Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan (J-Drama 2012)

In Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan (浪花少年探偵団), cute elementary school kids and their equally cute, albeit in a different way, school teacher, help solve crimes in the big city of Osaka. Wait a second...okay, now the absurdity of that should've just sunk in. That being said however, this drama is actually a lot of fun. Embrace the absurd.

Shinobu Takeuchi (Mikako Tabe), is starting her year as a part-time teacher at Ooki elementary school. As expected, she has a varied group of students in her class, with three particular young ones standing out more than others. Ikuo (Koki Maeda), Teppei (Tatsuomi Hamada), and Hiroshi (Akira Takahashi), are all good friends and they, much like their new teacher, take a liking to sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. See, Shinobu sensei loves mysteries, detective stories, etc., and the boys love it as well, so much so that they start their own junior detective group. Ikuo serves as the leader, unofficially, while Teppei and Hiroshi help in doing the leg work. Ikuo's little brother Osamu (Oshiro Maeda), also helps the junior detectives but he's not old enough to officially join their group. Kids and their rules. When an incident occurs, involving one of her own students, Shinobu sensei decides to get way more involved than she probably should (or should legally be allowed to). Handling all the cases throughout the drama are detectives Shindo (Teppei Koike) and Urushizaki (Yasunori Danta), the latter being the older, more seasoned of the two, but both equally as bumbling and incapable. Each episode is a different, "case", and regardless of what's going on; whether it be a murder, a case of child abuse, domestic violence, you name it, Shinobu sensei and the Naniwa Junior Detectives are there to aid in solving the case. Aside from all the crime-solving, Shindo starts to develop a crush on Shinobu sensei over time because he's never seen, or met, anyone quite like her. She's bold, boisterous and strongly independent. Her unique traits also grab the attention of Yoshihiko Honma (Koji Yamamato), who is in town on business. He too seems smitten by Shinobu sensei's character. Ah snap, love triangle alert! To mix things up a bit, Shinobu sensei has a rival teacher in Haruna sensei (Fumino Kimura), the cold, stick-in-the-mud music teacher that also happens to be obsessed with businessman Honma. Between dealing with the stresses of being a school teacher, helping to solve cases, keeping the junior detectives out of trouble, dealing with two love-sick suitors and an overbearing mother (Keiko Matsuzaka), Shinobu sensei doesn't have a moment to herself. Sure, she's doing the community a lot of good by helping out, but is she in over her head?   

There's not an overlying story arch in Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan, aside from the sort of love triangle between Shinobu, Shindo and Honma. Meaning there isn't one particular case that gets dragged out over the series' 12 episodes. It's simply a different case every episode, aside from episodes 11 and 12 being a two-part finale. Really, that's okay by me. The characters are what's most important in this series, not the police work, which is incredibly suspect. I've honestly never seen such questionable police work. I mean, what detective lets a school teacher and her students in on a crime scene that they have no business being at? And Shindo divulges completely confidential information to Shinobu as if she's a member of the force. I know this is more of a comedy than a crime-drama, but wow, it just strikes me as odd and a bit too far-fetched...even for a drama. The detectives, as usual for a Japanese drama, are portrayed as incompetent boobs that couldn't do their job if they were paid for it...oh, wait...you know what I mean. However, they can be amusing at times, and I suppose that's what's important here. Tabe Mikako is the real star of the show, even if the show in question is named after the junior detectives. She's playing a character here that I've never seen her portray. Shinobu is strong, smart, independent and takes no shit. She often rips other characters a new one for stupid behavior and for me, it was enjoyable to watch her in this role. She often gives a heartfelt monologue at the end of each episode that really shows her ability as an actress. The junior detectives are all cute kids and amusing enough, but again, it just didn't feel like it was their show, aside from some narration on each episode from Osamu. I actually wouldn't have minded seeing more of them. 

Not every case is that interesting in Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan, but at least most of the characters are. Fans of Tabe Mikako will love her role here and the kids aren't annoying at all, which I find to be a rarity. It's largely light-hearted fun, with some incredibly heavy, out-of-left-field moments sprinkled in the next, however as a whole, it's quite entertaining. (Lee)

Grade: B -

Lie To Me (K-Drama 2011)

Okay, I promise I'm going to stop complaining about the number of episodes in Korean dramas...after this review. Lie To Me (내게 거짓말을 해봐) tells the story of how a small, seemingly innocent, lie can spiral wildly out of control, with inevitable chaos ensuing. Shenanigans, here we come!

Kong Ah-jung (Yoon Eun-hye), is a single woman, living with her widowed father Joon-ho (Kang Shin-il), and working for the Culture and Tourism board. She seems quite content in life, until she starts having one too many unfortunate run-ins with her "friend", Yoo So-ran (Hong Soo-hyun), a spoiled braggart who just so happens to be married to Ah-jung's school crush, Chun Jae-beom (Ryu Seung-soo). It pains Ah-jung's heart to see the two of them together and the love that never was, and it angers her to no end to hear So-ran boasting about her luxurious lifestyle (Jae-beom's a well-off attorney). However, something happens at Ah-jung's workplace which doesn't end well and she's to blame. She feels terrible about this incident and feels it might just be best to submit her resignation. She goes to drink her sorrows away, sloppily writing a resignation letter on a cocktail napkin. A young man by the name of Hyun Sang-hee (Sung-joon), is intrigued by Ah-jung's drunken behavior in the club and decides to strike up a conversation with her. Even through her slurred speech and unsightly demeanor, he's a bit taken with her and decides to keep her company. Meanwhile, Hyun Ki-joon (Kang Ji-hwan), is living on the other side of the spectrum as a wealthy, good-looking, young president of the World hotel group. It turns out that Sang-hee, the young man keeping Ah-jung company at the club, is Ki-joon's younger brother. Sang-hee had just returned to Korea from a stay overseas and Ki-joon hasn't seen him in years. You can imagine, he's a bit eager to see his younger brother again and by circumstances only a drama can create, he spots his younger brother at the club with Ah-jung. Sang-hee leaves before his older brother can get to him, but Ki-joon notices a drunken, passed-out Ah-jung in front of the club and, being the gentleman that he is, makes sure she gets to the hospital. Wanting to know as much about his younger brother as he can, he decides to stay by Ah-jung's side while she recovers at the hospital. It doesn't lead to much, but his actions leave a lasting impression in Ah-jung's mind.

After another chance meeting with So-ran and Jae-beom, (you have to understand, coincidence's are a dime-a-dozen in the world of dramas), at the hair salon, the topic of conversation turns to relationships. Ah-jung, feeling fed up with how she's pitied for still being single, lies and says she's married. So-ran can't believe it and is determined to expose this little white lie. Ah-jung then heads to the World hotel to pay Ki-joon back for his kindness in staying with her overnight at the hospital, but nothing in this world can ever go as smoothly as that, can it? She makes a fool of herself, spilling tomato juice all over the floor, but Ki-joon is there to keep her from slipping and cracking her head open. This all seems fine and dandy, but wouldn't you know it, Ah-jung's group of girlfriends just so happen to be at the hotel to see all this and thus, the rumor of her being married to the young president are off and running!

There's your rundown in a nutshell. Ah-jung's lie about being married turns into a much bigger thing because Ki-joon has a status and professional profile to maintain. His Aunt Hyun Myung-jin (Oh Mi-hee), can't believe her nephew would do such a thing, potentially hindering his role as president and complicating their relationship, and Sang-hee, having developed a small crush on Ah-jung himself, feels his older brother has, yet again, stolen love away from him! To complicate matters even further, let's introduce Oh Yun-joo (Cho Youn-hee), Ki-joon's former love, whom he was engaged to three years prior. Sang-hee was also in love with Yun-joo, and in a true sign of bro's before ho's, Ki-joon let his love go because these brother's stick together and have since their parent's passed. Yun-joo returns to Korea from time spent in Paris and yeah, she wants Ki-joon back. I mean, this guy looks good in a suit. I get it. See how messy things are getting? Well, Ki-joon annoyance with Ah-jung's marriage lie eventually turns into acceptance, only because the lie turns out to be a necessity. You'll have to check the show out if you want to know what I mean by this. Oh, and why can't Sang-hee find a girl his brother isn't involved with?

