Shimotsuma monogatari (2004)

[English Title = Kamikaze Girls]

This movie, based on a light novel and comic in Japan, both of which I haven't read, is about a girl named Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) who grows up in a small town in Japan. She is into sweet lolita (not to be confused with gothic lolita) fashion characterized by cute elaborate dresses even though the town she lives in all buys their clothes from a Wal-Mart type megastore. She comes from a heritage of a Yakuza (japanese mafia) father and alcoholic mother. When she was a kid, her mom left to marry another guy but she chose to live with her dad. He made money selling bootleg Versace clothing and eventually got busted so the two move in with his mother in the small town of Shimotsuma.

Momoka then tried to make some money to support her dress buying habit by trying to sell the leftover bootleg clothing online. This is how she meets Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya), a member of a local all girl biker gang. Since she's in a biker gang, she dresses like a yankii (the Japanese term for a thug) and has bad manners. The movie follows the unlikely friendship of these two opposite personalities. Ichiko has Momoko embroider a tribute to the gang leader onto her gang jacket and it turns out Momoko is pretty awesome at it. This leads to Momoko getting a job embroidering dresses at the stor she gets all her sweet lolita dresses from. Though it also leads to her having to decide whether to finish the job or help her friend Ichiko.

Ultimately, this is a chick movie but it's done it such a stylized way that it's not too sappy and sentimental way. The film is full of vivid colors and some trippy hallucinations and animation inserts. The music very fitting with good opening and closing songs by pop-rock artist Tommy February6 and varying soothing to upbeat to guitar riff filled background music provided by Yoko Kano, famous for providing music to mecha (giant robot) anime. For someone not knowledgeable about Japanese culture, this is a nice look into a fashion trends among other cultural aspects. I think the acting is done well enough, I man I could see Momoko as a princess and Ichiko being believable punk. They also did a good job of showing how their friendship developed. I don't think this movie is for everyone. It's probably for girls, people into Japanese culture, or people just looking for something different from the norm. I did 0 watch checks, most likely because I was captivated by the colors in the movie and I had to read subtitles the whole time. This is not a love story in any way, I just used the improbable hook-up tag referring to their seemingly mis-matched friendship.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Cristal Skull (2008) and Sex & the City (2008)

[Incredulous] "You're named after the dog?"

I could say the real "aha" moment in this installment of I. Jones comes early on, when the aforementioned hero jumps into a lead-lined refrigerator to survive a nuclear blast. "So they really did unfreeze him for this movie," I would tell myself as he struggles out of the battered fridge.

But that's too easy. The fun of the film is in making Jones into a family man. I suppose that's like the last one, putting him in the "son" role, but it works. The lead woman is light, as is the kid, and pretty much everyone, gophers, attack monkeys, aliens and commies included. It keeps a sense of humor and doesn't go on too long, like the other film I saw last weekend, Sex & the City.

Yeah, Sex is stuffed with references and undeveloped characters, so watch the series first. Or don't, and don't. But it is generally a good time and more dramatically interesting than, say, the giant jungle car battle scene in I. Jones.

So go for the killer ants in Jones and the killer fashion in Sex, and stay for the laughs. Or go for a walk instead.

SPOILER ALERT Both of these films end in white weddings, er, weddings of whites.

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

I shit you not, I watched this film. But it was under the circumstance that it was the in-flight movie, so don't worry... my balls are still in place.

Now I don't claim to be any expert on Jane Austen novels, but I guess what this movie is about is how even those old chick books can be applied to relationships today to make a proper chick movie even though said chick movie doesn't blatantly copy the books. But even this chick movie is based of a chick book of the same title, so let that rattle in your brain.

We follow the story of a woman in the middle of a separation/divorce who is lulled by her yenta friends to create a book club to help her cope with it all. I reckon each member of the club is supposed to match some Jane Austen character, but that's beyond me. But the big twist to the club (OMG SPOILER ALERT!) is that among this estrogenfest, a guy is allowed into their book club thus creating some vehicle to the movie's conflict, or at least one of the conflicts of the movie.

So the relationships have closure at the end of the film, as for what that closure is, be it positive or negative, you gotta watch the movie, or read the book. I don't recommend this movie for anyone one who is not a fan of Austen because some of this stuff just went right over my head. But if you like Austen, chick flicks, and most likely if you have a vagina, you may like this movie. The only saving grace of this film for me is that it has Maggie Grace in it. So hot. And she plays a lesbian! And that's about it for that. Well, Maria Bello is hot too for an older lady. I had zero watch checks, but I did fall asleep for 5 minutes. I was on a plane, what do you want from me?

She's the Man (2006)

Not having any knowledge of the actors or even the movie was a nice way to go into this light teen flick. Amanda Bynes plays Viola, an avid soccer player whose team lacks enough players and therefore cancels their season. When her twin brother decides to play with his band in London rather than attend the first couple weeks of school at his elite boys' boarding academy, Viola takes his place and joins the boys' soccer team.

The acting is good. David Cross plays the high school principal, a bald, petty, in-the-dark and somewhat motivating authority figure. He has a nice hearty laugh when he says he was young "back when dinosaurs ruled the earth." Other good characters are the British soccer coach, a tough looking Vinny Jones (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and the hip, gay older friend (brother?) with big city, ethnic friends.

The plot is predictable - Viola gets into an awkward friendship with a guy who think's she's a guy, too; her brother comes back; she gets found out and all heck breaks loose in the big game. She eventually reveals herself and the game goes on.

The theme of growing up and boy/girl drama is pretty standard, but Bynes is talented and gave a good comic turn to the role. The film lacks the social class tension of Mean Girls; Drumline and I imagine Bend it Like Beckham have more racial commentary, not to mention better action sequences -- She's the Man is pretty heavily white washed and most of the soccer action is weak. (Coincidence?) I think the story is based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Why else would the main character be named Viola?

No watch checks, but I did leave the room for a couple minutes.