Reviews

Now, I knew "Yellow Door" was a documentary, centered on Korean cinema and with Bong Joon Ho, but I didn't know much else before starting to watch this movie. And I have to say that it is a very fulfilling experience to discover this group of Korean university students (back then, in the 90s) discovering art, cinema, and trying to be a part of something. It is an intelligent and delightful look to a love (movies/cinema) that brought many different people together and was the starting point for a very famous director.

There are too many people talking all the time, many of them (well, almost all but the actors and Bong Joon Ho) you will probably have never heard of before, and it is all seen through maybe too rose-tinted glasses, and sometimes their talk of Godard or similar (even if kept to a minimum) could feel a little pedantic, but this is a well worth watch (and not very long, as it is barely one hour twenty minutes). Give it a chance if you want to see how art, artists, dreams, communities are created and disappear.

A guy breaks with his girlfriend and discovers, surprise, surprise, that a ghost has been living in their room for the whole time, and now that the girlfriend is gone, they can appear (the girlfriend having had some power to stop the ghost from showing themselves till then). Our main character, Yohei, doesn't seem particularly happy with the appearance, but pretty soon a relationship develops between him and the ghost, and a beautiful story blossoms, with some drops of humor, a little bit of romance, and some drama too. The two main actors do a good job with their characters, and even if there is not much originality here (it is all about relationships), it has a subtlety and human touch that is refreshing and makes the viewing really enjoyable.

A movie about high schoolers cheering for their baseball team on the first round of the national high school tournament where nothing of the match is actually shown shouldn't be so fun. But "On the Edge of Their Seats" is a total surprise. Centering on five students (and a teacher) it is basically action free and dialogue heavy. But these students' fears, insecurities, hopes are so well developed and so vividly shown on the screen that you will actually want to join them in their conversations. It can be said that what they say is not particularly original, but the way it is expressed, the actors' refreshing delivery and the pace of the story makes for a wonderful time. If you have the chance to watch it, do.

Little makes sense in this movie about a rabbit (human sized, dress up style) that tries to kidnap a child and bring it to its world of madness: an amusement park. Why is there a human-sized rabbit and why it decides to try to take the child is explained in one of those flashbacks that make even less sense than the rest of the movie (and if you have seen any Japanese horror movie from around "The Ring" onwards you may guess the whole plot from minute one, by the way; not that you will care, so boring is this). While the child goes on adventures with the rabbit (there is zero sense of tension, horror, danger or anything that one might call this a horror movie) his sister tries to protect him, but, well, she is not very good at it.

I don't know what makes less sense: that you have famous actors in this movie or the reason behind the rabbit's behavior. It is not scary, there is little tension, the ending has been done to death before... There are way better options out there.

Another great episode of this series, this time centered on a teenager that witnesses a murder. The boy calls the police but when they ask his name and address, doesn't answer. Sugimura, as always, decides to investigate. We then discover that the victim was blackmailing people and that more than one or two persons may have benefitted from her death. It is a well-rounded episode, the cast as always top-notch, the mystery of why the boy is afraid of the police, well explained and developed, and, as sometimes in the series, it adds social commentary on Japanese society. This is one of the best procedurals ever.

A world of warriors, political intrigue, monsters and gigantic scorpions (no, this is not "Clash of the Titans"), "Double World", based on a video game (some aspects of which can be reflected in the movie), is a very entertaining, even if simplistic, affair, a typical, heroes meet, heroes fight the bad ones, but with surprising depth for this kind of movies. The characters, the strong one, the cheerful one, the 'rising-from-the-bottom' one, etc., etc., are charicatures, but they are very well done charicatures and it is a treat to spend the lenght of the movie with them. And the plot... well, whatever you want to call it, is silly as they come, but it is not boring, a hypermusculated hero quest. It all becomes a little bit bloated, but never overstays its welcome. Worth trying.

If you like basketball, and the Chicago Bulls, and the Michael Jordan era, this would be like heaven for you. And if you don't, probably too, because this is an amazing documentary of an era and a sports icon. This first episode centers on the aftermath of the Chicago Bulls fifth ring, and the time before the start of the 1997-98 season, to then jump back in time to Jordan's uni years and his start with the Bulls. Top notch narration, interviews, and footage. Watch it!

