Zíza

By now I'm worried about my mental health – how on earth did I devote 16 hours of my life to this? Cringey, awkward, boring, a bad story, and even the actors can't save it because they have nothing to play. I think this is a strong contender for the worst Korean series I've ever seen. I also think it's going to take a lot of time to find a rival on the same level. If ever.

Okay, a full round of applause. MatsuJun finally got a role where he proved he can act. I have at last watched a series since Boys Over Flowers where he had a lead role and had fun. I had been starting to think he had bad luck with his choices, but this was good. He shined, but the other main characters played by Eikura and Kagawa were great as well. I devoured it in one sitting and didn't think for a moment that I’d had enough. The episodes managed to keep me on my toes, and even though I pretty much always knew who the culprit was, I was just waiting to see how they would convict him. The plots are simple, the themes have been seen a thousand times, the crimes retold a thousand times; it's just that this bunch of lawyers gives it a whole different dimension. Lots of clichés, but it doesn't matter because they either managed to pull it off brilliantly or just used it appropriately (because who says clichés are bad? it's just the inappropriately used ones). For example, the two lead lawyers meet before they start working together when one of them destroys the other's cell phone by running over it. But it's used well in the end, and you're just watching the concert of these two personalities, these two guys, that it rests on and certainly doesn't fall. It's funny, quite brisk, you're not expecting moral speeches in every episode. Jun is a likable guy, Eikura is a hottie, Kagawa is a seasoned badass. It was just good, a lot. It was fun, a lot. Kind of overdone Japanese, but I had fun. Awesome. A strong 4 stars.

A lovely show, not rushing anywhere, with all the Japanese subtlety, well-roundedness, and incongruity. It's not exactly a romance or a comedy, it just shows how two people get closer during their work. It could be any job, only here it's spiced up with pushy journalists, because "career advancement" at the expense of a relationship is possible everywhere. It doesn't bring anything new to the table (just an epiphany for me that Nishijima Hidetoshi is not an actor to avoid. On the contrary, Taecyeon proved to me that dancing and singing are definitely his strong suit, not acting). A weaker 3 stars. It's relaxing and you can watch it without feeling bad for watching nonsense.

No, it's not a movie for everyone. Once again I’ve watched more of an artsy film and liked it. Not so much because of the acting, but because of the music (it just did a lot, without it I would have liked the movie half as much) and the weather. It may be weird, but I loved the weather in the movie. It was colder – and that’s all. It seemed to describe the whole thing. A classic hollowed-out, full-on Japanese film.

Films like this are exactly why I love Japanese cinema. You think how ordinary it is that nothing actually happens and you get so blown away at one point, you get such a rush of emotions that you don't even know where they came from. And yet it doesn't particularly force you to feel it, it just comes to you. The day Haruo was born was incredibly magical. A simple story of parental love and magic tricks. With one of Ōizumi Yō's best acting performances. A better 4 stars.

It was sweet like all the cakes I've seen, and unfortunately didn't offer so much as a morsel of anything good. I didn't heed Natascha's warning, and what a way to end it: drooling at the mouth :-D But luckily it's not just about the cakes (if it was, I'd have to stop before the end, get on a bus and go to some cake shop that makes such beauties), but also about the relationship between the Tokyo family and the Edo samurai, which was presented nicely, casually, clearly. For me, a family rabukomedi that doesn't have violent twists and ineptly planted misunderstandings. However, the typical Japanese ending didn't impress me much; it instead left me feeling a bit, though I have no idea why. I can ultimately call this a nice fairy tale that I can watch once and then forget. Do you want something unpretentious, with a relaxed atmosphere and good acting? Maybe a bit of a treat after lunch? Reach for this little film.

A story that deserves to be deciphered and pondered. What was the author trying to say? What were his characters after? As long as you don’t figure it’s an ordinary overlong film where nothing ever actually happens, Kuwabara gives us the background music just so that we don't notice that there won’t be much in the way of excitement, as long as you step back from the dullness and "boredom", you might find that this is a fairly complex and well-constructed film. Where everything has its place, even its characters represent what they are supposed to represent – whether it's a piece of society or just a minority voice. There aren't many actors, but the important ones play the everyday and almost mundane well. The whole thing hinges on the bland Nanami, played by Kuroki Haru. Here she put the charm with which she manages to draw attention to herself on the back burner and she really was just a wallflower. A very pretty one, to be sure. I still can't get enough of that actress. And then there was Ayano Gō, representing the anonymous company firm. Just the way he talked made him seem out of reach, someone who can’t be relied on if he isn't going to get anything out of it. But of course, it doesn't end there. Watch closely, it's not a film for staving off boredom.

It's a very long movie, really long. But somehow there weren't too many moments where I was really bored, where I had to look around to see what was flying where. Granted, there were a few weaker moments that the movie could have done without, but thankfully they weren't dragged out in any way. It's not a film where the plot was mysterious, the viewer had no idea whodunit until the last moment. It's as transparent as a window after spring cleaning. Only it doesn't really matter, because it's set in a very interesting environment where everyone wears ridiculous costumes, where even their gestures are exaggerated, as if they've just jumped out of a play. This makes more out of a story that is otherwise pretty basic, and grossly inadequate for such a long running time. The music wasn't bad, but in the end only the last song stuck in my mind. It's not a bad film, it even leaves you smiling at the end, you learn to say "objection" in Japanese. A weak script, good acting, great setting. Absolutely don't want to do much thinking, but still value your IQ enough to watch Czech TV series Ordinace v růžové zahradě? Try this movie. P.S.: Was it my imagination, or was Detective Itonokogiri really an homage to Aoshima? Same coat and some of the poses...

Hard to define, hard to swallow for some, but I got carried away by the "imbecility" and had a pretty good time with it. I saw similarities to The Matrix, The Wolverine, and Spiderman, but why not, that could hardly hurt this movie ;) I'll probably go watch this stupidity again to see if I missed any homages to other movies... XoD Basically – I enjoyed it much more than Nim’s Island, which I saw before this.

Apparently there's a script problem with this series. Karen wasn't in the 2nd episode and it immediately got an extra star! This episode, however, is so stupid and the characters are so interchangeable that maybe even a star is too much. What did I like about this episode? Probably nothing. But it wasn't a total disaster. Maybe. We can hope. I think. Bleh.