CN BLUE(씨엔블루) - 7ºCN Mini Album Thoughts(K-Pop)

Track List:01. 헷갈리게 (Between Us)02. It`s You03. 끊지마 (Calling You)04. When I Was Young05. 마니또 (Manito)06. Royal Rumble




   CN BLUE got dumped along with my exit away from the Kpop scene of fandoms and keeping up with all things Kpop. I don't how but they got trapped in that big generic machine called Kpop. This caused them to have many evolutions in their sound over the last few years. I peeked in at their music a few times and wasn't impressed with where their sound had gone. They used to be those Korean boys who were in Japan singing songs in English, then they got signed to a record label in Korea. I can't believe this is their 7th mini album. Wasn't it just yesterday that I'm a Loner came out, impressing everyone in Korea because no other style like that song existed at the time? Gosh. Here's more reasons for me to feel old as hell. Thanks.

    7ºCN doesn't sound like a CN BLUE album at all. Every aspect of this mini album sounds like a record that if it was bubble gum, the sweetness would never go out of the gum. Even after chewing the gum for hours. Do they even actually play their instruments on this album?? The tracks just sound more pop orientated this time around. Long time fans might say that they sold out but I notice that CN BLUE always seems to strive to evolve their music. CN BLUE was one of the bands that really brought the Rock, Soul, and Rap style to the mainstream Kpop world. So them trying to still be trendsetters makes sense. Only it didn't work out too well for 7ºCN as this album sounds like all the other Kpop albums. I could hear them playing their instruments in some tracks such as Calling You and Between us but the production lowers the volume on their playing so that the beat can be more dominate. Between us, Its You, and When I was Young could be remix versions of other tracks. The pop remix versions of the real tracks that we may never hear. Or the DJ got to the tracks before we did and these remixed versions are the real tracks. Dance club beats for everyone! Forget rocking out! That doesn't pull in the fans like it used too.. I don't know if I can call them a rock band anymore.... It doesn't feel right to me. Congrats on your full transformation into full blown boyband guys. Whats good about this transformation is that the album is good. In a more pop mainstream kind of way. My favorite track is Royal Rumble. Love the vibe this track has with the guitar playing and dance beat. I was attached to it as soon as I heard the track during my first listen of the album.(Now, on constant repeat!) I miss old CN BLUE. Not that I don't approve of them spreading their wings. I don't keep up with them religiously anyway.

   CN Blue has two vocalists and they both sing their part respectively. Their leader also raps pretty decently. I like how the vocal parts of the two vocalists are spread out to be coordinated for them both to sound good in certain CN BLUE's songs. Sometimes the they sing together and other times one will sing then the other will sing behind whoever sang first.  The lead singer's voice is high with a raspy quality while the second singer had a deeper range. Their differences in quality of voice also aids to them creating attractive harmonies together.

  Fans of the old CN BLUE might have complaints about 7ºCN. My thoughts are based more on the production on this mini album. I do have a little issue with them going full out pop boyband randomly but its not like they suck at it.

Koda Kumi(倖田來未) W Face Double Album Thoughts(J-pop)

Tracklist

1. BRIDGET SONG
2. Bring It On
3. 喜びのかけら; Fragment of Pleasure
4. Stand By You
5. 好きでして; I Like It
6. 君想い; My Thought
7. On My Way
8. What's Up
9. Promise you
10. My Fun

Tracklist

1. W FACE
2. Ultraviolet
3. insane
4. Damn real
5. Heartless
6. Bassline
7. Shhh!
8. Bangerang
9. Wicked Girls
10. Cupcake feat. AKLO

   

