pcummins-91996

I managed to grab a viewing of this as the storyline seemed interesting that a writer could be able to influence the real world and potentially have links to the story world that was created.

There is much that can be commended, which is mostly the creativity and work that had gone into set design and costumes in the story world along with the soundtrack by Jed Kurzel, with clearly significant work done to make each area stand out. There are clear highlights of creativity that definitely show that what China is capable of producing is on par with USA.

Unfortunately, the entire movie is let down with its storyline, which apparently had 4 screenwriters. Interesting elements are brought up and then dropped or never adequately explained, characters seem fairly bland and one dimensional with occasional hints of depth that is not able to be fully explored. I would say this is from trying to fit two linked stories into one movie, which naturally limits screen time for both.

The inevitable final boss fight is the prevalent over-the-top CGI that Chinese movies appear to be going for nowadays; ultimately good looking but the over reliance of CGI and length means as an audience you become disconnected from what's going on in the real world.

Some attempts are made to link things through in the denouement of the film however at this point with so many open ended plot elements it is difficult to know where to go from there.

I think perhaps if more time was spent world building and exploring the writer's abilities and expanding on this in a second movie or a trilogy by reducing the scale of the plot for this initial instalment it would have worked better overall.

After watching 3 episodes so far thanks to ABC iView "The New Legends of Monkey" pretty much confirms what I thought from the trailers - it would be more in the style of Hercules or Xena in that not so serious, campy sort of way that isn't afraid to poke fun at itself with the cliches.

Chai Hansen as the titular anti-hero plays Monkey as a confident, brash character, if not overly confident in his skills and powers. Luciane Buchanan as Tripitaka is simply making the most of a bad situation by being the priest you don't expect but the one you need - being the only one who seems to care about what's going on in general.

They are quickly joined by Emilie Cocquerel as Sandy, a fellow god who plays as a more ethereal spiritual style character and Josh Thomson as Pigsy who also has decided to throw his lot in with the good guys after a stroke of conscience. They're clearly going to be constantly menaced by demons who are keen to see them not recover the holy scriptures and save the day by balancing things out again.

I can't say the cast are whitewashed given there's enough different ethnicities to avoid any obvious over utilisation of any one ethnicity even among minor cast - the average US show would do a lot worse and to be honest I think it's making the most of ANZ actors/actresses that are available without getting too typecast with styles, mannerisms or accents (which can hold a good show back in some cases).

The first eps definitely feels like a pilot that probably could have done with a few scenes having reshoots after getting the groove in later eps, however it is clear from set pieces that care, effort and attention to detail have been involved to have a historical Chinese styling. The CG sticks out as being obviously CG but is usually relegated to wide scenery shots or where appropriate - surprisingly enough a lot of practical smoke effects are used. Music is all computer generated in a '80-ish synthesiser style but seems to fit in fine.

Bottom line - nowhere near as bad as naysayers were making it out to be. If you go in with hard expectations from the 1978 show you will probably be disappointed - this seems to be a recurring theme with shows and movies nowadays. If you keep an open mind and know it's not to be taken seriously at all you'll probably do just fine.

Night's Tightrope is a coming of age film revolving around two female friends, the former Kendo champion Atsuko (Mizuki Yamamoto) who is no longer able to compete due to an injury, and the quiet and withdrawn Yuki (Tsubasa Honda) who had recently been spending most of her time writing. It is adapted from the novel "Girls" by Kanae Minato, who also did "Confessions" and directed by Yukiko Mishima. If you have seen "Confessions" this is a pretty good idea of how dark the subject matter can get.

Atsuko, having fallen from grace with her injury is subjected to bullying by her fellow students who take sadistic enjoyment in telling her to die - the failure to fit into societal norms through no fault of her own means she is now an outcast. Her friend Yuki seems more concerned in writing the titular novel than assisting her, however she still keeps her company during school despite peer pressure.

However, the theft of Yuki's novel by her homeroom teacher who then wins an award after submitting it for publication triggers Yuki down a dark path. She accesses her teacher's laptop and reveals online he was having an illicit relationship with a student, and is subsequently dismissed overnight and later commits suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Atsuko, who had been concerned about the changes in her friend Yuki deduces she was responsible but can't bring herself to confront her about it - the normally quiet Yuki has developed a morbid fascination with death which isn't helped with her new boyfriend Makise (Mackenyu), whom Yuki meets at a library while angrily destroying a review of her novel.

After school finishes the formerly close friends split up over summer. Atsuko decides to work at an aged care home and meets the disgraced worker Takao (Gorou Inagaki) while Yuki decides to assist at a hospital for terminally ill children and strikes up a friendship with two young boys who are patients in the hopes of seeing someone die.

There's other subplots in the film however the primary one besides the friendship of the two main characters is karma and redemption. Every action has a karmic reaction as seemingly unrelated events are show later to be linked in one way or another, leading to the finale in the film. Adults generally are shown to be selfish, unreliable and treacherous and are directly responsible for the reason why the youth are so disillusioned with society in general. However, our characters are able to redeem themselves by the end of the film through reconnecting with each other, showing despite societal adversity they still have each other that they can depend upon.

I can't say I'd recommend this film for casual watching due to the subject matter however it's worth watching, particularly if you have seen Confessions or can appreciate the subtleties in Japanese culture. Director Yukiko Mishima herself mentioned she picked this novel from Kanae Minato specifically to be adapted due to her own personal experiences, and also mentioned the contrast of the normally happy Tsubasa Honda and Mizuki Yamamoto was particularly challenging for them to accomplish.

In a sense the film offers hope (like the titular novel, written by Yuki) to people who feel they are worthless or undeserving to live that this is a choice; that you are connected more than you realise to everyone else and that you have to reach out in order to step forward in life despite how bleak it seems at the time and that your perception of what is real may not be as clear as what others would see.