GinaDRX Reviews

The Mermaid (2016)

Lack of Material

[4/10 · 29 July 2022]

I appreciate the movie's attempt to stress on environment protection. Yuqi Zhang is very beautiful. Deng Chao made an effort to pull of a comedy.

The story is weak and does not make sense. There is not much material with a lot of cliche moments. The next moments are very predictable. The jokes are not too funny, although tried fairly hard. There is not much acting either. Overall meh.

Goodbye Mr. Loser (2015)

Loving Someone as Who They Are

[7/10 · 29 July 2022]

I was expecting a simple comedy but was touched by the love story. It is about a married man who did not know what he wanted. The leading character, Xia Luo, went to the wedding party of his high school crush, when he drank too much and started to re-iterate his "love" for her. His current wife, who was in the same high school class, came to the party and of course chaos followed, until he passed out from the alcohol. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in his high school class.

The story developed from there, when Xia Luo was doing everything to get his crush to like him. At the same time, the wife had loved him since forever. It could have been a silly love triangle story, but the wife line had a lot of touching moments. So who did Xia Luo choose?

The movie has quite some funny moments, nothing legendarily funny but good enough. Surprisingly it also made me cry. Overall a light comedy with a moving love story.

Looking Up (2019)

Tale vs Reality

[4/10 · 29 July 2022]

The movie confuses me. It is alternating between reality and fairy tale throughout, without convincing me with either. I agree with the other reviewers, the father character, with all good intentions both from the film maker and in the story, is not real, at all, almost felt as if he had multiple personality. He promised things clearly impossible, which was the tale; while his story with the jail and all, was reality. I am not saying this cannot work, but the film did not pull it off. The son character was rather bland, yet making strange moves that did not fit the character. The story is weak with non-impressive acting.

Pegasus (2019)

Could be better

[7/10 · 25 July 2022]

I gave a seven star more so because it is based on a true story, that alone touched me. Otherwise, it would be 5-6 movie. Pegasus tried to send a simple message about chasing your dreams. It also celebrated the life of a professional racer. It was fast paced, with more jokes in the first half while tensing up for the second half.

I somehow hope they did not work so "hard" to make it funny, in other words, a comedy. I feel were it a regular drama, which it had enough materials for, I would have liked it more. The acting is somewhat missing too. The big shot competitor pretty much had no emotions or expressions. I can't say the other characters were bland, but they did not strike me, which I kind of expect given the story line.

Overall a good story that could have been told better....

A Writer's Odyssey (2021)

CGI needs story too

[4/10 · 13 July 2022]

I agree with a lot of the reviewers. There is cool CGI (which could be more visually pleasing but that is not the main issue), and that is it. The story does not make much sense. Drama was created for drama. The story line was not quite clear either. The acting was meh, a lot of overacting or underacting. The story was so weak that acting was not even important anyway.

Sister (2021)

A touching film

[7/10 · 13 July 2022]

Sister starts with a tragedy when a young child, the brother, lost his parents to an accident. The brother had an older sister who had become a nurse and had her own life. The sister was not close to him or their parents, who had become a nurse and was planning on going to graduate school in a bigger city. Being the only blood relative, the sister had no choice but to keep the brother with her, while trying to find a family for adoption. However during the time they lived together, they formed a strong bound and the sister needed to make a decision when finally a lovely couple seemed to be a good fit for adoption.

A culture background will be required to understand a lot of dramatic moments. Although may no longer to the case nowadays, during the years the sister was brought up and some parts of the country when the film was set, the Chinese culture still favored boys way over girls. She was considered the less important, if not better off without. "Abuse" was not the right word, but she could certain feel all her parents wanted was a boy, - her brother.

Yet blood is always thicker, and the brother was a cute, smart and loving. He adored her and she was "all he had". We can see how the sister's attitude towards the brother change, and also how her view towards her own life.

The movie has a poetic feel. It was sad and grey for the first two thirds, but gradually became heart warming and colorful. There will be sobbing moments for sure.

