A Honeymoon in Hell: Mr & Mrs Oki's Fabulous Trip

Synopsis: Mr & Mrs Oki are what you would call a rather apathetic newlyweds, and no this has nothing to do with the storyline but it's a trait that you would constantly be reminded of throughout the entire movie. There initially was no plan other than to get on with life until one day a strange occurrence involving a lost rice steamer and a fish bought from the supermarket originating from Hell that intrigued them into a Honeymoon trip they will never forget.

Casts: Asami Mizukawa as Saki Oki, Yutaka Takenouchi as Nobuyuki Oki

Review: This is one of the most bizarre movie you would ever encounter. Perhaps for a Western audience there are a number of references of folklores, legends and customs that would be unfamiliar but it is understandable given that the many references were generated from Japanese cultures. But either way, this would be one trip that would intrigue, delight and entertain you in so many different ways.

The bizarre plot doesn't give you enough time to question what is happening and rather just forces you to accept it. The movie is not fast paced and rather reflective, it gives enough space in its quietness to present an atmosphere and on most occasions show the couple's indifferent and rather apathetic attitude, which is a good thing, given you're on a Honeymoon trip to Hell.

To be honest, I don't have much to complain about the movie because for the most part the bizarreness just neutralise the boring parts of the movie. But one thing that should be noted is that be aware when the main actor will be showing up in the theatre as a guest and be even more alert when there are heaps of Japanese women in the theatre.

Just to give a bit of premise, a friend and I went to see this movie out of our own accord. We didn't quite register at the time why the seats were sold out nor why there were so many Japanese women or women audiences in general in the theatre. Until I recalled that the main guest was going to visit for a Q&A session.

Let me just tell you this much, it was madness in the theatre as soon as Takenouchi-san walked down the side aisle to get to the front of the cinema. From all around our seats women stood up for a peek and flashes from cameras started blasting its way throughout the entire room. Herds of women ran down the aisle to get to the front of the cinema to swoon over the main guest. It was completely unexpected.

Personally, I have never seen such a scene before even when I saw Ewan McGregor as a guest for a Q&A session after a screening for another movie festival, the crowd didn't escalate to such an extent. It was quite a scene that I shan't forget for quite a while.

And on that note, I shall leave my review at that.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Image courtesy asianmediawiki.com

Princess Toyotomi

Synopsis: Osaka 2011, the National Audit Bureau was sent to the city of Osaka to do a government audit on institutions to assess irregularities in government money. Hajime Matsudaira (Shinichi Tsutsumi), Tadako Torii (Haruka Ayase) and Asahi Gainsbourg (Masaki Okada) were sent to do this grueling task. Everything went as planned except for the one occasion when Matsudaira-san mindlessly forgotten his mobile at the H.R.H. Foundation. This started a chain reaction that will bring these three unassuming National Audit Bureau members into the mystery of the city.

Through a series of investigation they discovered a 400-year-old secret buried beneath the City of Osaka.

Review: This was quite a disappointment in the end because admittedly the first half of the movie was very enjoyable and entertaining. It (unfortunately) began to falter towards a cliched second part of the movie. The movie sold itself as a high-pace comedy that began smartly but somehow towards the second half decided to change course towards the dramatic. This is when it became apparent that perhaps it oversold its intent at the beginning of the movie. As you can tell from my opinion of this movie I was rather disappointed but don't let this be a testament of the movie's merit

It has its moments of belly-aching laughter, smart puns, random and yet clever scripting so I think as a movie it was enjoyable to a certain extent. Don't let this deter you from viewing it because it has quite a fascinating plot. Let's just say... a Japanese version of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Tabloid drama (or comedy, depending on how you look at it) with an edge.

Having said all of that just remember to eat something before this movie or you'll end up craving something at the end. I'm just trying to warn you now before it's too late.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Image courtesy asianmediawiki.com

15th Japanese Film Festival

Finally the 15th Japanese Film Festival is over. I'll partly miss it but on the one side am glad it has ended. Not as a reflection of the festival itself but rather trying to fit the movies into my schedule was definitely physically demanding. The posts following this brief introduction would be some reviews on the movies that I've seen within the period of the festival, which started on 17 November to its closing of today 27 November 2011.

