Category: Foreign

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Foreign Movie Reviews

The Storm Warriors – Huh? What The …

For the record, I am a huge fan of the Wuxia genre.  I am also a fan of the original Chinese comic book series “Fung Wan”.  OK, where shall I begin with this second installment?  Part one is my casual thoughts, which fans of the movie may disagree.  Part two is my deeper albeit random thoughts, which those with little background of the genre who may find interesting to read.

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Cynthia seems to like “The Storm Warriors”.  My mind seems to have paralyzed by the movie not sure if I like it or not.  Casual thoughts as follows.

  • Those hair!  Oh my.  The hairstyle redefined the art of messiness.  I don’t recall it is that messy in the comic book.
  • I think all the characters in the movie are badly in need of a good bath.  Maybe the costumes are badly in need of a good laundry.  OK, maybe with the exception of the two girls.  Just maybe.
  • Lord Godless reminds me of the Lich King in World of Warcraft.  The evil Wind reminds me of the vampires in Twilight.  Maybe that’s why Cynthia likes the movie.
  • Wow, you call that romance?  The relationship between Cloud and Chu Chu is lifeless.  The relationship between Wind and Second Dream doesn’t even go beyond a good hug.  One may say, so what?  Well, the love relationship between, say, Cloud and Chu Chu is supposed to be epic, for those who have read the comic book series.  Epic!  So epic that makes people cry.  So epic that makes me cry watching “The Storm Warriors” for what it could have been.
  • For those who have forgotten the storyline of the previous installment (11 years ago, who would remember?), this part two does not quite help to refresh our mind.  The storyline of this installment – deviates from the original plot I reckon – leaves much to desire.  The climax, to me, would have been a joint force battle between the two main characters against an evil character.  If the story development is intended for a part 3, I would expand on the battle with Lord Godless, keep the long battle between Wind and Cloud short, and keep the ending as it is (though I still don’t like the bad romance).
  • The original language of the movie is Cantonese I believe.  In Singapore, for reasons beyond my comprehension (or my acceptance), it is dubbed in Mandarin.  Often, I can deal with it if I have to though I would love to watch it in my language (and hence, I seldom watch Hong Kong films in Singapore’s theaters).  The issue I have with dubbing is a missing in synchronization between the acting and the voice emote.  At times, the voice seems to more involved into the plot than the acting (especially so for the two girls).  Just not natural, to me that is.
  • The subtitles are laughable.  I have this urge to re-translate the dialogs just for Cynthia’s sake.  OK, without the background of Chinese and Wuxia, I admit some if not most of the concepts are hard to grasp.  As I read both the Chinese and English subtitles, some of the essence of the dialog could have been better preserved.
  • Computer generated imaginary does not make great movies.  And we know that.
  • 11 years we have waited for this 2nd installment.  Back then, in the year 1998, Ekin Cheng (Wind) was 31 and Aaron Kwok (Cloud) was 33.  Now, imagine if the 3rd installment is to come in the year 2020 with the original casting …

What I do like are the Thai-powered martial arts and the collateral damage incorporated in the storyline.  I think the movie comes alive after some innocent lives are taken.  Look.  If there is no sex and money in the plot, at least give us blood that pops our hearts.  No?

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Wow, part one of this entry is a lot longer than I have anticipated.  Perhaps I am passionate on this genre after all.

For those of you who may not be familiar with this genre, I have a few random thoughts to share.

