Saigo no Yakusoku / 最後の約束

January, 2010, Japanese movie starring the Arashi Five as various insiders or outsiders who converge along with about two-hundred others inside a glass tower office building when three o'clock strikes and all hell suddenly breaks loose.

Ohno Satoshi as Mashiko Satoru is a maintenance worker who ends up inside the absent president's office with a new employee who ends up being an ex-con who finally got busted for B&E after nearly forty years.

Sakurai Sho as Tomizawa Yukio is an insurance salesman at the risk of losing his job if he doesn't make a sale, and his target is a woman who works inside the building.

Aiba Masaki as Tanada Akira sells coffee at a kiosk on the fifth floor.

Ninomiya Kazunari as Yamagiwa Shoji is the head of the security department inside the building.

and finally, Matsumoto Jun as Goto Nozomu, who is a bike courier that ends up losing part of a package delivered to the president's daughter, so he's there waiting for a return call from the shipping place where he works.

So, at the strike of three, lock-down happens, the security guys, Shoji and Fujiki Naohito as Okanaka Shinichiro are held prisoner by armed hijackers.

They demand in ninety minutes the delivery of a boat-load of yen by the company's president, and if their demand isn't met, BOOM!

Satoru is following the old, ex con through the duct work, Yukio is stuck in the fifth floor lobby with the other, two-hundred or so building employees, and Akira is holed-up inside the men's room - the only one there still with a cell phone, where he can stay in contact with the police.

Nozomu chases after the president's stubborn but determined daughter, (Kuroki Meisa as Niimi Yuriko ) who hurries up a ton of flights of stairs in order to destroy the prototypes for bio-fuel she thinks the terrorists are really after, and then she puts the research data on a flash drive, locks everything of value in a steel briefcase and then heads toward an escape route, arguing with Nozomu along the way.
She's really beautiful.

There's an unexpected twist in the plot about 3/4 of the way through, and I, for one, did NOT see it coming (embarrassed).

Highly recommend this one.

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Tengoku no Daisuke e / 天国のダイスケへ

To Daisuke in Heaven ~ Hakone Ekiden ga Musunda Kizuna ~



2003 Japanese movie based on the real-life dilemma of a college student on a relay track team whose promising future is cut short by leukemia.

The movie, however, is based on the personal life of an arrogant reporter who covered his sports career and who ended up changing his outlook on life as a result of his having met the young boy with such spirit and drive.

Sato Daisuke (Oguri Shun) is the determined twenty-three year old on the track team who wants desperately to win a relay marathon their school hasn't participated in in over thirteen years.

Yohei Iida, (Fukuyama Masaharu), is the cynical and selfish reporter for a prominent newspaper read around the country, and because he refuses to accept the help of his co-workers, he ends up making a huge mistake that costs him is Political Reporter position at the paper, thus relegating him to the 'useless' and 'unworthy of being called news' sports department.

Iida's first assignment is at Takushoku University, where he is asked to cover the relay marathon race, and it isn't long after he first meets Daisuke that the stiff reporter begins to come undone.

He has a boat-load of life lessons to learn at his age, and it isn't, entirely ironic that a majority of those lessons are learned from a boy ten years his junior.

Stories like this make me wonder if it isn't, perhaps true that God actually selects certain people to a call to greatness through another, less fortunate soul.

I mean - why can't stuff like this happen to everyone who needs it?

Wouldn't that make this a better world in which to live?

Like, why only Iida and not someone else if he isn't the only pathetic soul wandering around at a total loss and clueless to the reality that is his actual existence?

Anyhow, this movie was heart-wrenching while not being overly dramatic about it, and it was an interesting story about interesting characters without it being in-your-face lecture series about the contrasts of right versus wrong.

I liked it, and I love Oguri Shun, too.

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Crows Zero / Kurozu zero

2007 Japanese movie that stars Shun Oguri as Takiya Genji - a guy who enrolls at Suzuran All-Boys High School with the sole intention of taking it over so as to accomplish the feat his Yakuza father could not back in his time.

Tamao Serizawa (Yamada Takayuki) is the current head or 'king' of the crows, but they have a mutual friend in Kenta Kiritani as Tokio Tatsukawa, an unseemingly straight-lace member of the scary gang of thugs who destroy their school while terrorizing everyone foolish enough to attend the beat-up, graffiti-laden, and burned-out shell of an 'academy'.

