Death Note II: The Last Name Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on the manga and anime series that has captured the attention of viewers worldwide, "Death Note" the live action film makes its way to the US on DVD.
"Death Note" is an adaption of the popular manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata and stars Tatsuya Fujiwara (known for his work in the popular "Battle Royale" films), directed by Shusuke Kaneko (known for the 2006 hit film "Gamera") and another theme song "Snow (Hey Oh)" by the popular band RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
The sequel is the conclusion to the thrilling cat and mouse chase as the murderer Kira (Light Yagami, who has attained a large cult following for killing off criminals) tries to find a way to kill his nemesis, the top investigator in the police force known as L. While L suspects Light Yagami as being Kira.
The film is 140 minutes long, pacing was indeed well done and overall, despite being different from the manga and anime series, both Shusuke Kaneko and Tetsuya Oishii managed to come up with a thrilling, dark and gripping storyline that remains faithful to the overlying theme of the film.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
The film is featured in 16×9 anamorphic widescreen and was originally shot in 35mm (1:85:1 ratio). My main interest was to see how the CGI would be for the shinagami Ryuk and Rem. And how that would translate on film and the two shinigami look exactly like it does in the anime and manga series but Rem seems to look more less detailed than Ryuk. But overall, the CG works with the film.
As for audio, the film is featured in both English and Japanese via digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo. I typically dislike English dubbing of Asian language films but what brought a smile to my face was that VIZ used the original voice actors of the anime series (which had great English dub work) on this series. So, for those who are fond of Brandon Swaile's Light, Alessandro Juliani's L, Brian Drummond's Ryuk, Shannon Chan-Kent as Misa and the other English dub voice actors will be happy to know that they did the English dub for the live film. That surprised me and definitely major kudo points for Viz Media for keeping things consistent in the voice acting.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Special features in the film include the Death Note anime trailer, the Japanese and US trailer and Viz Pictures Presents. The primary featurette is "the Making of Death Note II", a 23-minute featurette which includes interviews with the director and the main talent involved with the film. Definitely good insight of what the talent felt about the characters and the challenges that they faced. For example, Ken'ichi Matsuyama (L) having to constantly eat sweets. He mentions that he had to do it so much that he couldn't tolerate it anymore and couldn't swallow. He just spit it out after the shot. Also, explanations by director Shusuke Kaneko on differences from the live film and the manga version. Overall, a solid featurette.
"DEATH NOTE II: The Last Name" was extremely popular in Japan. Having been #1 in the box office for five weeks and earning 5.5 Billion yen in Japan, the film was indeed a success.
I enjoyed the film a lot and the pacing was much better with the second film but if anything was amazing, it was Tetsuya Oishii's screenplay. It is challenging to get so much storyline from the manga and making a live action film. There is so much story in the "Death Note" manga that it would be difficult to translate all that in two films. So, there had to be major differences in the live film versus the manga and unfortunately, for many films based from a long manga series, they don't succeed because they try to condense everything into one film.
As for "Death Note II: The Last Name", Oishii manages to create a new storyline that is so different from the manga series but yet manages to stay within the confines of the main focal point. Kira vs. L and finding a right conclusion.
Having the storyline so different from the manga, I was pleasantly surprised by it but by the film's end, I was rather pleased. Both Kaneko and Oishii pulled it off.
What I love about this film is that Kira and L are two individuals who are intelligent and the way they try to outdo each other, is always amazing. In a way, it's like a chess game between these two as they do what they can to outwit each other.
Also, I enjoyed seeing how many other characters were integrated into the overall storyline. And knowing how different this film is from the manga and anime series, I was satisfied with the conclusion of the film and overall, I really enjoyed the sequel. Good storytelling by Oishii and managing to pull of a storyline that is just as satisfying as the manga but yet quite different.
If you enjoyed the first live film, then you will definitely want to pick up the sequel. "DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME" is a thrilling, suspenseful and enjoyable film. Highly recommended!

