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Life: Tears In Heaven (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Osawa Takao (Actor)
| Ito Misaki (Actor)
| Ishimaru Kenjiro
| Hakamada Yoshihiko
There's possibly nothing more terrible for me than watching a film about a romance overshadowed by a fatal illness, which makes my selection of Life: Tears in Heaven quite exceptional. The film tells the real-life story of Iijima Natsuki, from his sudden rise to the top as an international windsurfing champion to his demise at the hands of an invisible enemy he can't overcome. Osawa Takao portrays the ambitious windsurfer who competes with a true passion for the sport, moving from place to place with his lover Hiroko (Ito Misaki). Despite often being chased for outstanding rent, Hiroko is still convinced that Natsuki will become a top sportsman some day and supports him every step of the... [read more]
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Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Hirosue Ryoko (Actor)
| Motoki Masahiro (Actor)
| Hisaishi Joe
| Yoshiyuki Kazuko
An unusual rendezvous with the deadEven though Departures revolves around a topic people normally avoid touching upon, this endearing and at times sentimental film kept me in a viewing mood. Departures essentially talks about Kobayashi Daigo who just got used to his position as a professional cellist when his conductor breaks the news that the orchestra he plays in is dissolved. Unable to entertain the cost for the apartment he shares with his wife in Tokyo, Daigo is forced to move back to the countryside home left behind by his deceased mother. The turning point arrives when he comes across a newspaper job advertisement concerning "departures", which he misinterprets as being linked to the tourism industry due to a printing... [read more]
September 30, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Happy Flight (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Tanabe Seiichi (Actor)
| Ayase Haruka (Actor)
| Fukiishi Kazue
| Tokito Saburo
In today's fast-moving world, planes are the main means of taking people to distant travelling destinations. Yaguchi Shinobu makes a special film dedicated to the airliner in Happy Flight. The movie brings the whole airport industry alive in a charming way, with Ayase Haruka and Tanabe Seiichi caught in the middle as a stewardess and a co-pilot on their maiden flights. It was an absolute delight for me to observe the film's flight attendant group, including Mari (Fukiishi Kazue) who gets a kick out of having foot massages while devouring a meal during an excessively short on-flight break. I also found Terajima Shinobu as chief stewardess Yamazaki, who has the reputation of being a dragon but... [read more]
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The Blue Bird (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Abe Hiroshi
| Ito Ayumi
| Nakanishi Kenji (Director)
| Hongo Kanata
School bullying has been a topic of great concern for many years in Japan where reports of youth suicides linked to ijime periodically splash news headlines. Nakanishi Kenji's debut film The Blue Bird explores this sensitive issue through the experiences of a school recovering from a major bullying incident, wrapping its message-driven narrative in teen drama angst, eccentric teacher heroics, and school politics. Based on Shigematsu Kiyoshi's novel, The Blue Bird is set at a typical junior high school with typical kids and the typical bullying problems that led to an atypical tragedy last semester. Oft-teased class clown Noguchi attempted to hang himself, leaving behind a note of despair... [read more]
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Akai Ito DVD Box (DVD) (Japan Version)
Matsuda Kenji
| Watanabe Noriko
| Ogi Shigemitsu
| Kawamura Taisuke (Director)
According to East Asian folklore, lovers are tied together by an invisible and unbreakable "red thread of destiny". This old-fashioned romanticism about red threads and fated love provides the wistful wrapping for the 2008 youth drama Akai Ito. Based on a mania cellphone novel about a schoolgirl's supposedly real-life experiences, the romantic mini-series about two teens who must overcome many roadblocks to be together squeezes buckets of Lifetime Television trials into its 11 episodes. Yet, it manages to stay fairly down to earth and affecting during its bumpy adolescent journey. Many serious revelations and responsibilities are thrown the way of Akai Ito's young protagonists, Mei... [read more]
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Ping Pong (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Kubozuka Yosuke (Actor)
| Sam Lee (Actor)
| Takenaka Naoto
| ARATA
When I was a kid, my younger brother and I used to be mad about table tennis. Even though I stopped playing in a team a long time ago, I would never say no to a live broadcast of an important table tennis game. Holding very low expectations for Ping Pong, I was surprised to find that the film elevates the game to all new levels. Ping Pong tells the story of two friends who have played table tennis ever since their early childhood days. Extroverted Hoshino Yukata (Kubozuka Yosuke), also called Peco, and Tsukimoto Makoto (Arata), who is called Smile because he never smiles, are behind the table tennis tables day in and day out as members of the Katase High School table tennis team. There's... [read more]
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Achilles and the Tortoise (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Kitano Takeshi (Director)
| Higuchi Kanako
| Aso Kumiko
| Osugi Ren
Achilles and the Tortoise is without a doubt the most accessible entry in Kitano Takeshi's head-scratching, navel-gazing, self-reflective, self-deprecating trilogy of films. It is also the entry that is least obviously about him. For one thing, unlike Takeshis' and Glory to the Filmmaker, Achilles and the Tortoise does not star Kitano as himself. And there are no man-sized mannequins of him, either. After Glory to the Filmmaker! crossed the line of eccentric into esoteric (or worse, boring), Achilles takes Kitano back to something resembling a narrative with the intriguing character study of an untalented artist from childhood to middle age. Achilles and the Tortoise captures the life of... [read more]