  • Unlike some of the Western fantasy series, Chinese fantasy series seldom have the demon and angel entities.  Seldom do we summon anything demonic from Hell, or battle the evil with the blessing of God.  In Chinese, characters are gods of good and evil.  It is the person who follow the path of good or evil, not an external divine entity.  We have celestial entities like the dragons and we have evilness in the form of greed and power and the desire of immortality that corrupts.
  • Those who choose the path of good often take years to master the martial art.  In fact, the moral compass is often incorporated into the ‘form’ of the martial art.  If you recall, after the master Nameless has inspired Cloud to create his own martial art, Nameless comments that what Cloud lacks is the ‘form’.  Unfortunately, it is lost in translation.
  • One could also master the martial art without going through the fundamental of the moral values embedded within.  I believe in real life, learning Yoga in its truest form requires practitioners to meditate.  If one is to master the martial art by taking shortcuts, one could be consumed by the chaotic power within and turns ‘evil’.  Why evil?  That goes back to the common observation that anything good be it as reputation, relationship, communal infrastructures, and etc. takes years to build.  Destruction takes seconds.  The same pair of hands spend years building a school can also detonate a bomb that destroys it all.  In the movie, Wind took a shortcut and has become ‘evil’.  So that he can be so powerful in just 3 days.  Interestingly, Cloud also gains a new martial art technique that makes him powerful in the same 3 days.  What gives?
  • Are there any shortcut then for those who choose the path of the good?  According to the famous Wuxia writer Jin Jong, yes we can.  Decade worth of power can apparently be transfered from one character to another, in rare instances.  But that is beyond the scope of this movie.  In retrospect, I suspect the filmmaker wanted to incorporate this concept in the boosting of Cloud’s power by what remains in Nameless (the 10% after some bad wounding from the previous battle).  That would have made more sense as the path to good is often a long process.  I caught that in the dialog between the two.  But somehow, it is not executed that way in the movie.
  • While characters in a Wuxia setting often wield or in perpetual search for the ultimate weapon and armor – one that destroys all and one that is invincible to any attack – even the martial art technique to shield one from all harm, there is always a weakness somewhere (otherwise the story would be incredibly boring, no?).  That is what the repeated clumsy subtitle “his weakest point is hiding behind his strongest point” tries to convey.  Since the intended audience of the English subtitles are the ones who should have some concept of the Western culture, I personally would simply use the term “Achilles’ heel” to help with the translation.

Wow, an equally long part two!  Thanks for reading.  Peace.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Don’t Look Back (Ne Te Retourne Pas) – An Ending Worths The Wait

Poster version 1

An European film staring Sophie Marceau and Monica Bullucci?  No way I am going to miss it.  At the opening of the movie, TK and Cynthia simultaneously from my right and left asked if “Don’t Look Back” is a horror show.  Uh-oh.  One tiny detail I have not researched, prior to the booking of the tickets.  As the film got weirder and weirder, I really thought I have picked a horror show acutely aware of every small movements of the two next to me.  As though I was prepared for them to suddenly scream or jump out of their seats.  And then ban me [again] for making decision on which film to watch.

And the second version of the poster

Fortunately, “Don’t Look Back” is not a horror movie, though I could imagine that it could be quite a horrible experience for someone like the main character to have misplaced memories, knowing faces but not recognizing them.  Sophie Marceau and Monica Bullucci both played the same character Jeanne.  At some point, I thought I was watching Niki Sanders from the television series Heroes.  Or watching a ghost movie.  I wouldn’t go too much into the story here.  It is one woman’s psychological suffering and it is one woman’s desire to discover the 8 years of missing childhood memory.  It is an art house type of movie.  And the pace can be slow.  Because the surrounding environments and the faces of the same character change all the time, it could be rather strange and confusing to watch.  Characters at times switch from adult to child form and vice versa, rooms get distorted and elongated to signify the change in perspective from the eyes of an adult to a child, scenes have subtle meanings that perhaps make sense to some towards the end.  I think there are quite a few ways to interpret this movie, at least amongst the three of us.  It is a movie that certainly has re-watch value.

I thought both Sophie Marceau and Monica Bullucci have acted well in “Dont’ Look Back”.  Sophie’s psychological suffering and Monica’s invulnerability.  Pairing them up in the same movie is a nice treat for especially fans of both European actresses.