Being the honest guy that I am, I'll tell you flat-out that I only watched this series because I love Yoon Eun-hye. I told myself that after, "The Coffee Prince", that I would check out anything else she does, so that's what I'm doing here. Get it out of your mind now that this was anywhere near as good as, "Coffee Prince", because it's not. You should never even think to make comparisons. However, Yoon Eun-hye is still very charming in her role as Ah-jung, although, my God is she a total crybaby in this. I counted at least six awkward scenes where you just sit at watch her ball uncontrollably for seconds that feel like minutes. Very long minutes. I rather enjoyed Kang Ji-hwan's performance as the confident, but not cocky, Ki-joon. The way he played it made him quite easy to like. Watching Ah-jung and Ki-joon together is when this drama really shines. However, there are a lot of side characters in Lie To Me that are obnoxious and uninteresting and take away from the main two. I really can't stand So-ran, regardless of how attractive she is and her husband, Ah-jung's first love, Jae-beom, comes across as so bumbling and incompetent, you wonder how he's even a lawyer. Maybe there's a lawyer joke in there somewhere. Anyway, Ah-jung's group of "friends", also come across as possibly the worst, most-gossipy friends, you could ever hope to not have. Seriously, if these are her friends, I'd hate to see her enemies. Yun-joo also annoyed me every single time she had a scene because all she did was mope. We get it, you want Ki-joon back but Cho Youn-hee, haven't not seen her in anything else, pursued her goal of re-obtaining love in the most boring performance possible. Her face expressionless and her delivery emotionless. Basically, a difficult character to watch. Sang-hee is slightly interesting at first, when he's getting to know Ah-jung, but then he gets written off towards the second half of the series as a jealous, cry-baby who does nothing but sulk and paint all day. It's almost as if the writers ran out of ideas for him once the ball got rolling with Ki-joon and Ah-jung. I just thought there would be more to him. Oh well. I would like to point out that Hwang Suk-bong (Kwon Hae-hyo), turns in another amusing performance as the restaurant owner. I always get a kick out of him.

Lie To Me is mediocre drama that I suppose you want to be better than it is because of the two stars, but the pacing is off and the supporting cast is obnoxious. The side-stories, anything deviating from Ah-jung and Ki-joon, are simply annoying and uninteresting. The soundtrack is mind-numbing (especially that ice cream song - enjoy below!), and really, just how big is Seoul? These same characters bump into each other at every turn. I'm nitpicking on that last point, but I guess it's my semi-clever way of saying: let's try harder next time guys. (Lee)

Grade: D+

You Are My Pet (Korea 2011)

You are a piece of...okay, you get the idea. You also probably get my feelings about this movie. You Are My Pet (너는 펫), is a gimmicky, romantic-comedy that somehow manages to forget to add any romance or comedy. Oh, but they beat that gimmick into the ground and back again.

Fashion magazine editor, Eun Yi (Kim Ha-neul), is incredibly hard-working, to the point of having little, to no, free time. She doesn't have a boyfriend, she's not married, and in fact, her younger brother, Eun-soo (Choi Jong-hoon), is the only man she has in her life; and he lives with her. Basically, she's just been unlucky in love. Her brother, working as a bartender, decides to let a friend of his, In-ho (Jang Keun-suk), crash at his sister's place, unbeknownst to her. In-ho doesn't have a place to stay and Eun-soo looks at it as an opportunity to earn some cash off a friend. Eun-yi comes home to find a complete stranger making himself comfortable in her place and after some begging and pleading from Eun-soo, she decides to let In-ho stay...albeit with some stipulations. For whatever reason, In-ho reminds Eun-yi of her dog Momo, which has passed away. With this in mind, she agrees to let In-ho stay at her place as long as he's willing to be her new Momo; her pet. In-ho decides to go along with it, keeping things light and jovial, and the longer he stays at her place, the more they actually get to know each other. Turns out In-ho used to be a talented and renowned dancer, but has since given up the art due to an incident years back where he dropped a fellow dancer, injuring her. Guilt, being what it is, keeps him from performing. Eun-yi really starts warming up to In-ho, as he does to her, all the while keeping up the creepy, "master/pet", relationship, and things start looking like they could grow into more than just friendship...until Eun-yi's first love, Cha Woo-sung (Ryu Tae-joon), comes back into her life.

Hmm, what must you be thinking after reading that synopsis? If the word, "ridiculous", popped into your mind, I certainly wouldn't blame you, because let's face it; that's exactly what this movie is. Not in the, "oh, that's silly, but it's also so cute and charming so I can overlook it all", kind of way. More of a, "really? come on...really?", kind of way. You Are My Pet forces the "pet" angle down your throat at every available opportunity. It get's to the point of just being awkward and beyond fathomable. In-ho acts like a dog, so much so, that he's hopping in her bed like a pet, resting his head in her lap, calling Eun-yi master, and just about everything else aside from pissing on the floor. For me, it was just silly, in a stupid way. Not funny in the comedic sense that was probably intended by the filmmakers. I felt practically zero chemistry between Kim Ha-neul and Jang Keun-suk, which really kills the romantic side of the film, and I know it's been said before, but Jang Keun-suk couldn't look more like a woman unless he had breasts. Seeing these two on screen together, it often looked like two women in a relationship...not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm sure all of his female fans will love his performance here though. Seriously though, I don't get the appeal but I don't think I'm supposed to. However, Kim Ha-neul looked as amazing as ever, even if her performance in this movie felt dialed in and quite uninspired. That pains me to say, as I'm a huge fan of hers. So if I'm looking for anything nice to say about You Are My Pet, I guess it would be that it looked good. The film itself looks sharp, as does all the players involved.That's it...that's all I've got.

The gimmick goes too far and for way too long in You Are My Pet, making the 1 hour and 50 minute run-time extra painful. By the time it all winds down, you'll never want to hear the word, "Momo", again. Definitely not worth your time unless you're a big fan of the two stars. (Lee)

Grade: D

My Black Mini Dress (Korea 2011)

Seemingly obnoxious and shallow from the outside looking in, things aren't what they appear to be as My Black Mini Dress (마이 블랙 미니드레스), actually has a meaningful story to tell. Trust me, I'm probably as surprised to say that as you are to read it. 

Four close friends, Yoo-min (Yoon Eun-hye), Hye-ji (Park Han-byeol), Soo-jin (Cha Ye-ryeon), and Min-hee (Yoo In-na), have just graduated college and are ready to celebrate a new chapter in their lives. It's time to grow up, leave behind the partying lifestyle and find real jobs right? Well, maybe not for everyone and reluctantly so for others. These girls are used to living a very free lifestyle; going to the club every other night, partying and just having a good time. Time has passed since graduation and our girls are now 24 year old women. Yoo-min is trying her hand at being a broadcasting writer; Soo-jin is tutoring teenage students while secretly attending auditions because her dream is be an actress; Hye-ji is wealthy so she's content just partying and Min-hee, also from a family of wealth, chooses to take an English course, complete with her own puppy-love storyline, so that she can study abroad. It would appear that Hye-ji and Min-hee are the only ones content with their lives, while Yoo-min and Soo-jin are struggling to keep up an optimistic front when they're all together. Hye-ji introduces Yoo-min to the young and wealthy Seok-won (Lee Yong-woo), because she worries that her friend is struggling in love. At the club, just by chance, a guy spots Hye-ji and offers her the opportunity to star in a Levi's jeans commercial, an opportunity that will change the direction of her life. The other girls find out about it while buying tickets for a movie as it plays on a giant monitor overhead in the lobby. Naturally, they're all shocked to see their best friend starring on TV with a new-found entertainment career that seemed to come out of nowhere. However, not everyone is as happy as they appear to be, or possibly should be, and it's not long before the green-eyed monster starts to show itself. Soo-jin, and her secret struggle to become an actress, isn't shy about expressing her feelings of irritation about how Hye-ji, the girl with everything, is yet again given more. Meanwhile, Yoo-min is trying to have a relationship of sorts with Seok-won, and is dealing with an unbelievable boss (Jeon Soo-keyong), who constantly makes unrealistic demands. She does begin to find some comfort when an old schoolmate, Young-mi (Choi Yoon-young), comes into her life with friendly advice, as she too is working in the same field. When an incident involving Hye-ji brings the girls together again, Soo-jin and Hye-ji get in a huge argument in which their true feelings come to light. This is the tipping point that sends all four girls in different directions, forcing them to evaluate the friendship they've had all these years and if they all know each other as well as they had thought. Will Soo-jin and Hye-ji be able to let bygones be bygones in order to be friends again? And can Yoo-min figure out what love is while at the same time trying to find her place in a professional world where she struggles to fit in? 

