Hot Road Movie Review

Title: Hot Road

AKA: Hotto Rodo

Genre: Romance, Teen

Origin: Japan

Release date: August 16, 2014

Cast: Nounen Rena, Tosaka Hiroomi, Kimura Yoshino, Suzuki Ryohei, Taketomi Seika and Ohta Rina.

Miyaichi Kazuki (Nounen Rena) grew up with an absent minded single mother. Her mother hadn’t shown her much affection due to her affair with a married man. Craving for her mother’s attention she shoplifts, but even that doesn’t make her mother give her any minute of responsiveness. In school Kazuki befriends a girl Eri, rumored to be a ‘loose’ girl, which furies Kazuki, as Eri has been nothing but good to her.

One evening Eri takes Kazuki out to meet some bikers, and there she meets Haruyama Hiroshi – who becomes interested in Kazuki. At first Kazuki is reluctant, but soon finds herself drawn to him and his world.

At the same time the bike gang leader is set to be imprisoned, so he decides to give the leader baton to the most promising biker – in this case Haruyama…

Another movie from a Japanese variety, guess the promotion works! Haha…

I don’t know if you can grasp the story, but it really is nice and romantic love story. It has a lot of the ‘growing-up’ theme enrolled around it, but it doesn’t really weigh much the overall story. Somehow the leads have a chemistry, which I have a hard time figuring out. It is not a hot romantic / breath taking romantic chemistry, but rather this calm and yet youthful love. The actors where quite good, but then again I never really judge the Japanese actors – especially the ones I watch for the very first time – in bad or good actors. The adaptation comes from a manga, but I have never really heard of it, so I didn’t really have anything to compare it with.

Nevertheless, I found it interesting and quite adorable, though little bit lacking – just a tiny bit, but that has something to do with the climax, so not telling hehe…

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Majisuka Gakuen 4 Review

Title: Majisuka Gakuen 4

AKA: Majisuka Academy 4

Genre: Teen, School, Action, Comedy

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: Jan-2015 to Mar-2015

Cast: Miyawaki Sakura, Shimazaki Haruka, Yokoyama Yu, Kawaei Rina, Iriyama Anna, Kizakki Yuria, Kojima Mako, Owada Nana and Takahashi Minami.

Since the students who made Majijo (Majisyka Jou Gakuen) notorious have graduated, the current Rappappa are living off the fame. Though the Four Heavenly Queens are strong they are not as tight-knitted group as they used to be. This all changes when a new transfer, Sakura (Miyawaki Sakura), student arrives. At first she has no interest in anyone, but soon she decides she wants to take the top - as she prefers to see things from above. This shakes the school’s grounds, but also excites the bored Salt -  who had been wanting to relive her boredom ever since she had beaten every single student in Majijo. On top of that the rival school Gekioko High want to finally beat their rivals once and for all...

Compared to season 1 and 2 (not mentioning season 3 as it about a prison not Majijo), the fighting is very very bad. I don't know if it because of the new cast or there is another director, but they really are bad at it - both the fighting and the 'beat' scenes. Atsuko is no longer there, not that I liked her, but there really isn'y anyone from the original series. Shimazaki Haruka, who plays Paru in season 3, is Salt is season 4 - the new head, but other than that nothing really is close to good acting. The lead is dull an quite a weird character - weird in the sense of not being portrayed as an actual human being, but rather a rag doll looking pretty - if being blank is pretty :S . The story is okay, I kind of like that the storyline has changed focus, meaning it is no longer about Atsuko, and that it once again is about getting to the top.

Whether it is recommendable or not, I have to say that unless you are a fan of AKB48, I don't really see why you should watch it... (and yes, I am a fan.. a bit :P)

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Hot Young Bloods Movie Review

Title: Hot Young Bloods

Genre: Teen, Romance, Comedy, 80’s

Origin: Korea

Release date: 23 January 2014

Cast: Park Bo Young, Lee Jong Suk, Lee Se Young, Kim Young Kwang and Ra Mi Ran.

This movie is about the youths of a small town, in the 80’s.

As the strongest female delinquent in her school Yoong Sook (Park Bo Young) has never had the time to do anything else but fight with rival schools. Forming an alliance with a rival school’s top Gwang Sik (Kim Young Kwang) she doesn’t really bother with anyone or anything else, except Joong Gil (Lee Jong Suk).

Joong Gil is the schools ultimate player whose goal is to sleep with every girl from the same year, crossing each name off after finishing with them. But for some reason Yoong Sook is the only one he doesn’t want to touch.

After a new pretty student So Hee (Lee Se Young) from Seoul arrives, Joong Gil wants to make her his, but Yoong Sook refuses to let him do so. She also wants to date him, asking him out - but Joong Gil cleanly refuses. Their relationship makes Gwang Sik jealous, threatening Joong Gil, and So Hee plays the victim in many situations infuriating Yoong Suk. To make it all worse Joong Gil refuses to believe Yoong Suk.

How will these “hot young bloods” end up?

