Category: Reviews

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Guuzen nimo Saiaku na Shounen – Worst by Chance

    Decided to do this one already! Just to get going… this goes all the way back to… Before Hana & Alice? 2003! A lot of faces on this one… you might recognize many~

    About the film:
    A 2003 film directed by Su-yeon Gu about a high school student named Hidenori Kaneshiro (Hayato Ichihara) who lives in Tokyo as a Korean-Japanese, who gets bullied for being half-Korean despite being raised Japanese. Because of this, he’s developed a reckless answer to life’s problems by not caring about anything in the real world… except maybe his sister.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy
    Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Mika Nakashima, Shin Yazawa, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
    Special appearances by: Akira Emoto, Rie Tomosaka, Yu Aoi, Kimiko Yo, Yoshinori Okada
    Duration: +1:50hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Henshin

    You’re in luck! Well, that depends on perspective~~ I was lucky (or not) to watch Henshin and it turned out to be the film right after my previous review, so I killed two birds with one stone. So here we go…

    Something about the film:
    (by me, ‘coz everyone misguided me to this film)
    A 2005 film about Junichi (Hiroshi Tamaki), who has recently gone through a brain operation, and while his recovery seems to be going on the right direction, not all is well inside his head. Before the surgery, Junichi was a nice guy, hard working, a painter… and a loving boyfriend to Kei (Yu Aoi). Now, however, he has quit his job, has violent outbursts, has stopped painting, and is not longer interested in his girlfriend.

    Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller Drama with Romance
    Starring: Hiroshi Tamaki, Yu Aoi
    Duration: +1:30hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • Some more YAM

    It’s V-day, so my non-V-day gift to all of you it’s more YAM. Yup, 2nd issue is done.

    YAM - Issue 2

    Featuring Coraline, which opened this past Thursday here in Lima (only dubbed). We are also taking on Best Picture Nominees, and our picks that shoulda been BP. We are also talking about Duncan Sheik, Melinda Doolittle, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Lee-Hom Wang, Franz Ferdinand… and many other reviews!

    Now, if you’re ready~~~ head over here to get it.

  • GuGu the Cat!

    It arrived yesterday ^o^  !!!

    I actually celebrated my b-day last night with a proper meal, and apparently my last YesAsia order. Belated Happy Bday to me!!! And happy 5 year blogging~~~ xD

    My first EVER Japanese DVD – all because it listed ‘English subtitles’. I just couldn’t help myself.

    Gu~ Gu~ Datte Neko de Aru, which was translated to GuGu the Cat, was not the movie I was expecting – in a good way. I think I had only seen a short clip of the film, perhaps the 30 second tv spot, where they open the box, GuGu shows up and they all go “kawaiiiiiiiiiiii”. So I thought the film was a comedy, but just like some other WOWOW projects I’ve seen, they border on the dramedy field (like Camouflage, 1 Million Yen Girl, and Don’t Laugh at my Romance).

    – See, WOWOW people~~~ if you’d release those mentioned above with subs, I’d probably buy them. –

    In GuGu, Asako Kojima (Kyoko Koizumi) is a manga artist who hasn’t had much time for life, other than taking care of her pet cat Ça Va and seldomly writing and drawing for her manga series alongside her team of assistants, including Naomi (Juri Ueno), a fervent fan since her teen years.

    There’s a lot of fun moments… sometimes dealing with romantic relationships, and overall human relations… as well as some cat relationships xD – so if you like cats, you can probably enjoy this one.

    GuGu the Cat

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hoshi ni Natta Shounen – Shining Boy & Little Randy

    *hoot hoot* sorry for the little delay~~~ But here we go!

    As always, a little about the film:
    This 2005 film stars Yuya Yagira (Tetsumu), of Dare mo Shiranai (Nobody Knows) fame – a role that earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival – as a young man who wants to become the first Japanese elephant trainer.

    Genre: Drama
    Starring: Yuya Yagira, Takako Tokiwa, Yu Aoi
    Based on the novel by: Sayuri Sakamoto
    Duration: +1:30hr

    Spoilers ahead, and I mean it this time.

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  • Some December, Some January Films

    Bad, bad Amy… I think I’ve seen a couple few films… some re-watches too. Also, I seem to have an alergy today~ CAN’T stop sneezing!!! =o=”

    Films (awarded and not…) after the break. For the best of 2008 (made in, or watched) check here.

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  • Wow wow wow~~

    Can’t believe it’s almost like >this< to the end of the year on this side of the world… and even less time on the other side of the world. Actually, by the time I wake up again, it will be 2009 on that side of the world most likely.

    Oh, the memories… how time flies by. What have I done? I feel I’ve done so very little…

    One oft he few things I feel I’ve done is YAM [help yourself to some leftover YAM] – and I would like to continue with that. As a special something, this is a little of what we talked on the issue.

    Let the Right One In, the Swedish film… which is probably MY favorite film of the year. Though, I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night and WHOA. Blew me away… but that’s not on YAM. LOL – What’s on YAM? There are also reviews on Blindness, Slumdog Millionaire, and Twilight. Yes, Julyssa decided to review Twilight for us… how brave of her! xD – And yes, please? Go watch Slumdog Millionaire (or Benjamin Button) at least once, instead of watching Twilight for the 20th time… just like Lainey says.

    I also reviewed music… Britney’s comeback Circus, Marit Larsen, Guns N’ Roses, Taylor Swift and DBSK. There are music, film and tv news… also a review on Season 3 of Dexter. PLUS! There’s more! Book reviews!! One of them features Yu!

    Yeah! For Frak’s sake~~ I’m doing what others are ‘afraid’ to do. I’m mixing West and Asian entertainment. LOL’ Not ONLY the stuff that makes it here… but also the stuff that doesn’t, but should~~ So be sure to know that I’ll be reviewing music from all sides of the world, films from everywhere… and maybe even series~~

    So please do! DO READ YAM! And link a post there so more people can read YAM.

    Happy New 2009. Much success to everyone!

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Kame wa Igai to Hayaku Oyogu – Turtles Swim Faster than Expected

    So it’s been almost a month since the last Film Discussion because I thought it’d be good to keep Hula Girls up while it was playing on TVs in Latin America. So expect more reviews more often this time around… unless they show other Yu Aoi films on cable, of course. And Happy New Year!!

    So this Kame movie, or Turtles Swim Faster than Expected, comes after Hana & Alice according to various filmographies…

    What’s the movie about?
    (from AsianMediaWiki)
    Film starring Juri Ueno as Suzume Katagura an ordinary housewife (despite how only being 23), whose husband goes overseas on business leaving behind his pet turtle at her care. She lives her days monotonously, wondering if she will ever be noticed, until the day she spots a tricky ad sticker searching for spies.

    Genre: Comedy
    Starring: Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi, Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Fuse
    Duration: 1:30hr

    There’s a 2-part at CrunchyRoll [Part1, Part2]

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • November Month of Films, and Some December?

    Hmm… I feel I have been kinda crappy at watching movies like last time. But not AS bad as last time.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – HURA GARU – Hula Girls

    This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).

    This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD

    Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…

    A little about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
    Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
    Duration: 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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