Battle Royale II: Requiem
Director: Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku
Year: 2003
Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ai Maeda,
So here was something a bit different. Now, I have to admit, this has sat having been recorded (and not watched) since 2007. My hubbie, possibly in his wisdom, absolutely refused to watch this, and I wasn't bothered enough to push the issue - or find time to watch it when he wasn't around. So what better time than when you're ill and don't really care what you watch? I was feeling a bit better, couldn't face another romance, and figured Battle Royale wasn't going to be quite as gory as, say, Saw II. Plus, it was the first day since I got ill I thought I even had a chance of managing something subtitled.
The reason for the refusal to watch this? Battle Royale, in short. I know it's meant to be great, but neither of us really found it that brilliant. It just didn't meet my expectations at all, possibly due to over hype. Yet that didn't stop me being curious, at least, about the second one.
Well, this one is everything people claim it to be - dull, boring, and, in parts at least, it makes no sense. This time around the children are tag teams - if one dies, the other gets blown up. Being that these children have been sent to kill off an international terrorist (the winning child from Battle Royale), this makes no sense. It's clearly just an excuse to blow things (in this case, children) up. Unless I'm missing something here?
The rest of the film appears to involve little more than everybody running around fighting. There's nothing like enough plot to fill the ridiculously long running time of over 2 and a half hours. The best part? For me, realising that Shuya Nanahara (the terrorist) was the same actor who played Light Yagami in the Death Note films. If only I'd been watching that instead.
The first Japanese film I've been disappointed by since I started this blog.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 (and only because it's STILL better than As You Like It).
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Sunday 8th March
Death Note: The Last Name
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Year: 2006
Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Shido Nakamura, Erika Toda, Ken'ichi Matsuyama
March, so far, has been a pretty quiet month for watching films. I've had other things demanding my attention, like people's birthdays and a new Wii console! However, having previously read about the Japanese Death Note films, I had a real desire to see them. Reviews I have read in the past have been really complimentary, and the subject matter sounded different and very interesting. So when I spotted this film being shown on Film Four, I didn't pass up the opportunity to watch it.
I was hoping that it was going to be the first of the Death Note films, as there wasn't much of a clue in the title as to which one it was. Turns out it was the second of the two films, so I was a little wary that I might not understand what was going on. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. I'm fully aware that by not having seen the first film I may have missed some nuances of the plot, but the basic story was completely understandable. I say completely - it's a complicated plot that demands attention. As such, it's a long film, but it doesn't move slowly, and unlike some other films, everything that's in there needs to be there in order for the plot to work.
The story begins when a girl is saved from death and receives a notebook, The Death Note. If you write a name in the notebook, this person will die in whichever way you choose. Kira, who featured in the first film, has been using another copy of a notebook to kill off all criminals, in order to make the world a safer place. The police are trying to find Kira (not his real name), and this film shows how he and the girl with the notebook meet, then takes it from there. That's a very basic summary of the plot, and it gets a lot more complicated after that - that's only the first 30 minutes of a 2 and a half hour film.
The film's unique, interesting and very memorable - and even a little scary in places. The Death Gods are especially impressive, and somebody must have had a great imagination to come up with them! On the strength of this and other Japanese manga-related films I've seen this year (I'm thinking particularly of Howl's Moving Castle), I need to start watching more of them.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Year: 2006
Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Shido Nakamura, Erika Toda, Ken'ichi Matsuyama
March, so far, has been a pretty quiet month for watching films. I've had other things demanding my attention, like people's birthdays and a new Wii console! However, having previously read about the Japanese Death Note films, I had a real desire to see them. Reviews I have read in the past have been really complimentary, and the subject matter sounded different and very interesting. So when I spotted this film being shown on Film Four, I didn't pass up the opportunity to watch it.
I was hoping that it was going to be the first of the Death Note films, as there wasn't much of a clue in the title as to which one it was. Turns out it was the second of the two films, so I was a little wary that I might not understand what was going on. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. I'm fully aware that by not having seen the first film I may have missed some nuances of the plot, but the basic story was completely understandable. I say completely - it's a complicated plot that demands attention. As such, it's a long film, but it doesn't move slowly, and unlike some other films, everything that's in there needs to be there in order for the plot to work.
The story begins when a girl is saved from death and receives a notebook, The Death Note. If you write a name in the notebook, this person will die in whichever way you choose. Kira, who featured in the first film, has been using another copy of a notebook to kill off all criminals, in order to make the world a safer place. The police are trying to find Kira (not his real name), and this film shows how he and the girl with the notebook meet, then takes it from there. That's a very basic summary of the plot, and it gets a lot more complicated after that - that's only the first 30 minutes of a 2 and a half hour film.
The film's unique, interesting and very memorable - and even a little scary in places. The Death Gods are especially impressive, and somebody must have had a great imagination to come up with them! On the strength of this and other Japanese manga-related films I've seen this year (I'm thinking particularly of Howl's Moving Castle), I need to start watching more of them.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Saturday 24th January
Howl's Moving Castle
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Year: 2005
Stars: Voices of Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Billy Crystal (Amercian version)
This is the best movie I've seen for a while. I really loved it. I wasn't expecting to, but it was wonderful to see such a different film that kept me so engaged for the entire 2 hours it ran for. It really was an incredibly pleasant surprise for a randomly picked Saturday movie - out of all the ones I had taped over Xmas!
The story revolves around Sophie, a young girl who turns into an old woman when a spell is cast on her by the Wicked Witch of the Wastes. She goes off in search of a witch or wizard to break the curse, and finds Howl's Moving Castle - complete with Howl and a whole bunch of other cursed characters. Created by the same director and studio that made Spirited Away, this, for me, is far the superior film.
Incredibly charming, beautifully drawn and totally engaging, this is likely going to make it onto my top 5 films of 2009 (even if it was released in 2005).
Rating: 5 out of 5
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Year: 2005
Stars: Voices of Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Billy Crystal (Amercian version)
This is the best movie I've seen for a while. I really loved it. I wasn't expecting to, but it was wonderful to see such a different film that kept me so engaged for the entire 2 hours it ran for. It really was an incredibly pleasant surprise for a randomly picked Saturday movie - out of all the ones I had taped over Xmas!
The story revolves around Sophie, a young girl who turns into an old woman when a spell is cast on her by the Wicked Witch of the Wastes. She goes off in search of a witch or wizard to break the curse, and finds Howl's Moving Castle - complete with Howl and a whole bunch of other cursed characters. Created by the same director and studio that made Spirited Away, this, for me, is far the superior film.
Incredibly charming, beautifully drawn and totally engaging, this is likely going to make it onto my top 5 films of 2009 (even if it was released in 2005).
Rating: 5 out of 5
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About Me
- Anna Lawson
- I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.