Jin is a contraband runner and a street fighter who lived in the slum of Anvil, outside Tekken City. His mother, Jun, who also taught him to fight, is killed by Jackhammers. Jin investigated his ruined house and found a Tekken ID that belonged to his mother. He entered the Open Call for the Iron Fist so he can enter Tekken City and avenge his mother's death.
I have no idea where to start with this... Let's see, I have to be honest here, I only played Tekken games only a handfull of times, I'm more of a RPG girl more than anything. So I only know what the character looks like and some of background of the characters.
The story is totally different from the games. With a little bit of consultation with my brother I saw a lot of differences, some character design, fighting style and definitely story of each character. But from a non-player point of view, the story is pretty decent but the ending is a little weird... seriously... second movie hint much!
The movie's fight scene and packour stunts are AWESOME! It was good to watch and definitely make you hold your breath (ok maybe not =P). The sets are cool though, they created at least 4 different battle arenas for the movie. It is not like the videogame but since the videogame features different locations as arena I think it's a cute addition. There are also special effects to make it look like they are fighting in a different environment but it's just one scene, it would be cool though if they continued that throughout the whole movie...
The music is good too especially the opening song... (sorry I couldn't find the title of the song).
The actor choice is okay, it's a little weird to watch Jon Foo play Jin Kazama though. I mean he looks like a kid and he's acting just like Jin, all serious and matured. Well that's great acting though, but the accent? I get it he has Chinese blood but he looks English (according to Wiki he grew up in London). He should have tried to sound at least Japanese. I also read that he's a practitioner of Wushu, so if he did his stunts himself then 2 thumbs up from me!!!
And lastly that I have to somehow praise are the costumes of the actors. I may not know all the character designs by heart but they did really well with the costumes (and they should, cause there are a lot of good cosplayers out there). Raven played by Darrin Dewitt Henson looked like the character himself. Nina Williams played Candice Hillebrand looked super sexy so much like the game!
There are 15 characters from the game that is featured in the movie so I won't be reviewing them one by one. So I'll focus on the main 3 characters.
~ Jin Kazama played by Jon Foo, he looks too young and somewhat innocent comapared to the game design. They should have made his hair a little bigger, I mean Jin's character design in the game has this signature hair cut. Jon Foo did have that hair cut but not that noticable.
~ Kazuya Mishima played by Ian Anthony Dale, I'm quite impressed though his facial features were hidden under all that make-up but he looks evil just like the game design. Hair style is different but his make-up and costume looks great on him.
~ Heihachi Mishima played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, he looks prefect but his hair is a little too short compared to the game design. I loved him though he's perfect for the role but the hair, longer please?
Funny stuff on the movie, everytime Jin fights he'll win in the beginning of the bout then he would start losing. Then a flashback on his mother teaching him stuff then he'll win the fight. Seriously!?!? And why aren't there any explosions? Come on! Dead or Alive and Street Fighter had explosions in the end of the film! He just walked out, complete with salutation from the Jacks and a little parade... geez... really weird ending, I think the only explosions worth looking at was when Heihachi died. Oh talking about Heihachi it's funny that they had to put that line there... "Heihachi Mishima is dead" I mean seriously they just have to put it there.
A little bit of hate... when this movie was announced last year, I wanted to see so bad that I don't care what the story would look like. Because Chiaki Kuriyama, one of my favorite Japanese actress, is reported to play, one of my favorite videogame character, Ling Xiao Yu. But then before this movie is released, Ling Xiao Yu's character is cut from the movie and also Hwarang is gone too. I was like "why the heck did they cut two of my favorite videogame characters!?!? argg..."
Also my brother hated that Paul Pheonix is not on the film, since Paul has been in all Tekken games so far...
Overall, I liked this film but if I didn't know Tekken games existed I'll probably love it. The story is alright but the ending left questions... Did Heihachi really die? Who inherited Tekken Corp? ...really squeal hint much?
originally posted: August 16, 2010
Seven Samurai is a popular 1954 Japanese film co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. This film and Akira Kurosawa has influenced a lot of movies worldwide.
The story is set Japan around 1585/1588. A mountain village is approached by a gang of bandits. The bandit chief knew they have stolen from this village and decided that they will wait until harvest. A villager overheard the conversation and warned his fellow farmers. The village chief then advised them to go to the city to find hungry samurais, or masterless samurais who are willing to be paid with rice.
Though I already have an idea of this story by watching the anime adaptation, I still enjoyed watching this. I can see why this film is popular and influencial. According to wikipedia this has influenced the making of one episode for Star Wars.
The story is unique at the time, a story of a samurai helping almost for free, than being hired to kill or protect. The actors were entertaining to watch especially Toshirō Mifune who played Kikuchiyo, his character was almost annoying but shows that he have a good heart and tells the truth on his own way. Costumes were facinating for me, I mean I haven't seen simple costumes like that, I guess there are different samurai attire. The ending is good but a little sad (don't want to spoil anything).
Since I watched this via video streaming the quality of the film isn't that good. Anyway this film is 54 years old already I guess I'm still lucky to be able to watch this good film. There's even this questionable intermission that I guess lasted for 5-7 minutes, there was three different music that was on that intermission. Music is alright but not to striking for me, I guess I was too focused on the story again.
七人の侍, Shichinin no Samurai, Seven Samurai
originally posted: May 18, 2010
Exte: Hair Extensions (エクステ, Exte) is a 2007 Japanese horror film written and directed by Sion Sono. The story revolves around Yuko Mizushima (played by Chiaki Kuriyama) is an apprentice hairdresser who wants to become a famous hairdresser. A the corpse of a young woman who appears to have become an unwilling organ donor is brought to a morgue, the examiners found the her body is stuffed with hair, Gunji Yamazaki (played by Ren Osugi)a hair fetishist stole the corpse from the morgue. The corpse kept growing hair and in order to make a profit off it Yamazaki sold the hair as extentions. Later women who wears them dies, the extension possess by the dead girl's anger kills the victims letting them see what she go through until they die.
This is definetely the weirdest movie I have ever seen. I can't explain it, I mean the story just don't make sense. I'm thinking that the dead girl is just angry that those men that killed her shaved her hair and taking on revenge on people that wear her hair thinking its unfair. But that all I can make of it, cause later hair started bleeding when cut and wounds bleed not blood but hair. Seriously weird…
The actor's were good, Kuriyama played a determined hairdresser though went through lots of roadblocks kept on going. Ren Osugi played the creepy hair fetishes who I definetely don't want to get close to (okay my hair isn't as shiny like before but still... creepy...). Miku Sato who played the abused young girl Mami Mizushima was so cute it! What I get from her is that her character is confused and still have no proper guidance and I can't help but feel sad for her.
Special effects really creeped me out, on the dark moments I don't know if something will jump out it and all I can do is brace myself for a fright.
originally posted: May 2, 2010
Set sometime in the late Muromachi period, Naomitsu Hatakeyama (Shun Oguri) is the second son of the distinguished Hatakeyama family. His lifelong friend and and love interest is Ako-hime (Yuki Shibamoto). When Ako-hime's father dies, Yoshimasa Ashikaga (Kenichi Hagiwara) elicits a decree that will forever change their fates. Soon afterwards, Naomitsu is betrayed by his very own brother Nobutsuna Hatakeyama (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), who plans to forcibly take Aho-hime for himself. Naomitsu loves Ako-hime so much that he is ready to give up his life and flee into the mountains with Ako-hime. While travelling through the mountains, Naoitsu soon faces another betrayal, this time from retainer Sakuramaru (Kei Tanaka), a man Naomitsu once saved from death and took care of like a brother. Naomitsu Hatakeyama then comes back as Tajomaru... (from dramacrazy.net)
The story is fast paced and it looked like are cut scene, which was explained later in the story and because of that the ending was quite obvious. Also there is a love aspect to this, it's quite refreshing to see that it's not focused on that, leaving some viewers wanting more. The fight scenes are awesome though. There are some parts of the story that left me hanging though, like what happened to the Shogun and Yamada in the end. Anyway Tajomaru only wants Ako…
The main theme song that is played on the credits is called Pray by B'z. It was surprising though that the insert songs were in English, but maybe a Japanese sang that song but it didn't sound that the singer have any Japanese accent though. Oh well I was just a little surprised by that considering this is a Japanese movie set in the old days.
Oguri Shun, they say, made it look like it's his first movie. His acting wasn't all that great is what it meant... but to tell you the truth I'm not really good in judging what great acting is. But there are actors that made me feel that they are good and in this movie I didn't see that in Oguri Shun. And so that goes with the other actors. But the fact that they made me like the story is enough for me, I guess I was really focused on the story.
Oh well I still enjoyed watch this movie with Ogushun in it! hehe thanks Isha for suggesting!!! JA~
originally posted: April 20, 2010
When I first saw the trailer, that turns out to be fan-made, I was instantly curious! There was a gun shot and Yankumi getting beat up, oh also Odagiri Ryu (Kameneshi Kazuya of Kat-tun) was there as a teacher and several of Yankumi's student was there as well. And the trailer said "you'll be surprised who the culprit here" and I was like OMG I hope it's not one of her students. I instantly looked for the movie streaming.
The story started where season 3 ended, a vacation abroad along with the female employees with Akadou and a hijacking. Actually that threw me off guard cause the first scene was the SWAT in the airport! Isn't it amazing, though? Yankumi wasn't fired from the school unlike in season 1 and 2. The story also carries the usual scenes that are featured like Yankumi destroying a wall to save a student, saying "fight-oh" before going to class, kick the can game (anyway how do you play that game?) and many more other scenes. Her relationship with her current students were hurried but it's alright we've seen it happen for 3 seasons anyway.
The BG music even had a little make over it has that remix feel, the one playing during the movie not the credits. Aqua Timez again provided the theme song for the movie, they also sang the song "Niji" which is the theme song for season 3. Futoshi's voice is so cool and relaxing and Aqua Timez songs, for me, are always full of drama and quite inspiring.
Some of Yankumi's students from season 1 and 2 had a little roles too, it was fun to watch and I kept on the look out for that. But unfortunately not all of her students was shown. Oh! yes Oguri Shun was there, his scene only lasted for a few seconds though
The characters look were changed of course to show growth in the characters. Sawatari even have white hairs showing now. Funny thing is Yankumi's look isn't changed at all, well except the clothes, in the whole movie there was only a couple of scenes where Yankumi is wearing jersey.
The ending credits were like the TV series, Yankumi asking her students to follow her lead and run to the sunset. The credits also shows her former students working hard. That's probably the sweetest credits for me. Cause compared to GTO movie ending it was a little sad that you want more.
One thing that I wanted to see in this movie is Yankumi's love life and who will take over the Oedo family business. Cause I read in the Anime info of Gokusen, Yankumi did end up with someone. I knew how it is but I'm not telling you!!! hehe Anyway I want to really confirm and maybe write it in my Gokusen anime review. (I haven't seen it obviously =P)
The story was pretty intense and later tear jerking and in the end happy and inspiring. ...but I'll never be a teacher though, I have little patience with kids, but it's still inspiring for me, envoking me to work harder even if I fall... YADA! (opps!) this is not a review anymore hehe
Anyway go watch it, especially if your a Gokusen fan!! ^_^ FIGHT-OH!!
originally posted: April 19, 2010
As the the title says, it's my favorites on theOtaku today!