Overall a touching film, beautifully made.

Lighting up the Stars (2022)

Celebration of Life

[10/10 · 24 June 2022]

Lighting up the Stars is one of a kind. It is not just another comedy about two hearts embracing each other, nor just another movie about life and love. It is a journey - you will be laughing most of the time, probably watery-eyed at some points, while in the end feeling contentment, for the sake of people who love and loved you.

Set and filmed in Wuhan, the city of unlimited energy and southern heat, Lighting up the Stars brought the audience to noisy and crowded streets, zooming in on ordinary people - people who are not as privileged, sophisticated, or even well educated; people who work with their own hands to make ends meet, people who have to fix their problems one after another - in other words, people like us.

Here came Mo Sanmei. He was even less privileged, a loser one might call - He was just out of jail now working at a funeral home, his girlfriend cheated on him, his family thought he was useless, and he was stuck with a child who chased him down. So the child, Xiaowen, was not any luckier. More or less abandoned, all Xiaowen had was her grandma, who just sadly passed away and was removed to the funeral home by Mo Sanmei. Xiaowen at Kindergarten age, having no concept of death, assumed Mo Sanmei kidnapped her grandma, so she went after and found him. At this point Xiaowen was practically homeless. Mo Sanmei reluctantly took her in and eventually graduated into her father figure. To comfort Xiaowen, he told her - "Grandma became a star in the sky. She will come to your dreams and talk to you." The story twisted and turned, centering on Mo Sanmei's role as a father and as a funeral worker, intertwined with a tensioned relationship between Mo Sanmei and his own father. In the end, reconciliations came with a surprise, echoing the clues seeded throughout.

Zhu Yilong and Yang Enyou played the father and daughter combo with eye-popping performances. The leading man, Zhu Yilong, transformed himself into Mo Sanmei, unrecognizable, with jaw-dropping changes in his looks and demeanors. In sharp contrast to his usual classy gentleman self, Zhu Yilong disappeared into this buzz-cut, gum-chewing dude with a cigarette hanging from his lips and a thick gold chain on his neck, wearing tank top/shorts/flip flops. Zhu Yilong WAS Mo Sanmei, everything but a gentleman, rough, ill tempered, yelling and fighting whenever he felt like to. It is this character who fully developed in front of the audience into a better version of himself, through stories with Xiaowen, his father, his ex, and his job. Zhu Yilong delivered Mo Sanmei's character and growth naturally and convincingly. His performance reminded me of Charliz Theron's transformation in the movie Monster, - Yes, that impressive.

Entertaining and artistic at the same time, the movie was an immediate box office success, grossing 236 million USD (1,600,000,000 RMB) in the first month regardless of its somewhat limited release due to CoVid regulations. With a low budget fraction of its earning, Lighting Up the Stars is a commercial winner despite a semi-indie make. The movie is fast paced with clever humors and touching highlights. Chinese culture is reflected throughout the movie, with Mo Sanmei and Xiaowen symbolizing legendary tale characters, the Monkey King and Nezha. Worth mentioning is first time director and screenwriter Liu Jiangjiang. The significance of this debut work might be his Reservoir Dogs, - let's see.

Meanwhile the movie has practical values. For medical workers, it gives a glance at the closure after their patients lose the battle, helping caregivers to cope with frustration. It is also a good family movie. It can be a first attempt to expose young children to the concept of death. They will learn in a rather lighter-hearted way from the experience of another child. "Loved ones who passed away would become stars and come to your dreams" - It is healing and poetic, and can be a practical transition for children's understanding of a very difficult concept.

Lightening up the stars started with stories about departing from life, but its real focus was living the life and celebrating it. After watching the movie, the starry sky will not be the same. Looking at the stars, you see life, you see love, and you see dreams you want to dream, just as Mo Sanmei did at the end of the movie.

