This is the first batch of 2021 editorials which I posted on my blog as
well as other sites devoted to Asian cinema and dramas. As I have
explained in my original post, I do not want to have subscribers of my
blog (especially those from the mailing list) missing out on the content
that is posted elsewhere. Therefore, I am providing a concise update
about my publications in a post form. I have decided to release this notification post early this year (it was originally scheduled for June) because I am going to be held up with work responsibilities throughout May. This batch includes
articles, interviews, special reviews published between January and April 2021. I hope that you will enjoy these and please feel free to
share your thoughts either via email or in the comments. In addition, if you have missed important news about me changing blog subscription options, then please head over to this post.
Psychokinesis; or, IronDad I just want to have the ability to be a father. However, the heavens gave me something different. After
the success of his theatrical debut, Train to Busan (2016), it seems
that director Yeon Sang Ho is determined to deliver visually stunning
spectacles. Psychokinesis is no exception as the film is a fresh take on
the overused superhero concept wrapped in a unique Korean style.
Release Info
Directed by: Yeon Sang HoStarring: Ryu Seung Ryong, Shim Eun Kyung, Jung Yu Mi
Language: KoreanOriginal Title: 念力 Runtime: 101 min
Synopsis Shin
Roo Mi (Shim Eun Kyung) runs a successful fried chicken diner together
with her mother. However, the district where their business is located
is taken over by a mob-run construction company which wants to raze
everything to the ground. Both women oppose the construction workers,
but Roo Mi’s mom dies in one of the street fights. Enter Shin Seok Heon
(Ryu Seung Ryong), Roo Mi’s estranged father who left the family home
ten years ago. He leads an uneventful life as a security guard, but
everything changes when he drinks water from a spring that has been hit
by a meteor. Seok Heon develops unnatural powers. He can influence
physical objects around just with the power of his mind. The man wants to help his daughter in battle against real-estate gangsters.
Parenting Lvl Hard Psychokinesis
kinda passed me by during its original release, mainly because I was
worn out after non-stop action of Train To Busan. Having seen the
director’s style of mixing pathos with buckets of blood, I was afraid
Psychokinesis may repeat exactly the same tropes. Thankfully, I was
wrong. It is a light-hearted action comedy without overt violence.
That
being said, I can understand the disappointment of some viewers who
were looking forward to the film since the first trailer hit the
internet. For most of the time, Psychokinesis is not about spellbinding
special effects, but rather, it focuses on a delicate relationship
between a father and his daughter. The bombastic stuff is saved until
the third act of the picture.
Having seen Psychokinesis, completely
blind and without any expectations, I greatly enjoyed the story. In
fact, I dare to think that Yeon Sang Ho’s movie excels in aspects which
were not entirely delivered by another superhero flick, Inuyashiki (also
released in 2018). Meaning that there may be not a lot of action in Psychokinesis, bu it gets the family theme right to a T. Indeed, Psychokinesis is an enclosed story about an
average guy who wants to be a decent dad, not a hero, but I see the
potential for a follow-up. Special effects and action sequences are
totally awesome.
With regard to performances, this is an acting
masterclass. I love the chemistry between Ryu Seung Ryong and Shim Eun
Kyung. In addition, Jung Yu Mi plays a villainess (of sorts) called
Managing Director Hong. She is basically a female version of Joker.
Totally did not expect to see her in such a role after her performances
in The Crucible (2011) and Train to Busan (2016).
Other aspects I
greatly enjoyed were the epic music score by Jang Young Gyu and the
editing by Byun Bong Sun. In spite of things flying around, each shot of
the scene was clear and perfectly understandable. The F/X team also
left their hearts in the studio.
Recommendations I recommend
Psychokinesis if you look for an interesting, yet toned down superhero tale outside of
the MCU/DCU shenanigans. Ryu Seung Ryong is crazy awesome as an average
everyman who makes things right. Psychokinesis is indeed a floating
experience.
Overall score: 8/10
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Airport 2013; or, Mind Your Business! Everyone
has their own secrets. Is there someone who doesn't have one in this
world? But, They didn't lie out of ill-will, they lied to protect the
family. Director Koki Mitani is such an underrated filmmaker. Almost
every enthusiast of Japanese Cinema marvels at the visual finesse of
Takeshi Kitano, Takahi Miike, or Hirokazu Koreeda (and quite rightfully
so), but Mitani’s movies often seem to slip by the general mainstream.
I, for one, had a hard time tracking down this little TV movie he made
titled Airport 2013.