   In the early 2000s, I was a huge fan of Koda Kumi. I used to always be on the look out for her new releases and announcements of her new singles were like a celebration to me. Times change of course, along with the ever so growing Japanese music industry. Physical CDs are not selling as much as they used to in Japan and many of the artists that came out before or in the early 2000s are in danger of CD sales decline. Its happened to almost everyone including idol groups. Ayumi Hamasaki has suffered the most as far as CD sales go. She just isn't making the sales that she used to. Namie Amuro is still making decent sales but they go up and down constantly. Utada returned and sold more than all the female artists in Japan that came out last year just because she's a walking legend. Koda Kumi has gotten wind of the struggle of getting people to go out and buy your music. She won Japan over with her overly sexual image that no other female Japanese artist was brave enough to do at the time. She's considered a fashion icon in her own right but image doesn't keep your sales up in Japan where Idols still rule. She decided to drastically change her style to suit a more American taste in music only for a Japanese audience. I stopped listening to her around this point because her music became generic for me. Too much auto tune, too much of her trying so hard to stay relevant. I DID NOT stop listening to her because her music was too westernized. I love American music and Kpop, Jpop, and Cpop wouldn't exist if it wasn't for American music's influence. When W Face was announced, I didn't want to listen to the digital singles that were released before the album. I didn't want to be disappointed. The cover for the album drew me in though, so I listened to the single Ultraviolet.

   W Face is a double album that is split into two albums with two different concepts for each album. W Face ~inside~ has a more plain version of Koda Kumi without the image that she portrays in public. I like to think this album is her showing a vulnerable side that was always there just hidden under her persona. The album contains a laid back style of pop rock and ballads. Ballads are the main them but tracks such as What's Up and Bring it on keep the album consistent. A revisit to that pop rock style was a good decision for fans that want some breathing room in-between the ballads. Her ballads are nothing short of diva ballads. They remind me of her previous works, moon crying and 好きで、好きで、好きで Which I love. About four of five songs are ballads and could be a hit or miss depending your taste in music. Producers could have spaced them out in the album so they didn't come one after another. If you listen to them one after the other, each song sounds similar. My Fun might be the strangest track. Its about four minutes of producers mixing in children making sounds and a med tempo beat play by a drum. Then there's piano and other beats produced by a keyboard. I don't know what this is. I don't hate it though. An edge is kept in this album because of the tracks, Whats Up and Bring it on. Bridget song counts as an easy listen too. 

   W Face~Outside~ brings that bad bitch that her fans love. This album is for all the listeners who want to get up out of your seat and dance. The album comes with another ten tracks that sound like they were produced by foreign producers and given to Kumi to break the mold of her last album. Its a very dance oriented album that starts things off with W Face. Confidently, Kumi saids " YES BITCH! SLAY!" and I know then that she's come back to the old Koda Kumi that turned heads when she appeared on the scene. I also wondered what Japanese people know about this terms, "Slay" etc. I guess they know its an english word and thats all they care about. I'm sure Kumi knows what it means. This track relies on the beat to be attractive and it works as Koda Kumi vocalizes as an opening to the beat. Ultraviolet takes elements from three genres of music. Rap, Pop, and Hip Hop. I first thought that the rap part were performed by another girl but that might be Koda Kumi rapping too. She's not a good rapper but its passable. I once again wonder about the lyrics of her songs. She sing, " Got to work it baby! Got to twerk it baby na na na!". What do Japanese people know about twerking!? Insane continues Kumi's new found desire to wan tot rap. She sounds cool here, not going to lie but not groundbreaking. Does she connect to what she's singing about(especially the english parts) or is this a ploy to look cool for her fans. Kind of like how Namie Amuro did a whole album in English to do something new or a lot of other artists that choose to sing songs in English. Japanese producers probably produced W Face~inside~ while American producers produced W Face~outside~. It seems that way even if outside sold more than inside on the charts. Japanese can't get enough of Koda Kumi as that bad bitch. 

   Koda Kumi can be a good vocalist. Sometimes I feel like she plays up being a singer instead of actually singing the way that suits her. A few more vocal lessons might be in order for her. W Face showcased that she has been working on her vocals since her last album. Heartless was a song where I was scared for her a little bit. Its new territory for her voice and it didn't sound bad but the track could have been "slayed" vocally. She did hit some decent notes toward the end of the song however, her voice started to crack after she did them. Got to work on keeping your vocal energy up. I applaud her effort in taking on the track at least. Shhhh! made Kumi feel like she had to hit another loud note right at the intro .Playing it up till the very end. I want her to sing the way that she wants to sing. Maybe she wants to sing this way.....I don't know. Trying to sing with a soulful connotation that you forced to  be in your voice doesn't work. Even the vocal run she did just didn't sound natural. Please stick to singing songs that are comfortable for your vocals. I say all this with love as a fan. I'm not bashing her. She shines on other tracks vocally. `

  I do think that W Face revived my interest in Koda Kumi's music. Another thing I like was how certain songs from inside gave reference to the outside part of the album. It was like she was saying that she's still strong in her times of weakness. 