Embrace Again (2021)

Heart Felt, Healing and Touching

[10/10 · 14 January 2022]

The movie was set during the lock down time of Wuhan, from late January till March of 2020, focusing on the lives of ordinary people - how they started with fear and anxiety, but gradually built up strength, hope and faith to overcome the darkest time. There were four story lines developed on their own, with intermittent crossover at certain time stamps.

The most heartfelt line was the story of Wu Ge (meaning "Brother Powerful"), a delivery lady and Ye Ziyang, a piano teacher. Very different in background, personality and education, they were both alone but not lonely, with loving hearts and positive attitudes. They used their own ways to influence people around them to stay strong and never lose hope. The chemistry was intense but fine-tuned, from how they supported each other to fight with the virus disaster, to how the romance expressed stronger and stronger in their eyes. Ge Ling depicted well how the tough outgoing fear-nothing labor gal Wu Ge had a crush on a sophisticated, poetic and gentle piano artist. The audience can "see" the butterflies flying in her stomach. As the female lead of Chinese box office, Jia Ling did not let us down. Zhu Yilong owned the character of Ye Ziyang, who had many aspects - an energetic and fun-loving children's teacher, a sensitive and lyrical poet and at the same time a fighter against his chronic illness. Zhu Yilong portraited the role fully and effectively, paying attention to small details, for example, the different tune when talking to children students, and the eye squinting when removing his thick glasses. The way he smiled each time after reading Wu Ge's texts showed how his feeling towards her changed little by little. The scene when he comforted Wu Ge with moist eyes were classic. Zhu Yilong transformed himself into the character so well that even people familiar with him/his other characters were barely able to recognize him. Another bravo to Zhu Yilong's immersive acting.

The most romantic line was the story of Xie Yongqin, a retired OB GYN physician and her boyfriend Pei Ye, a big shot chief of Cantonese cuisine. The retired doctor, at a high risk age for the virus, stood up and went back to provide patient care. Pei Ye supported her everyway he could. It is an interesting contrast how the romance between the younger Wu Ge and Ye Ziyang was so subtle, yet the retired couple were very expressive and passionate. Wu Yanshu talked and even walked like a doctor. She was a knowledgeable, calm and loving physician who healed patients, at the risk of her own health and even life. I was very impressed by her acting.

The other two lines, one about a rich business couple and the other about a delivery volunteer were not as strong but they stood on their own well.

I felt the movie showed how"nobodies" held onto each other and became heroes as a group, at the beginning of this life changing (still changing now in 2022) pandemic. There were some flaws in the plots, but overall the movie was warm, healing and touching. I give it a 9-10 for the good acting and the people who fought CoVid with love and hope.

Finch (2021)

Good to see Tom Hanks

[5/10 · 8 November 2021]

I would not have watched the movie had Tom Hanks not played it. Good acting one man show, very much like Castaway, with a robot.

Like many other reviewers mentioned, slow and lacking of story. I feel it rather bland and not impressed.

All About My Mother (2021)

Touching and Effective.

[8/10 · 8 November 2021]

From the perspective of a daughter, Xiaomei Li, in her early twenties facing her own problems, the film telled the story of Peizhen Ji, the mother who just retried from her position as a high school geology teacher. Peizhen Ji was a typical Chinese woman in her fifties, married to Wenfang Li, a physician, for almost thirty years and taking care of her mother-in-law who had Alzheimer's for years. Her start of a seemingly relaxed retirement was immediately complicated by her brother Peiqi Ji (played by Minghao Chen), who held grudge for years yet needing financial support, by her daughter's tangled relationship with a married man, and by pain/symptoms that warranted ultrasound/CT scan etc whole 9 yard of work up.

The daughter and mother relationship, almost reminding of Terms of Endearment, was rocky to start with however step by step, they find ways to be there for each other out of love and family bound.

I cried second half of movie. A lot of touching moments because one way or the other, at some point everyone has probably been there - for example. When Peizhen Ji asked her daughter - "Are you doing this JUST to upset me?", and when she protected her daughter from workplace abuse.

