ZDorama
USA
So the other day over lunch, my friend was telling me about these weird clips that him and his friends watch on youtube at work from this Japanese Movie called FUNKY FOREST. He tried to describe the show to me, stories of deformed humans with weird powers, etc, which sounds positively cartoony to me. I ask, “Is it Animated?” He says no. “Is it like a Super-Hero type?” He says, “Dude, I just gotta send you the clip. It’s too weird to explain.”
That evening he sends me a clip and it’s of an old guy with extended boobs shooting milk at a girl trying to hit it with a tennis racket, then he starts pulling these alien pod things out of his shorts and begins throwing them at her which stick to her like leeches which are revealed to have humanoid features under their hide…. My mouth DROPPED open in a kind of a "WHAAAAAA!???" as I rubbed my eyes in disbelief at what I’d just seen! What da HELL was I WATCHING??? My friend said that it would be weird. WEIRD!? This is the most BIZARRE freakin’ thing I’ve ever seen in my life! Eccentric Individuals, Electronics with Orifices, Placated Fetal Creatures, Slimy Living Instruments, Secret Space Agents AND First Contact with an Alien Race, this was Japan's Cinematic ZENITH of Nuttiness!!!
And MAN, If I thought I couldn’t be more surprised by the movie’s absolute KRAZEENESS, I was even MORE surprised when I began scrolling through some of the other clips and saw actors I RECOGNIZED in it! And these weren’t unknown b-list actors either- these were some of best-known actors out there, like Rinko Kikuchi, Kaho, Fukushii Kazue, Kase Ryo and adorable Chizuru Ikewaki! What in the HECK were they doing here? Gads, that meant I HAD TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND WATCH THE WHOLE MOVIE, if only to see what exactly the HELL they were DOING here!
Well, in the end, I’m STILL not sure if I ever figured out what was going on, but WOW, WHAT A FLICK!! Not only Did I get to see these actors in the wackiest situations ever, this movie actually introduced me to a bunch of new BABES to lust after, among them beauties like Ono Machiko (whom I’d actually just seen in JOKER Yuzurenai Sasokan), Takahashi Mariko (as a breathy sultry class student named Yoshiko), the adorable Nana Shimoda and Aoi Miura as hapless victims, and ESPECIALLY stunningly gorgeous Erika Nishikado as Notti, the dreamy, nature-lovin’ muse of Ryo Kase’s Extra-Terrestrial obsessed Takafumi!
Girls like this (and the aforementioned Ikewaki et al) were the primary force that made me stick around watching the movie even as the situations got stranger and STRANGER!! Though in any other movie that got THIS wacky I would have bailed, I just HAD to stick around for these girls...And stick around I did- and I GOTTA SAY, in the end, it was a good thing because Funky Forest turned out to be one of the most FREAKIN' FUNNIEST, INNOVATIVE, IMAGINATIVE, and CRACKY MOVIES OUT THERE!!!
I’m not even kidding- though some parts of the movie veered off into long, spacey drawn out intermissions (some musical and some literal, yes, LITERAL intermissions), some of the stories were downright HILARIOUS, especially faves like the “Babbling Hot-Springs Vixens” stories with Chizuru Ikewaki, Kazue Fukiishi and Machiko Ono as non-stop chattering salesladies taking a break at an onsen, where a good story is the goal and a tale with no point gets you a beatin’…
…and the OTHER arc I just DUG was the super FUN “Home Room!!!!!!!” stories where the students are charismatic, energetic and outspoken, and their teacher (played by Terajima Susumu in what may be the only non-Yakuza role I’ve ever seen him in) is the coolest instructor any Hall of Education ever had! Every day a student is invited to tell his or her tale in front of the class and the room reaction is never anything short of explosive!
FUNKY FOREST~THE FIRST CONTACT, or, rather, it’s original Japanese Title Naisu No Mori is an abstract Alien + UFO Speculation Movie of sorts, and that’s about as coherent a synopsis as you’re likely to get- for whatever the bigger story here, it’s for SURE that the ride of GETTING THERE is far more integral to THIS ship than any silly thing like a COHERENT PLOT!! A fun, FUN Movie!!!
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Strangely enough, though I really enjoyed Abe's crime drama SHINZANMONO, I had no IDEA that The Wings Of The Gryphon was a movie featuring the characters from it! I simply thought Hiroshi Abe , Junpei Mizubata, etc, wre playing stereotypical crime drama roles that I've seen them play a hundred times before! You would have thought the characters NAMES would have tipped me off, but honestly, I didn't remember what any of them were! LOL
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Hiroshi Abe is back on the case with the latest in the strong SHINZANMONO pantheon, the smooth and cool Nemuri No Mori, a television special following the intense Wings Of The Kirin (Kirin No Tsubasa) from 2012. I couldn't wait to dig in!