Now let's begin.

A Nightmare You Say? I Say, Nay!

Last night, I had a fantastic dream about a zombie apocalypse where I was with a group of people defending ourselves from them. We eventually seek shelter in an unoccupied old yet sturdy house, something akin to 'Traditional European' if you must.

We devised plans using whatever we can find in the house to make forts, weapons or any other defence materials we can possibly think of. The zombies were fast approaching by this stage and we separated into two groups barricading ourselves into two separate small rooms.

Funnily enough the people I was with either weren't too bright or were just too relaxed. I remembered one (who seemed to be the mother) knitting and the boy sitting down playing with something on the floor. I quickly grabbed (possibly) a wooden bucket and proceeded to lock myself in a tiny compartment at the edge of the room secured with a thick wooden door.

Not soon after there were noises outside and then came a decaying strong hand breaking through the door of the place where I hid and pulled me. The last thing I remembered was uttering the following word to myself as I succumb to darkness: "Drat".

Sherlock

The 2010 rendition of the original by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as reinterpreted by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen) and Steve Thompson (Whipping It Up) is an absolutely fantastic retelling of the original classic into a contemporary context. Fabulously reintroducing Holmes and Dr. Watson in a modern context but by no means forgetting the original spirit of their Victorian counterparts. Before I proceed any further, I do have to remind anyone reading this that there might be some spoilers ahead. I try to conceal certain things such as series plots but sometimes things do slip. So proceed with caution, I suggest.

Now, something that I truly enjoy in the mini series is the use of bokeh (or focusing on only the essential part of the visual, or something similar to tilt-shift photography I suppose) to produce a very different way of introducing parts of London, it definitely differs from the ones I'm used to, namely the use of zooming and panning from one part of the location to the other. To add, the visualisation of a very grimy and gloomy London gives a gritty aesthetic to the series and it also adds mystery to the already puzzling crimes Holmes and Watson have to face. There's also one other visual aid that I truly enjoy in this movie that is the addition of appearing types when a character is sent a message to their mobile devices or the trail of thoughts by particular characters or the notes and messages the characters are reading, instead of using cuts to the actual paper or devices. It somewhat reminds me of Stranger than Fiction's use of types and infographics to aid the viewers. Truly enjoyable.

Anyway, besides that rambling what I truly enjoy is how the stories were reinterpreted, they differ but certain elements stayed true to the original. Having said that, for those who are not very familiar with Sherlock Holmes' original adventures shouldn't worry because the story will most probably not deter you from enjoying Sherlock's antics and Dr. John Watson's perplexity at his roommate's behaviours and strange occupation. And on another side note, I truly enjoy the lack of technological scientific gizmos that seems to encompass most of today's TV series. The series doesn't rely heavily on technology under most of the circumstances but rather on Holmes' amazing amount of resources and knowledge stored in his mind. It was truly enjoyable to watch how Holmes arrive at his conclusions mostly in terms of how he deducted certain characters'/ victims'/villains' personalities and character traits. It might be perplexing at first but suddenly it all made a lot of sense. As is always the case when you read the novels.

Now let's move on to the actors, Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman is exceptional as Dr. John Watson. And they managed to portray the characters so well in terms of adjusting these fictional classics and transfer them into a modern era. Perhaps what intrigued me a lot was the way Freeman interpreted Watson, in the novels I always thought of Watson as a reserved person who gives occasional warnings to Sherlock but for the most part becomes a quiet observer and student of Holmes, in this series he is still as reserved but perhaps shows a lot more human character compared to how Doyle seems to portray Watson in the books. I actually prefer how Freeman portrayed Watson in the series, truly truly adore him. Cumberbatch is compelling as Holmes, the way he walked, talked and acted is perfectly in tune with how I always pictured Holmes. Perhaps I also think that is partly why I didn't extensively take much notice of Holmes, because he is just the way he is. I'm not sure whether that was a critique or a compliment but all in all excellent actors have to be saluted.

The story is fast paced and have quite quick in-between transitions but otherwise it is nicely structured. It gives enough glimpses for us to understand without feeling being left behind nor overwhelmed. Of course, perhaps I am just singing it praises but for someone who truly loves the original books I would definitely recommend this to anyone who love detective, crime stories and intriguing mysteries (perhaps you may already well aware of who the culprits are because some of them do indeed stay true to the original so it might not be much of a surprise). Now, to look forward to Gareth David-Lloyd as Dr. John Watson in the US production of Sherlock Holmes TV series. I am very much looking forward to it. *tips hat*

Personal Taste

I initially didn't want to write anything about this drama since I hardly have been writing reviews for quite a long while. And to be quite honest I haven't been watching a lot of drama for the last couple of years. Mostly because they tend to not be very entertaining and full of cliches, which for the most part is right for most dramas these days. Admittedly, I have a very short attention span so for the most part I may start something and never finish them having no curiosity whatsoever about a particular series' ending.

This drama I have to say really falls into the category of dramas where I can easily watch but perhaps won't pick up again anytime too soon (unless I am utterly desperate). And this is also the most recent drama that Lee Min Ho starred in after Boys Before Flowers.

And so thus, this is my (initial) review of Personal Taste (개인의 취향).

Synopsis: (I wanted to just copy and paste the Wiki version here but really the plot was a little inaccurate) Jeon Jin Ho is the head architect of a small architectural firm who constantly has to fight against the Mirae Corporation whose boss is attributed towards Jin Ho's father's death. Park Gae In, meanwhile, is a furniture designer who is every cliched girl character you could ever dreamed of of Korean TV series, beautiful but hiding behind overlarge comfortable clothes and donning geeky Superman glasses type of girl, ditzy, clumsy and just about a hopeless (romantic too).

Through several events Jin Ho and Gae In met in unforeseen circumstances and through a misunderstanding Gae In makes the assumption that Jin Ho is gay even though he is actually straight. Meanwhile, Gae In desperately needs a roommate to cover the debt she found herself in and coincidentally Jin Ho needs to see the inside of Sang Go Jae (Gae In's house that was built by her renowned architect father but was never open for public viewing) and so the two began to cohabitate. Can Gae In the perpetual mess and Jin Ho the perfectionist ever be able to overcome their differences (and misunderstandings) in order to live together?

Casts: Lee Min Ho as Jeon Jin Ho, Seon Ye Jin as Park Gae In, Kim Ji Suk as Han Chang Ryul, Wang Ji Hye as Kim In Hee.

Review: I have only viewed until episode 4 and cannot believe how much of a stereotypically cliched clutzy dimwitted girl Park Gae In is, to the point of annoyance every time I watch it. And there were just too many improbable misunderstandings in this series that are utterly infuriating at times, though I suppose are quite fitting, but for the most part had me tearing my hair out trying to understand why can't they just straighten things out by being honest. But alas, if the characters do that I suppose the series would end too soon given that it has 16 episodes altogether.

But having said that, I can understand why Jin Ho didn't really want to straighten (hah!) the misunderstanding Gae In has regarding his sexuality. After all Gae In accepted Jin Ho into the house due to the presumption that there will be no attraction between the two given that Jin Ho is 'gay', and Jin Ho, on the other hand, desperately needed to see the interior of Sang Go Jae (Gae In's house) for a project he was working on.

And I cannot believe how inexcusably ignorant Kim In Hee is for... oh well. I suppose I shouldn't really spoil it for the people who wanted to watch it but either way it doesn't matter because it is pretty much obvious from the get go that Kim In Hee and Han Chang Ryul were going to wed and In Hee is really Gae In's childhood friend and Chang Ryul was Gae In's ex and so on and so forth. Also, this is actually the acting debut of Im Seul Ong, one of the members of 2AM, a Korean singing group (or should I call it a band) and I kind of wished the character he played wasn't portrayed that way but I suppose you can't help it. I have to say Lee Min Ho in this is so static and pokerfaced but given the personality of the character he is playing seems quite fitting.

