Reviews

I saw this movie thanks to a Japanese friend who is a film-student. I haven't seen much of Japanese cinema but I was extremely impressed with this movie. It starts very slowly, you don't quite grasp the first 20 minutes of it, because of the many facts and the very complicated Japanese names that are thrown at the viewer who is used to more occidental names. The story begins with a murder, the Japanese local police is investigating the death of an adult man whose body was found in a warehouse that was locked from the inside. The wife and her lover become the prime suspects but the murdered man also has a lover who becomes the next suspect, especially after she commits suicide. The adult man has a son called Ryoji and the mother who killed herself has a daughter called Yukiho. They become the main characters and we see them grow through High- school, College and even their professional life. The inspector who took on the case at the beginning of the movie grows older and is still obsessed with solving the murder of the man. Yukiho is surrounded by tragedy growing up, after her mother's death, her best friend and later on her sister in law get raped. Ryoji also loses his girlfriend who poisoned herself. Slowly the action takes place, the characters become older and you understand them better and the plot becomes more discernible, with a very tragic conclusion.

This movie has very beautiful close-ups, visual landscapes and gorgeous actors who played their best. Japanese cinema likes to touch upon realistic and powerful themes, you leave the cinema slightly pensive and slightly upset. At least it has motivated me to search for more Japanese movies, my friend has already given me a new stack of DVD's.

First of all let's start with saying I am a chick. I love chick flicks, I cried when mufasa dies and simba tries to pull his ear. But this movie, I went in with low expectations, I mean Jenifer Aniston can pull off some decent stuff, I even loved "Rumor has it". But this time, she hit rock bottom and it keeps on falling. This movie, there is no other word for it, was awful. No other word for it, it was just awful and torture sitting in that theater staring at my phone waiting for it to end. The script failed the entire time, the little jokes Gerard Butler tries to make only made me crack a smile. Jenifer Aniston running around in heels, trying to escape her previous husband, I nearly wanted to get out of that theater. The worst moment was the conversation they have at the hotel they are staying the second night. I was choking on a popcorn, I thought of not fighting it. The plot was so predictable, the end I nearly didn't want to see it. All in all, please, if you are a fan of Jenifer, don't go to see this movie so it won't destroy your illusion of her being a good actress. If you think Gerard Butler is hot go see it, you see his impressive torso. The rest of the movie is just a waste of time.

I went to see this movie in between classes and didn't think it was that bad. The story is unoriginal of course, when you see the trailer, it's obvious of how it going to end. But it was like "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock, enjoyable funny and some very nice visuals. I liked the landscapes of Wyoming in this movie, it changes from big cities like New York or Los Angeles. You can finally see some nature and it has been a while since I have seen a movie that doesn't happen in the city. Besides the prominent reason to see this movie is Hugh Grant. I think he's the one who really made this picture happen. I laughed at all of his jokes, he was hilarious. I'm a big fan of Sex and the city so SJP is my favorite too, but in this movie it didn't think she was using her full potential. Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but really it's a sympathetic typical chick-flick if you just want to relax, and after some heavy movies like Avatar and Invictus it's a nice change.

So go see it if you have time to spare, it does us some good to see movies who end well and who have a simple story that don't cause existential debates.

I grew up watching the 90210 series and I have to say that in the beginning actors always feel insecure, but they progress slowly and get better. That is what happened in this series. I have to admit that it was very weak at the start. I especially didn't like Annie and her "nice girl" acting. Naomi has been great from the start but I didn't like her looks so much. Silver was already my favorite and I'm glad that they created a great storyline for her. But for me the turning point was when they included Adriana as a regular and made her pregnant. I saw some really great performances there. The scenes were more emotionally loaded and you feel that the actors are getting more confident around their characters. Now for this second season they have focused more on drama and you learn to love everyone of them. I advise everyone to stick with them anyway, we can't forget that gossip girl and all the other series that involved teenagers began weakly but if we give them a chance they can surprise us and now I couldn't imagine television without those popular series. 90210 can make it, I truly believe in it and they are surprising me every time so I say just stick with them. It's refreshing to see a series with so much sun in these cold times.