Rental Family

I can't even really express in words how upset I was not to see this in theaters.

All you ever had to say was Brendan Fraser in Japan, and my ass would have been in that seat day frickin' one! And what an interesting premise about a struggling actor essentially being hired at a company who supplies people for emotional moments, you could hire them as a friend to hang out with, a husband to wed, an interviewer to tell your life story, and it's all willing from all parties. Now this is new even to me, if this is indeed a legit business in Japan I've never heard of it and I don't even really see a problem with it but the movie does such a good job showcasing the hesitation and unease for someone hired to do a thing. Humans are emotional social creatures in our bones, we love to be around people and share experiences with people, and that is what the movie is about. Building connections. That's fascinating stuff and not only does the director craft an emotional tale but the actors are what makes it work as well as it does. Do I even need to talk about Brendan's performance? That handsome man could sway me into any movie, he does a damn good job and is incredibly believable in the part of Philip. Shannon Gorman for being so young has so much attitude and emotional range as Philip's "daughter" and I was kinda actually surprised how the movie doesn't focus entirely on their relationship. Rather Philip is always onto the next client, like Akira Emoto as novelist Hasegawa who is having memory issues and Philip helps him reclaim memories in a very emotional subplot. Also I'd like to shoutout Takehiro Hira, great to see him again after Shōgun and boy does he have a twist that would make Rod Serling pause, and ho mah gawd Mari Yamamoto I am shamelessly gonna crush on you forever, I'd stand by her and obey her every word because she is the boss in this movie. The film so easily spices the story up with variety, it can be heartfelt, sad, cute, fun, funny, and ultimately enjoyable. The cinematography is naturally going to get a generous heap of love from me, it's a gorgeous country regardless of it's surroundings being either urban or rural. At first it seemed flat but as the movie progressed we got more and more atmsophere to it, more beautiful shots, more brief moments of reflection on nature. And to be perfectly honest I think that's why I love it so much, why I praise it so much, why it steals my heart away and I won't ever care to ask for it back. We don't really do that in America where we shoot cityscapes or landscapes of nature with the same level of beauty or even reverence that japanese filmmakers do. I feel that's a crying shame but I'm happy someone is doing it! It's more a drama than a comedy despite some good humor peppered throughout, and yeah it got me very close to crying in the latter half. I'm...slightly puzzled by the ending and yet I still like it, I'm not sure if there's symbolism at work here or if it really did end on a positive note of quiet introspection, I can't put my finger on it but it works well all the same. I always appreciate foreign films and it is not a movie that goes light on the japanese language, but me being a sucker for that and being a subtitle enthusiast since DVD players started getting big it was far from a deal breaker for me. I very much liked it, I thought it was a different kind of love story that worked quite well for this week, and yeah it does make you appreciate all the more the people you already have in your life and could make you excited about the people you've yet to meet. 3 stars, 7.5/10, and our next film is going to be a doozy so join me on V-Day for something...less than family friendly.

Shōgun

I suppose this is what I get for involving myself in politics.

