Jmovie review: Honey & Clover

Title: Honey & Clover Release date: 7/22/06 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Sakurai Sho, Aoi Yuu, Seki Megumi, Kase Ryo, Iseya Yusuke Plot: A group of art students try to make sense of life and love. What is good: The acting isn't terrible. What is bad: It takes a long time for the movie to get even vaguely intersting. Letter rating: C- Overall: I haven't read the manga that this movie is based on but I have seen the anime adaptation, which I thought was mind-numbingly boring. The movie is pretty much the same. There were some minor changes from the anime version. I chalk this up to the fact that the movie is only about 2 hours long while the anime ran for 26 half-hour episodes. Either way, I'm guessing the source material is as boring as the two adaptations. We aren't given any real reason to care about these characters or why we should be pulling for them to be successful in their lives. When the characters begin to get interesting, they all stop talking to each other, tossing us back to not caring anymore. This much be fairly popular in Japan since there will be a drama series starting next year. I can only hope that the drama will give a little more oomph to the characters.

Jmovie review: Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru

Title: Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru Also known as: I'm in love with my little sister Release date: 1/20/07 Genre: Romantic Drama Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Eikura Nana, Yuuta Hiraoka, Komatsu Ayaka Plot: Yori (Matsumoto Jun) is in love with his twin sister, Iku (Eikura Nana). He tries to forget Iku by sleeping with his classmate Tomoka. Now the twins need to choose between their forbidden love and a normal life. What is good: The dialog isn't too bad. What is bad: The extraordinarily long dramatic pauses. Overall rating: C- Overall: I knew little about this movie when I turned it on. I knew it was about incest between twins and that it starred MatsuJun and Komatsu Ayaka so I expected a decent dramatic movie. Sadly, I was mistaken. This movie is filled with extremely long dramatic pauses. All of the characters take a good 5 - 7 minutes to spit out one line of what they want to say to each other. Eikura wasn't very interesting as Iku but that may be a problem with the character and not the actress. I suppose if you are a fan of MatsuJun, you'll want to watch this movie. Just don't expect anything wonderful from it.

Jmovie review: Death Note - The Last Name

Title: Death Note - The Last Name Release date: 11/3/06 Genre: Supernatural drama Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Matsuyama Kenichi, Nakamura Shido (voice only), Kaga Takashi, Toda Erika Plot: In the sequel to the first Death Note movie, the game between Light/Kira (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and L (Matsuyama Kenichi) continues. This time Kira finds himself a partner in idol Amane Misa (Toda Erika). With two Death Notes on earth, will L be able to prove the connection between Light and Kira? What is good: It is enjoyable watching Light and L trying to outwit each other. What is bad: Since this is mostly psychological, there isn't a lot of action going on. Overall rating: A Overall: I really enjoyed the first Death Note movie yet I was disappointed that there wasn't more interaction between Light and L. This movie definitely delivers that. While lot of the first movie was familiar to me since I watched part of the anime, I knew almost nothing about the sequel as it takes place in the episodes I haven't seen yet. I love watching Matsuyama as L. In my opinion, he was the absolute perfect choice in casting. I can't say too much else about the movie without giving away big spoilers. If you are a Death Note fan, you definitely have to watch this.

