Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, or 誰かが私にキスをした/Dareka ga Watashi ni Kisu wo Shita in Japanese, is a 2010 film that was a joint-American-Japanese production with American and Japanese staff and actors/actresses and based on a book of the same name. It stars Horikita Maki, Matsuyama Kenichi, Tegoshi Yuya, and Anton Yelchin. The summary is as follows:

If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads... And now she can't remember the first 4 years of her life.

I honestly decided that I absolutely had to watch this when it came out due to several fairly simple reasons: (1) it stars some of my favorite Japanese actors/actresses [well, Tesshi's just special because I used to be very much obsessed with NEWS], (2) I loved Anton Yelchin in Star Trek [2009] and I wanted to hear him speak in un-accented English, (3) I wanted to hear all of the Japanese actors/actresses speak in English, and (4) I wanted to see how the co-production came out. In the end, their acting was pretty good and I was impressed since I know how hard it could be to act and show emotion at the right moments in a language you're not familiar with, but they did it. Tesshi's English is still pretty interesting and the strongest out of all of them, which reminded of Tegomass's song, Miso Soup. Even so - thumbs up for it! :) It's also interesting how they portray "normal" high school students. Well, mainly, my interest pertains to Kenichi, since he tends to go for the interesting roles and I keep on seeing him as L, because he's an amazing L.

The way it was filmed was pretty interesting - I keep on seeing pictures popping up everywhere now - and the plot was very much that of a female high school student attending an international school and her life, though it focuses more on school because, well, school is life. It goes through some romance and friendship and it really makes me wonder what the book's about, but it was entertaining and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I suppose it spoke about change? O_o It's too late for me to think up of a good, rational theory as to the hidden meaning of the plot, but perhaps I'm just thinking too much. Anyway, just know that the acting's great, the English that is present is good (the English-subbed version also subs the English spoken by the non-native speakers, which is largely unnecessary), and the plot doesn't make you think much, but it's interesting enough that it keeps you going till the end. Perhaps it's not something I'd go for if I were to pick a book up for leisure reading, but I like it all the same.

You can watch it here.

Zeni Geba

Zeni Geba (銭ゲバ) is a 2009 Japanese drama a bit on the tragic side of the spectrum starring Matsuyama Kenichi, Saito Ryusei, Mimura, Kinami Haruka, and Miyagawa Daisuke. The synopsis is as follows:

Gamagori Futaro has been poor since the day he was born. As a child his recklessly wasteful and abusive father sunk the family into debt and disappeared, leaving Futaro and his sick mother to fend for themselves. With no money to pay for medical treatment for his ailing mother, she eventually died. After her death Futaro became obsessed with money and willing to do anything for it. Several years pass and Futaro finds himself working at "Mikuni Shipbuilding" where he meets the company president's daughters Midori, who was his former classmate, and her younger sister Akane, who is disabled, and like Futaro, has a scarred face. In a plot to acquire their fathers company, Futaro begins to get close the sisters...

The plot is rather dark, focusing on money and how much it controls people - after all, nothing's free in this world (one of my mother's favorite things to say to me). Matsuyama, who is one of my favorite actors, plays someone who grew up in poverty with a father who didn't deserve to be called as such and a loving mother who died because they did not have enough money to pay for her medication or any other medical services. Because of the circumstances he was under, he soon realized that money was "everything" and instead of most other characters who still sees good in most everything, this particular character went the opposite direction, doing anything for money, thinking that while doing so, he had gotten one up over money, when in reality, it had taken control of him and beat him at his own game.

One main thing: Matsuyama plays a character that could be considered evil and twisted. I heard of that and with his acting skills, I decided I must watch it. Even though some people are killed throughout the drama, it's not graphic at all though it's implied. I wasn't disappointed. I watched and finished all 9 episodes in one day (today, in fact) and it was great. It was slightly disturbing seeing Matsuyama who was once L, someone who lived for justice, play someone whose morals were twisted and stripped to nothing. What was also interesting was the way some shots were shown upside-down and sideways, perhaps alluding to his own warped ideals and some of the shots had him in light and in shadow, perhaps displaying his two sides: his potential and the reality.