The acting was effective. Fan Xu broke my heart with her scene talking to her mother-in-law. Minghao Chen, playing the angry and tough-guy brother, did a great job with the limited amount of screen time.

Overall a good movie, better than the low score here.

Crime Crackdown (2021)

Based on true crime

[6/10 · 3 November 2021]

This is a highly anticipated series based on real life high profile crime cases, with an all star cast, including Honglei Sun and Yue Wu. It starts with crime investigation meeting resistance everywhere. The mafia seemed to infiltrate the system and corruption was overwhelming. The conflicts were well presented. There was brutal and heart breaking moments. The acting was emotional charged. Most of the time the story felt "dark" and "heavy". There was a suspense regarding who the betrayer was, which was decently developed and explained.

It is a very promising series but did not turn out to be as impressive as it would have been, story telling wise at least. The parallel lines of cases were not easy to follow. There were many details and distractions. However, the message was well delivered regarding the battle between mafia and authority, and how justice triumphs over evil.

Detective Chinatown 3 (2021)

Fun mystery

[6/10 · 3 November 2021]

This is the 3rd of Detective Chinatown series. Knowing it is likely physical comedy combined with a little mystery, I did not expect much. And that is what I got.

The main detectives were invited to Tokyo to solve a mystery. They ran into international competitions. At one point it felt like a computer game, which was interesting. The case was alright - nothing impressive with forgivable imperfections.

Overall I think it is comparable to the first two of the series.

Zodiac (2007)

Not disappointed

[7/10 · 3 November 2021]

The movie tries to throw light on one of the biggest high profile mysteries of the 20th century - who is the serial killer Zodiac. Knowing this is an unsolved case, I debated whether it is worth watching. I watched it for the strong cast, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. And Mark Ruffalo.

I can't say I am disappointed. The movie explored the case through view points of reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr) and cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). It seems more about the characters - their devotion and even obsession about solving the case, rather than solving the case. I don't think the film gets closer to "finding out" who was Zodiac. The acting is good. Some of the scenes are intense. Overall a good film.

Everest (2015)

Blunt and intense

[7/10 · 25 October 2021]

Initially I rated the movie at 1, for some of the events are too disastrous and devastating - giving me a sense of losing without hope. I don't want to take that. To make it worse the film is based on a true story. I even felt "angry" thinking about the movie for a long while. However this mere fact is in a sense proof of its the power and impact - the bluntness and honesty. Eventually I want to give a 6-7.

After all, we are talking about climbing Mt. Everest. After all "The last word always belongs to the mountain."

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

"I can't beat it"

[9/10 · 25 October 2021]

This is such a powerful movie that after years of watching, some of the scenes and dialogues still come to me. There was an unthinkable tragedy making it suffocating throughout, reminding the viewers of the pure pain life could bring - even with the most innocent and tynist mistake, or oversight. No one is close to perfect, but has to bear the weight falling upon, often uncalled for.

There are many motivational stories, but as many other times, have you been there - "I can't beat it", which deserve repeating - "I can't beat it". Does it even matter if "I am sorry"? Yet then life goes on, somehow most will manage, compromise and move on. We don't have to beat everything after all.

Love the movie and bravo to Casey Affleck's acting. The blinking of tear in his eye when hugging Williams at the funeral, the unspoken thousands of words in his eyes... That Oscar was well deserved.

Simply powerful.

Detective Chinatown (2015)

Decent mystery

[6/10 · 20 October 2021]

As a detective movie, the mystery is decent, but squashed into the last quarter of the film. The first half of the movie is "silly fun". It is funny, but mostly physical comedy and "wu li tou". After a lot of chaos, finally they start to analyze and detect. In the last 1/4, the film also manages to squeeze in a twist and surprise.

Without giving out spoilers, one of scenes has a facial expression reminding me of Edward Norton's brilliant portrait of Roy in Primal Fear.

Overall enjoyable but nothing unforgettable.

