NYAFF 09 Review: THE MAGIC HOUR[Our thanks to Christopher Bourne for the following review.] Koki Mitani’s latest film The Magic Hour is an entertaining and beautifully designed tribute to movies and movie-making that revels in its artificiality. Early in the film, Natsuko (Haruka Ayase), a nightclub waitress, remarks that the elements of the story – gangsters, guns, cement overshoes, a boss’ moll – all make the town seem like a movie set. At the film’s outset, nightclub manager Bingo (Satoshi Tsumbuki) has run afoul o Continue reading
Review: Mr. Brain (2009)They’re coming hot and fast at the moment and by that I mean new j-dramas. It was famine for a while, now we’re getting a little taste of the feast and what’s coming out, at least so far, is very good. Our newest taste is called Mr. Brain , a 12-episode drama that premiered on May 23, 2009 and is ongoing. I immediately twigged to the similarities to another series that I’ve written about and enjoyed, Galileo . Both feature scientists that are single-minded and brilliant in their crime-sol Continue reading
Oricon: 2009’s fresh starsOricon announced its “fresh star ranking” for the first half of 2009, which surveyed 1,200 men and women about young celebrities who have left the strongest impression on them. This time, actress Yuriko Yoshitaka and actor Hiro Mizushima led the rankings., Yoshitaka, 20, has gained recognition through her roles in various television dramas, but her big break came last year when she received Best Newcomer awards for her performance in “Hebi ni Piasu” (”Snakes and Earrings”)., The 25-year-o Continue reading
Ichi (2008)Synopsis : Ayase plays a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese guitar), but she has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains. Starring : Haruka Ayase … Ichi Shido Nakamura … Banki Yôsuke Kubozuka … Toraji Shirakawa Takao Osawa … Toma Fujihira Kazuma Chiba Akira Emoto Yûko Endô Daishirô Hano Horiken Yoshihiro Ishizuka Masaki Katou Mitsuki Koga Usagi Kôno … Blind vaude Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 6 – Part 2 of 2Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 6 – Part 1 of 2Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 5 – Part 2 of 2Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 5 – Part 1 of 2Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 4 – Part 4 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 4 – Part 3 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 4 – Part 2 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 4 – Part 1 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
Oricon: 2009's fresh starsOricon announced its "fresh star ranking" for the first half of 2009, which surveyed 1,200 men and women about young celebrities who have left the strongest impression on them. This time, actress Yuriko Yoshitaka and actor Hiro Mizushima led the rankings. Yoshitaka, 20, has gained recognition through her roles in various television dramas, but her big break came last year when she received Best Newcomer awards for her performance in "Hebi ni Piasu" ("Snakes and Earrings"). The 25-year- Continue reading
movie review for the month!Coraline – 8.6 Simply the best stop-animation movie I’ve seen, and it probably has the most imaginatively creative visuals ever in an animation like this. There are plenty of stories about a child who goes to another fantasy world, but Coraline is something very different from the rest, because this movie had all the elements of a good movie right; fantastic animation, superb story, weird and mysterious vibe and above all, one very enjoyable adventure! Even if you don’t like animation, I real Continue reading
The World of BL: Manga (Part Two)Forgive me in advance because I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to write this post.There are probably people who are going to criticize my range, but I’ll say it now. I’m writing these posts in order to appeal to what the newer fans would like and also to recommend a bunch of titles (that aren’t necessarily licensed) simply because they deserve to be read. There’s a lot of manga out there. I can’t cover them all, so I’m going to try and cover more ground by talking about the mangaka I reall Continue reading
Ichi (2008)DVDRipIchi (2008)DVDRipTitle: IchiOriginal title: IchiYear: 2008Genre: ActionDirector: Fumihiko Sori / Fumihiko SoriStarring: Haruka Ayase (as IIT), Sido Nakamura (as banks), Esuke Kubodzuka (as Toradze Sirakava), Takao Osawa (as Tom Fudzihira)About movie: ichi - wandering GORS, the blind singer, performing songs in syamisen (three-lute). But apart from this musical instrument, it is a hidden sword in the cane, which is controlled with lightning speed and craftsman.One day she meets him Samurai. He tr Continue reading
Ichi (2008)DVDRipIchi (2008)DVDRipTitle: IchiOriginal title: IchiYear: 2008Genre: ActionDirector: Fumihiko Sori / Fumihiko SoriStarring: Haruka Ayase (as IIT), Sido Nakamura (as banks), Esuke Kubodzuka (as Toradze Sirakava), Takao Osawa (as Tom Fudzihira)About movie: ichi - wandering GORS, the blind singer, performing songs in syamisen (three-lute). But apart from this musical instrument, it is a hidden sword in the cane, which is controlled with lightning speed and craftsman.One day she meets him Samurai. He tr Continue reading
[[jap. movie]]:: cyborg sheEnglish Title: Cyborg She Genre: Fantasy, Romance Year: 2008 Summary:: One day a dull university named Jiro ( Keisuke Koide ) meets a cyborg ( Haruka Ayase ). They start to like each other, but since she can't truly feel emotions he decides he has to leave her. One day an earthquake hits Tokyo and she saves the boy's life, discovering her own emotions in the process. Credits: silentregrets and wikipedia Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 3 – Part 4 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
MR. BRAIN – Episode 3 – Part 3 of 4Details Title: MR. BRAIN Format: Renzoku Genre: Comedy, mystery Broadcast network: TBS Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 start Air time: Saturday 20:00 Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen [edit] Synopsis Tsukumo Ryusuke is neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science (part of the National Police Agency). He is generally incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation, but when it comes to science, he is well respected. Whenever something catches his i Continue reading
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