I wasn't in a hurry to see My Little Black Dress because quite frankly I thought it was going to be a chick-flick, and in many ways it is. However, my crush on Yoon Eun-hye wouldn't allow me to avoid it and I'm glad I didn't. Things start off a little bumpy as our four main characters aren't introduced in a flattering light, and it takes a while to warm up to them and take notice of their individuality. Yoo-min is your straight-shooter, Hye-ji is the spoiled, live-life-with-no-consequences type, with Soo-jin being the serious one and Min-hee being your slightly air-headed comic relief. Yes, I realize these characters are all representing different character-types, but they do it well. Yoon Eun-hye, regardless of my feelings about her, really does a nice job at showing the difficulties in transitioning into adulthood and the responsibilities young people face. Hye-ji was a tough character to warm up to for me, but she's meant to be that way because she's spoiled and comes from a background that most of us can't relate to. I personally enjoyed Cha Re-yeon's performance and her character's actions because even though, as a viewer, you know she's just jealous of Hye-ji, it comes across as believable and you can even understand it. Many of us have been in similar positions. As for Min-hee, well...she's just cute and her moments were amusing. There's a story told here about friendship and trying to define just what exactly a friend is. The girls begin to realize they they may not know each other at all when their own lives start falling apart and they look for a shoulder to lean on. I found the story-telling to be a smart, true-to-life tale serving as food-for-thought in many ways, regardless of the movie being geared toward a female audience. I know I've had times where I felt I couldn't tell even my closest friend things and wondered why that was. There's a dark twist in the third act, a plot device that tends to anger me in most films, but here it seems to work. I will also say the ending had a bad case of, "this isn't over yet?", syndrome, in which you thought the scene you were watching was the last, only for there to be another scene and yet another. Silly filmmakers, you got me!

A story that rings true and strong performances that sell the story all the more are what help to put My Little Black Dress into recommended viewing territory. I love when a movie can make you feel introspective and that's how this one left me. Plus, that Yoon Eun-hye is just too darn cute. (Lee)

Grade: B

Usagi Drop (Anime 2011)

Like most anime, at least that I'm aware of, Usagi Drop (うさぎドロップ) is an adaptation of the manga of the same name, which got it's start in print back in 2005. I've never read the manga, but this is an incredibly cute and charming anime series that showcases the importance of love and bonding in the family unit.

Daikichi Kawachi (Hiroshi Tsuchida), is a single, thirty-something, blue-collar worker who lives a relatively mundane life. On one of these relatively mundane days, he receives a phone call informing him that his grandfather has passed away. It's been awhile since Daikichi made his way back home, but few things can bring family back together like the passing of a loved one. At his family's home, he makes small talk with the members of his family but takes notice of a peculiar little girl that he hasn't seen before. She follows him around the house, staying hidden; clearly shy towards people. Eventually Daikichi strikes up a conversation with her and she tells him her name is Rin (Ayu Matsura), and that her father is Daikichi's grandfather. Say what!? It turns out that Daikichi's grandfather had an illegitimate child with his housekeeper, a young lady by the name of Masako (Maya Sakamoto). As you can imagine, this news has the Kawachi family in a bit of a tailspin and no one seems to know what to do with Rin. There's talk of sending her to a foster home but Daikichi, clearly being of a higher moral standing, feels that Rin is a part of the family and can't be discarded so easily. After a bit of thought, Daikichi informs the family that he'll be taking Rin home with him and will take care of her until he can figure out matters with Rin's mother. The family is in a bit of shock but Daikichi is determined to look after Rin and Rin is happy to go with someone that seems to genuinely care for her well-being. Daikichi's life as a lonely, single man has suddenly changed drastically, as has life for young Rin. Can Daikichi handle his life being completely turned upside down by the daily stresses of being a single father?

Throughout the series, Daikichi and Rin find themselves facing a number of challenges. First of all, they have to get used to just being around each other. Daikichi has to figure out how to enroll Rin in school, arranging his work schedule with her school schedule, buying her clothes and other supplies, dealing with Rin's birth mother, Rin getting sick, Rin making friends with a rowdy little boy named Koki, helping her cope with the concept of death (she tries to understand what happened to her father), and all the other challenges one would face when suddenly having a child thrust upon them without any prior preparation. I can't even imagine! I always enjoy these slice-of-life anime and Usagi Drop does a great job showing the difficult transitions that Daikichi and Rin face with what is essentially their new day-to-day lives. Daikichi is a guy who had a very ordinary life before his grandfather's death but he makes incredible sacrifices in order to accommodate this young girl that he really doesn't know. He's not always convinced he's done the right thing and even questions his ability to watch over Rin. However, he does know that she's family and deserves to be treated as such. Therein lies the really special, heartfelt message of Usagi Drop. Add to that the fact that it's all presented with a wonderfully eye-pleasing art style that is simple and clean, yet still shows attention to detail. Each episode begins with the art done in a painted, watercolor style then transitioning into a traditional, penciled art-style and this series just furthers showing it's character. You can imagine that from the show's content that there is a lot of heart in the storyline and Usagi Drop has no shortage of touching moments. I feel that Rin is an adorable character that you just find yourself rooting for and together with Daikichi, their relationship is really cute to watch. 

If you're a fan of "realistic" anime that focuses more on the human element and our relationships with one another, than Usagi Drop is a sweet series that you're sure to find heartwarming. It feels like an incredibly short 11 episodes and whenever a series feels like it's over too soon, that's always a good indicator of how enjoyable it is. (Lee)

Grade: A 

K-On! (Japan 2011)

The much-beloved manga-turned-anime, K-On! (けいおん!), finally gets the big-screen adaptation fans have been clamoring for. We all know that series' do not always translate well when turned into a feature-length film, however, as a rabid K-On! fan myself, I'm pleased to say this animated movie does not disappoint.

For those that don't know, K-On! is about a group of high school girls that join the music club at school and form a band. They call themselves Houkago Tea Time, or HTT for short. The series focuses mainly on their friendships and the moments they share in school and in the music club. The movie finds the girls, Yui (Aki Toyosaki), Mio (Yoko Hikasa), Ritsu (Satomi Sato), Tsumugi (Minako Kotobuki), on the cusp of graduating high school, and while they have big plans to attend university together, they worry about leaving their underclass bandmate, Azusa aka Azu-nyan (Ayana Taketatsu), behind. They're also planning a big graduation trip, because that's just what you do apparently, and after some assistance from the club pet turtle Ton, they pack up and head to London! Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi decide that there's no better way to say thank you and to show their appreciation for Azusa than by writing a song just for her. They plan to write the song while on their trip, looking for a little London inspiration. Azusa begins to grow suspicious as the others do their best to keep their song-writing plans a secret. As you can imagine, while in England, the girls find themselves in a few wacky, unexpected situations while taking in the sights, but that's all a part of the adventure. When an opportunity to perform for the people of London on the gang's last day of vacation presents itself, time suddenly becomes a major issue when you have a plane to catch! Can the girl's put on a memorable show and still make it to the airport in time to catch their flight? And will Azusa catch on to what the others are up to and ruin the surprise?

