a mixed bag of FABULOUS
Click to viewOh, Extras. This and Orlando Bloom hates broccoli are probably my favorite Orly (man. That takes me back.) clips. He's kind of like the English-speaking counterpart to Yamashita Tomahisa (IMO). Blew up HUGE, and then.....kind of eaten by his own press/mythology. Yamapi is currently surfing a tide of Yamalame the likes of that even took me by surprise. I kind of wish he'd go back to supporting roles like Akira or Ken Ken, my favorite roles of his. I don't think he has the believable life experience to be playing a doctor. A first year medical student, maybe.
Plus the hair is like a dagger into my shallow heart, so you know.
Anyway, I'm almost done capping Shibatora. Because it follows the first chapters of the manga pretty closely, I didn't really need subs to understand. Plus, I find I enjoy watching some things more when I don't understand - (please see Koizora, round 1. Or possibly not. Your brain cells will thank you. What is it - I watch crap so you don't have to?) but oh, between finishing off Shibatora, I was busy watching ::drumroll::
THE MOVIE THAT IS EVEN BETTER THAN KOIZORA. Better in being incredibly cracky and bad in a specialized way that it almost looks good. Do you remember those Saturday afternoons when movies that didn't do so well in the theaters (or possibly were cult hits) would play on tv, if severely edited for time and 'content' and there would usually be a reliable element of kid explorers or something to do with youth?
I'm talking about movies like The Goonies, the Neverending Story, the Lost Boys, that awful Stephen Dorff movie (HI, I'M ANCIENT.) where he somehow manages to grow an eye in the palm of his hand.....or later in the 90s, how Disney was making films like the Mighty Ducks (a good not bad movie) or generating direct to DVD films starring the current crop of teenage crushes. You know, like they do now, except now they insist on making them 'sing' and 'dance.'
Well, this is like the Japanese version of that.
I am of course talking about Shinjuku Boy Detectives (english name - you can find the Japanese name if you Google) which stars a chibi Matsujun (EVIL-SAMA. SO CUTE.), a chibi Aiba, and features a cameo role from Yuu Yokayama as some kind of chibi Lestat/j-rocker character, who walks around wearing leather, ruffles, and has bleached hair. He basically looks like the EW cover starring Robert Pattinson, only...less dead.
It is pretty much the most awesome thing I have seen this week, only slightly nudged out by the sight of Fujiki Naohito trying to get Shurobuta out of his sidecar.
BECAUSE:
there is a spooky girl in a velour dress who pops up out of nowhere with a killer robot dog that looks like it was a rejected prototype from Donnie Darko!
a teenage model with an eating disorder! (played by a chibi Kyoko Fukada. You can FEEL the caliber of this movie already, can't you.)
a nerdy computer expert who hacks into networks by day and eats at Wendy's in the afternoon! (or something.) Anyway, this is EVIL-SAMA's role.
a rebellious kid who spends most of his time riding his scooter around Tokyo for NO APPARENT REASON! (AIBA. I may be in the minority, but I find Aiba more attractive when he was chibi than he is now.)
another girl who is a tomboy and karate expert who may or may not be secretly in love with the teenage model girl!
and Yuu Yokoyama's awesome awesome sad goth getup with ruffles. HE HAS A MANSERVANT.
And he gives the quartet MAGIC TWO WAY COMMUNICATOR ROCKS.
The icing on the cake is that Kyoko Fukada's high strung, drunk and demanding stage mom is played by none other than the actress who became Kaede-sama in Hana Yori Dango.
THAT'S RIGHT. DOMYOUJI'S MAMA IS IN THIS.
CAN YOU SEE HOW THIS COULD COMPETE, NAY OVERTAKE KOIZORA in terms of sheer WTF AWFULCRAPWHYCAN'TISTOPWATCHING?
The acting is about similar levels, even from the experienced older cast, and even Koizora had Koide Keisuke, who can in fact, act.
Matsujun's fabulousness was tamped down by a modified bowl cut and a coat with toggle buttons, I'm sure of it.
But OH. SO WEE. AND SO CUTE.
You know there will be screencaps.
The second movie I bought is Winning Pass, the movie starring Kenichi Matsuyama as a rebellious, surly high school basketball star who loses the use of his legs after a slippy rain nightime motorcycle jaunt (clearly some one is not the brightest bulb in the box) and must learn to play, love, and respect life again only from the confines of a wheelchair. His patient girlfriend is played by Megumi Sato, and his little sister is played by Maki Horikita, in one of her earliest roles. Nobuta and such wouldn't be far behind.....
awww. Fuzzy feeling there. I can't help it. Nobuta does that to me.