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Bayside Shakedown 3

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Bayside Shakedown 3

Just a week after we watched “Bayside Shakedown 2”, Mariko and I watched the third movie, appropriately named “Bayside Shakedown 3”. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting much since I didn’t really like the last one, but I was pleasantly surprised! What made this one better was that the villains this time had some personality and smarts to them. And the police weren’t as idiotic either. It’s kind of strange because the movie tries to be funny and serious at the same time. For instance, the three police chiefs are inept and silly, so the movie takes on the feeling of a straight comedy. But in contrast, the villains are serious and cruel. It’s a little difficult to reconcile these different styles in one movie, at least for me. At any rate, Bayside Shakedown 3 was better than the previous, but really the bar wasn’t set too high. One thing that was pretty funny was the sheer number of cameos of popular Japanese actors. And I liked the homage to the late Chō-san (長さん)!

Love Collage (2003) – Movie Review

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Love Collage

Following my Netflix recommended movies, I watched “Love Collage”, a 2003 movie starring Ryoko Hirosue and Makoto Seigawa. It started off great, and I was getting into it especially because it was kind of about photography, and I enjoyed the scenes where Hirosue’s character, Shizuru, would run around Tokyo snapping photos. It looked like this movie would turn out to be one of my favorites, but it all took a severe nose-dive when the plot moved from Tokyo to New York.

One phenomenon with Japanese dorama is that any gaijin actors used are usually not very good. The main thing they have to do is just look foreign, and any other acting skills they might have are at best lacking, and at worst, truly awful. That’s usually not a problem since they are often only a small part of the scene or plot. Well, half of “Love Collage” takes place in New York City and not only are the American actors terrible, but the storyline itself gets too weird and unbelievable. It went from quirky and charming, to cheesy and campy. There is one shootout which is so over-the-top and just plain stupid, I was wondering if this was all a big joke. Plus, what is up with all the guns and violence in New York? I mean, the main character gets beat up three times? Are we to think this is realistic?

Finally, after all the plot weirdness settles down it seems like the original director comes back into the picture and tries to end the movie. It’s not terrible ending, but then I just keep scratching my head as to what that whole New York part was all about. That pretty much ruined the whole movie.

My rating: 6/10

Hospitalité

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hospitalite-2

“Hospitalité” has been sitting in my Netflix queue for a while now and I finally got around to watching it. I almost didn’t make it through! It was pretty frustrating to watch because one of the characters was such a manipulator and the others were so timid. I wanted to shake them and tell them to be strong and not take his crap! Ugh, it made me so mad. The film is described as a comedy, but I didn’t see anything humorous about it. Oh well, at least I can remove it from my Netflix list.

Bayside Shakedown 2

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bayside shakedown 2

Mariko started watching “Bayside Shakedown 2” on TV Japan and noticed there were English subtitles on it, so invited me to join her. It’s a cop movie about a local precinct (Odaiba) which comes under control of the Metropolitan Police Department to solve a murder. The plot was pretty bad actually, with a lot of things that didn’t make sense. The cops were so stupid and it was frustrating the way they acted. At least there were a few funny parts in it, but the film was way too long and dragged-out. Thinking about detective stories, I think the drama “Shinzanmono” is much better and smarter. I can’t recommend Bayside Shakedown 2 unless you have nothing else to watch.

Karate Girl

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Karate Girl

I just finished watching “Karate Girl” on Netflix streaming and it was not bad!. The plot was a basic story of revenge, with nothing really special about it. But the karate was really good! Rina Takeda has some amazing moves, and kicks a lot of butt, and of course gets her revenge. That’s not really a spoiler because you quickly figure out that the plot doesn’t have any unexpected twists. Still, it’s an entertaining hour-and-a-half movie. Recommended, but just barely. The trailer is below: