#ASD2023

[abbysreverie]

귀여워

[abbysreverie]

Just saw this film today and I’m so happy that I did!

Just wanna share a short backstory of how I discovered this movie. And you’ll definitely gonna find this hilarious and weird. So I just got bored yesterday, and I wanna watch something but couldn’t figure out myself what I wanted to watch…. So I thought of a bright idea since I couldn’t decide of a genre or something. I thought, why not look for a movie where one of the main characters has the same name as me (Abby), and so here we are! It was either this film or Let Me In, but since I’ve already seen Let Me In 7 or 8 years ago, I decided to opt for Life Itself instead. I was actually hesitant at first because it gave me an impression that it’ll just be about life and will only get boring halfway. Thankfully, I did not allow myself to think of it that way and gave it a chance. Can I just say that before I even watched this film, I am completely unaware of its story, I just checked the trailer yeah sure, but I tried so hard to refrain myself from reading the synopsis and even reviews from people who’ve seen it to avoid some great spoilers. And it actually helped!

As cheesy as it sounds, I will have to say this: Life Itself took me to an emotional roller coaster ride. The turn of events—the shocking self execution (sorry this is lowkey a spoiler), the plot (which was really amazing) did actually made me appreciate life in how the way it is right now. We’re so invested in making our lives perfect but really, no one knows what would happen next, right? Not your best friend, your dad, your mom and even yourself. Which is why I understood their concept (from Abby’s thesis) that life itself could really be the greatest unreliable narrator of our life!

The concept about life was not the only thing that turned me on in this movie, it’s also the way they portrayed that there are still things in life that are really meant to happen (fate/destiny), and that we cannot simply call them “coincidence”. You see, it brings us back to the idea that that’s how life really works, and that no one can ever control or manipulate their future, even the present. It’s all natural. It’s simply life.

Finally, I love how profound this film is, it may not have the best cinematography in the world of cinema, but the literary and storyline of this film is what made me appreciate it more, and not just as a viewer, but it really gave a huge impact on me literally in a personal level. And when I let out the word “PERSONAL” I mean it and it really changed how I see my life. Guuurl, this is kinda deep. It’s really weird when I find myself say serious stuff like this haha.

Final Verdict: 8/10

Life Itself (2018)

Director - Dan Fogelman, Cinematography - Brett Pawlak

"Abby, I'm waiting for the right moment cause when I ask you out, there's not gonna be any turning back for me. I'm not gonna date anybody else for the rest of my life. I'm not gonna love anybody else for the rest of my life. I'm not gonna really care about anything else for the rest of my life. I'm waiting for the right moment, Abby 'cause when I ask you out, it's gonna be the most important moment of my life. And I just wanna make sure that I get it right."

[abbysreverie]

i can’t sleep so i’m just gonna impulsively write a review about the best psychological horror/thriller film i’ve seen in my entire life

…. and that film is….. drum roll please!

*ddu-ddun-ddu-ddun-ddu-ddun*

A Tale Of Two Sisters

First of all, I cannot keep track anymore of how many times I’ve watched this film, but the very first time I saw this was when I was only 10 (I think), it was somewhere between 2008-2009. Obviously, my comprehension that time is still not capable of catching the whole plot and twists of this movie. My cognition only works for the jumpscares and I couldn’t think of any more logical than the ghosts that appeared in this film and them haunting me in my sleep.

But that was just in my elementary days. I think I’ve seen it also in my high school days and understood the story better, but it still felt shallow for me. But when I got to college and watched it again, my perspective had changed a lot and it felt like I’ve had an epiphany. It was also really timely that I’m majoring Psychology when I watched it again, because not that I just understood the story better, it also made me realize that it’s actually not a horror film that centers on just the scary ghosts and jumpscares, rather a psychological film that centers on the horror of having a mental disorder and suffering alone from the burden of massive guilt.

