Top Favorites **** :   1. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. The Shawshank Redemption 3. Jaws 4. Psycho ('60) 5. Amadeus 6. Better Luck Tomorrow 7. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings 8. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle 9. Sean Wang's DIDI 10.Everything Everywhere All At Once 11. The Accidental Getaway Driver 12. Searching 13. Randall Park's "Shortcomings" 14. Justin Chon's Blue Bayou 15. Always Be My Maybe (2019 - A.Wong / R.Park dir. N.Khan) 16. Ping Pong Playa 17. Gonjiam Haunted Asylum Other Favorites ***:   Ba, My Daughter Is A Zombie (K-Film), Ghost Train (K-Film), Troll Factory (K-Film), The Karate Kid: Legends, Lee Byun Hun in "The Match", Last Breath, Atlas, Don't Make Me Go (w/ John Cho), Barbie (2023), Love Hard (w/ Jimmy O. Yang), Ghost / Grotesque Mansion (K-Movie 2021), Fast 9, Wish Dragon, Tran Quoc Bao's The Paper Tigers, Stowaway, Evan Jackson Leong's "Snakehead", Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari", Tigertail, Over The Moon, WF Productions' Everything Before Us, Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite", Evan Jackson Leong's Linsanity (The Documentary), Mayhem, Lee Chang Dong's "Burning", Justin Chon's 'Gook', 'Ms. Purple', Surrogate Valentine, Daylight Savings, Hang Loose, K-Town Cowboys, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, Finishing The Game, Jet Li's Fearless, The Year Of The Yao, To Be Takei, Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (The Original Anime), Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories, Katsuhiro Otomo's Metropolis, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, Miyazaki's Nausicaa in the Valley Of The Wind, Pixar's Up, Toy Story, Office Space, Beavis & Butt-Head Do America, Idiocracy, The Ringer, Jackass 3, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Shine, The Goonies, The Karate Kid ('84) / Part II ('86), Forrest Gump, Dead Poet's Society, Rocky, One Hour Photo, Poltergeist ('82), John Carpenter's The Thing, John Carpenter's Halloween, Saw, 1408, Pet Sematary ('89), The Amityville Horror ('79), Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek, Star Trek Beyond, Back To The Future Trilogy, The Breakfast Club, First Blood, Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Cool Runnings, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The School Of Rock, The Hustler, The Color Of Money, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Rain Man, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious 6, Best of the Best, The Matrix/The Matrix Reloaded/The Matrix Revolutions, The Terminator, Alien, Aliens, Casino, The Godfather Trilogy, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, The Maze Runner Trilogy, Escape From Alcatraz, Fast Times, Die Hard, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Ghostbusters ('84), Monster House, Spaceballs, Employee Of The Month, The Usual Suspects, Wreck-It Ralph REVIEWS AND THOUGHTS 10/30/2025: Ba *** "Ba" is not exactly a horror film - partially that, but at the heart of it is a father / daughter relationship story taking a twisted, horrific turn. A father is left taking care of her daughter after the mother abandoned them years earlier. He doesn't exactly have the money to support her, and after being evicted and left homeless - he finds a mysterious bag filled with stuff inside. Some hefty cash to last awhile, and a cryptic note that indicates that anyone who takes this "gift" becomes the grim reaper or death. It's the type of job that would leave anyone speechless or "lifeless", yet it wasn't obvious to Ba until he takes the money and becomes it. I found this more of a sad story than horror - a metaphor that a desperate father would go to any lengths to support their kids or themselves, and in the end - Ba pays the ultimate price with his life after trying to flee / escape from his grim reaper responsibilities. The visuals were subtle enough to look creepy. I wish the film was a bit longer, and went more into depth about Ba's past as well as his relationship with the daughter. They showed glimpses of their happier times. Overall, I enjoyed it. 10/26/2025: The Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy **1/2 I don't know the original source material, I just watched it thinking it was a standalone fantasy / sci-fi film. I suppose that's a good thing. Hardcore fans of the original source material can never be appeased anyway. But if I were a fan of the original graphic / web novel or toon, there might be disappointments for me as well. It's envitable. Overall, I enjoyed it. The premise is that a fantasy web novel comes to life after the main character or reader leaves a comment on how he hated the ending. Things starts unraveling, as humanity is tested in scenarios for survival: what would you do to survive. Them cute, pudgy thingies who are controlling all this, apparently come from the constellations and planned for the ultimate end or destruction of humanity due to their violent, selfish nature. The film unfolds like a video game, characters can acquire special skills or powers through Coins - dropped when a person is killed. Definitely like a video game (looting bodies in WoW, etc). I wasn't expecting any kind of inspiring acting at all. In this type of genre, all you need is a convincing attitude and just be kick-ass. The CGI was decent, better than I thought it would. Perhaps there should have been less of it however. I felt that the main protagonist of the film's web novel itself should have had more scenes. We only get glimpses of his high-level skills and powers. If I read the original source material, there probably would have been more criticism of this film. But I'm just going to leave it as it is. What's next? On the look-out for K-Films until another nice drama comes along ("The Dream Life Of Mr. Kim" comes to mind). I'm sticking with Dramacool because there's nothing else. However, it is not recommend unless you have an effective ad blocker or an effective security software. 