woonila Reviews

The Devil on Trial (2023)

Good enough.

[7/10 · 24 October 2023]

Those who say skip to the last 20 mins, I'm guessing are skeptics/atheists who are secretly worried that demon possession "may" be real. A lot more convenient if it weren't.

Sure, there was first witness account that it was merely power of suggestion or that it was fake. The truth is, nobody knows for sure. The ones who believed the boy was possessed could be wrong, but Ed and Lorraine Warren recording and documenting instead of helping the boy and the mother agreeing to TV and book deal don't automatically mean it wasn't real possession either.

If those last 20 minutes had been played first and the "proof" of the possession later, viewers may tend to believe it was real.

I went into this looking for some fun October watch. It started like a horror movie, acting was average, but overall watchable for Halloween.

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

What's with the hate?

[7/10 · 17 October 2023]

I watched the 1973 The Exorcist as a teen, it was excellent. I am now middle-aged, it's still one of the scariest horror movies I've ever seen, and I've seen thousands.

Exorcism and haunted houses are two of my favorite themes in horror movies, so unless it really sucks and the acting is cringe, another exorcism movie and one related to the 1973 movie at that, was enough to excite me. I went in with some expectations, and I wasn't disappointed.

The acting of the child actresses were excellent. So much better than that possessed boy in the Pope's Exorcist who talked like a rapper all the time, and that movie did quite well. The make up and special effects were of good quality. Didn't like the idea of assorted background of faith as a must to successfully exorcize the girls, but all in all it was a very decent scary time fun in October!

The Interest of Love (2022– )

Frustrating

[5/10 · 6 July 2023]

Look, I like deep, understated etc kind of drama, like My Liberation Notes was kind of slow but kept me invested till the end, but this one is too slow and for no good reason. It's just constant push and pull between the two main leads and the reasons for this frustrating drag are mostly absurd.

Love really shouldn't be that complicated, maybe in dramaland it needs to be somewhat so but this is too much. The main guy is basically a doormat to the main girl, who either stares blankly, plays with his emotions, playing hard to get, and the guy just keeps sucking it up despite a great, rich, smart girl vying for and does thoughtful things for him and his mom. Makes no sense, and after a while, the push and pull gets really frustrating.

The 5 star is for the decent acting of most of the characters and cinematography. Storywise and the main girl's acting are such a borefest.

Black Adam (2022)

Fun movie.

[7/10 · 26 October 2022]

Black Adam is far from perfect and some of the lines are cringey but it's still good for several reasons. The battle scenes are fun and well directed, victory was satisfying, and with the Egyptian background story it reminds me a little bit of Brendan Fraser's Mummy movies and their feel-good vibes.

The best thing about the movie in today's Hollywood despite room for improvement here and there, is that Black Adam is looking to tell a story and not lecturing the audience with the latest trendy ideas, a rarity in movies these days as most pander and include characters just for the sake of it, doesn't matter if these characters add no value to the movie.

It's a good, clean movie the whole family can enjoy, such a breath of fresh air these days.

6/45 (2022)

Serves its purpose

[7/10 · 24 October 2022]

I went into this movie with some expectations that it would make me laugh, because I see a few funny guys from other movies or dramas I have seen. The guy from Waikiki, Fiery Priest, and Vincenzo, all were funny in respective dramas. A lottery ticket landing in North Korea from South Korea and soldiers from both countries fighting for it was a promising concept.

It's always the problem though with high(er) expectation. Um Mun Suk was hilarious in The Fiery Priest and less so here. Go Kyung Pyo is the least funny for a main character, but all in all 6/45 is still a hilarious movie, I found myself laughing out loud a good many times.

If you are looking for a new Korean comedy to remedy a gloomy day, definitely go see this.

Old People (2022)

Rubbish

[2/10 · 18 October 2022]

I'm not sure what I'm watching here. I thought at first it was about weak and helpless old people who by some supernatural power became evil and wreak havoc, until I saw one of them pass out after some physical altercation like a normal human being, powerless as he was tied to an oven.