Shōgun is a trip to say the least. An expansive, involved, big budget, notes worthy, 10 hour epic detailing the events leading up to the origins of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is an almost impossible task to sum everything up in one concise and non-rambling synopsis, so cliffnotes version: British ship pilot John Blackmore stumbles upon the isle of Japan and gets very quickly swept up in the political back and forth between the five ruling regents of the nation, as time passes and he cheats death on multiple occasions he takes on more of the culture and becomes a right hand to the disavowed rebel regent Toranaga. It gets complex quick and this is coming from someone who has familiarity with how the government system of Japan worked once upon a long time ago, the customs and traditions of the people, and a rough outline of how each period began, so it's a caveat but if you want to watch this show I severely recommend note taking to keep the family ties straight and to not spread out your watch schedule, rather try to marathon it so you don't forget any details. It took 3 days for me to get through it and what I found simply put, was a show that does not fuck around. It's more fiction than history granted but a true commitment was made to make this as historically accurate, intriguing, beautiful, and coldly violent. To truly make the best series they could. There is zero half assing found in the 10 episodes. And as I am writing this review tale of a second season is coming to which, I have two opinions clashing like mountain goats, on one hand the show ends with a pretty wide opening for more of this story to be told and YET the showrunners claimed it would be a one and done series with no intention for continuation. I'm personally kinda leaning towards never trusting a damn word any studio system creator has to say on any matter. So to keep this from running almost into a 500 word essay let's lightning round some aspects. I completely applaud the, for lack of a better term balls deep, commitment this series has keeping the dialogue heavy on the japanese side with subtitles galore. They do indeed have a dubbed option, I watched it on Hulu, but I love getting to see japanese actors get to speak just japanese, and in a big budget american production? Whaaaaat?? Did I just pull a Sliders and jump dimensions yet again? That's fine, I'll roll with it. Casting is pretty damn good from lead to ancillary characters, Hiroyuki Sanada along with Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai are terrific leads and undoubtedly are the driving force of the whole dang story, you get invested with them quick. Top notch all around! Sweet lord, the costuming, the sets, the environments, as I said no half assing it's very detailed and has enough atmosphere to go around at times, I never thought I would see so. Many. Sets in a television show and very broad ones at that! There just isn't a damn thing on the telly like this right now. The story while a bit complex in terms of character and motivation, knows when to bump the pace up and also let you stew in this albeit foreign but nevertheless understandable political machine, I never go for political dramas or really anything politics heavy outside of The Thick Of It, I just can't stand the backstabbing and drama and overcomplex plans but here I could work with it. You don't really get the battle scope you imagine the story keeps pushing toward, if anything when the violence strikes it sucker punches you in the nose out of nowhere and it keeps you on your toes. Maybe it's more a syndrome of what Game Of Thrones has cast on television series but death strikes unexpectedly and it's appropriately grim. May be a turn off for a lot of folks who want to see samurai battle in large numbers and duel one on one, but it just isn't that kind of show and there are examples for you out there who love that particular kind of stuff. It's almost tailor made for a very specific crowd but that niche crowd has been lauding it with praise since it premiered and you never know if you'll like it if you don't try it. It's a sit, it's not a show you can have on in the background and keep up (unless you are fluent in the language and got a good memory), the ending may not do it for you but hey second season for those who want more, but there can easily be aspects you will enjoy. I can appreciate both sides of samurai media, your Ran's or Throne Of Blood's as opposed to stuff like Samurai Champloo or The Sword Of Doom. So I very much liked it and can recommend it for those select few. 3.5 stars, 8.5/10! Phew, that was a busy week. Next week will be easier as we traverse the arid wasteland and will be my first peek into the world of Mad Max.

Snake Eyes

Full frontal admission here, I know precisely dick about G.I. Joe.

I've maybe watched 2 or 3 episodes of the show on a sleepless night in my pre-teen years on Boomerang, I can name exactly 3 characters, Snake Eyes, Baroness, and Cobra Commander, and that's about it. So I walked in virtually blind, and the movie was okay. It wasn't horrible but wasn't terribly good either, I'd say the cast is the strongest point of the movie, the action is very shaky and is slightly hard to follow at times but done admirably, the story really didn't grab my attention until a good bit in, and the fact that the majority of the film takes place in Tokyo gets the movie some brownie points. Of course I enjoyed that immensely, seeing the bits of culture and locations on a big screen brought me much joy. But in terms of plot, it's sheer basics. We meet up with a young Snake Eyes, who sees his father murdered and devotes his entire life to kill the man who did it, only to be recruited by a ninja clan and you know the rest. It's very by the numbers, I kinda expected it to be an average decent movie from the trailers and TV spots and that's really what I got. I would absolutely love to see a hardcore G.I. Joe fan's thoughts on this, picking up on all the easter eggs and educating me on the differences. Henry Golding is a decent lead, he has the physical prowess and is believable in the role and he commits fully. Andrew Koji does actually really good work with the material and the inclusion of his character being the next heir to a powerful family clan brought a lot of enjoyment to the film for me. Haruka Abe is awesome, able to pull off the choreography and does indeed suit the role of chief of security for the family, she's class. Takehiro Hira and Ursula Corbero are okay villains, just not having much of a role to really play with. And from what very super little I know and have seen of the Baroness, I think Ursula hits the nail on the head in terms of physicality, and I'm genuinely curious to see what might come next for this new fledgling series. It's kind of a modus operandi for these G.I. Joe movies to be average, the first run got what, like 2 movies? And were not terribly loved at that, so it kinda peaks my interest more than anything to see if this series continues, though I have this tugging sense that this will be a one shot. Not because it's bad but because of how it's all about the profit the movie makes to seal the deal for a continuation. I'm not expecting high art or future action movie classics with this series, but it could turn into something better than what is here. I personally give the movie 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, but you can tell there was honest to God effort in terms of sets, choreography, acting, and it wanted to tell a story beyond this even if the story and script were not very good. It's a mixed bag, and thusly very mixed conclusions can be drawn from it. And on that shrugging bombshell it is time to end this week, see you next time everybody.