Kingdom(キングダム) Japanese Film Thoughts(2019)

   Kingdom is a live action Japanese film adaption of the manga of the same name, created originally by Yasuhisa Hara. The film was directed by Shinsuke Sato and rewritten by Tsutomu Kuroiwa. Kent Yamasaki(Death Note, Orange, Your Lie in April)  reprises his role after the 2016 short film version of this film, then is joined along with cast members Ryo Yoshizawa, Masami Nagasawa,(Our Little Sister) and Kanna Hashimoto. Kingdom sold over five hundred thousand tickets on the film's time of release only to sell even more over the course of the week, making the film one of the best selling releases from last year. There has also been rave reviews for the film in Japan as well as internationally.




    A boy raised as a slave seeks revenge for his adopted brother after he is killed for looking like the king of the domain. He once dreamed of being an army general that now looks impossible. Now he must use the help of the young king to find his brother's killers in a time that China battles against unification.

    Kingdom is a film that looks very good next to other live action films such as Rurouni Kenshin and Blade the Immortal. This films follows the same formula that creates a leading hero who goes up against unlikely odds in order to win. There's a lot of heart in this film that was portrayed very well as the film progresses. You never feel that Kingdom doesn't not take itself seriously but a lack of hesitation in providing slap stick laughs adds on to the treat that this film is. An emotional feel also stands strong in the film as you watch the conflict work toward absolution. It's an entertaining ride that makes you love the whole world and the characters. Everything about this film is quite likable. Kingdom might be another one of the best live action adaptions since last year.

  Kento gets a lot of hate because of the stereotypes places on him due to that fact that he's the prince of romantic high school films or dramas. I respect that he is constantly trying to break out of the mold many people but him in. He that as L in Death Note: the television drama and he continues to do that in Kingdom. Watching his performance made me feel his rage just looking in his eyes during certain scenes. He's also good at jumping back and forth between making me laugh and making me want to root for his cause. Just because he has a good looking face doesn't mean that the talent to play various roles isn't there. I enjoyed seeing Masami in this warrior kind of role as well. The character is like the whole embodiment of women's rights. She's a strong character that leads her people well. For that, her people follow her filled with unwavering trust. Kanata Hongo popping up in front of me after such a long time was fun too. The character was right up is alley but that evil scowl he has never gets old no matter what weird ass characters he plays. All the actors and actress helped to make this film such a good viewing experience. Even if it was kind of strange that all the characters had Chinese names and the film's set in China while they speak Japanese.

   Half of Kingdom was shot in China while the other half was shot in Japan. Guessing which scenes were shot in China was easy because the scenery looks nothing like something you would find in Japan. Big green lush fields, wide rocky desserts, and , man made sets really bring this world alive. Everything is beautifully shot to set the tone for the main character's journey. Nature really is man's best friend.

   Kingdom was a very good film that's re-watchable. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Japanese cinema or live action film adaptions. Defiantly put Kingdom on your "to watch" list if you haven't seen it already. No, I don't mean the Netflix Korean drama Kingdom…… [INSERT ME LAUGHING]

P.S.: A year ago I was thinking what the fuck at how Wasted Nights by One Ok Rock was chosen to be the theme song of this film but after watching Kingdom, the song actually fits the film's message perfectly.

Death Hall(死役所) Japanese Drama Thoughts(2019)

    Death Hall, also known as Death Office is a Japanese drama that was released in 2019 and was directed by Hiroaki Yuasa. The plot was inspired by the man written by Kishi Azumi and reworked for television by Yosuke Masaike. Masahiro Matsuoka, Sho Kiyohara, Marika Matsumoto, and Yuina Kuroshima star in the Tokyo Tv drama.





   "The Customer is always God". A place that acts as a gate between heaven and hell is seen by many of those who die. At this place, the death must sign papers to again access to one of these two places. Some people don't realize that they have died, while others have unfinished business on earth. This is just another day for the staff in this seemingly busy office.