So if they're strong enough to attack and terrorize everyone, why stay in the senior home like they have no choice to begin with? Leave the town and have fun living your senior lives elsewhere instead of killing people off because you're supposedly abandoned, lol.

It's overall bad, the plot, the concept, the depressing color tone, the acting. Sometimes when a horror movie is bad it can at least be fun. This one is both bad and meh. I kept waiting and waiting for something good to happen and it never did.

I regret the time spent watching this as I was looking for some Halloween fun, this was anything but.

Young Lady and Gentleman (2021–2022)

Addictive!!!

[10/10 · 14 October 2022]

Oh my gosh I can't stop watching this drama. I don't care what the haters say, this drama is so ridiculous it's so much fun! People who can't stomach the screaming are probably new to K-Dramas and are also bothered by the culture shock. Some dramas are geared towards different audience, they can't all be the type that make sense and serious. For some people this type of drama with love triangles and outrageous, unhinged characters are exactly what we crave!

The music for the happy scenes is cheesy fun, I can't stop chuckling. The romance between Mr. Lee and Dan Dan is so cute it makes me giggle with joy. Watching this is such a cure to bad mood.

The worst character of them all, Madam Wang, is doing such a great job to make viewers hate her with all their hearts. I have seen her in other dramas and she was often a dignified rich lady in those so seeing her like this doesn't bother me because that's just acting! Lol.

The fashion in this drama is nice to observe. The acting is great for the most part, everyone does exactly what they are supposed to do to make viewers feel certain emotions when seeing their characters. Love, hate, sympathy, anger, disgust, all on point.

I have watched hundreds of K Dramas and while I enjoy the likes of Squid Game or All of Us Are Dead, I also thoroughly enjoy this drama and the 50+ episodes is such a treat. It's great knowing it won't end so soon and leaves me empty hoping for another season, ha!

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)

Give it a whirl

[7/10 · 19 September 2022]

It's a cute, romantic show. Must admit I watched this after watching Alchemy of Souls for Lee Jae Wook because I find him funny and was hoping this one would be too. There were many appreciated touching moments, most or the characters are likeable.

At times a little bit confusing what this show is trying to be, first it was a light, cheerful romcom, then came more serious scenes and towards the end it got really, really sad.

The ending, talk about a plot twist. I think initially the writers meant for this to be sad and did so well that I cried buckets, and just suddenly changed their minds ignoring logic. It is mind boggling but to be honest deep down I was hoping for it to happen because I'd rather be scammed than to bear the heartache of a sad ending.

She Would Never Know (2021)

Should have picked a different female lead.

[8/10 · 18 July 2022]

Interesting drama with superior OST, feels more real life than most, well-acted by almost everyone involved.

Just quite frustrated that the stunning male lead who lacks nothing gets treated like a doormat by the plain female lead. The pairing could have been done better. Somewhat redeemed at the end but hardly satisfying.

Other than that, really enjoyed most of the side characters, everyone did such great job and are actually more interesting to watch than the female lead.

There's Someone Inside Your House (2021)

Started off great

[2/10 · 15 December 2021]

Effective opening that got me excited, then the excitement died with the usual garbage Hollywood normalization of the abnormal, "secrets" built up to be huge that turned out to be not that huge after all, and a weak excuse for all the killings. One unlikeable character after another, almost rooted for the killer to go after everyone. Some fast-forwarding because the kids' yapping was getting annoying. Made it to the end just to see who the killer was, but overall a waste of time.

Gave this one a try after watching Child's Play reboot and it was at least entertaining without the silly Hollywood lgbtqxyz agenda, I completely forgot that's a rare case for Hollywood movies out in last few years. Should have stuck with the Asian shows.

Mr. Robot (2015–2019)

A perfect ....

[1/10 · 27 August 2021]

... mix bag of every single amoral trash you can put in, and they're put in there just for the sake of it, often totally unnecessary. Don't waste your time, just another garbage Hollywood production designed to normalize perversion.

The Fiery Priest (2019)

A RARE underrated GEM.

