REVIEW: You're Beautiful (Korean Drama: 2009)

     As I mentioned in a previous post, I started watching this drama quite a while ago. After the third episode, I felt myself become increasingly disillusioned with the series as it bore a striking resemblance to two different Japanese dramas I have seen before (it was like a kind of hybrid of the two).

However, thanks to my sister's enthusiasm to see Lee Hong Ki's acting, I decided to give it another chance, pushing aside my previously accumulated issues with its somewhat unoriginal narrative.

REVIEW: Ouran High School Host Club - Live-action (Japanese Drama: 2011)

[Read on UnitedJPop here].

When I first read that there was going to be a Live-action adaption of the manga and anime series Ouran High School Host Club I was incredibly excited. I am a HUGE fan of the anime series and I had wanted a live drama to be created from for a long time. My sister and I had even come up with our ideal castings for each character, (we have also compiled a casting list for the Vampire Knight series! So if any directors need some ideas...!).

My excitement levels were bolstered by the announcements of the actual cast, despite the fact that none of the actors I wanted were chosen APART from the the twins!! (hmph!). However, as I say, I was still happy with it...

REVIEW: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (Japanese Movie: 2010)

[Read this on UnitedJPop too. Click here].
Let's cut to the chase and cover the main reasons why a watched this film, there are three:
1 - Maki Horikita (One of my favourite actresses...yes, I DO have favourite actresses!)
2 - Ken'ichi Matsuyama (And he was playing a weirdo again...hooray!)
3 - Tegoshi Yuya (He is just one of my favourite people in general...not really a great actor, but I enjoy just seeing him).

REVIEW: Death Note Part 1 + Death Note Part 2: The Last Name (Japanese Movie, Warner Bros: 2006/7)

I am going to write a review of these two films with the perspective that they have been combined to make one single film...because that is basically what they are in a way...the second is an immediate continuation of the first!!
I also think that it would not be right for me to split what is ONE story into two chunks just because they had to do that for the film adaptation.

My first encounter of the Death Note franchise was when I was in year 12. My friends and I would sometimes use our free lessons (gosh, I miss those!) to read the magazines in the library (we were hard workers :P). We would always be sure to look at Neo Magazine because it's devoted to manga, anime and Japanese culture in general.
I remember being intrigued by an advert in the mag for the film L: Change the World, which had been released that year. My friend (Safi again) then told me that one of my other friends, Yousra, had watched it and enjoyed all three films.

I set out to search for the film online when the webpage loaded and I was greeted with a message above the videobox (check out the terminology there...)
It said that it would be strongly recommended that I watch the anime series before I watch the films because the films would "ruin it for me". So, whilst being unsure if I would even try the films anyway as they were able to ruin things, I went to watch the anime beforehand.

I am not a HUGE fan of animes, to be honest.
I think part of the reason for that is simply because the series are so bloody long that it puts me off from the word go, I also have only just learned from a friend about "Fillers" in animes and consequently realise why Dragonball Z always took so long to get ANYWHERE at all.

However, after watching the 37 episodes of the Death Note anime (not too bad I suppose), I can say that I am very glad that I did.
Anyone with common sense will know that, if a live-action drama or film has a manga or anime predecessor, one should really read/watch that if they want to get a real sense of how the story is.
Of course, because that is how the original makers intended it to be seen!

I understand that, when making a real-life adaptation of an already existing story, things will need to be chopped up and messed about for practical reasons....but yeah, my point still remains.
 

REVIEW: Baby and Me (Korean Movie, Prime Entertainment: 2008)

This being the first Korean film I have ever watched, I wasn't really sure about what to expect...

I remember seeing the above title picture on DramaCrazy and it really caught my interest, it looked like it could be a very entertaining movie.
BUT, typical me, still didn't bother to watch it until my friend Safi recommended it!
(The fact that Jang Geun-Suk is in it also helped push me to press the play button).
Rebellious high school student Joon-Soo's (Jang Geun-Suk) bad behaviour had led his parents into a state of such despair that they decided to run away and let him realise the affect his actions have when he is left to deal with the consequences alone.
Naturally, I thought this was a very extreme measure to take in order to shock your child into good behaviour...then I remembered it was a comedy.
As you may expect of any rebellious teenager worth his salt, Joon-Soo sees this as an oppurtunity to have a HUGE party and rushes out to his local supermarket to stock up on booze! Hooray!
BUT THEN...he turns around to find a cute baby boy in a trolley, left alone with a note saying his name is Han Woo-Ram (Mason Mun) and that he is none other than Joon-Soo's SON, now to be left in his care by the mother who simply cannot cope any longer.

REVIEW: Last Friends (Japanese Drama, Fuji TV:2008)

[You can also read this on UnitedJPop here].
Even though I actually watched this drama quite a while ago now, I wanted to write a short review on it...
Last Friends is a series that focuses on the issues faced by a group of young people who are all connected in some way. The main character is the, almost painfully, kind woman named Michiru (Masami Nagasawa). She's lives with her neglectful and often drunk mother and works as a hairdresser, constantly bullied by a nasty co-worker. As a viewer, you begin to feel so sorry for the character who has no one to turn to for support.
ENTER...her kind and caring boyfriend Sousuke (Ryo Nishikido) who proceeds to ask her to move in with him...aww!!

While out shopping for bits to add to the flat, Michiru runs into her old school friend Ruka (Juri Ueno), and the two get along like they had never been split apart. Surely Sousuke would be glad of Michiru's new (but kind of old) friendship?
Well, no...not exactly...

SME vs JYJ: Which is better? There's only one way to find out...FIGHT!!

I wanted to write an entry about my personal opinions on the whole SM Entertainment VS JYJ thing that has been going on for...well, it must be nearly a year or so now. (!)

Life...with a little added difficulty...

I decided to try and write about one of the few things that I actually feel I have enough background on to write about properly. (This may be because it's something that is experienced differently by every person who is affected by it!)
I have a physical disability called Cerebral Palsy. It affects both my legs and my left arm slightly.