Jmovie review: Nana 2

Title: Nana 2 Release date: 12/9/06 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Nakashima Mika, Ichikawa Yui, Kyo Nobuo, Tamayama Tetsuji, Narimiya Hiroki, Hongo Kanata, Maruyama Tomomi Plot: Komatsu Nana/Hachiko (Ichikawa Yui) finds herself trapped in a love triangle with Trapnest's Takumi (Tamayama Tetsuji) and Black Stones' Nobu (Narimiya Hiroki). When she finds out she is pregnant, it devastates her best friend and roommate, Osaki Nana (Nakashima Mika). Can any of them find happiness in their lives after this? What is good: Nakashima Mika is still the perfect choice to play Osaki Nana. What is bad: The actors for Hachi, Shin and Ren were all replaced. Letter rating: B- Overall: I was really looking forward to seeing how the movie would handle a lot of the issues in this part of the storyline. The script seemed to be very good but the change in casting was a big distraction. In my opinion, Miyazaki Aoi was perfect as Hachi. Ichikawa Yui wasn't able to bring the same naviete and innocence to the character. I understand that Miyazaki Aoi didn't want to tarnish her image with the delicate issues dealt with in the second movie. However, she should have read through the manga to see what the future of her character was before accepting the role in the first movie. Considering how popular the NANA franchise is, I don't understand why she would have thought that the story would have stopped with the first movie. I also understand that the change in Shin's actor was due to Matsuyama Ken'ichi being too old for the role. While this is more understandable, since Shin has a larger role in this movie, it was difficult to accept the new actor as Shin.

While this wasn't a terrible movie by any means, it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. You're left expecting more from the actors, more from the two bands and more from the characters. If you watched the first movie, you'll probably want to watch the second movie to finish the experience. Just don't expect a whole lot from it.

Jmovie review: Nana

Title: Nana Release date: 9/3/05 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Nakashima Mika, Miyazaki Aoi, Matsuda Ryuhei, Matsuyama Ken'ichi, Narimiya Hiroki, Maruyama Tomomi Plot: The story of the lives and loves of two Nanas. Osaki Nana (Nakashima Mika) is a punk princess determined to make her way to the top of the Tokyo rock scene. Komatsu Nana (Miyazaki Aoi) is a naive girl following her boyfriend to Tokyo in the hopes of marriage. The girls meet on a train in the middle of a snowstorm. Little did they know how intertwined their lives would become from that one fateful meeting. What is good: The emotional rollercoaster that is the girls' lives. What is bad: Since this movie only takes us about halfway through the Nana storyline, the ending seems a little abrupt. Letter rating: A Overall: I adore the Nana franchise. On one hand, I wish I could rock like Osaki Nana but on the other hand, I wish I knew how to be the "perfect" housewife like Komatsu Nana. I watched the movie before watching the entire anime series so it really was this version of the story that I fell in love with. Nakashima Mika was the perfect choice to play singer Osaki Nana and I thought that Miyazaki Aoi did a really good job bringing the innocence and puppy-dog characterization that is Komatsu Nana. While I didn't like the Trapnest songs very much, I did enjoy GLAMOROUS SKY, the movie's theme song which was written by Hyde of L'arc~en~Ciel fame. This is definitely a girly movie but I think any girl who has ever loved a boy before would love this movie.

JMovie review: GTO the movie

Title: GTO the movie
Release date: 12/18/99
Genre: School comedy
Cast: Sorimachi Takashi, Tanaka Rena, Kasahara Hideyuki, Fujiwara Norika
Plot: Onizuka-sensei goes to a small village in Hokkaido to teach. As usual, he ends up with a troubled class, thanks mostly to the rich girl, Katsuragi Ayano. He takes it upon himself to fix Ayano and make everyone happy again.
What is good: The acting isn't terrible
What is bad: It is pretty dull.
Letter rating: D+

Overall: Sadly, this franchise has gone downhill. The series was awesome, the special was OK but the movie is on the edge of terrible. Onizuka rescues two students from suicide and, despite being fairly mean to him, ends up as the depressed boy's best friend. As he works his magic to make the lives of these two students better, he's being chased down by a reporter who mistakes him as a serial criminal. While he isn't guilty of the crimes she accuses him of, he does steal, kidnap and get involved in a police chase. (I'm hoping he borrowed the truck he was driving at the time since it isn't stated how he obtained it.) This doesn't feel nearly as light-hearted as the series or the special. Maybe it was the lack of Fuyutsuki-sensei's 'straight man' to Onizuka's comedian. Throughout the entire movie, I was hoping she would pop in at some point to tell Onizuka he's an idiot but she never appears. I suppose if you really love the GTO series it might be worth sitting through the 2 hour movi but I'm sure you could find a better way to spend your time.