This was one interesting story that had me guessing throughout the show, but even MORE awesome was how pretty all of the actresses playing the suspect ballerinas were! With actresses Ishihara Satomi, Otozuki Kei, Otani Eiko and Kinami Haruka as the primary girls (suspects), there was enough eye candy to keep me going no matter WHAT the storyline, LOL
AHAHA, and if THAT wasn't enough, they even had fantastic Nakama Yukie make a hilarious and cute cameo appearance as Kaga’s omiai prospect! Leave it to Yukie to be the girl who can really put Abe in his place! Too Funny!
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From the get go we see Erika duked out in the most salacious of outfits a la red garters and panties, and even as I was marveling at the sight, thinking she’d really upped the notch of sexiness, she was moving on to the next big “Heart Attack” moment for me, and the depravity didn’t stop there! By the time the movie had gone about halfway into the story, I has seen Erika in just about every imaginable sexy scenario, leaving me with an open mouth and glazed look on my face, thinking, “This girl sure knows how to generate a COMEBACK MOVIE!”
Like I said, I initially checked out this movie to see Erika as a model wearing model-type outfits, and I am happy to say that in that, they wildly succeded- every scene is chock full of Erika in tight flowery bikinis, lacy lingerie, svelte suits and sultry dresses. I was in screencapping heaven!
Sadly, as the movie’s story progressed, Helter Skelter began to be less a tale of the scary world of plastic surgery and more into a decidedly “sci-fi” genre flick (no “regular” plastic surgery here, there operations are executed with strange Orwellian methods with side effects that ring more Horror than Drama!) and by the time the backwards-walking midgets came out (for reals, yo.) I knew this movie had turned into a David Lynchian Psychedelic Trip and from there, my interest dwindled…
Too bad, the first half of the movie seemed to be grounded in a very realistic backdrop and I thought it was going to be a human drama study about the pressures celebrities have and the lengths they go through to stay in the public eye (I guess that is the message, in a twisted way), having Helter Skelter turn into another arthouse-y project just left me disappointed, and Sexy Sawajiri Erika aside, can’t say this show has much more that I’d go back for. Though I WILL be back for said Sexy Sawajiri Erika, you can best bet THAT!
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A melancholy movie with beautiful, atmospheric backdrops and a slow paced rhythm to it that really soothes the viewer’s soul
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I picked up on this movie simply for the stunning array of stellar actresses they’d gotten (Aoi Yu, Takeuchi Yuko, Tanaka Rena, Nakama Yukie,Suzuki Kyoka and Hirosue Ryoko, MAN,have you ever seen so much TALENT in one movie?) and the movie’s touching and heartfelt story certainly put them to good use, but the overall thing that stunned me the most was the film’s unbelievable cinematography and special effects!
Having a movie set in the years 1936, 1964, 1969, 1977 and 2004 would be a daunting task for anyone, and I wouldn’t have blamed them if they just winged it and made do with the sets they had on hand, but MY GOSH, those period pieces (and, in particular, the 60’s scenes) seemed like they were actually shot at that time!
Every time they opened another scene, just one look at the girl and her surrounds and I’d instantly KNOW what decade they were in, and DAMN if the Yukie Nakama scenes didn’t just remind me of those Tomokazu Muira/Yamaguchi Momoe flicks of the 70’s! And to bring out the flourish of those period pieces , the scenes alternate between modern 2004 shots which REALLY makes them stand out in comparison!
Of course, all this talent and special effects wouldn’t have meant much without a solid story to go on, and FLOWERS wonderful message is the cherishing of life, family, and the miracle of motherhood. (and never has a movie utilized Olivia Newton John’s (!) “Have You Never Been Mellow” better than this movie’s conclusion…so touching!
And for those of us who were just so blown away by the period piece effects, they went one further for us, as the ending credits ran and they showed these old, yellowed family photos of the generations of families, and I was like HOLY CRAP, THESE PICTURES LOOK SO DAMN AUTHENTIC! Especially the Aoi Yu shots- DANG, those could have been in MY Grandmother’s photo album! Just Fantastic!
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First off, It wasn’t quite that she “ took the time to create a perfect dish” for each client, more precisely, if you eat at her restaurant, amazingly, your GRANDEST WISHES COME TRUE! Whoa. A bit more fanciful than I was prepared for, but still somewhat on ground level, at least so far...I thought to myself, "OK, Um... So, this is like a fairy tale, then?" It certainly was SURREAL enough!
As the show progressed, however, the movie seemed to get more and MORE quirky, with zany singalong narration and animated vegetable picking (and of course, all those wish-granting meals) til it finally built up crazier and crazier til I had to stop and pull out a majestic WTF?!
AHAHAHA, Oh well, ya can't say that this movie wasn't entertaining, 'cause it was THAT, FOR SURE!!!
