JDorama review: Kamisama, Mou Sukoshi Dake

Title: Kamisama, Mou Sukoshi Dake Also known as: God, Please Give Me More Time Broadcast dates: 7/7/98 - 9/22/98 Number of episodes: 12 Genre: Drama Cast: Kaneshiro Takeshi, Fukada Kyoko Plot: Kano Masako (Fukada) contracts HIV after prostituting herself in order to buy tickets for a concert featuring her favorite composer, Ishikawa Keigo (Kaneshiro). Keigo, who lost his previous lover to death, finds the will to live again when he meets the high school girl. What is good: Some parts of the story bring out a deep emotional response. What is bad: The writers couldn't really decide whose story this was. Letter rating: C

I don't normally watch depressing dramas. However, I am a big fan of Fukada Kyoko so I wanted to watch some of her older works.

To be honest, I'm not really sure where to begin this review. While the show did have some very emotionally moving pieces, there were so many wrong parts that didn't make the show, as a whole, worth watching. Masaki is 17 years old, which puts her in the 'selfish teenager' age group. Throughout the entire show, everything she does is nothing but selfish acts. Even when she claims she is thinking about someone else's well-being (mostly in the "I'm such a burden!" sense), that's not the truth. The worst part is that Kamisama isn't Masaki's story. It's Keigo's.

I'm sure that tons of people will protest that fact. But, if you have watched the show, think about it. Masaki rarely does anything in the entire series. Everything she does is a reaction to Keigo. Kamisama is the story of Keigo learning how to love again after the death of his previous lover. Masaki is just the path he takes to get there.

Taking that into account, it is a very good story. Unfortunately, the writers decided to focus on Masaki and her plight with HIV. I know that the story takes place in the late 90s and things have changed a ton since then. However, HIV was discovered in the early 80s. In the show, they treat the disease like it is a brand new illness. The writers also do an awful job at showing how much time has progressed in the series. While we know that Masaki was in high school in episode one and there is a THREE YEARS LATER in episode nine, there isn't anything in any of the other episodes to show us how much time has passed. Characters are always referencing how little time Masaki has left to live but there are few signs showing how long she lived.

At the end, I wouldn't recommend watching Kamisama. Maybe if you feel like watching something super sad, it might fill the void. Just keep in mind that the show has a very slow pace and there is a lot of crap to put up with before you get to the final episode, which is sadly the best part of the whole series.

The Hunger Games

My daughter and I accompanied my husband to see The Hunger Games at Movie Tavern yesterday morning. I am totally not built for a 9AM movie on a Sunday morning. It absolutely killed the rest of the day. Anyway, the movie was decent. While I did not read the books, my husband did. (Well, he listened to the audiobooks.) We both enjoyed the movie, though I think there were some things that were glazed over a bit. For example, I'm sure that Gale (played by Miley Cyrus' boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth) had a reason for existing. However, all he did was give Katniss some bread, vaguely take care of Primrose, and mope a whole lot. He could have been cut from the entire movie with no consequence. Meanwhile, I don't think they mentioned Effie's name once.

Overall, it was a good action movie. Some of the fighting sequences were difficult to follow because they just seemed to be a blur of skin and clothes but that also showed the desperation the tributes felt. Since I hadn't read the books beforehand, I did expect a slightly different ending. Now I'm interested to see where the series goes.

South Park

Our DirecTV DVR has been on the fritz lately. It frequently freezes the picture when you play back a recorded episode. My husband downloaded a fix for it but we're not sure it actually fixed anything. To test it out, we watched the latest episode of South Park that we recorded the other night. In case you didn't watch it, it was on those Cash 4 Gold places. While it was quite funny, it was a also a little sad. Stan's grandpa and other old people would spend thousands of dollars to buy gold jewelry from the home shopping networks. They would give the jewelry to loved ones who would then sell it at the Cash 4 Gold places. The show ripped into everyone involved in the whole scheme from beginning to end. But the sad part is that it showed how lonely the elderly are and that they really just want to spend some time with loved ones. Everyone should watch the episode and not just for the laughs.

Doritos Locos Tacos

My husband told me about the Doritos taco at Taco Bell the other day. He said it was pretty good. While I normally don't listen to him, I found myself wanting to try it. Today was the day. First off, let me say that I feel bad for the people that work "mcdonalds jobs." at fast food places. The Taco Bell I went to was at one of the local malls and they were slammed. Yet they still got my food out in a decent amount of time. Many props to those people. OK, the Dorito taco. I got the supreme version because I love me some sour cream. The best part of the taco was that the taco shell did not fall apart. Normally, I order soft tacos. I just can't handle taking a bite into a hard taco and having the whole damn thing fall apart. Since these only come in hard taco form, I didn't have a choice. Thankfully, the shell doesn't fall apart at all. I'm not sure how they managed it but win! The down side is that it's basically a big Dorito shaped like a taco shell. That means there is orange Dorito dust on the shell. It didn't make it untasty; it was just unexpected.

