Reviews

Last of the Original Live Action Movies

Another completely biased review from me to you.

I am still wondering why they made this one and the New Generation one too, 10 years after the originals. And if they were going to make them, damn it make them better than this! This review is all very spoilery, I just did a stream of conscience while watching. Read at your own risk ?

First 10+ minutes or so I thought maybe the streaming platform had screwed up and I was actually watching the Netflix version? I've seen worse beginnings to movies but wow, what was this? This story takes place 10 years after the original live action movies from 2006-2008.

Then nice, a picture of Light, and picture of L. Then a short clip of Light which makes absolutely no sense as far as the previous movies go. Isn't he dead already, pretty definitively? ? Then the Death Note Task Force is out to catch a new holder of the Death Note Book. They are disguising themselves (very badly) by wearing sunglasses and having scarves on so she won't see their names using the reaper's eyes. So lame! Does it get better? Nope.

So, Ryuzaki is a clone of L? He's rather boorish and irritating without any of the charms of L.

Beppo was a disappointing looking reaper. Arma makes up for it.

More 'video' of Light/Kira that disguised a virus to take down all computer systems. Too funny.

Misa! ?

What a twist ending! Ok, made the ride halfway decent. However, sorry, but I was rooting for Shien here as the new Kira. Seriously, Suda Masaki was simply adorable. They did him wrong.

Anyhow, I suppose if you are going to do like I did and decide to watch all the Death Note live actions (except for the Netflix one, gods why did they do that?) they are ok to watch. Sadly the only one I would really recommend is the one that started it all, Death Note from 2006. Also, the series from 2015 is pretty darn good. I'll be watching that one next.

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So how on Earth did this movie win an Oscar?

So I finally got the opportunity to watch this movie. And what a big waste of 2 hours of my life. This was the most boring movie I've ever watched. How the fuck did this movie get an Oscar? Like I get the point that this family conned their way into another family's home to make money and then some rando is living in their basement and they don't even know that? Then he starts going on a k*lling spree? Makes no fucking sense. And then the dad of the poor family k*lls the father of the rich family and then locks himself in the bunker so he won't face any criminal charges. To the very very last seconds of the movie where the son buys the house. Where he, his mom and his dad reunite. I think it sucks the one girl dies in the movie because she was cute.

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Fun, but also silly and cheesy

Penny pincher Jia You Wei had been skimping and saving his whole life when he learns his days are numbered. What's he to do with all that money he'd saved? Blow it all of course. Remembering a vow he made with his friends in his youth, he sets out to find them and fulfill his promise. His plan is to spend his few last days having fun. If the plot sounds a bit familiar, it's because it probably is. This movie is like the Chinese version of Last Holiday, but with a strong theme of brotherhood, friendship, and reconciliation. Despite the seriousness of the main character's situation, the movie manages to be silly, goofy, and light. It's a bit slapstick and cheesy too. There are plenty of heartfelt moments as the main character sets out to fulfill his friends' wishes before his time is up. The movie had its fun moments, but was ultimately a little too silly and cheesy for me. Also, I wasn't really invested in his friends' dreams because the movie rushed through their backstories.

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That happened.

This film is a rather twisted tail, and in short I will say that if the trailer catches your eye, it is probably right for you.

If you’re looking for something dark with lots of tense - at times unbearably so - moments, dive right on in. I’d joke about there being something for every kind of thriller/mystery enjoyer - a tense criminal investigation, the darker side of humanity, forbidden connections being made, untellable desperation.

I have mixed feelings about some aspects upon reflection, however these are possibly gripes to do with target audience not including me. I’d put this down as noir and it was certainly reflected by the cinema audience; that being a handful of senior citizens (predominantly men), a young couple that left halfway through, and myself.

What is done well? Acting, casting, cinematography, visual and sound design. The acting in particular was immaculate, regardless of taste in what was being acted out.

What didn’t sit so well with me? Mainly the meekness of the female lead, which, it later became clear to me was the draw for the target audience. There was indulgence of the male fantasy that may alienate some, as it somewhat did me.

The nitty-gritty with me and the female lead was the obvious choices made about how she used her voice. The deliberately high pitch, soft breathy tone, combined with a stature I might describe as frail in my own bias, did not sit well with me. Most women are not like this, in Japan or otherwise, and it in some ways drew a line that separated the film from plausible reality. I’m not demanding all female characters be strong in stature or have deep voices, I’d just say such an intense portrayal of these typically “appealing” to some, delicate feminine traits, is not really for me. [Again, quite possibly a target audience issue.] Although I will also at this point take time to mention that the other female characters do not embody these same characteristics, which helps. I very much liked the journalist character and all of her onscreen moments.