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The Loan collector is played with witty delight by Miura Tomokazu, whose character of Fukuhara is a life-loving person, and his constant chattering about this and that is reminiscent of Charles Grodin in Midnight Run or Kazama Morio in Instant Numa! The hapless debt-ridden man he eventually employs as his road companion of sorts is played with glum moroseness by Odagiri Joe, here rocking the frizziest hairdo ever seen on an asian man! As Takemura, he's a young man who's always felt like luck hasn't been on his side. Abandoned by his parents at the age of 5, he's always looked at life as a series of let downs and broken promises. But through the course of their walk, he begins to see in Fukuhara the father figure he's longed for all his life.
Don't Worry though, the Movie isn't as dark as all that, the story is played very lightly, and, like I mentioned earlier, is pretty much a comedy however you look at it. But the twist and turns the two men go through, the fun and interesting eateries, the fights and the late night-talks all add up to a very sincere and thought- provoking film.
At one point Fukuhara takes Takemura to meet a lady-friend of his named Makiko (played by the ever-stoic Koizumi Kyoko) where they can stay for a few days and it's here that Takemura meets her niece Fufumi, played by the excitably genki Yoshitaka Yuriko: SUCH a cutie, Special mention MUST be made of HER! From the moment she enters, she's stealing the scenes, going off portraying her patented "Woman/Child" girly-girl, the kind that is sooooo cute and ditsy as to border on Mental incapacitation! With her one-of-a-kind high-pitched and scratchy voice, can ANYONE do this better than her? LOL!
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MAN, this was SUCH an AWESOME movie!!! To think I would have just let this one sit on my desktop for weeks... At the time I guess I thought it would be nothing more than a wacky movie, (and with the premise of a girl who looks like SADAKO from RING scaring her fellow students, who could blame me? ) who would have thought that I would find such an UTTERLY SWEET and HEARTWARMING Show? Such an earnest and sincere film, this one really made you feel good!
And HEY!!! Tabe Mikako aside, no one told me this show was gonna be FILLED with SO MANY HOT, SMOKIN’ CHICKS! I mean, I DID. NOT. KNOW. that MIREI KIRITANI was in this show, and I mean to tell you, she was lookin’ fine. Renbutsu Misako plays one of her best characters yet with the tough but loveable Chizu, and I got my first introduction to the sultry Natsuna Watanabe, playing the sexy and cool-headed Ayane (And I’ve got more to talk about HER next time). There were these gorgeous gals all over this film!
KIMI NI TODOKE is the tale of a girl named Sawako who, because of her scary looks, is feared by her students, till an outgoing and cheerful boy named Shota (played by Haruma Miura) takes a liking to the shy, insecure but good-hearted girl, and along with friends..This would be a fine story as is, but what I really, REALLY loved about it was the fact that the heart of this movie clearly centered around the importance of FRIENDSHIP. The way they showed Sawako’s bonding with Shota, Ayane and Chizu is so thoughtfully paced and actually quite believable. When it gets to the point when they think to ask her if they are friends, they realize that they’ve already passed the point where you even have to!
When things like backhanded lying, gossiping rumours, and aggressive attitudes develop in front of them and threaten to tear their friendship apart, it’s that very friendship that they draw their strength from, and you watch this movie truly feeling like, Hey, these kids really love each other!
This movie came as a bright, clear breath of fresh air after the somewhat disappointing HANAMIZUKI which seemed (to me) to be mired in melodrama. While I’m sure (positive, actually) that there are people out there who disagree with me, Kimi Ni Todoke is the way to go- This one is a winner!
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The film was interesting enough, but what really made the movie for me was the all star cast that included not only Fujiwara Tatsuya (of the aforementioned Battle Royale fame), Abe Tsuyoshi (Hanadan) and the mighty Kitaoji Kinya, but THREE (yes, count them, THREE) of my favorite actresses: Ayase Haruka, Ishihara Satomi and Hirayama Aya!
Each gal played a certain stereotype: Aya as the giggly kogal Wakana, Haruka as the quiet and introspective Shoko, and Satomi as the scene-stealing morose, dramatic and suicidal Miyu! I have to say that it was their presence that really kept me glued to the computer- Man, I haven’t had a Crush Overdose like this since “Mamiya Brothers” with Kitagawa Keiko and Sawajiri Erika!
Say, it looks like Ishihara Satomi is really getting into this new kind of haunted, morbid character persona like the one I first saw in Tobo Bengoshi, and I have to say it fits her well!!! Very sultry and on her way to becoming a true Femme Fatale!
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Remember that movie “Of Unknown Origin”, where Mild mannered Bart Hughes is so obsessed with catching a pesky mouse, at the end he ends up burning down his entire house to kill it? Think that, but with two pretty ‘n’ buxom gals instead of Peter Weller, and you’ve got the idea!