Guys, I’m telling you, everything about this film is super superb. The actors—all of them—were incredible in their roles. The location too is lovely, I don’t mind living in that isolated place as long as it’s surrounded by nature and it’s near the lake too! And since the location alone is already a win, the cinematography in return turns out to be perfect on its own. Here are some of my favorite shots where the cinematography will speak beauty for itself:

The musical score is something too. The screechy violin was really creepy af, I get the chills everytime they come out a scary scene. But I do have this one song that I like from this film, and I think it’s also one of the film’s best trademarks because it will literally stay in your head even after you’re done watching the film for a very long time. This particular piece made the ending scene extra heartbreaking and I was literally ready to shed a lot of tears because of the sadness it made me feel. I hope you’d understand where I’m coming from when I say this piece called “Epilogue” by Lee Byung Woo is one of the best musical pieces I’ve heard and that I even want to play it at my wedding.,

Last but not the least, the plot. It is no doubt the crowning glory of this film. It was so beautifully written, the twists are masterfully executed you’ll absolutely get mindfucked, but in a really satisfying way! I will not share any details about the plot I want you guys to see and experience it yourselves. 😁

Final Verdict:

10/10

[abbysreverie]

THE BEST THE 1975 ALBUM

I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2016)

This was the era where I was able to fully anticipate anything from The 1975 and it was one of the most special moments of my life. This was the time where I must say my musical preferences have fully awakened. The 1975 and Dirty Hit did so sooo good in this era. From the aesthetic visual teasers to actual promotions to the production with their live stages on tour, everything was beautiful. I still love ILIWYS’s neon lights visualizers better than the theatrical stage set-up of BFIAFL. The setlist too was much better even if we’re talking about songs only from their first 2 albums released, we’re still beyond satisfied then.

Fave tracks:

Somebody Else (obviously, who doesn’t love this song?)

Paris (i just love the vibe, nothing personal)

Iliwys (i would sacrifice my life just to hear this live!!!)

Notes on A Conditional Form (2020)

Now NOACF was something else. This came out during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and I couldn’t thank my boys enough for saving my life back then. Everyone was still in shock and filled with anxiety because of the virus but The 1975’s NOACF came to rescue me from that. It was jam packed with so many good tracks, all of them were no skip for me. Apparently, NOACF carries my most fave song from the whole discography of The 1975—perhaps of all time, and nothing’s taking its place still even after BFIAFL’s release ‘cause let’s be real, BFIAFL in general is just isn’t it. Just me? Alright, no sweat. But I guess I really took a step back from them because I expected too much from it but just ended up kinda disappointed instead.

Anyway..

Fave tracks:

Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) (this bad boy holds the crown as my ultimate fave The 1975 song. And the fact that Rome also worked on this song makes it extra special for me. The melodic run is what attracted me to this song, it was a mix of late 90’s pop, alternative R&B and neo soul. Matty said it was their first pastiche-y song since it’s like a mixture of samples. Matty also shared that he considers this song as the “anomaly one” off of the whole album because of how experimental it is. But I don’t really care, to me it’s fun and very satisfying to listen to and it’s absolutely beyond perfection)

Then Because She Goes (i understood why they made it a short song, like Roadkill. i just have a strong feeling they’d make a part 2 of them lol)

Yeah I Know (i was literally bopping and whispering “tf is this” at the same time when i first heard this song. it was like some sort of spiritual awakening and i enjoyed it very much. hit that shit, go hit that shit SUPREMACY)

P.S. Their self-titled Album is already a given. I mean, nothing beats the OG. Most of my favorite songs of them you will basically find in the self-titled album. The 1975 was like the soundtrack of my pre-college arc, like my anxiety was lessened because of how I discovered The 1975 on the summer of 2014, when there was literally a lot going on in my life. My family moving in to another city while I was still emotionally and mentally preparing for college was kinda stressful tbh, and I thank The 1975 for giving me the energy and for keeping me motivated during that time… yeah..so that’s it i guess..

[abbysreverie]

Aftersun

What a way to make my life more depressing!

Haha jk.

This film !! Never fails to give me goosebumps everytime I recall the happy moments between Sophie and her dad. And when the ending came, I kinda got lost for a moment, I felt so empty and scared I wanted to cry so hard. I realized, aside from movies where an animal dies, I can never watch films that involve father and daughter/son relationship, like this one does. Yeah, I think this is gonna be the last time because I don’t know know when will I be ready for stuff like this again, or if I’m ever going to be ready at all.

Can’t tell that much about the plot/storyline except that it was really successful in capturing nostalgia and melancholia. This film is not about telling a story, it’s about the feeling you get everytime you revisit important memories from the past, it’s simply just an emotion heavy film. The memories of Sophie with her dad, Calum, during their vacation in Turkey just feel so warm to watch. There were bright and happy times, but there were also dark and helpless times—especially for Calum.

