Leglessbird Movie Guide

Sinking of Japan (Standard Edition) DVD (buy from Amazon)
Type, Country, Year: Fantasy, Adventures, Japan, 2006

Director: Shinji Higuchi

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi ... Toshio Onodera
Kou Shibasaki ... Reiko Abe
Etsushi Toyokawa ... Yusuke Tadokoro
Mao Daichi ... Saori Takamori

Story:
Volcanoes are erupting, earth is shaking, Japan is sinking. What can the government do?

My review:
Interesting plot, an idea that has been hanging at the back of the mind of many Japanese. Long overdue earthquake, Fuji volcanoes eruption. Sinking country.

The question of staying or leaving, survival, and love.

Type, Country, Year: Action / Fantasy, Japan, 2007

Director: Akihiko Shiota

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Satoshi Tsumabuki ... Hyakkimaru
Kou Shibasaki ... Dororo

Story:
Hyakkimaru is a young man who has 48 body parts missing since he was born, because his father Kagemitsu Daigo made a deal with 48 demons, the demons take the body parts and materialize on earth and Kagemitsu gets to win his war and tries to conquer the whole of Japan. When Hyakkimaru was born, his parents were horrified and throw him to the river, he was raised by a wizard who made fake body parts for him. When he grows up, he wants to kill these demons to reclaim his body parts. Along the adventure he met a thief, Dororo.

My review:
I have always like Japanese fantasy movies, this one is pretty interesting. It is based on a comic book by the Japanese master Osamu Tezuka in the late 1960s.

Type: Cartoon Drama, Japan 1984-1985

My rating: 5
Key characters:
Minami Asakura, Tatsuya Uesugi, Kazuya Uesugi

Story:
Based on the comic book by Mitsuru Adachi. Kazuya (younger) and Tatsuya (elder) are twin brothers, Minami is the girl next door, the three of them were born in the same year and grew up together. Both brothers love Minami. She has a wish which becomes the common goal of the twin brothers that is to go to Koshien Stadium to play baseball. To do so, they must represent their high school and win the regional competition. Tatsuya doesn't want to compete with his brother and thus he quits baseball, Kazuya is a great talented baseball player and has led the school team to the regional final, soon Minami's dream will be realised by Kazuya but she is clear on who she loves - she loves Tatsuya the kind-hearted elder brother who supposed to be inferior to the younger twin only because he always let the younger brother to win. Kazuya is also a kind-hearted younger brother who always wishes the best thing for his brother and Minami. On the day of the final game, something happened and Kazuya did not turn up... Tatsuya has to step up and work hard to make minami's dream come true...

My review:
Touch is one of my all time favourite cartoon. I have always loved this comic by Mitsuru Adachi, this TV cartoon has become a classic. Kazuya and Tatsuya are good and loving brothers, Minami is the kind of girl every boy dreams about. Mitsuru has created many touching and clever plots in the story with many other interesting characters surrounding Kazuya, Tatsuya and Minami, including Harada, a friend who always say something wise despite his big, rough and scary look, Nitta the star player of the rival baseball team.

Howl's Moving Castle (buy from Amazon)
Type, Country, Year: Cartoon drama, Japan, 2004

Director: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey (English version)

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:

Story:
A young lady was cursed by a witch and was turned into an old woman. Her hope of breaking the spell rests on a young wizard called Howl (Hauru) who lives in a home in the format of a moving castle. Together they fought the bad guys and developed an deep relationship that would save them both

My review:
Very interesting cartoon movie and very creative. You wouldn't expect anything less from the cartoon master Hayao Miyazaki!

Nana (Single Disc Edition) (buy from Amazon)
Type, Country, Year: Drama, Japan, 2005

Director: Kentar? ?tani

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Mika Nakashima ... Nana Osaki
Aoi Miyazaki ... Nana Komatsu
Hiroki Narimiya ... Nobuo Terashima
Ken'ichi Matsuyama ... Shin
Saeko ... Sachiko

Story:
Two girls both called Nana met by chance on a train and become good friends even though they have such different personalities. Incidentally they also end up renting a flat together. One of them is a rock singer who is deeply troubled with her relationship with her ex-boyfriend who is also a rock artist, he left her band to join another and pursue something bigger and indeed became very famous. The other Nana dreams of marrying her boyfriend and would do anything for him, only to find that they are too young and not ready for marriage, especially when she discovers that he has a new girlfriend.

The two girls have a lot to learn from each other...

My review:
Not supposed to be an exciting firm but nice in its own way to tell two stories of young girls in their early 20s who pursue very different lives and face with different problems and issues with people around them.

