Zeitgeist, the Movie (2007)

Watch this documentary with an open mind. It's truly thought-provoking.

Frankly, I have mixed reactions to this movie.

Firstly, I was sooo excited when I first heard that there's gonna be an L Movie. What I heard was it was gonna be a spin-off based on Nisio Isin's novel, titled "Death Note: Another Note", which covers events that take place before the actual Death Note story.

Sooo.. I was kinda of surprised, if not a little disappointed, when the movie L: Change the World came out. With a totally original plot. A rather cheesy plot, I might add. C'mon, don't you think the killer virus plot is waaay overused in cinemas nowadays?

However, after actually watching it, it's better than I had expected. Matsuyama Ken'ichi of course done wonders to his role as the endearing L. It's interesting to see L in action-packed scenes, kinda comical in some ways.

The story takes place within the last 23 days of L's life, which was predetermined after he wrote his own name in the note to trap Light Yagami (Death Note: The Last Name).

What I have to nitpick about this movie is again.. where are Near and Mello?? Hello, such key figures in the manga, and never any airtime in the movies?!?! Heck.

I really had wanted to see the live action of Nisio Isin's novel. It should be interesting to see L in the FBI as well as see more of Naomi Misora and Ray Pember. I wanna see more, not the little snippet fed to us in this movie.

Ah well. I guess this movie is just to satisfy rabid fans who couldn't get enough of the slouching, candy-lovin' Detective L. Haha. Me included, apparently.

Another thing. The use of initials as character names is overrated in this movie.

I'll give this movie a rating of 3.5 / 5 and I'd still say, GO WATCH IT~! ^_^

L's quote at the end: "No matter how gifted you are, you can't change the world by yourself".

 

Just sharing the movie poster. 

Official site: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/L-movie/  

Yet another film adaptation of children's book series in the fantasy genre. It is adapted from the second volume of Susan Cooper's five-book The Dark is Rising series, which tells of the struggle between good and evil, with a rather Arthurian feel.

I have never read her books, honestly speaking.

Check out the official site: Click!

I have just finished watching this movie.

After all the hype about the NANA movies, I just have to say the story concluded poorly. Never mind the fact that NANA 2 had got half its original cast replaced. It just left me with very little impression, plot-wise.

The first movie was good. I would say Miyazaki Aoi portrayed Komatsu Nana's innocence and cuteness much much much better than Ichikawa Yui. Ichikawa made Hachi annoying. I couldn't stand her. She cried and whined too much.

Honjou Ren, as acted by Kyou Nobuo this time, is as wooden as .. as.. a wood! Ren's supposed to be a character that oozes charisma and sexiness, which was successfully depicted by Matsuda Ryuhei. IMO. But I'm sure most people would agree, no?

And don't even get me started on the kid they replaced Matsuyama Ken'ichi with. What's his name again? The guy who was in Prince of Tennis. Hongo Kanata? GEEEZ. He is seriously NOT Shin-like. He's like an annoying brat too! I can't even explain it in proper words!

*dramatic sigh*

The only character that remains endearing is Yasu. ^^

I'll not go into the plot itself. You just have to watch it to judge for yourself.

Despite my earlier enthusiasm about getting the original DVD with its goodies, I didn't buy it and I'm glad I didn't! Instead, I got a bootleg version off a peddling Chinawoman. Shhh. ^_~

Hmm.. Something else just crossed my mind. It's somewhat unrelated but still Yazawa Ai..Wouldn't it be cool to have a live-action series of Paradise Kiss?? I wonder who would be casted as Georgeeeee~ Hehehe..

Special edition will be released on June 22!

Pre-order it NOW! Available at:

Yesasia.com

CD Japan

Special edition comes with a whole lot of goodies, including a booklet and some character postcards!

