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Reviews
Gochisôsan (2013)
Not recommended
I got interested in this drama after hearing the lead duo got married after filming. I thought I was in for some good chemistry. Boy was I ever wrong. Their relationship was completely flat. More so he doesn't even try to protect her from his family.
The only memorable character was the over the top archetect who put some much needed tension into the mix.
I have seen many asadoras. I enjoyed Asa Ga Kita the most (GREAT CHEMISTRY between the leads), followed by Oshin. Hiyokko and Hanako to Anne being the worst. Gochisousan was pretty mediocre overall. The pattern I am seeing is that the stories tend to be better when based on non fiction material. I will keep that in mind when choosing future asadoras!
Hiyokko (2017)
Uninspired
I found the story is set up well, focusing on the relationship between a father and daughter... But then get 101 uninteresting and mostly tangential to the story side quests.
Way too many episodes pass by before the show finally returns to the set up... But by that time i don't care anymore and the resolution isn't interesting.
This is plagued by poor writing and an inconsequential story. On the upside the Japanese it is on the easier side :).
I would highly recommend watching Oshin, Carnation, or Totoneechan instead.
Another issue is that this story takes place over 4-5 years only so there is no way it cam match the character development of similar series running 50+ years.
Dear Friends (2007)
Unbelievable characters
Crappy dogma theme. Lack of backstory. Main character is unlikable. Getting the basics of disease completely wrong. Check check check check! The only good thing about this movie is that the Japanese is pretty easy to understand
Who Is America? (2018)
Laughed a lot but....
A lot of the humor was really cheap. I felt like many participants either mentally ill, in on the joke, or desperate for 15min of fame. These parts fell flat for me and many times felt like it was crossing the line. A large number of the professionals were too smooth to get any traction on. Clips a few seconds or less long makes me doubt the authenticity of a number of these interactions.
Mostly the magic of Borat is missing, that is an eccentric (his culture or him?) lovable fellow who tried his best. He cried when he thought he did bad. People couldn't help but fall for him. This OTOH seemed like most interactions were pushed way too far to be believable and instead came of as insults to who was being interviewed, especially the politicians.
On the plus side the dolphin story in the first episode was amazing! The convict character was great too. I think this kind of humor works best with either ordinary people in their natural environment or with artistic types.
African Cats (2010)
Propaganda film
Amazing visuals and a decent story ruined by Christian anthromorphism. A nature "documentary" about lions and cheetahs that hides mating behaviors behind false pretenses. If Disney made a movie about slavery it would call the slave owners protectors of the people!
Just more Disney garbage to dumb down the population. This would have been fine if it wasn't billed as a documentary. Want to learn something about animals? Skip this film. It will only make you dumber!
Judging it as fictional story I would rate it 7/10. Nice feel good for the whole family. Just don't be surprised if they know even less about the subject as a result of watching this!
Ben-Hur (1959)
The power of washing
I enjoyed the twist that the mother and sister never actually had leprosy, but rather just forgot to have a shower after imprisonment.
Kono sekai no katasumi ni (2011)
Alternate universe
This version corrupts the plot in several places. Different people die in this version and Suzu's actor is too beautiful and rarely smiles. Things don't fit and it doesn't do justice to the manga at all.
But I enjoyed the other versions so much (manga, anime, live action series) that this sort of works as an alternate reality version. Now everything is worse than the other versions... Its not worth watching unless you have seen those other versions and would only recommend it if you enjoyed them as much as I have. Just keep your expectations low!
Itsuka dokusho suruhi (2005)
Long and unfocused
The story could have been told in 30mins but is stretched to more than 2hrs. It slowly gets interesting but most story threads just fizzle out.
The climax falls flat as it never shows why the 2 main characters have their bond. If you feel like spending a slow evening the film is ok but it seems a bit of a waste. Yuuko Tanaka is such a dynamic actor but in this film has zero range. She has the same expression on her face the entire times and may speak more words in a 15min episode of Oshin!
Europa Report (2013)
If Boeing was tasked with sending people to Europa...
I enjoyed the realism.. for the first 5mins. Otherwise this film was a complete mess. Rather than dwell on that I will introduce some background lore:
A certain senator triumphantly wins the sole Europa mission contract for Boeing. Boeing being a trusted supplier is allowed free reign on safety and given a cost++ contract. Fast forward 30 years. The project is 10 times over budget and in a horrible state. No more cost extensions says congress. Realizing the pork train is about to end some drastic measures are enacted. Launch preparation is announced complete. The parts are put in rockets, launched and combined. Astronauts arrive at the craft
On the way to Europa it becomes abundantly clear that the "astronauts' are actually cheap contractors from poor countries. All their training was done online much like a CBT module . On their scorecards (after being told to be positive and believe in themselves ) they rate themselves 10 out of 10 for preparedness. Whelp for Boeing that was enough, 100% fully qualified.
As for the spaceship itself it is an absolute mess. The computer thinks it is January 1, 1970. No problem though no need for computers when an astronaut can do it. I mean what else are they going to do? Parts fall off but really do parts fall in 0g?I'm not quite sure. On the plus side workers forgot a ton of tools on the ship... those surely will come in handy think the astronauts
Now go and watch the film. I can assure you Europa Report becomes 100% believable. Oh one thing I forgot. The octopus is actually one of the workers that helped build the ship. Boeing ran out of money and this octopus was not happy. Boeing locked this octopus in the ship water tank and avoided paying its salary. The end? Not quite... this is one smart octopus... and he found some tools...
Genius of the Ancient World (2015)
Confusing and arrogant narrator
The first episode is basically footage taken from a movie interspersed with a talking head visiting a few random historical sites and filler places
In the second episode the narrator tells us that we need to see Egypt from space in order to understand. You'd think we would see Egypt from space, right? Wrong. We see a talking head blabber on and then randomly jump to a conclusion. The story progression reminds me of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
This is hard to watch. It is Hollywood crap. Make a story overly complicated and unfocused and pass it off as grand. This series is nothing but filler