Would I recommend eating it? Yes, if you like Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos. Ooh, I wonder how it would taste if they used the ever-popular Cool Ranch flavor. Anyway, it was pretty awesome for a taco. Go eat one.

The Thing

I wanted to talk about the remake of The Thing but I didn't really want to make it a full-on review. (Mostly because I was doing laundry as my husband watched it so I didn't really watch the whole thing.) My husband is a fan of the original movie. Of course, that means he had to check out the new one. While I'm not particularly fond of horror movies, I can appreciate certain aspects of them. And I have to say that this remake was a bit of a let-down. First off, the creatures are never really seen in the original. When they aren't in the host bodies, they are skulking around in shadows. This makes the whole movie scary as hell. You aren't sure what the crew is up against. In this remake? They are all over the damned place. Sure, they are scary looking but it's just not the same. It is a lot scarier when you leave it up to the audience's imagination.

Then they put Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the Kurt Russell role. However, as the "hero," she seems to ask an awful lot of stupid questions. I kinda wanted the monster to eat her. It annoys me when movie people (be it the producers or the director or the studio) won't give us the strong female lead. Ripley from the Alien movies is a good example of a strong woman. Kate here? The only reason she didn't die is because the guys decided to give her the flamethrower. Though, to be honest, I'm still not convinced that she didn't murder the guy at the end. (Some of you may claim that as a spoiler. I already said she's the hero. American movies don't kill their heroes.)

Since I didn't sit through the entire movie, I won't comment on the script or the acting. The pieces I did see were pretty terrible. My vote? Skip it altogether and watch the Kurt Russell movie.

JMovie review: Paradise Kiss

Title: Paradise Kiss Release date: 6/4/11 Genre: Romantic Drama Cast: Kitagawa Keiko, Mukai Osamu, Yamamoto Yusuke, Igarashi Shunji, Kaku Kento, Omasa Aya Plot: Despite studying as hard as she can, Hayasaka Yukari (Kitagawa) doesn't so as well at school as her mother would like. One day, she is asked to model for a group of student fashion designers. Torn between what she is supposed to do and what she wants to do, the "Paradise Kiss" designers somehow manage to help her find her way in life. What is good: Mukai did an awfully good job as Koizumi. What is bad: Yamamoto's Tokumori role seemed unnecessary. Letter rating: B

I've never read the Paradise Kiss manga. Nor have I watched the anime. However, I heard good things about the series and, since I like Kitagawa Keiko, I decided to give it a try.

Hayasaka (nicknamed "Caroline") is an interesting character. She goes from a life where she is forced into doing things her mother wants to a life where she does the things she wants. Watching her grow as she is pushed into maturity by Koizumi (nicknamed "George") is a lot like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. Of course, this isn't overlooked. There are butterflies everywhere.

Luckily, both Kitagawa and Mukai do an amazing job as the lead characters. My only peeve is that Yamamoto's character is listed as a main character, yet little is done with him. He is there in the beginning as Hayasaka's love interest but then it disappointingly goes nowhere. His character could have been cut from the film with no real consequence.

As a whole, I enjoyed the movie. It was a nice story and it does make me want to watch the anime. (Sorry, I don't read a lot of manga.) I just wish there was a little more meat to the story.

Movie Review: The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty is a Studio Ghibli animated movie based on the book, The Borrowers. Fourteen-year old Arrietty lives with her mother, Homily, and her father, Pod, under the floorboards in a closet. See, Arrietty and her family are "Borrowers," tiny people who live in the homes of human beings and 'borrow' items (or pieces of items) that they need to survive. However, since they are so small, there are many dangers. Besides cats and crows, the humans themselves are seen as a threat. If a Borrower is seen by a human, they must pack everything up and find a new place to live.

I adore Studio Ghibli movies. Our DVD shelves are stocked with a variety of their titles - My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns, and Ponyo, just to name a few. So when we heard that Arrietty was being released in theaters, my family was pretty excited to see it. (The constant commercials on the Disney Channel were no help either!) I didn't think we would find the time to see it opening weekend, but we managed to fit it in.

With only a 94-minute running time, Arrietty is a fairly short movie. Unfortunately, the lack of any real characterization or conflict due to the time constraints is noticeable. Most of the movie is spent showing how Arrietty and her family borrow things from the 'human beans.' We don't really get to know any of the humans. As a result, the climax of the movie doesn't bring out the emotions that it should. Instead of caring about whether a character lives or dies, the audience is forced to just float along with the story. But don't think that this makes it a terrible movie. On the contrary, it's a nice journey we are taken on. The lovely artwork and gorgeous soundtrack make the blandness of the plot worthwhile. It would just be nicer if there was a bit more meat on this story's bones.

