Shingeki no Kyojin movie

First off, the dubbing is really bad. Something is very off. Maybe its the timing of the copy or just how bad the acting is.

The movie starts off with Eren falling down from a bomb. They couldn't possibly have intended for it to be funny right? Is this a kids movie or a movie about human eating giants?

Big giant attacks quickly and notice something about the canons?

So we have soldier pushing the canons 180 degrees. Maybe its to show they were unprepared? Even if there were unprepared why aim the canons at anywhere but the wall?

Notice how dark and cloudy the sky is?

I don't see no clouds here. There were so inconsistencies in that first big scene.

Fast forward two years and our heroes are on a mission to blow up the top of the wall. First thing they are told is that the kyojin are responsive to human voices. Guess what, every fucking one keeps talking along the car ride. I can accept that maybe they can't hear car engines or something but WTF?

The group runs into some cows and somehow everyone has to get out of the car. Oh yeah, they still continue to talk too. Who the fuck wrote this shit?

After some time, someone has the brains to get the convoy moving.

Stupid girl says she hears baby crying. Get in the fucking truck you bitch. WTF. I get that the soldiers may not be as well trained as the anime but isn't this like their last batch of explosives? Why entrust that to people with absolutely no common sense.

This dude somehow manages to throw a kyojin. WTF. Is this Looney Tunes? Doesn't he have one of those flying thingies? How come he never flies in the movie? Not enough budget? Has no one in the group not been trained to use the maneuver gear?

Speaking of maneuver gear,  who's idea was it to make Ishihara Satomi the overacting, try too hard to be funny character?

Why is Sakuraba Nanami using a bow when it can't do shit to the kyojin?

Forget about passing the common sense test. They absolutely got the wrong director for this. They should have gotten the guy why did the Gantz movies. Now that was a manga adaptation that new how to maximise its budget. Shingeki no Kyojin's biggest sin is inconsistency of its tone. If you want to do B grade horror, go B grade horror camp all the way and don't throw in kids stuff or try to be too serious. Oh yeah, Takeda Rina is in it but she doesn't kick any ass. Most people will check this out because we like looking at car wrecks but you're better off rereading the manga/anime.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi San

What happens when you combine two of my favourite things, ramen and joshikousei into a jdorama? You get one of the most depressing shows ever, unless you happen to live in Japan.

I watched the four episodes in a go while having dinner and I just kept eating to to try to cover this hole in my heart.. eeerr stomach.

Now that is what you call real chasiu.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi san is better than Kodoku no Gurume because it doesn't feel like a food variety show.

I've never eaten at Jiro although its been recommended to me many times. Tenkaipin, I've actually eaten but it didn't leave an impression on me.

Of the 3 girls, I think Miyama Karen is the one with the most potential.

I love the queuing episode the most. Its sort of stupid but I like Koizumi-san's principles when it comes to ramen. I don't think I've ever queued for more than one hour for ramen before.

Highly recommended 4 short episodes. Just prepared for stomach rumbling and depression.

The theme song is actually a cover of Sharan Q's Ramen Daisuki Koike-san. I much prefer the new version here. 

Psycho Pass the Movie

Kougami Shinya is back is Psycho Pass is back to doing Ghost in the Shell better than Arise! If I could completely erase the stupid second season from memory. I've said this before; sci-fi/zombies/genre stuff work best when exploring ideas and become allegories to stuff in the real world and the Psycho Pass movie looks like the Sybil System being used in a South East Asian country.

Some of the themes I really enjoyed in the movie were:

- A powerful country arming a warring one to spread its influence,

- Segregation of people based on their Psycho-Pass thereby creating second class citizens living in fear. Would you become a second class citizen with the promise of safety?

 - How would Sybil work in a country where lawlessness is the norm?

- Can Sybil judge those that control it?

My only complaints are the horrible English and the fighting scenes missing many animation frames. This isn't a harem anime so I can understand not having the budget. Oh yeah, and no way was Kougami in any shape to fight at the end. Did I miss the part where he is revealed to be a super human?

Fun movie for me and it washes the bad taste of season 2. Looks like this is goodbye to Kougami. The question is, where does the franchise go from here? What other ideas are there to explore. As long as Urobuchi Gen is involved, I can't wait. Entertaining for fans of the series.

MIFF 2015 : Our Little Sister / Umimachi Diary

My third and final movie from the Melbourne International Film Festival. Our Little Sister is yet another feather on Koreeda Hirokazu's (Like Father, Like Son) cap. I went for this movie for Koreeda and Kaho but its Ayase Haruka who steals the show as the oldest of 3 siblings who finds that their recently deceased father has a daughter from his second marriage being left with his widow from his third.

Ayase Haruka has the hardest job as the stoic, motherly oldest sister who is having an affair with Tsutsumi Shinichi although her family was torn apart by her father's adultry which lead to the birth of the half sister Suzu. Its nothing  we haven't seen before in jdoramas but its done with such subtlety and deft touch that I could feel every conflicted emotion on her face.

For sukebes like me, Nagasawa Masami shows a lot of skin and legs as per her contract but not having to carry the movie, she does a great job as the sexy sister who keeps getting mixed up with the wrong guys and loves alcohol. Kaho plays the youngest sister with weird interests and is mostly there for thejokes. Masami and her legs should never be asked to carry a movie/jdorama by themselves. Our Little Sister is a slow, well paced movie about sisters living together and the emotional scars they carry that barely show.