Nonetheless, I did very much enjoy the film and the setting (in rural Japan, using dialect) gave it a more distinct flavour that allows it to stand out positively within the thriller/noir genre. It also made aspects of the story more plausible because of being removed from the interconnected network of the city.

[Watched at opening weekend.]

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Excellent show to watch when you need something short and sweet !

A couple going through divorce proceedings, loses their memory in a car accident. The families revive them together to help them regain their memories, with a view to finalizing the divorce.

+++ Great actors, CL is so cute.
+++ Rhythm, humor, unusual tone
+++ A coherent storyline

=> Excellent show to watch when you need something short and sweet !
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couple en procédure de divorce, mais perd la mémoire dans 1 accident de voiture. Les familles les font revivre ensemble pour les aider à retrouver la mémoire, en vue de finaliser le divorce.

+++ Super acteurs, le CL est trop cute.
+++ Rythme, humour, ton inhabituel

=> Excellent moment !

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Good vibes but lacks bite

This fantasy movie is about closure for the deceased, and moving on for the living. It is also about a pianist who discovers his reason for living by the end of the movie. Romance is auxiliary.

MC was forcefully recruited to work in Heaven, a place where the dead were waiting for their rebirths. After settling in, he met a female pianist and learnt of her past. ML had a lingering regret after her death. As the two became friends, they worked to resolve this last regret of hers. The romance element in this movie was between the ML and her boyfriend who was still alive. Herein lay the problem!

The movie gave good vibes from start to finish. However, there wasn't any attempt to engage emotionally with the audience at any point in time. I was not emotionally invested throughout the movie. ML's love-story with her boyfriend was only sketched out in flashbacks and the boyfriend's character was not fleshed out. The romance element was only auxiliary in the plot and it seemed as if ML's love-story was recited out of necessity to explain her regret.

In my opinion, the plot would have been much better if ML and MC had a budding romance with the complete omission of the boyfriend character. The ending would still end with the same hope (but a lot more poignant) with the same final scene/act in the movie. This was a missed opportunity for a good romance movie!

Acting and the piano music in the movie were good.

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One of my absolute favourite japanese movies

You know when a movie has Aoi Yu it's just gonna be amazing.

The aesthetics, the angles, the colours, the story, the actors, all of it creates such a nostalgic and whimsical mood that immediately reeled me in.
Though the story revolves around the two bestfriends liking the same guy, it never felt the centre of focus for the movie was the male character but instead it was the relationship between the two girls and their backgrounds.

I loved the way each scenes was shot with so much emotion. The scenery and the colour grading of the movie makes it perfect for a rainy day watch <3

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Be careful of men who tell you what you want to hear

Ginza Cosmetics was a bittersweet slice of life about a middle-aged single mother who worked as a bar hostess. Tanaka Kinuyo imbued the working mom with a quiet resilience as she faced whatever challenges and opportunities came her way.

Yukiko looks at the world through clear eyes. She works hard to maintain her dignity and reputation while also acknowledging that being a hostess can’t last forever. Yukiko works with women her age and ones much younger. She takes Kyoko under her wing and steers her away from the post-work behavior of some of the other hostesses. Her son, Haruo, is a free-range child, though Yukiko’s landlords and neighbors keep an eye on the boy. Problems arise at the bar-a customer doesn’t pay which comes out of the hostess’ pocket and the bar itself is in financial trouble. Yukiko makes an effort to resolve the problems though she doesn’t always meet with success. She’s offered the chance to have a patron and through an act of fate also meets an available man. For the first time in a long time, she’s able to have an intelligent conversation and feels the pull of possible affection. Perhaps even a way out of the life she’s living.

Yukiko was an interesting character. She was well educated and well mannered. No mention was made of how she ended up in the bar. While others said she should find employment elsewhere, the employment reality for women may have precluded such an opportunity, especially during and right after the war. In contrast to the younger women who wore western dresses and heels at the bar, Yukiko dressed in a traditional kimono. She bore no shame for Haruo who was born out of wedlock, instead knowing it was the man who abandoned her when she became pregnant who had earned that shame. No matter what others did, she refused to supplement her income in after hours trysts with customers. The clock of time was ticking louder and she heard it, knowing she wouldn’t be able to remain a hostess forever. For the moment, she focused on earning a living in order to raise her son. When negative situations occurred, she kept her head and worked around them. No histrionics, no blame game, she just dug down a little deeper and held on. Though she believed most men were animals, she still never became so jaded that she wouldn’t reach out to help those in need.