  

GOT7(갓세븐)- FLIGHT LOG: ARRIVAL Mini Album Thoughts(Kpop)

 

Track List:
01. Never Ever 
02. Shopping Mall
03. Paradise
04. Sign
05. Go Higher
06. Q
07. 양심없이
08. OUT

   GOT7 is a group that I like a couple of songs from even though I don't seek out Kpop like I used to. When they come out with something new, a place in my heart wants to check out how the album sounds. Another part of me doesn't want to be bothered because I know how stale Kpop has become over the last few years. Every Kpop group is a cut out copy of one another with some groups having a good song once and awhile. Flight LOG is a series of mini albums that GOT7 has released. The last album was titled departure while this album is titled arrival. J.Y.P, CEO/producer of JYP entertainment jumps back in the driver seat to produce this album and the boys tried their hand at writing most of the album's lyrics. The title track called Never Ever sounded messy to me. It was a lot of beats going on in the background but these beats could come together to be a solid sound. I understood the beat's dynamics in the parts leading up to the chorus then all hell broke lose and I couldn't get my hands on where this song was trying to go. This was probably an attempt on J.Y.P's part to be different yet appealing to GOT7's huge fanbase. Never Ever didn't achieve either goal for me. Nothing wrong with trying though... I tried to listen to this song to the end but ended up skipped to the next track after the chorus played one time. Paradise uses that same beat that Justin Bieber used in one of his recent releases. I really wish that Korea wouldn't recycle certain aspects of American music.(Even if Kpop itself is a copy of western music only in Korean with some changes.) Music that heavily relies on being played in a club is not appealing to everyone. I say this time and time again in my posts, I hate songs that contain sequences of a beat playing by itself with no vocals.  I know its suppose to be catchy and it works sometimes but you have to be creative with it so it brings out your artistry. Not have it make your music lazy because your hoping that it will reach club hoppers or can be played in the club. Arrival has a lot of skip worthy songs that might overshadow the gems hidden in this album. Sign is a smooth RnB ballad that revisits the style of music that took GOT7 to stardom. Its a real stripped down song that doesn't take much to be a great track. The boys worked their magic here. Go Higher is another club hopper song that makes more sense than Paradise in my opinion. Whatever rapping ability they have comes out more naturally on this track. The mood here is fun, yet bold and to the point. I liked the message of perseverance that Go Higher brings to the album too.

   GOT7 is good at what they do. I don't have much to say about their vocals because they fall into the same stereotype as most Kpop boybands. The guy with the deep voice has an attractive quality for rapping. Many other boybands have a deep voiced rapper too though. Thats not even original anymore.

   I always like maybe two or three songs out of the whole album that GOT7 releases. This is a success to me. I could have not liked any of the tracks.... Fly was a great title track from the album Departure but can't say the same thing for Never Ever. I hope that all their fans like this album. I'm sure they will, no matter what.

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2(英雄伝説 閃の軌跡2) Game Thoughts

 

   I wrote a previous post about Trails of Cold Steel so its only fitting to give my thoughts on it's sequel. Trails of Cold Steel came out last year and I finally beat the game yesterday. The struggle was real when I say that I'm slow completing games. That and the honest truth is I take my own good time playing through games. Enjoying a game's storyline is more important to me than running through a game at the speed of light. Then going on gamer message boards boasting how you beat the game in a manner of a week. I tend to play a little bit then stop for the day and pick the game back up the next day or in the next few days. I'm not a "sit in the house in front of the television and play games all day" kind of guy. Spending the day inside playing games has happened for me before but its not a daily occurrence. The Legend of Heroes games can take a really long time to play through for a various of reasons. I'm not sure what I mentioned in my post about the first game but nothing major changed in two except for a few new features.

   Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 takes place right after the ending of the first game. No time has passed since you last played in the land of Erebonia and in reality since the both game were released relatively close to each other. Everything will still feel familiar to the player and the plot still unfolds the same. It seems like the creators could let go of the calendar system that shows the days pass by. This feels more relevant in a school setting but outside of school life, it didn't fit for me. Same with the task system and grade reports. Most of this game takes place away from Thors academy so I don't understand why it was like home school was in session. A lot of players complained that the storyline was super slow in the beginning of the first game and this game. I can't disagree with these comments. All legend of Heroes games have slow progression in the beginning. Not only that but there's always a load of dialogue with each cut scene making certain scenes in this series go by really slow. Book lovers will like the way this game is presented and I like reading too. Character interactions are so funny that its epic. Sometimes, I just wanted to get on with the program though. The plot does get up and running after you find all your classmates again. With this new plot comes a brand new batch of villains. They make their appearances along with familiar faces we saw at the end of the first game. I found a lot of the villains to be very intriguing because of the unique personalities that were placed on each character. Mcburn freaked me out the most. Just looking at him, you could tell he was going to be a hard boss to beat. Man, did he live up to his name........ Our main band of characters are pretty much the same(besides the obvious costume changes. No school, no uniform.) but you get to control more characters that you didn't get to control in the first game. I felt more of a connection with everyone during this game because the plot really took time to go into the character's's pasts. Especially if the player used the free days to get to know all your party members. The story does good trying to suck you into the story with shock value as well as new mysteries that have yet to be solved. Legend of Heroes always has the best cliff hangers that an RPG can give it's audience. However, A really awful inconsistency happened during the epilogue section of the game. For people who don't know, Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel takes place in the same world as an earlier released game, Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Another game called Tales Zero also takes place in the land of Erebonia. Tales Zero characters suddenly pop up in this game and most players don't know what to do with them. Japanese fans probably loved the reunion they got to have with these characters while foreign audiences are looking super confused. It didn't help that this game kept going after I thought that I had beat it. Nope. That wasn't the final boss unfortunately even thought the name of the chapter said final. You can imagine how frustrated I was by the time I got to the true final boss. Trails in the Sky was released here for playstation portable(PSP) but the second game was never released as a physical copy outside of Japan. Tales Zero was never released here either so we foreign audiences are missing a crossover story that could help us better enjoy Trails of Cold Steel's storyline. I hope that the remastered versions of these games make it stateside in the future. I had the chance to play Trails in the Sky part one back in the day. Still have yet to play part 2 though.

    The gameplay offers players more of a variety of ways to travel around Erebonia and a little adjustments to the battle system. Travel was limited to trains mostly during the first game. Hence the name Trails of COLD STEEL. Now, Rean has Gundam reject Vailmar and later in the game, a flying ship. You can also choose to ride a horse or a motorcycle when traveling on foot later in the game. The world becomes much more open to you here, wherein it felt more restricted in Cold Steel one. The battle system adds a feature called overdrive that allows two characters to make the battlefield go into a warped time zone where only those two characters can attack instantly for a set number of turns. In order to use overdrive, two characters have to be linked together and the overdrive meter must be filled up by damaging enemies. Different characters can link with each other but not all of them can use overdrive so you have to find the trail chests to unlock overdrive for all characters. This game uses Vailmar more often too. Soildat battles are something you have to get used to. Once you find what strategy works for you, The battles are not that hard. Legend of Heroes is all about having a good strategy in battle. Plan your moves and be ready for anything. Your actions could me life or death for your party.

  Things that got on my nerves the most was the recycling of areas and bosses. I go so tired of seeing the same bosses that I fought in the first installment. Recycled bosses mostly appeared during the side quests. It was such a frequent occurrence that I could guess what boss I had to fight again in certain areas. Were the creators too lazy to draw some new boss designs?? Players do get to see new areas but there's more recycling of old areas than the creation of new ones.  The task system wasn't fun at times either. It felt like just what it was, TASKS! You do feel rewarded after you report your completed tasks in.

   Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 was a good follow up to the it's first counterpart. The game doesn't lack good characters, story, or, gameplay. Some of the mechanics used to execute the game just suffered because of the lack of equal effort in making all aspects of the game fresh and new.