With silly and crazy action pieces (some of them, way overlong, particularly in the last third), over the top and sanitized violence, so much testosterone it is pouring out of the screen, and with characters that are, basically, immortal, "Furious 7" is also mysteriously hypnotizing, and, even if not particularly original. Family will always be family.

A blast. With a touching coda.

The idol culture is huge in Japan, and moves tons of money. This documentary, even with some shortcomings, tries to understand a little bit of what goes on around the idol world, and what are the reasons it is so important in the country. To do so, it particularly centers on one of the idols, what moves her, and why did she decide to take this path in her career (society kind of gives few options for women, seems the documentary to be vying for?) and one of her oldest fans, a guy that seems to be there for lack of better options. The documentary does a great job of humanizing all the persons that appear in it (even if it is clear to see some 'criticism' towards some of them) and of pointing out to aspects of a phenomenon that show that it cannot be understood by itself, outside of the bigger picture: why do these people use so much money to follow the idols around? why want young girls want to become idols? etc., etc.

Of course, the movie has an agenda. And of course it is a kind of Westernized look on the subject. And of course, it understands what is normal (or not) or accepted (or not) in a particular way (as when the director asks the idol or the fan about having a partner, the desire to marry, etc.). That does not take from a very fascinating look on an aspect of a society that informs about bigger aspects of that society, its culture, its institutions (and the world).

This movie is brutal. From second one, it grips you in its story line about politics and corruption, with a tight and breathless script and amazing acting (de la Torre has an intensity that transpires from the screen, and here gives us again a bravura performance) and doesn't let go till the last very last frame. It may be *just another movie about corrupt politicians and their love of money and power, but it is so magnificently done, so beautifully shot, and so angry, that you won't be able to take your eyes from the screen. Watch it.

Talal has gotten himself into trouble. He went to his ex-wife's new town of residence and got into a fight. Now he is in a dirty, dark (and probably smelly) cell in a police station in the middle of nowhere, waiting for the judge to decide on his future, with a lazy cop keeping an eye on him, and with little hope of being able to see his ex-wife again. However, when Dabaan, a cop from another station, comes in, things take a turn for the unexpected.

"Rattle the Cage" is a great thriller, gripping, with an amazing set-up (the reasons of which, we, the viewers, actually know very little of) that puts two men in very different situations face to face, with their lives on the line. Will Dabaan get his objective, whatever it is? And will he kill Talal? What options of leaving the place alive has actually Talal left?

If the beginning of the movie is good, but relaxed, from the very first moment Ali Suliman (as Dabaan) enters the scene, the movie goes to a whole new level of gripping and crazy. However, even if the atmosphere, acting and color palette is amazing, the story falters a little bit towards the end, with a couple of moments that are stretched a little bit thin.

You won't regret watching it, though.

Taking into account how much live action movies based on manga have disappointed me in the past, I came into "Bleach" with low expectations (probably not the only one). However, this movie adaptation is funny, with acceptable action set pieces and relatable characters (on top of not stretching its running time endlessly and pointlessly (even if it falls a little bit into this trap in its third act)). And, even if you don't know anything about the manga, it is easy to jump into the story, as the movie does a great job of introducing the world and building it up from scratch. Totally worth watching!

Season 3 of "Ash vs Evil Dead" starts with a wimp, with little of interest happening and situations that repeat and rehash moments from the movies and the first two seasons. It feels as if the show, sadly, has run out of steam. Which is a pity, because Bruce Campbell and Ash should be fun to be with. Let's see if the next episodes improve on this weak, humorless first.

"Kazoku wa tsuraiyo 2" continues the adventures of the Hirata family, with a little and charming movie that ends up being more than it seems at first sight.

The movie continues with its low key approach to its subjects: we see the everyday life of the Hirata family and how things have changed since the end of the first movie. The MacGuffin of the story is the 'patriarch' 's stubbornness and denial in recognizing the need for him to stop driving. This too common situation gives Yôji Yamada all he needs to develop the story, a plot that, as the first, revolves around family, its tensions, the changes that are happening in Japanese society (family relations, elder care, job relations...), with some light touches of humor and also some serious moments. The pace is still quite slow, and it drags for moments, but the approach is spot on, and the the movie's mood and situations will delight the viewer, in particular for anyone interested in everyday's life and human relationships.