Death Note: The Last Name (The Live Action Movie) DVD (buy from Amazon)

Type, Country, Year: Fantasy, Japan, 2006

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Tatsuya Fujiwara ... Light Yagami
Takeshi Kaga ... Soichiro Yagami
Shido Nakamura ... Ryuuk (voice)
Erika Toda ... Misa Amane

Story:
This is the sequel of Death Note. Genius Detective L is trying to find proofs that Light is Kara. At the same time, a second kara appears which complicates the matter. Would L be able to catch them all or would he fail and pay the ultimate price for going against Kara?

My review:
I have read the comic book and the story is a lot more complicated. But the adopted movie version is not bad but a bit rush and the plot is less cunning. Nonetheless, it is a interesting story.

Azumi Uncut 2 Disc Limited Edition (buy from Amazon)Type, Country, Year: Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Thriller, Japanese, 2005

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Aya Ueto ... Azumi
Yuma Ishigaki ... Nagara

Chiaki Kuriyama ... Kozue
Shun Oguri ... Ginkaku
Kenichi Endo ... Kinkaku (as Kenichi Endou)

Kai Shishido ... Hanzou

Story:
Continuing the story from Azumi 1, having killed 2 out of 3 of the warlords, Azumi and one remaining assassin must complete their mission to kill the last warlord but he is not going to sit and wait for their attack, in fact he has his own protection and attack team in the form of ninjas. He proactively launch attack on the buddest monk and on Azumi and her friends...

My review:
Yet more killing scenes and Azumi struggles on whether she should continue her mission and to understand the meaning of mission.

Though a bit repeatative, nonetheless the movie is pretty entertaining, especially if you like assassins vs ninja type of movie.

Azumi (buy from Amazon)
Type, Country, Year: Adventure/ Drama/ Fantasy/ Thriller, Japanese, 2003

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Aya Ueto ... Azumi
Shun Oguri ... Nachi
Hiroki Narimiya ... Ukiha
Kenji Kohashi ... Hyuga
Takatoshi Kaneko ... Amagi
Yuma Ishigaki ... Nagara

Story:
At the end of the war, the Buddist monk of the country fears that in order to have long lasting peace, he must eliminate all the warlords, he asks the General to hide and secretly trains 10 kids to become assassins. Years later these assassins are ready to take on their mission to kill the three warlords who threaten peace. But their first mission to test their readiness is to kill their best friends who they have known and trained together since childhood. Azumi the only girl in the group (and the strongest) has to kill her boyfriend to prove her loyalty. The remaining 5 follow their master and try to accomplish their mission, but they soon find out that it is not as easy as they think...

My review:
I must say I find the master of the assassins very stupid, I mean halving your resource before you start and inducing doubts and questions in the surviving assassins as a result is hardly a smart move. This also contribute to the difficulty they have later. Too much repeatitive and senseless killing in the movie. Azumi's much exaggerated killing ability is hardly convincing.

Drama, Japan, 2005

Director: Isshin Inudou

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
J? Odagiri ... Haruhiko
Kou Shibasaki ... Saori Yoshida
Min Tanaka ... Himiko

Story:
Saori's father is a gay man who once owned a very popular bar/restaurant call Himiko. Himiko is dying of cancer, he is spending his final days in a house full of his gay friends including his current lover the young Haruhiko. Haruhiko has asked Saori to come and work as a maid in the house and also to see her father (though she has never forgiven her father for leaving her and her mother behind). At first, she felt very awkward among the gay men who are all interesting characters, soon she become accustom to them...

My review:
Unusual and creative story, especially, for the suggested scene that Saori and Haruhiko may have slept together which makes the relationship more complicated.

Be With You (Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu) - DTS (buy from Amazon)

Japanese 2004
Director: Nobuhiro Doi

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:
Yuko Takeuchi ... Mio
Shido Nakamura ... Takumi
Akashi Takei ... Yuji

Story:
Takumi lives with his 6-year old son Yuji in a small quite town. His wife Mio passed away not so long ago, when she died she promised that she would return in the next rainy season. So Yuji prays that rainy season will come sooner. One day, Takumi and Yuji were taking a walk in the country side and saw a woman that resembled Mio but she had no recollection whatsoever as told who she was. As she lived and cared for Takumi and Yuji, she learned about her relationship with Takumi and fell in love with him all over again, and also her love towards her son. While she heard from Takumi his side of their love story, she discovered a diary that she left for herself that told her side of the same romantic story, their feelings were definitely mutual. But rainy season is coming to an end...

My review:
A nice simple touching story of an ordinary family. Nothing too extraordinary, but that's why I like it also, moving, down to earth and good acting.