Right, now giving the spotlight to the actors because they were just SO good. The kid, Frankie Corio, aside from the fact that she’s such a pretty girl, I thought that she did really great in portraying her character, and the way she delivered her line? Very precise with the tone. Which is why I think she’s really cool for that. And of course, the Paul Mescal. I’ve seen him before from Normal People (and this reminds again me that I haven’t finished that one yet!), you would definitely see how versatile he is as an actor. Paul’s just really good at showing his emotions through his eyes. He doesn’t even have to try hard in acting, he’s effortlessly good at doing his job and I think he’s so cool for that too.

P.S. Since this is a film from the Great Britain, i already expected that the accent would be really strong on this one, especially the characters are coming from Scotland where the accent is just beautifully strong. So I made sure I watch with the subtitles on. I’m happy that I did and that the (illegal) site where I watched it have them too. Was able to clearly hear and understand what the people on that film were saying because listening to them speak without the subs feels like I’m having auditory dyslexia (jk just made that up but that’s really how I can best describe it). No offense scottish people!

REMINDER: Never be ashamed of watching an English-language film still with the subtitles on!

Finally—and I will never shut up about this category, the cinematography. I love it so much. It was realistic and very subtle at the same time. Turkey was also beautiful as it is. Color grading’s fantastic too, I love how bright and clear the colors are in this film. I just didn’t like the rave part where there were flashing lights. It hurt my eyes for real I had to look away from the screen everytime that scene showed up. Other than that, I really love the cinematic feel of it.

Final Verdict: 8/10

[abbysreverie]

I just needed a good cry

I felt kinda depressed these past few days so I wanted to worsen it for a bit because I’m just that stupid. I’ve been seeing this film a lot on my IG reels which obviously means I’ve already been spoiled right even before seeing this film, and ONCE AGAIN, I hated the humanity.

Anywaaaaay

Soulmate is a pretty decent movie and here are the reasons why I loved it.

First, the cinematography is so beautiful I think half of my shedding of tears was mainly because of the cinematography. Come on, Jeju-do itself is already stunning and cinematic enough, any film maker wouldn’t even have to try hard doing camera tricks and manipulating some color grading just to achieve a nostalgic vibe to Jeju.

Second, the actors did so fantastic with their acting. All of them were equally good at giving their emotions. Everytime the scene gets emotionally heavy, I noticed that I always look ONLY at the actors’ eyes, especially the 2 female leads, they fucking killed it. I just had to look at their eyes and right before I know it, I’m already bawling. Kim Dami and Jeon Seonee were both very fitting and deserving for their roles in this film. Their chemistry was super great too, it’s like they were really best friends in real life.

Last but not the least, the plot. Very well laid out. Tbh, it keeps messing with me because of the amount of plot twists they presented. It’s the fact that you knew there’d be another plot twist but you still end up crying at the scene. Especially in my case, who have already been ruined by the annoying spoilers, it still made me ugly cry.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

soulmate (2023) dir. kim yongkeun

[abbysreverie]

My official most fave NCT 127 song

This song is perfection. The melody, the vocals, the adlibs & harmonization, the song message and hell yeah the fair line distribution!

I know Superhuman existed as the best 127 song, but their r&b b-sides always win my heart, like I sometimes get really crazy just listening to them.

Gold Dust is so perfect to me in every way, especially when they performed this live, I felt like I ascended to heaven.

[abbysreverie]

The “Could’ve been” my most fave NCT 127 song

Fr this would easily be on the No. 1 spot ONLY IF Haechan had more lines, like 1 line with literally just 4 words in it is utter bullshit. Like how can you give someone with such powerful vocals that stupid line with that amount of words to sing??? Tf?

[abbysreverie]

The Classic (2003)

The movie title actually speaks for itself. It is indeed a ✨Classic✨.

The first time I saw this film was really reaaaaally a long time ago, I think I was only 12 when I first saw this, and it was aired on our local news channel (yes that used to be a thing here), and hear me out, it was also dubbed in Filipino language. Actually I don’t really have a problem with the dubbing of international films into Filipino back then, i repeat only “back then”. Cause they still do that here but not so often anymore as before because dubbing actors these days are just so cringey.

Comparing the first time I saw this versus today, I will say that I appreciate it better now. Watching this when I was still a kid only understood and enjoyed the funny scenes—especially this hospital scene with the clip right here so you can follow (you’re welcome)

12 years have already passed but this scene still cracks me up so hard.