"Jailbreak" is your run-of-the-mill martial arts movie: we get our heroes (instead of just the one, here we have a team of 5), an 'of course things are going to turn sour' set-up (Prison Break!), heaps, but heaps of bad guys bent on destroying the good ones, fighting non-stop and a plot that has been knocked-out by some random flying kick. And while it doesn't bring anything new to the table, it does its job and delivers nicely choreographed fighting scenes, with some nice touches, and some silly humor to keep things chugging along (like one of the good guys not joining a fight because he is trying to light his cigarette).

It won't make you think, but you won't, probably, be bored either.

In this episode our friend MacGyver has to protect a, erm... protected witness of a drug dealing family when he wants to, first, disappear, and second, meet his dying mother. MacGyver has to go against the powers to be and against the drug dealers to help his new friend and, along the way, has the chance to create some nice gadgets.

The episode is a more toned-down one than some of the previous, with MacGyver home and in an episode that centers on family and relationships. That makes for some acceptable character development (nothing great, but more than just your usually good/bad people) and adds depth to the story. On the side of what really matters, people..., I mean, the inventions, the episode offers a nice array of basic MacGyver: smoky devices, flashy devices, dry ice and things that help you ran away. It is not particularly original but they are well deployed (and, if you allow me, more original and surprising than in the 2010s reboot/remake iteration of the show; also the old "MacGyver" has more heart, but I know I wouldn't be comparing them if not for the name, so...).

Entertaining, as always really fun, and 7 MacGyvers for the inventions.

A tearjerker of a story, "Rikuô" is one of those typical Japanese shows that centers on the local, the small, the fight that the little puts against the big and bullies, to tell the story of a small tabi (Japanese socks) company on the verge of bankrupcy. Instead of going belly up, the owner of the long-standing and very respected company decides to go into the sneakers world, which puts the company against the big sport shoes companies. In part to be able to break through, the owner of the tabi company, Miyazawa, tries to get a promising runner to use their new sport shoes.

What follows is your typical Japanese drama full of touching moments, ideas of sacrifice, the importance of family and traditional values and some romanticized ideas around Japanese culture and lifestyle. It is very well done and acted, and the direction and plot (even if some extended episodes just run for a little bit too long) grip the viewer's attention and make for compelling viewing. It never gets boring and knows how to bring the tear to the eye (curious, when it is a drama about a sock company trying to survive bankruptcy; you know, capitalism). The viewer will easily enjoy the story and how the characters are very human and nicely developed. Harder to sit through though, are some of those romantic ideas, that some times smell a little bit (it even feels like the drama is sending subtle patriotic messages).

A very nicely done show, with great acting and development, which highlights are the characters and their development (something at which Japanese shows shine, with a mysterious knack to walk the line between cheesy and touching without falling into the first).

"The 100" is back, and it does so with a bang. "Eden" is an amazingly taut, thrilling and gripping episode that brings us back to the world of Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia and puts the basis for a new beginning after the devastating ending of the previous season.

The episode does a great job centering first on Clarke and her fight for survival after the storm and the radiation. We find a desperate and hopeless Clarke, alone, without friends or purpose, and with no idea on how she will survive till her friends come back. She tries to find a way to open the entrance and join the survivors at Second Dawn, but she soon has to give up and try to survive by herself. Pretty soon she finds a companion and we get to the moment in which season four ended, with the prisoner space ship landing on her valley. Also we get some snippets on the life Bellamy and the others are leading on their little and broken spaceship.

The plot is simple but is delivered in a great way, with good direction and solidly anchored by Eliza Taylor's performance, which is a great one, her acting keeping the viewer with their eyes on the screen. She does a great job in bringing the world and her character to life while we stay with her, and with her we get introduced to this new and desolate world, even worse that the one they were on before. It also helps that the episode gives us time to feel and understand this new world we are in, and the little breaks from it to go to the spaceship on which Bellamy and the others are feels like a perfect counterpoint to what is happening on Earth.

"Eden" does a great job of picking things up after the ending of season four while delivering, probably, the best first episode of any of the five seasons of the show. Amazing.

"Unnatural" is your typical procedural, with a body per episode, some character development, and your team interacting with each other while the plot of the episode develops. However, the setting, acting, and touch make this show really enjoyable, even if not particularly original.