Can’t say that there was too much more than that as far as any deeper story goes, but BOY was it FUN watching these two beautiful girls bash each others’ brains out in true Wile E. Coyote/ Road Runner style, til each girl is a mess of blood and bruises! I’ve just become a fan recently of Nonami Maho, and I’ve loved Eiko Koike since I first saw her as a recurring guest on DOMOTO TSUYOSHI SHOJIKI SHINDOI, and it was awesome to see them let loose and go CRAZY!!!
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On that note I made plans to get around to watching the movie, but to say that Aoi Yu is “in” this movie is like watching the Blues Brothers for Peewee Herman, seeing as how they both appear onscreen in each respective movie for about the same amount of time! But despite that setback, something about the Honoka’a Boy’s slow and calming pace really drew me in, and before you knew it, I was really enjoying it!
Starring Okada Masaki as the fish out of water, or rather a Nihongo stuck on the Big Island, the show details his adjustment to life in the Islands as opposed to his life in Japan. The show is crammed full of interesting and eccentric characters, (including a fun performance by Matsuzaka Keiko, (whom I ADORED as Ikushima in Atsuhime), and Baisho Chieko (as the spinsterly lady who falls for Okada) but make no mistake about it: The true “star” of this movie just HAS to be Sexy Hasegawa Jun! From the moment Okada’s character Leo befriends the exotic “local” girl Mariah, her sexiness totally captivates Leo’s thoughts (and ours) and with Hasegawa rockin’ the cute denim short-shorts and skimpy bikinis, you just CAN'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HER!
Funny that until I watched this movie, I’d always believed :”Jun Hasegawa” to be an ACTOR, that is, a dude. What I didn’t realize is that there are actually TWO talents out there with the same name, a fact I sadly discovered when I tuned in on the drama Naka Nai to Kimeta Hi thinking I was gonna see some sweet local goodness and instead saw an up ‘n’ comin’ Johnny’s Boy. D’oh!
Living in Hawaii myself, I love going out to visit the outer islands, and I think this movie manages to capture the laid-back and relaxing vibe the islands give off perfectly! When the movie was over, I found myself strangely mellow, as if I'd just come home from a long, breezy visit to Honoka'a! AHAHAHAHAHA!
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This review may contain spoilers
When I picked up the movie Kuki Ningyo (Air Doll), the story about an inflatable sex doll that comes to life and goes out exploring the world when her owner is at work each day, I thought I was in for a cute, light-hearted, quirky comedy...BOY was I wrong about that!While Air Doll does have its quirky moments, and Korean actress Doona Bae is extremely adorable as Nozomi, the sex doll come to life, this was much much more than a light comedy. While following Nozomi's search for the meaning for living and happiness, she discovers the world and people around her are just as much in confusion about the very same things as she is. When she proclaims to a lonely old man that she is "empty inside" (as she's full of air), he sadly notes that a malady of that kind is not such a rare thing for people.
As she searches deeper and deeper into the answers for her existence, we see Nozomi's wide- eyed innocence slowly turn to sadness and detachment as she is faced with the reality of "real life" and as if to punctuate how bitter living can be, we are also given insight into the people around her, where we realize Nozomi is just one of a thousand people coping with their own personal hardships from day to day.
Without giving away any spoilers I have to say that the movie ended on SUCH a somber tone that when it was over, I just could NOT shake off this feeling of utter loneliness! That's quite a movie to make me feel like that! Ahhhh, man, I'm depressed! Somebody better give me a comedy, QUICK! Time to re-watch "Summer Time-Machine Blues" to pick me up!
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I've loved actress Eriko Sato ever since her mouth-watering portrayal of Go Nagai’s salacious super-heroine CUTIE HONEY, but after that, I didn’t see a whole lot of her besides a great appearance in the Matsuoka Masahiro drama YASUKO TO KENJI (where she played the Martha-Stewart-ish perfect girlfriend Ai against the harried Ryoko Hirosue in a battle to win Kenji’s heart) …
When I was finally able to acquire a copy of Funuke Domo, Kanashiki ai wo Misero I was PLEASANTLY surprised to not only see Hiromi Nagasaku in it- but ERIKO SATO as the HEADLINING actress as well!!!! Rounded out by actors Masatoshi Nagase and Aimi Satsukawa in an eclectic ensemble cast, I KNEW I was in for a GREAT SHOW!
Think SEIGI NO MIKATA with a decidedly violent and sadistic slant with more sexual innuendoes and you’ve got FUNUKU DOMO- Along with Aimi Satsukawa, Eriko gives one of the most electrifying performances of her career, and by the film’s end I was just WALLOWING in satisfaction-This ROCKING movie is DARK, DARK comedy at its absolute crackling BEST!
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