Having K-On! made into a full-blown movie, not straight-to-dvd, was an exciting announcement. I'm a big fan of the series and I'll admit that it's even become a mini-obsession of mine. I just find the characters to be incredibly endearing and I think the art style is great. I also really like the attention to detail given to the instruments the girls play, which adds a nice level of realism to the music of the show. As a side note, for those who don't know by now, Ritsu, the drummer, is my favorite. I previously mentioned that a TV series, regardless of being animated or not, rarely translates into a successful big-screen movie, but K-On! fans, fear not, this is a movie that will not disappoint. It picks up right where the second series left off, the art is more detailed and the animation has clearly been given an extra layer of polish. It appears that all involved with the film took the extra time (thanks to a nice budget I'm sure) to add a bit more TLC to everything. All of the characters, memorable characters that is, from the series are in the film, even if only for a few minutes (Yui's sister Ui, Jun, Nadako and, Sawako-sensei for example). Most importantly, the movie version of K-On! actually feels like they're doing something big with these characters. It's not just an hour and forty-five minutes of them sitting in their clubroom, talking and having sweets. Sure, there's some of that, because that's what these girls do, but they pack their bags and head out on a big adventure. It's really a lot of fun to see them in a foreign environment (literally and figuratively speaking), because it's something you haven't seen in the series. Also, there are some original songs written for the movie and if you enjoy the music the K-On! girls put out, then these songs will be right up your alley. You'll be sure to hear some of their "classics" in the film as well. Is a near two-hour animated film too long? Perhaps for some, most likely those who didn't read the manga or watch the anime, but for a fan, it's a great running-time and you almost don't want it to end. The only downside for the movie that I could think of is that it's not really accessible for those unfamiliar with the series. Sure you can still watch it, but will you care as much about the characters? The series spent 41 episodes and countless smaller specials, developing the relationship between these characters and getting you, the viewer, invested in it.

All-in-all, I found K-On! the movie to be a great success and I'm the not the only one. It had a huge opening here in Japan, beating out Steven Spielberg's Tin-Tin at the box office when it was released and where I'm from, that's saying something. The people have spoken. Who knows what the future holds for this series, but I can only hope that there's more K-On! somewhere down the line. It would be a shame to say goodbye to these characters, but if I'm forced to, the movie was a satisfying way to do it. (Lee)

Grade: A

Gokusen: The Movie (Japan 2009)

What's this!? A movie for the much-loved, long-running Japanese drama of the same name? Consider me intrigued! Having been a fan of the three "seasons" of Gokusen, I was curious to see how well the show's material would translate to a film version. Well, it's over-the-top, both in acting and in premise, it's overly-dramatic, cheesy at times, and has no shortage of laughs and heart. This is definitely Gokusen (ごくせん THE MOVIE).

Gokusen: the movie starts with our loveable heroine Yamaguchi Kumiko, aka "Yankumi" (Nakama Yukie), in one of her most absurd scenarios yet. Along with two of her fellow teachers, (Takano Aoi and Ayukawa Sakura), Yankumi is returning from her summer trip to Hawaii, asleep on the plane and completely oblivious to the fact that it's being hijacked by terrorists. While everyone is silently freaking out, as usual, nothing seems to unsettle our bubbly Ojou (princess for the uninitiated). Side note: Yankumi was next in line to be the 4th generation leader of her Yakuza family but her heart led her to teaching. Making quick work of the hijackers, Yankumi returns to her regular life of being a teacher of the delinquents class, 3-D, at Akadou academy. Now principal, Sawatori Goro (Namase Katsuhisa), tells Yankumi that they're expecting a student teacher and that she'll be overseeing his experience at Akadou. Much to their surprise, Odagiri Ryu from Gokusen 2 (Kamenashi Kazuya), walks through the door as the unlikely teacher-in-training. Beaming proudly, Yankumi introduces Odagiri to her new class of trouble-makers, led by Takasugi Reita (Yuta Tamamori) and his four cohorts. Of course these kids get involved in a mess by mouthing off to the wrong guys, in this case the Black Skulls motorcycle gang, and Reita uses his fists to settle the matter. Of course the Black Skulls aren't going to leave it alone and Reita challenges them all on his own in an attempt to spare his friends. Naturally, he gets the stuffing beat of out of him, but Yankumi refuses to let anything happen to her precious students, so she arrives just in time to make quick work of the Skulls, with a little help from Odagiri. Yankumi's actions once again open the eyes of her students in that they can in fact trust her, a teacher, and that she'll always be there to protect them. She's had this affect on all of her past students, and the cast from Gokusen 3 are here to show their life after high school. Ren Kazama (Haruma Miura) is working, but not earning enough so he takes on a night job that promises big money for little effort. Never a good idea right? Turns out life isn't that easy and he soon discovers that he's helping to smuggle drugs. Now he's on the run from the police and is reluctant to involve his friends and Yankumi. So, just whose drugs are these anyway? Well the charming, successful, soon-to-be politician Kentaro Kurose (Ikki Sawamura), of course! Apparently this guy isn't as honest and down-to-earth as people are perceiving and he's really all about money and power. Using Kazama as a drug smuggler does not sit well with Yankumi, as you can imagine, so she'll do whatever it takes to bring this corrupt businessman down and protect her precious students at all cost.

Oh I get it. The story is a bit nutty, but somehow within the world of Gokusen, it all makes sense. One of the biggest challenges this movie succeeds at, and where many fail, is making a successful transition from a television drama to a feature film. The filmmakers do a good job at making it accessible to the uninitiated, but fear not Gokusen faithful because there is a ton of fan service going on here, especially in regards to familiar faces making cameos. Some of the over-the-top performances and silly comedic elements, such as cartoon-ish sound effects, CG usage, and heavy dramatic moments might seem odd to those unfamiliar with the show, but again, it's all in the vein of why people fell in love with Gokusen in the first place. Yankumi's co-workers are all teachers from Gokusen 3 and she interacts with a lot of her past students. This will all mean a lot more to those who watched the series, so in that respect, someone just watching the movie on it's own might not get that nostalgic feeling or that desire to point at the screen and say, "oh, there's ____!". That being said, the story felt like just a way to get all of these characters back together and to give the audience and long-time viewers some closure on the series and all the characters they grew to love. I feel like this is the end of the series and they did a great job with wrapping up the loose ends. Again, that won't mean much to newcomers, but there's still a fun, action/drama/comedy here with a lot of pulling-on-the-heartstrings moments and characters that you can instantly take to.

I'm a bit conflicted as to how to grade Gokusen: THE MOVIE because your overall experience with it weighs largely on whether or not you followed the series. If you did, there's no reason to dislike the film. It gives fans everything they could've wanted and then some. If you didn't, I really believe there's still an entertaining film here, but probably one-too-many fan-service elements to recommend it wholeheartedly to those unfamiliar with the show. Either way, it's a fun way to kill a couple of hours and a fitting end to a series that had a good run. Fight - OH! (Lee)

Grade: B

Almost Love (Korea 2006)

The super-duo from My Tutor Friend, Kim Ha-neul and Kwan Sang-woo, are back in Almost Love (청춘만화). Is it as good as their first pairing together? Of course not, and not many Korean romantic comedies are. A sharp turn into the melodramatic keeps this one from being a complete success...oh so close.

Ji Hwan (Kwan Sang-woo), is an aspiring stuntman who emulates his lifestyle, and look, after that of the legendary action-star Jackie Chan. His best friend since childhood, Dal-rae (Kim Ha-neul), also aspires to enter the world of entertainment as an actress. The two friends know more about each other than anyone else in the world and it shows. They have the best times together and they also can get on each others nerves better than anyone, and Ji Hwan definitely loves driving Dal-rae crazy. The textbook definition of best friends. Dal-rae begins dating Young-hoon (Lee Sang-woo), who is a friend and fellow Taekwondo teammate of Ji Hwan. It's soon apparent that three can definitely be a crowd when they all hang out together, because Young-hoon can't help but notice that no matter how hard he tries, he will never know and understand Dal-rae as good as Ji Hwan does. It isn't all bad though as Dal-rae, after countless failed auditions, lands her first acting gig, and Ji Hwan finally gets his big break pulling off the main stunt in a major film. Things couldn't be better for the two in a professional sense, and naturally they look forward to telling each other about their success. However, they aren't able to savor their achievements when personal tragedy strikes Ji Hwan. What happens is so incredibly huge that Ji Hwan can't even bear to face his friends and family and disappears on a year-long soul search. Dal-rae, Young-hoon, and Ji Hwans father (Jeong Gyoo-soo), are frustrated at his disapperance, but try their best to understand what he's going through. Ji Hwan must come to terms with the new life that awaits him if he wants to see his loved ones again. Is his bond with Dal-rae strong enough to bring him home?

