Movie Review - A Country Doctor

Rating: 7/10


A country doctor is asked to attend to a sick boy ten miles away one winter night. However, his sole horse died the night before. His serving-girl, Rosa, runs from house to house asking for a horse. In his frustration, the doctor kicks the door of his pig sty. A groom mysteriously appears from inside. He gives the doctor two magnificent horses and hitches them to his carriage. Once he is on the carriage, the doctor asks the groom to come with him. The latter refuses, wanting to be with Rosa, and spurs his horses on, leaving the doctor on his own. What follows is a whirlwind of mysterious and fascinating events.
A 21-minute film adaptation of Franz Kafka's short story, A Country Doctor is directed by Yamamura Koji. The animation is err... Disturbing. But it fits in well with the world of Kafka. I didn't like it much because, for one, I don't really know what this is all about. I mean, I can't get the meaning of the symbolisms in the film. So there's that. Second, I'm not in for this kind of weird animation. I'm so much more used to Studio Ghibli, or even MadHouse. Yamamura Kojis animation is just so queer and "vertiginous".

Movie Review - Megane (Glasses)

Rating: 10/10

In Megane, Takeo (Kobayashi Satomi) is a stressed out profesor who goes on an island vacation. She arrives at a hotel named "Hamada" run by Yuji (Mitsuishi Ken). She is surprised when her host sits down to eat with her. More so when she is woken up in the morning by an old woman named Sakura (Motai Masako), who comes to the island only during spring. She also finds the "merci taiso" queer. Takeo decides to check out and look for another hotel. But Marine Palace did not prove helpful so she returns to Hamada, a little awkwardly. As the days pass, she befriends the locals and learns how to "twilight", keeping up with the island's pace.

Megane is a really simple film but, as expected, its meanings are very deep. That is exactly one of the things I like in Japanese movies - they're not as superficial as... Others. Anyway, it's a feel good film with a lot of nice lessons. Watch it! :)

Movie Review - TOKYO TOWER: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad

Rating: 10/10

Nakagawa Masaya (Odagiri Joe) narrates his life, from his childhood up to the present time. As a child, his parents split up and he lived with his Mom (younger: Uchida Yayako; older: Kiki Kirin), but visits with his Dad (Kobayashi Kaoru) proved to be exciting. His dream is to enter art school. When he leaves his province to study in Tokyo, Masaya wastes his time and mother's money on women, drinking, smoking, and gambling. His mother begins running a restaurant to support him back home. At one point in the movie, while playing mahjong, he turns his life around and works hard. When he has enough money, he asks his mother to come to Tokyo and live with him, as her health continued to decline. His mother befriends his friends and cooks meals for them in Masaya's house. For a while, life is good. But his mother develops gastric cancer and she has to go through chemotherapy. After a few sessions, she asks him to stop the treatment because of the excruciating pain. The doctor informs Masaya that she only has a few months to live...
TOKYO Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad is a beautiful drama film. I'm so happy I was able to watch this. Odagiri Joe and Kiki Kirin were great in their portrayals. There were a lot of memorable scenes. The one I remember the most is the scene where Masaya hid his head in his hands, refusing to see his mother go through such pain. It's just a nice, nice mother-son movie. Watch it! :)

Movie Review - 5 Centimeters per Second

Rating: 8/10

5 Centimeters per Second tells the story of two childhood friends: Tohno and Akira. They spend most of their time together that their classmates always teased them, but it didn't really matter to them. As long as they were together, everything was alright. There came a time, though, that Akira had to move away from Tokyo with her family to Tochigi. Tohno assures her that it's alright but deep inside he's hurting. It's the same with Akira.

Obivously, it's a love story but one that is beautifully weaved into three chapters. The characters are sort of believable and the plot is realistic. The song at the end of the movie is a real joy. This movie is nice and if you want a break from all the ninjas and shinigamis, give this one a try.

Movie Review - Spirited Away

Rating: 10/10

It tells the story of a young girl with her parents who are about to move in to their new house. They get lost, though, and end up in an abandoned theme park. Little did they know that it was enchanted. So the adventure, filled with love and unlikely friendships, begins!

This is a very nice and heartwarming movie. I guarantee you that your jaws will probably hurt from smiling until the very end. It's no surprise that it was called a master piece. This movie is a must-watch for any Japanese animation fan.

Spirited Away was directed by none other than highly-acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.

Voice

Rating: *****

This series is awesome! It's on my recommended list, by the way. Like CSI, it's inspiring me to take Forensic Medicine but then, of course, I'm not taking that. (I'll probably take a few minor subjects about the field but I don't see myself doing this for my whole life. I'd probably be a crime reporter. Yes, I would love that very much.) It's about five Forensic Medicine students who try to catch the final words of the deceased. There's a moral lesson at the end of every episode.

I just find Daiki too cliche. It seems like he's a Gary Stu, sometimes. Even Holmes makes mistakes. But, then again, Daiki is cute when he's asking the most trivial stuff (like mixing two kinds of food together or using different ringing tones for different people). What he's saying is actually very true. It makes you think, "Yeah! Why do I do that?" (Ouch, it hurts the book... I should always use a bookmark from now on...)