First Love

tags: action, comedy, Chinese triad, Japanese, Takashi Miike, yakuza

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Leo is an orphan and a boxer. He works in a Chinese restaurant in Kabuchiko, Tokyo. When he was knocked down by a weaker opponent, he went to have a scan and was told he has a brain tumor. A young girl, Yuri, is a drug addict and working as a prostitute to pay for her abusive father's debts. She hallucinates seeing her father wearing only his underwear and a blanket over his head when the drug effects wear off. She is being held by a demented yakuza couple, Yasu and Julie. Julie, played by the lovely Japanese tarento, Becky, went crazy and made me laugh when she jumps on the hood of the car shouting "Kase!" wanting to kill him with a crowbar and later with a katana because Kase "accidentally" killed a lot of people, the first one was Julie's man, Yasu. The young couple, Leo and Yuri, are caught in the middle of the fight between yakuza, triad, and the corrupt policeman. 

Takashi Miike threw in all the crazies in this hilarious action comedy - yakuza, corrupt cop, Chinese triad, old man dancing on a train in his tighty whiteys, one-armed triad wielding a sword - in a drug deal gone wrong that all happened in one night. The opening scene has a newly severed head of a Filipino thug, still twitching, which reminds me of freshly chopped fish heads and headless chicken running around. LOL. Miike was asked about the title and he answered, "to make money" which is vague on purpose. Miike never disappoints. 

Recommended for Takashi Miike fans.   

The Dead Tongues

Album - Transmigration Blues, 2020

Album - Unsung Passage, 2018

Nice folk and country music. Freegal download available from our library. Also available at Amazon.

Laplace's Witch

tags: Japanese, murder mystery, sci-fi, thriller, Takashi Miike

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Asianwiki

Two people are poisoned to death by hydrogen sulfide at hot springs located in different regions. The police ask Aoe Shusuke, a geochemistry professor, to determine whether the deaths were caused by freak accidents or were murders. While investigating the cases, Aoe Shusuke comes across a young woman, Uhara Madoka who guesses correctly that a natural phenomenon will take place. The police begin to suspect Uhara Madoka might be related to the deaths.

Takashi Miike directing a murder mystery movie based on a novel by Keigo Higashino - how can I not love it. It's a 2-hour movie full of twists and turns, and a lot of intelligent dialog. It's hard to guess the who and why and my early assumptions are all proven wrong. As in Higashino's previous novels, the story uses mathematics and science, hence the title Laplace's Witch, from the writing by French scholar and polymath Pierre-Simon Laplace, Laplace's Demon. 2 young people who underwent procedures to have precognitive abilities as described in Laplace's Demon help in solving the murders.

Highly recommended. 

The School Nurse Files

tags: action, comedy, fantasy, ghosts, mystery, Netflix streaming, Kdrama

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Netflix

Eun-young is an ordinary school nurse with an extraordinary secret: she sees strange and beautiful jelly creatures that no one else can see. She’s not particularly fond of this gift, but when the school comes under attack, it’s up to her and fellow teacher In-pyo to save the day. Question is, does she feel like saving the world today?

After watching this new Netflix 6-part series from South Korea, I felt as though I have just walked into Haruki Murakami/David Mitchell/Takashi Miike universe. It is fantastically weird full of weird people competing for the most weird one. Eun-Young, the school nurse has a gift of seeing jellyfish-like creatures which are visible to her only. She uses her plastic toys, a retractable sword and a gun to kill the jellies. She is a ghostbuster protecting the school kids from evil spirits roaming the school. When a swarm of bugs appeared, again only visible to the nurse, a female high school student appears out of nowhere. She was never born to human parents and has lived many lives as a male and for the first time is living as a female enrolled as a new student in the school. She is a bug eater which is beneficial to humans much like green lacewings and ladybugs eating harmful insects to protect plants. This character dies every 20 years and is reborn as a high school teen so she or he never ages. The series is absolutely entertaining.

I just wished the male lead is older. Nam Joo-Hyuk is 26 years old, 12 years younger than the female lead actress. I like both of them, just don't do a romance story line later if there is a second season. I wish McKenzie has more screen time because he's a very interesting character. Or maybe it's just me because the actor playing him, Yoo Teo, is good in all the shows I've seen him in specially as Ragaseu in Arthdal Chronicle and as Kwon Min-Seong in Chocolate, both streaming on Netflix. All 6 episodes are streaming on Netflix and now I can't wait for the second season. I have to re-watch.

Enola Holmes

tags: historical fiction, mystery, Netflix streaming, Sherlock Holmes's sister, Victorian era

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Netflix

England, 1884 - a world on the brink of change. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes to find that her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared, leaving behind an odd assortment of gifts but no apparent clue as to where she's gone or why. After a free-spirited childhood, Enola suddenly finds herself under the care of her brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), both set on sending her away to a finishing school for "proper" young ladies. Refusing to follow their wishes, Enola escapes to search for her mother in London. But when her journey finds her entangled in a mystery surrounding a young runaway Lord (Louis Partridge), Enola becomes a super-sleuth in her own right, outwitting her famous brother as she unravels a conspiracy that threatens to set back the course of history. 

I didn't expect to love this movie but I did. It's full of action, mystery, and maybe a hint of romance at the ending between 16 year old Enola and the very young Viscount Tewskebury, Marquess of Basilwether. Millie Bobby Brown is wonderful as smart-as-Sherlock and feisty Enola. She is all grown up and so pretty in Victorian clothes. Henry Cavill as Sherlock is actually good and Helena Bonham Carter as their mother looks lovely and ageless. I didn't even notice the 2 hours running time. I was totally engaged and entertained the whole time, laughing at the comedic scenes. I hope there's a sequel.

I didn't know the story is based on a novel written by American author Nancy Springer. There are 6 books in all and the movie is based on the first one, The Case of the Missing Marquess, published in 2006. I might check them out to see if they are worth reading.

Highly recommended. 

Piranesi

tags: fantasy, mystery, science fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from GoodReads

Piranesi lives in the House.
Perhaps he always has.

In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls.

On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food and waterlilies to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.

Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?

Lost texts must be found; secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

Wow! I love it. Enough said. 💗💗💗

Tathea

 

tags: adventure, allegory, fantasy, mystery, philosophical, spirituality

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from Amazon

Exiled from her palace by a bloody coup, an empress travels the dangerous wilds of her kingdom in search of enlightenment—and righteous vengeance

The empress Tathea is awakened by the sounds of insurrection. The army, the aristocracy, and the royal guard have all turned against her husband, and stained the palace with his blood. Were she an ordinary ruler, she might follow him to the grave, but Tathea is a child of the wild lands. She comes from the desert, so to the desert she flees.
 
Across the kingdom she travels, searching for shelter, friendship, and an explanation for the tragedy that destroyed her old life. As she fights to stay alive, she finds a book whose message might tip the scales in the battle between good and evil, changing the world forever. If her life is to have meaning, Tathea will have to spread the word.

I like it better after rereading because I seem to understand the story more. It's over 500 pages, yet the story easily pulled me in and I couldn't put it down. Tathea is a combination of fantasy, adventure, self discovery, and friendship while forming and spreading a religion, trying to survive from evil forces. The book is written well and I love the colorful description of the fictional countries and their people. Some of the scenes in the book eerily describe the ongoing chaos, destruction of properties, and anarchy going on in the USA and around the world. I find it prophetic and I see the devil in someone's face *cough G. S. cough*. 

It sometimes reads like a sci-fi novel but with heavy religious themes. This book is not for everyone and might trigger readers who don't like religion specially Christianity, or any mention of God. Anne Perry has been a long time member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church. The Book of Mormon might be the inspiration in writing this book. I will read the sequel, Come Armageddon, and will review it next month.

#Alive

tags: action, horror, South Korean movie, Netflix streaming, zombies

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

from AsianWiki

A city is infected by a mysterious virus, which causes the city to spiral out of control. Joon-Woo (Yoo Ah-In) and Yoo-Bin (Park Shin-Hye) struggle to survive in an isolated apartment complex from those infected with the virus. Everything including internet, phone, and electricity has been disconnected around the apartment.

Yes, a new zombies movie from South Korea. How can I not love it. It stars 2 of my favorite actors, Yoo Ah-In and Park Shin-Hye. They are the only 2 people, aside from the zombies, in almost 85% of the entire movie. It wasn't boring with just the 2 of them really. There's a subtle comedy here and there that reminds me of another South Korean survival movie, Exit, only with hungry ugly zombies. Park Shin-Hye's character is the smarter of the two and sometimes rolls her eyes at her co-survivor not knowing what to do. She's very creative and skillful using contraptions and an axe to kill or chop off limbs of the monsters. There are some impossible to believe scenarios but this is just a movie. You have to suspend disbelief with any zombie movies. 

Recommended for Korean, zombies, survival, action, and horror movie fans.

**************************************************************************************

Currently streaming on Netflix:

Yoo Ah-In movie Burning and drama Chicago Typewriter 

Park Shin-Hye dramas Inheritors and Memories of the Alhambra 

The Silence Of The White City

tags: Basque-Spanish, mystery-crime, thriller

⭐⭐⭐

from GoodReads

A madman is holding Vitoria hostage, killing its citizens in brutal ways and staging the bodies. The city's only hope is a brilliant detective struggling to battle his own demons.

Inspector Unai López de Ayala, known as "Kraken", is charged with investigating a series of ritualistic murders. The killings are eerily similar to ones that terrorized the citizens of Vitoria twenty years earlier. But back then, police were sure they had discovered the killer, a prestigious archaeologist who is currently in jail. Now Kraken must race to determine whether the killer had an accomplice or if the wrong man has been incarcerated for two decades. This fast-paced, unrelenting thriller weaves in and out of the mythology and legends of the Basque country as it hurtles to its shocking conclusion.

I watched the Netflix movie based on the book before reading the book. The movie is just okay. It's good but not great. The book is also so-so probably because of translation from Basque to English. The main character Unai sounds and acts more like a female rather than a male IMHO. There are also unnecessary red herrings that don't make sense. Red herrings should be smart to mislead readers but here, they are stupid and insulting to the reader.

The story is compelling enough and I love the places, history, and rituals in the Basque town of Vitoria which are more interesting than the 3 cops who seem to have no distinct personality and have but one voice. The book has a high rating on GoodReads but I can't give it more than 3 stars. I still recommend it for readers who like thriller and mystery.

 

After reading the book, I think the actress playing the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alba Diaz Salvatierra, is miscast. She has blonde hair and looks much older than the book's character who has long dark hair. The actress is not good, with one expression throughout the movie. She ruined the movie for me.

Unknown Origins

tags: action, comedy, Netflix streaming, parody, Spanish movie, superheroes

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

from IMDB

Heroes do not exist. David, a young policeman who has recently moved to Madrid, is forced to collaborate with Jorge Elías - an endearing freak and owner of a comic book shop - in order to solve a series of atrocious murders that recreate the secret origins of the classic superheroes. Each grotesque murder is a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that has the streets of Madrid as a backdrop, but whose complete image they are unable to distinguish. Jorge's encyclopedic knowledge about the comic world and the unexpected discovery of David's dark past will be fundamental in helping them solve the enigma hidden behind the awful crimes. The clues will guide them through the Spanish capital, along a labyrinth designed by a disturbed criminal mind and the only person who knows how to find the exit. Will they be able to unravel the tangled mess of clues and win the game against the troubled criminal that tries to manipulate them? They say that, sometimes, it is necessary to put on a suit and get out ...

If you see it with very low expectations like I did, you'll probably enjoy this 96 minute action comedy from Spain, Origenes Secretos. It won't win any awards but it made me laugh a little. I got maybe almost all of the comic book, movie, and TV characters mentioned including some Japanese anime like Gantz:O and Berserk. It's easy to guess who the villain is.

This movie is not serious at all although not slapstick either. Watch it in the original European Spanish language with English subtitles.