Rooftop of the World

Went to watch Pirates OTC: At World End with Alex tonight. I really think that Hollywood should stop making sequels to their blockbusters. POTC 1 was good, POTC 2 was meh, POTC 2.1, wait i meant 3, felt almost the same as 2. More new pirate legends to counter another pirate legend that was previously thought undefeatable. Fight scenes way, way too long and over elaborate, and i ended up reading the chinese subtitles most of the way because i couldn't understand more than 3 words of what the pirates were mumbling about. Having said that it's not 'too' bad, at least i wasn't snoring (someone in the cinema was, Alex was probably close to it) but not a movie i will recommend or watch again. Way too long as well (2h30mins). And as usual Alex hated every minute of it, kind of makes me wonder why he asked me to watch with him in the first place. He fell asleep during POTC 2.

Herbert came over played a large part (replace 'large' with something that means 'everything') in helping me clear 7 Achievements (940/1000AP for the entire game now) that have so far eluded my clumsy unsynched fingers. That has also taken me well clear of my 10k AP target (cue fanfare and loud cheers!). And he managed to place 78th in the world on 'Freebird'. That's just incredible. I'm mostly just content to be in the top 1000 (or 10,000, that's where i hover around usually) but to be in the top 100 is truly remarkable.
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Movie: Tegami aka the Letter (Yamada Takayuki, Erika Sawajiri, Tetsuji Tamayama)

The key to enjoying this movie is to accept quickly the premise that the Japanese society outcasts and rejects anyone who has relatives in prison. Whether or not this middle age mindset is really true i do not know, but once you accept this 'principle' the whole movie is actually pretty good. And might i add quite moving as well.
In order to put his younger brother Naoki (Yamada) through to University, Takashi Takeshima (Tetsuji Tamayama) breaks in to rob a household but accidentally ends up stabbing and killing the old grandmother of the house. He's caught and given life imprisonment and Naoki, understanding his brother's intentions, feels guilty and drops out of school and enters the working life. In prison, Takashi finds his only comfort in writing and receiving letters from his brother.

"I've got mail!"

The entire movie has Naoki feeling the burden of being labelled a 'muderer's brother'. He is forced to move apartments and quit his job whenever his landlord or employers learn about his background. His dreams and love life crumbles as well and he is avoided like the plague. Depressed and angry at being stereotyped and carrying his brother's stigma, he slowly stops writing altogether to his brother. Roughly this is how the entire movie (2 hour+) unfolds.

Being a little too friendly with a brother of a muderer..

So how does Erika Sawajiri come into the picture? Her role is quite limited in the first 2/3 of the movie, only appearing in small scenes. She plays Yumiko, a canteen girl who tries to befriend Naoki. Her reasons are not revealed till the final third of the show though (disclaimer: her reason is not really anything shocking).

Someone told Naoki smoking would solve all his problems, or that it was a good way to burn off that awful sideburn.

I personally thought Tetsuji was great in his role as the convicted brother. He's probably the reason i actually felt sad and touched by the show. This was the first movie where i actually thought Yamada couldn't act. His expressions of sadness and shock were totally unconvincing. And he still has that ridiculous '60s sideburn (last seen in Taiyou no Uta) unshaved. Erika (the lesser of the 2 Erika(s)) goes from geeky canteen girl to aspiring hairdresser to mother of a child, pretty versatile acting from her.

This show is far, far from perfect. Some scenes are hastily rushed through without much explanation, some parts a little incoherent and some of the lines seem really poorly placed/delivered. But i still like it. There were some really emotional parts and i ended up sympathising alot with all of the characters. I'll definitely give this a re-watch when i have the time. Might get the DVD if i can find it.
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Movie: Sugar and Spice ~ What Little Girls are Made of (Erika Sawajiri, Yuya Yagira)

The previous 'Sugar and Spice' entry i watched was a 1 episode SP starring Erika Toda. This movie plays to the same bitter sweet love concept as the drama with a new storyline. And the only reason to catch this series is if you don't like happily ever after endings. And of course if you're like me and enjoy watching either or both of the 2 Erika(s) than that's another huge incentive.

Unlikeable little monkey.

Let me be frank. This movie is just your normal love story with a not so happy ending.And i didn't enjoy this love story because i think Yuya Yagira sucks. My principle is that shows are only as good as how much you can 'feel' for the characters. And i didn't feel a thing for him throughout the movie. His face is really distracting; i'm thinking he has very strong anthropoid-ic resemblance or he should be auditioning for the role of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West.

Erika looks really good in this show, but has an unlikeable on-screen personality as well.

Besides her gorgeous smile, Erika's character (another sign that i couldn't get involved with the show; i forgot their on-screen names) is really wishy-washy and irritating. Unacceptable for a movie's heroine.

The only thing that stands out (again, aside from Erika) is the theme song, Oasis's 'Lyla'. They used the same song in the drama as well. And i just really felt like singing along whenever the song played in the background. Catch this (only) if you really really want to see Erika Sawajiri.
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Note: The first 2 of many movies that i'm starting to watch from my new stash.