Death Note - Foreign Film Review

Cover of Death Note (Live Action)

Synopsis: Based on the Japanese manga (comic book series) of the same title by Tsugumi Oba and Takeshi Obata, the plot involves a university student named Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara). Light hopes to become a police detective one day, and studies diligently to achieve his goal.

He hates crime and corruption, and while walking home one night, finds a supernatural notebook owned by Ryuk, the God of Death (voiced by Shido Nakamura). Light learns that the name of any human written in the notebook will die, and soon goes to work trying to rid the world of killers and thieves.

He takes on an alias known as Kira, and soon becomes a controversial underground celebrity. Light wields his power mercilessly, and discovers that the act of writing in the notebook also gives him the God-like ability to control an individual's actions and alter the course of a person's destiny.

With the companionship of Ryuk, Light uses his brilliant intellect to exact his personal form of justice while staying one step ahead of the law.

But the law is trying to track him down, and Light finds himself hunted by a mysterious detective known only as "L" (Kenichi Matsuyama). "L" is every bit as brilliant as Light, and the game of cat-and-mouse escalates as both are tested to the limits of their intellect.

The Good: Death Note is an ingeniously developed story with a very cool plot. The supernatural element is very complex, but is clearly explained and contained within the context of the story. Any possible plot holes are expertly plugged, which is impressive because this movie could have easily fallen apart.

The story twists are very well thought-out, and this is ultimately an unpredictable movie that will keep you engaged until the very end. Light is a fascinating protagonist, and his God-complex reveals a number of jaw-dropping philosophical/ethical points of discussion.

Although I've never read the original comic book series or watched the anime version, Death Note appears to be a highly successful adaptation. Much of the story/character nuances common in comic-book series are preserved, making it an experience that is as enjoyable as it is complicated.

The Bad: Some of the digital effects involving Ryuk are kind of hokey. And because of the ending, the full impact of this movie will only be completely enjoyed upon the first viewing.

Who would like this movie: I'd recommend Death Note mainly for the 18-35 demographic. It's a very smart movie, and not necessarily just for fans of foreign films.

You'll enjoy it if you're a fan of comic books (especially Japanese manga), thrillers, and imaginative storylines. It's a comic-book adaptation that visually opts for elegance and subtlety over colorful garishness.

(3 and 1/2 stars out of 4)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Shido Nakamura, Takeshi Kaga, Yu Kashii, Asaka Seto, Kenichi Matsuyama

Year: 2006

Review written by: Joe Yang

A Movie Review on Despicable Me

Image via Wikipedia

Are you looking for a summer blockbuster to go see at the theaters? If you are looking for an animated and quirky movie, consider seeing Despicable Me. Many famous actors, such as Steve Carrell and Jason Segal, have lent their voices to the movie.
Despicable Me is an animated film set in a world that only consists of villains. The world's greatest super villain is Gru, played by Steve Carrell. He is a bald, barrel chested, eastern European villain that has lost his greatest super villain status because someone has stolen the great pyramid of Egypt.
To prove his worthiness and get the greatest super villain title back, Gru decides to pull off the ultimate heist. He is going to steal the moon! In order to steal the moon, he must first steal the top secret shrink ray.
One thing stands in the way of Gru's greatness, Vector (Jason Segal). He is a nerdy villain that develops many seemingly useless weapons that are of little use to anyone. Who needs a gun that fires piranhas?
Another thing that stands in Gru's way is the fact that he cannot get financing for the caper from the Bank of Evil. They are only investing money in young, up and coming villains like Vector. The only way that they will reconsider is if he steals the shrink ray.
Gru steals the shrink ray only to have it stolen by Vector. In order to get it back, Gru focuses on Vector's weakness, cookies. The movie finishes up with us thinking that maybe Gru isn't the evil villain after all! This is a great and quirky movie that is enjoyable for the entire family.

Movie Review - Despicable Me

Between guys that fly with capes with their underwear outside to British secret agents that drink martini's shaken not stirred to Chuck Norris, being a super villain isn't as glam as it would seem. The problem is the media. We always think super villains live under active volcanoes, or have a secret base on the moon. All they do all day is pet their cat and say cliche lines like "No Mr Bond I expect you to die!" or "and I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you pesky kids". Watching Despicable Me however has finally opened my eyes to what a true super villain is like.
The super villain in question lives in a normal suburban neighbourhood, he has financial problems and family issues. Despicable me takes an interesting look at the life of Gru. The 2nd best super villain in the world. As if being a super villain wasn't tough enough he now needs to compete with a rookie super villain called Vector who is better at being super villainish than he is.
The plot thickens when Gru adopts three orphans as pawns to help him in one of his sinister plots. As you can guess he starts to get attached to them and that's when all those warm cuddly feelings you get from watching movies like this start to creep in.
This movie has an A list voice cast as Steve Carell is Gru, Jason Segel is Vector, Russell Brand is Dr. Nefario and Julie Andrews is Gru's mother to name a few. Despicable Me is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud and Co-Directed by Sergio Pablos.
Now Despicable Me was very funny at some parts however I think I might be a little too old and cynical to fully appreciate a film like this. If I thought Toy Story 3 was cute overload I basically OD'd on cuteness and started foaming at the mouth and spasming on the floor by the end of the movie. Maybe I am a heartless robot but this movie had too much cuteness.
The thing is I like cute. Being Asian I can't help it. I always choose the cute girl over the sexy one. It might be because I can't get the sexy one but I'd like to think it's just that I appreciate the cute one. However there are two kinds of cute girls. The ones that are cute naturally and the ones that are trying too hard to be cute. This movie is like the latter.
I would watch it with a child or someone childlike on a day you need some cuteness in your life. Watch out for convulsions though because it's hard to tell when the cute toxicity gets to dangerous levels.