Make no mistake about it, the on-screen pairing of Kim Ha-neul and Kwan Sang-woo is cinema gold. These two have proven they have entertaining chemistry together and it's clearly evident in Almost Love as well. That being said, the issues I have with the movie have nothing to do with the competency, or quality, of the actors, but more so in the brick wall of melodrama that the story crashes into. The first half of the movie is romantic-comedy all the way, and it does that just fine. After the personal tragedy for Kwan Sang-woo's character, the second half of the movie turns into a melodrama, thereby making the movie feel like two separate genres, and almost two separate movies...almost. However, the relationship between our two protagonists is so strong, and so well built, that even through the sudden change in the story, they manage to keep things entertaining, engaging, and even very touching.

Almost Love is an unbalanced affair, but still a very worthwhile viewing experience. Most will watch this one for it's two main stars, and that's really who this film is for. That target audience of fans should be more than pleased. (Lee)

Grade: C+

 

Papa Loves You (Hong Kong 2004)

The movie poster for Papa Loves You (這個阿爸真爆炸) should have been a dead give-away that below-average quality was rearing it's ugly head. Surprisingly, there are some slightly entertaining and even heart-warming moments to be found here. However, don't let those few moments fool you into thinking this is a great movie, cause boy howdy it ain't!

Yam (Tony Leung Ka Fai), is an over-protective single father to his teenage daughter Ellen (Charlene Choi), who happens to be at that age where she wants nothing more than to resist her obsessive fathers ways. Having to come to terms with the fact that his daughter is growing up, Yam continues to grow concerned about Ellen's behaviour and begins following her around to see just what it is she's up to. While dining in a cafe, Yam just happens to stop an attempted hit on Triad boss leader Hung (Eric Tsang), with his "shadowless hands" technique, a move that he only seems to use in cleaning up around the house. This fateful turn of events changes Yam's life considerably. Not only is Hung indebted to Yam, but Yam also develops a reputation around town as being the legendary Mo Ye Fei Ying, an assassin who supposedly took out over 100 men during a knife fight. The boys at Ellen's school, Orange (Kenny Kwan), and Fung (Steven Cheung), become obsessed with Yam, thinking he's a hardcore assassin, and want to learn how to fight from him. Of course, Yam has nothing to teach these boys, but he makes them believe he does and will teach them everything if they promise to keep an eye on Ellen to make sure she stays out of trouble. Things don't end up going so well when Ellen actually does get involved with the real Triads and Yam has to face their leader down, fronting as the legendary assassin. It's definitely not a good thing to be known as an exceptional fighter and triad member, when in reality you just teach piano. That type of reputation eventually creates a problem when Yam is forced into having a showdown with the real Triads in order to protect his daughter.

Let me be as frank as possible by saying that Papa Loves You is a ridiculous film. I know it's meant to be a comedy, and there are a few scenes where that genre label actually seems to fit. However, most of the film is so absurd and even downright cheesy, that you feel embarrassed to be watching it at all. This movie came out when popstars were still running rampant throughout every movie in Hong Kong, so the overall feel of the film has that artificial, childish vibe to it that only those who are familiar with the EEG films will know what I'm talking about. Tony Leung, as many know, is a more than adequate actor and his role here seems shockingly out of place, but he pulls it off to some charming extent. Eric Tsang, who I hold in pretty high esteem in the HK cinema ranks, turns in a "what was he thinking" cameo as triad leader Hung. Honestly, the whole movie will leave you scratching your head with it's questionably entertaining content.

I know my words seem incredibly harsh, but Papa Loves You is mostly deserving of those words. It's complete throw-away, teeny-bopper entertainment that really only serves that one specific demographic. Everyone else should probably steer clear, because calling the movie cute is about the best compliment I can muster. (Lee)

Grade: D

 

My Wife Is A Gangster 2 (Korea 2003)

The sequel to the highly-enjoyable My Wife is a Gangster, My Wife is a Gangster 2: The Return Fable (조폭 마누라 2 : 돌아온 전설), sadly, isn't nearly as entertaining as the first. However, Sin Eun-kyeong, as our beloved protagonist, is still interesting to watch. It's everything you would expect from a sequel...which isn't much.

Gang boss Cha Eun-jin (Sin Eun-kyeong) is up to her usual activity when the film kicks off with a major rooftop brawl with her gang mixing it up with another group of thugs. During the melee, Eun-jin is knocked off the roof of the building and is, understandably, knocked senseless. A very drunk Yoon Jae-choi (Park Joon-gyu), notices Eun-jin laying in the gutter and ends up carrying her off to his neighborhood where he runs a small Chinese restaurant. Eun-jin's crew assume the worst, and every attempt to contact their boss doesn't seem to pan out, yet they continue to search for her. Why the police aren't involved in the search is anyone's guess, but I imagine gangsters don't work with the police on any level. Regardless, the story picks up months later, and Eun-jin is working as a delivery girl for Jae-choi at the Chinese restaurant with no memory of her former gangster life. Jae-choi is aware of the fact that she doesn't remember a thing, but she's so good at deliveries, even going so far as to invent a delivery box for serving, that he is in no hurry to help her regain her memory. Eun-jin genuinely seems to be happy with her new life, working and living with her new boss and his teenage daughter. However, little-by-little, Eun-jin begins to piece parts of her former life together, not to mention the fact that she really knows how to fight, when new situations in her life bring out that side of her. White Shark, the gangster whom I believe is from part one, returns, albeit it with a new wig and vocoder on his throat. He plans to finally seek revenge against Eun-jin, and even though she can't remember who he is, White Sharks threats against her and her bosses family prove enough in getting her to take action.

Sequels...what can I say? Love 'em or hate 'em, they can either be seen as a genuine extension of a story created in part one, or simply as a way to cash in on the name. My Wife is a Gangster 2 unfortunately falls into the latter category. As much as I enjoyed certain aspects about this film, it just couldn't match up to the level of it's predecessor. The biggest smack in the face comes from the fact that Eun-jin's husband from part one is nowhere to be found in this film, and they don't even mention him, so you're left wondering what became of his character. Park Joon-gyu, serving as the male comedy relief this time around, does an admirable job filling those shoes, but it definitely isn't the same feeling that Park Sang-myeon provided. It's a shame he was written off. The relationship of the characters is completely different this time around, and when you have a character as cool as Eun-jin is, that isn't necessarily a good thing. She's definitely more amusing in part two, but I missed her character from the first film. That isn't to say that everyone will feel the same as I do, because these changes might please a lot of viewers out there, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. For example, White Shark, while feeling like an actual villain and threat in part one, was portrayed as an incompetent goofball in the sequel. It's creative decisions like this that take away from the feeling and overall vibe created in the first film, ultimately making it feel like an unbalanced sequel.

There are laughs and good times to be had in My Wife is a Gangster 2, but like most sequels, as a whole, it isn't as good as the first. It feels more light-hearted than it's predecessor and that could be an intentional move by the filmmakers, but for me, it took the series in the wrong direction. If you loved the first one, by all means check part two out, but by all means, lower your expectations. (Lee)

Grade: B-

 

My Wife is a Gangster review

My Wife is a Gangster 3 review

My Wife is a Gangster (Korea 2001)

My Wife is a Gangster (조폭 마누라), holds a special place in my heart because it played such a big part in getting me interested in Korean cinema. It has action, comedy, and drama, and while all of these elements don't always mix together perfectly, the end result stills makes for a highly entertaining film. I promise to remain objective.

