 |
There are three types of swindlers in the world: shirosagi, the white crane, who defrauds people of their money, and akasagi, the red crane, who deceives others by manipulating their feelings. And then there’s the black crane, kurosagi, the ultimate swindler who swindles from these con artists.
The black crane is Takashi Kurosaki, played by popular actor Tomohisa Yamashita. After being duped, Kurosaki’s father committs suicide with the family. The only survivor is Kurosaki, who swears to avenge his family by getting rid of all the swindlers in the world.
Kurosaki meets a little girl who is in need of a heart transplant, but her mother cannot afford the operation as all her money has been swindled. When Kurosaki’s latest target Ishigaki, a corporate fraudster, turns out to be the one who cheated her, he vows to swindle the money back.
Based on the best-selling manga and TV series, the movie’s main focus is on the relationship between Kurosaki and his informant, Toshio Katsuragi (Tsutomu Yamazaki), which draws a parallel to the relationship of Shakespeare’s Caesar and Brutus.
The film lacks motivation and direction, making it seem like mere entertainment rather than suspense. There was no build-up to the climax, making one wonder which scenes are actually the climatic parts in this badly-written story. The theme of justice that was the driving force of the manga and TV series is lost in the film, especially when law student Tsurara Yoshikawa (Maki Horikita) and police officer Masaru Kashima (Sho Aikawa) turn into mere onlookers, instead of justice enforcers, throughout the movie.
Towards the end, the conflict between Kurosaki and Katsuragi remains unsolved, leaving behind an unsatisfied audience. Throughout the two hours of the movie, Kurosaki’s relationship with the other cast remains the same as it was at the beginning of the movie. So watch this only if you’re a fan of Yamashita (which I’m sure a lot of girls are) or if you enjoy a crime movie. Other than that, save your money for something else.
By Salfarizah Saleh
 |
With a pair of binoculars as eyes that look perpetually sorrowful, and the soul of an angel, it is hard not to like WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) at first sight, especially when he recites his name in an adorable voice.
Being the last robot trash compactor on Earth left behind by humans who went to live in outer space on luxury spaceship Axiom, WALL-E’s life for the past hundreds of years has been monotonous as he gathers trash, recharges using solar power, feeds his pet cockroach and collects seemingly useless junk in his home, day after day.
Things change when he gets hold of a living plant, which is the key in order for humans to come back to Earth to live. WALL-E hands it to Eve, a sleek, futuristic white robot with blue eyes who has come to Earth in search for living things. As he falls in love with Eve and chases her across the galaxy and eventually to Axiom, the two robots set off on a mission to fulfill their ‘directive’.
For a movie without much dialogue in the first half, the creators at Pixar Animation Studios ( who brought you The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille) certainly impress by portraying WALL-E’s character vividly with human quirks and setting new standards with stunning visuals in the outer space scenes.
Some may notice a few real life similarities in the animation. For instance, when WALL-E recharges fully, the booting up sound effect is the same as when one boots up any Macintosh computer. Eve also looks like it came out of an Apple design room.
With not-so-subtle themes relating to environmental issues, it makes for a great educational movie for all ages, with a predictable ending to the story. By Koh Jing Jing
 |
EVERY Star Wars screening warrants applause at the start, simply for the universal appeal maestro George Lucas has created.
But as the seventh big-screen release—after the original Episodes I to VI— begins without the classic opening crawl and instead, with a narration of the current messy situation in the galaxy, it turns into a different Star Wars experience.
The film is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, a three-year span amidst the Clone Wars. If you do not know your Anakin Skywalker from your Luke Skywalker, this period saw the last major conflict of the Galactic Republic, between the Republic army and the Separatist droid forces.
In the midst of turmoil, Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta is kidnapped, and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) is sent to investigate. A padawan apprentice is attached to him, a brash youngling named Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein).
To complete the roster of key female characters in this movie, their nemesis is the rogue Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, an underling of Sith lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee).
The first animated feature of the franchise, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is also the first non-Lucas-directed film since Return of the Jedi, with greenhorn Dave Filoni taking over.
The plot is promising but the story crawls chronologically. Nevertheless, Star Wars addicts who desire the enduring intergalactic fare should be glad with the battle scenes and lightsaber-wielding on display throughout almost all 99 minutes.
Ironically, it is in the animation where the film spirals out of control. The $8.5 million production pales in comparison to Episodes I to III, where each cost over $100 million to make and the CGI looks cheap when compared to other animated movies.
The scenery and timeless Star Wars technology are a plus, and resemble live action, but the straight-faced rigidity of the characters is hard to bear. It does not help that animation directors Jesse Yeh and Kevin Jong are relatively new, with the latter’s only credit being the flop Eight Legged Freaks.
This movie comes across as a more light-hearted version of the usual Star Wars. Banter and humour are aplenty, most significantly between the droids and during the staged surrender of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
And because it’s more “cute” than anything else, Clone Wars cannot be given the Star Wars stamp of authority.
By Tan Thiam Peng
 |
