Unforgettable (2016)

Just finished watching. It has been a long time since I cried my eyes out because of a movie. It feels good to let it all out. Do you know what is awesome with this movie ? It's that you know exactly what is going to happen but you can still feel it deeply because it is beautifully made. This is a real piece of art.

Well, the story is pretty much very predictable once you read the synopsis and after a few minute in the movie, I personally had figured out what was going to happen. Also, be prepared, the beginning is quite slow but this kind of pace matches this kind of movie. The story isn't particularly new. You will probably get a feeling of deja-vue. The story alone I would rate 3-4/10.

But what bring the grade up are the characters. I loved them, completely. They were so real, so 3d, so youthful and refreshing. I could see bit of myself in them. That's is why I rated the story 7/10. Because even if this kind of story have been done millions of times, the characters were actually interesting. They weren't those 2d (even 1d at time), stereotyped characters that we see everywhere nowadays. The friendship was beautifully portrayed. At the beginning, I was afraid that the little bit of romance would ruin it all, as it's often the case, but don't worry the romance is well balanced in this one. About the ending, I have heard people say that it was disappointing and selfish. But, I think that the ending is the strongest part of this story. Any other ending would have been disappointing. It's a very realistic ending.

Acting/Cast 10/10, Awesome, perfect !

The music. So perfectly on point. Honestly I generally don't pay much attention to music as long as it is not bothersome. But, I remember every single song of this movie because every single song went perfectly with the flow.

Rewatch Value : This the kind of movie that is actually pretty boring to rewatch, so I don't see the need. But I guess, if in a distant future, I feel the need for a tear-jerking movie, this one would be an option

Overall, It's not the movie of the year that's for sure. The plot has been overused, that's definitely true. But, if you want to see real art, if you are ready to let yourself be immersed, if you are disposed to open your heart, I promise you that you can have a wonderful experience with this movie. If you have time, give it a try.

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The movie was nice--but that's all it was. Just nice.

Predictable plot aside (which I found to be the primary issue), there were still several redeeming qualities to the movie that made it well-worth the watch.

Maybe I'm just a little jaded with the influx of all these (usually 90's throwback) nostalgic movies/dramas coming in--in which the main characters all reminisce the good ol' days of their youth--because unfortunately, the plot just didn't do much for me this time. I think that says a lot, because I'm usually a sucker for these types of stories no matter how accustomed I become with the formula. I just didn't feel any connection towards any of the characters, and there was always this vagueness surrounding almost everything (plot, characters, songs, etc.) that were never really addressed enough. I just felt like, as a viewer, I was set to watch point A, then a lot of filler, then straight to point B--and no matter how sympathetic I knew I was supposed to feel towards these people, I just couldn't because there was nothing really engaging enough. I feel like there were several themes that could have been executed better had there been less filler and more focus on the five friends--as a group and as individuals.

Overall, however, I still found myself enjoying the movie and found it to be worth the watch (the fact that I'm also an EXO fan and Do Kyungsoo has a starring role also helped, of course, ha ha). The acting was great (not one person in the cast was slacking), cinematography was beautiful (you can almost feel like you're there, transported into the island with them), and music was easy on the ears (you best believe I Googled 'The Water is Wide' right after finishing, haha). These factors, I found, were enough to salvage the slow-pace, predictability, and foreseeable ending.

I also found myself shedding a tear or two. As a young person myself, I'll always find stories about close-knit friendships and how they deal with such heartbreaking tragedies and push forward with their own lives afterwards to be topics that resonate with me. The ending was bittersweet and realistic, and the particular loss that they dealt with was one that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to.

If you've been wanting to give this movie a go but felt discouraged due to the less-than stellar reviews, I'd say to just go for it... but maybe only when there's nothing else to watch. Compared to other stories also centered around the similar 90's nostalgia theme, this movie just didn't execute as well. Still, this was a great movie for anyone who can watch it alone for what it is, blocking anything else in mind!

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