers around a young and ambitious woman named Ji Eun-Yi (Kim Ha-neul) and her human pet (Jang Keun-suk).
After her fiancé leaves her for his mistress and Ji Eun-Yi is demoted at work, she stumbles across a young injured homeless man in a box outside her condominium. She takes him in and becomes attached to him. As a joke, she says she wants to keep him as a pet, and to her surprise, the young man agrees. She names him Momo, after her beloved dog from her childhood. Ji Eun-Yi provides room and board, and Momo provides unconditional love and loyalty. Momo, whose name is Kang In-Ho, is a dance child prodigy who gradually brings happiness to his master's life."

Even with the experienced Kim Ha-neul, this film is a total bore fest. I nearly fell asleep while watching the movie, I really didn't like Jang Keun-suk or any of the other characters. I also felt like Kim Ha-neul was rather restrained despite the fact that this adaption of the manga should have been risqué. This film really was transformed into an below average romantic comedy. I suggest you skip this movie.

0/5

Day 221 - Hide and Seek (Korean)

"
Sung-soo is a successful businessman who lives with his wife Min-ji and their children in a luxury apartment. Life is mostly good, except for an older brother from whom he's estranged.
One day, Sung-soo receives a phone call that his brother is missing and goes to his brother's apartment building for the first time in decades to look for him. There, he finds strange symbols carved into every door and meets Joo-hee and her young daughter. Joo-hee is convinced that someone is spying on them and lives in constant fear.
Sung-soo figures out that the symbols carved onto the doors are "hide and seek codes" that indicate gender and number of people. Then when he returns home, he finds similar symbols carved into his door."

Not bad but could have been much better if they went in another direction. The direction the plot took was average and caused there to be a few matters that could have been taken out of the film. No problems are really fixed in the movie, they are overlooked. I enjoyed the lead actor though, it is the first time I've seen him as a lead and hope its not the last. I suggest this film to those that like spaced out mystery films

1/5

Day 220 - Heaven is open only to the single (Korean)

"Actress Yoon-So (Choi Yoon-So) is dumped by her boyfriend, who is a comedian. Their breakup becomes a huge scandal and, because of this, her management company forbids her from dating. Even though guys ask her out, Yoon-So isn't in the mood. The only comfort she finds is to listen to Sang-Soon's (Lee Sang-Soon) songs.
Neung-Ryong (Lee Neung-Ryong) is a 35-year-old musician. Due to his sister, Neung-Ryong goes to a dating/marriage agency, but finds out he isn't eligible due to his poor background. One day, Neung-Ryong is asked to create the soundtrack for a movie. He feels something strange when watching Yoon-So on the screen. "

This film had a lot of potential to be something great but fails due to many things. First off the camera movement was annoying and very shaky most of the time. It felt like a very low budget film that some amateur made and other times it looks professional. So the camera movement leaves you slightly confused. I enjoyed Choi Yoo-so she is a descent actress that could have a really big future if she takes roles that will help her evolve as an actress. It was very interesting to see the first time actor Lee Neung-Ryong even though he felt like he was an experience actor. The story is descent but could have been done differently and made longer. Because as it is the ending seemed rushed leaving the audience hanging a bit. There was a critical plot point that was overlooked by the director which made the story suffer a bit. I enjoyed the ending they made, as it hints towards romance because of the looks and the air around the two stars. The one thing that really saved this movie was the music! It wasn't the stereotypical K-pop but really heartfelt music that attracts the audience to listen. I am going to be looking up  Lee Neung-Ryong's music to see how good it is. I suggest this film to those that like to see romantic movies.

2/5

Day 219 - Manhunter (American)

 

"Will Graham (William Petersen) is a former FBI criminal profiler who has retired because of a breakdown after being attacked by a cannibalistic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox). Graham is approached at his Florida home by his former FBI superior Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina), who is seeking help with a new serial killer case. Promising his wife (Kim Greist) that he will do nothing more than examine evidence and not risk physical harm, Graham agrees to visit the most recent crime scene in Atlanta, where he tries to enter the mindset of the killer, now dubbed the "Tooth Fairy" by the police for the bite-marks left on his victims."

 

 

I didn't like it that much, it was kind of stale without that many worthy scenes. Hannibal Lector should of had a bigger part in the film, even though Brian Cox's adaption of the character is far below Anthony Hopkin's portrayal of the notorious killer.  I kind of didn't like the fact that the main character was William Petersen. Whoever picked the cast didn't know how to do their job well or was new to the job. Everyone was boring in the film, thankfully Red Dragon would be a slightly better movie than this one.

 

 

 

1/5

Day 218- Eastern Bandits (Chinese)

 

"The movie is set during the Japanese invasion of China. The story is told from the perspective of Gao - a soldier seeking revenge from the Japanese. He is trying to assassinate the visiting Japanese commander. In the process of plotting such scheme, he had a chance encounter with a local Mafia, lead by its charismatic leader Fang"

 

A very poorly done film that could have been good. The last half is better than the first half and is enjoyable but I couldn't feel for the characters. Even though I enjoyed the selection of characters besides Gao, there's a lack of depth that causes holes in the plot. I wouldn't suggest this film unless you are really into Chinese movies.

 

 

1/5