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Ryusei no Kizuna DVD Box (DVD) (Japan Version)
Ninomiya Kazunari
| Toda Erika
| Nishikido Ryo
| Omi Toshinori
What happens when you cross the moving suspense of Higashino Keigo and the oddball humor of Kudo Kankuro? It's this strangely inspired combination that puts the 2008 TBS drama Ryusei no Kizuna in an engaging genre-bending category of its own. Adapted from Higashino's popular novel, 10-episode mini-series Ryusei no Kizuna follows three orphan siblings - Koichi (Ninomiya Kazunari), Taisuke (Nishikido Ryo), and Shizuna (Toda Erika) - as they try to find the man who killed their parents in cold blood 15 years ago. Though the premise of the story is heavy, screenwriter Kudo Kankuro's hand is light, approaching the crime mystery and complex relationships with a snappy tone, offbeat pacing, and... [read more]
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Cyborg She (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Ayase Haruka (Actor)
| Koide Keisuke (Actor)
| Takenaka Naoto
| Taguchi Hiromasa
Kwak Jae Yong unveils his multi-genre cyborgCyborg She offers a Korean-Japanese collaboration comedy of the destructive kind. Also known as Cyborg Girl, this movie balances comedy, romance, and sci-fi. Typical for director Kwak Jae Yong (My Sassy Girl) is his use of recalling an earlier happening, in this case the first encounter between Kitamura Jiro (Koide Keisuke) and his female cyborg acquaintance (Ayase Haruka). Their first meeting comes as more than a surprise for the male protagonist, leaving him with a lot of question marks. After all, Jiro is used to life as a single, the highlight of his year being that he celebrates his birthday alone. Suddenly, he finds himself in the strange situation of having a mysterious, attractive... [read more]
April 9, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Suspect X (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Fukuyama Masaharu (Actor)
| Shibasaki Kou (Actor)
| Kitamura Kazuki (Actor)
| Tsutsumi Shinichi
2008 was a very good year for Japanese television dramas to travel to the silver screen. Just in the list of top ten highest-grossing films of the year, we can find three movies that began on the small screen - Hana Yori Dango: Final, Suspect X, and Aibo the Movie - not to mention other decent-grossing TV spin-offs like Kurosagi, Sushi Oji, and Akai Ito. Spun from the 2007 TV drama Galileo, Suspect X ended 2008 with over US$50 million in box-office receipts, making it the third highest-grossing Japanese film of the year after Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and Hana Yori Dango: Final. The box office comes as no surprise considering the TV drama's popularity, the star power of leads Fukuyama... [read more]
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Maou DVD Box (DVD) (Japan Version)
Ikuta Toma
| Ohno Satoshi
| Oshinari Shugo
| Kobayashi Ryoko
A remake of the Korean drama The Devil, TBS mini-series Maou surpasses its predecessor by wrapping the original's stellar storyline in an even leaner and meaner package, with two Johnny's artists in the leading roles to boot. In Japan, you're just about guaranteed a detective drama every season but Maou is a very different beast from the standard case-per-episode format of most police series. Instead, this gripping drama revolves around one case that incorporates multiple crimes and layered backstories, played out as a tragic cat-and-mouse battle between a cop with a tainted past and a conflicted serial killer who never deals the blow himself. Arashi's Ohno Satoshi takes on the complex role... [read more]
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Dainipponjin (DVD) (English Subtitled) (2-Disc Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
Matsumoto Hitoshi (Director, Actor)
| UA (Actor)
| Takeuchi Riki (Actor)
| Itao Itsuji
Daisato likes things that expand when they are needed, such as his trusted foldable umbrella, tasty dehydrated seaweed, and especially his alter ego, Dai Nipponjin (literally, "Big Japanese"), who powers up into a gigantic vigilante as big as a high-rise building whenever Japan is threatened by humongous monsters (or what he calls "baddies"). Sadly, that is not a feeling shared by his fellow countrymen. They have taken the protection offered by their loyal defender for granted. People protest about the collateral damage that he causes. Some think he brings more harm than good. Others just don't care about him. The TV program about his latest exploits gets bumped to the 2am slot due to poor... [read more]
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Last Christmas DVD Box (Japan Version)
Oda Yuji
| Katase Nana
| Chiriko Sakashita
| Yada Akiko
Inspired by Wham!'s classic holiday anthem Last Christmas, Fuji TV's 2004 drama of the same name captured the original's lyrical presentation of bittersweet romance, catchy tune, and festive mood in a neatly wrapped package that viewers can easily groove to. Oda Yuji (Bayside Shakedown) had established his J-drama king status with Tokyo Love Story 13 years earlier. Last Christmas marked his return to the Gekku prime timeslot alongside producer Ota Toru and screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji. Like in Tokyo Love Story, Oda plays an executive at the Heart Sports company, specializing in winter sports equipment this time. Kenji (Oda Yuji) is still nursing his wound after being dumped by his fiancee. One... [read more]
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The Magic Hour (DVD) (Special Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Sato Koichi
| Tsumabuki Satoshi
| Fukatsu Eri
| Nishida Toshiyuki