Categories
Comedy Foreign Movie Reviews

My Girlfriend Is An Agent – So Very Hilarious!

What a funny show!

Once in a while, there are movies that are so beyond expectation that you thought: Wow, I am so glad that I’ve picked it.  Maybe my week has been somewhat humdrum, maybe there are just too many sad news of old wive poisoning old husband, young teen stabbing his young girlfriend to death, or the groom jumping off from the hotel’s rooftop dead while the new bride was showering, I am so in need of something funny, something to make my day.  So I picked “My Girlfriend Is An Agent”, and mobilized the Movie Review Squad.  Not sure why, I was half expecting something like “My Wife Is A Gangster”.  But the resemblance stops at the title.

This movie is closed to two hours.  And the audience was awesome!  Quite a few were clapping hands and all of us were laughing out loud throughout the show.  To the crowd at The Cathay for the 7.30 pm show last Friday, you guys rock!

OK.  To be honest, there isn’t much storyline per se.  Whether some Koreans are selling some very dangerous bio weapon ingredients to some Russians is not quite what I am interested to find out and follow through.  The main storyline, to me, is merely a background and setup for the comic scenes.  I was pleasantly surprised to see how happy Cynthia laughed inside the theater, knowing that Korean films are usually not her cup of tea.  The overall storyline may not be memorable.  But some of the comical materials certainly are.

Categories
Action & Thriller Foreign Movie Reviews

Amalfi (Amarufi) – Japanese Diplomacy Is A Long Process

Yet another Japanese film!

When I was young, I often read Japanese novels of the detective and thriller genre.  In Chinese of course.  There is this Oriental exoticism that is different from the similar stories of the West.  The twists and turns, the ambiance, the backdrops, and the attention to details like an art – all in a pace that is less of a page turner, but rather a consistent grind from start to end.  In a strange way, watching the 125 minutes Japanese film “Amalfi” reminds me of just that.

“Amalfi” is a special production to mark Fuji Television’s 50th anniversary, entirely shot in Italy.  The scenery is beautiful.  As Cynthia and I watched the movie, some scenes reminded us of our honeymoon back in 2000.  The plot is full of twists, though somewhat linear.  You could of course sit back and watch the movie as it is.  Or you could – like me – think together with the actor, as he pauses, eyes dashing around the surrounding, and the music stops giving you the opportunity to think.

As for the storyline, I wouldn’t say too much here.  But here is the excerpt.  A single mother has gone for a holiday with her little daughter in Italy and soon, her daughter is kidnapped.  A Japanese diplomat has joined the Japanese Embassy in Rome and is assigned to handle this kidnap case.  Soon, they discover that this entire setup is more than just a kidnap.

I can understand that some may find this movie a bit too long and boring.  Some parts are a bit far fetched, though by and large, the storyline makes sense.  I in especially am delighted by the acting: a single mother who has to appear strong under even the most trying period of her life, a diplomat who has poor communication skill but his eyes say it all.  “Amalfi” is more than a thriller.  I am not a Japanese.  But it is refreshing to see a Japanese film taking on the International arena.  I for one am awed by the breathtaking scenes shot in Rome.  One scene, they are taking a public bus, standing with the crowd, the camera gradually zooms out, through the bus window.  As the bus drives away, there it is, the famous backdrop of Rome.  Such class!

PS. I think the filmmakers are big, big fan of Sarah Brightman.

Categories
Foreign Horror Movie Reviews

Darah – Made In Indonesia

Blood, a lot of blood!

Last Monday was significant in a few ways.  I have decided to be a vegetarian if the circumstances allow.  Something like a social meat eater.  Let’s see how long it will last.  F1 has one more race to go but the driver and constructor’s champion titles have already been concluded.  Cynthia was out-of-town and with my new found freedom, I picked a horror movie to watch.

Strictly speaking, this Indonesian production “Darah” (means blood in Malay) is not a horror film.  More like a thriller with lots and lots of blood.  I can imagine my buddy Mark would faint halfway through the show.  While some friends of mine have rightfully pointed out that there are better horror films than this (and many others would not want to watch this genre), my motivation of watching “Darah” was as follows:

  1. I love watching a horror film in a theater.  I am often entertained by the atmosphere of pockets of audience screaming-out-loud.
  2. I always enjoy watching an Indonesian production that makes it to the International market.  I have studied the language before and it is fun trying to understand the dialogs natively.

First half an hour of “Darah” is devoted to the character development of six friends – guys and girls and I was thinking: where is the blood?  Second half an hour sees the introduction of the scary family of Dara the mother, Adam and Maya – her scary son and her hot daughter in red, and a rather fat butcher who reminds me of a pedophile or a pervert.  OK, I began to see blood.  The last half an hour is filled with accentuated chopping and dismemberment, blood, more blood, and extremely more blood in a chaotic mindless way.  Oh my.  There was only one color I saw: red.

While one may argue that “Darah” lacks the storyline quality, I do find a story built with a hint of folklore better than just another ghost story in a refreshing way.  At the beginning of the movie, there is an argument of a sister blaming her brother over the death of their parents.  Something to do with an unfortunate decision that the brother has made.  That ties in nicely to the ending of the show, in my opinion, when the sister has realized what a terrible mistake she has made.  Also, there was an opening scene of pieces of steak cooked over charcoal fire somewhere in the city of Bandung.  That metaphor has morphed into something pretty gruesome as the story unfolds.  And what I really appreciate is how artistic this film is created.  I am intrigued by the quality of work too.

My only complain is the censorship.  Even with a M18 rating, there are quite a few scenes being cut and without those, some parts of the movie seem a bit flat.  What a pity.  Having said that, there are still a lot of blood and gore scenes that may make your stomach churns.  Those scenes didn’t seem to affect me though.  I had minestrone soup and vegetarian pasta in tomato sauce for dinner.

Horror movies, I want more!

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Tokyo Sonata – On Starting Over

Every Family Has Its Secrets ...

Whether or not you would like “Tokyo Sonata” depends on (a) how much you like the picture house type of movie, (b) how curious are you on the modern Japanese culture, and (c) how much you can relate to the story.  Ironically, I could not persuade my Japanese friend whom we met for a dinner to watch this Japanese show.  Uh-oh.  On paper, “Tokyo Sonata” has won 8 awards including Cannes Film Festival.  What about on screen?

Behind closed doors, each family member is keeping a secret from one another.  A younger son who doesn’t seem to fit in with his school and wishes to learn playing the piano instead, an older son who is tired of distributing pamphlets in the wee hours for a living and wishes to find meaning in life by doing something totally different, a father who is retrenched from his post as the director of administration and is finding it hard to come to terms with the reality, and a mother who is struggling with this dysfunctional family and is dreaming of a life of the otherwise.

It is a depressing movie to watch.  I have not lived in Japan yet but I can imagine the long recession must have affected Japan, from what I have read.  I feel for these characters.  Each day is a struggle.  Just how hard it is to live a lie every day – in the name of the tradition – and yet, each character exhibits his share of integrity in his own way.

“Tokyo Sonata” is a slow paced movie attending to the very detail of tradition and human interaction.  I could almost imagine watching the entire movie as a sonata, with a very slow and lengthy middle section.  But the last part of the movie is phenomenal.  The story development of each character takes a dramatic turn and converges to a theme of – what I would perceive as – starting over.

Great acting, it is.  And the ending bits well worth the 2 hours of waiting, to me.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Inglourious Basterds – Can A Film End The War?