Release Info
Directed by: Koki MitaniStarring: Yuko Takeuchi, Katsuhisa Namase, Misuzu Kanno, Joe Odagiri
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 大空港2013 Runtime: 100 min
Synopsis Chigusa Okouchi (Yuko Takeuchi) is a
ground staff officer at a small Matsumoto airport which mainly handles
local airlines. Nevertheless, an airplane bound for Tokyo forcefully
lands in Matsumoto due to bad weather over Haneda airport. Until the
meteorological conditions clear up, Okouchi has to take care of
passengers who wait to resume their journey. In the course of her
assignment, Okouchi will unravel lots of family secrets and conspiracies
that will lead to many hilarious incidents.
Regarding Okouchi My
only wish is that I could have discovered this gem of a movie much
earlier. Koki Mitani does not present a disaster scenario as in Airport
1970 or a happy-go-lucky take on how airlines operate as in Happy
Flight (2008). Rather than that, the viewers are presented with a day in
the life of a diligent ground staff worker who carries tough
responsibilities on her shoulders.
Initially, you may think that
Okouchi has to deal with a family of degenerates, but all of them are
vibrant personalities who turn out to be extremely likable in the end.
Okouchi’s interactions with each character are so amazing and the
dialogue is so witty!
What is more, it has to be mentioned that the
whole film was shot at one take… Yes, all 100 minutes are not interrupted by
cuts. Shinichiro Ueda and Sam Mendes should learn from Mitani how to
handle this difficult art of filmmaking like a boss! Evidently, the
director’s theatre background gives the film yet another dimension of
charm. With the camera constantly following our protagonist here and
there, you really get the feeling as if you are watching a stage play!
With
regard to the performances, I know Airport 2013 is only a TV production
but it has such an A-list cast! The magnificent Yuko Takeuchi,
Katsuhisa Namase, Erika Toda, Misuzu Kanno, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masahiro
Komoto, and Joe Odagiri as phony Casanova! All of them are absolutely
brilliant. I was rolling on the floor laughing at such scenes as the
grandfather’s confession, the casting interview, and Joe escaping in a
drag!
Recommendations If you want to experience a heart-warming
and motivational story exploring tough day at work and difficult family
relations, then Airport 2013 is the sure-fire choice for you. You can never
go wrong with Koki Mitani and his storytelling style. In addition, the
movie is a marvelous showcase of Yuko Takeuchi’s talent. It’s such a
shame that this great actress is no longer with us.
Overall score: 10/10
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The Confidence Man JP: Princess; or, Anything Goes in Malaysia
What
you see isn’t always real. What’s real? What’s fake? Was Princess
Diana’s death really an accident? Did Cinderella drop her glass slipper
on purpose? Princess Kaguya demanded treasure from the rich, then
vanished to the moon. Was she a scammer too? Welcome to the world of
confidence men! After checking out the first Confidence Man JP
theatrical movie from 2019, I had low expectations for the sequel.
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised because Princess is a brilliant
and ridiculously entertaining film that does justice to the whole
franchise.
Language: Japanese Original Title: コンフィデンスマンJP プリンセス編 Runtime: 124 min
Synopsis Two years after their ordeal in Hong Kong,
Dako (Masami Nagasawa), Boku-chan (Masahiro HIgashide), and Richard
(Fumiyo Kohinata) join forces again in order to trick the Fu family from
Langkawi, Malaysia. After the death of Richard Fu (Kinya Kitaoji), the
head of the family, his three spoiled children are left out of the will
because everything is to be inherited by a certain Michelle Fu, an
illegitimate daughter who is missing. The team takes advantage of this
situation by introducing their own “Michelle Fu” played by Kokkuri
(Nagisa Sekimizu), a daughter of Dako’s old friend.
Slipping Through My Fingers Evidently,
director Ryo Tanaka and Ryota Kosawa have learned their lesson from the
first film and turned Princess into a truly cinematic experience. This
motion picture is funny, exciting, suspenseful, and, above all,
touching. However, in order to fully enjoy it, you need to at least
check out the first episode of the drama, SP feature, and the first
movie. In the universe of The Confidence Man JP, everything is
interconnected and thus many familiar faces make brief appearances as
well as contribute to the storyline with their own mini-subplots.
Nevertheless,
returning characters are not the core of this picture. The Confidence
Man JP: Princess feels with its light-hearted style, exotic locations,
vibrant costumes, and lavish production design like Mamma Mia! (2008),
but without ABBA songs. Instead, we get the usual magic from our
favourite hustlers, sprinkled with a heart-warming message about
believing in oneself and never giving up.
In terms of performances,
the entirety of the main cast gave their very best. Apart from brilliant
performances of Masami Nagasawa, Masahiro Higaside, and Fumiyo
Kohinata, I particularly liked the return of Haruma Miura and Yuko
Takeuchi. May their souls rest in peace. Nagisa Sekimizu also had
wonderful onscreen chemistry with Masami (their scenes are the best!).
In addition, Vivian Hsu and Kyohei Shibata were absolutely amazing in
supporting roles. Especially Shibata as the family’s caretaker won me
over. This guy would make an amazing Alfred in a Batman movie.