TV Review: Sherlock

I can't believe I forgot to talk about this! Way back in the summer of 2010, the BBC aired a new series titled Sherlock. Created by Steven Moffat, the same guy that created the currently-airing version of Doctor Who, I heard great things about the series. It wasn't until I came upon the episodes on Netflix that I got a chance to sit down and watch them. Boy, am I glad that I did!

Pretty much everyone knows who Sherlock Holmes is so I won't go into too much detail. For those of you that don't (shame on you), here is the nitty gritty: Sherlock Holmes is a strange man who reaches grand conclusions with only the smallest of details. Since he is not much of a "people person," he requires someone to not only help him out in day-to-day activities (such as shopping) but also someone he can bounce thoughts off of. This person is John Watson, a former military doctor who longs for more action in his life. Together, they help Scotland Yard solve the toughest cases.

First, I want to talk about the bad points of the show. There really is just one. The entire first season is a mere three episodes long. Just as we're starting to love Sherlock and his insane ways, they unlovingly dump us on the floor. There is a second season, which is also only three episodes, but it didn't start until this month! I haven't watched it yet so I'm hoping it's as good as the first.

Now. Let's talk about the good points. Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely amazing as Sherlock. He is able to bring forth the smugness and frustration that is Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock knows he is smarter than everyone else in the room and it frustrates him when people miss things he considers obvious. Also, Martin Freeman is an ideal match as Watson. Watson isn't there to be brilliant or awesome. He is just there to continually keep Sherlock grounded in the real world. I couldn't imagine anyone else in these roles. The show would fall apart of these two weren't so good.

I also love the cinematography of the show. In the first episode, as Sherlock notices things, random words appear on the screen. It isn't until Sherlock pieces everything together for us that we realize what the words mean to him. For once, we get to see a bit of the inner workings in Sherlock's brain. No wonder the world is so frustrating for him.

For you old-school Sherlock fans, there are some minor changes but not a lot. He no longer smokes pipes (not even cigar specials). Instead, he uses nicotine patches. He claims the nicotine helps him think but it isn't convenient to smoke in London nowadays. We do get to see him playing the violin a little. Though, I fully admit that it isn't very good violin playing. Perhaps we'll get something better in the next season.

Sherlock is an awesome piece of television. If you get a chance to see it, be it on PBS or on Netflix, do it. You definitely will not regret it. And, if we're lucky, we'll get to see the second season sooner. I'd hate to have a wait another year and a half to see what happens!

Jdorama review: Ranma 1/2

Title: Ranma 1/2 Broadcast date: 12/9/11 Genre: Romantic Comedy Cast: Aragaki Yui, Kaku Kento, Watanabe Natsuna What is good: Watanabe Natsuna was awesome as girl-type Ranma What is bad: Pretty much everything else. Letter rating: D

I love the Ranma 1/2 anime series. It is one of my favorite. When I heard about a live action special, I was excited yet hesitant at the same time. Live action adaptations could either be really awesome or really terrible. Unfortunately, this one ended up being terrible. While there are a few cool moments, a majority of the show is confusing and badly acted. I actually think this might have been better if they made it into a series instead of just a one-shot special. It felt like they tried to cram absolutely everything into 1 1/2 hours. Ah well. At least I still have my anime boxsets!

JDorama review: Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai

Title: Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tataki Also known as: The Sasaki Couple's Merciless Battle Broadcast dates: 1/20/08 - 3/23/08 Number of episodes: 10 Genre: Romantic comedy Cast: Inagaki Goro, Koyuki Plot: Sasaki Norimichi (Inagaki) and his wife, Ritsuko (Koyuki), constantly battle each other. The two lawyers take their fight to court and put their marriage on the line. What is good: Some of the comedy bits are quite funny. What is bad: The character of Ritsuko is a bit too much. I don't think anyone could put up living with her. Letter rating: C

The only reason I watched this show is because I have never seen a drama starring Inagaki Goro and I wanted to see what his acting was like. Since this is a comedy, I can forgive the blatant over-acting. It actually goes with the theme of the show quite well. Sadly, it is my beloved Koyuki's character that is difficult to swallow. The writers tried to make the main characters very different people. Norimichi is a responsible clean freak while Ritsuko is an irresponsible slob. When I say slob, I don't mean she is a little messy. If Norimichi doesn't clean up, their apartment is almost floor-to-ceiling trash. While I understand that it is supposed to show how different they are, I really don't think anyone could put up with Ritsuko's sloppy ways. However, in the end, I was interested to see whether they would get divorced or stay together. I'm just glad there isn't a sequel.