Golden Slumber: I have mixed feelings about this 2010 movie. Sakai Masato is excellent as a delivery man falsely accused of assassinating the prime minister. Takeuchi Yuko gives a good performance playing the protagonist's ex-girlfriend. Ito Shiro (one of my favorite actors) is great in a brief scene playing Sakai's father, and I was happy to see Kanjiya Shihori (another favorite) appear in the movie, albeit in only a couple of brief scenes. The plot--basically one long chase--moved along at a brisk clip, and despite the seriousness of the event, there were dollops of humor to lighten the intensity.
However . . . to buy into this movie, one has to have a whopping amount of suspension of disbelief. A number of why and how questions that are bound to come up on the part of the audience are either totally ignored or insufficiently glossed over. And some of the set-ups, like a serial killer as a good samaritan . . . c'mon, really?
Another film that I've downloaded, but haven't watched.
Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Posts: 6884 Location: Syracuse, NY Country:
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:24 am Post subject:
For you Meiko Kaji fans out there, the 4th Stray Cat Rock film, Machine Animal, is available at AsianDVD club, it's subbed and as a nice bonus it's a Golden Torrent. I've seen 4 of the 5 movies in the series, they're all real fun movies, first 4 were made in 1970.
PS- Here's song from the film and I just learned a nice trivia fact, this is Meiko's sister who's singing this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJzTwZ1ev8E _________________
Bizan: From 2007 and directed by Inudo Isshin, this is an intimate, evocative film about a travel agent in Tokyo (Matsushima Nanako) who receives word that her mother (Miyamoto Nobuko) has been hospitalized. Rushing back to her hometown of Tokushima, the daughter discovers her mother has an advanced terminal illness . Compounding this trying situation is the fact that the two have had a prickly relationship since the daughter's teenaged years, and, to roil things even more, upon the daughter's return she discovers her mother had been lying to her since she was a pre-schooler that her father was dead.
There is an interesting juxtaposition in this film: on one hand there is this sad, very personal storyline; on the other, the plot plays out during the spectacular, frenetic, and joyous celebration that is Awa Odori, Tokushima's famed summer festival.
As the two principals, Matsushima and Miyamoto strike the right chords; Miyamoto's character is the much more expansive multi-dimensional role, and her portrayal is excellent. It's nice to see her still delivering topnotch performances; those familiar with Japanese cinema know what a huge star she was in the 80's and 90's as the heroine in her late husband's Itami Juzo's immensely popular and critically acclaimed movies.
Daremo Mamote Kurenai (Nobody to Watch Over Me): Plotwise, this 2009 film is about a cop (Sato Koichi) assigned to protect a girl (Shida Mirai) from the frenzied media after her older brother is arrested for allegedly killing two young sisters. The result is basically a chase story with the two constantly on the go in an effort to keep her from being persecuted by the public and harassed by the media--a "guilt by association" situation. Thematically, it's about the power, speed, and virulence of the internet media which far outpaces its print and TV brethren in pursuing this 15-year old girl. Sato and Shida deliver solid performances; there's plenty of recognizable faces in the supporting cast--Matsuda Ryuhei, Sano Shiro, Kimura Yoshino, Yanagiba Toshiro, Ishida Yuriko, Sasaki Kuranosuke are ones that come immediately to mind; and while some of the scenarios strain credulity (OK, one or two of them sever credulity), overall it kept my interest from beginning to end.
shin 2 wrote this one up on the previous page so I won't go into much detail here.
My first comment has to be... this is a sad sad movie. Too sad for my taste.
I wanted to see it because Yoji Yamada wrote and directed it. I wanted to see it because I read a few reviews that compared it to the "Tora-San" movies. I wanted to see it because Yu Aoi and Leo Morimoto were in it.
Well, Yamada is still Yamada. And I thought there were more than a few similarities to the Tora San story structure. And seeing Yu Aoi and Leo Morimoto made me happy because they are both very good at what they do.
But I didn't like the story, so there you go.
