Zíza

It had great reviews, so I thought maybe it would be a hit and I'd really like it. Well, I didn't. First, though, I'd like to give a shout out to Kim Da-Mi, because she was really great! Those puppy dog eyes of hers when she was happy about something; she was wonderfully mischievous and could be serious too, not to mention her mean side. She and her character are the reasons people should watch this show. Then there's Park Seo-joon, an average handsome guy who can act – every time his character ran his hand through his hair from back to front he was able to convey to the viewer exactly what his character was feeling. And then there's the rest of them. Park Seo-joon's character was basically unchanging; some 15 years of his life showed up and he hadn't changed at all. Don't tell me there's a person who doesn't change in that long a time, not to mention a person who has been through a lot. There's nothing new about the story, it's about revenge and actually at the end it's hard to tell if it actually happened. It was more about cause and effect (of something that started before the revenge). I was absolutely not entertained by the first two episodes, then it caught on and pretty much held its own until about the ninth episode, when it picked up speed down the road, only to crash in about the thirteenth episode. From that episode onwards, I basically suffered until the end, and because of that I had a chance to think the series through more and realized that beyond what looks new (transgender, racism, and a black character) it's actually dull. And even though the main character had a strong manager behind him, most of his success was built on chance ([SPOILER] – Toni and her rich grandmother perfectly positioned for the place they moved to, etc. [END SPOILER]). It's not really even a criticism of the company, it's just an affirmation that "the stronger dog is the one who fucks" – excuse the expression, but there's just no other way to put it in this show. In the end, the most tragic character is the spoiled son who sins, and it is he – oddly enough – with whom I was able to sympathize the most. And he was seven years old. The OST is slightly above average, the sweet bit at the end is a rip-off of others, but the theme song is excellent. The series is right on the border between 2 and 3 stars. Two is not enough, three is too much. 50%.

Halfway through, I was wondering how it’s possible that this movie has such a high rating. I mean, the story sucks, it's so rushed, it jumps here, jumps there, yay let’s do this, do I want you or not, I beat you, I don’t beat you, am I a hero or not... but in the end it made sense because the final twist gives it all away. In the end it's a really cool movie for Dragon Quest players, they have to enjoy it. I'm not one, so I wasn't completely thrilled, but I have to admit it wasn't outright bad either. And Japan is really trying hard in 3D animation; while this is kind of a "fairy tale", you can already see they're attacking its fans. However, I still liked the visual style of the older Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013) better.

You just have to have a taste for Yukisada. He always makes similarly tuned films. You have to want to get into the characters, but you can't expect it to be easy. It's a vicious cycle that two characters want to break out of; both Kudo Izumi and Mr. Hayama, the teacher. Each of them has that vicious circle a little differently, with Hayama wandering for longer. Basically, these two characters are helping each other out of it while simultaneously withdrawing into it. Hayama is an incredibly kind teacher/person, observant and understanding (it wasn't always that way though). Izumi is quiet and a very good observer, though of course she overreacts once. [SPOILER] When Izumi wants to escape the circle, when she's really desperate, she allows herself to take refuge in the kindness of Ono. Based on the fact that he took her home to his family at her bad time, she figures that he'll be the one to get her out of her vicious circle and really tries to make it so. Except that Ono isn't Hayama, which Izumi recognizes in the moments when Ono gets uncontrollably jealous and basically rapes her. Overall, we can see how different the two men are just by the depiction of Izumi's consensual intercourse with them. [END SPOILER]It's an intimate confession of two people who are grateful for each other, and maybe it's love and maybe it's not. It's definitely the purgatory they have to go through to finally break free from their cycle one day. Definitely a story with something to say, characters that are complex (Izumi can seem awfully apathetic about some things, but you think about whether she wants to end the suffering; Hayama can seem like an indecisive jerk, and indecisive he certainly was, but even that has its merits) and human. Definitely a film that is a joy to ponder.