Bayside Shakedown 2

bayside shakedown 2

Mariko started watching “Bayside Shakedown 2” on TV Japan and noticed there were English subtitles on it, so invited me to join her. It’s a cop movie about a local precinct (Odaiba) which comes under control of the Metropolitan Police Department to solve a murder. The plot was pretty bad actually, with a lot of things that didn’t make sense. The cops were so stupid and it was frustrating the way they acted. At least there were a few funny parts in it, but the film was way too long and dragged-out. Thinking about detective stories, I think the drama “Shinzanmono” is much better and smarter. I can’t recommend Bayside Shakedown 2 unless you have nothing else to watch.

Karate Girl

Karate Girl

I just finished watching “Karate Girl” on Netflix streaming and it was not bad!. The plot was a basic story of revenge, with nothing really special about it. But the karate was really good! Rina Takeda has some amazing moves, and kicks a lot of butt, and of course gets her revenge. That’s not really a spoiler because you quickly figure out that the plot doesn’t have any unexpected twists. Still, it’s an entertaining hour-and-a-half movie. Recommended, but just barely. The trailer is below:

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – Movie Review

Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

I’ve been meaning to write about the absolutely amazing “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” movie by Wes Anderson for a while now. I watched it late at night in bed, which was probably not the best since I was laughing so much and probably woke Mariko up a few times. But it was so hilarious in parts I just couldn’t help it! I grew up watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries, and the film seems like a wonderful and quirky homage to the Cousteau and his crew. The scenery is pretty great, and the acting and comedy are right-on. Billy Murray and Owen Wilson are so good, but I thought the best and funniest acting was by Willem Dafoe. Show-stealer for me! Watch the following trailer to get a feel for the movie:

The soundtrack to this movie was fantastic. Of course the Bowie covers in Portuguese by Seu Jorge were great, but it was also wonderful to hear a classic Devo tune (Mark Mothersbaugh actually did the music for the film). Give the soundtrack a listen below:

My rating: 9/10

2014 Movies & Books

Here’s my 2014 list of books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched, with my rating in parentheses (out of 10).

To see other years’ lists, click on the “List Love” menu in the top navigation.

Books

Manga

Movies and Dorama

Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time / 時をかける少女 (2010) – Movie Review

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Whoa, what a tear-jerker! Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is the third live-action movie to come out of the novel The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and is actually a sequel to the 1983 movie (I have yet to watch). Which explains why the plot seemed so new to me. I watched the anime a few months ago so when nothing seemed familiar while watching this movie, I was thinking, “Dang, I am really losing my memory!”. Anyways, the story was interesting and the characters were fun, but what was really cool was the 1970s setting. Since my early childhood was during the ’70s, it was pretty neat to see stuff like super-8 film. The acting was really well done and had me on the verge of tears a few times. Yeah, I have a sensitive side too! At any rate, I recommend checking out the movie on Netflix streaming. On a side note, the two main actors, Naka Riisa and Akiyoshi Nakai, have since gotten married and have a baby. Give it a watch!

My rating: 9/10

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Official site