Liar Game Season 1 - 2007

Category: TV Series

Genre: Psychological

Episodes: 11

Casts: Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota, Kitamura Soichiro, Wada Soko, Iwasa Mayuko and more

This is an adaptation from a manga.

It's always interesting to watch the psychological tv series from Japan. This one involves around one philosophy or belief: "Not everybody can be happy." and that "Humans will lie, cheat and steal to survive."
 

Nao Kanzaki (Toda Erika) is known for being naive and innocent. She is a high school student.
One day, she receives a black postcard indicating that she has been selected to participate in the "Liar Game Tournament". Along with that postcard is a box with 100 million yen (about $1,000,000). The goal of the first round of the game is to trick the other player out of their hundred million yen. At the end, the winner would get to keep the hundred million earned, and the loser owes the LGT (Liar Game Tournament office) 100 million yen, "will be collected by any means and at all costs".


One might think that the series is quiet unnecessary, placed on an impossible setting (but I'd rather have this over SAW who tests the "human fiber").

I like how it ended and how the events turned around.

However there's a slight implication or definition of MLM that is quiet misconstrued. They should have used the term "binary" or "pyramiding" company. Oh well.

Safe - 2012

Category: Movie

Genre: Action / Thriller / Crime

Director: Boaz Yakin

Writer: Boaz Yakin

Producer: IM Global, Automatik Entertainment, Lawrence Bender and more

Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, James Hong, Anson Mount, Joseph Sikora and more

Tagline:  She has the code. He is the key.

Mei(Catherine Chan), a young Chinese girl was abducted by a Russian mob, and corrupt NYC officials. She holds a priceless numerical code. A former elite agent and a small time MMA, Luke Wright (Jason Statham) whose life was destroyed by the mob comes to rescue Mei.


I enjoyed the movie. For one, I like how the kid acted and Jason Statham's performance was really good. Great character build-up despite the limited time. The fight scenes were equally interesting and I'm pretty sure those of you who enjoys some action would really enjoy this. It was nifty.

Photo Source: Movie Ramblings

Taken - 2008

Category: Movie

Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller

Director: Pierce Morrel

Writer: Luke Breson, Robert Mark Kamen

Producer: Europa Corp., M6 Films, Grive Productions.

Tagline: Time is running out.

Cast: Liam Nesson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, John Gries, David Warshofsky, Holly Valance, Katie Cassidy, Xander Berkeley and more.

Kim managed to convince her father, Bryan Mills (Liam Nesson) to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. What seemed to be an innocent Parisian travel turned out to be a traumatic disaster! As Bryan Mills, relies with his age old spy skills to save his daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade with an Albanian gang.

It's a great fast paced action-packed movie. Not a huge conspiracy thing but something involving something personal. International human trafficking is largely the issue in the movie. Great direction and great acting by Neeson! :)

Worth watching. :)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 2008

Category: Movies

Genre: Adventure

Director: Steven Spielberg

Casts: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia Labeouf, Ray Winston, and more.

Overview and Review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull directed by Steven Spielberg.

I thought this was a remake but I found out it's actually the Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures. I never got around to watch the first 3 installments even though it's just lying in my parent's room for months already.

The famous archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry Walton Jones also known as "Indiana" / "Indy" (Harrison Ford) is called back into action, year 1957 when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind the mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.

It opens with Indy, kidnapped by a team of KGB agents led by a Russian scientist (Cate Blanchett) who wants to know everything,and was taken to the same vast Nevada government warehouse where it is said that the Part 1, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," ended.

This time it is not the lost Ark they are looking for. They're after the remains of a flying-saucer crash that contains a clue to what the Russians really want: and this is the Mayan crystal skull with a supernatural power of mind control (hence, the Russian Scientist... wanting to know everything).

What i like about this movie is that it is full of impossible stunts and the humor that made the Indiana Jones series such a phenomenon of its time. It also contained some thrills and suspense making you squirm in your chair or whatever you are sitting on. It has lots of goofy oftentimes cheesy action that kids love (even moi!).

If you are into adventures and all that.. this one is for you. this film is fun in it's own way.

May 25, 2008

Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift - 2006

Category: Movie

Genre: Car Racing

Director: Justin Lin

Writer: Chris Morgan

Tagline:

If You Ain't Outta Control, You Ain't In Control.

