Leglessbird Movie Guide

Type: Comedy Drama Horror SciFi, Japan 2000

Director: Mamoru Hosi, Masayuki Ochiai, Hisao Ogura, Masayuki Suzuki

My rating: 4

Key actors/actresses:
Kazuyuki Aijima .... Manabe (segment: One Snowy Night)/Salaryman (segment: The Storyteller)
Izumi Inamori .... Chiharu Takajo (segment: The Marriage Simulator)
Renji Ishibashi .... Old Man (segment: Chess)
Takashi Kashiwabara .... Yuichi Tokunagi (segment: The Marriage Simulator)
Narumi Kayashima .... (segment: The Marriage Simulator)
Masahiro Komoto .... Seiichi Tomoda (segment: Chess)
Kiichi Nakai .... (segment: Samurai Cellular)
Yukiko Okamoto .... Kumi Kato (segment: Chess)
Megumi Okina .... Karu (segment: Samurai Cellular)
Ren Osugi .... Yoshiaki Yamauchi (segment: One Snowy Night)
Kazuma Suzuki .... Takuro Yuki (segment: One Snowy Night)
Saya Takagi .... (segment: The Marriage Simulator)

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The Closet (buy from Amazon)
Type: Comedy, France 2001

Director:Francis Veber

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Daniel Auteuil .... Fran?ois Pignon
G?rard Depardieu .... F?lix Santini
Thierry Lhermitte .... Guillaume
Mich?le Laroque .... Mlle Bertrand

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Fran?ois works in a condom factory as an accountant and he knows he is about to get fired and his family life is in a mess, his ex-wife and son wouldn't talk to him at all. Just when he is going to end his life, his neighbour suggests to him that he should pretend to be gay and they will send some gay pictures of Fran?ois to his boss with a note saying that if he gets fired, it will be discrimination and the gay community will protest. So his job is now safe, but what happens next is something totally unexpected ...

My review:
Very funny comedy, highly entertaining. Great acting too. It is also interesting to see three great actors to play such soft comedian role, different from their usual masculine roles like cops.

Posted by Ryoko

Needing You (buy from Amazon)

Type: Comedy Romantic, Hong Kong 2000

Director:Johnny To

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Andy Lau: Wah
Sammi Cheng: Kinki

Story:
Wah is a computer programmer and Kinki is a secretary in the same company. They didn?t get along well at the beginning, but gradually they got to care about each other.

My review:
I watched this film when I went toward France from Japan via Hong Kong by Cathay Pacific. I cannot understand Chinese, but its subtitle was simple English, so luckily I could enjoy the whole story. I laughed a lot and was never bored on the way to Hong Kong from Narita.
Kinki is a young, moody, cheerful, cute girl and its play by Sammi Cheng is nice. I do not like romantic comedies, but this movie is one of my favorites!　My rating is 3 stars but it is nearly 4 stars in fact.

Iron Ladies (Sub) (buy from Amazon)
Type: Comedy, Thailand 2000

Director:Youngyooth Thongkonthun

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:
Jesdaporn Pholdee .... Chai
Sahaphap Tor .... Mon
Ekachai Buranapanit .... Wit
Giorgio Maiocchi .... Nong
Chaicharn Nimpulsawasdi .... Jung
Kokkorn Benjathikoon .... Pia
Shiriohana Hongsopon .... Coach

Story:
A true story of a Thai male volleyball team that won the national championship in 1996.

My review:
Very funny indeed!

Type: Comedy Thriller, Japan 1998

Director:Katsuyuki Motohiro

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:
Yuji Oda .... Shunsaku Aoshima
Toshir?Yanagiba .... Shinji Muroi
Eri Fukatsu .... Sumire Onda

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Aoshima, a police detective working in the Bayside Precinct, is continually frustrated by the hierarchy and red tape that plague the system. His friend Muroi is climbing the ladder of the police bureaucracy. Muroi has made a pact with Aoshima that while Aoshima looks after the streets, Muroi would make life easier for the cops on the beat. One day in Bayside, a series of events turns the small station upside down. A corpse is found in the river, then the Police Commissioner is kidnapped, leading to the Metropolitian Police Department to take over the investigation which is led by Murai. Will he be true to his pact with Aoshima and co-operate with the local police? In the meantime, the murder investigation leads to a morbid web page and a deadly chat room in cyberspace...

My review:
This is an interesting film in which it made an action comedy out of crisis. The director made no attempt to hide his sarcasms towards authorities and high rank officials. The various incidents happened at the small station turned out to be all connected in someway. A movie that really grasps your attention from the very beginning and the sense of humour and suspense are well maintained through to the very end.

You can find the old leglessbird movie guide here.