User Reviews

I was really interested in watching this film, because I follow the stars (Justin Chon and David So) on Youtube.

I was only disappointed that the script chose to not go a certain way when it came to how the black and asian main characters were connected.

I think if Kamilla's (played by Simone Baker) mom had been killed by Eli and Samuel's dad, then that would have been more powerful.

It would explain why Eli and Daniel felt obligated to watch out for Kamilla. And why Kamilla's brother Keith, was so passionate in forbidding her from going to their store.

It would also have tied in to why so many african americans attacked korean american businesses during the riots. Because of a korean business owner killing a unarmed african american (the Latasha Harlins incident) and getting away with it. Much like how the cops got away with brutally beating Rodney King.

I feel like this was a missed opportunity and subtracted a lot of weight from the drama of the film.

The child actress, sadly for me, was also very unlikable. I did not care for how she was written at all. But that's the risk of having child characters and actors or so they say. They run the risk of being annoying. But in rare cases a child actor can save the film by being extremely likable and cute. Sadly, Simone Baker's character was not cute enough for me.

The good of this movie though, is the two brothers story. (Eli and Daniel).

I think the movie would have been fine without the little black girl's story attached to it (especially since the script chose not to go that certain route that I feel would have completely warranted her story being intertwined with theirs).

The scenes between the brothers, especially Eli trying to keep his dad's store open, were great. As was their conversations and interactions with Mr. Kim (the liquor store owner).

Those were powerful scenes! My favorites were when Mr. Kim picked up Daniel and when he had that hearbreaking conversation with Eli about the two brothers' dad and how Mr. Kim and their dad came to the USA to make sure the younger generation could have a good life.

The actor who played Keith, Curtiss Cook Jr, was really good. His character had a powerful story, too. Being one who lost his mother and actually took it upon himself to step up and take care of his younger siblings. Sadly, his story feels out of place when it comes to the fact that the script (once again) decided not to connect these characters in a way that would justify their connection and warrant his side of the story being told of why he loots the brothers during the riots and why he wants to burn down their store.

All in all, I think this story would have been better off being focused just on Eli and Daniel and their experiences with the LA Riots. Instead of adding the little black girl. Especially since the movie chose not to connect the characters through a historical reason of why black people targeted korean businesses (because of a korean business owner, leading up to the Rodney King trial, killed a unarmed black girl).

6/10 for me!

Racial discrimination is a dark and sensitive topic. The movie is about the same faced by Korean origins living in states. A African American girl living in a shady neighborhood is emotionally attached to Korean friends and thinks of them as family. The girl's family are hostile against the Korean guys. The movie revolves around day today difficulties & racial abuse faced by them by different origin of Americans. The struggle of the Korean guys and black girl has been nicely portrayed. The ending of the movie is dark.

A movie with high expectations from the synopsis but I felt it just quite didn't hit the point as hard as it could have and it was so slow moving. If there could have been more to this movie then I would have given this a 7.

I'm not sure if the director felt compelled to hold back but some scenes were raw and to the point and if this had continued with more depth and more often throughout the movie it could have been great.

Very good movie, never boring, hit on all the emotions. Unique storytelling you'll see when you watch the movie. Good acting by the main actors and actresses in the movie. Nice to see a story from the eyes of a person who knows about it and was there. Like the profound ending too, but won't give too much about that.

They have no aims. They do nothing. Why anybody should care about nothingdoers?!

Justin Chon amazing stuff man. David So amazing actor hope to see a lot more of you guys. Brilliant movie about a turbulent time, you have brought to light the Korean shop owner plight during that period. I don't understand the critics who are willing to drop below nine out of ten, possibly never watched the same film!! Well done arguably the best film of 2017.. thank you