Zíza

To be honest, I liked it – throughout – more than the first one, which is why it got an extra star as well. BUT what was the deal with the ending? It didn’t get me, it was kind of bland and flavorless. I don't feel like elaborating on how Alois was a sadist and in his own way a really disgusting character, that Ciel retained something of his nobility, that Claude was just a cheap imitation of Sebastian from the get-go, that Sebastian wasn't so cool anymore, that Grell may have stepped up but just drooled over Sebastian and his "scythe" was rarely used, that we saw all the familiar faces here but thankfully they didn't bother us for long because it was more focused on Alois/Ciel (no, I'm really not pairing them up and I don't plan to), that Hannah and the three minions kind of annoyed me, too. It was sort of fine throughout, there was even a twist that happened that I absolutely was not expecting (but then that twist was a bit of a burial; never mind, we'll survive). Kind of a weak 3 stars, which might not have been so weak if they hadn't messed up the ending so badly.

I'll admit I haven't seen the first movie this one follows. But since this one only loosely follows it, it doesn't matter. I wasn't bored. I enjoyed watching them, listening to them. The whole movie I was tense about how it would end up, because sometimes the expressions the actors threw around were completely ambiguous... :-D Weaker 4*

I guess I hadn't seen an American comedy in a while, or I just had to see something this light-hearted at that moment. Or maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been to the cinema in a while and got carried away by the experience. I don't know. But I really was entertained the whole time, and I didn't even mourn the fact that the ending was what it was. Maybe it was helped by the fact that I enjoyed the dialogue (and what American romantic comedy can you say the same thing about?). I found the film quite believable on that level. So I closed the books and said to myself "Fuck it, why not just give this 4 stars?". X-D

A lightweight comedy-crime, sort of like 12 Angry Men. Once again I saw Shun in a different kind of role, and I enjoyed that. Together we hunt for the murderer (?) of Kisaragi Miki, and it's quite fun to see where their speculation, conjecture, and facts take them. By the end, I was quicker in my thinking than they were because I already had plenty of assertions at hand. But I had fun debunking it with them. :-)

I'm not sure how to rate this dorama. In the beginning, it reminded me of Bad Guy's little brother, six years younger. A little bit of music, a little bit of story. But then it changed. I think this is much better in some ways, unfortunately much worse in others. It actually has a good story at its core and it's not just a walk in the park. It's just that the very good impression made by a quality plot and pretty good background music was ruined by the occasional illogical behavior of the characters, their unnecessary rambling, dragging (which is actually a bad habit in Korean dorama), and the microphones. Wait, what microphones, you say? The ones in the shot. That annoyed me so many times. Once or twice can be forgiven; it happens. But so many times? Someone take notes when you’re watching. From above, from below, they keep peeping out. I can't help but feel it's a bit like an amateur show with good subject matter hidden behind the occasional and unnecessary fluff of the ills of Korean doramas. I'm deciding between 3 and 4 stars. Hopefully I'll decide sometime. Maybe in hindsight. So, after 15 months, I've decided to give it 3 stars. On the better side, of course.

So I devoured this little thing in two days because the sweetness of it stuck to me and wouldn't let go. Cute and naive, with a nice soundtrack (if only it didn't repeat itself so many times...), and a main character whose personality I liked on the whole, I just got sick and tired of the frequent blathering about Eichi by the end. I had suspected something (the Eichi thing), sometimes it surprised me. Considering what's going on, it's clear that you can't help being moved. Plus, I don't know how, but it was the first time I was moved to tears by a song alone (I guess it all kind of came together and the song gave it free rein :-)). Although it's aimed at younger girls, I think anyone can watch this because it's magical, and who doesn't crave something like that sometimes? But I have to admit, I liked it better when Takuto was singing instead of Mitsuki. A better 4 stars. ^^

It's been a while since I've seen this. I know Chris Evans is hot and he rides a motorcycle in this. I know that if you're rubbery (Luffyyy :-D) and run out of toilet paper, you can reach into the next room for a new one. I know, McMahon was a better bad guy in Charmed. I know Jessica can disappear, but she has a thing for rubber. I know people can petrify after being hit by cosmic radiation of an unknown nature. A filmed comic that is (presently) at 54%. Do I really need to say more?

What a slow movie. Halfway through it I thought I was getting a bit bored, but the song accompanying the ending credits played and I feel moved, in a way. Simple plot, the lives of a few people, a little love, a little bit of sci-fi. This simple film has something going for it, even though it's so slow paced.

The first season was good, I enjoyed watching it. But what I enjoyed about the first season just isn't here, or is slowly but surely disappearing. Yukimura isn't so funny anymore. Date isn't so cool anymore because his eye got stolen. And that pisses me off. Even the opening sequence isn't as good as it was in the first season. Plus, they made poor Toyotomi even more of a psycho than he really was (which is actually a totally stupid thing to criticize in something like this :-D). A better 2 stars.

Man, if only he hadn't told her: "Look in my eyes, I am the only mirror you're ever gonna need." I'd give it 3 stars. But with that simple sentence, the movie was buried for me. But other than that, let's just say it was okay. I guess I just resent the idea that the movie is based on an unlucky person whose bad luck follows him, and then all of a sudden stops just because the person in question fell in love. The performances aren't bad, the film just doesn't sit well with me.