[10/10 · 4 February 2021]

I'm a K-Drama fan because it's mostly clean viewing with no BS agenda like most Hollyweird shows, I've seen hundreds of K-dramas, and The Fiery Priest was such a treat, thoroughly enjoyable. I rewatch it when I feel down and it still lifts my mood.

The story, the cast, the directing, the dialogs, the action scenes, the heartwarming scenes, the goofy scenes, all blending together for such a fun, feel-good feast on the eyes and mind. I've stopped watching so many other dramas that don't reel me in by the end of 1st episode, but I couldn't stop watching this one, and it's so rare when everything in a drama comes together so well, every aspect complements another.

Not one unlikeable cast, even the bad guys are likeable! I especially LOVE charismatic Father Kim, Sister Kim, and baddie Jang Ryong!

Oh My Baby (2020)

Feel-good drama.

[7/10 · 22 November 2020]

It started like a solid drama/comedy, kind of dragged in between, and the ending felt a bit rushed as with many dramas in their last episode. I watched this fresh off watching Jang Na Ra in VIP where her character was a lot more serious so watching her being cute this time was a little strange. Same with Go Joon, the last time I saw him was in The Fiery Priest and he played a convincing villain, but romantic comedy doesn't seem to fit him well.

Overall an okay drama with some relatable ideas/values that gives that everything is gonna be okay/ feel good vibes, and many times that's more than enough for me.

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)

Did not expect to laugh so much.

[8/10 · 9 October 2020]

My husband chose this for Friday night movie after running out of shows we can both like on Netflix. He figured a light comedy is a safe bet and he was right. I didn't expect to laugh as much as I did, I was pleasantly surprised. Impressed with Rowan Atkinson's agility and very entertaining performance. More importantly, it's a clean, fun movie with no silly hidden agendas like most movies lately. Much appreciated laughs.

The Devil All the Time (2020)

Couldn't finish this garbage.

[1/10 · 16 September 2020]

Lunatics at every turn, it was no longer believable. It's based on a book, doesn't make it okay to make such vile garbage into a movie. It's also trendy to mock religions these days, so of course every single psycho in this movie had to pray/preach/reference the Bible/listen to Gospel songs or they wouldn't look complicated enough. We get it; it's supposedly cool, brave and edgy if you don't believe in God, no need for such a lame, lengthy excuse of a movie. Nobody in real life could be surrounded by that many freaks in one lifetime. Should have stuck to Asian shows on Netflix.

You (2018–2024)

Couldn't even stomach past 3 episodes

[1/10 · 22 January 2019]

There's fun, entertaining thrillers with at least 1 likeable character, and even a likeable antagonist, and there's this. The lead actress is pretty but so boring that it's hard to believe any guy, psycho or not, would kill to be with her and endure her sleeping with random men with curtain open.

And the supposedly creepy, charismatic, psycho stalker dude, is nothing like that. Kept waiting to grasp how dangerously attractive this character is, and still waiting way into episode 3. Maybe because I never saw the Gossip Girl so I'm not sure why he's a big deal.

The rest are vapid characters of shallow girlfriends and forgettable whatever else. Thrillers are supposed to be exhilarating but this one is just uncomfortable and boring.

Looking for a thrill and instead groaning and eye-rolling most of the time that decided it wasn't worth even finishing episode 3.

SPF-18 (2017)

Movie has some redeeming qualities

[8/10 · 13 September 2018]

I was going to give this a 1 star because I can't do 0, but decided to give this an 8 because I had some of the best laughs reading the reviews here. Bleeding eyes and rectum of angry viewers who probably gave this pile of gargabe a shot for Noah, couldn't believe not even the same guy from Sarah Burgess is a Loser and To All the Boys I've loved Before can salvage this cringe fest. The main girl is about as expressive as a log, couples swap partners like they swap clothes with no hard feelings whatsoever, and it wasn't even clear why they needed to swap. I had to do double and triple takes to make sure it was really Keanu Reeves I was seeing. I was actually wishing it was a lookalike because what would the real one be doing in such a terrible movie? I feel sorry for him. Does this review contain spoilers? What's there to spoil?