Eun-jin (Sin Eun-kyeong) is anything but the typical woman. In fact, she just so happens to be the boss of a major gang who has worked her way up to legendary status. Out of the blue, one of her minions receives a phone call and tells Eun-jin the news she's been waiting so long to hear; the sister she was seperated from as a child has been found. Sadly, their reunion is hampered by the fact that Eun-jin's sister (Lee Eun-kyeong) is dying. She tells Eun-jin that her dying wish (literally) is to see Eun-jin happily married before she passes. Feeling as if she has no other choice, she orders her gang to find her an eligible bachelor for a shotgun wedding. Eun-jin's right-hand man, Romeo (Ahn Jae-mo), brings in a woman (Choi Eun-joo) to help the boss become more lady-like, albeit with mixed results. By coincidence, her gang finds a suitable match in Soo-il (Park Sang-myeon), an ordinary civil servant who also hasn't had much luck in love, which makes him all the more willing to go along with the arranged marriage to Eun-jin. The two are soon married and naturally don't see eye-to-eye on almost everything. Soo-il wants to have an intimate relationship, and Eun-jin promises to break his fingers if he touches her without her permission. However, it's all to please Eun-jin's sister who is beyond thrilled to see her sister so "happily" married. Meanwhile, things are getting more dangerous in the gang world as Eun-jin's boss (Myeong Kye-nam) returns to check on his gang, annoyed at the news of his second in commands marriage. He feels that her marriage and new lifestyle are going to weaken the image of the gang, and the leader of the opposing gang, White Shark (Jang Se-jin), plans to exploit this new-found weakness in Eun-jin and her gang. To make matters more complicated, Eun-jin's sister informs her that she would love to see her have a child!

That is definitely a wild plot, and even a bit preposterous, but above all else, My Wife is a Gangster seems to present itself as a comedy above all else. That fact alone would make the proceedings more forgiveable, but the problem is, that while the film is humorous for the most part, there are many elements of drama and even some tragic scenes that make things seem unbalanced. Aside from the mild case of schizophrenia, I can't help but love this movie, mostly due to the outstanding performances by Sin Eun-kyeong, and Park Sang-myeon. While they may be the ultimate odd-couple, they definitely are amusing together and play their parts exceptionally well. This movies excels due in large part to it's wonderful casting, with a cast of characters that are always entertaining to watch. There are some action/martial-arts scenes, and most of them look good, but there are occasions of way-too-obvious wire use that detracts from these moments. The real goldmine here lies in the characters and their interactions with each other.

I can't say that My Wife is a Gangster is anywhere near perfect, but it is a great movie that is highly entertaining for many different reasons. It was a huge hit in Korea when it was released and when you start watching it, it's easy to see why. There is an undeniable charm and uniqueness to the film that made it, and makes it, so great. (Lee)

Grade: A

 

Miss Gold Digger (Korea 2007)

Miss Gold Digger (용의주도 미스 신), a romantic comedy that aims to show us that sometimes it's alright to live for yourself, is almost a complete failure thanks to an incredibly annoying protagonist, amongst other things. This film has so many problems that it's downright embarrassing.

Sin Min-soo (Han Ye-seul) is a successful advertising specialist who is extremely confident in herself, her work, and her love life. She is so confident in fact, that she manages to juggle three different boyfriends; aspiring district attorney Yoon-cheol (Kim In-kwon), young, directionless singer/rapper Hyeon-joon (Son Ho-young), and the incredibly wealthy, and over dramatic Joon-seo (Kwon O-joong). However, when a new neighbor, Dong-min (Lee Jong-hyuk), moves into her building, the two get off on the wrong foot which leads to a number of awkward encounters. The two just can't seem to get along, and once Min-soo has begun to accept that fact, a situation at her work requires that she get along with him. Dong-min isn't making things easy for Min-soo, because unlike her three suitors, he sees Min-soo for the lying, self-centered snob that she is. As you can imagine, Dong-min's cold shoulder is appealing to Min-soo because no one has ever treated her that way. Meanwhile, the three boyfriends are doing everything they can to win Min-soo over, but she refuses to commit to just one. She really wants to weigh all of her options with each guy in order to determine who can provide her with the most fulfilling way of life. Eventually, Dong-min begins to find himself caught up in Min-soo's web of seduction, whether he likes it or not. Min-soo has her fair share of men to choose from, but will she eventually come clean with them? Or will she be forced to learn a harsh lesson?

To be as frank as humanly possible, I really hated Miss Gold Digger. From the very beginning the filmmakers decide to make Min-soo's character as nasty as they possibly can. She's conceited, a liar, and only looks out for herself, showing almost no remorse for the terrible behavior she exudes. This didn't really bother me because I knew that she would eventually learn a lesson from the way she acts, but that didn't happen until there was only 15 minutes left in the film. Honestly, by that point it was too little too late. Her character had gone so far into the red, so to speak, that there was no turning back for her. I felt absolutely no pity for her whatsoever when her world started falling apart. When it did, I just thought to myself, "serves you right!", when the filmmakers probably intended viewers to sympathize with her. I felt no chemistry between Min-soo and Dong-min, and the three boyfriends were the only amusing characters in the movie. When you see the ending, you'll wonder if Min-soo's character learned anything at all. Negativity aside, I will say that the film is filled with competent actors who all play their parts well, and the feel of the movie was also consistent from start to finish, with no major emotional highs or lows detracting from things.

Miss Gold Digger was just mind-numbingly bad the entire two hours through. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie where I literally didn't care about any of the characters. I've seen Han Ye-seul in television dramas before and thought she was great, so as her big screen debut this film was all the more disappointing for me. Maybe next time, but this is a definite pass. (Lee)

Grade: D-

 

Going By The Book (Korea 2007)

Going by the Book (바르게 살자), a comedy about a police training exercise taken too far, has a premise that manages to be both unique and paper-thin at the same time. If that hasn't grabbed your attention, then this may not be the film for you.

Jeong Do-man (Jeong Jae-young) is a traffic cop working in a small country town who takes his job very seriously (as the film title implies). He takes it so seriously in fact, that when his new commanding officer, Son Byeong-ho (Lee Seung-man), arrives in town, and just so happens to take an illegal left hand turn, Do-man gives him a ticket even after he learns who the man is. After settling in at the police station, Byeong-ho is disturbed at the high number of bank robberies taking place within their town in such a short amount of time. Public confidence in the police and their capabilities is at an all time low and people are concerned about using the banks. Byeong-ho devises a plan to prove to the media and the public that the police are capable of stopping the banks from getting robbed. A drawing takes place, where every officer will receive a different part to play in a publicly televised training program in which a robbery staged by the police will take place. After seeing Do-man's police work first-hand, and hearing about this by-the-book reputation around the station, Byeong-ho knows exactly who he wants to play the robber in this scenario. Do-man, reluctant to take the position, eventually agrees under the pretense that he is to do his best and that his captain feels he is the only one who will take the responsibility seriously. So Do-man begins a meticulous training regimen of sorts, by studying up on past bank robbers and learning different methods on how to approach the situation. When he finally gets to the bank and makes the demand for cash, the undercover agents at the bank, as well as everyone else, are startled at just how serious Do-man is. With the whole country watching, Do-man plans to give his fellow officers a training experience they aren't soon to forget.

