12 Jun 2009, 10:03
#21180
Argh! I'm in a Kimura Time Pretzel!!! :nut: I just discovered him (and Jdorama; have always been a K-drama fan) last month, and I've been shuttling back and forth between Kimura Eras: Pride, then Change, then Pride again, then Hero, then Hero again, then Good Luck!, then Nemureru Mori, and now, Engine, while re-watching 2046 and even Howl's Moving Castle in-between!!! It's been a crazy roller-coaster ride of emotions!!!!! I can't stop watching!!! I. Can't. Stop!!!!!!!
Quickie Comments:
Pride (2004) - Still my sentimental fave of the lot. There's something about sports-themed dramas or movies that unlocks something deep within us. The Halu-Aki arc took me to extreme highs and extreme lows, and I was swept by wave after wave of exhilaration and adrenaline, as if I were watching a live championship game. My first dose of Kimura Awesomeness, and I've never looked back since. :rolly:
Change (2008) - Hmmm.... This has all the ineluctable logic loopholes of a political fairy tale, and as much as I wanted with all my might for Kimura's character to succeed in that cutthroat world of politics, the implausible situations had me rolling my eyes most of the time. I mean, c'mon: mild-mannered, naive schoolteacher becomes premier of Japan, and singlehandedly (oh, not singlehandedly, but aided by a ragtag crew of house-mates-turned-"political advisers," oh my!) attempts to turn the tide of corruption and greed that has permeated the highest echelons of power--AND tries to run the world's second largest economy in his spare time. Whoopee. I also didn't like the clumsy attempts to blend the slapstick humor with the more serious issues (although that white dude who plays the U.S. trade envoy, Bingham, had me in stitches! good Caucasian cameo, good Caucasian cameo. *wipes away tear*) . But I think I softened up more towards Team Asakura in the last 3 or 4 episodes of the drama, and that speech he makes in the end... well, it bowled me over, to say the least. Kimura's acting here was, as usual, a tour de force. Asakura Keita's secretary, Miyama, was the next best thing about Change, and I really loved her character here (the whole time I was like, yeah! YOU be the frigging head of government someday, girl powah! women rule! LOL). Maybe Change bit off a tad more than it could chew, as most political fairy tales are prone to doing. I read a comment somewhere (spcnet.tv or jdorama.com, I think) saying that Change felt like a 10-year-old schoolboy had been given a textbook on Japanese politics, and was told to go write a script. Hehehe. I'm rather inclined to agree. :nyah:
Hero (2001) - If Pride was a frigging roller coaster of emotions, Hero was a boundless plateau of sheer, undiluted HAPPINESS!!! :dancing: Hero time is happy time!!! I loved, loved, loved everything about this odd little drama, from the characters (every. single. one of them!!!) to the legal-procedural case-busting, to the interpersonal dynamics, to the quirky editing style and "spazzy music" (as a user at another forum called it). I laughed so hard here and cried a little, and ended up laughing even harder. When it ended all too quickly, I just had to watch it all over again, and it was even BETTER the second time around! I have Hero: The Movie (well... hell-ooo, Lee Byung-hun! :naughty:) on DVD, but I'm putting it off until I've acquired the SP. Now I understand why the entire Nihonjin Nation fell in love with the Kimu Taku + Matsu Takako Dynamic Duo, and to think I haven't even seen Love Generation yet.
Good Luck! (2003) - I will forever remember this as the drama that caused my brain to explode into a million bloody, pulsating little bits each time Kimu Taku donned that crisp white uniform with the pilot stripes and those cooler-than-cool Ray-Bans. :shocked: I hated Shibasaki Kou's acting, but I loved Kimu Taku. I didn't care much for their love arc, but I loved Kimu Taku. I rolled my eyes at the illogical passenger-drama moments, but I loved Kimu Taku. This drama remains the pinnacle of Kimura's Physical Awesomeness. Nothing before this time (or since) has ever come close.
Nemureru Mori/A Sleeping Forest (1998) - Well, bloody 'ell, what a dark, depressing fairy tale. :shamefulcry: Man, Kimura was SO young here, but barring a few self-conscious moments of Really Awkward Hair-flipping, he really impressed me with his acting. I loved how all three main characters were written so well--the Princess, the Prince, and the Mad Hatter (that would be Kimu Taku, LOL). The final and devastating act of the drama (in which the whodunit twists and turns are disentangled, and everything is illuminated) was this downward spiral of shock, and pain, and infinite sadness, and I was a frazzled bundle of nerves by the time the story ended. For days I couldn't get my head out that dark, dank hole it was in. Good thing I had planned my vacation beforehand, and those four days spent hitting the beaches and enjoying the sights down south were such a welcome respite for shell-shocked li'l me. Nothing like pristine white-sand islands and small endangered mammals to get your mind off The Pain, heh.
Engine (2005) - I think was taken aback by how much OLDER Kimura looked here. Like I said, I've been zipping to and fro among his dramas in some sort of chronological vortex-black-hole-thingy, so I know I should've expected him to have aged some since Nemureru Mori. (I mean, 1998-2005 is practically a LIFETIME in any actor's career.) I just started a couple of episodes last night, and I must say it was the KIDS at the orphanage/foster home that I had the most fun watching. (Sorry, Kimu Taku.) It may take me another episode (or two) to warm up completely to his "Days of Thunder"-y hot-rodder character (that... unkempt orange HAIR is so damn distracting! :shakehead:), but it's been a fun ride so far. This light dramedy is the perfect panacea for something like A Sleeping Forest. :argh:
Oh, and by the way, I'm obviously new here, but it's nice to finally meet y'all. :say_hi: