I don't know if you're a fool or just a plain good guy. I
have already written this on MDL, but allow me to repeat it: I’d have
never thought that I will watch a romcom/heist flick with 22-year-old
Kyoko Koizumi playing a criminal mastermind. It is so out of the ordinary
seeing this great actress together with the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada
(28 at that time) on the screen. Well, director Makoto Wada made it
possible and Kaito Ruby is a sweet, fun flick indeed.
Release Info
Directed by: Makoto WadaStarring: Kyoko Koizumi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kumi Mizuno
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 快盗ルビイ Runtime: 96 min
Synopsis Toru
Hayashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is a nerdy guy who lives with his mom (Kumi
Mizuno) in an apartment complex. One day, he notices that a beautiful
girl known as Ruby (Kyoko Koizumi) moves into a flat two floors above
him. All of a sudden, the girl confesses that is a professional burglar
and enlists Toru to help her out in heist projects. Toru agrees but his
cowardice always gets the better of him in heated situations.
Play it again, Toru During
the first thirty minutes of the film, you get an impression that this
is a standard, run-on-the-mill, romantic comedy in which a clumsy guy
falls for a quirky girl who is way of his league, but the longer the
film lasts, the better it gets.
The jokes and slapstick comedy are
entertaining to watch but the chemistry between Sanada and Koizumi is
off the charts. Kaito Ruby really feels like an homage to American
comedies from the 1950s, especially in terms of static cinematographic
style, dream-like production design, and musical numbers (yes, Kyoko and
Hiroyuki sing together!)
My only complaint is that the film could
have been shorter because some of the sequences feel a bit prolonged
(for instance, the boyfriend subplot). Nevertheless, it is still a great
experience watching the film.
With regard to performances, Hiroyuki
Sanada is obviously too cool for school as the next-door boy with huge
glasses (didn’t recognise him at first!). Kyoko Koizumi also delivers a
radically different performance from her standard drama roles as a
know-it-all girl who is basically a missing member of Ocean’s Eleven.
Additional bonus is the appearance of Kumi Mizuno herself as the sweet
and patient mom.
Recommendations If you are looking for a light
comedy with great leads for Sunday afternoon, then Kaito Ruby is a great
choice. The ending really has the spirit of Koki Mitani movies and
Kyoko Kizumi also sings the main theme. All in all, Kaito Ruby will most
certainly uplift your mood.
Overall score: 8/10
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Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to
comedies. Some people like slapstick, whereas others are more keen on
situational stuff. I’m quite open to many kinds of comedies, but when we are
talking about Japanese super weird take on the genre, then I’m full on board
with that. Gen Sekiguchi’s Survive Style 5+ is such a movie and it is just
awesome.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: SURVIVE STYLE5+ Runtime: 120 min
Synopsis
The movie follows five stories that are loosely connected
with each other. Ishigaki (Tadanobu Asano) is a guy who repeatedly kills his
wife (Reika Hashimoto) only to find her waiting for him, furious, at their home.
Yoko (Kyoko Koizumi) is a commercial executive who tries to come up with ideas
for TV ads. Tatsuya (Ittoku Kishibe) is a salaryman who gets hypnotised on
stage by a performer (Hiroshi Abe) who is killed in the middle of the act.
There are also three burglars (Yoshiyuki Morishita, Jai West, Kanji Tsuda) who
aimlessly wander through the city. In addition, all of the characters encounter
a British assassin-for-hire (Vinnie Jones) and his frightened interpreter
(Yoshiyoshi Arakawa).
You Can’t Unsee It!
While looking for Japanese comedies a few years ago, Survive
Style 5+ was the number 1 recommendation on many movie sites. However, if
you expect the type of a conventional and linear story with funny elements,
then you are wrong. This movie feels more like a collection of a few shorts,
each dealing with a different matter, which come together only at the very end.
All in all, the film was directed by a guy specialising in making short films.
What made me like Survive Style 5+ is the freewheeling
quirkiness that ultimately forms into morality tales. We have a guy who, for
some reason, kills his wife and then she magically reappears at their home only
to physically attack him in an epic way. There’s a lady with some really weird
ideas for commercials which always get rejected. Not to mention a salaryman who
acts as if he were a bird and a homosexual burglar who is afraid of admitting
his love to a friend. As a result, we get lots of craziness thrown at us and this
leads to the only inevitable outcome: hysterical laughter.