Now that I understand the context of it, the story and its meaning, I was able to pick a lot of beautiful messages and lessons from this film. Joon-ha and Tae-su’s friendship is one of the most beautiful things in this film. Apparently, they were both in love with the same girl (Ji-hae), I think Joon-ha met her first during his summer break in the countryside, and when school was back, his best friend Tae-su welcomed him with a news that he’s been arranged for a marriage with—you guessed it right—Ji-hae… unlike most of the people being forced to a fixed marriage, Tae-su was actually happy about it and he expressed how he really likes Ji-hae. But once both of the dudes figured out themselves that they’re both inlove with Ji-hae, Tae-su—without a second thought—lets go of Ji-hae, poor guy already knew that Ji-hae’s inlove with another guy and that’s his best friend. Both dudes remained in good terms despite that romance conflict, that’s just how good friends they are to each other. Sure it was a relief for Joon-ha, but it’s exactly the opposite for Tae-su.

Since it was only a fixed marriage, the people responsible for this are of course the parents. And that’s when things get shitty for Tae-su. His father kept saying hurtful and degrading words to him and even physically hurting him. Suicidal thoughts start triggering Tae-su which eventually led to a suicide attempt. For real my throat starts to hurt because I was trying so hard to hold my tears. Somehow you knew this would happen given Tae-su’s situation, but not in that unexpected time and place, which is why I really got caught off guard and almost teared up (especially when Joon-ha found him hanging).

After Tae-su’s suicide attempt, Joon-ha realized how being with Ji-hae would ruin his best friend’s life, or worse, lose it. This time it was Joon-ha who lets go of Ji-hae. He joined the military and not so long, was already assigned to a mission in Vietnam. Tae-su and Ji-hae’s marriage was then carried on and they even had a daughter.

Holy crap, I think I just wrote a whole ass synopsis there! I apologize for spoiling and not giving a warning hehe

Both Tae-su and Joon-ha understood and considered each other’s situation, without any hard feelings and even giving support to each other. Which is why I said their friendship is one of the most beautiful things in this film.

Next is the movie’s concept of fate/destiny, Joon-ha and Ji-hae may have not ended up with each other, it’s their son and daughter (respectively) who continued their story and are basically being awarded with destiny instead. When that scene showed up I legit screamed “OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH”. “What a cute revelation”, I said to myself. It was like Life Itself, the Asian version. But since The Classic was aired first, I guess I should say that Life Itself is the American version of The Classic. Lol what I’m trying to say is they have the same concept and message, they just have their own different twists.

Last but not the least, ladies and gents, is the notorious “Cinematography”. 👏👏👏👏

You can never go wrong with the cinematography of Asian films. After seeing Wong Kar-Wai’s films, I have decided that the classic late 90’s to early 20th century Asian films’ cinematography is my favorite cinematography of all time. The Classic’s cinematography is one of them, the setting is so laid back and just simply feels nostalgic. Sure, modern films still do these kind of nostalgic vibe especially if it’s a coming-of-age film, but they’re basically only a visualization of the past and you can’t really help but compare it to the real classic times.

Final Verdict: 8/10

[abbysreverie]

amazing band

amazing song, amazing vocals

[abbysreverie]

don’t you just love music that instantly puts you into trance?

Jakob and Clairo’s voice 🌌

[abbysreverie]

Midsommar

This film is so fucked up

(no pun intended)

Look, I don’t really like it. It’s such an overrated film tbh. But maybe that’s just me. Maybe I just didn’t pay attention. But the fact that everyone’s claiming it to be that horror film that would make you so disturbed after watching, I admit I expected a little too much from it.

Of course before even seeing it, I already briefed myself about the gory pagan cult practices of Midsommar (only in that film ofc, swedish peeps don’t do that irl because if they do then wtf), to be honest, they didn’t feel scary or disturbing to me—to the point that I won’t be able to sleep normally after watching it or that it will keep haunting me in my dreams. No fam, I actually just felt really weirded and disgusted by it. All throughout the time the characters came to Hårga, I just keep mouthing “the fuck?” when I’m expecting to say “WHAT THE FUCK!!!”. You get my point. Besides, Ari Ester’s (the director) customization of the actual festival is so, I dunno, sort of a try-hard cult film? It’s just so unrealistically gory and awful to watch. I didn’t even flinch to that part (WARNING: Spoiler ahead) where the 2 oldies jumped off of a cliff, and even hammering the head of one of them multiple times when they saw him literally still gasping for air after jumping. I immediately thought that it was so unnecessary and stupid.