What
is more, keep an eye out on small but extremely hilarious appearances of
Mari Hamada, Kenichi Takito, Kinya Kitaoji, Dewi Soekarno, and GACKT! I
also think it’s also not much of a spoiler to say that Yosuke Eguchi
reprises his role as Akaboshi. At first, I thought the subplot with
Akaboshi is just flogging a dead horse at this point in the franchise,
but his short confrontation with the confidence team actually works very
well in Princess.
Last but not least, I have to praise the effort of
the cast in terms of handling multilingual dialogue. It is great fun to
hear Masami, Masahiro, and Fumiyo communicating in Japanese, English,
and Malay. Also, Vivian Hsu handled her English dialogue like a boss.
Recommendations All
things considered, The Confidence Man JP: Princess delivers on all
fronts. It is everything I wanted it to be and so much more! FujiTV
advertised the film as the final entry in the series, but I need at
least six more movies! I strongly hope that they will get round to
making the third part sometime soon. In my book, Princess is easily one
of the best productions of 2020.
Overall score: 9/10
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The Confidence Man JP: The Movie; To Live and Die in Hong Kong
What
you see may not be reality. What is real and what is fake? Did Adam and
Eve really love each other? Are celebrity couples in the entertainment
industry putting up a show for business? Only love knows the truth.
Welcome to the world of confidence men! Freshly after finishing the drama, I jumped onto The Confidence Man JP movies. The first theatrical
picture, directed by Ryo Tanaka and written by Ryota Kosawa, sees the
return of the original cast members as well as many familiar faces in
supporting roles. The storyline itself, however, is not entirely
breathtaking.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: コンフィデンスマンJP the movie Runtime: 116 min
Synopsis Taking place between the drama and the
special episode, the movie presents us with the team on the lookout for
their new target. Dako (Masami Nagasawa), Boku-chan (Masahiro
Higashide), and Richard (Fumiyo Kohinata) are joined by a newcomer known
as Monako (Lisa Oda). Together with Igarashi (Shinya Kote), they decide
to con a powerful leader of the triads known as Ran Riu (Yuko Takeuchi)
who is said to own a large diamond. The gang goes to Hong Kong in order
to carry out their plan, but it turns out that Ran Riu has already
become a prey of Dako’s supposedly old flame, Jessie (Haruma Miura).
Will Dako and Jessie join forces for the con? Things get complicated
when gangster Akaboshi Eisuke (Yosuke Eguchi) tries to get his revenge
on Dako, Boku, and Richard.
Diamonds are Forever Frequently,
popular drama franchises kick into higher gear when transitioning from
television to cinema. Be it Bayside Shakedown (1998), GTO (1999), or
Hero (2007), theatrical movies always pump out the excitement factor by
using a bigger budget to its fullest. Unfortunately, I cannot say that
this is the case with The Confidence Man JP: The Movie. The particular
film feels like just another SP in terms of script and overall
execution.
Apart from a few fancy overview shots of Hong Kong, the
movie does not make use of the exotic location at all. A lot of scenes
happen indoors, so it is easy to forget that the characters are actually
in the financial center of the world. What is more, a romantic
adventure about men of confidence that always thrives on intertextual
references could have placed an Easter Egg here or there to such popular
movies about hustlers like God of Gamblers (1989) and From Vegas to
Macau (2014), but it did not. In order words, sending our beloved
characters outside Japan may have made this theatrical outing a
worthwhile experience, but it ultimately became a wasted opportunity.
Once
you get over the fact that the film treats itself like just another drama
episode, it becomes pretty enjoyable. I liked the story focusing on
courting a female triad leader and the motif involving Dako’s mysterious
past. The third act is definitely the best part of the entire story.
The showdown at an airport is so epic! Evidently, there is always a
trick within a trick, so be prepared that Dako, Boku, and Richard will
get out of a heated situation once again.
I also enjoyed small
appearances from the villain characters featured in the drama. At first I
thought that this is just blatant fanservice, but they actually
contribute to the modus operandi of the main villain, Akaboshi, who is a
total badass.
With regard to performances, Masami Nagasawa, Masahiro
Higashide, and Fumiyo Kohinata are as awesome as in the drama. Lisa Oda
is a great addition to the cast as Monako. The movie also features
outstanding appearances of Haruma Miura and Yuko Takeuchi, both of whom
tragically passed away in 2020… It is a real shame that such talented
artists are no longer with us.
Recommendations If you love the
drama, then you will certainly enjoy The Confidence Man JP: The Movie.
However, do not have high expectations while checking it out. It is an
okay entry in the series, but I can’t help but feel it could have been
more epic. By the way, stay for the post-credits scene and you will be
rewarded! All in all, I hope that The Confidence Man JP: Princess (2020) will not disappoint me.
Overall score: 7/10
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