Zíza

This is exactly one of those rare things I won't even try because I'm (rightly) afraid of giving it a garbage rating! And I sure as hell don't like doing that. I won't do it, I'll be happy, I may not have anything to talk to about with a million and a half people, but I'll survive. But it's the first time I've seen a rating composed entirely of garbage. Interesting, the poor Turks ^^

I don't know, I don't know if Jae-won Kim, as he is presented, would bring the girls to their knees (I think they have another guy for that in South Korea, don't they Bi? :-D), but so be it, because now and then his cuteness shines through... The beginning is okay, we have a master + slave -> lovers relationship; simple chemical reaction, no need to finish the calculations. Every now and then there's a moment when you get confused. But the second half of the film. What was it about? What was the point? What was the point?! A bit of a pointless film, I'd say. But if you've got nothing to do, you haven’t "studied" Asian rom-coms and you want to sleep, why not – better than a bedtime story. Only the soporific beginning is pretty distasteful.

A simple story about the life of a family where it's crowded and there's definitely not a moment of peace. If you like family comedies with kids, I recommend it. It's spiced up with Japanese situational and linguistic humor. It's unpretentious, doesn't offend, but I don't see any special reason why you would have to see it (unless, like me, you are/were a fan of Ryûnosuke Kamiki). I have to salute the perfect "simulation" of sex though, that was very good. Looking for the incredible story of a poor family that isn't poor?

What would you rather be? A gift shopper or a painter? Obviously you'd rather paint, but you know what... if no one is interested in your paintings, you're just wiped out and have to make a living somehow... and by chance you're good at picking out gifts, so you give that a try... well, then you meet a wealthy guy in the cafe next to the gallery who doesn't have time, he's always working, but of course you change him in a few days, because you're great at picking out gifts and you're great at painting, and that's exactly what he needs. Bullshit without Christmas spirit. A weak 2 stars.

I felt like I was in High School Musical at the beginning, then ended up just in high school. It wasn't bad. Not that I cracked the screen with laughter, no, but I wasn't bored. One good scene is when the "best friend" has a date. That one kind of amused me. Otherwise, as always Matthew was awesome, I still see Chandler in him, but it was quite fitting here. And then, after the movie, it's interesting to watch the credits for a while, enhanced by the visual aids ;-)

I don't know why, but these movies move me much more than any romantic nonsense. After reading Ruth Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword and studying Japan for a few years, you feel like you get it (you don't, but whatever), so you know exactly what it meant to Ōba. All the decisions, the surrender, the "stubbornness", ... I had chills running down my spine at some of the scenes. Mao played the hatred beautifully – when her family was killed, her expression, those eyes! Wow, I salute you! Anyway, since Takenouchi is my hero, I was feasting my eyes with him the whole time, enjoying him – smeared, dirty, sweaty, desperate. An amazing commander. The other thing that made me happy was the acting by the Yanks (oftentimes foreigners in Japanese movies are worthless, but they couldn't afford to be that way here considering they're there for half the movie). WWII again from a different angle, and I liked this angle. It's entirely possible I'll revisit the film, which is not that common for me.

It's almost like the creators know me – everything hurts so much and you can't erase the past. What I mean by that is this: the heroine may be inept, and at certain times she doesn't use her head, but she's not stupid; she hasn't forgotten how she was when she was a few pounds heavier, its kept rotting away inside her (i.e. a friend is more than some show). [MAY CONTAIN A MINOR SPOILER!] Her singing was good. The ending is half Hollywood: so what if you've had like a thousand plastic surgeries... Still, it's not quite the ending you might expect and that some romantic souls will demand (though who knows). [END SPOILER] She was appealing, he was too. A sweet 4 stars :-)

The idea of Japan or Tokyo in 2030 was not a happy one. Everything was futuristic and depersonalized, people felt uneasy. Although they may have had all the comforts, it wasn't enough because comfort just isn't everything. As one character said – people want to be in trouble, people want to worry. Otherwise, apparently, life has no meaning. In terms of the acting it's ok, it’s also interesting as a journey into the not-too-distant future. It's a short glimpse of a family and certainly enough to be interesting. Though slightly naive, still probably the most realistic character was Eita's sister, played by Renbutsu Misako. Interesting. It’s topical even now.

I liked the atmosphere – slow and simmering on the burner, you don’t know who’s with whom, what game anyone’s playing, there’s a bit of confusion, secrecy, and, let's face it, chaos for the viewer (which of course I didn't mind because I rather enjoyed the confusion, plus I thought it was fine, everything will come to light, there's a second and third film, it's fair that there would be a bit of confusion at this stage). It got more and more intense. Pleasantly, and the film was still headed somewhere. In fact, it was heading there pretty fast, and I was wondering what the hell was going to happen in the other instalments if it's going this fast. It was even funny, the flashbacks to the protagonists' past were good. But oh, the length. Indeed, it was getting a bit long towards the end, to the point where I wanted to fast forward a bit, maybe just 5 seconds. But I wasn't allowed to do that by the other viewer (I didn't even ask because I could see how much the other person was enjoying it). Well, it was altogether a pretty decent introduction to this hot mess. And on we go.

The second instalment was slightly worse than the first. It didn't explain much and maybe only poured in a bit more crap (if you’re not really used to watching Asian work you’ll soon get lost in the characters because they’ll all seem "the same"). Another minus is, once again, the drawn out running time; but I get it, you have to show everything. It's not as interesting as the first instalment and the plot in particular is a bit lame. Still, an absolutely essential film, with some great scenes; it’s lacking Karasawa Toshiaki (I really missed that guy), but has Toyokawa and the homeless guy with the prophecies. You might even have a good laugh at it. Oh yeah, and "bucho" finally shows up. :-)