The show centers on UDI, the Unnatural Death Investigation unit, an organization that works to discover the truth behind unnatural deaths that occur in Japan. Japan being a country where people are not normally buried, but cremated, which means you cannot go back to those bodies to do another autopsy. The UDI has a couple of lead forensic surgeons, Mikoto Misumi and Kai Nakado, and a group that works around them.

As said above, each episode offers a case, even though there is an overall arc that offers a particular mystery related to one of the characters, and some other mysteries and plot threads that will be developed little by little. The cases are not particularly surprising or original, but they are engaging enough and offer a couple of surprises along the way. The fact that the group has only a short time before the families want to cremate the bodies adds a countdown to the proceedings that make it more nail-biting (even if we have to suffer the 'character-running-to-stop-a-body-of-being-cremated' moment here and there).

The best of the show, however, are the characters and their interactions. Satomi Ishihara is particularly good here, her acting fitting the character better than in some of her other dramas. But the package around her, with Yutaka Matsushige or Masataka Kubota, really helps. Their interactions, banter, and how they are developed is the highlight of the show, with some very touching moments. Yes, the show may try to manipulate the viewer with the music and some particular plot twists, but when you care about the characters and it does it not in an intrusive (or very intrusive) way, you won't care much.

If you want a mystery of the week, with funny characters, and some feelings thrown into the mix, you may enjoy "Unnatural". A good one.

A movie called "The Teacher" has to be an uplifting movie about all the good teachers do, and the inspiration they bring to their students, right? Well, not exactly, particularly if you believe bribing, using power for your own benefit and to bully others, and beings selfish is something teachers should teach.

"The Teacher" tells the story of a school meeting, where the parents of the students of a class meet to talk about the teacher of their children, for reasons that are not very clear at the beginning, but seem to be pretty damning for the aforementioned teacher. Little by little, by flashbacks, and by the conversations between the parents, we get to know the problem, and we get to know the different opinions and why those different opinions happen.

It is a very interesting look on how power, families, or school work, with a lot of dark humor and sarcasm and an ironic look to an era where Communism was in power in what nowadays is Slovakia. The director, Jan Hrebejk, goes for satire, not being bleak and angry, but tongue-in-cheek. Nothing of what he tells will be particularly surprising, but centering on the abuse of power and corruption in a school, instead of in the government or military, offers a fresh look, and the amazing work by Zuzana Mauréry elevates this movie to another level. Her acting is amazing, and she brings Mária to life in a performance that will stay with the viewer long after the credits roll. A really interesting, and good, movie.

Yurika lives in a condominium with her family. One day, the letter F appears on the doorplate of her flat. And her best friend dies in an accident. And strange things start to happen. What is going on?

"Eyes" is your run-of-the-mill Japanese horror movie. It has the high schooler, it has the little child (in this case a brother), it has the not very subtle ties to family relationships, and it has some random woman with long black hair. And even if it tries to be original and offer some twists on an old formula, the truth is that the movie can't sustain its flimsy plot. Things make little sense, the mystery is quite lame, and the acting is not crème de la crème.

Some points for atmosphere, though. It will entertain you if you are in the mood, but you will forget it even while watching it. Not the best J-horror.

"In This Corner of the World" is one of the most beautiful anime I have ever seen. It is a story that will touch the heart of the viewer, a story that tells what seems a simple story, but that has layers and more layers in it, and that will stay with you for a long time after the end credits roll.

The story centers on Suzu, a young girl from Hiroshima, before, during and after the Second World War. She has a brother and a sister, she loves to paint and draw (and is a real artist), she enjoys simple things and has an easy smile, she just wants to be happy and help the ones that surround her.

However, life is never so simple and here, the war comes into play. And "In This Corner of the World" does a great job in balancing the small (Suzu) with the big (Hiroshima, the war and its consequences...). Even if Suzu is almost always there, on the screen, many little details, small conversations, and the interaction between characters depict a world of violence, of hate, of power and unresolved conflict. It is sad, it is touching and it shouldn't be a surprise if it makes you cry.

The animation is amazing. It is all very cute and smily, which makes the hard moments hit harder, the sad moments be sadder, and the angry moments make you angrier. The color palette, and the character's expressions help to bring the story to life and to make all of them feel real and close and their needs and desires truthful.