From the delightful mind of Mitani Koki comes the clever and crowd-pleasing comedy The Magic Hour which had the entire theater up in stitches when I saw it during the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun at the movies. Though more ambitious, over-the-top, and narrative-driven than Mitani's previous slice-of-life Suite Dreams, The Magic Hour starts from a similar foundation. Again, he places eccentric characters in a limited space and lets them roam free on the set, crossing paths and lighting fires through comical coincidences, quirky set pieces, and smile-tugging dialogue - but this time a hotel just isn't enough. Mitani built his own quaint... [read more]
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Bokutachi to Chuzai-san no 700 Nichi Sensou (DVD) (Collector's Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Ichihara Hayato
| Sasaki Kuranosuke
| Aso Kumiko
| Ishida Takuya
When will Ichihara Hayato grow up? Hopefully, not before the 700 days of battle are up. Ichihara plays the role he does best, or at least most often - hard-headed, soft-hearted student with a penchant for trouble - in 700 Days of Battle: Us vs. The Police. There's little plot or point to this loud and lighthearted comedy about the escalating prank war between a group of overactive high school boys and a rigid neighborhood cop, but the best memories and adventures of youth rarely have purpose. The nostalgic setting of 1979 Tochigi brings an air of security and a hearty dose of old-time small-town charm to the mix. The film takes the audience back to a time when mean pranks can be taken in... [read more]
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Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Normal Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao (Director)
| Naya Goro
| Sakakibara Ryoko
| Tsujimura Masato
Miyazaki Hayao's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind presents an apocalyptic fantasy tale admonishing the horrors of war and the continued pollution of the environment by ignorant human behavior. In his second feature-length animation released in spring 1984, Japan's master director and animator warns of how mankind may finally bring about their own destruction through senseless warring activities and ignorant use of advanced technology, turning originally fertile land into one filled with toxic elements. At the center of Miyazaki's film is the relentless fight against all odds of a peaceful boundary nation living in the remote Valley of the Wind, as nature turns against them and power-greedy... [read more]
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Giniro no Season (DVD) (Standard Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Tanaka Rena
| Eita
| Tamayama Tetsuji
| Aoki Munetaka
Considering I didn't even particularly like Hasumi Eiichiro's box office-topping Umizaru films, my expectations were fairly modest as I walked into the theater, wondering why I got up early on a Saturday morning to catch the Hong Kong Film Festival's screening of Giniro no Season. Thankfully, Giniro proved to be every bit as entertaining as it is lightweight. The people are pretty, the snow is fluffy, the scenery is beautiful, and skis fly high into the sky for an enjoyable commercial sports film with an undemanding story and high rewatch value. I'm glad I woke up early to see the skiing and snowscape on the big screen. Eita, who got an extra shot of popularity after Nodame Cantabile, gets... [read more]
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Smile - Seiya no Kiseki (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Jinnai Takanori (Director)
| Iijima Naoko
| Hara Sachie
| Sato Koichi
For anyone who's ever thought that The Mighty Ducks would be better if Emilio Estevez tap danced, Jinnai Takanori has got the movie for you! Smilers is about a failed tap dancer who has to coach a scrappy junior hockey team to victory in order to win over his prospective father-in-law. He can't skate, the kids can't win, and the stage is set for some good 'ol sports movie action. The journey Smilers takes is certainly tried and true, but director Jinnai Takanori dots the film with his own peculiarities. For one thing, the coach (Moriyama Mirai) guides play with the rhythm of his tap shoes and assuages his team's insecurities with child psychology. Smilers also angles for sniffles as much as... [read more]
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My Neighbor Totoro (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao
| Amagasa Toshiyuki
My Neighbor Totoro takes viewers on another ride into a world where fantasy never sleeps. The magical elements of storytelling wizard Miyazaki Hayao take the upper hand again in his classic anime My Neighbor Totoro, primarily revolving around the adventures of Kusakabe Satsuki, her younger sister Mei, and their family in rural Japan. Totoro is a mammoth chinchilla-like creature among whose favorite pastimes are sleeping and traveling around in the unique Cat Bus which takes him to wherever he likes. Harmless in spite of his gigantic proportions, Totoro and his family and friends are not only rare sights to observe, but are also very useful to have around as the protagonists of this anime... [read more]
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Always - Sunset on Third Street 2 (DVD) Standard Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Tsutsumi Shinichi
| Yoshioka Hidetaka
| Koyuki
| Suga Kenta
With Always - Sunset on Third Street 2, director Yamazaki Takashi has achieved the near impossible: he's made a sequel equal to the original. In comparison to the first film, Always 2 is neither better nor worse, neither bigger nor smaller, but very much the same. It's not just a matter of replicating the success, quality, and formula; Always 2 actually looks, sounds, and feels exactly like the first film. This kind of consistency, continuity, and welcome familiarity feels less like a franchise and more like a family drama - like a 70s family sitcom where every episode is set in the same small world with the same people and same problems, and the audience eagerly tune in everyday to see what... [read more]
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