    Death Hall was a very weird experience when I first started watching episode one. I'm into dark shows that deal with death, bullying, or just overall sadness fill issues. So, Death Hall was right up my alley. Watching a Japanese drama talking about a normal looking office as a place that the dead go before going to Heaven or Hell was kinda comical for me. I still was able to get into the story though due to the fact that each plot line that comes with each episode was a thrilling one. Thrilling due to the strong idea of emotions that are brought at from each character that enters the Death Hall and their background story that they will never have closure to. Never mind that weird ass staff that oversees the progress. We will get to them latter…… Most of the character stories are kinda of sad but Death Hall's scripts makes extra sure to give these side stories some kind of revolution. There's always a satisfying ending to the conflicts presented. We even get a tiny bit of comedy- Ok Ok, It's dark comedy however it's laughs that don't make the drama lose a beat on what the episodes are conveying to the viewer. Then the story begins to focus on the staff and their backgrounds. You learn the reason why they were chosen to oversee the Death Hall which is interesting to say the least. I won't spoil anything for you. Let's just say that Death Hall keeps you on your toes until the conclusion. A spin off or a season two introducing a different cast would be fun.

   Death Hall's cast was full very talented actors and actresses. This drama is one of the most gruesome and dark dramas on recent memory. Blood red is the most seen color even if the drama has a cutoff to how graphic things can get. Each actor and actress had to bring a different personality to their episode as they are oversee by one of the staff. Many of their thoughts are full of regrets that are shown in flashbacks. Some scenes are done to show the present time as well. Wacky weirded out people always seem to have the most deep thought out pasts.

   Death Hall is a nice quick watch even if you don't have to time. Each episode is about an half and hour tops. Fans have compared the drama to an Anime titled Death Parade.

   

Kard(카드) - Red Moon Mini Album Thoughts(Kpop)

Tracklist:

1. GO BABY
2. RED MOON
3. ENEMY
4. INFERNO
5. Dumb Litty
 






   Kard was a group that I previously had no interest in. They're apart of that new generation of Kpop that just doesn't hit in the right places like the groups before their time. I've been checking this group out on and off only to find that their music normally is very boring uninspiring dance pop. The seem to like seasonal themes as well which comes off as a bit corny. The saving grace for Kard is the sole fact that they're coed which is something I haven't seen in Kpop for a few years now. Red Moon brought about a new side to Kard that peaked my interest a bit when I be grudgingly clicked on Dumb Litty's music video just knowing I was about to experience sour stale pop music with a two year expiration date. Instead, Kard surprised me a bit with a new sound leading up to their fourth mini album...

   Red Moon has Kard sporting a much darker concept than their other mini albums. I'm actually loving this dark era of music that Kard has stumbled into. I'm not too sure that this will be a constant thing. Still, I'm here for the maturity while it last. Hard hasn't given up on the dance pop sound but now they try to refine what they have already made their mark on. Go Baby opens with a reggae guitar section that's very weird because the rest of the song sounds nothing like this and somehow the song manages to have different music genres coming together in one song. The hip hop sound at the core of this opener is a constant underline theme on Red Moon. Which leads perfectly into the title track also names after the album. Listeners get a whole bunch of techno bass here, that could be kind of off putting to listeners who like Kard's more settled poppy sound. I thought that Dumb Litty was a good preparer for Red Moon overall. Both tracks fit as sequels to each other as they use techno pop to elevate that fact that most of the tracks would be basic Hip hop tracks without all the overused production. Kard's producers make it work since I think that this is the best album out of their whole career of music. Not that Red Moon doesn't come with it's flaws because it does. Kard starts to fall back into their old tricks in Enemy and Inferno. I might have stated this before, REPETITIVE WORDS DOES NOT EQUAL CATCHY MUSIC. Kard loves a chorus where they say the same English word a few times then throw a dance break behind it. Please stop giving me music that only would sound good in a club after midnight. You have to know when a track calls for you to repeat a word in succession for a catchy hook and when the act makes the song sound cheaply unexciting. Red Moon gets the "Bad Bitch" tone of the album right during three tracks though. I even felt that this release would have stood well in the past golden age of Kpop where more of the acts were actually good artists. 

   Red Moon proves that Kard would create better music if they sticked to a Hip Hop infused sound. I could tell that the males of the group were dying for music that could allow them to ride a nice beat. Too bad they had to wait till their fourth mini album to realize that being bad never felt so good. Much of the vocals sound the best when the members go back and forth with each other. Especially since this is a coed group. 

   Kard got more respect from me cause this group wasn't one that I kept on my radar. They have too many flop songs to me. I can respect that they have ganored a fanbase thanks to said bad songs though.

Parasite(기생충) Korean film Thoughts(2019)

   I'm pretty sure that I don't have to say much about this film. Most people have heard the film's name  Parasite all over the media for the past week or so. Bong Joon Ho is the director of the film who is known for his storytelling in many of his works. Most film buffs know of his films and several of them have made their way to international film festivals. Parasite stars well known Korean actors and actresses such as Song Kang Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, Cho Yeo Jeong, Choi Woo Shik, Park So Dam, and Jang Hye Jin. The film was the Korean film to win or be nominated for an Oscar in more than one category, making history for international films in America.




