"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Streaming Services: Netflix Movie Name/Year: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity (2021) Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy Length: 138 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Hehe Pictures, Shanghai Film Group, Netflix Director: Jingming Guo Writer: Jingming Guo Actors: Mark Chao, Allen Deng, Ziwen Wang, Jessie Li, Duo Wang Blurb from IMDb: Qing Ming, the Yin-Yang Master, took his master's last wish and went to the Captial Tiandu City to attend the heaven ceremony.
Selina’s Point of View: I am having trouble coming up with the words necessary to describe this film. I can throw out terms like gorgeous and amazing, but that doesn’t quite hit the extent of it. The trailer didn’t really do The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity justice. I mean, I knew it would be beautiful and figured it would be interesting… but I was still blown away. All my expectations shattered under the weight of how breathtaking this cinematic masterpiece was.
I was hypnotized by the graphics. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. For all the well-done CGI I’ve gone through since I started this blog, there isn’t anything that comes even remotely close to what I saw today. There were things I knew were fake simply because they don’t exist in real life, but they were so flawless that suspending my disbelief took no effort.
I’ll admit there are some overdone themes involved in the plot, but I don’t think it matters. From an entertainment perspective, it had me. I was so completely engulfed that I don’t think I took a single breath during the entire climax. I think fans of Final Fantasy games are going to see a lot of visuals that remind them of the 90s installments (with obviously upgraded coding). There was some summoning action, as well as one scene that gave me serious Sephiroth vibes.
I have no complaints. None. The film made me want to read the books, and it’s probably something I’m going to watch several times over. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. I watched it with the subtitles, but they do have English dubbing if that’s not your cup of tea.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 85% Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.2/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust the Dice Parental Advisory Rating: R – horror scenes P.S.: Mid-credits scene. Movie Trailer:
Number Rolled: 148 Movie Name/Year: The Flowers of War (2011) Tagline: In extraordinary times, ordinary people become heroes. Genre: Drama, History, Romance Length: 146 minutes Rating: R Production Companies: Beijing New Picture Film Co., Edko Films, New Picture Company Producers: Chaoying Deng, William Kong, David Linde, Leo Shi Young, Weiping Zhang Director: Yimou Zhang Writers: Heng Liu, Geling Yan Actors: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Huang Tianyuan, Zhang Xinyi, Xiting Han, Doudou Zhang, Dawei Tong, Atsuro Watabe Stunt Doubles: Fatih Ugurlu
Blurb from Netflix: A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
I had to watch something completely different after watching this movie in order to put myself back together again. Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t win more awards – but then, there were some heavy hitters at the box office in 2011. I’m not sure what else was going on in China at the time, but the film did apparently crack the top 10 highest grossing Chinese movies of all time.
Set during the time of conflicts leading up to World War II, as Japan invaded China, this movie doesn’t pull any punches in regards to the brutality and destruction of war. You’ll find no candy-coating here. There were bodies everywhere, and people dropping like flies.
If you have trouble
watching graphic things of that nature, or are easily triggered by violence
against women, this movie is not for you.
That being said,
none of the graphic content was unwarranted. You won’t find fountains of blood
here. The scenes were tasteful and overall the movie was visually stunning,
through both the ravaged city of Nanjing and the stark contrast of rich colors
in the scenes centered on the church.
I was buying what
this film was selling. While the movie was based on a novel, it did give me
pause to wonder if this was someone’s real memoir. The author wasn’t old enough
to have lived through the film’s scenario. It feels entirely plausible that it
could have happened to a relative of hers; however, that’s purely speculation
on my part.
The cast was absolutely enchanting – especially the actress
that played Yu Mo, Ni Ni (Back in Time,
Enter the Warriors Gate, Suddenly Seventeen). This was her movie debut, and
I think she nailed it. She embodied such elegance and sultry essence.
I was rather surprised to see Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma, Out of the Furnace, The Big
Short), but he quickly erased any doubts I might have had.
This was one hell of an emotional roller-coaster. I’m glad I
was along for the ride. Against the horrific backdrop, the beauty of hope shines
more brightly. I was left wanting more of the story, and yet satisfied with the
ending all the same.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film. Don't forget to have some tissues handy, just in case.
Languages Speech Available: Mandarin Subtitles Available: English, Spanish