As you can probably tell, and as I mentioned previously, the premise for Going by the Book is one-dimensional for the most part. It's literally a bunch of bank robberies triggering a public training display by the police. However, the way in which the idea is executed is somewhat inventive and can be quite funny at times. Obviously, Do-man isn't going to kill or hurt anyone, so the running gag with the signs he hangs around his hostages necks is quite amusing. The hostages range from funny to annoying, with only one of them being relevant to the big picture. The problem with the story for me is that when the training goes too far, and too long into the night, the police seem to have no way of infiltrating this bank. I got the impression that Do-man was definitely a by-the-book cop, but he's later presented as the most intelligent cop ever by out-smarting everything the police throw at him. Do-man is always one step ahead which I thought was a bit much. There is a bit of a back story when they explain why Do-man is just a simple traffic cop and not in a higher ranking position, but it really wasn't needed in a movie as silly as this one, and to be frank, I didn't care about his past because there isn't any character development in Going by the Book. Characters are simply just thrown together. Speaking of which, some characters are well-rounded, while others seem like over-the-top parodies (such as the SWAT commander). On the plus side of things, I will say that the film stayed a comedy throughout, with the exception of a few small instances, and that seems to be a rarity today in Korean comedies. I'm happy to report that there isn't some misplaced melodrama halfway through. There is some terrible music played throughout the movie, but I may just be nit-picking at this point.

Truth be told, Going by the Book is a fun movie because it feels unique and has some amusing gags. Just don't expect anything great from it, either in terms of story-telling or performances. It's mindless entertainment, and in this case, there's nothing wrong with that. (Lee)

Grade: C

 

Rob-B-Hood (Hong Kong 2006)

After Jackie Chan had seemingly returned to Hong Kong to show us what he's made of (see: New Police Story), I was starting to wonder if he would continue giving us that brand of comedic-action that he's known for. With Rob-B-Hood (寶貝計劃), not only does Jackie give us the stunts and action that we've come to love from him, but the slap-stick antics as well. Still, the film as a whole is far from perfect.

Thongs (Jackie Chan) and Octopus (Louis Koo) are two burglars under the direction of Landlord (Michael Hui) who find themselves in a hairy situation while trying to steal prescription medication from the hospital. Security finally catches on to their thievery, but before they can do anything about it, they're distracted by some madman (Terence Yin) trying to steal a woman's newborn baby. During the ruckus, the kidnapper falls to his death with Thongs coming to the rescue of the newborn. As we learn more about our thieving trio, we see that Thongs, even with a very large family, is really all alone. They obviously don't approve of his questionable lifestyle, and with a major gambling problem, he still tries to win them over with lavish gifts. Octopus can't stop spending his money on expensive clothes, cars, and women that he takes out on the town...even though his wife Yan (Charlene Choi) is working as hard as she can to keep his attention. Landlord has been saving his cut of the money over the years and is planning his retirement with his wife (Teresa Carpio). She seems to have lost her mind due to a miscarriage from years earlier that left her mentally scarred and desiring a baby, which her husband can no longer provide. Things seem to be completely normal in their world until someone robs Landlord of his millions in savings. Desperate, he tries to convince Thongs and Octopus to take on one last job which will result in a massive payday for the three of them. Little do Thongs and Octopus realize, Landlord plans to kidnap a baby (unbeknownst to his understudies), the same baby (Matthew Medvedev) caught up in the ruckus at the hospital, which goes against everything Landlord has taught the two. However, as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. During the escape, Thongs and Octopus (with baby in tow) are separated from Landlord who was captured by the police. Now the two thieves are stuck with a baby and neither of them have any idea how to take care of one. Let the hilarity ensue!

Thongs and Octopus struggle with buying the right type of diapers, changing those diapers, feeding the baby with the proper food and so on. A cute, friendly nurse (Gao Yuanyuan) assists the two in taking care of the child and possibly even crushes on Thongs in the process. All the while, Landlord is working on a deal with a crime boss (Chen Baoguo) who wants the baby in order to find out if it's a party of family. See, the son of the crime boss was the madman trying to steal the baby from the hospital, claiming he was the father. Needless to say, Thongs and Octopus grow increasingly affectionate towards the baby are not exactly thrilled in handing him over to the baddies. When they do, they realize the mistake they've made and storm through the front gates to get him back.

What can you say about Jackie Chan, who despite his age, still manages to muster up enough inspiration to amuse and entertain his audience in creative new ways. Sure the addition of a baby thrown into the mix makes for more CGI moments than I care to see, but I don't expect to see the child really hanging off the side of a building so it's easy to let moments like this slide. Jackie's performance is amusing as always, but even next to the man with the tan, you can't help but feel like Louis Koo is the real comic relief here. Basically, both actors do a great job at providing the laughs. Michael Hui rides that fine line between being someone you can sympathize with and someone who's just a complete weasel. Teresa Carpio as his mentally distraught wife, while at times portraying someone quite pitiful, comes across more as over-the-top to me. The action scenes are great to watch, and the inclusion of Yuen Baio as Officer Mok amps up a cleverly choreographed apartment scene. The action scene in the final act, against the men in white, is the true stand-out of the film and props are cleverly used in true Jackie Chan fashion. The only real trouble with Rob-B-Hood is the ending. I know, I know...the ending is so important to the film in the grand scheme of things, but the insanely dramatic and wholly unnecessary manner in which things are played out (cars, batteries, babies!), while somewhat emotion-inducing, was also enough to make me scratch my head.

Rob-B-Hood is a good movie, not great, but definitely entertaining and innocent enough to please the young ones. It isn't without it's flaws, and few movies are, but in the grand scheme of things, they can be overlooked due to having far more good parts than bad. A worth-while viewing and a must for Jackie Chan fans. (Lee)

Grade: B

 

Shaolin Soccer (Hong Kong 2001)

Shaolin Soccer (少林足球), the 2001 masterpiece (yes, I said masterpiece), by the amazing Stephen Chow (hailed by People magazine as the Jim Carrey of Asia...hmm, whatever), is exactly what I look for in a Hong-Kong comedy: wild slap-stick humor, entertaining acting, fun and decent-looking special effects with a story that does a good enough job taking the film from point A to point B. A must-see for any fan of Hong-Kong cinema or simply comedy for that matter.

The once much-revered soccer star Golden Leg Fung (Ng Man-Tat) is now a washed up, handicapped, street-beggar after being let go by his once teammate/boss Hung (Patrick Tse). A particularly important soccer match when both were in their prime led to Fung being crippled by a group of rioting fans, and Hung took over his spot as team favorite. Now that Fung is out of a job, he also has nowhere to go. He eventually runs into a lowly street cleaner by the name of Sing (Stephen Chow) who, when he's not collecting trash, is trying to peddle kung-fu lessons to anyone who will give him the time of day. The two men discuss their views on soccer and kung-fu, resulting in Fung storming off and believing Sing is just some crazy guy with an incredibly strong kicking leg. Sing then meets up with brother Iron Head (Wong Yat-Fei) whom is trying to make a living working with a bunch of gangsters. Sing is desperatley trying to find a way to incorporate his Shaolin kung-fu with other forms of entertainment (singing and dancing for example). After having his interest peaked on the soccer field, Sing thinks that mixing his Shaolin kung-fu with soccer would be a great way to get the public interested in kung-fu and Fung sees the potential in Sing's "steel leg". Seeing as how the upcoming soccer tournament could make Fung a cool million dollars, he agrees to teach Sing how to play soccer and the two of them head out to recruit Sing's "brothers" to fill up the team. Each member of the team, Iron Head included, have special Shaolin kung-fu abilities that they can ulitize on the soccer field. Now they just need to learn how to play the game. The ability to play the game and Hung's "Evil Team" are the only things standing in their way of the million dollars the championship trophy.

Well this definitely wasn't the first time that I'd watched Shaolin Soccer, but I figured it was time to get a review going for this modern-day classic. Really, I feel like this is already a classic. Stephen Chow won awards for best director and actor and the list of awards and nominations for the film fall into basically every single category imaginable. Sure, the story is a simple one of redemption and underdogs having their moment in the sun, but the entertaining characters, special effects, and overall feeling of "what are they gonna do next!?" is what makes Shaolin Soccer so enjoyable. The magic these characters pull off on the field is always a blast to watch and you'll really want to root them on when they're faced with daunting challenges.

Shaolin Soccer put Stephen Chow on the map in the States, and continued solidifying his already concrete-career throughout Asia. It's a film that will make you want to explore the man's impressive catalog of films and you'll almost certainly be a fan that will follow his future works as well. For that reason alone, you should really purchase this movie and see what all the fuss was, and in some circles, continues to be about. (Lee)

Grade: A

 

See You In You Tube (Hong Kong 2008)

"Would you choose love or friendship?"

In the movie See You In You Tube (愛鬥大), yes, that's really what it's called, that question does indeed get answered. Add together a series of wacky hijinks, mix well with one hand-held shooting experience (camera) and you'll get to the see the full effect of a trend that is putting the world of cinema into a choke hold. Who wouldn't want to see what comes of all this?

Janice (Janice Man) and Ling (Elanne Kong), are best of friends and have been since they were little girls. They compete in everything from school grades to popularity. Him (Law Chung-Him), is a buff film student that can't seem to get enough money for one reason or another. Janice first meets Him on the bus where she witnesses Him pickpocket one of the passengers. Later on, Ling becomes one of his victims. She gives chase and follows him into an alley only to end up being saved by Him when a gang member attacks her. After that, and the girls don't seem to care, but instead see that the VERY same guy, that victimized Ling and that Janice caught in the act of pickpocketing mind you, has a video club that can teach you how to make movies. So now the girls decide to show up to his makeshift class, both with their tag-along boyfriends that are whipped beyond belief. There are also a rag-tag collection of other cardboard cut outs. After Him and his buddy get the group hanging on to their every word after a few meetings, Him notices that these girls have a very competitive streak between them. So he makes them split into two teams and participate in a game where the teams have to do outlandish things to win points.

Challenges such as, sing the Happy Birthday song at a Triad members funeral and see how long it takes you to get beat up, or even a commercial jingle at the funeral of a child. A kung-fu fight with random produce. How about going into a jewelry store in a ski mask with a fake AK-47 to buy a necklace? HA! Now that's a knee-slapper! (For those who don't know, these places are always guarded by a man with heavy firepower). There are more challenges for the two teams to go through, but which team will end up the winners?

To say that See You In You Tube (God, I hate the title), is a terrible movie is nothing but the whole-hearted truth and even that's being nice. I don't care that Oxide Pang produced this film and that there were seven directors (four of them students). Hell, that would explain why nothing in the story made any since or happened for a reason. For example, why would these kids even consider risking their lives or the safety of others for no clear reason? Never explained. They use this black and white, documentary-style of filming the interviews taking place at random with various characters of the group and it really doesn't change anything for me. At that point, it's too late and it's not like I'm going to be relating to these kids. I had to research the cast to see if any of them had worked prior to this because I don't think any of them had ever seen a video camera before. It was that bad. Most of the time the movie tried to keep that "shaky" camera feel, but only sometimes. Mainly when it was convenient for them which comes off as inconsistent. I'm sure they were just trying to give it an authentic feel, but really it was just annoying. Oddly enough, they did stick to a theme, but unfortunately it was the, "annoy the viewer" theme. What could be mistaken as a high-energy romp with a good time to be had by all, ended up as a movie with a questionable running time of nearly two hours in which I was done with after fifteen minutes. In short, there is no way I can recommend this train-wreck of a movie, unless you're a fourteen year old girl that feels the exact way the two leads in this movie do. In that case, I do believe See You In You Tube was made solely for you and you alone, and for that I'm truly sorry. (CBKevin)

Trivial Matters (Hong Kong 2007)

A wide array of experiences in life, death, and relationships, Trivial Matters is the film version of seven short stories from director Edmond Pang Ho-Cheung aimed at amusing the masses. Problem is, the more stories you have, the higher the risk of a hit-and-miss situation, which is exactly what this package as a whole provides.

Vis Major - The film opens with an off-camera therapist (Jan Lam) trying to get to the root of a married couples (Chan Fai-Hung and Crystal Tin), problems. Naturally, both sides have their own unique spin on the story of their sex life which is recreated through the use of no-name actors as both husband and wife explain their discomfort over the therapist visualizing them having sex.

Civism - Next, we see Edison Chen and Stephanie Cheng in a dance club having a conversation on what it means to be a "civil" citizen. Edison goes into great, and graphic, detail about what it is that makes him such a great helper of the working class.

It's A Festival Today - Chan (Eason Chan) and his girlfriend Wai Ying (Isabel Chan) move in together but they each have a different motive for doing so. Wai Ying wants to save money on the rent and further develop their relationship. Chan just wants to have sex but Wai Ying wants to wait until after marriage. He convinces her that "oral" activities isn't the same as having sex, so she agrees to it because it's Christmas day and she wasn't able to buy him a present. After that, she'll only "service" him on holidays.

Tak Nga - Told from the perspective of a future race living on another planet and in silent-film style, an instructor is telling his class the story of Ai Chi (Kenny Kwan), who writes a letter to the editor of Easy Finder magazine in hopes that they'll name a star after his crush Tak Nga (Angela Baby) for her birthday.

Ah Wai The Big Head - Ah Wai (Gillian Chung) is an insecure secondary school student who often relies on the advice of her friend Kate (Stephy Tang) before making any decisions. Ah Wai mentions that a garage worker by the name of Eagle has taken notice of her and she can't decide if she should date him or not. Kate really doesn't care about Ah Wai's problems and seems to just tell Ah Wai what she wants to hear in order to get rid of her. Kate is busy being in love herself and is planning a trip to Japan with her boyfriend Ronald. When things take a serious turn for Ah Wai and she needs Kate's help more than ever, their quasi-friendship is put to the test. Eventually the girls find themselves in similar situations, but the end result is the opposite of what both girls expected.

Recharge - We're back with Chan and the story of his prudish girlfriend, but now the focus is on his best friend Ah Keung (Chapman To). Through narration, Ah Keung gives the impression that he's no stranger to the "services" prostitutes provide and soon finds himself in a hotel with a woman from Shanghai by the name of Fay Fay (Zhang Zheng). The two of them exchange some small talk and eventually conduct "business" together. However, by the end of their encounter you can tell by the looks on their faces that both have been somewhat changed, even if it's ever so slightly.

Junior - The last story starts with killer-for-hire businessman Feng Xiaogang explaining to his client Peter Kam, a long time customer of Feng's company K&C, that due to his frequent use of their service, he's now eligible for a new bonus scheme they've implemented. Peter now has a coupon worth one free kill as long as the killer is someone from K&C's Junior Hitman Training Program. Enter our junior hitman (Shawn Yue) who finds his target Chan Wei Yeung, working at the bowling alley. When Junior confronts his target, gun drawn and all, Chan is caught hitting the bong red-handed. Instead of doing his job, Junior decides to get high with his target instead.

Based on producer/screenwriter/director Pang's collection of short stories, it's safe to say that not all of the stories portrayed in Trivial Matters translated to film successfully. I haven't read the collection, but I can only hope this was the case. Some of the stories are genuinely entertaining; It's A Festival Today and Ah Wai The Big Head were the stand-outs for me. The former for just being funny in a dark way and the latter for telling an affecting story about friendship. As a side note, I'd like to point out that Eason Chan may have the worst hairstyle in all of Hong Kong cinema. Tak Nga and Junior were quite pointless and Junior in particular felt like an inside joke that none of us were meant to get. The only thing I can say about Civism is that I don't think it's real word and it made me dislike Edison Chen more than I already did because I get the distinct feeling that his "character" in this story is how he is in real life. The attempt at humor in Vis Major was somewhat lost on me, as I've yet to hit that married, middle-aged period of my life but it was cute nonetheless. Recharge, while showing a fine performance by Chapman To, also felt completely unbelievable. A man who frequents the use of prostitutes is suddenly smitten by one girl in particular with no real connection (outside of the sex mind you) to make him feel this way. While I'm at it, I should point at that Trivial Matters isn't too shy when it comes to nudity. Mostly of the female persuasion, but a cameo by Chapman's tubby bottom does make it's way into the film.

Trivial Matters, if nothing else, is aptly named and a fine display of potential from Pang. The variety of stories within seem to aim at having something for everyone, but that alone should tell you, possibly even warn you, that your overall enjoyment of the film will vary. (Lee)



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