Though, I have to say the only character who I truly loved out of what I have watched so far is Han Chang Ryul. I somewhat feel that Kim Ji Suk nailed the character perfectly.

Well, enough about the characters as for the plot and series itself the pacing is actually quite sensible with not too much being revealed too slowly and the plot itself is pretty interesting, I somehow just feel if they have changed the characters and not make it so... typical of dramas it would've been a lot more interesting. But again, this is really just my own selfish wish that next time they make a drama they better not be using the same cliched girl because I am thoroughly tired of having to shake my head at how ridiculously stupid some of these characters are (and I can confidently say it is not entirely the fault of the actors, I totally blame the scriptwriters for concocting such characters in the first place). I just hope I never have to befriend such a character in real life and I shall be fine. Oh wait... a little too late isn't it? *sighs*

Overall, it was interesting but I wouldn't say very original. The only thing that caught my attention (and prompted me to watch it) was perhaps the 'supposedly' gay character in the synopsis when I first came across the series. But alas, in the end it is still not original enough but I suppose I should keep watching since I have started already.

Ratings: 3/5 stars

Boys Before Flowers

I have always been crazy about those corny love stories around and most people would probably recognise the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango's crazy plot of four rich and ridiculously handsome guys, a poor girl, a hateful witch and the girl's hilarious family companions. Not surprised that most girls would probably scorn at the idea being able to transcend into reality, but a girl can always dream, right? ;)

Initially I wasn't aware of the Japanese manga, the first existence of something from this manga was the Taiwanese version of Boys Before Flowers re-named as Meteor Garden. Yes, I admit the guys were tall and some was quite handsome (the lead was too masculine for my taste) and that was probably the first time I was ever exposed to mainstream Asian dramas. Quite a sad reality. But I enjoyed watching it nonetheless until I encountered other Asian dramas and realised how badly the actors in Meteor Garden acted! I never really like the Japanese drama version of Hana Yori Dango since it wasn't my exact kind of eye candy ;P and realising that the storyline is still the same as the two seasoned Meteor Garden I didn't give it a chance to entertain me.

So I was slightly skeptical when Boys Before Flowers Korean version was announced late (or mid) 2008, but after looking through the cast I was anticipating it! I mean, for goodness' sake! Look at all the eye candies in it!!! But I was still skeptical nonetheless since I remembered Meteor Garden actually went for about 40 or so episodes just to get to the end of the bloody story. I was hoping that the Korean version would be slightly or even more less than that. Not to mention I already know the storyline which makes it much worse for the director and script writers knowing that most people would've been aware of the original manga and thus the storyline... But it appears that I have gotten my wish! Well, I'm not too entirely sure about it myself but it will only go for around 20 or so episodes, which is a relief given the duration of each episode is around one hour and having to go through 40 episodes worth one hour each will definitely consume too much of my time.

Truthfully, even though there are 10 episodes available for viewing now I have hardly watch beyond the second episode, which is a shame because I really enjoyed the first two. The only complaint I really have is that the main actress really does look older than the guys, not much of a surprise given the actress actually is older than the guys. But either way I grew fond of her in the role of Geum Jan Di (or Tsukasa in the original manga). As for the main actor, I never knew a guy could don a carefully styled perm to such elegance! No I was not being sarcastic, I admit I like it and it also suits him as well. Oh! Before I forget also another complaint is that Kim Hyun Joong the real name of the 'other' guy (yes, as you may have noted by this point I clearly can't remember names) really lacks in the acting department. Maybe it's notably because it's his first debut as an actor (he is one of the member of a Korean boyband SS501) so he appeared nervous and quite awkward at times with the other characters. According to a friend of mine, who has viewed more episodes than me, his acting skill developed with each episode and became better as a part of it. I hope so. I don't want to be disappointed all over again that's for sure.