Zíza

A very carefully made historical series with beautiful visuals and sets, all accompanied by pleasant music. Taira no Kiyomori's life was certainly an interesting one, and he made many enemies and followers throughout his life, but he lived by his own convictions, by his samurai code. If you like history, this is a straightforward, detailed romp through the life of a "despot" – from the fighting to the political intrigue, which was truly overwhelming, you find it all here. Not to mention the fact that this series brings together a bunch of great actors and big Japanese names (Matsuyama, Tamaki, Fujiki, Kamiki, Matsuda, Kamikawa, Nakai, Nikaidō, Aoki, and more). A very interesting insight into the life of a major historical figure featuring the acting elite. If you don't enjoy history, there's no point in watching this, even if you love the actors who star in it a hundred times over.

I wasn't expecting much from this, so when I found the beginning to be pretty entertaining, I was very surprised and wondered why it got such a low rating. And then it all became clear during the film. Kaulder is lame, the fights are even more so, and for being only 107 minutes long I thought it might be over after the 70th minute, it was kind of long. I was entertained until about the time Kaulder gets his gnocchi on, but there was nothing more interesting than that. Pretty mediocre, below average action fantasy.

The main character, Momoko, gets fired from her daycare, so she gets a new job where she still takes care of kids. Specifically, the ones who aren't allowed to be in daycare because they have a temperature of 37.5 or higher. However, the employer's rules clearly state that she is not to interfere with the family, educate the child, etc. But Momoko, like a proper soft-hearted Japanese lady, can't be told and has to stick her nose everywhere she can. I guess it's because she had a terrible childhood. But of course, despite initial mistrust, she makes lots of friends, everyone applauds her, and only her family nips at her heels. It's a typical show about family, friendship, helping, and nurturing, it's just that some of the characters are like caricatures. Momoko herself is so unrealistic I'd like to shoot her in the eye. Ditto Asahina, played by poor Narimiya. Such a good actor and such a bad role. If you like cheesy family dramas, go for it; otherwise steer clear. A weak 2 stars.

A nice, slightly uninteresting series with no unnecessary tug of war over the main skinny heroine. Basically, the series is all positives – there's no love triangle, the central couple and their acquaintances act like people too, Min-a Shin is incredibly cute, Ji-seob So is stoic. It's just that you can't build a 16-part series on cuteness and "kyo" scenes. Or it can, but it's definitely not going to be a masterpiece. The series doesn't have the power to really engage. If I had stopped watching it halfway through, I couldn't have cared less about what happened next. Apart from losing weight, the characters basically went nowhere. Then came the weird twists like the crash: “I'll crawl out of it on my own", because after all, it's better to be on your own for something like that than to have proper support from loved ones. And the ending was too cheesy for my taste. It's not bad, it definitely has a good cast, interesting characters, but it lacks substance.

Kamiki is a favorite of mine, Sakamoto Ryōma likewise, so I watched it for them. Plus I'm quite fond of time travel as well, so I thought maybe it would be fun. Nothing horrible happened, but if you've seen a few shows from a school setting, you feel like a fish in water and nothing can surprise you – once again the moralizing is there. The story follows the typical template, nothing is surprising. The acting is shallow, so I enjoyed watching Kamiki but still wasn't that blown away. A good scene here and there, otherwise average to below-average. It won't make anyone's knees knock, but it's a pretty decent time killer.

The story, the twists, the plot... but what it actually lacks is purpose. It looks serious at times, but otherwise it's built on its head. So it's only the actors who keep it afloat, and they've done an absolutely great job with the role they've been given. Endō, Suda, Kusakari – they were divine, but best of all, no matter what anyone says, was Takahashi Issei with his cynicism. So I can rave and rave about the actors in the series, they were really where they were supposed to be. Even the ending was great. The rest of it is just a backdrop they frolicked against. A better 3 stars. As a screwball comedy, it does the trick perfectly.

One of the "nastiest" bad guys I've seen in a live-action series in a while (until I thought of Monster). Nanao portrayed the icy manipulative bitch so well that I wanted to strangle her as soon as she opened her mouth. At times, I almost didn't understand how she could manipulate everyone so much, especially Yuki – after all, she was supposed to trust her partner, she hadn't known him for a few days, but for years. But okay, Satomi balanced it all out, thankfully; some of the scenes were really good. Plus, it was quite refreshing that the central couple was dating right from the start and there was no idiot on the side of good or evil. Everyone did their best within the personality and intellect of their assigned character and it worked quite well. It just felt too far-fetched at times. If it weren't for the over-the-top ending I would rate it higher.

McClane gives up everything that is so great about him so he can go save his son's ass. That is, he gives up everything so he can spend his vacation trying to get his son to quit selling drugs... And what a great vacation, because of course daddy and son kiss and make up, share a laugh, get a little moist, get a little radioactive. Just a great vacation in the former Soviet Union that can make you go blind.

A nice romantic comedy with a roguish guy on top of it all, sprinkled with drama where relationships get clarified. I always like watching this stuff, not only does it flow nicely but you have a lot of fun with it. For me, a classic Czech children’s film for the whole family (as everyone in the family will find something different in it). It's a shame not to see this, plus it's followed by a great sequel! For me, this is an ageless classic that takes me back to my childhood years.

A very Japanese romance in "seclusion near a forest" (in the sense of the setting, not as a reference to the Czech film of the same title). You could say that the two leads are the ideal Japanese people, or at least the ideal Japanese couple. Despite their initial animosity, one quickly gets used to the presence of the other until they cannot be without it. It's a good film in which nothing happens, but at the same time it says a lot.