Again, many thanks to Tu_triky who feeds my addiction. _________________
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:27 am Post subject:
^ it happens ... I liked Ototo/Ototou but watched a string of movies while nursing a broken foot. I am sure a lot of people will like them but I found them disappointing:
Dear Doctor - great cast, interesting story about a guy (who means well) who poses a doctor. I believe it won a series of awards but I found it rather long-winded, not bad but it was missing some heart blood. Eita's performance was particularly bland, as always his hair was more interesting.
The Seaside Motel - great cast but wasn't as much fun as I hoped. It's a kind of kammerspiel and because of that it lacked pace and witty dialogues. Kudos to Yamada Takayuki for keeping a kind of straight face while wearing his costume ...
Umizaki 1 and 2 - the first movie, albeit not original, was nicely entertaining but the second one was pathetic. I won't watch the series or the 3rd movie.
Symbol by Downtown's Matsumoto - very bizarre, and I must say I dozed off a couple of times.
Beck - I hated it! And what is it with every movie using Red Hot Chili Peppers songs (so last century).
Chonmage Purin - decent but I know that many here don't like Nishikido Ryo. He didn't bother me too much this and Tomosaka Rie is as cute as ever. It touches a little the roles of man and women in Japanese society but gracefully avoids cliches an remains on the light side.
Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Posts: 6884 Location: Syracuse, NY Country:
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:40 am Post subject:
Had these sitting on the shelf for over a year, finally got around to watching them. Lot of mixed reviews I read on them but they were both solid though certainly not close to classics, thought the second one was much better, naturally ended on a cliff hanger to make me watch the final entry. _________________
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:42 pm Post subject:
bmwracer wrote:
Hmm... I still might download it and check it out...
Saw this film earlier today. Rinco's Restaurant that is. It's a whimsical film to say the least. It had its moments but I am with shin2; I thought it would be better. And I love Kou Shibasaki too.
A pleasant diversion but it's no Tampopo. Food looked delicious though.
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:01 am Post subject:
^ great movie, KS I mean - haven't seen Rinco's restaurant.
I did watch Norwegian Wood yesterday though. I had read the book over 10 years ago and, as opposed to Murakami's other books, I couldn't remember any of the content.
Now I remember why, it's because the story is so bland. Hence the movie is bland. I am sure the acting was fine and the photography pretty and I could live with the slowness. It's just that I had the answers to the character's questions about themselves so I was bored to death. French and British artsy movie critics will love it, I am sure.
Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Posts: 6884 Location: Syracuse, NY Country:
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:18 am Post subject:
Melody of Rebellion, from 1970, sort of in the Stray Cat Rock theme but not nearly as good, quite a thin plot and too much senseless fighting but it was passable, mainly redeemed by Meiko in her pre-star days. _________________
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 3125 Location: S.F. Bay Area Country:
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:58 pm Post subject:
I just watched Miki Nakatani's "Sweet Little Lies".
Hmmm. A grown up chick-flick for those who love French Cinema.
You know... an honest, slice of life. A quiet study of a marriage. An examination of the slow, quiet lives of two people who...
Okay, I watched it because Miki Nakatani is my favorite actress, and I had to work like the devil to try to get the darned file to play. (Not that it was damaged in any way. I got it from the Asian DVD Club that BMW turned me on to, and the quality was first rate. But it forced me to figure out how to play a different kind of file than I'm used to, on my computer, and I just suck at that sort of stuff.)
Anyway... the movie was quite lovely... for the sort of movie it was. It just wasn't the sort of movie I like. _________________
Joined: 13 Feb 2010 Posts: 189 Location: Ontario Country:
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:18 pm Post subject:
Blood: The Last Vampire is not that bad, just your standard action popcorn flick. Jun Ji-Hyun's english is a little rough, but other then that she handles herself well in the action scenes.
Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 4313 Location: Nagoya Country:
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:09 pm Post subject:
Rev wrote:
Blood: The Last Vampire is not that bad, just your standard action popcorn flick. Jun Ji-Hyun's english is a little rough, but other then that she handles herself well in the action scenes.
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out there, the 4th Stray Cat Rock film, 
I've seen 4 of the 5 movies in the series, they're all real fun movies, first 4 were made in 1970.
finally got around to watching them. Lot of mixed reviews I read on them but they were both solid though certainly not close to classics, thought the second one was much better, naturally ended on a cliff hanger to make me watch the final entry. 