It all came together in the last episode when the "what if" scenario is shown, portraying all the people he encountered in 'reality' where he grew up poor in different circumstances when they're all middle-class. Watching the drama was like having the message that "money isn't everything" pounded into me; good thing I prefer simplicity and I truly dislike shopping. The music soundtrack was sort of over-dramatic at times so it sort of bothered me, but oh well. Either way, I highly enjoyed it - and the acting (not only from Matsuyama).

You can watch it at DramaCrazy and MySoju. :)
Picture taken from here.

Don't Laugh at My Romance

Don't Laugh at My Romance, or Sex Is No Laughing Matter (人のセックスを笑うな/Hito no Sex wo Warauna), is a Japanese film released in 2009 that stars Matsuyama Kenichi, Nagasaku Hiromi, Aoi Yu, and Shugo Oshinari. The summary is as follows:

Mirume is a 19 year old college student who falls in love with Yuri, an almost 40 year old art teacher at his university. Yuri isn't your typical college professor, having a quirky sense of humor and unpredictable personality. When Yuri invites Mirume to her studio, she playfully seduces the still naive 19 year old student. Things become more complicated when Mirume discovers that Yuri is married to a much older man....

The main reason why I wanted to watch this was because Matsuyama was in it and he's one of my favorite actors. The second reason is simply because the summary sounded intriguing. Despite the title of the film, there's nothing explicit in the content. Only the subject is for more mature viewers - I mean, I'm pretty sure a 19-year-old guy and a 39-year-old woman together wouldn't be that well thought of, not to mention one's a teacher and the other, her student.

It sort of reminded me of the many films I had to watch for my Chinese Film and Literature class. It had a plot there, but you might need to think a little before you get the message. It's also long and slow and not something someone would actually go watch for pure entertainment reasons (I suppose this would also depend on what you enjoy watching). I suppose it was sort of artsy. O_o Either way, the acting was good, and I'm not saying that because I'm biased. :) However, since I prefer more fast-paced movies, this didn't quite stick with me, but if nothing else works - Matsuyama Kenichi's almost completely naked in one scene. And for a 24-year-old guy playing a 19-year-old student, it's pretty good, the way he portrayed Mirume.

You can watch it here.

Death Note - L : Change the World

My sister and I just finished watching the latest Death Note movie, L : Change the World. It stars Matsuyama Kenichi as L and Shunji Fujimura as Watari. There are also new characters that are introduced (but my sister's sleeping and I was told to turn off the lights so I'm on the bedroom floor typing this out and I don't want to take too long). The story basically veers from The Last Name to L's last 23 days on Earth between the time that Yagami Raito dies to the scene when he dies at the end of the movie and the last case he helps solve involving an environmental organisation using biological weapons as their means to get what they want. It's a really good movie with a nice plot. All the roles were played very well, and though the movie had a good amount of serious scenes, there were the light-hearted ones as well. In short, it was a tribute to L Lawliet and it lived up to it.

NOTE: There are some bloody/morbid aspects to the movie - if you squint, you might even find some slightly comedic. :) Oh... and L is particularly adorable in this one. :D

I watched it via My Soju, but it's also hosted on Crunchy Roll - though I found it to be a bit quieter in volume, even with my volume as high as it could go. I also plan of obtaining a copy of this movie before long. Perhaps I can find one in China that has a reasonable price.

Also, going with the Death Note theme, I know of a VERY good Jung-type personality test that tells you which Death Note character you are most similar to along the way. I had taken the test a while ago and I had gotten the result of having an INTP personality - and L. I was very pleased. Even so, I was skeptical on if I really had an INTP personality and with much research (and surprise), I fit it up to a T. I recommend this quiz, even if all others had failed you.

L Lawliet - Rest in Peace