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DEATH NOTE: The Last Name is a sequel to the movie DEATH NOTE, which closely follows major plot elements from the original manga series, while featuring several new key story differences. The story begins on the heels of the first movie as Light Yagami joins the investigation team in pursuit of the serial killer known as "Kira." While L still strongly suspects that Light is "Kira," Light tries to uncover L's real name so he can kill him with his Death Note. Confusingly enough, a new rash of murders all around the world are taking place, with a Second Kira" claiming responsibility. Light learns the identity of the Second Kira and suggests they join forces to get rid of L. Will L be able to catch "Kira" before he is killed? Bilingual (English/Japanese), featuring star voice actors from Anime series Director s interview Making of Death Note Director & Cast Profile

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Kamikaze Girls (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)`Kamikaze Girls' is a delightful, pop, unique, and utterly sweet tale of the friendship between two Japanese girls Momoko and Ichigo. Sure, some part of the film's very disarming charms can be appreciated more with knowledge of modern Japanese culture, but that doesn't mean the film should be seen only by the small coterie of moviegoers. After all the film's theme is a universal one.
First, remember the film's original title (and its original novel) is called `Shimotsuma Monogatari' (The story of Shimotsuma) because this actual town that is located in the northern suburb of Tokyo City (about 60 km to the north of the metropolis) is the place where we meet our cute heroines.
OK, this rural town is the place where Momoko (meaning literally `peach-child' in Japanese) is living. She loves wearing pretty, girlish (and expensive) clothing (usually referred to `Lolita' or `Lolita Fashion' in Japan) and in order to buy them she goes all the way to Tokyo. One day, she thinks of a brilliant idea to get money. Following the `business' of her ex-yakuza father, Momoko sells counterfeit designer clothing on the net.
Only one customer shows up. It is Ichigo (literally meaning `strawberry'), a teenage girl clad in a long coat (signature of Japanese teenage motorcycle gangs), and riding a ridiculously decorated pink-colored scooter. Somehow this incongruous pair of girls gets friendlier to each other, and Momoko, confirmed loner, finds there is something precious that she cannot buy, more precious than the fancy dress that she is wearing.
[DELIGHTFUL] The incredibly charming film is not so much about the story as the two incredibly charming characters Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) and Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya). From the exaggerated cartoon-ish style of introduction, we immediately fell in love with these heroines, whose unique outlook on life and original code of behavior perfectly matches their equally unique and original fashion. Actually, Momoko's costumes are one of the assets of the film, which will be good inspiration for designers.
Unfortunately, some amusing scenes might be lost on non-Japanese viewers, which heavily rely on the linguistic differences between some regions in Japan. Please remember this. Momoko's father is from Kansai area, of which dialect is more down-to-earth and slightly earthy than the words Momoko usually uses with a posh voice, who loves the French rococo fashion. Momoko's always gramatically correct speech makes a great contrast with Ichigo's frequent verbal slip-ups when heard in Japanese. And as to the several funny episodes about selling counterfeit goods, they are very exaggerated, but not totally fictional.
But you don't have to worry about the languages, because the joy of `Kamikaze Girls' means its amusing visuals and portraits of the likable heroines, Momoko and Ichigo. The only thing I disagree with `Kamikaze Girls' is its misleading English title. Why not call it simply like `Momoko and Ichigo' or something? Otherwise it is an absolutely charming film with these cute, lovely, and inimitable heroines.
By the way, contrary to the impression you might have from the role of Ichigo, Anna Tsuchiya started her career as fashion model.

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KAMIKAZE GIRLS - DVD Movie

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After Life (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)A masterfully humorous, compassionate, quiet and moving film by a Japanese director whose work has primarily been in documentaries. The premise is strange but thought-provoking: after death, you have to choose one memory to take with you into eternity; everything else will be forgotten. In a brilliant series of cuts the staff at a run-down, out-of-the-way establishment explain this to the weekly intake of their "clients"--people who have just died. They have three days to decide; then the staff, with summer-camp-like enthusiasm, stages tiny films that recreate the memories. On the last day of the week the films are shown, and the clients vanish, one by one, as they relive the memories that are projected.
Kore-Eda worked with actors and scripts, actors telling the camera their own memories, and non-professionals; the marvellous cast mixes all three and it's impossible to tell which is which. A young girl wants to relive Splash Mountain, only to reconsider after a worker gently tells her that thirty others had made the same choice that year. A boastful roue explains that the memory of course has to be of sex--and then chooses something quite different. An old woman remembers dancing for her older brother's friends in a red dress, and shyly coaches the little girl who will play her in the memory film. And a seventy-year-old salaryman can find nothing worth remembering, so videotapes of his life are requisitioned--touching off what plot there is.
There are no flashbacks and little overt drama, but as the clients look back at their lives the staff are drawn in, and the viewers, too, can't help but wonder what memory would be worth living with for ever. What glows from the placid surface of this extraordinary film is the wonder and mystery of everyday things, the tenuous but rich beauty of merely living. "After Life"-- the Japanese title is "Wonderful Life"--is only ostensibly about death; no film of recent years has been more life affirming.

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Yo-Yo Girl Cop Review

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(More customer reviews)YO YO GIRL COP is the English language release title for SUKEBAN DEKA: CODENAME ASAMIYA SAKI, a 2006 Japanese movie based on the original "Sukeban Deka" series detailing the exploits of female special agents operating undercover in high school. The new film is something of a sequel to the 1985 TV series, insofar as the main character, Saki Asamiya, is presented as the daughter of the original "Sukeban Deka" (delinquent girl cop), also codenamed Saki Asamiya, and played in this film by the TV actress who played the part in 1985, Yuki Saito.
What's special about this film version is the casting of four Japanese female pop singers from Hello! Project in the main roles, all of whom do extraordinary jobs. Solo artist Aya Matsuura, one of H!P's greatest talents, plays Saki, while Rika Ishikawa, formerly of Morning Musume and current lead singer of the trio, Biyuuden, plays Saki's chief antagonist, Reika Akiyama. The two girls generally display adorably sweet and sunny dispositions in their J-pop day jobs and have appeared together in games, contests and fun bits over the years on Morning Musume's TV show, "Hello Morning," but are called on here to play unrelenting tough girls, complete with climactic yo-yo battle, and do so with utmost spirit and conviction. The supporting roles of Tae and Kotomi, two girls bullied by Reika and her gang, are filled by Rika's sidekicks in Biyuuden, Yui Okada and Erika Miyoshi, both appearing in their very first film. They provide the film's emotional core by playing wounded souls whose victimization brings to the fore the criminal plot behind a website ominously named "Enola Gay" and designed to attract suicidal teens and promote a wave of suicide bombings. It's Saki's job to get to the bottom of all this and she takes the two bullied girls under her wing in a series of extremely touching scenes.
The heavy melodramatic tone (which matches that of the original TV series) may put off viewers expecting a more tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top style of anime-inspired Japanese action a la CUTIE HONEY, a live-action comic book superhero spectacle from 2004. This one is much more somber and a bit slow in getting to the far-fetched fight scenes that a film like this needs. The final yo-yo battle between Aya and Rika, filmed on location in a sprawling abandoned factory in winter weather, is quite a sight to behold, but one wishes a Hong Kong action director with a more imaginative touch and greater experience with female fighters (paging Corey Yuen!), had been brought in for the action scenes.
Still, if one feels sympathy for the basic situation of a damaged soul like Saki pulling herself together to serve a greater good and redeem herself by smashing a cynical plot to manipulate vulnerable teens, one can find this a reasonably gripping high school-themed thriller. And those who are already fans of Aya Matsuura and Rika Ishikawa can simply sit back and marvel at this whole new side of them.
One of the great attractions of this DVD is the inclusion of a special 41-minute feature, "Yo Yo Girl Mission," which chronicles the making of the film and the process by which two endearing J-pop idols are transformed into karate-kicking bad girls and mortal enemies. One can see their normal "amiable" selves in conflict with the "menacing" behavior required of the characters, leading to frequent breakups into laughter during shooting and a charming bit at a press conference where Aya cutely chides Rika for such laughter. And when the petite and eager-to-please Aya insists on doing her own stunts and gets rigged with cables for a "wire-fu" maneuver, it just increases our high regard and admiration for her. She's also seen in a dual interview alongside Yuki Saito, who plays her mother in the film, but shares no scenes with her. The two even compare their yo-yos.
Aya is heard on the soundtrack singing two songs with Miki Fujimoto, another ex-member of Morning Musume and Aya's partner in the H!P duo, GAM.

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Item Name: Yo-Yo Girl Cop; Studio:Magnolia

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