Tag: Romance

A Nerd’s Guide to the 2025 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Although the number of genre films seems small in this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the number of drama are always high as the 2025 event is ready to rumble starting tomorrow!

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival LOGORuns: May 1st to 7th, 2025

When I have a fondness for films made in Asia, I’m always excited to see what the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival will screen. This event kicks off tomorrow, and I’m always curious about who may become the next Bong Joon Ho. Or rather, wonder if this event will premiere the next exciting genre flick! My coverage over the years always considers this side of the show before extending the list to other movies that pique my interest.

And while some years offer more fantastical works than others in the short film category, there’s still some good drama to find! This top picks in what to see also considers this category too.

Chinatown Cha-Cha
China, Directed by Luka Yuanyuan Yang

CHINATOWN CHA-CHAThe 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yee decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba, and China.

From Okinawa With Love
Japan & USA, Directed by Hiroshi Sunairi

In the 1970s, Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa worked as a barmaid for African American GIs and published an impressive photography book.

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When tasting an Inhuman Kiss: The Last Breath (แสงกระสือ 2), What One Feels Is Not Quite Undead.

Although the sequel, Inhuman Kiss: The Last Breath took five years to get released, perhaps watching the first film is required to get viewers up to speed.

The Inhuman Kiss The Last Breath PosterNow available on Digital and VOD

After Valentine’s Day weekend, all I can say is that love bites. After viewing a Thai film titled Inhuman Kiss: The Last Breath, I’m glad to not be currently dating anyone from South Asia. That lady can be 100% mortal by day and completely monstrous at night! According to folklore, the Krasue is this nation’s version of a vampire and the belief in them is real. Even today, people report sightings!

Most of the encounters come from farmers. While some manifestations may simply be swamp lights than will-o’-the-wisps, the fear is justified. They flit about the countryside in search of a midnight snack. Although they are not true vampires, just why they exist does not differ from why the Beholders from Dungeons and Dragons have sprung into being. They don’t guard treasure, but instead need to satisfy a bloodlust. This aspect is one concept this film gets right!

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When Love Hurts, Just How Bad Can It Be?

The answer is as mystifying as what kind of movie is this meant to cater to? Love Hurts is a mix of comedy, martial-arts and gangsters.

Love Hurts 2025 Movie PosterWhen the movie Love Hurts tries to be a bit of Everything, Everywhere All At Once (movie review link), not even Ke Huy Quan can save it. As much as I love the fact he’s returned to acting following the seminal hit which won him a Golden Globe, not every new film can be as spectacular. The problem is that the premise is better off as a picture starring Jackie Chan than anyone else.

When the fact this film includes various shootouts close to Valentine’s Day along with a reveal concerning sibling rivalry, there’s just too much happening. This work doesn’t try to be a particular genre, but many. It’s a romantic action adventure comedy with an idea or two from John Wick on top.

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When The Mysterious Nie Xiaoqian: A Chinese Ghost Story (小倩) Gets A New Date!

Like its namesake, let’s hope this new take on A Chinese Ghost Story isn’t just a fading dream. This film has a new release date, and as for when it’ll come out in the Americas, that’s anyone’s guess.

Nie Xiaoqian: A Chinese Ghost Story Nie Xiaoqian: A Chinese Ghost Story has a new release date, and according to AsianFilmFans YouTube information, that’s Dec 6, 2024! Whether this is for its debut in China or an international date, the latter is unlikely. This animated movie was supposed to come out in April of this year, but with no media coverage and reviews to be found, perhaps the film wasn’t ready. When considering the credits lists first-time director Qichao Mao in charge, perhaps he realised there’s some flaws that needed fixing.

Between the older trailer and newest, there’s a lot more story revealed. Siu-sin is tied up, and shows no love for her captor. It’s some greater force who have kept others from ascending. In Bhuddism, there’s sometimes the hope for reincarnation or even a new life in a new realm, but here, there are unearthly forces who want to control spirits!

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There’s a Reason why Beckett has 10 Lives over his 9…

Some cats should not burn through all their chances at living it right that fast, but in 10 Lives, is that enough?

10 Lives Movie PosterStreaming on Apple TV Plus

I’m glad the wait was not long to bring 10 Lives to North America. I knew about its UK debut and knew this was a movie I had to watch! This movie features a cat needing to learn how not to be selfish. Beckett (voiced by Mo Gilligan) has a lot to learn, and I’m glad he has a forever hope on Apple’s streaming service. I recommend it for all cat lovers and fans of Doctor Who too! He’s a cat who has more lives than he should, so I’m guessing he’s been granted an all new cycle like that Time Lord! And just like that BBC series, this kitty can keep his memories of everything that he experienced from his past “regenerations.”

At first, this street cat didn’t have any care for life, and just wanted to survive. But when, after nearly getting smashed by a car, Rose (Simone Ashley) was driving, her guilt would soon morph into pampering the kitty, and over time, the luxury she offered gets taken for granted. He loves his lifestyle until the ex-boyfriend arrives and upends his world. The result is funny at one level but dark when considering how many times this cat burns through life in a brief span of time.

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No, Your Monster Can’t Be My Pet Monster… But Can He in this Romantic Horror Comedy?

Sometimes, all anyone wants to do is let all that frustration out, and Your Monster is a film that shows how to do it right!

Your Monster Movie PosterVertigo Films
Release Date(s):
Oct 25 (USA) and Nov 29 (UK)
TBA for Canada
Potential Spoiler Alert

The question of what Your Monster is supposed to represent depends on how audiences want to interpret this film. Here, Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) wants to shine on New York’s biggest stage. However, her time on the stage will be limited. In what I’m reading suggests she has to learn how to face her insecurities. Or she can learn how to fend for herself. That’s because nobody was there for her when she got her diagnosis. This feeling of being alone sets the course of the film. And as for why Jacob (Edmund Donav), her boyfriend, wasn’t present, I kept tabs on the flashbacks to figure out why.

As for what her monsters hiding in the closet represent, that’s a question which isn’t easily answered until more backstory is revealed.

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