I was also surprised by a number of great actors and
actresses who appear in this flick. We get to see Tadanobu Asano, Reika
Hashimoto, Kyoko Koizumi, Hiroshi Abe, Ittoku Kishibe, and Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
in one picture! Vinnie Jones and his overdone Brit accent also have to be
mentioned. I loved their performances but my heart was stolen by Hiroshi Abe’s
small part as the crazy, womanising hypnotist. You always rock, Hiroshi(!) In
addition, I also liked the cameos made by Sonny Chiba, Tae Kimura, and Kotaro
Shiga.
The additional plus of Survive Style 5+ is the soundtrack. Apart
from James Shimoji’s wonderful compositions like the main theme or Angel Air,
we get to hear a variety of recognisable tracks, such as Rob Laufer’s Go, Go, Go, Yasuyuki Okamura and Takkyu Isino's Come Baby, and Cake’s version of I Will Survive. The soundtrack is so good that it can be listened to on its own.
Recommendations
To sum up, if you are trying to get a taste of Japanese
comedies, then Survive Style 5+ is the best starter. It has quirkiness, dynamic
vibes, and (possibly) one of the greatest endings in film history. Apart from
making you laugh, it will also heighten your emotions with a bit of touching
messages. In short, Survive Style 5+ is an amazing film and you need to watch it
ASAP if you have not done so already.
Happiness creeps into you so quietly that you don’t notice…
but misfortune arrives abruptly.
I vividly remember the first time when I saw Adrift in Tokyo
(or Tenten, to be exact). The movie made my smile and filled my disheartened
mind with the much-needed dose of optimism. Now is the time for me to revisit
this great film after a whole year and share my thoughts on the slow-paced
walks through Tokyo. Release Info
Directed by: Satoshi MikiStarring: Tomokazu Miura, Joe Odagiri, Kyoko Koizumi
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 転々 Runtime: 100 min
Synopsis
Takemura (Joe Odagiri) is a college student who, in some
unknown way, accumulated 840,000 yen in debt. One day, he is visited by a debt
collector, Fukuhara (Tomokazu Miura) who threatens him and sets the deadline for Takemura to return the money in three days. The day before the deadline,
Fukuhara presents Takemura with the following deal: accompany him during his
Tokyo walks anywhere and for as long as he wants, and in return, Takemura will
get 1 million yen. Takemura reluctantly agrees and goes with strange Fukuhara.
“Was there something good these few days?”
First of all, I should point out that Adrift in Tokyo is not
an experimental movie, although it certainly has this indie aura around itself. It
starts off in a wacky way, similar to Survive Style 5+ (2004), when Fukuhara attacks
Takemura. However, the quirky nature of their walks through Tokyo gradually
comes into the spotlight. I wouldn’t call this movie a straightforward comedy.
Rather, it is a funny slice-of-life picture about strange guys having strange
adventures within the urban cityscape.
Yasujiro Ozu would have probably turned the premise of
Adrift in Tokyo into something akin to The Before Trilogy, but the director
Satoshi Miki engages the viewers into the story by creating colourful
characters who gradually open up to each other and share their past experiences.
This is not Crime and Punishment, but a simple tale of a guy reminiscing about his
wife and a student who never had a father.
Because 90% of action is happening outside, the
cinematography is just beautiful. I love how the camera pans through the
backstreets and alleys of Tokyo as Fukuhara and Takemura are waking together.
The camera is not fixed in front of them (the Before Trilogy flashbacks), but
travels next to the characters, as if inviting the viewers to tag along.
However, the movie is not completely consumed by Fukuhara
and Takemura, because the supporting characters are even quirkier than them.
For example, they meet a cosplayer, angry mat dealer, aspiring painter,
and a fake wife, to enumerate just a few. In addition, there is a little side
story about three co-workers who are searching for Fukuhara’s
wife. Oh! Ittoku Kishibe also shows up… as Ittoku Kishibe, the famous
actor whose sighting will bring good luck :)
With regard to performances, Adrift in Tokyo was my first
introduction to both Joe Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura and now I can’t think about
them separately. Miura is brilliant in crime/police dramas, whereas the
unconventional Odagiri does a great deal of various genres in cinema and on
television. The two actors have a perfect chemistry together and they really
sell the friendship that forms between Fukuhara and Takemura, even to a point
that I got teary-eyed towards the end. Kyoko Koizumi and Yuriko Yoshitaka also
deserve praise as Fukuhara’s eccentric “relatives”. Additionally, Eri Fuse, Ryo
Iwamatsu, and Yutaka Matsushige(!) appear as the three co-workers. Apart from
Ittoku Kishibe popping up here and there, Akiko Kazami also has a great cameo appearance
in the concluding scene. I just love this cast!
Recommendations
All things considered, Adrift in Tokyo is a heart-warming
story about discovering happiness and finding our close ones even in complete strangers.