I just love Koreeda's directing. To me, he is the actors' director. He allows the actors to breath and for the moment to simmer. Never too long, never to short and always capturing every subtle change in facial expression. The camera work is absolutely striking and really makes me want to go Kamakura. The best thing about Our Little Sister is the chemistry between the sisters and that it never descends into melodrama.

I'm giving it a must watch with the catch that you've got to enjoy his brand of nothing exciting really happens. Koreeda is just interested to capture the magic of people reacting to certain situations. Sometimes its awesome like in Like Father, Like Son and sometimes its just a complete bore like I Wish. I'm glad it turned out to be the former and the crowd at the Comedy Theatre applauded at the end.

Kamoshirenai Joyuutachi

By the jdorama gods, I haven't laughed this much since...... maybe Dandarin? This dorama special is the most fun I've had watching in a while. Not only does it have three of the best actresses in jdoramas today with Takeuchi Yuko, Maki Yoko and Mizukawa Asami, it also has a very funny script by Bakarhythm, the writer of Suteki na Sentaxi.

All 3 actresses play themselves but the story is what if none of them experienced the turning point that led them to be the actresses they are today? Like in Takeuchi Yuko's case, it was getting scouted at Harajuku and calling the agent back. So Kamoshirenai Joyuutachi is a show where they are playing themselves in an alternate reality.

Maki Yoko and Mizukawa Asami are struggling to get acting jobs and the funniest bit is when the hospital scene which I won't spoil while Takeuchi Yuko is working at a publishing firm.

The script is just freaking funny from beginning until the climax when all three meet up. When a script is good, everything just flows and feels natural. Its funny, gives you enough insight on the characters without explaining too much and keeps the story running at such a brisk pace that the one hour runtime is over way too quickly. English subs are available but its one of those livejournal member things so I just watched with Japanese subtitles.

The climax is just full on awesome. I knew what was coming but it was so fun to watch. It kind of reminded me of Kisaragi. Just a bunch of good actors in a room and lots of things happening.

Must watch and I'm looking forward to more Bakarhythm doramas. This dude knows how to write.

Absolutely must watch jdorama special.

MIFF 2015 : Journey to the Shore / Kishibe no Tabi

Journey to the Shore is my second Japanese movie for the Melbourne International Film Festival. This was the movie I was most looking forward to not just because Fukatsu Eri and Asano Tadanobu are in but also because Kurosawa Kiyoshi (WOWOW's Shokuzai) directed it and won best director at Cannes. I was surprised to see WOWOW films at the beginning credits.

Fukatsu Eri's husband Asano Tadanobu died 3 years ago and all of a sudden he reappears, saying that he want to take her on a journey to meet the people who have helped him. Its your basic dead person comes back to say goodbye movie with hints about their relationship and what actually happened scattered throughout.

Fukatsu Eri is very good in this one but the script is oh so generic. I have no idea how Kurosawa Kiyoshi got the directing award cause I've seen much better stuff from him. (see the first episode of Shokuzai) The movie is way too lethargic and could have used a lot of edits. Actually I think it would have been so much better as a 3 episode WOWOW dorama than a movie.

I feel like Fukatsu Eri really kept the movie from being a total bore through the force of her acting. Watching the movie I was thinking I've never put her on the top echelon of Japanese actresses but the best thing about the movie was watching her character react to various situations and reading her emotions.

As a dorama, Journey to the Shore would have been not bad but as movie, it was kind of meh and dare I say boring. The last movie for me will be Koreeda's My Little Sister. Fingers crossed. Oh yeah, Aoi Yu has a nice cameo as well.

Jyouou 3 Special Edition Eps 1+2

Jyouou 3 has been in my hall of shame for a very, very long time.I was actually thinking about finally getting around to watching it when I found out someone had already timed the Japanese subs! Yatta! For those who don't know, Jyouou is a touching and horribly acted series about workplace bullying.

The baka shoujiki Ando Mai is back along with her two very round assets, her large eyes. She's quit the hostess business after getting second at the end of season 2.

She causes a traffic accident sending the driver to a hospital and the owner of the kyabakura Seaside who just happens to be there ends up paying her compensation to the victim and asks that Ando Mai work at his kyabakura. If Ando Mai could put 2 and 2 together, I'm sure she would have smelled some fish.

The kyabakura is run by the Komiyama siblings and the sister just happens to be a lesbian who loves threesomes.

Asuka Kirara plays Riona the number one hostess who keeps banging some lucky dude throughout the two episodes. (My bet is one curly hair)

Flashback to Ando Mai quitting her job and Kadena Reon getting pissed. Sometimes I find it very hard to concentrate on the subtitles.

Riona has her own posse and they bully poor Ando Mai and this other girl Moe. It was very hard for me to watch the girls getting sexually harrassed.

 Riona and gang try to bully Moe into sleeping with one of her regulars.Ando Mai tells Moe she doesn't sleep around although she has taken so much money from these poor guys and Moe says she would do anything for money. Ando Mai says Moe should treasure herself and lots of funny things.

In the end Moe didn't sleep with the customer.

Kadeno Reon finds out about Ando Mai and is pissed. She calls the Komiyama siblings hyenas.

Its nice to see that HBO is not the only one who does sexpositions.

Turns out Moe gives all her money to her host boyfriend who also beats her up. This type of thing happens in real life and if you're interested, watch The Great Happiness Space.

Ando Mai gives a touching speech to Moe and turns Moe into her helper.

At the end of the episode we find out that Hara Saori is still alive??!!! My mind is blown and guess is twin sister. This could possibly be so bad its good, just like season 2.