Zíza

It's got all the nasty stuff – the heroine-turned-celebrity, the mother-turned-fury, the hatred beyond the grave that came from a misunderstanding. Sometimes it's downright obvious that the actors are overacting and you can't even trust the nose between their eyes, the dialogue at times is like something cut from a 50s novel. The twists and turns are predictable, basically one big pile of clichés. Plus they are all beautiful, rich, successful, ultimately moral, and full of love and forgiveness. Just typical Beijingers. On the other hand, I'm a sucker for this type of story: two people have a baby together, don't even know how, and it brings them together. I guess we all have our fetishes. I found the main character oddly likeable and easy to relate to, because he wasn't just a head of stupid talk and ideas. For the most part the characters had interesting portrayals and clear character development, all except for the main character, because you can't really get much more out of a saint. Another plus was the mischievous relationship between the main character's assistant and the young indiscreet girl – somehow those two always lifted my spirits. It has a lot of minuses and a smattering of pluses, yet I enjoyed it on the whole and watched it in three days (I'd say the rehearsals gave it more charm than it really has). A weaker 3 stars.

I really like this sort of thing – singing, new renditions of fairy tales and so on and so forth. It's just that this was so boring, the songs were cheesy and "un-catchy". I wanted to turn it off halfway through, but I lasted until the end, though I’m still wondering why. I guess I was hoping for something more, but it never came, until suddenly the closing credits were there and my head was hurting. If I'd gone to the cinema to see it, I probably would have cried that I'd wasted my money in the worst way possible.

High school masturbators get a chance to be around high school girls for a few days, so they're pretty shaky about it. It took me a while to tune into their vibe at first, but I ended up having a good time. It's a lovely snippet of a not-so-ordinary week for high schoolers doing totally ordinary teenage things at the same time (above all their chatter...). The movie doesn't go anywhere, it's really just a slice of someone's life, but it's still fun to watch, and it's not so long as to start getting boring and annoying. It's simple; the boys wanted the girls, the girls wanted the boys, but they couldn’t get along. The central three are a worthless bunch of cretins.

Without a doubt a very interesting insight into the life of one of the greatest military figures of the first half of the 20th century in Japan; but unfortunately the narrative style and flow of the film didn't sit well with me today. Otherwise, I think it would have been a star higher. If you're interested in WW2 in the Pacific, this is definitely a piece that will bring you enrichment.

Incredibly well acted, all the details, the facial twitches, the posture, the hand holding... Isao Hashizume and Kazuko Yoshihuki as the older couple were unbeatable. They were very ably backed up by the others, and if I had to single anyone out, it would be Satoshi Tsumabuki for his excellent handling of the "emotional outburst" on the hospital roof. It's an intimate film, just depicting the visit of grandparents from the countryside to the capital. Except that their socially successful children don't have the time or the inclination, and it's almost painful how they handle it all with a smile. The film critiques contemporary Japanese society and turns back to old values, when family and old age still meant something (especially in the form of Aoi Yū's character – although here the story slips slightly into naivety). An incredibly powerful film that won't suit everyone, and not everyone is willing to listen to the muttering of pensioners. A better 4 stars.

I have to admit that I found the film slightly disappointing. I've seen it more than once and I still take away the same feeling. At several points, and there are more than a few, the film runs out of breath and feels very plodding. Everything I love about the Kenshin feature films is here, but unfortunately there is nothing more. Action, so much like we've seen in previous films, nice music, beautiful setting. Unfortunately, for me the clash between Kamiki Ryūnosuke (Seta Sōjirō) and Satō Takeru (Kenshin) was more interesting than the last one, when everyone who knew how to fight a little better came crashing down on Shishio. That last spectacular fight struck me as more of a farce than anything else. It's definitely not a bad movie, but after the way the second movie lured me in, I was just expecting something better. But anyone who knows me knows that 3 stars is not a sign of something terrible in my book. A strong 3 stars.

Unnecessarily overlong, full of empty scenes with empty dialogue. The jokes were cliched, but I was still quite entertained. The acting wasn't bad, but it didn't particularly impress me either – the sparks just didn't fly. Most of the time I was rather bored and waiting for something decent, and in the end there was a pretty good battle, but even so it didn't grab me by the heart. A bit too empty a film for me.

I watched it with the Slovak translation and this movie is really the phenomenon – lost in translation. Unfortunately, Ueto Aya wasn't that great and I'm sorry to say that neither was Kamiki Ryūnosuke (what can you do when you compare it to what he grew into). The story is interesting, a probe into the life of a teenage girl who is lost in the feeling that she belongs nowhere and has no place on earth. The same is basically true of Aoki. But in the end it's a happy ending because the two no longer need each other.

I really liked Ishihara Satomi's character, or at least she was acted very well, and she was also the character I connected with the most. On the other hand, Matsushita Nao still has a lot of catching up to do, as I sometimes found her acting really awful – although maybe it was just her character? I watched the series as it was coming out, so I daresay if I had watched it all at once I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. Anyway, I found it interesting, kind of natural Japanese somehow, and very sympathetic to the characters in its way. It's not a heavy drama, or a comedy, or a terrible romance, but it has its charm. Plus, Hirayama Hiroyuki is starting to turn into an actor I'll be looking for more of in the future. (Not to mention that I was blatantly shipping his character with Ishihara's the whole time.) An ordinary story of two sisters spiced up with a bit of stubbornness and lack of communication. A weaker 4 stars.

A gently flowing melancholic film full of quiet sorrow and love, set against the backdrop of beautiful Paris. The cast is very modest, and so are the sets, but it is this intimacy that gives the film its power. The acting was very convincing and slightly deadpan. Paris is supposed to be the city of love, but what kind of love? You definitely get love in this film, but there is no outburst of passion. If you're in the mood for something unpretentious that caresses the soul and doesn't burn with heat... this might be the film you're looking for.