Our Times (2015)

Being a sucker for the Asian cinema, I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch "Our Times" when I was given the chance to do so. And prior to sitting down to watch it, I didn't even know what the movie was about. Nor did I actually know of its existence."Our Times" actually turned out to be quite a good movie, as it had a beautiful storyline, a good and detailed character gallery, a fair amount of comedy, and it had a good ensemble of cast.What worked out well for the storyline was the way that writer Yung-Ting Tseng had manage to weave a story that spans over many years, revolving around the essential core characters of the storyline without losing the red line throughout the story as time passes by. But more so, also the adept approach of director Yu Shan Chen in bringing the script to life on the screen.This is the kind of movie that will appeal to a broad variety of people in the audience, because there is a lot of different layers to the movie and lots of different topics.The actors and actresses cast for the various roles and characters were doing really good jobs at bringing their respective characters to life on the screen. And it was a pure joy to watch their individual and collective performances in the movie."Our Times" was definitely a very enjoyable movie, one that is driven by a powerful and beautiful storyline, as well as a fantastic character gallery. This is the type of movie that you will easily be able to view more than just a single time around. I was thoroughly entertained by "Our Times" and can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch it, regardless of it you like Chinese cinema or not.

This is the very closest movie to my favourite Thai teen rom-com 'A Little Thing Called Love'. In fact a few scenes are almost resembling, including the main characters and love quadrilateral. So there's no wrong if I call it the Taiwan version of that movie. I thought I am going through again in another language, but I was not uninterested to sit for it because it was a beautiful story that I can re-watch numerous times without losing any interest.Remember its not the same movie, but only a similar themed flick, or maybe a highly inspired by that. This film had its own share of story and character developments. The third act was obviously a bit stretched, but twist came at early in that section and turned this tale into entirely different from what we thought going to happen. Except the second conclusion (I mean the real time ending, not the flashback's) which was so old fashioned.I found some similarities with my life and that Thai movie I mentioned, because that was based on the true story of everyone's first love and so this one. So finding a slice of your life in it is very much possible. The story of an ordinary girl, but it opens with a young woman recalls her school days after discovering her successful life was seen differently by others from her back. That takes us to the early 90s, like every girl in the school how her crush on a most handsome boy on the campus changes the course of her romance life after receiving a prank letter that states she must forward it to others."When we say it's okay, it means it's not okay. If we say I am fat, that means we hope you can tell us you're not fat at all."Obviously it is a girl movie from a teenage girl's perspective narration. But as a movie fanatic, I never had any issues with such kind of movies or any others and to like them openly. Basically, I watch any movies because I want to be an all-rounder, not to stick to my age or what I'm. This movie simply reminds my school days and would do same to you as well. The school culture is different from European and North American to the rest of the world, especially in Asia. But if you're from South, Southeast or East Asian, you will get familiar feeling with this film and that will helps you to like the movie a lot.In a few parts it lost its reality touch to, you know things that happen only in movies, especially as I said the ending and scenes that tried hard to bring laughs. You love this only for the flashback narration. The first and the last 5 minutes were ordinary. Everyone's performance was phenomenal, totally engaging storytelling. In this particular movie it was not about how much predictable, even if you feel deja-vu, but how it pleases you with those quirky atmosphere. A youthful Taiwanese film I liked very much since 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'. It does not look like it was made by an incoming director.There were plenty of fun, but on the emotional side, it was slightly weak. But overall it was one of the best coming-of-age movie of all time and recently I have seen. It's already gained a cult status from youngsters that you can find fan made arts across the web. Don't give up on this if you are an adult or adult male, entertainment should be the preference and what comes beyond that is not your choice, but the natural response from your inside. Despite the length of the movie, it had an energetic pace with fine music and heartwarming scenes. In general, I recommend it to all, especially if you like teen romance.9/10

I admit, this movie does not deserve a 2 out of 10, but I feel compelled to give it such a low score to bring down the overall ratings it currently possesses. A 7.5 out of 10 is overrating Our Times, granted that You're the apple of my eye, a much more successful version of this movie, is only 7.7.The plot is formulaic and repetitive: a clumsy diamond-in-the-rough type of girl harbors unrequited love for the white prince of the school. Then a black prince comes into the picture, gradually sweeps her off her feet with his charm and sincerity. But then the director drops the old classic study-abroad bomb into the drama as the black prince has to leave the country to study abroad due to his misdemeanor. The two of them are separated for 6 or 7 years but surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), still hold feelings for one another. The movie ends with a profoundly unrealistic fairy-tale conclusion (not just in the fact that the two meet again as if destiny calls on them but also the impossibly romantic setting) which rouses the hopeless romantic girls out there, making them swoon and go "awwww", but bores experienced movie- goers to the core, making them go "fuuuuu..." and wonder why they bought into the praising reviews. In terms of depicting the bittersweet sentiments of first love, Our Times pales in comparison with You're The Apple of My Eye, mostly due to its formulaic and unrealistic nature. You cannot "feel" much because you know it cannot happen in real life or can already predict what is happening next.In short, watch Our Times if you are looking for a movie to while away your time, or if you are a romantic searching for an excessively, over-the-top fairy-tale love stories. *I am not a follower of the You're The Apple of My Eye cult. I'm merely comparing the two movies because of the similarities in the overarching theme of youth and first love.

I just want to talk about the story's timeline and actors without talking about any shooting skills.As for the leading actress (Yunye Song), she does really well in the movie. To be a pure girl in senior high school, she is undoubtedly good at it. Being the leading actress in Café·Waiting·Love (2014) made her know clearly what she is good at. In this movie, she turned to be a ugly girl at the beginning, and became a pretty girl because of falling in love. Thousands of people say that the most vulgar movie will take the chance of owning the best title, I support this point of view, one could easily figure out what will happen next in this movie, but you are still willing to wait for it to take place. Like all love stories in 1990s' Taiwan, this story is pure and make people feel relaxed. When you are watching it, you felt like taking a nap. When all the story came to an end, you just thought all the story was in your SWEET DREAM.The leading actor (Dalu Wang) is a born rascal and his eye can tell everything. Judging from his eye, his love and anger are evidential. Gotten the first chance to be the leading actor, he grab the chance like Zhendong Ke in You Are The Apple of My Eye, I believe he will be the next generation famous stars in China.The scene is of great beauty, everything is set according the past, there is no contradiction with history in this movie.There are lots of bonus in this movie, Andy Lau in flesh, Jerry Yan in flesh, even Jiayi Shen (an character in You Are The Apple of My Eye) are in this movie.But I only can vote it 9 out of 10, because there are some plots the same as those in You Are The Apple Of My Eye, which I voted 10 out of 10 and have watched for more than 5 times.