Inglourious Bastards

The script of “Inglourious Basterds” took Quentin Tarantino more than a decade to complete.  It shows.  Of his films I have watched, I am much intrigued by the quality of the story development of “Inglourious Besterds”.  It watched like reading a masterpiece story.  Divided into 5 chapters, the Nazi hunts the Jews, the American ‘commandos’ infiltrate the Nazi occupied Parisian territory, and the Jews’ uprising against the Nazi – a spaghetti like storyline told in a humorous, dramatic, and at times gruesome manner.  So, will the Jew or the American or even the German end the World War II?  The ending could be more than what you would expect.

Quentin Tarantino’s signature is all over “Inglourious Basterds”.  The music, the treatment to the scene down to the frame by frame level, and the orchestration of a team of talented European actors and actresses whom some of them are in their own rights a director and a producer.  Some metaphors are cleverly repeated cross the chapters.  Such as the interrogation and negotiation.  Some metaphors are linked to well known stories of the past.  I can understand how some may cringed at the scene of the gruesome execution.  However, I think “Inglourious Basterds” is a lot milder compares to some of Quentin Tarantino’s previous works.  In fact, it is so refined that some scenes are just beautiful to watch, however tragic they may be.

I read that Quentin Tarantino took some time to find the ending to this ‘best writing he has ever done’.  I am unsure if it is the perfect ending to the script, or I in fact like the ending.  Perhaps, I just didn’t want the film to end.  Quentin Tarantino is so talented.  He is a legend no less.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Coco Before Chanel – Those Deep Black Eyes That Say More Than Words

Audrey Tautou's New Film Coco

I knew I shouldn’t trust The Straits Times’s review, especially one written by Ong Sor Fern.  She is still writing reviews for our local paper, after all these years.  Amazing (in a not so good way).  I haven’t read her review prior to watching the movie.  Cynthia did and has decided to give “Coco Before Chanel (Coco Avant Chanel)” a skip.  One of my long time reader whom I have met once to help him choosing a Nikon camera contacted me if we wished to go for a Audrey Tautou movie outing.  I warned him of The Straits Times’s review.  He said he does not trust what some of the reviews say.  Neither does my buddy Mr. TK.

So, three men headed to Plaza Singapura and watched “Coco Before Chanel”.  It was a man’s day out.  We shared dessert, popcorn, and drinks, soaked in a shopping mall that was so full smoking hot girls in sexy outfits.  Some I would marginally classify as lingerie.  But I am not complaining.

Neither do I complain about Audrey Tautou’s new film “Coco Before Chanel”.  I was holding my breath throughout the movie, to watch patiently on how the story unfolds for such a French iconic figure.  I have deep admiration to the key person behind the Chanel empire.  The pioneer and epitome of French fashion for women.  I have lived in Paris and to those who have experienced what living in this city of romance is like, you would agree with me that French fashion is very much living and breathing amongst the French.

“Coco Before Chanel” tells a story of the young Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, her struggle and determination for money and fame, her love affairs, and from the development of her fashion philosophy to what appears as the initial launch of her fashion line-up – the initial years of Gabrielle Chanel so as to speak.  I appreciate the artistic freedom poured into this particular segment of Chanel’s life that is perhaps less documented compares to her later years.

Audrey Tautou is a great actress and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel is a demanding role for her.  In the film, she needs to stand out as a woman ahead of her time, think differently from how the men and women of her time perceived fashion to be.  With her character’s background as an orphan, there is a certain emphasis on the theme of getting abandoned – as a child, as a sibling, and as a lover – that gives her an unique sense of solitude but yet, not too much on being vulnerable.  To be Chanel, she needs to put on a convincing act as a tailor, to handle clothes and accessories.  There is a wide spectrum of emotion for her to act.  That hunger for success, that determination, that pragmatism towards a love relationship, the constant distaste of female fashion of her time, the mood swing, and the joy and pain of love.  Audrey Tautou handles them well.  Those deep black eyes, that say it all.