Hi, Mom (2021)

Touching and funny, with an unexpected twist

[8/10 · 19 October 2021]

The movie starts off almost like a girl's version of Back to Future without any scifi. The cast include some major comedians who deliver a lot of funny moments. Gradually the movie will look deeper and deeper into the love between a daughter and her mother, as well as meaning of parenthood.

The movie almost ends like any time travel film until the twist comes. I did not really see it coming although I had questions and assumed they were "plot holes". I am pleased that the questions are addressed and story makes sense. The film further voices what parents want for their children via the mother character. The theme of love, parenthood/motherhood and family are nicely developed.

You will enjoy it if you like time travel, but you may love it for what is more.

The Body (2012)

Great mystery.

[8/10 · 7 October 2021]

I watched this one after The Invisible Guest. The Body is just a smidgen less as brilliant, but still a great mystery. The plot is not as complicated yet each surprise took the suspense to a next level. Belén Rueda did a great job. Recommend!

One Cut of the Dead (2017)

Worth the first half

[10/10 · 1 October 2021]

This movie is brilliant in its own way. Please take the advice from many other reviewers - be patient and finish the first half, which was a mediocre horror movie that you have seen plenty. Yes I almost walked away multiple times. HOWEVER the second half makes it totally worth it, hilarious and smart. Believe or not, you may want to watch a second time just to catch all the fun.

The Gentlemen (2019)

Guy Ritchie is back!

[9/10 · 25 September 2021]

Along with Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant. Can't help laughing even thinking about Colin Farrell's coach character, the innocent shrug after what he did and gesturing how many.

It is a COOL movie. It is violent, obvious can't be real, but you will love it. Very funny too.

The plot is quite impressive, complicated but makes sense.

Recommend!

The Invisible Guest (2016)

Great suspense thriller

[9/10 · 25 September 2021]

I am pleasantly surprised by how good this movie is. Watched because of high IMDB score, despite that subtitle and mystery don't always mix well for me.

There are no real plot holes - which is not easy for a complicated story like Contratiempo. The story keep making turns and in the end I just went "wow!". A great movie from director Oriol Paulo.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Good action movie

[8/10 · 24 September 2021]

The movie is very entertaining, with a great cast. The fighting scenes are intense and beautiful. There are no noticeable plot holes. Tony Leung is amazing as alawys, and Sim Liu did a great job too.

Cloudy Mountain (2021)

A must see disaster-action movie: brilliant acting, great visual & nonstop thrill

[10/10 · 24 September 2021]

The movie starts off with natural disasters that put lives of 160,000 people in danger. The thrills kick in within the first few minutes, and keep the audience at the edges of their seats throughout. It is fast paced with great acting, amazing special effects and a touching story line.

The acting is brilliant. The characters are convincing and the cast have developed the story to the fullest. Yilong Zhu, the leading man, plays Hong, an engineer who stands up for his home and country, risking his own life. Mr. Zhu immerses himself into the character, with powerful and touching delivery. He takes on a journey when an ordinary man becomes a hero, faced with life and death, conflicts of sacrificing loved ones or his mission, at the same time overcoming his own weakness. Beside character development, there are loads of jaw dropping action scenes (just to name one, rock climbing at pro level) that you don't want to miss any ... I assure you Mr. Yilong Zhu's acting is the one of finest.

The visual is spectacular. The movie is filmed at famous scenic areas in Guizhou, with beautiful caves, mountains, canyons, streams... Meanwhile earthquake, landslides, mudslides, along side with breath taking landscape and impressive sound effects, will keep your eyes open the whole time.

The story is moving. A father and his son, a leader and her people, a teacher/guardian and her students, and of course a man and the woman he loves. There are places where viewers break into tears, yet plenty of funny moments. Humanity shines amid this natural disaster, which will make you cry and smile at the same time.

All in all, Feng Bao (aka Cloudy Mountain) is entertaining, intense and thrilling. This is a must see and thumbs up!

10/10.