Rated PG 13

Casts:

Lukas Black as Sean Boswell
Lil Bow Wow as Twinkie
Han as Sung Kang

Overview and Review of Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift directed by Justin Lin.

Avoiding a jail sentence in America when Sean Boswell got into trouble racing(race accident), he was sent to live with his father in Tokyo who happens to be in the Navy. When he arrived he discovers a different kind of racing in Tokyo. Sean and his racing ego met a match named D.K. (Drift King a.k.a. Donkey Kong by my brother) here who got ties with the Yakuza.

Can't say much for the summary without divulging the whole story, because that's pretty much about it. If you are looking for a great "storyline" you really would not find it here. What you would find would be non-stop car show, cool drifters (really really nice specially when they all lined up and were not racing), and Japanese girls in those skimpy clothes.

I seemed to notice Sean always gets into trouble here when it comes to a girl. Tsk. Tsk. Although the start was a little bit too worldly for my taste. But, heck the cars and the race sure would take your breath away.

It had an effect of me thinking of drifting while passing "curvy roads".

Line I like:

Sean: Why'd you let me race your car? You knew I was gonna wreck it.
Han: Why not?
Sean: 'Cause that's a lot of money.
Han:

I have money. What I need around me is trust and character. And one car in exchange for finding out what a man's made of is a price I can live with.

Sleepers - Lorenzo Carcaterra

Category: Book

Genre: Non-Fiction

Author: Lorenzo Carcaterra

Overview and Review of Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra a true story.

*It has a movie already.

The true West Side Story.

Sleeper

1. Out of town hit man who spends the night after a local contract is completed.
2. A juvenile sentenced to serve any period loonger than nine months in a state managed facility.

Hell's Kitchen is a place where everyone knows everything about everybody and everybody could be counted on. This is the West Side streets of Manhattan, where secrets lived and died on it. An area pretty much populated by a blend of Irish, Puerto Rican, Italian, and Easter European laborers.

John (The Count), Tommy (Butter), Michael (Spots), and Shakes (Lorenzo). Four boys inseparable, content and happy to live within the closed world of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. Having friends were important as neighborhood loyalty in Hell's Kitchen. They gave them an identity and a group one could trust that extended the bonds of family.

These four friends finds solace with each other's company since they can't find it in their own homes where their mothers are beaten and some of their fathers are out romancing other women. These four boys shared a common interest, like reading books, watching movies, listening to music, collecting classic illustrated comics and baseball cards, listening to Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, Franki Valli and the Four Seasons on portable radios and playing pranks.

One prank would change their lives forever. One prank that would cost a man's dream to fade and a man to never walk again. One prank that could send them to a facility with multiple horrors to endure and one they would never forget. A mistake that would give them a heavy consequence.

It's a great "true-to-life" book. One that you could never put down and one that would make you read and read until the end. A story one could not forget and a horror you couldn't quite fathom if you live seeing the world in rose-colored glasses. One autobiography that never fails to put you in the edge, to bring tears in your eyes and make you laugh every once in awhile. It's amazing how he builds up the story up until the end. You would actually envy the way he depicted their childhood friendships. The bond they had when they were still young. I like the way he describes things. Everything seemed so important and so you want to read every line.

The Last Family - John Ramsey Miller

Category: Books

Genre: Thriller

Author: John Ramsey Miller

Overview and Review of The Last Family by John Ramsey Miller.

Martin Fletcher may be your worst nightmare. You may wish you never knew him. He is insanely clever and he is back for revenge. He wants to eat your heart out by going after your family.

Paul Masterson hibernated to a mountain in Montana six years ago when an ambush left him half-blind and mutilated (almost). HIs self-esteem went back to zero, he left his family and punished himself by being alone and tormented.

In 3-4 years the families of his 3(three) friends (Rainey, Joe and Thorne) died on separate accounts either by accident so no one would suspect. And Paul's family is the last target. Rainey's family was the last to be annihilated (sounds so holocaust-y right?) and Martin left his mark on Rainey's wife.

Well-written. High family drama and an intense thriller rolled into one. You would almost suspect everyone in the book like what I did with Reid and Woody. A sudden turnabout would surprise you in the near end, one you wouldn't really expect and did not see coming. Although, I was quite disappointed with the ending because it did not say much about Paul and Laura's relationship. Left it hanging.