Sorry for the weird review, but while I was writing I noticed that I had no idea what the ‘starts of conflict’ is, as it really just goes in one pace... I think. It’s quite confusing to be honest - real situation/real happening kind of movies Is really not my thing. I like when there is a real situation that’s not it, it’s more.. Like an everyday thing that I don’t like? I can’t really explain it. The movie has good acting, but the story really doesn’t have a high light, or climax call it whatever you want. It is sweet, even adorable, but kind of… I don’t know, watching 2 hours of not knowing what to hope for, is really like watching someone’s life for 2 hours.  Not bad, just not great. Jong Suk and Bo Young make a good couple, with okay chemistry. Kind of blame the script for being halfhearted though.

To sum up: good, but not all that great.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Kamji's Verdict

I watched this right after the subs were available, I couldn’t wait to see it because of Lee Jong Suk and Park Bo Young (I watched her in Wolf boy, and she was amaa’hahazing!). It was an excellent performance from both the youth and adult actors, so nothing to criticize there. But the storyline were quite typical for a movie about youth.
Honestly speaking, I actually preferred the later part of the movie to the earlier campy bits. It’s similar to how I felt about Fugitive: Plan B. With Plan B, I didn’t care so much for the camp that was rampant in its first half either, but once we got to the heart of things and people in its second half, I liked it a lot better.
The love story were cheesy, but that’s okay haha that I enjoy :b I loved the little romance there were between the teachers too. Again it’s an enjoyable movie, but not one of the best. 

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

To The Beautiful You Review

Title: To The Beautiful You

AKA: For You In Full Blossom

Genre: School, Teen, Romantic Comedy, Sports, Gender switch

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: Aug-2012 to Oct-2012

Cast: Choi Sulli, Choi Min Ho, Lee Hyun Woo, Kim Ji Won, Suh Joon Young, Kang Ha Neul, Ki Tae Young, Hwang Kwang Hee, Julien Kang, and Kim Woo Bin.

The story starts with Goo Jae Hee (Choi Sulli) a young girl living in America having problems fitting into the American society. Everything changes when she one day sees athlete Kang Tae Joon (Choi Min Ho) on TV doing high jump and setting a record. Few months later she hears that he hurt his leg and is unable to do sports anymore. So Jae Hee decides to move to Korea and attended his school in order to help him in any way possible. The only problem is: he goes to an all-boys school. So she decides to dress up as a boy and enroll. Arriving at the school she is treated as ‘the new kid’ and put through several of tests, except from Cha Eun Kyul (Lee Hyun Woo) who becomes her close friend.

With a luck of faith she is put in the same room as Tae Joon, but her hero is not as she had expected him to be, and every day she has to struggle not to be found out…

Another Hana Kimi drama with another group of popular idols. Compared to the other two (Japanese and Taiwanese) this is the exact copy of the Taiwanese, except that the melo has a capital M. Simply put I watched it till the end because it reminded me of the very first drama I had watched, but it also reminded me why I never re-watched it. This drama is basically a girl going to a boy school where the pretty boys (every boys is pretty by the way) all dress as if they just stepped out of a magazine, because of an unreasonable idea of thinking she can help her idol, and surprisingly some of the boys fall for her. Oh and also she ends up in situations where the lead has to save her all the time. Min Ho and Sulli I can’t even look at them without face palming myself, mainly because the characters are too easy to act and basically have 0 depth. Though Min Ho has grown an inch since the last time I’ve seen him act.

It is a popular genre, but I have grown too old and too bored with these dramas, so don’t ask me whether or not I recommend it.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Holyland Review

Title: Holyland

Genre: Action, Youth

Episodes: 4

Broadcast period: Apr-2012 to May-2012

Cast: Dong Ho, Seong Woong, Hoon and Joo Da Young.

Kang Yoo (Dong Ho) is socially awkward and shy high school student, who roams around the streets at night in order to feel anything, which he misses in his everyday life. One day he is provoked and picked by a street thug, and ends up punching him K.O., and the next evening he helps to girls from a man harassing them, by doing the same. Soon the streets are full of rumors about this ‘Hunter’ who beats up high ranked gangsters, but for no one can understand what his goal is. When the leader of one of the two the rival gangs feels targeted, he announces that this ‘Hunter’ has to be found, Kang Yoo doesn’t believe they are after him. At the same time, former boxer ‘Charisma’ aka Sang Ho (Sung Woong) has found an interest in this Hunter, as he reminds him of himself. Now everyone is looking for Kang Yoo who thinks nothing of himself…

I didn’t really expect anything from this drama, firstly because it is so short, secondly due to the lead actors being pretty new. But it sort of just went it’s course while watching, especially since it reminded me of the Japanese delinquent dramas that have B rated actors and loads of fighting in it. By that I mean I actually did enjoy it, though it was just a tiny bit too detailed and deep for a drama about people fighting thugs and each other. I also didn’t quite get the storyline, even though they kept repeating it, it really didn’t make sense - might be that the storyline doesn’t try to make you relate to it, like Japanese dramas are. On the other hand the amount of time used on the explaining was quite decent, meaning they didn’t spend all of the time introducing millions of characters and explaining how scary and undefeatable they are.

All in all, if you prefer this kind of ‘boys-fighting-to-see-who-is-strongest’, this is a pick.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts