Reviews

Rating system:

Dun watch
Average (Only watch if you have nothing to do)
Watchable (Nothing special but enjoyed it for various reasons, eg: kawaii actresses)
Good
Must watch before you die

Dramas

Sekai No chuushin de, ai wo sakebu

Finally finished the drama. The first six episodes were really good but was really slow on the last 5. I have no idea why they took out the twist from the movie. It would have made the pacing for the second half much better. Its hard to rate this drama as the two halves are so completely different in pacing but in the end I'd say it was watchable.

Ai nante, iraneeyo, natsu ep 1+2

Another Hirosue Ryoko drama to add to my collection. She plays a blind girl who's rich father has just died and Watabe Atsuro plays a former club host (ie where women go to be entertained by men) who masquerades as her long lost brother who is dead.

I read that the ratings were bad and I assume that because most people were expecting a more light hearted show. However the show is far from light hearted/anime like. Its dark, moody and brooding which hopefully means there's going to be some nice twists.

'spoiler - highlight to read'

Love the scene where Watabe Atsuro is contemplating pushing Hirosue Ryoko into the path of the incoming train. You know he won't do it cause she's the main actress but the tension was great. Then her, turning around with tears in her eyes saying 'onichan, kill me' was a great way to end the episode.

Did she know he was planning to kill her or was it because she just wanted to end her existence? Can't wait to get the next ep!

'spoiler end'

Unfortunately, there are no english subs and the dialogue is a bit complex. Managed to get the gist of the story but half of the dialogue is lost to me.

Rating: so far very watchable.

H2 ep 8

Ishihara Satomi (picture at top) is soooooooo kawaii and Ichikawa Yui is hot. How does Japan keep producing one super kawaii actress after another? Is it the food? Genes? Weather? Or does the jdorama industry have some super lighting to magnify kawaiiness. Maybe after so many years of anime, somehow the new generation of Japanese actresses/idols are even more kawaii than those animated characters.

Besides the chicks, what I enjoyed about the drama is that it manages to translate the 'sweetness' and atmosphere of the manga into drama form. The only thing missing is the lack of fan service. Come on, even Stand Up! had a good amount of panty shots!

Movies

A letter from an unknown woman (http://imdb.com/title/tt0424234/)

This old fella receives a letter written by a woman who claims to have loved him all her life and somehow he doesn't even know her. Interesting premises but story ultimately is uninspiring. I just felt no sympathy for either characters. The production values are great and I enjoyed the potrayal of life in China before the cultural revolution. Very average movie but still better than your general HK movie crap.

Chichi to Kuraseba (http://imdb.com/title/tt0419634/)

This is the first time I've seen a movie shot like a stage play but what a great movie. The movie is about the relationship between father and daughter set in the aftermath of the hiroshima bombings.

Yoshio Harada does a great job especially the when he tells the story of the small warrior in the oni's stomach. My only criticism would that that Miyazawa Rie's performance is a bit too subtle. Theater is different from movies in that there are no close ups and subtle changes in expression are harder to notice. I really applaud the makers of this movie for shooting it in a theatre style. Although it looks more 'fake' the emotions and metaphors are more 'real'. Good movie.

It had to be you

Another bad HK movie trying to copy Korean romance films. The script is atrociously bad. (why am I not surprised) Dun watch.