Ok, so that’s one of the popular scenes of that film, the next and last one I’m gonna share is the weird ritual sex scene. Again SPOILER WARNING, stop right here if you don’t want to ruin your experience. So yeah, that scene specifically made me want to throw up, funny because that’s what also Dani did when she saw them doing it. I also saw this from a lot of people saying they didn’t find it disturbing (which is I think what the director/writer’s actually trying to portray, like it’s not really meant to be disturbing), it’s just weird and really really disgusting. It only got even more uncomfortable when the old woman started helping/pushing Christian lmao fr it was so uncomfy watching that but it was also kinda funny. I’m so unserious sorry.

If I’m going to be honest, the only really traumatizing scene is when they showed Dani’s family, especially the sister who killed herself (and apparently their parents too) from gas poisoning. Her sister’s exploded lungs and internal organs looked really horrendous and disturbing, not only the way it looks, but the fact that this is what suicide can make us look like. It’s painful and awful. Another passable scary scene is when Dani chose Christian over the Hårga native—who openly volunteered to be one of the 9 lives to be sacrificed. It could be the hippie drug, or the awful sex ritual, but the fact that you’ve known that person the most out of everyone around you and still choosing him to literally get killed is so sickening. Honestly, I kinda felt bad for Christian, I mean he really isn’t that a good partner to Dani at all, ffs he was also drugged and helpless most of the time they were there, but he still ended up in the worst position and it’s because of his girlfriend. But don’t be fooled, I kinda lost it again when they started putting Christian in the bear carcass lmao.

Uh, I think that’ll be all for my Midsommar review. I guess I can say the only thing I liked about it is the color grading. I liked that they didn’t try hard enough to make the setting look gloomy or dark. Doing the opposite ambiance which is that bright, colorful cinematography actually helped in giving it off somewhat another vibe of a creepy feeling. But if I’m gonna compare it to Hereditary which is also based off some pagan cult, Hereditary obviously wins. That shit really set the standard for American horror films. That’s truly what scary and disturbing mean in a film.

Final Verdict: 6.7/10

[abbysreverie]

My Amazing Dad (An Open Letter)

Hi Pa,

How are you up there? Still couldn’t believe that last month was already your 2nd death anniversary. Everything still felt like they just happened yesterday, the pain and guilt still hit me hard and the void keeps getting bigger everytime that i realize that you’re really gone.

I miss you so much, Pa. My heart aches more everytime I think that you won’t be able to witness our future anymore, like give advice about my potential suitors, walk me to the altar in my wedding and meet my husband and the family that we’re about to build when the time comes. I’ve been told that somehow people who passed away are still able to see us from the other side, but how lovely and ecstatic would it be if you’re still here with us and physically share those moments with you, right?

I’m really sorry that I was not able to give the world to you. You have been such a great father to us, and I am really really really thankful to God that you are my father because you did not ever ONCE showed any neglect to your family. You were not expressive through words, but your actions showed how a loving and caring father and husband you are, and that’s what matters the most.

I am literally tearing up while writing this post. I’m convinced that the pain will never go away and that things have really changed for me. I’m not the same person as I am when Papa was still here. I can’t believe that God already gave me the worst level of heartbreak as my first ever heartbreak, and it’s losing one of my parents. I still get a little upset with God for doing that to me though, like that was considered torture, not just a mere heartbreak! I never really understood grief until they took Dad away from us :(((((

I may have not given the world to you, Pa, but I will make sure to give the world to Mama.

I love you, Papa.

We miss you so much.

I will see you on the other side, soon 🤍

Loving you eternally,

Abby

[abbysreverie]

i’m back, bishes

daaaammmmnnnn, how long has it been really? 3 years? 4 years? sheesh i thought i will never be able to open this blog anymore, thanks to tumblr for making it easier to just connect and log in using gmail and so here we are now! :D

i dunno it just came to me one time that i really want to revive this blog because i’ve been invested to watching international dramas/films and exploring a lot more different music lately. and i wanna share some personal stuff too since no one’s here. i mean i have a twitter dump account, yeah, but i can’t post all my thoughts there because that was intentionally made just for my anime and kpop thrash.

thankfully, tumblr is still the best place to share my thoughts and reviews about the other artistic stuff, even if no one really gives a shit about it—well, i don’t even know if anyone will see this but yeah either way, sharing these kind of stuff helps me a lot to express myself more, doesn’t really matter if it gets acknowledged by anyone or not.

alright cool, so where should i start? my mental health? nah. too confidential. let’s just stick to movies and music.

-end-