The director made attempts to show actual staff members at this hell-on-earth school, but that was only at the beginning - for the duration of the movie, it was thug - on - thug action that didn't stop until the very end, leaving me anxious to hit the shower so as to feel refreshed and clean once more.

It's a guy flick cram-packed with tough dudes wanting to beat the living shit out of each other until only one thug is left standing, and as a prissy girl, I don't get it.

HOWEVER ~ I will admit that a few of the scenes that showed how Genji goes about 'recruiting' were done rather elegantly while maintaining enough bad-ass to make me at least giggle, if not fawn.

It's also loosely based on yet, another manga series - which definitely helps to explain the far-fetched philosophy of the whole storyline.

Anyway - the gist of this, particular episode is about Genji's heartless attempt to become the king and form what is lovingly deemed the Genji Perfect Seiha Army whilst he proceeds to stomp all over reigning thug-master Serizawa's pride.

In the meantime, there is Tokio, who not only doesn't appear thug in the least but is also from a wealthy background and who has a medical condition which leads to his experiencing a cerebral aneurysm.

This situation, along with the kidnapping of Genji's nightclub singing girlfriend, leads to a furious rift between Genji and Serizawa, and soon the entire school and their in-house gangs begin to take sides, leading up to one, incredible battle that is meant to decide once and for all who will be the new leader of the academy.

This movie received so, much attention for so long, it forced me to give it a try even knowing what far-fetched brutality lay in store, and yet it managed to capture my interest, but not entirely for the same reason it captivated so, many others.

Ken (Kyosuke Yabe) was an annoying aside whose character made no sense to me whatsoever, and Takashi Makise (Tsutomu Takahashi) as the totally loyal, body-of-steel thug with the inability to keep steady was too creepy to be loved, much less rooted for.

and, What the hell was a guy like Tokio doing in a place like Suruzan, anyway??

To each his own, I guess.

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Crows Zero 2 / クローズ ZERO 2

Spring, 2009, Japanese movie that stars Shun Ogiri and Takayuki Yamada in their same, nemisis roles from the same school, along with a few of the other, original cast as well.

This time, "The Army of Killers" from rival high school Hosen Academy threaten Suzuran High aka the School of Crows.

Genji Takiya (Shun) isn't aware of some things and walks in on a potential gang murder attempt on a Suzuran sempai just released from prison for stabbing to death a student from said Hosen Academy a few years earlier.

Genji unknowingly breaks this 'code' between the two gangs and now full-out war has been declared.






Trouble is, the in-fighting among Suzuran students is so bad that no one knows who or even if anyone will be there for Genji come doomsday.

Top it all off, the dude who caused all the trouble in the first place runs away while searching for Ken, and ends up safe in this seaside town somewhere far, far away from all the dangerous action.

There were some notables starring in the second part, including Haruma Miura as Tatsuya Mito, the little brother of the guy who got killed.


Haruma Miura


Nobuaki Kaneko as Taiga Narumi, the leader of the Hosen Academy thugs.





And someone new to me, but who also managed to intrigue while also baffle in the on-stage 'is he or isn't he' category, Gou Ayano as Ryo Urushibara (carries the umbrella and packs a hella punch)

Like the first show, the sequel had as many laugh moments (and laugh-able) as hoped for, along with plenty of nasty fighting beyond the survival rate or even endurance level which no-doubt made this such a popular series among 'dudes'.

There were a few hints at a possible third episode as well, but if it is anything like the sequel, I'm not counting on it being a smash hit.

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Bambino! / バンビーノ!

2007, 11-episode drama from Japan that is based on a Manga by the same name about a young, brash college student named Ban (Matsumoto Jun) who lives in Fukuoka Prefecture and works at an Italian restaurant.

This means he thinks he's the greatest chef alive, so when his boss gives him a chance to spend spring break working at a high-class Italian restaurant in Tokyo, he jumps at the chance to show off his mad skills.

Turns out he's not so great after all, and our cute but clueless, high-energy Ban is suddenly pitted against some of the finest, most skilled professionals in the business, making poor Ban look bad and ridiculous at the same time.