It is a great movie and totally worth viewing. Highly recommended.

One of Kurosawa's best, "Ran" is a story set on samurai era Japan that touches on different subjects, as for example family, power, revenge or betrayal, delivering a powerful movie that will stay for a long time with the viewer.

Old Lord Hidetora Ichimonji is getting old and, when a couple of lords come to ask for his third son to marry one of the lord's daughters, Hidetora decides it is time to retire. He will divide his territories between his three sons and retire, even though he will keep his title and some power. The youngest, Saburo is against this decision, but the older two brothers are really happy with their father's decision and promise to take care of him. Saburo is sent away, stripped from all of his possessions and Hidetora starts his new life.

What follows is a story of hate, betrayal, desire, corruption... You know, the stuff of great stories. The two older brothers start to plot against each other and against their father, the wife of the older brother too, Saburo just seems to worry about his father... There are a lot of threads but Kurosawa does an amazing job in threading them and keep the plot advancing while making things more and more interesting. The plot is full of nice twists and touches, and the characters are well rounded, their behavior and decisions well justified and presented. Kurosawa was a great director, and every frame of this movie is a clear example of his touch. Everything is really great, from the music to the palette of color, and even the use of the scenery is also top notch.

Totally worth seeing, "Ran" is a movie about the dangers of power. Any kind of.

Fights, fights, and more fights... and all end with our hero destroying the enemy with just one punch.

"One Punch Man", the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name, delivers a constant barrage of laughs and action in a faithful adaptation.

Saitama is a hero. But not your average hero, like Son Goku, that needs 30 episodes to destroy the big bad after having gone through another 30 episodes of fights with the henchmen. No. Saitama wins his fights with just one punch. We don't really know how he got so strong (the explanation of his training regime to Genos is hilarious), but he is. So strong that the constant apparition of new and more dangerous enemies are never a threat. Even if you keep waiting for a real 'enemy' to appear.

With this introduction it is pretty easy to see that "One Punch Man" plays the "Dragon Ball" or "Naruto" card but with a twist, poking fun to all the constant fights in those anime. And it does a great job of it, with a constant tongue-in-cheek approach to your hero anime: from the 'heroes association' to the hero's rankings to Saitama's fights, "One Punch Man" is in constant 'funny' mode. Some jokes will be better understood by fans of action anime, but all the deadpan jokes can be enjoyed by everyone. It also helps that the fights, when they come, are perfectly paced and with amazing effects. The humor delivers, but the action too and the threats are always 'believable'.

But in what "One Punch Man" excels is in characterization. Saitama is your hero after all the threats have disappeared. He is a hero that does his job because it is his job, but doesn't really find a challenge in it anymore. Genos is the perfect secondary, the one that would be the hero in your regular show. And all the others, like Mumen Rider or Terrible Tornado, just add to the series. The voice work is amazing (in its Japanese version, which is the one I saw) and bring the characters to life. The only problem I found is that I enjoyed more the manga than the anime (it also had the surprise factor that this adaptation doesn't (can't) have).

Do you like anime? And action anime? Or action? If you do, this is for you. And if you don't, this is for you too. "One Punch Man" is amazing.

You won't regret it.

I have to recognize that I have a soft spot for episodes that don't take themselves too seriously, be it "Buffy", "X-Files" or "Supernatural". The ones that have a very silly premise for the plot, and play all of its running time with a constant wink to the viewer.

In this episode, Xander is depressed after Cordelia break's up with him before Valentine, because, you know, appearances. Cue Xander teaming up with long forgotten character Amy, now, as her mother before, also a witch. Xander just wants Cordelia to go through the same sad and depressing feelings he is going through, but the spell doesn't work... well, as intended, and all the women start to love him, and obsess around him.

From that moment on it is all silly plot development after silly plot development, but so perfectly done, that the viewer won't be able to stop laughing. It's the kind of episodes that make casual viewers become fans, and that, after all the plot and background have already been set, gives life to a show and helps the viewer relate to the characters. It is an episode that doesn't just go for laughs (there are quite a lot of them), but also offers a lot in character development and is, in its own way, quite realistic in that respect.

Very, but very funny episode. Classic.