The movie had me laughing out loud a couple of times, but it also moved me
incredibly. Highly recommended to anyone who likes slow and peculiar stories
with a big city in the background. I think that, every once in a while, each of
us should go on a “strait” across Tokyo. We should find happiness even in the
smallest things.
Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 3; or, Release the Prisoners!
One thing I forgot to say... Your death won't be beautiful.
You've got no pride, huh? No matter what, I'm going to arrest you. I take pride
in that.
It’s been 7 years since the latest instalment of Bayside
Shakedown until Yuji Oda proudly announced in 2010: "We’re back". Indeed, the
Odoru Daisousasen team returned in this new and exciting reboot/sequel called Bayside
Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 踊る大捜査線 THE MOVIE3 Runtime: 141 min
Synopsis
Aoshima (Yuji Oda) was promoted to Section Chief and he is
currently handling a difficult logistic operation of moving the Wangan Police
Station to its new headquarters. In the meantime, strange crimes take place. A
bus hijack without any hijackers on board or a bank robbery without any money
being stolen. What is more, the WPS chiefs find out that three pistols were
stolen from the station’s arsenal. An unknown group of high-tech terrorists
send in the ultimatum: Release specific prisoners arrested by Detective Aoshima
or people will be shot from the stolen guns, and the Wangan staff will be
gassed by toxins. In the course of his investigation, Aoshima discovers that the
terrorists are connected with one of the prisoners.
Running Scared
Well, Bayside Shakedown 3, what can I say? After The Suspect:
Muroi Shinji (2005) and the long break between the second and the third movie, I
gather that the series began to run out of steam. Thus, it needed a proper
injection of novelty as well as referencing to the previous films. As a result,
this sequel feels very much like a reboot. We have a change of location and
some new characters like Waku’s nephew, Shinjiro Waku (Atsushi Ito), Chinese
police officer Wang (Kenichi Takito), and Natsumi Shinohara (Yuki Uchida), returning
from the 1998 special episode: Wangan Police Station Female Officers’ Story.
Even the picture’s colour palette seems more lively and vivid in
comparison to the other movies, which had more greyish overlay.
With regard to the story, thankfully the usual Odoru theme
of bureaucracy is not brought into the spotlight. Instead, the drama is
delivered with the subplot of Aoshima being misdiagnosed with cancer... (I did
not make that up). This sounds so far-fetched outright that it becomes the main
disadvantage of this movie. I realise that the makers wanted some emotional
scenes between Aoshima and Sumire (Eri Fukatsu) as well as some big catharsis
towards the end (that Aoshima is actually healthy and the x-ray was faulty), but
it is really uninspiring to watch. Especially when the script tried to turn
Aoshima into Dabney Coleman’s character from Short Time (1990), as he is
unafraid of anything, because he knows that he is going to die. The movie could
easily got away without this subplot, and thus, decrease its lengthy runtime
(140 minutes).
When all was said about the downsides, some positives have
to be mentioned. Well, Kyoko Koizumi returns as Manami Hyuga from the first movie
and she is revealed to be the main villainess of this story. However, contrary
to her performance in Movie 1, Koizumi gives a very distanced and frigid
portrayal of a crazy psychopath, so do not expect to hear her hysterical
laughter or see her running amok with a loaded gun.
When the action is there, it is entertaining, especially
with Akihiko Matsumoto’s main theme. New characters serve as a good addition to
Aoshima’s team, though they are not given much time in the movie. Oh! Susumu
Terajima has a small cameo in one of the scenes as Detective Kijima. Also, Shun
Oguri plays Torigai, a Harvey Dent-like character who appears to start off as a
good guy but gradually transforms into a baddie by the fourth movie.
About the performances, the original cast shines as brightly
as ever with Yuji Oda and Eri Fukatsu in the leading roles. Toshiro Yanagiba’s
appearance as Muroi Shinji is slightly limited in this sequel, but it’s always
great to see him. Yusuke Santamaria and Kotaro Koizumi also return from Negotiator:
Mashita Masayoshi (2005) and the WPS chiefs (Soichiro Kitmura, Satoru Saito, Takehiko
Ono) are funny as always, though one can tell that the passage of time has
taken a toll on them.
Recommendations
To sum up, Odoru Daisōsasen The Movie 3: Yatsura o Kaihō
Seyo! is a fun and refreshing entry in the series. Though uneven at times, it’s
a safe pick for Friday night. Unfortunately, it may not be suited for
repetitive viewing. Probably that is the reason why it did well in the box
office (over 7 billion yen), but not as good as the two previous films.
However, it has the cast, it has the music, and it has the entertaining factor.
This is a fully fledged Bayside Shakedown sequel.