C AllStar - LOVEAHOLIC VOL. 1 Mini album Thoughts(C-pop)

Track
1. 一刻戀上 
2. 兄兄我我  
3. 聲音騷了 
4. 專業失戀30年 
5. 有幾何 




   I believe I've listened to one other album by C Allstar a long time ago. Their music stood out to me because it sounded like the type of music parents would like. Loveaholic Vol. 1 also takes things back to the old school. Back to a time where men in boybands stood in the center of the stage and sang under the spotlight into metal plated microphones. They sound like a band thats more about their vocal harmony and less about the trendy new age sound of music. I'm not a huge fan of them but I like the fact that they have a sound that isn't influenced by all the mainstream cantonese pop music. I just get bored easily. If your sound doesn't get me excited in a certain kind of way, I don't stick around for long. Some of the track were too slow, too calm for me to stay awake. 專業失戀30年 and 有幾何 did however sound great with the introduction of a mellow ballad sound layered with gracious guitars in the later half of the album. The slow jam jazz sound wasn't for me though. Yes, I'm looking at you, 一刻戀上 .

  C Allstar is a vocal melody machine. You get this idea more when you listen to the two tracks I named above. A good song that plays mostly on their ability to harmonize would do them some good. Its also good that each member has a different quality of vocal. One is a high tenor, another is a base, and then a middle tenor etc. I enjoy hearing them sing together then have one member break away to sing the high note while the other continue to harmonize. 

  Loveaholic Vol. 1 might have been better off as a single. At least the boys are still proving why they have had such a long career. Do tell me if they have better songs. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to them. 

Day6(데이식스)- Every day6: January - March Thoughts(K-Rock)

Track List:01. 아 왜 (I Wait)02. 겨울이 간다

 

Track List:
01. 예뻤어 (You Were Beautiful)
02. My Day

Track List:
01. 어떻게 말해 (How Can I Say) 

02. 그럴 텐데    

 
 
     I contemplated whether I wanted to write a post on Day6's monthly releases. None else seems to be talking about these singles so I finally decided that I will. I'm not sure if these are the last of the singles that will be released but if they come out with anything new, I'll make sure to talk about that too. The singles are for sale digitally and they were released every month for about three months. Day6 is a group that first was introduced to me when their debut track, Congratulations hit youtube. I check it out with many other curious viewers. The song didn't strike me as fantastic. I liked the lyrics and the fact that the song sounded like a cross between a British rock band and the rock pop music thats out now all over the world. What I will say is that Congratulations didn't do their mini album justice as the songs on the album were solid. Those songs also put these boy on the map as artists to look out for. Colors is absolutely my favorite track off their debut album.

  These boys have been around the bush a few times then around the corner and down the street. The members found their own ways to get to JYP entertainment somehow.(The record label Day6 is currently under.) Some of them had their own bands that lead to auditions. While others went on music competitions and were signed that way. Then they formed Day6 who currently have two mini album releases under their belts. This monthly project was announced months before they begun but I'm always late when finding out news.  I never know until the news is so close to happening that it hits me in the face.... January kicks off the start of Day6's monthly releases. I wait is a track that lyrical tells the story of a man waiting to take the one he loves away. Literally take her by the hand and run away with her. I was surprised at how rock orientated both track were on this single. You listen to these boys really playing their guitars and drums to the maximum. The songs have catchy choruses that suck you right in with a perfect balance of good vocals and musicality. In fact this could be sad about all three singles that were released. Day6 tapped into what music they do best. I felt like it was the equivalent of hearing the boys going into the studio to record songs that suited to their taste and not so much of what would win on music shows or chart high on the Korean music charts. At one time, Day6 wasn't even promoting their music on Mnet or any other music shows. I respected them loads because this told me these boys are about their music without the fame. Not about being an Idol Ken doll that comes off as perfect but really isn't. Even though your considered an idol if your signed with any of the three major music labels in South Korea.(YG, JYP, SM.) Now, They promote for obvious reasons of getting their music out there to more listeners. I do think their music tends to be more conflict based than about happy love. I'm here for all of it though. February and March's songs read Day6's emotions like reading off the boys diary entries. The songs are still crowd pleasers for listeners because none of the momentum has died out from their past releases. Its like they're saying," How can we top the last release we had?' I like how the songs are strictly rock with a little pop beat production here and there. My favorite tracks come from the months of January and March.

  Three boys sing in Day6 but they do have a lead vocalist. They sound like a mix between F.T. Island and CN Blue. Right in between those two vocal qualities. Day6 doesn't sound like one band over the other. Its right in the middle of both bands. What makes Day6 different from these bands is that they have a soulful connotation during some of their more poppy electrical tracks. Please listen to their daydream album for reference. They have the ability to change their style of music in a natural way. Its not my favorite however, I respect their ability to do so. Their vocals are pretty good overall though. A perfect fit for rock and pop.