Sato Ryuta as Katori Nozomi kicks Ban's ass rather early on,

I really like Sato Ryuta!

and then Karina as Hibino Asuka steps in to dump on him further still.

It's for his own good, though!

Poor Ban ...











Matsu Jun looks great in pink!


For me, though, the highlight of this drama was the head waiter and a familiar actor from the Galileo series ...


Kitamura Kazuki as Yonamine Tsukasa


This is a prime example of why I'll always prefer a man with long hair.




Anyway, some of the 'complaints' at aznv.tv included the fact that Ban was so gung-ho about his career when ... excuse me, it wasn't simply PASTA he wanted to make, but ... yea, you guessed it ... a CAREER.

If this had been about a guy working his way up the corporate ladder and he had the same gusto, would they have said the same thing, I wonder?

The cooking portions actually made me hungry until I ended up trying to make Asuka's broccoli & Italian sausage pasta, and I must admit it came out rather well and tasted as good as anticipated, too.

Ok, after spring break ends and Ban is out of the chaotic kitchen now, the young, impetuous fool decides he wants to be a famous chef, so he drops out of college and returns to the high-class restaurant in the big city.

However, reality smacks him in the face (with Nozomi's help), and instead of getting the head-chef position as he hopes, he is first relegated to the dining hall, where he has to wait tables and greet customers.

Ban is as crushed as he was after finding out to his utter dismay that he isn't quite so great as he first assumed, and now he has to struggle with the task of learning how to be someone he doesn't want to be.

Naturally, this is all done by the owner of the restaurant and the best friend of the guy Ban worked for in the tiny prefecture outside Tokyo so that Ban can learn, grow, and mature into the person he wants to become.

It takes him a really long time to figure that out, and even longer for him to perfect the waiter job, but once he realizes the importance and connection between the front of house and the kitchen, things begin to go his way.

At last, he is assigned to the kitchen after a year, and again, Ban is crushed to find out that it isn't to cook his favorite dishes, but to assist the 'dolce' pasticcere.

Again, it takes him some time and effort, but Ban figures out after making batch after batch of nasty-looking and heartless-in-effort meringue that is always dumped in the garbage until he stumbles upon the mute pasticcere's recipe book and Ban learns what it means to be a serious dolce maker.

Like his love for pasta, Ban waits every morning for the shy, mute pasticcere to leave his apartment so they can go shopping together for fresh ingredients, and they become friends.

Eventually, Ban ends up in the kitchen again, and still not as head chef, but with a new understanding of his role in life and the necessary steps he needs to take in order to realize his dream.

I liked Bambino! and I enjoyed watching Matsumoto do his thing, too.

Give this one a chance as I'm sure it'll impress you.

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Smiling Pasta / 微笑 Pasta / Wei Xiao Pasta

2006 Taiwanese drama about an average girl (Cyndi Wang as Cheng Xiao Shi) running a losing streak in the love department ever since the guy of her dreams cursed her, stating she would never get anywhere past three months with any, particular guy.

The guy of her dreams (Gino as Ah Zhe) doesn't, even like her, but despite her klutzy and totally immature ways, she is a determined girl who vows to always smile even in the face of certain adversity.

On the day her seventeenth boyfriend decides to dump her for a hot chick, a black cloud descends upon Xiao Shi, and as she is running from it, she bumps smack into a teen pop idol (Nicholas Teo as He Qun) on the lam from his overbearing and anal publicist (Di Zhi Jie as Vincent Ge).

As luck (or fate - or Taiwanese teen-bop dramas) would have it, she falls on top of disguised teen idol, thereby initiating the unforced and unanticipated lip lock that is supposed to signify their ~ destiny ~.

Now, despite He Qun being a super-star, he attends a normal college with normal students, and yet it doesn't seem like his billions of sighing and screaming fans care that he is among them, unlike Korea or Japan, where they would no-doubt line-up every day to watch him walk a red carpet whilst screaming to near fainting at the mere sight of said idol.

Not only is our He Qun a pop idol, he is also the son of a prominent Parliament official, so natch, he's from very good stock as well as rich beyond his or anyone else' wildest dreams.

And, here's a twist ... of sorts ... Ah Zhe, the thug, rebel, bad-ass who treats Xiao Shi like sh*t is also He Qun's big bro.