My only problem now is to find the $$$ to make my purchase. Arghghgh. Just spent 100 bucks to register for JLPT. -___-

初雪の恋 ～ヴァージン・スノー
(Hatsuyuki no Koi ~Virgin Snow)



Directed by: Han Sang-hee
Starring: Lee Jun Ki, Miyazaki Aoi, Shioya Shun, Morita Ayaka, Yagyuu Miyu, Otoha, Yoki Miko, etc.
Jointly produced by: CJ Entertainment, Kadokawa Herald Pictures and GuardTec


Hatsuyuki no Koi is a Korea-Japan joint production movie, starring two of the hottest young stars from the two Northeast Asian nations, Lee and Miyazaki. It had just finished filming end of last month and will be released in Spring, which is soon! I have yet to find its trailer, though.

Of course, us folks outside Japan will have to wait, possibly for a long time before we can feast our eyes on it. Bleh. Still, something to look forward to, for Junki fans and Miyazaki fans alike. Oh by the way, the other actor is rather hot too, Shioya Shun. Keep your eyes open for him. :P

Anyway, the outline of the story is roughly as follows:

Min (Lee) is transferred to Japan when his father, who is an avid potter, got posted there as an exchange university professor.

While riding his mountain bike around Kyoto (where the story is based), Min comes across Nanae (Miyazaki), who happens to be his schoolmate, at a Shinto shrine. Somehow, it was love at first sight for Min and he hopes to get along well with her. Unfortunately, she is nonchalant towards him.

One day, Nanae’s precious arts tool is lost (the thing fell into a river, apparently).

Feeling guilty, because he is partially to blame for her loss, Min decides to look for a part time job and got one through a classmate’s help. With the money he earns, he manages to buy her a similar tool. Min’s sincerity touches Nanae and she slowly opens her heart to him.

Despite their differences, Min and Nanae are able to scale the walls of different languages and cultures. Kyoto becomes the place where beautiful memories are spun.

Once, while the two of them are visiting a ceramics shop, Nanae promises to paint the ceramics shop that Min will establish someday. In order for Nanae to fulfill her promise, Min takes up pottery lessons from his father and puts in diligent effort to hone his ceramic-making skills.

However, on one day, Nanae suddenly goes missing...

Interesting to note is the name of Miyazaki’s character here. Nanae? Seems like more than just a coincidence, hah. Also, like in Miyazaki’s recent movie, Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru, there is also some kissing scenes involved in Hatsuyuki no Koi. I dunno, Miyazaki’s excuse to discard her role as Komatsu Nana in NANA2 seems really lame now. No bedroom scenes, but kissing is ok for her angelic image??

Also, what's with her playing characters that do disappearing acts?? Hmmm..

Jun Ki seems to be spotting the same hairstyle from last year. I wonder if he’s wearing his cross earrings in this movie. Haha. It wouldn’t be for long though. He’s apparently changing his looks for a new K-drama, in which he’s gonna play the role of another tough guy! mauvecloud, can you imagine the potential horror?! Maan~ I can’t bear to imagine it! I seriously think that his character in Fly Daddy Fly was TEH FLOP, and have no wish to see a similar role for Jun Ki. ~_~;

This has gotta be a joke or parody of some kind: The English Teacher.

SYPNOSIS

Patrick, a young American college grad, journeys to Seoul, South Korea to teach English. Jeff, a friend-of-a-friend, puts him up in his filthy, little apartment and finds him a job teaching Yoon Hee, a university student from a prosperous family. There is an easy chemistry between them, and they soon fall in love.

Soon after, Patrick discovers Seoul's night life. He is enticed by the seemingly endless possibilities and eventually loses control. Sex and drugs begin to consume him, and he is robbed of all his money.

Yoon Hee becomes pregnant. Patrick suggests an abortion. She is horrified and breaks up with him. Her father finds out, charges Patrick with rape, and sends Yoon Hee to an obscure village.

Patrick realizes that he has made a terrible mistake. He must win Yoon Hee back and flee the country with her before it’s too late. But first, he has to recover his money from Klaus to pay for their flight to America. Desperate situations require desperate actions. In a world without rules, Patrick must make his own.


W.T.F?!

Not much info on the website, no idea who the cast are. This must be a low-budget B-grade movie. The theme is so stereotypical and degrading! It's the typical viewpoint of the average Asian-ignorant white audience that any Asian city has got to be laden with sex, drugs and violence. And it's always the case of an innocent white male tempted by the decadence of an exotic city in the Far East and ended up falling in love with a beautiful local chick. Yadda Yadda. What the heck.

Check out the trailer. o_O;;

Thanks to Tyler oppa for the alert.

*drum rolls*

My fave Korean movie of all-time, King and the Clown is selected as Korea's representative movie for the Foreign Film category in the Academy Awards 2007!!!!

WooohooO~!



Beating two other movies that were under consideration for submission, The Host (Goemul) and Time (Shigan).

Lalala~

Lee Jun-ki Appears in Korea-Japan Joint Film



Actor Lee Jun-ki has been cast in the Korea-Japan joint production “First Snow” directed by Han Sang-hee, who earned a reputation for producing music videos by working with famous singers including Rain and Ivy.

The Japanese Sponichi Shimbun reported Wednesday that Lee had participated in the movie's first shoot in Kyoto on Monday, with rising Japanese actress Aoi Miyazaki playing opposite his character.

Lee plays a Korean university student who moves to Japan when his father gets a job there as an exchange professor. He has a brief but romantic fling with a high school girl (Miyazaki) with a complicated and difficult family background.

The film is co-sponsored by CJ Entertainment and Kadokawa Herald Pictures and produced by Guardtec, which also produced Lee’s recent film “Fly Daddy Fly.”

The two stars expressed their hopes in shooting the film. “I hope this film helps improve friendly relations between the two nations,” Lee said. Miyazaki, who is appearing in a foreign film for the first time, said, “I will study Korean hard so that I can speak it naturally and act naturally.”

The 21-year-old actress rose to stardom through her role in “Nana,” which became a big hit in Japan last year. Despite her short career, she has been recognized for her performances several times. She received the best actress award at the Festival des 3Continents in 2002 and the young actress award at the Nikkan Sports Film Award.

“First Snow” will end shooting by the end of the year and be released concurrently in Korea and Japan next spring.

Source: KBS Global (21/09/06)


w00t w00t!!! Junki and Miyazaki Aoi in one movie?! Whoa.. looking forward to the chemistry! ^____^

Good news and alot of bad news.

The official site for Nana 2 movie is UP! Not much there yet, except for a teaser trailer.

That's the good news.

The bad news..?

Miyazaki Aoi has been replaced!! Of all the actresses who they could look for... they found Ichikawa Yui!! And Matsuda Ryuhei too has been replaced by Kyou Nobuo!!!

WTF-ness.

One: WHY A GRAVURE IDOL FOR THE ROLE OF SWEET LIL KOMATSU NANA?!?!?!?!

Two: I was just getting used to Matsuda as Ren and now they're taking him out?!?!

DOUSHITE?!?!!?

The confirmed returning cast are as follows:

Nakashima Mika retaining her role as Oozaki Nana
Tamayama Tetsuji as Ichinose Takumi
Maruyama Tomoki as Takagi Yasushi

As you can see, Narimiya Hiroki (Nobu), Matsuyama Ken-ichi (Shin) and Ito Yuna (Reira) has yet to confirm their roles!!!

ARGHGHGHGHGH!!! Noooooo....! I WANT THE ORIGINAL CAST BACK!!


Nana (2005)

Furthermore... Nana 2 will wrap up the entire story! More WTF-ness. *sigh*

I'm soo depressed now.

The manga

Yuki Kaori’s 夜型愛人専門店 ~Bloodhound~..

「今夜私を貴方だけの奴隷にして。。」

“Tonight make me your only slave..”


THE drama series, Vampire Gigolo starring Matsuda Satoshi

*笑* ああぁ~すおうと松田悟志~! *melts into a puddle*