    I'm in love with this Every day6 project. I hope this style is one that Day6 keeps for their next album. If they do, that album is going to be good as hell.
 

Creepy(クリーピー 偽りの隣人) Japanese Film Thoughts

  I first watched Creepy because Nishijima Hidetoshi( Mozu, Strawberry Night) and Higashide Masahiro(Blue Spring Ride, Parasyte) were staring in this film together. I didn't think this film would get a North American release so I got impatient and watched the film online. I'm kicking myself now because a company licensed the film and released it here a month ago. I didn't want to make a post about this film until I had the film in my hands though. You guys know how I do things here by now... unless your a new reader, then hello to you. The film's script was based on a novel of the same name.  Kurosawa Kiyoshi(Penance) directed the film and the rest of the cast consists of Takeuchi Yuko, Kagawa Teruyuki, and Fujino Ryoko.

"That man is not my father. He's a complete stranger."-Creepy

  Creepy's plot is not what you would expect it to be from the film's name or the presentation of the trailer. Most people would think a horror film with people running from house to house trying to escape a next door neighbor killer. This would have been a good plot to see unfold but Creep isn't a horror film per say. Its more of a thriller that messes with the viewer's mind and the character's minds that are present in the film. Literally, the film conflict is very physiological with a mystery that would have never been solved unless the characters had gone into the fire to get burned themselves. The plot begins with the the answers to the questions of why a husband and wife decide to start over again in a quiet suburb in Tokyo. Then comes in the creepy neighbor that can't seem to act normally if someone held a guy to his head. Every single sign point to this man as being the culprit behind an on going case of almost a full family disappearing. You just have to sit back and figure out how he did it. The neighbor has a daughter too but the wife is never seen. The events that you will witness start off as strange only to turn disturbing very fast. Its the kind of film that you have to watch at least twice to catch all the pieces of the puzzle. Miss one piece and you'll get confused about the ending. Classical violins also are the films background instrumental. They act as a signal to let the viewer know when a "creepy"event is a mist.

  Hideyoshi played the character of a once detective turned college professor. He played his character the same way he played his character in the drama Mozu. A character with a strong sense of justice, kind of cold but warm with his loved ones. I think the big difference between the two characters is his character in Creepy acted like he had the mind of a murder figured out when he really did'nt know all there was to know. In Mozu, he was a character that didn't know what he was doing but he wanted the truth. He fits this film well because Creepy and Mozu have a  similar unsettling feel about them. Masahiro plays the other detective that knows Hideyoshi's character through the police force. He's also cold but I think thats the style of a detective on the case. You don't show too much emotion. I did notice that both characters were quick to get aggressive if they wanted more information from someone but weren't getting what they wanted to hear.  They had a good flow of detectives that wanted to know the truth behind the case. Teruyuki already has a creepy looking face so to add the performance of a psychopath on top of that was chilling. His character has many different faces and he switches between each one depending on what he wants from you. People like him are dangerous because they will mess with your mind then have you doing things that you never would do normally.  I liked his acting the most when he had scenes with Takeuchi Yuko, and Fujino Ryoko. Yuko's character suffered the most.. well no, Ryoko's character had to live with a psychopath..... I felt sorry for both of them honestly. A cool fun fact is that Teruyuki and Hideyoshi acted together in Mozu.  Creepy is Fujino Ryoko's third film  and I'm proud of her. She did a great job in Solomon's Perjury.

  The way in which Creepy was shot remind me of Mozu as well. Sorry that I keep bring up Mozu but it was a damn good series. It was shot in a dark and creepy style just like Creepy. Its like there was a lack of lighting in certain shots in Creepy. Especially the ones done inside. It didn't help that many of the places shown had a creepy feel to them. The inside of a jail, the basement of a house, and even the neighborhood the characters lived in felt like an empty car lot with houses smushed into each other. Some of those people needed to trim those trees around their homes too. I'm just saying.....

  Creepy won't be for people who can't take information that is given to you and put two and two together. I saw a lot of comments of people saying that they didn't like this film because they didn't understand it. You really have to pay attention to what the film presents to you. I understood the film pretty well the first time I watched it but understood even more the second time I watched the film.