Before I continue with my smart-ass, err, sarcastic ... I mean REVIEW, let me show you how fine this dude is:















Guy's def got it goin' on in the looks, bod, hair, eyes, face ... what HAVE you departments!

Ok, so Ah Zhe is the black sheep of the respectable family, so naturally his old man hates his guts while he also hates He Qun for whatever reason.

Well, actually there is a reason, but it's like this total misunderstanding that no one can seem to come to terms with or agree upon, much less get out in the open and apologize for ... so it goes on and on for a few episodes (like, maybe 10 out of 17 or something like that).

Add to this dilemma the fact that Ah Zhe hates He Qun, too.

See, when they were younger, they formed this band, and then the stupid lead singer whom both brothers adored ended up dying, and while He Qun felt personally responsible and sad, Ah Zhe blamed him and thus a rift grew into a proverbial chasm until alas, the band broke up and the brothers bid one another a nasty adieu.

Anyway, for all seventeen episodes, our unlikely heroine proceeds to do and say one stupid thing after another, yet despite her openly embarrassing ways, hunny-hunk-idol dude He Qun falls slowly and deeply in love.

With this ...


Cyndi Wang and her weird eye


Cyndi Wang and her not so attractive face


I'm sure every thirteen to seventeen-year-old fan will dis this - so mea culpa and let's get on with the show, shall we?

By now I'm sure a lot of you have come to recognize the 'secret' formula to a so-called successful Taiwanese drama, which is to pit a poor, lonely girl who is straight-lace, prim, loving, and pure against a mega-rich, super-popular, total hunk dude who at first can't stand the sight of her (for obvious reasons) but who slowly and hypothetically comes to realize just how great someone of her caliber actually turns out to be.

This is probably done so that the millions of twelve to seventeen-year-old bubble gum chewers who watch and adore this sh*t can cling to their pie-in-the-sky dreams of having the same thing happen to them in real life.

So, Xiao Shi comes from humble stock, where her parents, grandfather, older brother and his wife work and live at a Pasta restaurant (hence the title).

Since discovering her encounter with the teen idol, they root for her on a daily basis to succeed in love while dollar signs continue to appear in the eyes of her money-grubbing parents who are also virtuous, don't forget that!

Grandpa is silly but wise, Papa is doting but cautious, and Mama is ... well, Mama is Mama through and through.

Xiao Shi doesn't like He Qun at first, but the more she gets to know him and finds out more about his dark past, the more her loving inclinations tend to make her want to help him until he starts to see how virtuous and pure she really is while he continues to struggle against the 'desire' creeping up on him against his will.

I give this one high marks for Gino and Nicholas Teo since they were both nice to look at for seventeen episodes, and I must admit, there were a few highlights or memorable moments as well.

Nicholas reminds me a ton of Rain, don't he?


gee, how lucky am I?





sweater over the shoulders is still in style?





smokin' hot Nicholas Teo



Ok, well, maybe not a LOT like him, but I'll bet he's got some Korean blood floating around inside him!

Then there was this guy ... who just made me laugh, but he's still really cool, and I love his hair.


Di Zhi Jie as Vincent Ge





Lastly, here are some pretty things I want for myself:









This drama was viewed approximately 162,979 times at aznv.tv, with more than 714 five-star ratings being given as well, and naturally, a majority of the reviews there gave it two thumbs-up while also gloriously singing its praises.

Personally, I don't get it, but I can imagine the age-group of the fan base, and this comes as no surprise whatsoever.

I've said it before, and I'll continue to say it as long as Taiwan continues to produce this caliber of entertainment, too - for a country comprised of a myriad of awesome, aged like fine wine stars, you'd think there would be more to offer in the mature story category at least.

In Korea, you have two choices at least ... sappy sweet romance with the ubiquitous tragic ending or soft-core porn action.

In Japan, there are basically three categories to choose from: high-school twit stuff, coming-of-age romance, and serious action-packed drama.

Taiwan, however, seems like a one-way street that only offers the viewer a chance to look through the eyes of a dopey thirteen-year-old girl and watch as her inner desires come to fruition on screen.

I, for one, am not interested.

Case in point: the annoying tri-moves, and the unnecessary, intense music:

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