I find the love relationship between Chanel and the more matured French playboy and millionaire Étienne Balsan (acted by Benoît Poelvoorde) playful, with witty and lively dialogues.  I find the love relationship between Chanel and the charming England businessman Arthur Capel (acted by Alessandro Nivola) intense, and heart wrenching.  I especially enjoy watching the pieces of fashion created by Chanel as the story develops.  Certainly not some works of fashion we can relate today.  Nevertheless, it is the philosophy behind the fashion that we should be focusing onto.

To me, “Coco Before Chanel” is one of the most memorable works by Audrey Tautou.  It is still an art movie and you have got to have the patience to appreciate the art within.  One couple near us appeared in constant torture by the slowness of the movie resorted to twisting and turning on their seats, talking to each other, and playing with their wireless phones.  I felt sorry for them.  One scene towards the end, Audrey Tautou was looking at her models attentively, and those eyes of seriousness then changed into longing with a tint of emptiness.  And the emptiness expanded answered by the flashbacks in her head.  As soon as she returned to reality looking at what she has achieved, there was a sign of peace and contentment.  Did she dedicate her success to someone she loved (I think so)?  At last, she looked into the audience (us) and smiled.  The image turned timeless.  All the above scenes are communicated without words.  Just expression from her eyes, the music and the change in scenes, in one fluid motion.  To some, that may be boring.  But to me, that is hauntingly beautiful.

Personally, I have this wish that as Audrey Tauto grows older, she will revisit the life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel again and act out the later stage of Chanel’s life.  That would be something really to look forward to.

PS-1. As a little gossip to those who have watched the film.  In case if you have not read, Audrey Tauto has started dating Benoît Poelvoorde whom she met from the set.

PS-2. I have been to the French coastal city Deauville as mentioned in the film.  Although I was alone at that time, I enjoyed visiting Deauville immensely.  It was beautiful.  Still is, I reckon.

Categories
Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Threads of Destiny – OK, I Wonder What Part 2 Would Be Like

Threads of Destiny

So I had a movie ‘date’ with a … guy.  Because Cynthia has an social gathering with other girls and she doesn’t like to watch sappy Japanese movies.  Sure, give me some of those tragic tears.  I mean that’s what you would expect when you watch a Japanese teenage romance, especially one that is from the cell-phone novel genre right (remember “Sky of Love”)?

Orchard Road was jam packed with heavy traffic.  It took me a long time to arrive at Cineleisure.  It was a long queue at the ticket office too.  When it was our turn, the trainee said to me, “Threads of Destiny!  You would love it.  It’s such a great movie!”.  She said it with such level of admiration, and conviction.  And here we are, two dudes watching a Japanese teenage romance with an added age exceeds this young box office trainee’s by a good multiple of times.  Something is wrong with the picture.

I just had to run to Far East and install a protective film for my new Nokia N97 (you will hear more later, for sure!).  “Wilf, we won’t have enough time,” my ‘date’ lamented.  I looked at the clock, 30 minutes before the show starts.  And you know Cathay cinemas, they start movies on time.  But my desire to put on some protection was too hard to deny.  So I said to him, with determine, “Don’t worry, I will be back, before the show starts.”

So I ran.  Really ran.  Along the jam packed Orchard Road with human traffic, reached the shop before the next customer (who has 3 Blackberry phones and we had such a good chat on Nokia phones), have my protection on, and ran all the way back.  My friend got me the popcorn and drink (so sweet, thanks!) and we arrived at the theatre just in time.  Not a second early, not a second late.  Oh, I managed to say hi to my blogger friends who were participating at the Tangs 24 hours Blogathon when I was running to and fro along Orchard Road.  I am green with envy!

From what I gathered, “Threads of Destiny” is a Japanese cell-phone novel (that I will probably read), a TV drama series, and now a movie adaptation.  From what I gathered, this movie version is not quite like the original story that is more violent, filled with physical intimacy and drug abuse.  I am not sure why the change but watching “Threads of Destiny” as a movie, it has all the classic Japanese drama elements of teenage romance and friendship.  Probably a bit overdosed with tragedies.  In Singapore, the movie is edited to a PG rating.  I wonder what has been edited out.  Perhaps the scene on drug usage (or sexual intimacy!).