Ginza Cosmetics had a similar theme as Naruse Mikio’s When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960). The latter was a deeper exploration of an aging hostess while the former was lighter look at the same subject. Ginza Cosmetics dealt with a woman who could have been more than a hostess listening to men as they drank, but the war and a patriarchal society left her with few options and she did what she had to do to survive and provide for her son. Her future was unknown but Tanaka’s Yukiko left no doubt she was more than prepared to face it with grace and dignity.

17 May 2024

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Kind of in the Death Note Family

To say this is a Death Note movie is stretching it a bit I think. Yes, L is in it and he is he candy-eating, bent back, terrible typing savant from Death Note and Death Note 2: The Last Name. Matsuyama Kenichi just really plays this character well.

The story itself is pretty darn interesting, but only if you're not looking for Death Note 3. The story has a different vibe to it then the others and isn't about Death Notes or death gods at all. It just has L in it with a bit of cameo from the previous movies.

All in all, a decent watch if you have some time to spare.

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They cooked

God tier film
This is the perfect tragedy.
There's so many scenes that are cinematic and dialogue that’s well written.

It’s a story with solid character development from the majority of the cast
The misunderstandings aren't contrived and feel natural, especially considering the circumstances of the characters. Not only that, when you get to a certain part of the movie, it recontextualises the whole story and you understand a side that unfolds so naturally and makes so much sense. The peak moments of the film are essentially seen from a mirroring or paralleling perspective, revealing the entire story and showing you everything in detail. It's very well written. There are too many brilliant scenes to count. Cinematography peak.

The main characters make sense and have reasons for their actions, and it makes sense because of their traumatic backgrounds. K and Cream's fear of rejection. The script is so fucking peak. The ending wraps up so well too.

The only off parts are maybe when the cat girl is introduced, but its really not so bad. Shes pretty chill throughout the rest of the movie and is actually kinda interesting. Begins as a caricature, ends up as a real one.
Besides that, there's like one scene that looks goofy cuz of the lighting and that’s it.
Everything else works extremely effectively towards the film

Pretty much all the side characters are fairly likeable and feel like humans, flawed but understandable.
Very strong writing and character development
The ost was very effective and great to listen to, besides the cat girls singing.

This is one of the most slept on films I've ever seen.

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I would totally recommend it !

I loved it so much ! It was an emotional and super realistic movie about the struggle of refugiees.
Kiwan’s lore is so rough and hard yet he overcame it and found happiness. His mother and his uncle were such good characters and litteraly built what he is now.
I felt so bad for him when the money he got from the sold of jis mom’s body was stolen away from him but gladly he took it back and even met fantastic people afterwards.
I love his colleague (the woman with a sick child) eventhough she betrayed him at some point, she explained why and did everything she could to help him because she felt guilty and because she cared for him. Maybe she doesn’t deserve forgiveness but at least she was sincere asking for it and regretting her actions !
Shoutout to Marie and her parents ! They have so much background : she lost her mother and was consistently having troubles with her father but eventually they reconciled ! I’m also glad that Marie succeeded (with kiwan’s help) to get out of this dark world of the shooting competitions and that one man manipulating her !

Once again, I loved how realistic the movie was depicting drug addictions, depression after losing someone important, how hard it is to be a refugee (proving your origin, earning the right to stay in the other country etc…), escaping a mental and physical abuse etc…

One thing that I did liked a little less was the romantic relationship they developed (Marie and Kiwan) because it felt so unnatural and also like most Kdramas, kinda forced. By forced I mean that Kdrama writers ALWAYS feel like we need to see some romance ugh. But at least they found happiness in each other.
I didn’t liked it especially since we had no real grounds to it, it also occurred right after him waking up from an overdose he did because she said in a way ´get lost’. We basically got a few flashbacks of them hanging out on a market, then them litteraly having sex ?and that was all to establish the relationship for the writers ig ?.

I LOVED the ending. This project of song joon ki was so good and at the level of his other projects not like ´reborn rich’.
The cast and the acting were ON TOP ! No actual OST though.

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