Zíza

One is imprisoned in solitude voluntarily, the other is not. And through that solitude, they find each other. But to avoid losing each other again, they must leave their island. A very interesting film that certainly makes you think. I was expecting a comedy thanks to the poster, but I didn't get that much. Sure, there are some funny moments, but that's not what the film is made for. A slightly melancholic film (but in a frenetic way) that leaves you with a few questions, but no answers. What it's guaranteed to leave you with, though, is the inherent satisfaction of having seen it.

This is exactly one of those rare things I won't even try because I'm (rightly) afraid of giving it a garbage rating! And I sure as hell don't like doing that. I won't do it, I'll be happy, I may not have anything to talk to about with a million and a half people, but I'll survive. But it's the first time I've seen a rating composed entirely of garbage. Interesting, the poor Turks ^^

Disappointing after just 3 minutes – vampires are allowed in the sun. Ok, let's move on. Yay, fanservice – two chicks sucking on each other after they just drained some guy. Okay, moving on. No matter how many images it gives, no matter how many costumes and makeup it has, it's getting boring. OMG, talking mummies. Ah, it's starting to look worse than Blade: Trinity. Oh, now there's lightning. Werewolves have come to town. On a motorcycle. And they're shooting. Trash like you just doesn’t interest me. Suck-suck-suck. She acts so tough, but she's a weak-assed bitch. Yeah, the main character sucks. Lilith looks human. She reminds me of one of my classmates in terms of her personality. Me. Me. Me. Selfishness kills. I hope. Okay, they can't go into the sun; in which case, a bit of a fail at the beginning, those sneaky vampires. And there's the end. So we've signed up and we're going to do it again. Well, for my part I hope I never see anything like this again.

For the first two episodes, the train runs on the familiar and well-worn tracks of "new kid with hair like a giant cock vs. girl who plays tough and nobody likes her". Fortunately, the boy isn't too much of an idiot, as such characters tend to be, so it's doable. Moving on, it's getting better, but looking forward to the part where they get rid of the giant cock. Okay, okay, we've survived school, their crushes, the Pink Panther dance, and I'm finally at the painful breakup! Yay! Okay, here comes revenge/not-exactly-revenge. Anyway, it ends with "Oh, I love her so much, but she hurt me so much, I mustn't give in, I mustn't!" Moving on, the older sister is also getting herself made up for romance, well, I'll fast forward through that with gusto, like her new haircut I guess. Okay, now it's going to be this, now that, she's finally found out who the rich handsome guy really is, she's disappointed and angry, okay, she's quitting her job and planning to go away with her high school senior. Only she catches a recording studio where it just so happens that she’s alone and the rich guy just happens to be standing in front of it, and the best part? Call the fire department? Are you crazy? Why the fire department?! The best thing to do is fly in, breathe in the smoke, get buried in the burning beams... And then when you wake up, you don’t remember a thing (kind of a dramatic Boys Over Flowers 2). But oh well, then this and that happens, Rainie gets beat up, Senior saves the day, blah blah blah. His memory comes back, but... damn, why did he have to return to the form of the giant cock! No, the ending... which is too much, way too much. It still looks good at the beginning, even though Show Lo makes worse faces worse than Bean (as a friend of mine pointed out), but then it goes horribly awry and you're left with nothing to do but wring your hands and laugh hysterically about it because it's already pathetic. What looks like a pretty promising dorama at the beginning turns into an unbelievable load of garbage. But it's clear to me that even things like this can be enjoyable. Plus, there are plenty of songs by the leads, so you can listen to Taiwanese pop...

Actually, it's not much different from the first season, and even that was already losing its breath pretty badly towards the end. Here the only difference is that their feelings and insecurities come to the forefront a lot more. Believe it or not, it maddening. Even though the plot is enlivened by the arrival of a new character, it's still that same annoying blond that simply drives everything toward jealousy from Kazehaya’s side. Sawako is as dull and boring as ever (especially for a viewer she has nothing more to offer after season 1). And given that the moments I enjoy most out of the whole series are the ones where Sawako (and that Kazehaya) aren’t in it, there must be something wrong with her being the main character. I'm sorry, but this shōjo from the first quarter of 2011 completely failed to grab me. It gave me nothing. Instead, S+K's behavior just pissed me off (with Sawako infuriating me the most).

It's a blast at the beginning – you laugh, you have fun, you can’t wait to see what happens next. But even though the episodes are only 12 minutes long and even though there are only 12 episodes, it starts getting old. Yes, it's still entertaining, full of vulgarity, metal, and a love of pop, but not as much. Negishi talks so fast I had to pause at times to read the subtitles. I'm sure metal won't become my favorite genre even after watching this, and I'm sure I'll quickly forget about it. But it did have its strong moments (like the part where there's the spit battle on stage and Krauser hacks it up all the way out of his heels, I saw it with my younger sister: "Oh my God, what are you watching? Yuck, that's disgusting!!! Aren't we gonna watch the next episode?" :-D) and its originality. A weaker 4 stars.

At least the creators are honest and tell us from the start that it's going to be an emotional wringer. Get ready, there will be forbidden love, a family rift, a fatal illness. Have you got enough Kleenex? Except that the main characters don't have the charisma to pull this off. The most likable guy I could root for is Satō Takeru and his cute girlfriend. Kusanagi just didn't grab me; I didn't see any spark, chemistry, anything between him and Miki, which is precisely what a story like this needs. This series is, I would say, aimed more at the older set. I simply got nothing from it.

The best film (short or not) from Spain that I've seen in the last however many years! The philosophy woven into it! The social subtext! The beautiful images! The sheer humanity! The human solidarity in times of need! Simply put, not a dry eye in the house. I don't understand how they could fit something of such quality, of such profound and metaphysical thought into 15 minutes! I doff my cap and I’m going to rewatch that part that’s best suited to biology classes. A better 4 stars.

Even though it's so long, it grabbed me from the beginning all the way to the sweet ending. Even though it intertwines all sorts of genres, it lands so beautifully, it's crazy, wacky, upbeat, sad, unbelievable, raw and tender. If I were at the cinema, it's possible I'd give it a full 5 stars. Maybe. Anyway, I'm glad I saw it. The main character is likable, his counterpart is also fine (you never get the feeling that it's time to shove her under a passing truck). The others were insane. But that was fine too. ^^ Got a long afternoon free? Go for it. I've been thinking about this for a few days now, and I'm kind of telling myself: "Why the hell not give it 5 stars? It was perfect!" So I'm changing the rating from 4 stars to 5. ^^

The book is better; the movie, come to think of it, fails to capture the whole atmosphere. Not that it's downright disappointing, but it's not what I wanted to see. It's a bit calculated and literally has a "feel good" ending. Those who haven't read it may have trouble navigating at times. The images alternate, but it doesn't feel like it's conveying anything. When someone died, it didn't even move me, I just stared blankly at the screen. It lacks the soul that the book has, which Trần Anh Hùng simply failed to bring to the screen. You can't even get a sense of all the bleakness and loneliness and uncertainty you feel while reading it. If I hadn't read it, this would have been an empty film for me. Too bad, I was really looking forward to it.