Greetings faithful readers and new readers too. Welcome to Volume 6 of my "All New Visual Victuals". What do you know, only two Hollywood movies this time around. One really good one and one really bad one. Lots of foreign films to read about this time around. Japanese films (well, I am living in Japan after all), Korean film, Brazilian film, French film, and one made for television movie. We still haven't gotten around to seeing the new Indiana Jones film though and I won't have any time to watch movies this weekend as my brother-in-law is coming to Tokyo from Aomori and we'll be at a wedding all day on Sunday. Just when my local DVD rental shop is having their half-price campaign. Fortunately, it continues through til Monday, so we can rent DVDs at a cheap price on Monday and watch great films. And now for your reading pleasure.
1. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007) - To be honest, we were a little leery of renting another musical turned Hollywood movie after watching and snoozing to "The Phantom of the Opera" but make no mistake, this is one entertaining movie musical. Not a single dull moment in it. Johnny Depp and Heather Bonham Carter are great. And so is the evil judge played Alan Rickman (his character in this movie isn't so different from Professor Snape of Harry Potter fame). Short version of the story. An evil judge was so taken by the barber's wife that he frames the barber for a crime the barber didn't commit. After fifteen years, there is only revenge in the heart of the barber as he returns to Fleet Street. Excellent film.
2. ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 「Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro」 (2007) - This has the International English title of "KITARO" and is based on a popular comic and anime series by Shigeru Mizuki. In fact, my brother and I used to watch this when we were still in elementary school (we were living in Tokyo at the time). It's about a half human-half yokai boy named Kitaro. Yokai is the generic term for a whole slew of spirits and Kitaro maintains the balance between the spirit world and the human world.
3. 恋する日曜日 「KOI SURU NICHIYOBI」 - English title "LOVE ON SUNDAY" (2006) - Simply put - Japanese version of "Some Kind of Wonderful". Akira (which can also be a girl's name) is moving because of her father's work transfer. She wants to spend her last day in town with her childhood friend Nao, who she also secretly loves. But Nao has his eyes set on the beautiful Tamaki. A farewell party is planned but only Nao was invited, but not realizing that Akira is in love with him, he invites Tamaki and you can probably guess the rest, especially if you've seen "Some Kind of Wonderful".
4. 200 POUNDS BEAUTY [Original Korean title - "MINYEO-NEUN GOEROWO" (2006) - I loved this film. It's a typical rom-com which Hollywood may eventually re-make (but let's hope not!). Anyway, it's the standard story of an overweight ugly duckling who provides the singing voice of a good-looking but talentless idol (a la Milli Vanilli). Ugly duckling decides to have major plastic surgery and becomes the star she's longed to be while trying to hide the secret of her former self. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
5. MARCO POLO (2007) - Oh my God!! They should shoot whoever was the casting director for this movie. Brian Dennehy as Kublai Khan? Please. They couldn't find an Asian or Asian-American actor? It's China for God's sakes, in a time when foreigners were not welcome. Well, if you want the whitest, most American accented Kublai Khan, this is your film!! Apparently a "Made for Television" that must have had a fairly decent budget as the scenery was beautiful. Oh, but this was very long. Not bad but I think they could have done a better job. Save it for a rainy day and when there is nothing else on the tube.
6. ROCKETMAN (2008) - Thai action film from the people who brought us "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yam Kun". Not quite as good as those two movies, seeing how Tony Ja doesn't star in this. If you were a fan of "Black Belt Theatre", you would appreciate this. It's like a Thai version of those bad Chinese kung-fu movies. Rocketman wants revenge for the killing of his parents (plot sounds familiar to those old kung-fu flicks too). Unlike the other two action films I mentioned, there's quite a bit of wire action in this one. Part fantasy too. I quite enjoyed it.
7. O CAMINO DAS NUVENS [English title: "THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD" (2003) - An interesting Brazilian film about which is based on a true story. A family of seven with four bicycles travels across Brazil from the countryside to Rio de Janeiro as the Father believes he will find a decent paying job in the big city. I think this Dad is a little loopy though as he will not do menial jobs even though he insists that his wife and kids do, while they're barely managing to survive. You'll love the scenery and find yourself wanting to travel to Brazil (but probably not by bicycle). Oh, the Japanese title is one of the lamest I've come across yet, it was "O, Bishikuretta!", bishikuretta being the Portuguese word for "bicycle". "Oh! Bicycle" - how sad is that?
8. L'AVION (2005) - A cute little French film to tear at your heartstrings. Charlie's dad is a pilot and Charlie is so looking forward to seeing him for Christmas as he's wished for a bicycle. When Charlie's father does come home, instead of a bicycle, Charlie receives a toy plane that his father made which spoils Charlie's enthusiasm towards Christmas. Then tragedy strikes. Charlie's father dies in an accident. Charlie becomes reclusive until it seems the airplane his father gave him comes alive! This film also suffers from the Japanese title - "Charlie and Papa's Airplane". They should have stuck with the original title! 
9. アイランド・タイムズ [ISLAND TIMES] (2007) - Brought to us by the staff of popular morning news and information program "Mezamashi TV". This is Mezamashi's third film after "The Cat Movie" and "The Dog Movie". It's another coming of age movie set in small island of Aogashima (which is still part of Tokyo). There is no high school on this island and once a student graduates from junior high, they must head off to the big city. Third year student is full of anxiety about going to high school on the mainland. To add to his worries, for his last year, a transfer student joins him - which makes their class size a total of two - and she's a girl. But girl has a secret too. Cute little movie.
10. HAVOC (2005) - There's bad movies and there are worse movies. This falls into one of the worst of the worse movies. It played "havoc" with my mind, it was so bad. I must borrow the person who wrote a long review of it on the IMDb website. I totally agreed with what he had to say. Here it is in his own words: Words cannot express how much I hated this movie. I hated every aspect of it, from the direction to the writing to the acting. Havoc is the story of one teenager's (Anne Hathaway) exploration of a world outside that which she is accustomed. And that's putting it in a way that gives this movie more credit than it deserves. Hathaway's character is part of a "gang" of white, upper-class high-schoolers who backlash at their upbringing by emulated black culture. She and her friends eventually decide to take a trip to East L.A., and no hilarity ensues. He continues his critique that's right on the money: Vapid is the only word I can think of to describe the thoughts and ideas of this movie. It is one of the those movies that tries so hard to make a social comment, yet fails so miserably. The characters are all one-dimensional, especially Toby (Mike Vogel), the wigger boyfriend of Hathaway's character Allison. His actions are so broad and exaggerated, I had a hard time taking anything he, or anyone on screen at the time, did seriously. Finally, each character was written to be an example of a stereotype. I almost laughed when Hector (Freddy Rodriguez) tried to explain that not everything in East L.A. was about gangs and drugs, then proceeded to fill every stereotype of a movie gang member. I just had to share his opinion with my own reading audience.And so ends another volume of film-watching. Another nine months to wait for the opening of "Rain Fall". Barry Eisler's novel of a half-American/half Japanese hitman who's specialty is killing people and making it look as if they died by natural causes. It's not a Hollywood production, so the States may have to wait a while before it's released there. I hope you enjoyed my reviews. I'm going to take a two-day break from blogging so don't be sad. I'll be back with more pictures and stories from the Land of the Rising Sun.
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