   A poor family infiltrates a rich family as "the help" while trying to experience the lap of luxury. Each family member goes undercover as Tutors, Car Driver, Maid etc. Will the two classes of rich and poor clash? Who will win?

     Parasite was an interesting watch. A viewers opinion of the film will vary depending on whether you let the hype get in your head. Also, depending of if you are a fan of Bong's previous films. This film deals with the issue of social class in South Korea. Much of the story is a slow burn that burns toward a big bang of a conclusion. I'm not afraid to say that Parasite was overhyped by the media worldwide. The film plays around with the idea of the difference between rich and poor in a dark comedy sort of manner. I didn't laugh at any of the jokes, not even once during the film. I did however enjoy how the film uses two families as social satire to spell out the problems in the social class system. People from all cultures can relate to this but South Korea holds strong to these values even today. What hits the hardest in my opinion is the film is the ending. I'm not talking about the scenes that caused the ending. I'm pointing to the immediate ending where a grave lesson is taught to one of the main characters and the viewer at the same time.You kinda feel a sense of hopelessness looking at the last scene. Then you understand why Parasite decides to end like that. I still don't understand why the family wasn't saving up the money they were making working under the rich family to move to a better home. They should have been making enough to. Were they working for less to nothing? Life is a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

    One of the families was under developed in my opinion. Bong might have wrote the characters like this on purpose. They came across as very stupid. A family would have never been tricked for such a period of time. they would have done a background check on the people coming into their house after awhile. Maybe Bong was trying to show viewers that rich people can be so wealthy that they get too comfortable like nothing can do them wrong. A lot of warning signs got past this family which was painful to watch. I'm a fan of mister golden voice, Lee Sun Kyun. He made me dislike him as the character he played. I didn't really dislike the character until toward the end though. I'm excited to watch his other film about the corrupt cop that had bad reviews. (I can't remember the name right now.)  The Kim family who was brought to life by a very talented group of actresses and actors carried the film most of the time. Comedy dark as night came from the characters's interactions that's easy to spot but just wasn't funny. Still, I think they did a fantastic job pulling it off during scenes not calling for laughs. Choi Woo Shik continues to step up to the plate as an ever so growing actor. I'm happy that he's getting his recognition. I remember when he first started out. Song Kang Ho is become a legend at his craft in every way of the word. The whole cast honestly made Parasite as good as it was. My biggest issue with the cast outside of the underdeveloped soulless rich family was that I was looking for something edger from one party of characters that I didn't received while watching Parasite, which was revenge. Parasite would have been a greater film had one part of the story gone deeper into madness. Bong paints dark ideals on blank canvases in his earlier films like Mother(2009). I feel that what Parasite gave me by the time of it's conclusion wasn't enough for me to have sat through an almost two hour movie. It wasn't as satisfying as his other films either.

     The scenery used during the film were a true look into Korean life for the people in poverty. Underground housing that constantly floods is a real life problem in South Korea. Parasite gives a raw look into this slice of life without apologies. The house of the rich family contained many staircases that went up and down into the lower level of the home. These steps signify the social classes. Going up the steps shows wealth while descending the steps shows poverty. The india garb in the film also represents cultural appropriation where a person wears something from another culture without truly understanding the cultural meaning behind the item. Koreans do this a lot to black culture in entertainment.

   Parasite was an alright film, just not a film that was one of Bong Joon Ho's masterpieces in my opinion. I don't think it would've deserved Best Picture at the Oscars if it had gone up against US but since Us wasn't nominated Parasite was the better film out of the rest chosen.

   

King Gnu - Ceremony Album Thoughts(J-rock/Pop)

 1. 開会式
 2. どろん
 3. Teenager Forever
 4. ユーモア
 5. 白日
 6. 幕間
 7. 飛行艇
 8. 小さな惑星
 9. Overflow
 10. 傘
 11. 壇上
 12. 閉会式

   King Gnu comes back with a new album that has been teased with digital single after digital single for over the past few months. I wouldn't say that the overall sound of Ceremony is  a huge departure from their last album Sympa. What's not broken doesn't need to be changed at the moment. There might come a time that this band might become played out but right now their music fits right at home on the Oricon Charts. This band has a sound that uses a lot of instruments that give their version of rock a bright underground vibe. Some of the instruments are horns, violins, Piano, and trumpets. The violins weren't used as much as they were on Sympa since this album stays pretty upbeat. Teenager Forever is the albums lead single that sets the tone for Ceremony's wacky unbeaten path of tracks. None of the tracks sound like the other thanks to King Gnu's very experimental approach to creating music. This album was all about fun times with it's bright choruses and layered vocals between the two vocalists. Ceremony shot right to the top of the Japanese charts at it's time of release, making Ceremony King Gnu's first number one album.

  I really enjoy how I never know what sound i'm going to get when I listen to King Gnu's music. The deep vocals mixed with the hight tenner vocals spice up the emotion depending on the track. No other band can copy their sound. Bands like Flow have two vocalists but they never not to the artsy creative level of King Gnu.

   Ceremony is an album that I would recommend to anyone want to get into their gig. Their last album was pure magic too. King Gnu is another example of indie working out well in the mainstream market.

Mal Moe-E:The Secret Mission(말모이) Korean Film Thoughts

    Mal Moe-E is a 2019 historical drama film directed and written by Eom Yuna while starring Yoon Kye Sang,(G.O.D's singer turned actor) veteran actor Yu Hae Jin, Kim Sun Young, Kim Tae Hoon, Kim Hong Fa, Woo Hyeon, and, Min Jin Woong. The film's title comes from an old Korean saying that means to "collect vocabulary words." Director Eom had a bit of push back when choosing the title as people around her thought that the Korean public wouldn't understand the film's title. Mal Moe-E ended up debuting at the top of the Korean box office selling over a million tickets last year.



   A group of people come together in order to try preserving the Korean language under Japanese rule in the 1940s. Japan invaded Korea at this time attempting to reforming Korean culture and society. This fact still didn't stop these people from having great pride in who they are as Koreans even if it meant their deaths.

     Mal Moe-E isn't the kind of film I would have been looking to watch had it not been for Yoon Kye Sang being casted in a leading role. I ran over buying this film for over a week until I finally broke down and did so. Much of the film's backstory deals with the true history of a language society that made a Korean dictionary in secret during Japan's rule over Korea. The dictionary still exists in a museum to this day, being updated over the centuries. What's so great about this whole piece of South Korea's history is that Korean people fought to keep the language their ancestors passed on to them. Recreating this part of history could have simply formed a cheesy result of a film where Korean people feel "proud to be Korean" like all those other Korean films that are so sappy with patriotic messaging that I think i'm Korean after watching them. These people's mission to protect their language isn't about sending a message to feel sorry for what Korea went through or to push a "Japan is bad" kind of message. Eom just tells the story in the most entertaining way possibly. There's a mix of drama, comedy, and of course historic elements thrown at the viewer. You don't have to know the historical context to full understand Mal Moe-E but I do recommend viewers to research a tiny bit about Korea/Japan's past relationship. Nothing about what Japan did to Korea was honorable to say the least. Some Koreans's strong hate for Japan is understandable especially looking at some of the trade problems Korea had with Japan last year. What I like is that this film doesn't try to ignite emotions of rage unlike other Korean films. Eom gives just enough Japanese bad guy antics to establish a driving motive for the characters. The good and the bad balance out evenly though. Good times come in laughably interactions between the characters that are upbeat in contrast to what is going on right outside their door. I have a good knowledge of Korean language so I was invested in my viewing experience too. Some people may not be like me and find other reasons to love Mal Moe-E. Still, by the ending credits, you will have experience a "somewhat" fun history lesson about Korea that you can impress Koreans you meet by knowing a little bit about it. Kpop loving folks should have a small understanding of Korea's past at least. If you don't, that's kind of sad….. Korea's not only Kpop, You know?

      Yoon Kye Sang and Yu Hae Jin's performances make the film, no doubt about it. This could have been a very very dull film if the actors hadn't had the right chemistry acting together. Both men feed off of each other in their rightful characters. Yu Hae Jin brings more comedic relief to the film. Yoon Kye Sang is more of the up standing kind of guy who learns of to loosen up. Each man learns from the other as they work toward a common goal. The rest of the cast were good support to the story. I'm always interested in hearing Korean actors play Japanese people. Listening to the Japanese lines are always fun.

    Reviewers online said that Mal Moe-E wasn't the kind of film that you would watch more than once. I don't agree in the least. While watching Mal Moe-E, I learned a lot about a language society that did such a good service to Korea as a whole. I wonder if they know how much good they really did before they passed away? I have the same thoughts about all the black heroes who did so much for Black people in our present day……