10/16/2025: Gonjiam Haunted Asylum **** I was pleasantly surprised and (legit scared as hell) watching this film. Cringing or hiding from gore is not really being scared, it's being disgusted. Jump scares are hard to do, you have to get the right atmosphere and time it right (a classic example is the severed head popping out in "Jaws"). Put yourself in a secluded, abandoned structure at night - is there eerie music going on? No - the premise of this film does it right in almost all regards. There is no music - just audible, real-time sounds from the place (of course - enhanced or exaggerated via sound editing for film editing purposes). The premise: a team of horror fans from their platform "Horror Times" decide to investigate and go live the notorious "Gonjiam Asylum", listed as part of the Top Creepiest Places on the planet, with their goal of reaching 1M views. The team leader is dead set on reaching it no matter what the cost. They get more than they bargained for, as the place is literally not only creepy as hell, but dangerous. I was impressed how immersive this was - while the actual ghosts and occurrences are obviously fictional as in any horror film, you actually felt you were with them. The film did not let any light other than camera light show - it was dark all around, and showed blurriness or what seemed like unedited footage to show some authenticity. Nothing is going to be digitally clear or clean, unless you edit to. Ghost films don't elicit jump scares- they rely too much on visuals. "Gonjiam" had quite a few unexpected jump scares, and just had me at the edge of my seat throughout. As we get to the end, the ghosts come out in the form of movement, sounds and eventually - a slow reveal of a partially shown apparition on lit by the camera equipment, strangling the team leader as the final victim. The film begins and ends with the team - there are no other scenes. So you're literally part of it when everyone falls victim to the Asylum. I also liked how they added the team leader and some members to "fake" evidence and a ritual to elicit more scares from the others to gain views (a testament how most paranormal shows are set up today). 10/13/2025: My Daughter Is A Zombie *** The zombie genre can get tiresome as a standalone horror, but why not add some comedy and drama (dramedy with horror). This was funny and had some dramatic themes, without compromising the usual zombie / horror atmosphere. At the heart of this film, is a theme of a surrogate father who risked his life by hiding andtaking care of his zombie-fied or infected daughter, never giving up in helping her to become human again (while waiting for the anecdote). Once he found out his daughter was not completely a zombie, he never gave up hope - only by stirring memories can things be reversed (it's the opposite for me - only by erasing memories can I find peace haha). You also have the scumbag, deadbeat, biological father who abandoned the family early. As fathers, we all strive to become like the surrogate father / sahmchun but fall completely short like myself. It's not easy having to deal with a more mis-behaving, tantrum-throwing kid. Or if some father has a DS kid or a 'problem child' kid. How can you cope, or not give up. I think it depends on how selfless or self-centered you are. Unfortunately, I've been more on the self-centered side. So how about that Grandma with the back scratcher - the comic relief we need haha. What started as a comedy, ended in almost a sad tragedy. But it ended on a happy note, with the daughter recovered and father recovering from a coma after his sacrifice. MORE FILM REVIEWS... "Play"time No More: A Homage I grew up watching Pee-Wee's Playhouse as a child. Pee Wee's Big Adventure was a cult classic - every scene quotable, repeatable and hilarious. You can't think of Paul Reubens without thinking of Pee-Wee Herman. Of course - he's been in countless other films as cameos or support actor. But the iconic character of Pee Wee Herman is etched or ingrained forever. By now - the news is out that Paul kept his cancer hidden for many years. Did he even hide it from doctors, or even refused to get treatment. That's what makes it tragic. In this day and age, 70 is not that old anymore. Hell - some are living way past 90 now. Like or hate the actor (never mind his sketchy past - besides, even Bobby Lee did it haha). I don't think anyone discount the influence of Pee Wee Herman - the child-like magic is in all of us whether we want to admit it or not. "Things You Can't Understand." "Things You'll Never Understand." *long pause* "Things You Shouldn't Understand" - Mike's Bike-O-Rama Happy 50th to "Jaws" **** From the opening credits of the three actors names (foreshadowing the showdown), the ominous music of the POV shark, to the first victim on the beach. You know the film was already heading in the right direction. Here are my reasons what made "Jaws" a classic / well-made film, despite the production-hell stories: 1. On-location - it was filmed on an island and on the ocean, not some damn studio. 2. Shark is unseen for most of the film, with the camera POV as the shark. 3. Hired actors who didn't stand out at that time, not to overshadow the shark. 4. During the final act of the showdown with the shark, Spielberg made sure not to show any land as if the Orca was in the middle of nowhere or lost. 5. The famous Jaws theme 6. The mechanical shark looked more real than any CGI shark ever (unfortunately, the Jaws sequels didn't have such luck - as bad as the CGI ones). It's been talked about, but let's list the "Jaws" deaths or what horror sites call, "kill count": 1. first victim - night or evening swim. Probably the most memorable or scariest death - you don't see the shark at all just the reaction and darkness all around. 2. Alex Kitner - the most gruesome or goriest (how the movie was not rated PG-13 or borderline R is beyond me). 3. Ben Gardner's head popping out - the jump scare that probably literally scared most of us out of our seats. 4. Estuary victim - severed leg floating down (gore #2) 5. Quint's demise - being bitten in half and chewed (and he was just talkin' about that during his infamous speech when they get drunk) A sure-fire way to get rid of "Jaws", is to use Dave Blunts or HFC as bait haha. One bite, and the shark is going to have to go on a "shark diet" for years.