j-movies
Watched the much-hyped Tokyo Sonata (2008) and was kinda disappointed. It was alright, but not quite famous. The robbery was silly. The best part was the kid with the asthma -- that was really spot-on. There was other stuff that was good as well, the older son's character was compelling and surprising, the teacher was funny/sad. Kôji Yakusho wasn't quite as great a presence as I'd like him to be (see Shall We Dance or Cure). A solid three star movie, but not quite up to the hype.
Also caught Takashi Miike's 2004 Zebraman -- that wasn't that great either, but I wasn't really disappointed, it was more or less what I'd expected. The geek-turns-superhero thing we've seen a million times in comix and half-a-million in the movies.
I had no idea what to expect from Thirst for Love (1967). A twisted family drama that mostly made sense, but nothing profound from it.
The worst of the lot was what I watched today, Blood: the Last Vampire. Not really a Japanese movie, it's based on a manga and takes place in Japan. Made in 2009, it takes place in 1970, for no reason I could discern. Afterward, Tim explained that the original manga series took place in 1970 and the main character was from Viet Nam, but then the second series took place in the 80's. Whatever, it was crap.
some of Tokyo Sonata's heroine back when she was a popstar
Also caught Takashi Miike's 2004 Zebraman -- that wasn't that great either, but I wasn't really disappointed, it was more or less what I'd expected. The geek-turns-superhero thing we've seen a million times in comix and half-a-million in the movies.
I had no idea what to expect from Thirst for Love (1967). A twisted family drama that mostly made sense, but nothing profound from it.
The worst of the lot was what I watched today, Blood: the Last Vampire. Not really a Japanese movie, it's based on a manga and takes place in Japan. Made in 2009, it takes place in 1970, for no reason I could discern. Afterward, Tim explained that the original manga series took place in 1970 and the main character was from Viet Nam, but then the second series took place in the 80's. Whatever, it was crap.
some of Tokyo Sonata's heroine back when she was a popstar