Mei and Atsushi (played by Nao Minamisawa and Junpei Mizobata) share the same birthday, Feb 29 and Fate is supposed to string them together even though there are so many driving forces that keep them apart.  One moment, the story is filled with happiness.  Another moment, something bad happens.  I swear some of the [female] audience was gasping as the tragedy happened.  No, there are no tears jerking moments and I did struggle with the lack of logic on some of these tragic moments.  Personally, I think Nao looks pretty darn cute when she is sad and she has this outlook of nothing-bad-can-ruin-her-day, which I think it’s perfect for this role.  Such a sad role to be in, if you think about it.

I read that some viewers are not too happy with the ending.  It is not much of an ending per se as there is a part two for this movie.  There are many lose ends and strange to say, I like the ending as it is.

By the way, there is this one conversation in the movie that I think it is memorable in a bizarre way.  Mei asked, “Will we meet again”.  And Atsushi’s answer is so out-of-the-world that you either hate it (I suspect most do) or amazed by it.  I mean, who would have answered such a simple question that way right?!

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Foreign Movie Reviews

20th Century Boys 2 – This Trilogy Is Growing On Me

20th Century Boys 2

October 2008, the Movie Review Squad has watched the first installment of this trilogy, of this perhaps the most expensive Japanese film ever made.  I wonder why there is a 6 months delay before part 2 arrives in [a tiny theater in] Singapore (compare to a 2 months gap for part 1).  And I look forward to a part 3 that will be released this August in Singapore.  So it says on the big screen at the end of the trailer, at the end of the 142 minutes movie.

142 minute?!

Part 2 is just as lengthy as part 1.  To recap, “20th Century Boys” is our friend TK’s baby.  He got us into this.  Friend!  And surprisingly, Cynthia loves the part 1 too.  I found the first part a bit lengthy, a bit confusing, and kind of lacking in the eye candy factor.  Men!  I know.

Comes part 2, titled “The Last Hope”.  Although it is still a bit lengthy, because the plot doesn’t go back and forth in time that often like part 1, it is much easier to follow.  The story is still as confusing as ever partly because I am – or we are – overwhelmed by the sheer number of key characters with names in Japanese (of course).  And honestly speaking, our recollection of the plot thus far was very minimal.  If you recall, part 1 is about this Book of Prophesy, whereby the future plays out exactly as what was ‘predicted’.  Part 2 is about this New Book of Prophesy, that is even more absurdly bizarre.  I said it many times, Japanese imagination knows no bound.  The entire story of “20th Century Boys” and the concept created is just, strange.  But I am liking it.

The year is 2015 and the heroine Kanna has grown up.  I am not 100% sure if the 24 years old actress Airi Taira can act that well.  But she is one eye candy for sure.  I love her hairstyle in the show (shallow I so am!).  Deep inside, I was – or we were – hoping that Kanna would play a much bigger role in the overall plot.  But I was mildly disappointed.  Perhaps part 2 has this mid episode syndrome and is sandwiched between two episodes with a scale of total world destruction, Kanna can only do what Kanna has done.

I have absolutely no idea how the part 3 is going to play out of course.  Maybe Kanna will save the world.  Maybe somebody else does (the title does imply that the heroes belong to the male species though).  Or maybe the world will be destroyed for good.  Personally I enjoy part 2 more than part 1.  The filmmakers have done a great job in delivering us a powerful ending for “The Last Hope”.  And I find myself cracking into laughter here and there amazed by the super dramatized acting and over the top production.  In preparing ourselves for the finale, I think the Movie Review Squad needs to spend some time and watch the first two installments again in order to get a better grasp on what the story is about.  I may even need to dig up some “20th Century Boys” manga online!