:: Sixtwentyseven ::

For all those footballers who complain about the Jabulani balls for the world cup, let the Japanese teach you how to control the ball. The freekicks they scored last night in the 3-1 defeat of Denmark are absolute beauties!!!!!

Japanese disaster movie is somewhat of a cliche in terms of how they make the movie. In a way, it's pretty distinctive Japanese styled. However, in terms of disaster movies, the Japanese movie industry is still far ahead in the Asian markets as the rest seldom does a disaster movie as well as the Japanese.

Pandemic tells about a virus that was imported by a doctor who went back to Japan to visit his daughter just before her wedding. However, as the doctor was already infected with this unknown virus, and the virus is an airborne virus, the virus was caught on by his daughter's fiancee. When the fiancee went to the hospital to seek for treatment, the doctor in charge misdiagnosed it as a common cold due to its symptoms. However, not long after, the fiancee arrived at the ER with bleeding from the mouth, nostrils and eyes, and died not long after. As the time goes by, the doctor begins to realise this is not the normal type of virus he is encountering and soon the virus spreads like wildfire among the population unknown to its existence.

What I really liked about this movie is its portrayal of the medical staff: the doctors, the nurses and their nobleness to treat highly infectious people that continues to stream through their doors. Another reason for feeling about the movie is the remembrance of the SARS outbreak that happened in my country and how each medical staff put the patient before thinking about themselves; truly great personnel.

Although I find the movie considerably good, I just thought the ending was a bit draggy for my liking and the pace was slightly slow. Also, they are certain sub plots that I thought the director just simply brushed though where it could be further developed. Nonetheless, I'm glad to see Satoshi Tsumabuki on the big screen again as I thought his new work somewhat dried up recently.

A movie worth a look, but do not expect too much surprises.

I always admired the acting skills of Abe Hiroshi. I always felt he has that X-factor in his acting, and can't be found in other actors. The way he portray his roles is somewhat different; in the sense that you will feel more for his character. Aoi Tori is all about Abe Hiroshi, and I felt he portray the character in the show to its absolute max.

Aoi tori talks about bullying in school which is somewhat common in Japan. Abe Hiroshi stars as Mr. Murauchi, a relief teacher for a class that just had a classmate attempted suicide due to bullying by this classmates. Although the students were reprimanded and asked to reflect on their behavior through lengthy essays, the class did not fully repent from their actions. This is shown by chucking the classmate's seat into the store room. Mr. Murauchi, on his first lesson, instructs the students in charge of duty that day to restore the seat at its original position, and hence digging the past that none want to revisit.

If you're not a fan of movies that slowly develop the plot, I strongly suggest that you give this show a miss. The pace of Aoi Tori is extremely slow and if you're not patient enough, I bet you'll chuck this movie after 5 minutes. However, once pursuing it, you'll realize the deep meanings behind Murauchi's actions and the need to accept one's own actions, and not conveniently forget about it to move on. Also, you'll be able to appreciate Abe Hiroshi at his finest in portraying as a stuttering relief teacher. The supporting cast also lends its support in the show, but Abe Hiroshi is without doubt the standout character in the movie. The theme song for the movie is also worth a special mention as it helps to set the mood in the beginning of the movie as well as at the end of the movie. Take a closer look at the lyrics for the theme song. I feel that it really sticks close to the message the movie is trying to convey.

I can't believe I actually missed out this superb movie from my must watch list. Amalfi packs a superb main and supporting cast as well, with Oda Yuji, Amami Yuki, Toda Erika and Sato Koichi as the lead cast, and Otsuka Nene, Fukuyama Masaharu and Ito Atsushi heading the strong supporting cast.

The story starts with Kuroda, acted by Oda Yuji arriving early in Rome due to a visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister. Originally to overlook the security of the visit, he was distracted by another case whereby a mother(Amami Yuki) who is on tour with her young daughter has lost her daughter at a museum. Things turned for the worst when she received a call from the kidnapper demanding a ransom for her daughter. Kuroda decides to help the mother to get back her daughter.

The reason I really gave praise to the show is because it kinds of reminds you of Angels & Demons, with the plot on suspense as well. Furthermore, more impressive is the fact that the whole movie was shot entirely in Italy, an uncommon sight for Japanese movies, baring Nodame Cantabile. Lastly, the cast and supporting cast is very, very strong. You seldom see a movie casting with so many heavyweights in the lead and supporting cast.

Another part I love about this movie is that it's rather refreshing to watch a jap movie with an international appeal. Usually, jap movies have a certain "edge" with it and with one watch you know that you're watching a jap movie. Amalfi, on the other hand, as I've said earlier, have some similarities with Angels & Demons and the feel for this movie is more international, which makes it good for marketing in overseas market. Maybe this is also the reason why this show is also distributed to my country.

Lastly, a nice part for the movie is that it's not slow paced at all. Jap movies sometimes require certain amount of patience to watch as it can get draggy and takes a longer time to get into story. This movie, on the other hand, keeps the pace well.

In summary, a great suspense movie and I certainly will recommend this show to anyone who wants a first try into jap movies.

I must admit,

Even though Thailand is in close proximity to my home country, I seldom had the chance to watch thai movies. Firstly, I do not exactly like to watch horror films which most movies imported from Thailand are of that genre. Secondly, I believe film distributors here have a problem with the language as well as the fact that most thai artists are not well known in here. Hence I was pleasantly surprised that this movie went straight to DVD in my country and caught my eye.

The film revolves around a group of high school and university students during their school break, and the relationships that develop (or don't). Four threads are followed: Poo (Charlie Trairat) and Mai (Sirachuch Chienthaworn) are in competition for Nana (Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha), class geek Jo (Ratchu Surachalas) is in love with a popular girl Cee (Chutima Teepanat) while Oh Lek (Focus Jirakul) is wild about a Taiwanese singer Titi (Lu Ting Wei), and Hern (Chantawit Thanasewee) is thinking of cheating on his girlfriend Nuan (Thaniya Ummaritchoti) when he meets Japanese tourist Aoi (Sora Aoi). [credits: wikipedia]

I got to say that the Thais have a way with their movies. Even though there is nothing new with the plot or the storyline, I still find it refreshingly interesting to watch the whole show. Also, this show has an excellent soundtrack to go with the show and I believed it helped to keep my attention span on the show. In fact, I got to say I like it quite a bit.

What I'm more amazed are the acting abilities of the actors and actress in here. Half of the cast are believed to be at around middle school age but their acting abilities belies their age. In fact, I thought they have outshone the older cast members in the show.

Overall, a very nice, light-hearted romantic comedy inspired by "Love Actually". When you watch the show, you'll get what I mean *wink*